JP2011194742A - Printing data processor and control program of printing data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cut down a memory amount used during processing of printing data including reusable objects such as printing data for VDP.SOLUTION: A printing data processor, which is for converting the printing data including the reusable objects to raster type image data, generates intermediate language data of respective objects by analyzing the printing data (S203), generates image data by rasterizing the generated intermediate language data, determines whether the respective objects are image objects (S205), further determines whether the respective objects determined to be the image objects are enlarged image objects (S206), and stores the intermediate language data of the objects in a memory for reusing the respective objects determined to be the enlarged image objects (S207).

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data processing apparatus for converting print data including reusable objects such as print data for VDP into image data in a raster format, and a control program for the print data processing apparatus.

  There is a wide range of so-called variable data printing (hereinafter also referred to simply as “VDP”) techniques for creating printed materials such as direct mails and credit card statements where the contents of printing change partially for each addressee. It has been adopted. In general, the print data for VDP is fixed data consisting of a variable data section consisting of the name and address of the addressee that changes from record to record, a logo of the shipping company common to all records, a standard greeting, etc. Contains parts.

  In recent years, an XML (Extensible Markup Language) -based document format called PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) has been formulated for VDP, and standardization of VDP by PPML is being promoted. The PPML format print data stores a fixed data portion and a variable data portion so as to be distinguished from each other, and RIP (Raster Image Processing) is executed only once for each data portion during VDP processing. The That is, the RIP for the fixed data portion is not repeatedly executed for each record, but the RIP-completed data held in the memory is reused, so that the system load due to the repetition of RIP can be reduced.

  In relation to this, in Patent Document 1 below, after content data for VDP is transmitted from a client to a printer, raster data after RIP for the content data is stored in a cache on the printer side, and the cache is identified. There has been proposed a VDP system for generating VDP data on the client side for storing proxy data including a cache ID to be used instead of content data. According to this system, since the RIP for the content data and the VDP data generation process proceed in parallel, the VDP throughput can be improved.

  However, according to the conventional VDP technology including the above, since raster data of all objects included in the job needs to be simultaneously developed in a memory, a memory shortage occurs when processing a job including a large-capacity object such as a photographic image. There is a risk of printing errors. Even if an external storage device such as an HDD is used to solve the memory shortage, the access speed to the external storage device is generally much lower than the access speed to the memory, so the printing speed is greatly reduced. It will be.

JP 2008-171033 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of memory used when processing print data including reusable objects such as print data for VDP. It is to provide a print data processing apparatus that can be reduced, and a control program for the print data processing apparatus.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) A print data processing apparatus for converting print data including reusable objects into raster format image data, wherein the print data is analyzed to generate intermediate language data for each of the objects An analysis unit; a rasterization unit that rasterizes each of the intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit to generate image data in a raster format; and a first that determines whether each of the objects is an image object A determination unit; a second determination unit that further determines whether each of the objects determined to be an image object by the first determination unit is an enlarged image object having an image enlargement designation; and the second Reuse of the object determined to be an enlarged image object by the determination unit In order, the print data processing apparatus having a storage unit that holds the intermediate language data generated the object by the data analysis unit.

  (2) The storage unit holds the image data of the object generated by the rasterizing unit in order to reuse the object that is determined not to be an enlarged image object by the second determination unit. The print data processing apparatus according to (1) above.

  (3) Each of the objects is an image object, a graphics object, or a text object, and the storage unit is configured to reuse the object that is determined not to be an image object by the first determination unit. The print data processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), further holding the intermediate language data of the object generated by the data analysis unit.

  (4) The print data processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the print data is print data in a PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) format.

  (5) A print data processing apparatus control program for converting print data including reusable objects into raster format image data, wherein the print data is analyzed to obtain intermediate language data of each of the objects A procedure (A) for generating, a procedure (B) for generating raster format image data by rasterizing each intermediate language data generated in the procedure (A), and each object being an image object A procedure (C) for determining whether or not each of the objects determined to be image objects in the procedure (C) is an enlarged image object having an image enlargement designation ( D) and re-use of the object determined to be an enlarged image object in the step (D) For the control program executed by the procedure of storing the intermediate language data for the object generated by the steps (A) to the storage device and (E), to the print data device.

  (6) A procedure for further storing the image data of the object generated in the procedure (B) in the storage device in order to reuse the object determined not to be an enlarged image object in the procedure (D). The control program according to (5), further causing the print data processing apparatus to execute (F).

