JP2012020484A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress deterioration of appearance of cut printed matters regardless of a variation in cut positions of a plurality of sheets of paper when cutting the plurality of sheets of paper in an image forming device.SOLUTION: A print output unit 15 prints a first print image on the paper, and prints a second print image including a cut-off mark indicating a cut-off position of the paper on the paper. A print control unit 16 controls the print output unit 15 to print one second print image for print of a plurality of first print images. Deterioration of appearance of the printed matters can be suppressed by cutting them in a state that after the first print image has been printed on the plurality of sheets of paper, the paper with the second print image printed is superposed on them regardless of the variation in cut positions of the sheets of paper.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that prints an image on paper.

  In an image forming apparatus (printing apparatus), printing may be performed on a printing paper having a size different from the size of a printed material originally desired. For example, when there is only a printing paper having a size larger than the required paper in the paper feed tray, printing may be performed on the printing paper having the larger size. Also, for the purpose of saving printing costs, for example, when you want 100 A4 size printed matter, print data for two A4 sizes on 50 A3 sheets, and divide the A3 sheets into A4 size after printing (Cutting) to obtain 100 A4 size printed matter is also performed.

  When printing on printing paper of a size different from the size of the printed material that you want to obtain, in order to obtain the printed material of the paper size that you want to obtain, the mark on the paper indicates the cutting position, such as the cutting line May be printed. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus that prints a cut line. In Cited Document 1, when print data is received from the host device, the image forming apparatus (printer) compares the size of the paper set in the paper feed tray with the paper size specified by the print data. When the size of the paper in the paper feed tray is larger than the size of the paper specified in the printer data, the printer prints the print data on the paper in the paper tray and prints the paper in the paper size specified by the print data. Print a cut line for processing.

JP 2002-169423 A

  Here, in Patent Document 1, for example, when the number of printed sheets is 100, cut lines are printed on all 100 sheets. When cutting 100 sheets using a cutting machine or the like, the user aligns the cutting position with the position of the cut line printed on the uppermost sheet, and cuts the 100 sheets at the cutting position. However, it is actually difficult to cut all 100 sheets at the same cutting position, and the cutting positions vary among sheets depending on the accuracy of sheet alignment and the performance of the cutting machine. For example, out of 100 sheets of stacked paper, the paper other than the paper existing on the upper side gradually shifts the cutting position from the position of the cut line, and the cut line remains on the cut paper and the appearance of the printed matter deteriorates. Occurs.

  In view of the above, the present invention provides an appearance of a cut printed matter even when the cutting position varies between the plurality of sheets when the plurality of sheets are cut after printing the print data on the plurality of sheets. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the decrease in the image quality.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print output unit that prints a first print image and a second print image including a cut mark indicating a cut position of the paper on a paper, and a plurality of first print images. An image forming apparatus comprising: a print control unit that controls the print output unit so as to print one second print image in response to printing of the print image.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention further includes a cutting number setting unit for setting a cutting number, and the print control unit prints the first print image on the paper for the cutting number set by the cutting number setting unit. A configuration in which the print output unit prints the second print image can be employed.

  The print output unit may print the first print image and the second print image on the same side surface of the paper. Alternatively, the print output unit may print the second print image on a side of the paper that is different from the side on which the first print image is printed.

  The print control unit may control the print output unit so that the cut mark is printed on an upper surface of a sheet discharged to a sheet discharge tray.

  The print output unit includes a first print unit for printing the first print image and a second print unit for printing the cut mark, and when printing the first print image, Printing is performed using only the first printing part of the first and second printing parts, and at least the second printing part of the first and second printing parts is used when printing the second print image. It can be set as the structure which prints using.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a second print image including a cut mark is printed on a sheet of paper for a plurality of first print images. Therefore, a sheet of paper on which the second print image including the cut mark is printed is placed on the paper on which the plurality of first print images are printed, and a plurality of sheets are matched to the cut mark. If you cut together, there will be no poor-looking printed material that deviates from the cut mark. That is, according to the present invention, after printing the print data on a plurality of sheets, when a plurality of sheets are cut together, even if the cutting position varies between the sheets, the deterioration of the appearance of the printed matter is suppressed. can do.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus. The figure which shows the specific example of an original document image. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the specific example of a 1st and 2nd print image, respectively. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a specific configuration of a print output unit. The figure which shows the arrangement | sequence order of the printed paper. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the print output part in the case of duplex printing. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the printing output part in case there is one printing drum.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a data input unit 11, a cut mark setting unit 12, a print number setting unit 13, a cutting number setting unit 14, a print output unit 15, a print control unit 16, and a print setting unit 17. The data input unit 11 inputs print data. The print data is print data that is assumed to be printed on a certain size of paper. Here, the paper size designated by the print data is referred to as the original document paper size. A print image indicated by the contents of the print data is referred to as an original document image.

