JP2012103922A - Driver program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to obtain printing image without rim (image of entire surface printing) without using any special hardware such as a printer.SOLUTION: A driver program makes a processing device of a terminal device set printing image size to one of the predetermined sizes when the operation for entire surface printing is selected and set the sheet size to a predetermined size larger than the manuscript image size and then makes the processing device as a layout processing part 72 for setting the position of a printing image within a printing sheet while avoiding the region in which the printing character cannot be printed and which is at the rim of the printing sheet and as a PDL creating part 73 for creating printing data for printing the printing image on the printing sheet of the sheet size at the position of the printing image and with the printing image size which are set by the layout processing part 72.

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver program.

  In recent inkjet printers, borderless printing is possible. When borderless printing is selected, the inkjet printer driver generates print data of an image that is slightly larger than the printing paper size, and causes the inkjet printer to eject the ink by slightly protruding from the printing paper. Borderless printing is executed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such an ink jet printer, the platen has a special shape so that printing paper does not get smudged with ink that has been ejected.

JP 2006-244240 A

  However, in an electrophotographic printer, the principle of forming an image on printing paper is different from that of an ink jet printer, and therefore it is difficult to perform borderless printing (full surface printing). In addition, in an inkjet printer that does not support borderless printing, it is difficult to perform borderless printing because the printing paper cannot be properly collected by the platen with ink ejected from the printing paper.

  For this reason, in such a printer that is difficult to perform borderless printing, a registration mark indicating a cutting position is printed around the printed image using printing paper larger than the print image size, such as offset printing. Can be considered. By printing in such a manner, the border around the printed image can be eliminated if the printing paper is cut along the register marks.

  However, as with offset printing, to print a registration mark on the periphery of a print paper larger than the print image size along with the print image, a special size larger than the print image size by the size of the registration mark and the margin. It is necessary to prepare printing paper and special software.

  For this reason, a printing system consisting of a personal computer and its peripheral device such as a printer can obtain a borderless printed image (a fully printed image) without changing hardware such as a conventional printer. Have difficulty.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and obtains a driver program capable of obtaining a borderless printed image (an image printed on the entire surface) without requiring special hardware in a printer or the like. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  The driver program according to the present invention sets the print image size to one of the standard sizes when full-screen printing is designated, sets the paper size to a standard size larger than the original image size, and sets the print paper size. A layout processing unit that sets the position of the print image within the print paper while avoiding the unprintable area at the border, and the print image size and the print image position set by the layout processing unit on the print paper of the paper size Is made to function as a print data generation unit that generates print data for printing.

  This makes it possible to obtain a borderless print image (image printed on the entire surface) without requiring special hardware in the printer or the like in a print system comprising a personal computer and a printer as a peripheral device. it can.

  In addition to the above driver program, the driver program according to the present invention may be configured as follows. In this case, the layout processing unit adds a cutting line to the outside of the print image.

  As a result, the user can obtain a borderless print image with a standard size by cutting the standard size print paper along the cutting line after printing.

  The driver program according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the above driver programs. In this case, the cutting line is a registration mark or a frame line of a print image.

  The driver program according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the above driver programs. In this case, the layout processing unit displays a screen for selecting the print image size and the paper size on the display device, and sets the print image size and the paper size selected by the user as the print image size and the paper size. To do.

  The driver program according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the above driver programs. In this case, the layout processing unit causes the application to generate document data with the print image size set by the layout processing unit, and the print data generation unit generates print data from the document data.

  As a result, a borderless print image (image printed on the entire surface) can be obtained from the document data generated by the application without requiring special software for desktop publishing.

  The driver program according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the above driver programs. In this case, when printing a plurality of copies of the print image, the layout processing unit adds a cutting line to the outside of the printing image for only the first copy, and does not add a cutting line to the second and subsequent print images.