  (7) The object is an image object, a graphics object, or a text object, and is generated in the procedure (A) for reuse of the object determined not to be an image object in the procedure (C). The control program according to (5) or (6), further causing the print data processing apparatus to execute a procedure (G) for further storing the intermediate language data of the object in the storage device.

  (8) The control program according to any one of (5) to (7), wherein the print data is print data in a PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) format.

  (9) A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to any one of (5) to (8) is recorded.

  According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not each reusable object in the print data is an enlarged image object that has a large size increase due to RIP, and the object that is determined to be an enlarged image object is intermediate language data. In this form, it is held in the memory and reused. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of memory used when processing print data including reusable objects, and as a result, it is possible to increase the speed of the processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC concerning one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a RAM of a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the VDP job which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the VDP job which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the VDP job which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the VDP job which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the reusable object management table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the VDP job analysis and conversion process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the data analysis process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the rasterization process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the data analysis process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the rasterization process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the VDP job which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an enlarged / reduced image object according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the GUI screen for print settings which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the GUI screen for print settings which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

-System configuration (Figs. 1-10)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming system S according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system S includes a PC 1 as a client device that generates a print job for VDP, and a printer 2 as an image forming device that executes a print job received from the PC 1. Connected via a network N. The network N is a LAN according to a standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Token Ring, FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. Note that the PC 1 and the printer 2 may be locally connected.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer 2 receives a print job from the PC 1, and a printer controller 21 as a print data processing apparatus that executes various image processing such as RIP on the print job. A printer engine 22 is provided as a printing apparatus that executes printing processing based on later raster format image data. In the example of FIG. 1, the printer controller 21 is included in the printer 2, but this may be a device independent of the printer 2.

  Next, the configuration of the device will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the PC 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 1 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, and a network interface 15, which are connected via a bus 16 for exchanging signals. Are connected to each other. These components will be described in order below.

  The control unit 11 is a CPU that controls the operation of each unit according to a program and executes various arithmetic processes. The storage unit 12 includes a ROM that stores various programs, a RAM that temporarily stores various data as a work area, and a hard disk that temporarily stores various programs and data. The display unit 13 is a liquid crystal display device and displays various information to the user. The input unit 14 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and acquires various operation instructions from the user. The network interface 15 is an interface for connecting the PC 1 to the network N and communicating with other devices on the network N including the printer 2.

  A printer driver for generating a VDP print job to be executed by the printer 2 is installed in the PC 1 having the above configuration. In particular, the printer driver according to the present embodiment has a function of generating the above-described PPML format print job. As a printer driver according to the present embodiment, for example, uDirect (registered trademark) of XMPie that operates as a plug-in of page layout software such as InDesign (registered trademark) of Adobe, or a stand-alone equipped with a page layout function An operating Bitstream (registered trademark) of Bitstream or the like is employed.

  Here, the VDP job J according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a VDP job J. The VDP job J in FIG. 6 is composed of three records each consisting of one page. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining individual objects included in the VDP job J of FIG.

  In FIG. 7, an object surrounded by a solid line is an object belonging to a fixed data part common to all records, and an object surrounded by a dotted line is an object belonging to a variable data part that changes for each record. In the present embodiment, each object included in the VDP job J is any one of a text object, a graphics object, and an image object. In the example of FIG. 7, the objects belonging to the fixed data part are image objects and text objects, and the object belonging to the variable data part is a text object. Since each object belonging to the fixed data portion is used in the first record after being used in the first record, it is hereinafter referred to as a “reusable object”.

  Next, a description method of a reusable object in the source program of a PPML format VDP job will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a part of a PPML format source program corresponding to the VDP job of FIGS. In FIG. 8, the portion enclosed by the <REUSABLE_OBJECT> tag on the first line and the 23rd line defines one reusable object. Further referring to this part, the third to fifth lines define content data used as a reusable object. More specifically, the third line indicates that the content data is data in PostScript (registered trademark) format. The fourth line indicates that the file storing the content data is a file “abcd.ps”.

  Subsequently, the 15th to 22nd lines indicate information related to the reuse of the object. More specifically, the Name attribute of the <OCCURRENCE> tag on the 16th line indicates an object name for quoting the object. The “Name attribute” in this example is “abcd”, and when the reusable object defined before the 15th line is reused in the second and subsequent records, the object is quoted by the object name “abcd”. The PPML description method for reusing the object in the second and subsequent records is as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the object can be reused by specifying the object name “abcd” as the Ref attribute on the second line.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the printer controller 21 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer controller 21 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 211, a storage unit 212, an operation unit 213, a data analysis unit 214, a RIP unit 215, a network interface 216, and a printer engine interface 217. These are connected to each other via a bus 218 for exchanging signals. These components will be described in order below.

