JP2012196812A - Printer, printing control method and printing control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problem: in a printer usable a plurality of ink in similar color, a certain ink among the plurality of ink is nonuniformly consumed.SOLUTION: The printer usable the first ink and the second ink in similar color and having different properties in printing is configured to include: a residual amount ratio acquisition part to acquire a residual amount ratio between the first ink and the second ink in the printer; an ink amount exchange part to exchange the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink in accordance with the acquired ratio; and a printing conducting control part to conduct printing using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the exchanged amount of the first ink and the exchanged amount of the second ink after the exchanging.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a printing control program.

  There are products that can use a plurality of inks having the same color and different characteristics as printing apparatuses. As the plurality of inks having the same color and different characteristics, a black ink (referred to as a matte black ink or MK ink) and a glossy paper system that realizes good color development when attached to a mat paper medium. This corresponds to a black ink (referred to as a photo black ink or PK ink) that realizes good color development when adhered to the medium. As such a printing apparatus, an apparatus that prints using MK ink and PK ink in a predetermined range in a black gradation value when coloring mat paper using MK ink and PK ink is known. (See Patent Document 1).

  Further, there is known a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of printing materials, and performs control so as to reduce the consumption of at least one printing material in accordance with the remaining amounts of the plurality of printing materials. (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2010-36479 A JP 2004-93817 A

  In a printing apparatus equipped with a plurality of inks of the same color system as described above, some of the plurality of inks of the same color system are more than other inks while repeating arbitrary printing processing by the user. May be consumed in large quantities. Such biased consumption (referred to as biased reduction) for some inks forces the user to frequently replace ink cartridges for some inks, which may affect the efficiency of the printing process. It can be an impediment to user comfort. In addition, the said literature 1 was not going to contribute to prevention of the above-mentioned uneven reduction. Moreover, although the said literature 2 reduces the consumption of a part of printing material, since it does not accompany image quality compensation with respect to the consumption reduction of this printing material, it causes the fall of the quality of a printing result.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by preventing unevenness of some of the inks, the efficiency of the printing process is improved and the complexity of the user is reduced. Provided are a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a printing control program capable of preventing a decrease.

  One aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus that can use a first ink and a second ink, which are inks of the same color and have different characteristics, for printing. A remaining amount ratio acquisition unit that acquires a ratio to the remaining amount of ink, an ink amount replacement unit that replaces the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to the acquired ratio, and after the replacement And a print execution control unit that executes printing using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink.

  According to the present invention, since the ink amount of the first ink is replaced with the ink amount of the second ink in accordance with the ratio between the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in the printing apparatus, Can be prevented. Further, since the second ink is used to compensate for the reduced consumption of the first ink, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the quality of the printing result.

As one aspect of the present invention, the first ink is an ink that adheres to the first medium and produces a predetermined color, and the second ink adheres to a second medium different from the first medium and produces a predetermined color. On the condition that the designation of the first medium as a medium used for printing is received, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit acquires the ratio, the ink amount replacement unit executes the replacement, and print execution control The unit may execute printing according to the ink amount after the replacement.
According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent a partial decrease in the first ink that is normally used for printing on the first medium.

As one aspect of the present invention, on the condition that the remaining amount of the second ink is larger than the remaining amount of the first ink in the printing apparatus, the remaining amount ratio acquiring unit acquires the above ratio, and the ink amount replacing unit is The replacement may be executed, and the print execution control unit may execute printing according to the ink amount after the replacement.
According to the configuration, when the first ink is actually deviated, the decrement can be solved accurately.

As one aspect of the present invention, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit acquires the above ratio on the condition that the designation of a specific mode for saving the first ink is accepted as the print mode, and the ink amount replacement unit The replacement may be executed, and the print execution control unit may execute printing according to the ink amount after the replacement.
According to this configuration, when the user wants to save the first ink, it is possible to prevent the first ink from being unevenly reduced.

As one aspect of the present invention, the ink amount replacement unit corrects the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement according to a difference in color development characteristics between the first ink and the second ink, and a print execution control unit May execute printing according to the ink amount of the corrected second ink.
According to this configuration, since the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement is further corrected in accordance with the difference in color development characteristics between the first ink and the second ink, a part of the first ink is changed to the second ink. Therefore, it is possible to surely eliminate the difference in coloring that may occur when printing with replacement, and to obtain a high-quality printing result.

