JP2012040816A - Image forming apparatus, method and program of controlling image formation, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clarify a charged amount depending on saving of printing materials.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus Gk counts up a count value corresponding to a print mode of a print job, totals the counted count values in the respective print modes to calculate a total count value per print mode, calculates a total charge amount by adding the charged amount in each print mode from the total count value per print mode, and a table of charges in which the respective print modes, unit prices of charges and unit prices of toner saving charges in toner save modes in the respective print modes are registered, when the toner save mode is selected, obtains an amount charged for toner saving in each toner save mode from the count value for the toner save mode in each print mode and the table of charges and adds the amount charged for each toner saving to calculate a total amount charged for toner saving, subtracts the total amount charged for toner saving from the total charge amount to calculate a total charge amount, and displays the total charge amount on an operation display unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium, and in particular, a charge amount depending on whether or not to save a printing material used for printing for each page is clarified. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium.

  In an image forming apparatus, there is a print charging system in which charging according to the number of printed sheets (number of printed pages) is performed by a charging machine directly connected to the image processing apparatus or a charging machine via a network.

  Such a conventional print billing system performs billing by setting a billing fee per printed sheet (one page of printing) according to printing conditions (paper size, color / monochrome, aggregation, duplex, etc.). .

  In recent years, there has been a demand for resource saving, and even in a print billing system, a toner save mode for printing with reduced toner consumption is provided, and a charge fee for printing in the toner save mode is more than a charge fee for normal printing. Even cheaper settings have been made. Also, the toner save mode is divided into a plurality of stages according to the amount of toner save, and it is proposed to print at the toner save stage according to the user's selection and charge according to the toner save stage. (See Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  However, in the prior art described in the above publication, the toner usage amount and the charge system are not clearly shown, and it is not known how much the charge amount will change if the toner save mode is selected. There was a problem of being bad. For example, in order to print the number of sheets you want to print, normal printing requires a necessary charge fee, and it is not clear how much the charge fee can be reduced if you change to toner save, and the usability is bad There was a problem. Specifically, when color printing is 50 yen for normal printing, if 200 yen is input and an attempt is made to print a 6-page file, the charging fee is 300 yen, so the input charge is insufficient. In this case, in the prior art, when changing to toner save printing, a charge according to the amount of toner used is not presented, so the user is not sure whether or not 6 pages can be printed for 200 yen. When there are multiple stages of printing, it is unclear which stage can be printed with the input amount, and it is not known whether printing can be performed with toner save. There was a problem.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium that clarify a charging fee for printing material save printing according to set printing conditions before starting printing. It is said.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention determines the print mode for each page of the print object, counts up the count value corresponding to the print mode, and counts the count value for each print mode. To calculate the total count value for each print mode, the total count value for each print mode, the print mode, the unit price required for printing per page in the print mode, and the print mode In addition to the charge table in which the print material save charge unit price when applying the print material save mode for printing to reduce the print material is applied, the charge amount in each print mode is added to the subtotal charge amount When the application of the printing material saving mode is selected, the printing material saving mode is counted from the printing material saving mode count value and the charge table for each printing mode. The printing material save charge amount is calculated by adding the respective printing material save charge amounts to calculate the print material save charge amount, and subtracting the print material save charge amount from the subtotal charge amount. A total charge amount is calculated, and the subtotal charge amount and the total charge amount or the total charge amount is notified by a predetermined notification means.

  The present invention also compares the input remaining payment amount with the total charge amount to determine whether or not all the print objects can be printed in a specified print mode, and notifies the determination result of the notification. Notification may be made to the means.

  Further, according to the present invention, when all the print objects cannot be printed in the designated print mode within the remaining charge, the automatic transition to the printing material save mode is set, and within the remaining charge, When all the print objects cannot be printed in the specified print mode, the total charge amount when the print material save mode is shifted to is calculated, and the total when the print material save mode is shifted is calculated. The billing amount and the remaining charge may be compared to determine whether or not all the print objects can be printed, and the determination result may be notified to the notification unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to clarify the charging fee for printing material save printing according to the set printing conditions before starting printing, and to clarify the number of printable sheets based on the printing conditions for the number of print targets by the input fee.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. The figure which shows an example of the accounting counter table according to print setting. 6 is a flowchart showing a count process of a toner consumption counter based on print settings. 6 is a flowchart showing print control processing. The figure which shows an example of the driver screen on a host computer. The figure which shows an example of the toner save transfer setting screen within the remaining number. 10 is a flowchart showing a remaining number of toner save process. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a toner density-unit table. The figure which shows an example of a remaining frequency addition confirmation screen. 9 is a flowchart showing a remaining number of toner save process based on manual toner density setting. 7 is a flowchart showing a toner save process within the remaining number with automatic toner density setting. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing subsequent to FIG. The figure which shows an example of a weighting coefficient table. The figure which shows the example of a counter value when printing the image data which makes 10 pages 1 copy. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of weighting calculation in a toner save mode. The figure which shows an example of the counter value calculated using the weighting coefficient. The figure which applied all the coefficients of the weighting table of FIG. 14 to the counter value of FIG. The figure which shows an example of the weighting coefficient table corresponding to image data classification.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, since the Example described below is a suitable Example of this invention, various technically preferable restrictions are attached | subjected, However, The range of this invention is unduly limited by the following description. However, not all the configurations described in the present embodiment are essential constituent elements of the present invention.