  The print output unit 15 prints a print image based on the print data. The print output unit 15 prints a print image on one side of a sheet. The print output unit 15 discharges the sheet so that the printing surface faces upward (face-up), for example, when the sheet printed on the sheet discharge table is discharged. The size of the paper on which the print output unit 15 performs printing is referred to as the output paper size. The output paper size is larger than the original document paper size. For example, the output paper size can be twice as long as the original original paper size. When the print data content is reduced and printed at a predetermined magnification, the output paper size may be larger than the paper size obtained by reducing the original document paper size at a predetermined magnification.

  The print output unit 15 prints the first print image on a sheet. The first print image is an image that is assumed to be cut into a desired size after printing. For example, when the print paper size is twice the original document paper size, the print output unit 15 prints an image in which two original document images are arranged on the paper as a first print image. In addition to printing the first print image, the print output unit 15 prints a second print image including a cut mark used as a mark when cutting the paper on the paper. This second printed image may have only a cut mark.

  The print control unit 16 controls printing performed by the print output unit 15. The print control unit 16 controls the print output unit 15 to print one second print image in response to printing of a plurality of first print images. When the second print image is obtained by adding a mark to the content of the first print image, the print control unit 16 includes a plurality of sheets including the first print image included in the second print image. One sheet of the second print image may be printed on the first print image. Specifically, one image (second print image) obtained by adding a cut mark to the first print image may be printed on one first print image that does not include the cut mark. When the second print image has only the cut mark, the print output unit 15 is controlled so that one second print image is printed in response to printing of the plurality of first print images.

  The cut mark setting unit 12 sets the position and shape of the cut mark to be printed on the printing paper. A cut line can be used for the cut mark. However, the cut mark is not limited to the cut line as long as it becomes a mark when cutting the paper. For example, triangular figures printed on both ends of the paper may be used as the cut marks. The position of the cut line is determined according to the position and position of the original document image on the printing paper in the first print image.

  The print number setting unit 13 sets the number of prints (the number of print copies) of an image including the first print image. The cutting number setting unit 14 sets a cutting number that is a value that determines the frequency of printing the second print image including the cut line. The number of cuts specifies, for example, whether to print one second print image including a cut line on a sheet on which a first print image not including a cut line is not printed. The print control unit 16 causes the print output unit 15 to print one second print image on a sheet each time the print output unit 15 prints the first print image on the number of sheets to be cut.

  The print control unit 16 includes a print counter 18 and a cutting counter 19. The print control unit 16 causes the print output unit 15 to print the first print image, and counts up the print counter 18 and the cutting counter 19. When the value of the cutting counter 19 reaches the cutting number set by the cutting number setting unit 14, the print control unit 16 causes the print output unit 15 to print the second print image including the cut line. After printing the second print image, the print control unit 16 resets the cutting counter 19 and causes the print output unit 15 to print the first print image. The print control unit 16 repeats such an operation until the value of the print counter 18 reaches the number of prints set by the print number setting unit 13.

  The print setting unit 17 sets whether or not cut mark printing is possible. The print control unit 16 prints one second print image on a sheet for printing a plurality of first print images when the print setting unit 17 sets to perform cut mark printing (setting ON). Let On the other hand, when the print setting unit 17 sets that the cut mark printing is not performed (setting OFF), the print control unit 16 suppresses printing of the second print image. That is, only the first print image is printed on the print output unit 15 and the second print image is not printed. Alternatively, when the setting is OFF, a print image in which a cut line is added to all sheets may be printed.

  FIG. 2 shows an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus. It is assumed that the print setting unit 17 is set to perform cut mark printing. The data input unit 11 inputs print data (step S1). The data input unit 11 inputs print data from, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) serving as a host. Alternatively, the data input unit 11 may input an image read by a scanner device (not shown) as print data.