As one aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus replaces the replacement ratio when the ink amount replacement unit replaces the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink in accordance with an instruction from the outside. A ratio change unit; and a display control unit that displays a reduction mode of the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in accordance with the changed replacement ratio on a predetermined display unit, and the print execution control unit May execute printing in accordance with the ink amount after replacement according to the changed replacement ratio.
According to this configuration, the user can arbitrarily change the replacement ratio, and the effect of eliminating the uneven decrease in the first ink by the replacement ratio after the change (reduction in the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink) (Mode) can be confirmed on the display unit, so that an optimum replacement ratio can be determined.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention may be realized by a single apparatus (printer) or may be realized as a system including a plurality of apparatuses (such as a PC that controls the printer and the printer). The technical idea of the present invention can be realized by means other than the invention of the product. For example, a method (printing control method) including each processing step executed by each unit of the printing apparatus described above, or a program (printing control program) for causing a predetermined hardware (printer or PC) to realize a function corresponding to each unit. The invention can also be grasped.

It is a figure which shows roughly the apparatus structure of this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing. It is a figure which illustrates a mode that a color conversion LUT is rewritten. It is a figure which illustrates a mode that the 1st ink is replaced with a 2nd ink according to residual amount ratio. It is a figure which illustrates the color development characteristic of the 1st ink and the 2nd ink. It is a flowchart concerning the change process of a replacement ratio. It is a figure which illustrates UI screen.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. Outline of Apparatus FIG. 1 schematically shows an apparatus configuration according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a computer 10 as a PC and a printer 50. The computer 10 and / or the printer 50 are the execution subject of the print control method. In the computer 10, the CPU 11 controls the printer 50 by expanding the program data 21 stored in the hard disk drive (HDD) 20 or the like to the RAM 12 and performing calculations according to the program data 21 under the OS. The printer driver 13 is executed. The printer driver 13 includes an image data acquisition unit 13a, a color conversion processing unit 13b, a halftone (HT) processing unit 13c, a rasterization processing unit 13d, a user interface (UI) control unit 13e, a remaining amount ratio acquisition unit 13f, and an ink amount replacement. This is a program for causing the CPU 11 to execute each function such as the unit 13g. Each of these functions will be described later.

  A display 30 as a display unit is connected to the computer 10, and the UI control unit 13e displays a UI screen necessary for each process on the display 30. Further, an operation unit 40 such as a keyboard and a mouse is connected to the computer 10, and an instruction necessary for each process is input by the user via the operation unit 40. A printer 50 is connected to the computer 10. As will be described later (FIG. 2), in the computer 10, drive data is generated based on an image file representing the image to be printed by the function of the printer driver 13, and the drive data is transmitted to the printer 50. .

In the printer 50, the CPU 51 expands the program data 54 stored in the memory such as the ROM 53 into the RAM 52 and performs a calculation according to the program data 54 under the OS, thereby controlling the firmware FW for controlling the device itself. Is executed. The firmware FW can execute printing based on the drive data by sending the drive data transmitted from the computer 10 to the ASIC 56.
The firmware FW acquires an image file representing an image to be printed from a memory card attached to an external connection connector (not shown), an external device (for example, the computer 10), and the like, and is driven based on the acquired image file. Data can also be generated. In this way, even when drive data is generated by the function of the firmware FW, the drive data is sent to the ASIC 56.

  The ASIC 56 acquires drive data and generates a drive signal for driving the paper feed mechanism 57, the carriage motor 58, and the print head 62 based on the drive data. The printer 50 includes a carriage 60, and the carriage 60 is loaded with ink cartridges 61 for each of a plurality of types of ink. The printer 50 includes a plurality of inks including a plurality of inks having at least the same color and different characteristics. In the example of FIG. 1, ink cartridges 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, and 61e corresponding to various inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), matte black (MK), and photo black (PK) are provided. It is installed. The carriage 60 includes a print head 62 that ejects ink supplied from each ink cartridge 61 from a number of nozzles. The specific types and number of inks installed in the printer 50 are not limited to those described above. For example, light cyan (LC), light magenta (LM), orange (OR), green (G), gray (LK), light Various inks such as gray (LLK) can be mounted. The ink cartridge 61 may be installed at a predetermined position in the printer 50 without being mounted on the carriage 60.

  The paper feed mechanism 57 is driven and controlled by the ASIC 56 to carry the print medium and feed the paper. Further, the carriage 60 is moved in the main scanning direction of printing (main scanning) by controlling the driving of the carriage motor 58 by the ASIC 56, and the ASIC 56 moves each nozzle to the print head 62 at a predetermined timing along with the main scanning. Ink is ejected from the ink. As a result, ink droplets (dots) adhere to the print medium, and an image (print target image) corresponding to the drive data is reproduced on the print medium. The printer 50 further includes an operation panel 59. The operation panel 59 includes a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal panel), a touch panel formed in the display unit, various buttons and keys, and accepts input from the user and displays a necessary UI screen on the display unit. .

2. Print Control Process with Ink Density Reduction FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the print control process of this embodiment. Here, description will be made assuming that the CPU 11 executes the flowchart by the printer driver 13 (printing control program). Assuming that the flowchart is started, it is assumed that the printer driver 13 accepts selection of an arbitrary print target image by the user via the operation unit 40.