  1 to 19 are diagrams showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus and an image forming control according to the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming system 1 to which an embodiment of a method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium are applied.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming system 1 is connected to a host computer Pc, which is a host apparatus, and an image forming apparatus Gk via a network NW such as the Internet. In FIG. 1, the host computer Pc and the image forming apparatus Gk are respectively connected to each other. Although one unit is shown, a plurality of units may be connected to each other.

  The host computer Pc displays a print setting screen on the display when a print request is made from an installed application for image data edited or created by the host computer Pc or acquired from another device. Necessary print settings are made on the screen, and an instruction is given to execute printing with the image forming apparatus Gk as a printing destination. When there is a print instruction, the host computer Pc generates a print job including print data and print settings by an installed printer driver, and transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus Gk via the network NW.

  In the image forming apparatus Gk, the controller 10 is configured as a block as shown in FIG. 2, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a memory 12, a storage unit 13, a charging count unit 14, an engine I / F 15, and print control. A unit 16, a drawing processing unit 17, a counter calculation processing unit 18, and the like, and the respective units are connected by a bus 19. Although not shown, the image forming apparatus Gk includes a printer engine that performs print processing, an operation display unit that includes keys for inputting various commands for displaying various information.

  The memory 12 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like, is used as a work memory for the CPU 11, and develops drawing data converted from print data into a printable data format.

  The storage unit 13 is configured by a non-volatile memory, and stores a program such as a basic program of the image forming apparatus Gk, an image formation control program for executing an image formation control method with charge control processing of the present invention, and necessary data. Yes.

  The CPU 11 uses the memory 12 as a work memory based on a program in the storage unit 13 to control each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 to execute basic processing as the image forming apparatus 1 and to charge the present invention. An image formation control method involving control processing is executed.

  That is, the image forming apparatus Gk includes ROM, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), EPROM, flash memory, flexible disk, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), CD-RW (Compact Disc Rewritable), DVD. An image formation control program for executing the image formation control method of the present invention recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD (Secure Digital) card, or an MO (Magneto-Optical Disc) is read. Thus, the image forming apparatus Gk is constructed as an image forming apparatus Gk that executes an image forming control method with charge control described later. This image formation control program is a computer-executable program written in a legacy programming language such as assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language, or the like, and is stored in the recording medium. And can be distributed.

  A counter calculation processing unit (counting means, total billing amount calculating means) 18 performs billing as shown in FIG. 3 as a billing counter table in advance according to a print setting mode (color and monochrome) and a toner save setting mode (on / off). The counter setting value is stored, and the counter value is set to “0” or “+1” according to the print setting. For example, when the setting on the host computer Pc side is the color mode, the toner save mode is ON, and color data, the counter calculation processing unit 18 of the image forming apparatus Gk increments the color counter by “+1”, and Eco The (eco) counter is incremented by “+1”. When the setting on the host computer Pc side is the color mode, the toner save mode is OFF, and the color data, the counter calculation processing unit 18 of the image forming apparatus Gk counts up the color counter by “+1”. When the setting on the host computer Pc side is the color mode, the toner save mode is ON, and monochrome data, the counter calculation processing unit 18 of the image forming apparatus Gk sets the monochrome counter to “+1” on the assumption that the data is monochrome. Count up. The counter calculation processing unit 18 performs count-up processing of the color counter, the monochrome counter, and the eco-counter, and performs total calculation processing of the counter values of each counter. The counter calculation processing unit 18 performs addition processing for the counter values of the color counter and the monochrome counter in the total calculation processing of the counter values, but performs subtraction processing for the counter values of the eco counter.

  The billing count unit (total billing amount calculation means) 14 calculates a billing fee based on the counter value of the counter calculation processing unit 18 and compares the remaining number with the remaining number to determine whether printing is possible. .

  A printer engine (not shown) is connected to the engine I / F 15, and exchanges control signals and video signals from the CPU 11 to the printer engine and status signals from the printer engine to the CPU 11.

  The printer engine performs a printing process by a predetermined printing method, for example, an electrophotographic method or an ink ejection method, based on the drawing data and the control signal received from the CPU 11 via the engine I / F 15. In the following description, it is assumed that the printer engine performs print processing with an electrophotographic printer engine. When printing with the electrophotographic method, the printer engine includes components necessary for recording and outputting print data on paper with the electrophotographic method, such as a photoconductor, an optical writing unit, a developing unit, a charging unit, and a cleaning unit. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive member by operating the optical writing unit according to the drawing data and the control signal, and toner is supplied to the photosensitive member by the developing unit and developed to form a toner image. . The printer engine feeds the sheet from the sheet feeding unit between the photosensitive member and the transfer unit, transfers the toner image on the photosensitive member to the sheet, and conveys the sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred to the fixing unit. Then, the image is formed by fixing the toner image on the paper by heating and pressurizing in the fixing unit.