  The print number setting unit 13 notifies the print control unit 16 of the print number (step S2). The cutting number setting unit 14 notifies the printing control unit 16 of the cutting number (step S3). The cut mark setting unit 12 sets a cut line position and the like for the print output unit 15. The cut mark setting unit 12 may automatically set the position and shape of the cut line from the output paper size and the original document paper size specified by the print data, for example. Further, the number of printed sheets, the number of cut sheets, the position of the cut line, and the like may be input together with the print data from a PC or the like.

  The print controller 16 initializes the print counter 18 and the cutting counter 19 to 0 (step S4). The print controller 16 determines whether or not the value of the print counter 18 has reached the set number of prints (step S5). If the print control unit 16 determines that the count value has not reached the number of prints, the print control unit 16 instructs the print output unit 15 to print the first print image. The print output unit 15 prints the first print image on a sheet (step S6). Thereafter, the print control unit 16 counts up the print counter 18 and the cutting counter 19 (step S7).

  The print controller 16 determines whether or not the value of the cutting counter 19 has reached the number of sheets to be cut (step S8). If the print control unit 16 determines that the count value has not reached the number of cut sheets, the process returns to step S5. The print control unit 16 determines whether or not the number of printed sheets has been reached in the returned step S5. If the print control unit 16 determines that the number of prints has not been reached, the print control unit 16 instructs the print output unit 15 to print the first print image, and the print output unit 15 prints the first print image in step S6. The print output unit 15 repeatedly executes step S6 until the value of the cutting counter 19 reaches the number of cut sheets, and prints the first print image on a plurality of sheets.

  If the print control unit 16 determines in step S8 that the count value has reached the number of cut sheets, the print control unit 16 instructs the print output unit 15 to print the second print image. The print output unit 15 prints one second print image on a sheet (step S9). At this time, if the second print image includes the first print image, for example, if the second print image is obtained by adding a cut line to the first print image, the print control unit 16 performs the second operation. As the print image is printed, the print counter 18 is counted up. On the other hand, when the second print image does not include the first print image, the print counter 18 is not counted up.

  The print control unit 16 determines that the number of cut sheets has been reached in step S8 when the number of sheets printed by the print output unit 15 printing the second print image on the sheet matches the number of cut sheets. May be. For example, when the number of cut sheets is 10, it may be determined that the number of printed sheets has reached the number of cut sheets after nine first print images are printed, and one second print image may be printed.

  When the second print image is printed, the print control unit 16 resets the cutting counter 19 to 0 (step S10). After resetting the cutting counter 19, the print control unit 16 returns to step S5 to determine whether or not the count value of the print counter 18 has reached the number of printed sheets. If it is determined in step S5 that the count value has not reached the number of prints, the print control unit 16 instructs the print output unit 15 to print the first print image. In step S6, the print output unit 15 prints the first print image on paper. If the print control unit 16 determines that the number of printed sheets has been reached in step S5, the process ends. In this case, for example, when the printing is finished before the cutting counter 19 reaches the number of sheets to be cut, a cutting line may be printed on the last page. Alternatively, after printing, a sheet on which only the cut line is printed may be output. After the printing is finished, the paper is cut according to the cut line, thereby obtaining a printed matter in which the original document image is printed on the original document sheet size.

  FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the original document image. The size of the paper 31 (original document paper size) is assumed to be A4, for example. Finally, suppose that it is desired to obtain a printed matter in which one original document image 32 is printed on a sheet 31 of the original document sheet size. FIGS. 4A and 4B show specific examples of the first and second print images, respectively. The size of the paper 41 (output paper size) is assumed to be A3, for example. As shown in FIG. 4A, the first print image 42 is an image in which two original document images 32 of FIG. 3 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 4B, the second print image 43 is an image obtained by adding a cut line 44 to the first print image 42.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific configuration of the print output unit 15. Here, stencil printing is used as the printing method. The print output unit 15 includes a plate making unit 51, a first printing drum 52, and a second printing drum 53. The plate making unit 51 makes a plate (first plate) 54 corresponding to a first print image including one or more original document images. Further, the plate making unit 51 makes a plate (second plate) 55 corresponding to the print image of the cut line portion. The first plate 54 is set on the first printing drum 52. The second plate 55 is set on the second printing drum 53.