  In step S100, the CPU 11 determines whether the type of medium used for printing is a specific medium (hereinafter referred to as a first medium). The type of medium used for printing can be arbitrarily designated via the UI screen displayed on the display 30 by the user operating the operation unit 40. Therefore, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the medium designated by the user via the UI screen (hereinafter referred to as a designated medium) is the first medium. If the medium is the first medium, the CPU 11 proceeds to step S110.

  The printer driver 13 executes color conversion processing for converting the color system of the image in the process of generating drive data based on the image file representing the image to be printed (step S170 described later). For color conversion processing, a color conversion lookup table (color conversion LUT) that defines the correspondence between an input color system (for example, RGB color system) and an output color system (ink amount space) for a plurality of input grid points. 22 is used. In this embodiment, a plurality of color conversion LUTs 22 corresponding to the types of print media that can be used in the printer 50 are stored in the HDD 20 in advance, and basically the color conversion LUTs 22 corresponding to the types of designated media are used. The color conversion process is executed. Accordingly, when a mat paper type medium is selected as the designated medium, basically, the color conversion LUT 22 corresponding to the mat paper type is used. On the other hand, when a glossy paper type medium is selected as the designated medium, basically, the color conversion LUT 22 corresponding to the glossy paper type is used. In the color conversion LUT 22 corresponding to the mat paper system, ink amounts (tone values) for C, M, Y, and MK inks are defined as output values associated with the input grid points. That is, when a mat paper medium is selected, MK ink is used for printing as black ink. On the other hand, in the color conversion LUT 22 corresponding to glossy paper, ink amounts (tone values) for C, M, Y, and PK inks are defined as output values associated with the input grid points. Yes. That is, when a glossy paper medium is selected, PK ink is used for printing as black ink.

  Here, as the user repeats the printing process arbitrarily using the printer 50, if the consumption speeds of the various inks mounted on the printer 50 are approximately the same, from the viewpoint of printing efficiency and avoiding bothering the user. Ideally, some ink consumption may be significantly higher than other inks. As an example of such partial reduction of ink, there is a situation in which MK ink is consumed in a large amount compared to PK ink. Therefore, in the flowchart, as an example, processing for suppressing the uneven decrease in MK ink is executed as necessary. In the following description, it is assumed that the first medium is a mat paper medium unless otherwise specified. In addition, when the first medium is a mat paper medium, the first ink is MK ink and the second ink is PK ink.

  In step S110, the CPU 11 determines whether the remaining amount of the second ink in the printer 50 is greater than the remaining amount of the first ink. In this case, the CPU 11 transmits a command (remaining amount request command) for requesting information indicating the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink to the printer 50, and the printer 50 side receives the command. In response, information indicating the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink (directly or indirectly) is transmitted to the computer 10 side. The printer 50 can grasp the remaining amount of ink in each ink cartridge 61 by various methods including known methods.

  In the present embodiment, the firmware FW uses a dot count function that counts the number of dots that form an image represented by drive data corresponding to one print job for each ink type, and ink according to the number of dots counted by the dot count function. It has a consumption estimation function for estimating ink consumption by type. In the consumption estimation function, a value obtained by multiplying the number of dots counted for each ink type by the amount of ink per dot is stored in a consumption memory (not shown) provided in the ink cartridge 61 corresponding to the ink type. The "current ink consumption" is updated by adding to the "current ink consumption" (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-223060). Further, when the firmware FW receives a remaining amount request command for a certain ink type, the firmware FW starts from an initial ink amount predetermined for that ink type (the amount of ink filled in an unused ink cartridge). By subtracting the “current ink consumption” stored at that time in the consumption memory of the ink type, the current remaining ink amount for the ink type can be calculated. In this way, the firmware FW calculates the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in response to the remaining amount request command, and transmits information indicating the calculated remaining amount to the computer 10 side.

  Therefore, in step S110, based on the information acquired from the printer 50 as described above, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the second ink is larger than the remaining amount of the first ink. If the remaining amount of the second ink is greater than the remaining amount of the first ink (“Yes” in step S110), the CPU 11 proceeds to step S120, and if not (“No” in step S110), the CPU 11 proceeds to step S150.

  In step S120, the CPU 11 determines whether designation of a specific mode (MK ink saving mode) for saving the first ink as the printing mode is received. The print mode can be arbitrarily designated via the UI screen displayed on the display 30 by the user operating the operation unit 40. In the present embodiment, the UI control unit 13e enables the “MK ink saving mode” as a selected option only when the first medium (mat paper type medium) is selected as the designated medium on the UI screen ( indicate. Therefore, the user can select the “MK ink saving mode” only when a mat paper medium is designated on the UI screen. If the specific mode is designated as the print mode (“Yes” in step S120), the CPU 11 proceeds to step S130, and if not (“No” in step S120), the CPU 11 proceeds to step S150.