  The drawing processing unit 17 interprets PJL (printer job control language) and PDL (printer description language) of the print data of the print job sent from the host computer Pc, and acquires the print mode (print condition) of the print job. Then, drawing data is generated from the print data, and is developed in the memory 12 for each page.

  The print control unit 16 sends the drawing data on the memory 12 subjected to image processing by the drawing processing unit 17 to the printer engine via the engine I / F 15.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The image forming system 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment clarifies a charging fee for toner save printing in the set print mode before starting printing.

  That is, in the image forming apparatus Gk, when a print job is sent from the host computer Pc via the network, the CPU 11 interprets the print job and acquires the print mode (print condition). The drawing processing unit 17 generates drawing data from the print data and develops the drawing data in the memory 12, and the print control unit 16 sends the drawing data in the memory 12 to the engine via the engine I / F 15, and uses the engine to form paper. Print out.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus Gk, the counter calculation processing unit 18 sets the print setting of the print job (color / monochrome mode, toner save ON / OFF, etc.) and the data type of whether the print data is color data or monochrome data. As shown in FIG. 4, the color counter, the monochrome counter, and the eco-counter are incremented based on these print settings and print data types.

  That is, the counter calculation processing unit 18 determines whether the print data is color image data or monochrome (step S101). If the print data is color, the counter calculation processing unit 18 determines whether the toner save mode for performing toner save is set (step S101). S102).

  When NO in step S102, that is, when the toner save mode is not set, the counter calculation processing unit 18 counts up the color counter as shown in the charging counter table shown in FIG. 3, for example, and ends the processing. (Step S103).

  If YES in step S102, that is, in the toner save mode, the counter calculation processing unit 18 counts up the eco counter (step S104), further counts up the color counter and ends the process. (Step S105).

  If the print data is monochrome in step S101, the counter calculation processing unit 18 checks whether or not the toner save mode is set (step S106). If NO, that is, if the print data is not the toner save mode, the counter is incremented. The process ends (step S107). If YES in step S106, that is, in the toner save mode, the monochrome counter is incremented and the process ends (step S108). That is, when the image data is monochrome, even in the toner save mode, the monochrome counter is counted up to charge for monochrome.

  Then, in counting up the counter, the counter calculation processing unit 18 counts up the eco counter. When calculating the count total value of the counter, the count value of the eco counter is changed to the count value of another counter. A subtraction process is performed on it.

  In the image forming apparatus Gk, the counter calculation processing unit 18 calculates the charge amount from the total count value of the calculated count values of the counters, and the charge count unit 14 calculates the charge amount calculated by the counter calculation processing unit 18. And whether or not printing is possible from the remaining fee (hereinafter referred to as the remaining number) obtained by subtracting the amount already used in the printing process from the deposit (payment) already entered by cash or credit card, etc. A print control process is executed to control printing by making a determination in advance.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the counter calculation processing unit 18 calculates a charge amount (step S201), the charge count unit 14 checks the remaining number (step S202), and compares the charge amount and the remaining number. (Step S203).

  If the remaining count is equal to or greater than the charge amount in step S203, the charge count unit 14 determines that printing is possible, and the print control unit 16 and the CPU 11 can print. Is transferred to the printing process (step S204). If the remaining frequency is smaller than the charged amount in step S203, it is determined that printing is not possible, and printing is performed to the print control unit 16 and the CPU 11. Is notified, and the printing process is stopped (step S205).

  In the image forming apparatus Gk, when the charge amount does not fall within the remaining number, whether to automatically shift to the toner save mode, and when shifting to the toner save mode, a plurality of toner save modes are provided. It is possible to selectively perform automatic density setting for automatically performing which level of which to select and manual density setting.

  The toner save mode automatic transition setting may be performed in the host computer Pc, or may be performed in the image forming apparatus Gk. When the host computer Pc performs the toner save automatic transition setting, when the printer driver displays the print setting screen on the display, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the toner save within the remaining frequency is displayed on the print setting screen Dg. Display the transition setting field and manually select and set the density level in the toner save transition setting field within the remaining frequency or automatically select the density level according to the charge amount and the remaining frequency of each density level Select one of the automatic selections. The host computer Pc transmits the toner save automatic transition setting contents to the image forming apparatus Gk, and the image forming apparatus Gk acquires the selection setting by the CPU (setting unit) 11 and the toner saver as described later. Toner save automatic setting processing according to the setting contents of the automatic save transfer setting is performed. Further, when the toner save automatic transition setting is performed by the image forming apparatus Gk, the CPU 11 displays the remaining number of toner save transition setting screen G1 as shown in FIG. In the remaining number-of-remaining toner save transition setting screen G1, which of the density levels is manually selected and set, or, among each density level, which is automatically selected according to the charge amount and the remaining number is automatically selected. Select. The CPU 11 notifies the charge count unit 14 of the selection setting result on the remaining frequency toner save transition setting screen G1.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the billing count unit 14 performs the remaining number of toner save process. That is, when the counter calculation processing unit 18 calculates the charge amount (step S301), the charge count unit 14 confirms the remaining frequency (step S302), and compares the charge amount with the remaining frequency (step S303).