  The first printing drum 52 corresponds to a first printing unit for printing a first print image. The second printing drum 53 corresponds to a second printing unit for printing a cut mark. The print output unit 15 performs printing using only the first printing drum 52 of the first printing drum 52 and the second printing drum 53 when printing the first print image. When the first printing drum 52 performs printing on the sheet using the first plate 54, the first print image 42 shown in FIG. 4A is printed on the sheet.

  On the other hand, the print output unit 15 performs printing using at least the second printing drum 53 when the second print image is printed. When the second printing drum 53 performs printing on the sheet using the second plate 55, at least a cut mark is printed on the sheet. When both the first printing drum 52 and the second printing drum 53 are used at the time of printing the second print image, the first printing drum 52 prints on the paper using the first plate 54. At the same time, the second printing drum 53 performs printing on the same sheet using the second plate 55, whereby the second print image 43 shown in FIG. 4B is printed on the sheet.

  FIG. 6 shows the arrangement order of the printed sheets. When discharging the paper printed face up, the print control unit 16 prints the first print image 42 (FIG. 4A) on the paper until the set number of cut sheets is reached. When the number of printed sheets reaches the number of cut sheets, the print control unit 16 causes the second printed image 43 (FIG. 4B) to be printed on one sheet of paper. By repeating such printing up to the number of printed sheets, as shown in FIG. 6, a bundle of print sheets on which the second print images 43 are arranged every cut sheet is completed.

  The user cuts the printing paper with a cutting machine or the like. At that time, the user can take out the number of sheets to be cut from the bundle of printed sheets and set it on the cutting machine. In that case, since the second print image 43 is printed on the uppermost sheet of the number of sheets to be cut out, the user can easily adjust the cutting position to the position of the cut line 44. When the user cuts the paper into two at the position of the cut line 44, a printed matter in the state shown in FIG. 3 can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the print control unit 16 causes the second print image to be printed on one sheet of paper in response to printing of a plurality of first print images. In this way, when cutting a plurality of print sheets together, it is possible to cut one sheet on which a cut mark is printed and a sheet not including the cut mark in an overlapping manner. When cutting marks are printed on all sheets when cutting the printing paper, the cutting marks remain on the paper when the cutting position is deviated from the intended position, and the appearance of the cut printed material is deteriorated. In the present embodiment, even when the cutting position of some sheets deviates from the intended cutting position at the time of cutting, no cut mark is left on the sheet. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the appearance of the cut printed material as compared with the case where the cut mark is printed on all the printing papers.

  The above embodiment has been described using an example in which the paper printed by the print output unit 15 is discharged upward. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the paper printed by the print output unit 15 is discharged downward. (Face down). In this case, instead of printing the second print image after printing the plurality of first print images, the first print of the plurality of sheets is performed after printing the second print image on a sheet of paper. An image may be printed. For example, when the number of cut sheets is 10, the second print image is printed on the first sheet, and then the first print image is printed on the 9th sheet. The second print image is printed every time the number of cut sheets is reached. May be printed. At the time of cutting, the printed paper is turned over and set in a cutting machine or the like, so that the uppermost paper can be used as the paper on which the second print image is printed.

  In the above embodiment, the original document image and the cut mark are described as being printed on the same surface of the paper. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cut mark is opposite to the surface on which the original document image is printed. It is also possible to print on the surface. Further, the print control unit 16 may control the print output unit 15 so that the cut line is printed on the upper surface of the paper discharged to the paper discharge table. For example, when the paper on which the first print image is printed is discharged downward, the print control unit 16 prints the first print image on the front surface (downward surface) for each number of sheets to be cut, and the back surface thereof. The print output unit 15 may be controlled so that a cut line is printed on the (upward surface). When a cut line is printed on the upper surface of the discharged paper, it is not necessary to turn the paper over when cutting.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of a print output unit in the case of duplex printing. The print output unit 15a includes a switchback unit 71 in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. The switchback unit 71 is provided between the first printing drum 52 and the second printing drum 53 and switches back the paper. At the time of printing the first print image, the first print image may be printed on one side of the paper using the first print drum 52 and output without passing through the switchback unit 71. At the time of printing the second print image, the paper on which the first print image is printed using the first print drum 52 is put into the switchback unit 71, and the second side is reversed by the switchback unit 71 to reverse the second print image. Supply to the printing drum 53. Thereafter, a cut mark can be printed on the back side of the paper using the second printing drum 53.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration in the case of having two printing drums has been described with reference to FIG. 5, but when the print output unit 15 performs printing by the stencil printing method, two printing drums are not necessarily required. . For example, the printing output unit 15 has one printing drum, and the printing drum (common drum) includes a printing plate portion corresponding to the first plate 54 and a printing plate portion corresponding to the second plate 55. A plate may be set.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the print output unit when there is one print drum. The print output unit 15b has a common drum 81 common to the first printing unit and the second printing unit. For example, a plate 83 having a size corresponding to two sheets of paper is set on the common drum 81. The plate 83 has a first plate portion 84 for printing a first print image and a second plate portion 85 for printing a cut mark. The first plate portion 84 corresponds to the first plate 54 (FIG. 5), and the second plate portion 85 corresponds to the second plate 55.