  If the specific mode is specified, steps S130 and S140 are executed. In step S130, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit 13f determines the remaining amount ratio of both inks (the remaining amount of the first ink: second) based on the information on the remaining amounts of the first ink and the second ink acquired in step S110. (Ink remaining amount) is calculated.

  In step S140, the ink amount replacement unit 13g executes a process for replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to the remaining amount ratio. Specifically, the ink amount replacement unit 13g reads out the color conversion LUT 22 corresponding to the designated medium from among the color conversion LUTs 22 stored in the HDD 20, and for each ink type specified by the read color conversion LUT 22 as an output value. Among the ink amounts, the ink amount of the first ink is divided into the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink according to the remaining amount ratio. As an example, when the remaining amount ratio (the remaining amount of the first ink: the remaining amount of the second ink) is a: b, the ink amount replacing unit 13g has the ink amount of the first ink defined by the color conversion LUT22. By replacing b / a + b with the ink amount of the second ink, the output value of the color conversion LUT 22 is rewritten.

  FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the color conversion LUT 22 is rewritten in step S140. The color conversion LUT 22 shown in FIG. 3 is a color conversion LUT 22 stored in the HDD 20 corresponding to a designated medium (mat paper type medium), and each gradation value of a plurality of input grid points (R, G, B). ) Uniquely defines the ink amount (tone values of C, M, Y, and MK). The gradation value as the ink amount is expressed by, for example, 256 gradations (8 bits) from 0 to 255. Hereinafter, the color conversion LUT 22 stored in the HDD 20 corresponding to the designated medium is also referred to as a normal color conversion LUT 22 as appropriate.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which the ink amount of the first ink (MK ink) defined in the normal color conversion LUT 22 is replaced with the ink amount of the second ink (PK ink) according to the remaining amount ratio. In FIG. 4, the ink amount represented by the gradation value of 0 to 255 is shown in a state normalized to a density of 0 to 100% for convenience of explanation (gradation value 255 = density 100%). Of course, the density (%) shown here can be expressed as a gradation value by multiplying it by 255. As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the remaining amount ratio a: b = 1: 1.5, 1.5 / 2.5 of the ink amount of the first ink defined in the normal color conversion LUT 22 is set to the second. Replace with ink amount. That is, the ink amount of the first ink, which is defined as the density of 100% in the normal color conversion LUT22, is divided into a density of 40% as the ink amount of the first ink and a density of 60% as the ink amount of the second ink. In addition, the ink amount of the first ink, which is defined as the density 20% in the normal color conversion LUT 22, is divided into the density 8% as the ink amount of the first ink and the density 12% as the ink amount of the second ink. It is done.

  Similarly, when the remaining amount ratio a: b = 1: 2, 2/3 of the ink amount of the first ink defined in the normal color conversion LUT 22 is replaced with the ink amount of the second ink. Similarly, when the remaining amount ratio a: b = 1: 4, 4/5 of the ink amount of the first ink defined in the normal color conversion LUT 22 is replaced with the ink amount of the second ink. In this way, the first ink that has been registered up to that time is obtained by replacing the ink amount of the first ink remaining by replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink and the ink amount of the obtained second ink. By registering as an output value of the color conversion LUT 22 instead of the ink amount, the color conversion LUT 22 (normal color conversion LUT 22) is rewritten to the color conversion LUT 22 ′ (see the area surrounded by the chain line in FIG. 3). In step S140, the rewritten color conversion LUT 22 'is set as the color conversion LUT used for the color conversion process.

  On the other hand, in step S150, the normal color conversion LUT 22 is set as a color conversion LUT used for color conversion processing. That is, in the printer 50, when the remaining amount of the second ink ≦ the remaining amount of the first ink (“No” in step S110), or when the user does not designate the specific mode in the first place (in step S120, “ No ") uses the normal color conversion LUT 22 because the necessity of using the second ink when printing on the designated medium is low (not present).

  In step S160, the image data acquisition unit 13a acquires an image file representing an image to be printed from a predetermined storage area such as a memory card mounted on the HDD 20 or an external connection connector (not shown). Here, it is assumed that the image file is bitmap data (RGB data) in which each pixel constituting the image has a gradation value for each of R, G, and B. When the image file is a file described in another format such as PDL, the image data acquisition unit 13a analyzes the file and develops it into bitmap data (RGB data). Furthermore, the image data acquisition unit 13a can appropriately execute a pixel number conversion process or the like for matching the print resolution in the printer 50 to the RGB data.