  The driver program according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the above driver programs. In this case, when double-sided printing is designated, the computer causes the index image to be printed on one side of the error correction printing paper and the scale image to be printed on the other side, and the index on the error correction printing paper is set. It is made to function as an error correction unit for displaying an input screen for inputting a shift amount specified from the overlapping position of the image and the scale image. Then, the layout processing unit moves the position of the print image on one side and / or the other side of the printing paper so that the amount of deviation is zero based on the amount of deviation input on the input screen.

  Thereby, the deviation between the printed image on one side and the printed image on the other side during double-sided printing can be eliminated, and a borderless double-sided printed image (image printed on the entire surface) can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, a borderless print image (image printed on the entire surface) can be obtained by a driver program without requiring special hardware in a printer or the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system including a terminal device in which a driver program according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen displayed on the terminal device in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print image to which a register mark is added, a print image to which a frame line is added, and a print image to which no cutting line is added in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of another print setting screen displayed on the terminal device in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the layout of a print image when A4 is designated as the print paper size and B5 size is designated as the print image size in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a driver realized by the driver program according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the index image and the scale image printed in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for inputting the amount of deviation specified from the overlapping position of the index image and the scale image on the error correction printing paper in the second embodiment.

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

Embodiment 1 FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system including a terminal device in which a driver program according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

  In the system shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network 2, and a terminal device 3 is connected to the network 2. The image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction peripheral, but may be another apparatus having a printing function such as a printer. The terminal device 3 may be connected to the image forming apparatus 1 via a peripheral device interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a printer 11, a scanner 12, a facsimile device 13, an operation panel 14, a communication device 15, and an arithmetic processing device 16.

  The printer 11 is an internal device that prints a document image based on print data. The scanner 12 is an internal device that optically reads a document image from a document and generates image data of the document image. The facsimile machine 13 is an internal device that generates and transmits a facsimile signal from image data of a document image to be transmitted, and receives the facsimile signal and converts it into image data.

  The operation panel 14 is disposed on the surface of the casing of the image forming apparatus 1 and includes a display device that displays various types of information to the user and an input device that detects a user operation. For example, a liquid crystal display is used as the display device. A key switch, a touch panel, or the like is used as the input device. The key switch is a hardware key, and a software key is realized by a display device and a touch panel. As described above, the operation panel 14 is a user interface of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The communication device 15 is connected to the network 2 and performs data communication with other devices (such as the terminal device 3) via the network 2 using a predetermined communication protocol. As the communication device 15, a network interface, a modem, or the like is used.

  The arithmetic processing unit 16 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and loads a program from a storage device, ROM, etc. (not shown) to the RAM. Various processing units are realized by executing the program by the CPU.

  After the image forming apparatus 1 is activated, various programs are appropriately executed by the arithmetic processing unit 16. In this embodiment, the processing unit 16 implements processing units such as an operating system (not shown), a controller 31, a communication processing unit 32, a job control unit 33, and a service execution unit 34.

  The controller 31 is a processing unit that monitors and controls internal devices such as the printer 11, the scanner 12, the facsimile machine 13, and the operation panel 14.

  The communication processing unit 32 is a processing unit that controls the communication device 15 to execute data communication. The communication processing unit 32 communicates with the driver of the terminal device 3.

  The job control unit 33 is a processing unit that executes a job according to the job request received by the service execution unit 34. The job control unit 33 uses the controller 31 to operate an internal device (such as the printer 11) according to the job type.

  The service execution unit 34 accepts a job request (printing, copying, facsimile transmission, system setting change, etc.) based on a user operation on the operation panel 14 or a command supplied from the terminal device 3 via the network 2, and responds to the request. Run the job. The service execution unit 34 causes the job control unit 33 to execute jobs such as printing, copying, and facsimile transmission.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device 3 in FIG. The terminal device 3 is, for example, a personal computer having a network communication function in which an operating system, an application program, and the like are installed.

  The terminal device 3 includes a communication device 41, a display device 42, an input device 43, an arithmetic processing device 44, and a storage device 45.

  The communication apparatus 41 is an apparatus that is connected to the network 2 and performs data communication with other apparatuses (such as the image forming apparatus 1) via the network 2 using a predetermined communication protocol. As the communication device 41, a network interface, a modem, or the like is used.