  If the remaining count is equal to or greater than the charge amount in step S303, the charge count unit 14 determines that printing is possible, and prints to the print control unit 16 and the CPU 11 are possible. Is transferred to the printing process (step S304).

  If the remaining count is less than the billing amount in step S303, the billing count unit 14 confirms the toner save shift setting within the remaining count (step S305), and the toner save shift setting within the remaining count is set within the remaining count toner save. If it is set to non-shift to, it is determined that printing is not possible, the printing control unit 16 and the CPU 11 are notified that printing is impossible, and the printing process is stopped.

  In step S305, if the shift to the remaining number of toner saves is set and automatic density calculation is selected, the charging count unit 14 first checks whether printing is possible at the lowest density (that is, the lowest charge). If the answer is YES, that is, if printing is possible at the minimum density, toner density / charge amount recalculation processing is performed to calculate the toner density and charge amount so that the remaining frequency becomes the charge amount (step S306). S307).

  The charge count unit 14 performs toner save processing based on the recalculated toner density and charge amount (step S308), and causes printing to be performed according to the toner concentration of the toner save process result (step S304).

  In the toner concentration / billing amount recalculation process, the billing counting unit 14 uses, for example, a toner whose remaining frequency becomes the billing amount based on a toner concentration-unit price table (charge table) Tb1 as shown in FIG. Calculate the amount charged for concentration. That is, the billing count unit 14 uses, for example, a normal color printing density (100%) and a color printing fee (for example, 50 yen per sheet) as a reference, and the minimum toner necessary for color printing. Assuming that the amount is 20%, the minimum basic charge is 10 yen equivalent to monochrome printing, the toner save rate and the charge are in a proportional relationship as shown in the toner density-unit price table Tb1 in FIG. Calculate the toner density and the charge amount to be the charge amount.

  For example, in FIG. 9, Cmin (minimum charge for color printing) is 10 yen, Cnormal (normal charge for color printing) is 50 yen, Dmin (minimum density) is 20%, and Dnormal (normal density) is 100%. In this case, the relationship between the charge C and the density D is such that the proportional count K is 0.5 and C = 0.5D, and when printing at 30 yen per sheet (C = 30), the density is 60% (D = 30 / 0.5 = 60%).

  In other words, when normal color printing is 50 yen per sheet, if the remaining frequency is 300 yen, and there are 10 color originals to be printed, only 6 of the 10 sheets are printed when not in the toner save mode. Can not do it.

  However, in the case of the image forming apparatus Gk of this embodiment, the unit price of color printing is determined to be 30 yen from the information that the remaining frequency is 300 yen and 10 sheets of color printing, and the toner save rate 60% is determined from this unit price. By determining, 10 sheets can be printed. At this time, if the minimum unit price and the minimum toner density are determined in advance in the image forming apparatus Gk, it is possible to prevent the user from providing an unnecessarily low price or a printed matter that is too thin.

  In the above description, the relationship between the toner density and the unit price is described, but this relationship can also be applied as a relationship between a weighting coefficient and a unit price described later.

  Then, in step S306 in FIG. 8, the billing count unit 14 adds a remaining frequency as shown in FIG. 10 to the display 20 of the operation display unit when NO is determined, that is, when printing at the minimum density is impossible. The remaining frequency addition confirmation screen G2 to be confirmed is displayed, and it is confirmed whether the “add” button has been operated or the “cancel” button has been operated on the remaining frequency addition confirmation screen G2 (step S309).

  When the addition is operated in step S309, the process returns to step S306, and processing is performed in the same manner as described above from checking whether printing is possible at the minimum density based on the added remaining frequency (steps S306 to S309).

  If the remaining count is not added in step S309 and cancelled, the accounting counter 14 determines that printing is not possible and ends the process.

  Then, when the appropriate toner density level is manually selected instead of the automatic density selection on the driver screen Dg or the remaining number of toner save transition setting screen G1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the remaining number of toner save process based on the manual density setting is performed. In FIG. 11, the same processing steps as those in FIG. 8 are given the same step numbers to simplify the description.

  In FIG. 11, when the counter calculation processing unit 18 calculates the billing amount (step S301), the billing count unit 14 checks the remaining number (step S302) and compares the billing amount with the remaining number (step S303).

  In step S303, if the remaining count is equal to or greater than the billing amount, the billing count unit 14 notifies the print control unit 16 and the CPU 11 that printing is possible and proceeds to print processing. (Step S304).

  If the remaining count is less than the billing amount in step S303, the billing count unit 14 confirms the toner save shift setting within the remaining count (step S305), and the toner save shift setting within the remaining count is set within the remaining count toner save. If the shift to is set to non-transfer, the print control unit 16 and the CPU 11 are notified that printing is impossible, and the printing process is stopped.

  In step S305, when the shift to the remaining number of toner saves is set and the toner density is manually selected, the charging count unit 14 checks whether printing is possible at the manually set toner density level LevelK. If the answer is YES, that is, if printing is possible at the toner level Level K, the toner save process of the toner density level Level K set manually is performed (step S402), and the toner of the toner save process result is obtained. Printing is performed according to the density (step S304).