  The control unit 211 is a CPU, and controls the operation of each unit according to a program and executes various arithmetic processes. The storage unit 212 includes a ROM that stores various programs, a RAM that temporarily stores various data as a work area, and a hard disk that temporarily stores various programs and data.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the RAM 212a of the storage unit 212 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the RAM 212 a stores a reused intermediate language data storage area for storing intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit 214, and raster format image data generated by the RIP unit 215. Reusable bitmap data storage areas, and reusable objects are reused based on intermediate language data and image data stored in these areas. This point will be further described later. The RAM 212a holds a reusable object management table that stores information on individual reusable objects. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the reusable object management table T according to the present embodiment. Details of the table will be described later.

  The operation unit 213 is an operation panel for displaying status information and various setting information of the printer 2 and acquiring various operation instructions. A GUI screen as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 may be displayed on the operation unit 213. Details of these GUI screens will be described later.

  The data analysis unit 214 analyzes the print job received from the PC 1 and generates intermediate language data. The RIP unit 215 generates raster format image data that can be processed by the printer engine 22 by executing RIP on the intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit 214. Hereinafter, raster format image data generated by the RIP unit 215 is simply referred to as “bitmap data”.

  The network interface 216 is an interface for communicating with an external device such as the PC 1 via the network N and conforms to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI. The printer engine interface 217 is an interface for communicating with the printer engine 22 and is, for example, a parallel interface such as IEEE1394.

  Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the printer engine 22 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the printer engine 22 includes a control unit 221, a storage unit 222, an operation unit 223, a printing unit 224, and a printer controller interface 225, which are mutually connected via a bus 226 for exchanging signals. It is connected to the. These components will be described in order below.

  The control unit 221, the storage unit 222, and the operation unit 223 are integrated with the control unit 211, the storage unit 212, and the operation unit 213 of the printer controller 21, respectively. Therefore, the detailed description about these is abbreviate | omitted. The description of the printing unit 224 is as follows. The printer controller interface 225 is an interface for communicating with the printer controller 21 and is, for example, a parallel interface such as IEEE1394.

  The printing unit 224 prints an image based on the bitmap data received from the printer controller 21 on a recording sheet. More specifically, the printing unit 224 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, a charging process for charging the photosensitive drum, an exposure process for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum by laser light. Printing comprising: a developing process for forming a toner image, a transfer process for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum to a recording sheet by a transfer belt, and a fixing process for heating and fixing the toner image transferred to the recording sheet by a fixing roller Execute the process. Note that the printing method employed by the printing unit 224 may be another printing method such as an impact method, a thermal transfer method, or an inkjet method.

-Outline of operation (FIGS. 11 to 19)
Next, an outline of the operation of the printer controller 21 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a VDP job analysis / conversion process for analyzing and converting a VDP job received from the printer driver of the PC 1 to generate bitmap data. As shown in FIG. 11, the printer controller 21 sequentially executes data analysis processing by the data analysis unit 214 (S101) and rasterization processing by the RIP unit 215 on the VDP job received from the printer driver (S102). Such a VDP job analysis / conversion process is executed for each record constituting the VDP job.

  Next, the data analysis process in S101 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of data analysis processing for the first record. The job analysis processing for the second and subsequent records will be described later. Referring to FIG. 12, the data analysis unit 214 analyzes one object included in the first record (S201), and determines whether the object is a reusable object (S202). More specifically, the data analysis unit 214 determines whether or not the <REUSABLE_OBJECT> tag is included in the source program.

  Here, when the object is a reusable object (YES in S202), the data analysis unit 214 generates intermediate language data of the object based on the VDP job, and reuse indicating that the object is a reusable object After adding the flag (S203), the process proceeds to S205 described later. On the other hand, if the object is not a reusable object (NO in S202), the data analysis unit 214 creates intermediate language data of the object based on the VDP job (S204), but will be described later without adding a reuse flag thereto. The process proceeds to S209.

  In step S205, the data analysis unit 214 determines whether the object is an image object. If the object is not an image object (NO in S205), that is, if the object is a text object or a graphics object, the intermediate language data of the object generated in S203 is saved in the reused intermediate language data in the RAM 212a. Save in the area (S207). Then, after updating the reusable object management table T in the RAM 212a based on the information related to the object (S208), the process proceeds to S209 described later.