  The display device 42 is a device such as a liquid crystal display that displays various screens to the user of the terminal device 3. The input device 43 is a device such as a keyboard or a mouse that detects a user operation by the user.

  The arithmetic processing unit 44 is a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc., and loads various programs from a storage device, a ROM, etc. (not shown) to the RAM, and executes the programs on the CPU, thereby allowing various processing units to be executed. Realize.

  After starting up the terminal device 3, various programs are appropriately executed by the arithmetic processing device 44. In this embodiment, the processing unit 44 implements processing units such as an operating system (not shown), a communication processing unit 61, a driver 62, an operating system 63, and an application 64.

  The communication processing unit 61 controls the communication device 41 to execute data communication using a predetermined communication protocol.

  The driver 62 is a processing unit that is realized by executing the driver program 62 a in the storage device 45 in the arithmetic processing device 44, and is a driver for the image forming apparatus 1. The driver 62 generates print data such as PDL (Page Description Language) data from the document data generated by the application 64.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver 62 in the first embodiment. The driver 62 includes a drawing command interpretation unit 71, a layout processing unit 72, and a PDL generation unit 73.

  The drawing command interpretation unit 71 interprets document data generated by the application 64. For example, when the operating system 63 is Windows (trademark), the document data generated by the application 64 is converted into a drawing command by the GDI (Graphic Device Interface) of the operating system 63 and supplied to the driver 62 as the drawing command. The

  The layout processing unit 72 sets the layout of objects in the print image based on the drawing command. In particular, the layout processing unit 72 sets the print image size to one of the standard sizes (A series, B series, letter size, etc.) when full-page printing is designated, and sets the paper to a standard size larger than the original image size. The size is set, and the position of the print image on the print paper is set while avoiding the unprintable area at the edge of the print paper.

  The PDL generation unit 73 generates print data (here, PDL data) with the layout set by the layout processing unit 72. In particular, the PDL generation unit 73 generates print data for printing a print image on a print sheet having a sheet size at the print image size and the position of the print image set by the layout processing unit 72.

  The application 64 is realized by executing an application program on the operating system 63. The application 64 is an office application such as word processor software or spreadsheet software.

  The storage device 45 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory. In addition, the storage device 45 may be configured by a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM in which the driver program 62a is stored, and a driving device that can read the driver program 62a from the recording medium. .

  Next, the operation of each device (particularly, the driver 62 of the terminal device 3) in the system will be described.

  When transmitting a request for a job such as printing to the image forming apparatus 1, the user of the terminal device 3 performs a predetermined operation on the input device 43 to activate the driver 62. For example, when the user selects “print” from the menu in the application 64, the driver 62 is activated.

  At that time, first, the execution of the driver program 62a is started, and the driver 62 is activated. When the driver 62 is activated, the layout processing unit 72 causes the display device 42 to display a print setting screen. A predetermined operation unit that can be operated by the user using the input device 43 is displayed on the print setting screen.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen displayed on the terminal device 3 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, when the “full print” check box in the print setting screen is checked, “full print” is designated. In the pull-down menu, whether or not to add a cutting line to the print image and the type of cutting line when adding the cutting line are specified. In FIG. 5, any one of no cutting line, both ends (register marks), and a frame line is designated. Note that “both ends” is suitable mainly when cutting with a cutting machine, etc., “frame line” is suitable when mainly cutting with scissors, etc., and “none” is for cutting multiple copies simultaneously. This is suitable for the second and subsequent copies.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print image to which a register mark is added, a print image to which a frame line is added, and a print image to which no cutting line is added in the first embodiment. In FIG. 6A, a registration mark 102 is added to the print image 101. In FIG. 6B, a frame line 103 is added to the print image 101. In FIG. 6C, a cutting line is not added to the print image 101.