  In step S401, if printing is not possible with the manually set toner density level Level K, the accounting counter 14 displays the remaining frequency addition confirmation screen G2 shown in FIG. The presence / absence of addition is confirmed (step S309), and when added, the same processing as described above is performed from the processing for determining whether printing is possible at the toner density level Level K (steps S401, S402, S304, S309).

  If the remaining count is not added in step S309 and cancelled, the accounting counter 14 determines that printing is not possible and ends the process.

  Further, when the automatic density is selected on the driver screen Dg or the remaining frequency within toner save transition setting screen G1 in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus Gk sequentially increases the frequency from the darker level as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. It is also possible to set whether or not printing is possible and set a printable toner save level. In FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the same step numbers are assigned to the same processing steps as in FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 12, when the counter calculation processing unit 18 calculates the charge amount (step S301), the charge count unit 14 checks the remaining number (step S302), and compares the charge amount and the remaining number ( Step S303).

  In step S303, if the remaining count is the same as the billing amount or more than the billing amount, the billing counting unit 14 determines that printing is possible as shown in FIG. Is notified that printing is possible, and the process proceeds to print processing (step S304).

  If the remaining count is less than the billing amount in step S303, the billing count unit 14 confirms the toner save shift setting within the remaining count (step S305), and the toner save shift setting within the remaining count is set within the remaining count toner save. If the transition to the non-transition is set, as shown in FIG. 13, it is determined that the printing is impossible, the printing control unit 16 and the CPU 11 are notified that the printing is impossible, and the printing is performed. Stop processing.

  In step S305, if the shift to the toner save within the remaining frequency is set to the automatic shift and the automatic density calculation is selected, the charging count unit 14 first sets the highest density Level 1 (that is, the highest charge). Whether printing at the toner save level is possible within the remaining frequency is checked (step S501). If YES, that is, if printing at the Level 1 toner save level is possible within the remaining frequency, the Level 1 toner saving process is performed. (Step S502), and printing is performed according to the toner density as a result of the toner saving process (Step S304).

  In step S501, if NO, that is, if printing at the Level 1 toner save level is not possible within the remaining number, the billing count unit 14 checks whether printing at the Level 2 toner save level is possible within the remaining number. If YES (ie, if printing at the Level 2 toner save level is possible within the remaining number of times), the Level 2 toner save process is performed (Step S504), and the toner of the toner save process result is displayed. Printing is performed according to the density (step S304).

  If NO in step S503, that is, if printing at the Level 2 toner save level is not possible within the remaining number, the billing count unit 14 sequentially lowers the toner save level in the remaining number as described above. The printing process or the process for checking the next level of toner save level is repeated, and as shown in FIG. 13, the Level N, which is the lowest toner save level, is used. Is checked within the remaining frequency (step S505).

  If YES in step S505, that is, if printing at the Level N toner save level is possible within the remaining frequency, the Level N toner save process is performed (Step S506), and the toner save process results in accordance with the toner density. Printing is performed (step S304).

  If NO in step S505, that is, if printing is not possible, the billing counting unit 14 displays the remaining frequency addition confirmation screen G2 shown in FIG. 10 on the display 20 and adds the remaining frequency. The presence / absence is confirmed (step S309), and if added, the process returns to step S501, and the same processing as the above is performed from the processing for determining whether printing is possible at the toner density level Level1 (steps S501 to S506, S304, S309).

  If the remaining count is not added in step S309 and cancelled, the accounting counter 14 determines that printing is not possible and ends the process.

  Furthermore, the image forming apparatus Gk uses, for example, a weighting table Tb2 as shown in FIG. 14 in the count of the counter, for example, the toner density is divided into five stages of 80%, 60%, 50%, 40%, and 20%. A color weighting coefficient kc and a monochrome weighting coefficient km may be set for each divided toner save level (printing mode), and weighting at the time of counting up by the counter calculation processing unit 18 may be performed according to the toner save level.

  As a specific example, for example, when one copy of image data consisting of 10 pages is printed in the color mode, one copy is printed in the monochrome mode, and one copy of the color original is printed with toner save, the calculation result of the counter calculation processing unit 18 The counter value is as shown in FIG. That is, by printing one copy (10 sheets) in the color mode, the color counter is +10, and by printing one copy in the monochrome mode, the monochrome counter is +10, and one copy of the color original is printed with toner save. Then, the eco counter is incremented by +10, and the total of these is calculated to be +20 for the color counter, +10 for the monochrome counter, and +10 for the eco counter.

  When the counter calculation processing unit 18 obtains the counter value of the Eco counter by multiplying the counter value of the calculation result by the weighting coefficient shown in FIG. 15, the counter value is as shown in FIG. FIG. 16 shows a case where the color weighting coefficient kc is 0.5 and the monochrome weighting coefficient km is 1.0. That is, in FIG. 16, when the charging counter is an Eco counter and in the color up mode, the color weighting coefficient kc is 0.5, so the display value of the color counter is “color counter-0. The counter value of “5 × Eco” is displayed, and the display value of the monochrome counter is the counter value of “monochrome counter”. Further, when the charging counter is an eco counter and is in the monochrome up mode, the monochrome weighting coefficient kc is 1.0. Therefore, the display value of the color counter is “color counter−1.0 × eco ( “Eco) counter”, and the display value of the monochrome counter is “monochrome counter + 1 × eco (Eco) counter”. In the prior art, the display value of the counter is the display value of the original color counter and monochrome counter that does not take into account the counter value by toner save.