  Here, the reusable object management table T according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the reusable object management table T is a table that stores attribute information such as “ID”, “Name”, “Type”, “CacheType”, “Offset”, and the like for each reusable object. The description of these attribute information is as follows.

ID: A reference number assigned to each reusable object, and each object is referred to by this number in the data analysis process (S101) and rasterization process (S102). Name: To uniquely identify each reusable object. 8 is the name of the object, and corresponds to the Name attribute in the PPML source program shown in FIG. 8. Type: Object type of each reusable object, “Image” representing an image object, “Text” representing a text object, or graphic CacheType: one of the “Graphics” that represents a virtual object. Each reusable object is stored in the RAM 212a as either intermediate language data or bitmap data. This flag indicates whether the reusable object is stored as intermediate language data, and is “DL”. When the reusable object is stored as bitmap data, it is “Bitmap”. Offset: In the RAM 212a of each reusable object The data analysis unit 214 and the RIP unit 215 use this offset value to access the reuse intermediate language data storage area and the reuse bitmap data storage area of the RAM 212a.

  As described above, information related to the object is added to the reusable object management table T updated in S208. However, since the object is stored as intermediate language data (see S207), the “CacheType” The value is “DL”.

  Referring to FIG. 12 again, when the object is an image object (YES in S205), the data analysis unit 214 further determines whether or not the image object has designation for image enlargement (S206). Such an object is hereinafter referred to as an “enlarged image object”. If the image object is an enlarged image object (YES in S206), the data analysis unit 214 stores the intermediate language data of the object created in S203 in the reused intermediate language data storage area of the RAM 212a (S207). . Then, after updating the reusable object management table T based on the information related to the object (S208), the process proceeds to S209 described later.

  In step S209, the data analysis unit 214 determines whether intermediate language data of all objects included in the first record has been generated. If intermediate language data for all objects has not been generated (S209), the procedure of S201 to S208 is executed for the next object, and intermediate language data for all objects has been generated (YES in S209). The data analysis process for the first record is terminated and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11 (return).

  As described above, as a result of the data analysis processing for the first record, intermediate language data of all objects included in the record is generated. Then, the intermediate language data of all reusable objects of the text type and the graphics type are stored in the reuse intermediate language data storage area of the RAM 212a. Further, the intermediate language data of the enlarged image object among the image type reusable objects is stored in the reuse intermediate language data storage area of the RAM 212a.

  Next, the rasterizing process in S102 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the rasterization processing procedure for the first record. The rasterizing process for the second and subsequent records will be described later. Referring to FIG. 13, the RIP unit 215 analyzes one intermediate language data generated by the data processing unit 214 (S301). Then, the RIP unit 215 generates bitmap data by RIP for the intermediate language data (S302), and expands the bitmap data in the frame area of the first record (S303).

  Thereafter, the RIP unit 215 determines whether or not a reuse flag is added to the intermediate language data (S304). If a reuse flag is added to the intermediate language data (YES in S304), it is further determined whether the intermediate language data is intermediate language data of the image object (S305). On the other hand, when the reuse flag is not added to the intermediate language data (NO in S304), the process proceeds to S309 described later.

  If the intermediate language data is intermediate language data of an image object (YES in S305), it is further determined whether or not the image object is an enlarged image object (S306). On the other hand, when the intermediate language data is intermediate language data of a text object or a graphics object (NO in S305), the process proceeds to S309 described later.

  If the image object is not an enlarged image object (NO in S306), the bitmap data of the image object generated in S302 is stored in the reuse bitmap data storage area of the RAM 212a (S307). Then, after updating the reusable object management table T based on the information related to the image object (S308), the process proceeds to S309 described later. Information about the image object is added to the reusable object management table T after the update in S308. However, since the image object is stored in the RAM 212a as bitmap data, the value of “CacheType” is set to “Bitmap”. (See FIG. 10). On the other hand, if the image object is an enlarged image object (YES in S306), the process proceeds to S309 described later.

  Subsequently, in S309, the RIP unit 215 determines whether or not the RIP for all intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit 214 has been completed. If the RIP for all the intermediate language data is not completed (NO in S309), the procedure of S301 to S308 is executed for the next intermediate language data, and the RIP for all the intermediate language data is completed (S309). (YES) The rasterizing process for the first record is terminated and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11 (return).

  As described above, as a result of the rasterizing process for the first record, bitmap data of all objects included in the record is generated and developed in the frame area of the record. Then, the bitmap data of the image type reusable object other than the enlarged image object is stored in the reuse bitmap data storage area of the RAM 212a.