  When full-screen printing is designated, the layout processing unit 72 causes the display device 42 to display another print setting screen. The other print setting screen is a screen for selecting a print image size and a paper size. On the print setting screen, the print image size and paper size selected by the user are set as the print image size and paper size at the time of printing.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of another print setting screen displayed on the terminal device 3 in FIG. In another print setting screen shown in FIG. 7, the print image size and the paper size are respectively selected from pull-down menus (for example, A3, B4, A4, B5, A5) listing the standard sizes. In FIG. 7, B5 is selected as the print image size and A4 is selected as the paper size. At this time, if a print image size is selected, the menu may be controlled so that a paper size smaller than the print image size cannot be selected. That is, in the case shown in FIG. 7, a B5-size print image is printed on A4 print paper.

  In this way, when full-screen printing is specified on the print setting screen, and the presence / absence and type of cutting line, the print image size, and the paper size are specified by the user, first, the layout processing unit 72 The application 64 is caused to generate document data with the print image size.

  The document data is supplied as a drawing command to the driver 62 via the OS 63. The drawing command interpretation unit 71 interprets the original data (drawing command), and the layout processing unit 72 sets the layout of the print image (or print image and cutting line) based on the interpretation result. For example, the layout processing unit 72 sets the layout so that the print image having the designated print image size is arranged at the center of the print paper.

  Then, the PDL generation unit 73 generates PDL data for printing the print image having the layout set by the layout processing unit 72, and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 1 using the communication processing unit 61 and the communication device 41. .

  In the image forming apparatus 1, when the communication processing unit 32 receives the PDL data using the communication device 15, the service execution unit 34 receives the PDL data as a request for a print job, and sends it to the job control unit 33. A print job based on the PDL data is executed. The job control unit 33 causes the printer 11 to execute printing using the controller 31 based on the PDL data.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the layout of a print image when A4 is designated as the print paper size and B5 size is designated as the print image size in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, since the printable area 201 is an area obtained by removing the non-printable area 202 from the entire paper surface, the print image 203 having the print image size B5 is printed on the entire B5 print paper. I can't do it. For example, in the case of PCL-XL, there is a non-printable area 202 that is 1/6 inch (about 4.2 mm) away from the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the paper. On the other hand, since the printable area 204 is larger than the B5 size on the A4 printing paper which is the next larger standard size of B5, the print image 203 is printed on the A4 printing paper. As a result, if the user cuts after printing, a B5-sized print image of full face printing (borderless printing) can be obtained.

  As described above, the driver program 62a according to the first embodiment sets the print image size to one of the standard sizes when the full-screen printing is designated, and is larger than the original image size. A layout processing unit 72 that sets a paper size as a standard size, sets a position of a print image in the print paper while avoiding a non-printable area at the border of the print paper, and a print image size set by the layout processing unit 72 The PDL generation unit 73 functions as a PDL generation unit 73 that generates print data for printing a print image on a print sheet having a sheet size at the position of the print image.

  This makes it possible to obtain a borderless print image (image printed on the entire surface) without requiring special hardware in the printer or the like in a print system comprising a personal computer and a printer as a peripheral device. it can.

Embodiment 2. FIG.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the function shown in the first embodiment, the position of the print image on the front surface and the position of the print image on the back surface when full-surface printing is performed at the time of double-sided printing. It has a function to eliminate the deviation.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the driver 62 realized by the driver program 62a according to the second embodiment. Note that the components other than the error correction unit 81 and the layout processing unit 72a are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The error correction unit 81 prints an error correction image by using another paper of the same type as the print paper on which the print image is printed as the error correction print paper when full-side printing is designated by double-sided printing. The print position of the print image on the front surface and / or the back surface is adjusted based on the shift amount specified and input by the user from the print result.

  Specifically, the error correction unit 81 first causes the index image to be printed on one side of the error correction printing paper and the scale image to be printed on the other side.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the index image and the scale image printed in the second embodiment. FIG. 10A shows an example of the index image 91. FIG. 10B shows an example of the scale image 92. In FIG. 10, the index image 91 and the scale image 92 in the main scanning direction (X direction) are shown, but the index image 91 in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction) (not shown) is shown on the error correction printing paper. A scale image 92 is also printed.