  In step S170, the color conversion processing unit 13b performs color conversion on the RGB data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 13a using the color conversion LUT set in either step S140 or step S150. At the time of color conversion, an interpolation calculation or the like is executed as necessary. When the color conversion process is executed using the color conversion LUT 22 ′ set in step S140, the RGB data includes ink amount data (C, M, Y, MK, PK gradation values for each pixel). CMYMKPK data). On the other hand, when the color conversion process is executed using the normal color conversion LUT 22 set in step S150, the RGB data has ink amount data (C, M, Y, MK) for each pixel. CMYMK data).

  In step S180, the HT processing unit 13c performs halftone processing on the ink amount data converted by the color conversion processing unit 13b, thereby forming either dot formation or non-formation for each ink type and each pixel. Binary halftone data defining one is generated. Halftone processing is executed by a dither method, an error diffusion method, or the like. Note that the halftone data is not limited to binary values. For example, the halftone data is a four-value data that defines either large dot formation / medium dot formation / small dot formation / non-formation for each ink type and each pixel. It may be data. Large dots, medium dots, and small dots are designations for a plurality of dot types that have relatively different ink amounts per tod that can be ejected by the print head 62. The magnitude relationship of the ink amount per dot is large dot> medium dot> small dot.

  In step S190, the rasterization processing unit 13d generates drive data in which information for each ink type and each pixel of the halftone data is assigned to each main scan and each ink nozzle of the print head 62 (rasterization processing), and the drive data is generated. Output to the printer 50. The drive data is accompanied by information necessary for the printer 50 to execute the printing process, such as printing resolution and the number of prints, as well as information on the designated medium, and is transmitted. As a result, the printer 50 executes printing on the designated medium based on the transmitted drive data. In the above example, when the color conversion LUT 22 ′ is set (step S140), the printer 50 sets the dots of C, M, Y, MK, and PK inks according to the drive data. (Paper-based medium). On the other hand, when the normal color conversion LUT 22 is set (step S150), the printer 50 ejects C, M, Y, and MK ink dots to the designated medium (mat paper medium) according to the drive data. The Note that the concept of the ink amount replacement unit of the present invention can include not only the ink amount replacement unit 13g but also the color conversion processing unit 13b. At least the HT processing unit 13c and the rasterization processing unit 13d correspond to a print execution control unit.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the printing process is performed using the printer 50 that can use the first ink and the second ink that are the same color ink and have different characteristics, the first ink is normally used. When the medium (first medium) is the designated medium, the remaining amount ratio between the first ink and the second ink in the printer 50 is acquired, and the ink amount of the first ink is set to the second amount according to the remaining amount ratio. The printer 50 executes the printing according to the ink amount data (CMYMKPK data) including the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement. For this reason, it is possible to suppress a partial decrease in some of the plurality of inks of the same color (first ink), and as a result, the efficiency of the printing process and the comfort of the user are improved. In addition, since the amount of use of the first ink is reduced by using the second ink, it is possible to suppress deterioration in the image quality of the printing result. Further, the replacement is performed when the remaining amount of the first ink in the printer 50 is less than the remaining amount of the second ink, or when the user designates a specific mode for saving the first ink. For this reason, when it is actually necessary to eliminate the unevenness of the first ink, the first ink can be saved accurately.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the processing when the designated medium is determined to be a medium other than the first medium in step S100 (“No” in step S100) is not particularly described. Print control processing is performed. That is, the CPU 11 (printer driver 13) uses the color conversion LUT 22 stored in the HDD 20 corresponding to the designated medium to perform color conversion on the RGB data representing the print target image, and converts it into ink amount data after color conversion. Based on this, halftone processing and rasterization processing as described above are executed to generate drive data, and the generated drive data is transmitted to the printer 50.

  Although the case where the computer 10 executes the print control process has been described above as an example, the print control process (including modifications described later) may be performed in the printer 50. That is, when the CPU 51 of the printer 50 executes the firmware FW (print control program), the image data acquisition unit 13a, the color conversion processing unit 13b, the HT processing unit 13c, the rasterization processing unit 13d, the UI control unit 13e, the remaining amount ratio The above-described functions such as the acquisition unit 13f and the ink amount replacement unit 13g may be realized in the printer 50, and the flowchart of FIG. 2 may be realized. In this case, a color conversion LUT 55 (ordinary color conversion LUT) corresponding to each medium type is stored in advance in the ROM 53 in the printer 50, and is subject to rewriting. In addition, the CPU 51 receives various kinds of information and instructions such as a print instruction for an image to be printed (image file), a medium used for printing, and a print mode, from the user via the operation panel 59. As a result, drive data is generated by the function of the firmware FW as described above. Alternatively, the flowchart of FIG. 2 may be realized by sharing the printer driver 13 and the firmware FW.

3. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible. The contents combined with the above-described embodiments and modifications are also within the scope of disclosure of the present invention.