  Next, FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a procedure of data analysis processing for the second and subsequent records. Referring to FIG. 14, the data analysis unit 214 analyzes one object included in the currently processed record (S401), and determines whether the object is an object that reuses a reusable object (S402). . More specifically, the data analysis unit 214 determines whether or not the tag <OCCURRENCE_REF> is included in the source program.

  If the object is an object that reuses the reusable object (YES in S402), the data analysis unit 214 searches the reusable object management table T to obtain information on the reusable object to be reused. To do. More specifically, the data analysis unit 214 searches the reusable object management table T using the object name specified as the REF attribute of the <OCCURRECE_REF> tag. For example, if the source program corresponding to the object is as shown in FIG. 9, the data analysis unit 214 acquires information about the reusable object whose object name is “abcd” from the reusable object management table T.

  Then, the data analysis unit 214 generates intermediate language data to which an instruction to refer to the reusable object corresponding to the “ID” acquired in S403 is added (S405), and then proceeds to S406 described later. Hereinafter, such an instruction is simply referred to as a “reference instruction”. On the other hand, when the object is an object that does not reuse the reusable object (NO in S402), the data analysis unit 214 generates intermediate language data of the object as usual (S404), and proceeds to S406 described later. Here, “as usual” means that intermediate language data is generated without adding a reference instruction as in S405.

  In step S406, the data analysis unit 214 determines whether intermediate language data of all objects included in the record currently being processed has been generated. If intermediate language data for all objects has not been generated (S406), the procedure of S401 to S405 is executed for the next object, and intermediate language data for all objects has been generated (YES in S406). The job analysis process for the record currently being processed is terminated and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11 (return).

  Next, FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the procedure of rasterizing processing for the second and subsequent records. Referring to FIG. 15, the RIP unit 215 first analyzes one intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit 214 (S501). Then, the RIP unit 215 determines whether or not a reusable object reference command is added to the intermediate language data (S502). If a reusable object reference instruction is added to the intermediate language data (YES in S502), the reusable object management table T is searched (S503), and the storage form of the reusable object in the RAM 212a (that is, “CacheType”). ") Is confirmed (S504).

  If the reusable object is stored in the form of bitmap data (YES in S505), that is, if the value of “CacheType” is “Bitmap”, the reusable object is stored in the reuse bitmap data storage area of the RAM 212a. Bitmap data of the reusable object is acquired (S506). Then, after the acquired bitmap data is expanded into a frame for the record currently being processed (S509), the process proceeds to S510 described later.

  If the reusable object is stored in the form of intermediate language data (NO in S505), that is, if the value of “CacheType” is “DL”, the reused intermediate language data storage area of the RAM 212a The intermediate language data of the reusable object is acquired from (S507). Then, bitmap data is generated by RIP for the acquired intermediate language data (S508), and the bitmap data is developed in the frame area for the record currently being processed (S509), and the process proceeds to S510 described later.

  On the other hand, when the reusable object reference instruction is not added to the intermediate language data (NO in S502), the RIP unit 215 generates bitmap data by RIP for the intermediate language data (S508), and the bitmap data Is expanded in the frame area for the record currently being processed (S509), the process proceeds to S510 described later.

  In step S510, the RIP unit 215 determines whether RIP for all intermediate language data generated by the data analysis unit 214 has been completed. If RIP has not been completed for all intermediate language data (NO in S510), the procedure from S501 to S509 is executed for the next intermediate language data. When RIP for all intermediate language data is completed (S510). YES), the rasterizing process for the record currently being processed is terminated and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11 (return).

  Next, effects achieved by the printer controller 21 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a command corresponding to the enlarged image object according to the present embodiment. The command of this example is described by a PS (PostScript (registered trademark)) operator, and specifies that a grayscale 5 × 5 pixel image should be drawn with a magnification of 100 times in the vertical and horizontal directions. is doing.

  FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram showing image objects before and after enlargement by the command of FIG. Here, the size of the bitmap data before image enlargement is 5 × 5 × 8 = 200 bits because one pixel corresponds to 8 bits. On the other hand, the size of the bitmap data after image enlargement is 500 × 500 × 8 = 2000000 bits because the image is enlarged 100 times in the vertical and horizontal directions. In other words, since the size of the bitmap data is increased 10,000 times as a result of image enlargement, the use of the RAM 212a can be significantly reduced by storing such enlarged image objects in the form of intermediate language data instead of bitmap data. it can. Note that. The actual bitmap data holds a lot of information other than the image object. However, since the size of the information is very small as compared with the image object, the above calculation is not particularly considered.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether each reusable object is an enlarged image object having a large size increase due to RIP, and the reusable object determined to be an enlarged image object is (bitmap). It is stored in the RAM 212a in the form of intermediate language data (not data) and reused. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the usage amount of the RAM 212a at the time of VDP job processing, and as a result, it is possible to realize the high speed of the processing.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, According to the content of a claim, it can change variously. For example, in the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not each reusable object is an enlarged image object, and the reusable object determined to be an enlarged image object is stored in the form of intermediate language data. It is preferable to determine whether the object is a reduced image object having an image reduction designation, and to store the reusable object determined to be the reduced image object in the form of bitmap data. This is because when the bitmap data is reduced to 1/100 as shown in FIG. 17, the data size becomes 1/100000, so that the memory usage can be further increased by saving the reduced image object in the form of bitmap data. This is because it can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the enlarged image object is always stored in the form of intermediate language data regardless of the contents of the VDP job. However, the memory capacity is sufficient for the data size of the enlarged image object. In this case, it is considered that the user gives priority to speeding up the process by reducing the number of RIPs over reducing the memory usage. Therefore, the user's convenience is improved by displaying on the operation panel or the like a GUI screen for changing the storage form of each reusable object according to the contents of the VDP data. FIG. 18 shows an example of such a GUI screen. In the GUI screen for “variable print setting” in FIG. 18, the user can switch the storage form of the reusable object to intermediate language data / bitmap data for each object type. Further, for the image object, by pressing the “detail setting” button, a GUI screen for “image object detailed setting” as shown in FIG. You can specify which form of data should be saved.

  The print data processing apparatus according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing the above procedure, or by executing a program describing the above procedure by the CPU. When the present invention is realized by the latter, a program for operating the print data processing apparatus may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM, or a network such as the Internet. May be provided online. Here, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and recorded on a ROM, a hard disk, or the like. Further, the program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the apparatus as one function of the print data processing apparatus.

1 PC,
2 printer,
21 Printer controller,
212a RAM,
22 Printer engine,
J VDP job,
S Image forming system.

Claims (9)

A print data processing apparatus for converting print data including a reusable object into raster format image data,
A data analysis unit that analyzes the print data and generates intermediate language data of each of the objects;
A rasterizing unit that rasterizes each of the intermediate language data generated by the data analyzing unit to generate raster format image data;
A first determination unit for determining whether each of the objects is an image object;
A second determination unit that further determines whether each of the objects determined to be an image object by the first determination unit is an enlarged image object having an image enlargement designation;
Print data including: a storage unit that holds the intermediate language data of the object generated by the data analysis unit for reusing the object determined to be an enlarged image object by the second determination unit Processing equipment.   The storage unit holds the image data of the object generated by the rasterization unit in order to reuse the object that is determined not to be an enlarged image object by the second determination unit. Item 4. The print data processing apparatus according to Item 1. Each of the objects is an image object, a graphics object, or a text object;
The storage unit further holds the intermediate language data of the object generated by the data analysis unit in order to reuse the object that is determined not to be an image object by the first determination unit. The print data processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The print data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print data is print data in a PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) format. A print data processing apparatus control program for converting print data including reusable objects into raster format image data,
Analyzing the print data and generating intermediate language data for each of the objects (A);
A procedure (B) for rasterizing each of the intermediate language data generated in the procedure (A) to generate raster format image data;
A step (C) of determining whether each said object is an image object;
A step (D) of further determining whether each of the objects determined to be image objects in the step (C) is a magnified image object having an image magnification designation;
Procedure (E) for storing the intermediate language data of the object generated in the procedure (A) in a storage device for reuse of the object determined to be an enlarged image object in the procedure (D) And a control program for causing the print data device to execute the above.   Procedure (F) for further storing the image data of the object generated in the procedure (B) in the storage device for reuse of the object determined not to be an enlarged image object in the procedure (D) The control program according to claim 5, further causing the print data processing apparatus to execute. The object is an image object, a graphics object, or a text object,
Procedure (G) for further storing the intermediate language data of the object generated in the procedure (A) in the storage device in order to reuse the object determined not to be an image object in the procedure (C) The control program according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the print data processing apparatus is further executed.   The control program according to claim 5, wherein the print data is print data in a PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) format.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the control program according to any one of claims 5 to 8 is recorded.