  The scale zero line of the scale image 92 is printed so as to overlap the index image 91 in a state before the error correction. For this reason, after the user cuts along the index image 91, the error correction printing paper is turned over, and the position (value) where the cut is present in the scale image 92 is read to specify the amount of deviation in that direction. can do.

  Thereafter, the error correction unit 81 displays an input screen for inputting the amount of deviation specified from the overlapping position of the index image 91 and the scale image 92 on the error correction printing paper. The user inputs the shift amount in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction specified as described above on the input screen. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen for inputting the amount of deviation specified from the overlapping position of the index image 91 and the scale image 92 on the error correction printing paper in the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the amount of deviation in the main scanning direction is input as 2.5 as a numerical value on the scale of the scale image 92, and the amount of deviation in the sub-scanning direction is −1. 7 is entered.

  The layout processing unit 72a has the same function as that of the layout processing unit 72, and on the one side and / or the other side of the printing paper so that the amount of deviation becomes zero based on the amount of deviation input to the input screen. The layout of the print image on both sides is set by moving the position of the print image on the other side.

  As described above, the driver program 62a according to the second embodiment causes the arithmetic processing unit 44 to print the index image on one side of the error correction printing paper when double-side printing is designated. The scale image is printed on the other side, and the error correction unit 81 is displayed that displays an input screen for inputting a shift amount specified from the overlapping position of the index image and the scale image on the error correction printing paper. Then, the layout processing unit 72a moves the position of the print image on one side and / or the other side of the printing paper so that the amount of deviation is zero based on the amount of deviation input on the input screen.

  Thereby, the deviation between the printed image on one side and the printed image on the other side during double-sided printing can be eliminated, and a borderless double-sided printed image (image printed on the entire surface) can be obtained after cutting.

  Each embodiment described above is a preferred example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, the layout processing units 72 and 72a add a cutting line to the outside of the print image only for the first copy when printing a plurality of print images, and print images for the second and subsequent copies. The layout of the print image may be set without adding a cutting line.

  The present invention can be applied to a driver program such as a printer which is a peripheral device of a personal computer.

44 arithmetic processing unit (an example of a computer)
62a Driver program 64 Application 72, 72a Layout processing unit 73 PDL generation unit (an example of print data generation unit)
81 Error Correction Unit 91 Index Image 92 Scale Image 102 Registration Mark (Example of Cutting Line)
103 Frame line (an example of cutting line)

Claims (7)

Computer
When full-screen printing is specified, the print image size is set to one of the standard sizes, the paper size is set to a standard size larger than the original image size, and the non-printable area on the edge of the print paper is avoided. A layout processing unit for setting a position of a print image in the print paper, and printing the print image on the print paper of the paper size at the print image size set by the layout processing unit and the position of the print image A print data generation unit for generating print data for
Driver program to function as.   The driver program according to claim 1, wherein the layout processing unit adds a cutting line to the outside of the print image.   3. The driver program according to claim 2, wherein the cutting line is a registration mark or a frame line of the print image.   The layout processing unit displays a screen for selecting the print image size and the paper size on a display device, and sets the print image size and the paper size selected by the user as the print image size and the paper size. The driver program according to claim 1, wherein: The layout processing unit causes an application to generate document data with the print image size set by the layout processing unit,
The print data generation unit generates the print data from the document data;
The driver program according to claim 1.   The layout processing unit adds the cutting line to the outside of the print image only for the first copy when printing a plurality of copies of the print image, and adds the cutting line to the print image of the second and subsequent copies. The driver program according to claim 1, wherein the driver program is not executed. When the computer further designates double-sided printing, the index image is printed on one side of the error correction printing paper and the scale image is printed on the other side, and the index on the error correction printing paper is set. Function as an error correction unit for displaying an input screen for inputting a shift amount specified from an overlap position between the image and the scale image;
The layout processing unit moves the position of the print image on one side and / or the other side of the printing paper so that the deviation amount becomes zero based on the deviation amount input on the input screen. To do,
The driver program according to claim 1.

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