Modification 1:
In step S140, the ink amount replacement unit 13g may further correct the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement according to the difference in color development characteristics between the first ink and the second ink.

  FIG. 5 illustrates the color development characteristics of the first ink (MK ink) and the second ink (PK ink). In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents the ink amount in the above-described density (%) (ink coverage with respect to the unit area of the medium), and the vertical axis represents the lightness L *. These color development characteristics are obtained by measuring the color of a predetermined test pattern (for example, a gradation pattern in which the ink amount is gradually changed) printed on the first medium (mat paper) with the first ink (lightness L *) And a result (color value L *) obtained by measuring the color of a predetermined test pattern printed on the first medium (matte paper) with the second ink (for example, a gratation pattern in which the ink amount is gradually changed). ). As can be seen from FIG. 5, the PK ink has a characteristic that the lightness L * corresponding to the same ink amount is generally higher than that of the MK ink. In other words, the ink amount of PK ink necessary for realizing a certain lightness L * on the mat paper is larger than the ink amount of MK ink necessary for realizing the same lightness L * on the mat paper.

  Therefore, the computer 10 determines the correspondence between the ink amount of MK ink and the ink amount of PK ink that realizes the same lightness L * (for example, the ink amount Im of MK ink that realizes lightness L * 1 and the ink amount of PK ink). (Refer to FIG. 5), and a conversion function for realizing the conversion between the corresponding ink amounts (for example, conversion from the ink amount Im to the ink amount Ip). Alternatively, a conversion table is generated in advance. The conversion function or conversion table generated in advance in this way is stored in the HDD 20 as the ink amount correction data 23 in association with the combination of the first ink and the second ink.

  In step S140, the ink amount replacement unit 13g uses the ink amount correction data 23 stored in the HDD 20 to associate the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement with the combination of the first ink and the second ink. Correct (convert). In the replacement of the ink amount described above, the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink are equivalently exchanged. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when the remaining amount ratio a: b = 1: 1.5, the ink amount of the first ink defined as the density 20% in the normal color conversion LUT 22 is 1.5 of that. /2.5 is directly replaced with the ink amount of the second ink (the density of 12% as the ink amount of the first ink is replaced with the density of 12% as the ink amount of the second ink). Therefore, the ink amount of the second ink after being corrected by the ink amount correction data 23 is the first ink amount used for replacement with the second ink in the ink amount (density 20%) of the first ink before replacement. It can be said that the amount of ink (color L *) equivalent to the color (lightness L *) reproduced on the first medium can be reproduced on the first medium by the ink amount (density 12%) of one ink.

  The ink amount replacing unit 13g further replaces the ink amount of the first ink remaining by replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink, and the ink amount of the second ink obtained by the replacement. Thus, the corrected ink amount of the second ink obtained by correcting with the ink amount correction data 23 is registered as the output value of the color conversion LUT 22 instead of the ink amount of the first ink registered so far. As a result, the color conversion LUT 22 (normal color conversion LUT 22) is rewritten to the color conversion LUT 22 ′. According to the first modified example, when printing based on the ink amount data (CMYMKPK data) obtained by color conversion using the color conversion LUT 22 ′ is executed on the first medium by the printer 50, the first ink Despite the combined use of the first ink and the second ink, it is possible to obtain the same color in the printed result as when the first ink was not replaced with the second ink.

Modification 2:
In the above, the replacement ratio when replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink based on the remaining amount ratio a: b (the ratio of the ink amount of the first ink replaced with the second ink) is It was explained that b / a + b. However, the replacement ratio may be changed according to an instruction from the outside.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart relating to such replacement ratio changing processing. This process is executed in step S140. When the ink amount replacement unit 13g calculates the replacement ratio b / a + b according to the remaining amount ratio a: b (step S200), the UI control unit 13e displays a UI screen showing the replacement ratio in an easy-to-understand manner on the display unit. It is displayed (step S210).

  FIG. 7 illustrates a UI screen 210a displayed in step S210. On the UI screen 210a, a slider bar SB that can be moved on the display R of the range (0 to 100%) of the replacement ratio virtually indicated by a horizontal bar or the like is displayed. After step S200, the position (initial position) of the slider bar SB when the UI screen 210a is first displayed is a position corresponding to the replacement ratio b / a + b calculated in step S200. For example, when the replacement ratio b / a + b is a value of 2/3, the slider bar SB is at a position corresponding to 2/3 of the position of the display R, that is, approximately 67% of the display R. Is displayed. Further, the UI screen 210a displays a remaining amount of ink that imitates the remaining amount of ink (gray display portion) in each ink cartridge of the first ink (MK ink) and the second ink (PK ink). As the ink remaining amount display, a display corresponding to “before printing” and a display corresponding to “after printing” are displayed.