  Then, when the calculation example of FIG. 16 is applied to the counter value of the specific example of FIG. 15, the counter display result is as shown in FIG.

  That is, in FIG. 16, in the color up mode, since the monochrome counter value remains unchanged, “10”, which is the total counter value of the monochrome counter in FIG. 15, becomes the counter value. Since “−0.5 × eco-counter”, the value obtained by multiplying “10”, which is the total counter value of the eco counter, by 0.5 is subtracted from “20”, which is the total counter value of the color counter in FIG. “15” (15 = 20 (color counter) −10 (eco counter) × 0.5 (color weighting coefficient)) is the counter value.

  In FIG. 16, in the monochrome up mode, the monochrome counter is “monochrome counter + 1 × eco counter”, so that the total counter value of the monochrome counter in FIG. 15 is “10” and the eco counter is “10”. The counter value is “20” (20 = 10 (monochrome counter) +10 (eco counter) × 1 (monochrome weighting coefficient)) obtained by adding “10” multiplied by the monochrome weight coefficient kc = 1.0. Since “color counter-1 × eco counter”, “20” which is the total counter value of the color counter in FIG. 15 is multiplied by “10” which is the total counter value of the eco counter by a monochrome weighting factor 1.0. “10” (10 = 20 (color counter) −10 (eco counter)) × 1.0 (monochrome weight) Only factor)) becomes the counter value.

  Then, when the color weighting coefficient kc and the monochrome weighting coefficient km of all levels of the weighting table (charge table) Tb2 shown in FIG. 15 are applied to the counter value of FIG. 17, the result becomes as shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, counter values in the prior art that do not consider the counter value due to toner saving are also displayed for comparison.

  In the above description, as shown in FIG. 14, a weighting coefficient table in which weighting coefficients are set based on toner density and toner save level is used. However, as shown in FIG. 19, an image corresponding to an image data type is used. A type correspondence weighting coefficient table may be used.

  In the image type-corresponding weighting coefficient table of FIG. 19, the character density is 100% for all the toner save levels Level 1 to Level 5, and the graphic density is 80% for the toner save levels Level 1 to Level 5, 80%. %, 50%, 50%, 50%, and image density are 80%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 20%.

  Even when this weighting coefficient table is used, the counter calculation processing by the picture counter calculation processing unit 18 can be performed in the same manner as described above, and the processing related to the remaining frequency and the charging fee can be similarly applied by the charging counting unit 14.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present exemplary embodiment determines the print mode (color mode, monochrome mode) for each page of the print job that is the print target, and counts the count value corresponding to the print mode. The total count value for each printing mode is calculated by calculating the total count value for each print mode, and the total count value for each print mode, and for each page in each print mode and the print mode. Unit price required for printing and a toner save unit price (print material save unit price) when a toner save mode (print material save mode) for reducing toner is applied to each print mode is registered. When the charge amount for each print mode is added from the charge table to calculate the subtotal charge amount and the application of the toner save mode is selected A toner save charge amount in each toner save mode is obtained from the count value of the toner save mode for each print mode and the charge table, and each toner save charge amount is added to calculate a total toner save charge amount. Then, the total charge amount is calculated by subtracting the toner save total charge amount from the subtotal charge amount, and the total charge amount is displayed on the display (notification means) 20 of the operation display unit.

  Therefore, when the toner save mode is selected, it is possible to know before the printing how much the charge amount changes compared to when the toner save mode is not selected, and the usability can be improved.

  Whether the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present exemplary embodiment can print all print jobs, which are print objects, in the specified print mode by comparing the remaining frequency that is the remaining charge of the input payment and the total charge amount. The determination result is displayed on the display 20 of the operation display unit.

  Therefore, it is possible to know whether or not all the printing objects to be printed can be printed with the remaining number of payments input before starting printing, and the usability can be further improved.

  Further, the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present embodiment is set to automatically shift to the toner save mode when all the printing objects within the remaining number of times cannot be printed in the designated print mode. If all the print objects cannot be printed in the specified print mode, the total charge amount when the toner save mode is entered is calculated, and the total charge amount and the remaining charge when the toner save mode is entered are calculated. The frequency is compared to determine whether or not all the print objects can be printed, and the determination result is displayed on the display 20 of the operation display unit.

  Therefore, when all pages of the print job cannot be printed within the remaining frequency, and the user has selected to shift to the toner save mode, when the user enters the toner save mode, all the print jobs within the remaining frequency Whether or not the page can be printed can be known before printing, and the usability can be further improved.