  When printing the first print image, the first print image may be printed on the paper using the first plate portion 84 of the common drum 81 and output without passing through the switchback unit 82. At the time of printing the second print image, the paper on which the first print image is printed using the first plate portion 84 of the common drum 81 is put into the switchback unit 82, and the front and back of the paper are reversed by the switchback unit 71. . Thereafter, a cut mark can be printed on the back side of the sheet using the second plate portion 85 of the common drum 81. In this configuration, it is also possible to print the first print image on the paper with the first plate portion 84 on the next paper while printing the cut mark on the paper with the second plate portion 85. Note that the switchback unit 82 may be omitted when duplex printing is not performed.

  In the above embodiment, the cutting number setting unit 14 is provided, and the second print image is printed for each cutting number. However, the second printing image may not be printed every predetermined number. For example, when the number of copies to be printed is set to 30, 40, 35, etc., the second print image may be printed for each number of copies. Specifically, one of the 30 sheets is printed with a cut mark, and one of the 40 sheets is printed with a cut mark. A cut mark may be added to one sheet for printing.

  When the print output unit 15 prints a plurality of original document images on one print sheet, the plurality of original document images printed on the same print sheet do not need to be the same image. For example, two pages of data may be printed on one print sheet by using an N-up function that prints a plurality of sheets with a reduced size on one sheet. For example, when there are 100 print pages in the original document size, the print output unit 15 may print the print data for two pages on each of a total of 50 print sheets. In that case, the print control unit 16 may control the print output unit 15 so that the cut mark is printed on a part of the plurality of sheets.

  The image forming apparatus does not need to be integrated with the printing apparatus, and may be configured as software that operates on a PC. In that case, the image forming apparatus (program) may output print data to the printing apparatus so that the printing apparatus prints both the first print image and the second print image. Alternatively, the program may directly control the printing apparatus by transmitting a control command or the like to the printing apparatus.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiment, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes are made to the configuration of the above embodiment. What has been done is also included in the scope of the present invention.

10: Image forming apparatus 11: Data input unit 12: Cut mark setting unit 13: Print number setting unit 14: Cutting number setting unit 15: Print output unit 16: Print control unit 17: Print setting unit 18: Print counter 19: Cutting Counter 31: paper (original document paper)
32: Original document image 41: Paper (output paper)
42, 43: Print image 44: Cut line 51: Plate making sections 52, 53, 81: Printing drums 54, 55, 83: Plate 71, 82: Switchback section

Claims (6)

A print output unit for printing a first print image and a second print image including a cut mark indicating a cut position of the paper on the paper;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a print control unit that controls the print output unit so as to print one second print image for printing a plurality of first print images. A cutting number setting unit for setting the number of cuttings;
The print control unit causes the print output unit to print the second print image every time the first print image is printed on the paper for the cutting number set by the cutting number setting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print output unit prints the first print image and the second print image on a surface on the same side of a sheet. .   The said print output part prints the said 2nd print image on the surface different from the surface which prints the said 1st print image of paper, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image forming apparatus.   5. The print control unit according to claim 1, wherein the print control unit controls the print output unit so that the cut mark is printed on an upper surface of a sheet to be discharged to a sheet discharge tray. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   The print output unit includes a first print unit for printing the first print image, and a second print unit for printing the cut mark, and when the first print image is printed, Printing is performed using only the first printing part of the first and second printing parts, and at least the second printing part of the first and second printing parts is used when printing the second print image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed using the image forming apparatus.

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