  The ink remaining amount display “before printing” indicates the current remaining amount of the first ink (MK ink) and the remaining amount of the current second ink (PK ink), and at a predetermined position of the remaining amount of the first ink. A virtual line VL1 is drawn. The current remaining amount of the first ink and the current remaining amount of the second ink displayed here are amounts based on the information acquired in step S110. The virtual line VL1 predicts that when printing is performed without replacing the ink amount from the first ink to the second ink (that is, the replacement ratio = 0), the first ink is consumed up to that position. It is a line for showing to. However, how much the first ink is reduced when printing is executed without actually replacing the ink amount from the first ink to the second ink depends on the contents, size, number of prints, etc. of the image to be printed. Since the position depends on the element, the position of the virtual line VL1 is only a hypothetical one, and the position has no strict meaning. The virtual line VL1 is effective when the user compares the “before printing” ink remaining amount display with the “after printing” ink remaining amount display to help the user understand. .

  On the other hand, in the ink remaining amount display “after printing”, the replacement indicated by the position of the slider bar SB is targeted for the ink amount corresponding to the difference between the current remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount indicated by the virtual line VL1. The reduction mode of the first ink and the second ink is predicted and shown assuming that the amount of the second ink is replaced by the ratio. For example, when the replacement ratio indicated by the slider bar SB is 2/3 (about 67%), the difference between the current remaining amount for the first ink and the remaining amount indicated by the virtual line VL1 (remaining ink before "printing") In the amount display, the ink amount corresponding to 2/3 of the gray display portion above the virtual line VL1) is subtracted from the current remaining amount of the second ink, and the current amount of the first ink is displayed. Of the difference between the remaining amount and the remaining amount indicated by the imaginary line VL1, the ink amount corresponding to 1/3 is subtracted from the current remaining amount of the first ink and displayed. In other words, the user can print by replacing the first ink with the second ink at the replacement ratio indicated by the slider bar SB as compared to the normal printing in which the first ink is consumed up to the virtual line VL1 by looking at the remaining ink amount display. It is possible to intuitively understand how much the consumption of the first ink can be suppressed and how much the second ink is consumed. In the example of FIG. 7, the virtual line VL <b> 1 is shown at the same position as the “before printing” ink remaining amount display in the “after printing” ink remaining amount display. In addition, the virtual line VL2 in the ink remaining amount display “after printing” indicates the current remaining amount position of the first ink, and the virtual line VL3 in the ink remaining amount display “after printing” is the current amount of the second ink. The remaining position is shown.

  In step S220, the ink amount replacement unit 13g determines whether the replacement ratio has been changed. The user can arbitrarily change the position of the slider bar SB by operating the operation unit 40. Therefore, when the slider bar SB is moved through the operation unit 40, the ink amount replacing unit 13g determines that the replacement ratio corresponding to the position of the slider bar SB after the movement has been changed, and proceeds to step S230. move on. In step S230, the UI control unit 13e updates the “after printing” ink remaining amount display on the UI screen 210a in accordance with the replacement ratio corresponding to the position of the slider bar SB after movement. For example, when the replacement ratio is changed to 4/5 (80%), the ink amount corresponding to 4/5 of the difference between the current remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount indicated by the virtual line VL1 is The amount of ink corresponding to 1/4 of the difference between the current remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount indicated by the virtual line VL1 is subtracted from the current remaining amount of the second ink. The ink remaining amount display of “after printing” is updated to the display content subtracted from the remaining amount of ink. Thus, the UI screen 210a including the slider bar SB whose position has been changed and the updated “after printing” ink remaining amount display is displayed (step S210).

  That is, the height of the gray display portion in the ink remaining amount display “after printing” is automatically updated in conjunction with the movement of the slider bar SB by the user. It can be said that the ink amount replacing unit 13g also corresponds to the replacement ratio changing unit in that step S220 can be performed. Moreover, it can be said that UI control part 13e corresponds also to a display control part by the point which can perform said step S230. After step S210, if it is determined in step S220 that the replacement ratio has not been changed, the ink amount replacement unit 13g determines whether determination of the replacement ratio is instructed in step S240. The user can operate the determination button DB (FIG. 7) by operating the operation unit 40. For this reason, when the determination button DB is operated, the ink amount replacement unit 13g recognizes that the replacement ratio is determined and proceeds to step S250. On the other hand, steps S210 to S240 are repeated until the determination of the replacement ratio is instructed.

  In step S250, the ink amount replacement unit 13g uses the first ink ink defined in the normal color conversion LUT 22 at a replacement ratio corresponding to the position indicated by the slider bar SB when the determination instruction is received in step S240. Replace the amount with the ink amount of the second ink. Thereby, the color conversion LUT 22 'is set as described above. After step S250, the process proceeds to step S160 (FIG. 2). According to the second modification, the user can observe the UI screen 210a, and the effect of eliminating the uneven decrease in the first ink by replacing the first ink with the second ink before the printer 50 actually prints it. Can be confirmed, and an optimal replacement ratio that can achieve the desired degree of partial reduction elimination effect can be determined.