  Further, the image forming apparatus Gk of the present embodiment has a plurality of toner save modes having different toner density levels as the toner save mode, and automatic transition to the toner save mode is set, and within the remaining number of times. When it is determined that all the print objects cannot be printed in the designated print mode, a total charge amount is calculated when shifting to a predetermined toner save mode among the plurality of toner save modes, and the toner save mode is calculated. The total charge amount and the remaining number when the process is shifted to are compared, and a toner save mode capable of printing all print objects is searched in a predetermined order.

  Therefore, when there are a plurality of toner save modes having different toner density levels, the toner save mode that can be printed by the remaining number can be automatically selected, and the usability can be further improved.

  Furthermore, the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present embodiment has a plurality of toner save modes having different toner density levels as the toner save mode, and all print objects within the remaining number of times cannot be printed in the designated print mode. When it is possible to set whether or not to automatically shift to the toner save mode for printing and to which toner save mode among the plurality of toner save modes to shift to the toner save mode, The total charge amount when the toner save mode is changed is calculated, and the total charge amount when the toner save mode is changed is compared with the remaining frequency to determine whether or not all the print objects can be printed. Then, the determination result is displayed on the display 20 of the operation display unit.

  Therefore, when there are a plurality of toner save modes having different toner density levels, it is possible to know before printing whether or not printing in the toner save mode set by the user is possible within the remaining number. Therefore, the usability can be further improved.

  In the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present exemplary embodiment, the charge table stores weighting coefficients corresponding to the toner density levels in each toner save mode, and the toner corresponding to the print mode is included in the charge unit price in each print mode. The toner save unit price is calculated by multiplying the weighting coefficient of the save mode to calculate the toner save unit price, and the toner save unit price is multiplied by the number of print pages from the charge amount obtained by multiplying the unit price by the number of print pages. By subtracting the charge amount, the charge amount accompanying the toner save mode in the print mode is calculated.

  Therefore, the toner save charge amount can be finely adjusted by setting the weighting coefficient.

  Further, the image forming apparatus Gk according to the present embodiment has a plurality of printing material save modes having different density levels for each character, graphic, and image data type as the toner save mode. Weighting coefficients are registered corresponding to the toner density levels in the save mode, and the toner save charge unit price is calculated by multiplying the charge unit price in each print mode by the weighting coefficient in the toner save mode corresponding to the print mode. The toner save charge amount obtained by multiplying the toner save charge unit price by the number of print pages is subtracted from the charge amount obtained by multiplying the charge unit price in the print mode by the number of print pages, and the toner save mode in the print mode is accompanied. Billing amount is calculated.

  Therefore, toner save suitable for the type of print data can be performed, and the toner save charge amount can be finely adjusted by setting the weighting coefficient.

  In the image forming apparatus Gk of this embodiment, if the minimum unit price and the minimum toner density are determined in advance, as described above, it is possible to prevent the user from being provided with an unnecessarily low price or a printed matter that is too thin. Can do.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to that described in the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, an image forming control program, and a recording medium, such as a printer apparatus, a composite apparatus, and a copying apparatus, which appropriately perform charging and printing material saving mode when printing is performed while saving printing material. Can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system NW network Pc Host computer Gk Image forming apparatus 10 Controller 11 CPU
12 Memory 13 Storage 14 Billing Count 15 Engine I / F
16 Print Control Unit 17 Drawing Processing Unit 18 Counter Operation Processing Unit 19 Bus G1 Toner Save Transition Setting Screen within Remaining Number G2 Remaining Number Addition Confirmation Screen Tb1 Toner Concentration-Unit Price Table Tb2 Weighting Table

JP 2009-283993 A

Claims (10)

A counting unit that is provided for each printing mode, determines the printing mode for each page of the print object, and counts up a count value corresponding to the printing mode;
A printing material save mode selection means for selecting whether or not to apply a printing material save mode for performing printing to reduce printing materials;
Total count value calculating means for calculating the total count value for each printing mode by summing the count values for each printing mode counted by the counting means;
A charge table in which each print mode, a charge unit price necessary for printing per page in the print mode, and a print material save charge unit price when the print material save mode is applied to each print mode are registered. Storage means for storing
The printing material save mode selection unit calculates the subtotal charging amount by obtaining the charging amount in each printing mode from the total count value for each printing mode and the charge table, and adding the charging amount in each printing mode. When the printing material save mode is selected in step S3, the printing material save mode count value for each printing mode and the charge material saving charge amount in each printing material save mode are obtained from the charge table, and the printing material saving mode is calculated. A total charge amount calculating means for calculating a print material save total charge amount by adding a charge amount and subtracting the print material save total charge amount from the subtotal charge amount;
A predetermined notification means;
Control means for notifying the subtotal charge amount and the total charge amount or the total charge amount by the notification means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus includes:
A payment means for inputting a payment amount for the charge amount;
The control means includes
Comparing the total billing amount calculated by the total billing amount calculation means and the remaining fee of the payment paid by the payment means to determine whether or not all the print objects can be printed in the specified print mode, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit is notified of the determination result. The image forming apparatus includes:
When all the print objects within the remaining charge cannot be printed in the designated print mode, the printing apparatus includes a setting unit that sets whether to automatically shift to the printing material save mode and print.
The control means includes
When the automatic transition to the printing material save mode is set by the setting unit and it is determined that all the print objects cannot be printed in the designated printing mode within the remaining charge, the printing material save mode The total charge amount in the case of shifting to the printer is calculated by the total charge amount calculation means, and the total charge amount in the case of shifting to the printing material save mode is compared with the remaining charge, so that all the printing objects can be printed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit is notified of the determination result. The image forming apparatus includes:
The printing material save mode has a plurality of printing material save modes with different printing material density levels,
The control means includes
When the automatic transition to the printing material save mode is set by the setting unit and it is determined that all the print objects cannot be printed in the designated printing mode within the remaining charge, a plurality of the printing materials The total charge amount when the print material save mode is shifted to the predetermined print material save mode in the save mode is calculated by the total charge amount calculation means, and the total charge amount and the remaining charge when the print material save mode is shifted are calculated. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing material saving mode capable of printing all of the printing objects is compared in a predetermined order. The image forming apparatus includes:
The printing material save mode has a plurality of printing material save modes with different printing material density levels,
When not printing all the print objects within the remaining charge in the specified print mode, whether to automatically print to the printing material save mode and when to move to the printing material save mode A setting means for setting which printing material save mode to shift to among the plurality of printing material save modes;
The control means includes
When the automatic transition to the printing material save mode is set by the setting means and it is determined that all the print objects cannot be printed in the designated print mode within the remaining charge, the setting means sets The total charge amount when the print material save mode is changed is calculated by the total charge amount calculation means, and the total charge amount when the print material save mode is changed is compared with the remaining charge. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not all of the print objects can be printed, and the determination unit is notified of the determination result. 5. The price table is
A weighting coefficient is registered corresponding to the printing material density level of each printing material save mode,
The total billing amount calculating means includes:
The printing unit save unit price is calculated by multiplying the unit price in each printing mode by the weighting coefficient of the printing material save mode corresponding to the printing mode, and the unit price in the printing mode is multiplied by the number of printed pages. A printing material saving charge amount obtained by multiplying the printing material saving fee unit price by the number of print pages is subtracted from the charged amount, and a charging amount accompanying the printing material save mode in the printing mode is calculated. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5. The image forming apparatus includes:
The printing material save mode has a plurality of printing material save modes with different density levels for each character, graphic, and image data type,
The price table is
A weighting coefficient is registered in correspondence with the printing material density level of the printing material density level in each printing material save mode,
The total billing amount calculating means includes:
The printing unit save unit price is calculated by multiplying the unit price in each printing mode by the weighting coefficient of the printing material save mode corresponding to the printing mode, and the unit price in the printing mode is multiplied by the number of printed pages. A printing material saving charge amount obtained by multiplying the printing material saving fee unit price by the number of print pages is subtracted from the charged amount, and a charging amount accompanying the printing material save mode in the printing mode is calculated. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5. A count processing step that is provided for each print mode, determines the print mode for each page of the print object, and counts up a count value corresponding to the print mode;
A printing material save mode selection processing step for selecting whether to apply a printing material save mode for reducing printing materials;
A total count value calculation processing step for calculating the total count value for each printing mode by summing the count values for each printing mode counted in the counting processing step;
Total count value for each printing mode, each printing mode, a unit price required for printing per page in the printing mode, and printing material saving when the printing material saving mode is applied to each printing mode A subtotal charge amount is calculated by adding the charge amount in each print mode from the charge table in which the unit price is registered, and the print material save mode is selected in the print material save mode selection processing step. The printing material save charge amount in each printing material save mode is obtained from the count value of the printing material save mode for each printing mode and the charge table, and the printing material save charging amount is added to the printing material save charging amount. A total charge amount calculation processing step of calculating a total charge amount and subtracting the printing material save total charge amount from the subtotal charge amount to calculate a total charge amount;
A control processing step of notifying the subtotal charge amount and the total charge amount or the total charge amount by a predetermined notification means;
An image formation control method characterized by comprising: On the computer,
A count process that is provided for each print mode, determines the print mode for each page of the print object, and counts up a count value corresponding to the print mode;
A printing material save mode selection process for selecting whether to apply a printing material save mode for reducing printing materials;
A total count value calculation process for calculating the total count value for each printing mode by summing the count values for each printing mode counted in the counting process;
Total count value for each printing mode, each printing mode, a unit price required for printing per page in the printing mode, and printing material saving when the printing material saving mode is applied to each printing mode A subtotal charge amount is calculated by adding the charge amount in each print mode from the charge table in which the unit price is registered, and when the print material save mode is selected in the print material save mode selection process, A printing material save total for each printing mode is obtained by calculating a printing material saving billing amount in each printing material saving mode from the count value of the printing material saving mode for each printing mode and the charge table, and adding the printing material saving billing amounts. A total charge amount calculation process for calculating a charge amount and subtracting the printing material save total charge amount from the subtotal charge amount to calculate a total charge amount;
A control process for notifying the subtotal charge amount and the total charge amount or the total charge amount by a predetermined notification means;
An image formation control program for executing   A computer-readable recording medium on which the image formation control program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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