Modification 3:
Furthermore, the replacement ratio from the first ink to the second ink can be changed according to various factors. As an example, when the number of prints set by the user for a print target image is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the ink amount replacement unit 13g further increases the consumption amount of the second ink than the replacement ratio based on the remaining amount ratio. The replacement ratio may be changed to do so. Thus, when the number of printed sheets is relatively large, the consumption of the first ink can be effectively suppressed by changing the replacement ratio so that the consumption amount of the second ink is further increased.
In addition, the ink amount replacement unit 13g causes the consumption amount of the second ink to increase further than the replacement ratio based on the remaining amount ratio when the remaining amount of the first ink in the printer 50 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference amount. The replacement ratio may be changed to Thus, when the remaining amount of the first ink is low, the consumption of the remaining first ink can be effectively suppressed by changing the replacement ratio so that the consumption amount of the second ink is increased. it can.

Modification 4:
Up to now, as specific examples of the first ink and the second ink which are the same color ink and have different characteristics, the first ink is the MK ink and the second ink is the PK ink. However, various combinations of the first ink and the second ink are conceivable.
For example, the first ink may be PK ink and the second ink may be MK ink. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the uneven decrease in the PK ink according to the remaining amount ratio between the PK ink and the MK ink, and to compensate for the reduced consumption of the PK ink by using the MK ink.
In addition, when using the printer 50 that can use LK ink or LLK ink in addition to black ink (MK ink or PK ink), one kind of ink among black ink, LK ink, and LLK ink is used as the first ink. Another ink may be the second ink. With this configuration, the use of LK ink or LLK ink can compensate for the decrease in black ink consumption and the reduction in black ink consumption according to the remaining ratio between the first ink and the second ink. The amount of decrease in the LK ink (or LLK ink) can be suppressed and the consumption of the LK ink (or LLK ink) can be reduced by using black ink or the like.

Furthermore, when the printer 50 can simultaneously use a pigment-based ink and a dye-based ink for a certain color (for example, black), one of the same-colored pigment-based ink and the dye-based ink is used. The first ink may be used and the other may be the second ink. With such a configuration, according to the remaining ratio of the pigment ink and the dye ink of the same color system, the uneven decrease of one ink is suppressed and the consumption of one ink is reduced by using the other ink. Can be supplemented.
Furthermore, the relationship between the first ink and the second ink may be applied to chromatic inks of the same color system, for example, C ink and LC ink, M ink and LM ink, or the like.
Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to ink jet printers but also to printers of various printing systems such as laser printers. In this specification, “ink” is not limited to liquid ink but is used in a broad sense including toner used in laser printers. As other terms having such a broad meaning of “ink”, “coloring material”, “coloring material”, “coloring agent”, and the like can also be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Computer, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... RAM, 13 ... Printer driver, 13a ... Image data acquisition part, 13b ... Color conversion processing part, 13c ... HT processing part, 13d ... Rasterization processing part, 13e ... UI control part, 13f ... remaining amount ratio acquisition unit, 13g ... ink amount replacement unit, 20 ... HDD, 22, 55 ... color conversion LUT, 23 ... ink amount correction data, 30 ... display, 40 ... operation unit, 50 ... printer, 51 ... CPU, 52 ... RAM, 53 ... ROM, 59 ... operation panel, 61, 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, 61e ... ink cartridge, 210a ... UI screen

Claims (8)

A printing apparatus that can use a first ink and a second ink that are inks of the same color and have different characteristics, for printing,
A remaining amount ratio acquisition unit that acquires a ratio between the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in the printing apparatus;
An ink amount replacing unit that replaces the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to the acquired ratio;
And a print execution control unit that executes printing using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement. The first ink is an ink that adheres to the first medium and produces a predetermined color, and the second ink is an ink that adheres to a second medium different from the first medium and produces a predetermined color,
On condition that the designation of the first medium is accepted as the medium used for printing, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit acquires the ratio, the ink amount replacement unit performs the replacement, and the print execution control unit performs the replacement. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed according to the amount of ink.   On condition that the remaining amount of the second ink is larger than the remaining amount of the first ink in the printing apparatus, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit acquires the ratio, the ink amount replacement unit executes the replacement, and print execution control The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit executes printing according to the ink amount after the replacement.   On condition that the designation of a specific mode for saving the first ink is accepted as the print mode, the remaining amount ratio acquisition unit acquires the ratio, the ink amount replacement unit executes the replacement, and print execution control The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit performs printing according to the ink amount after the replacement.   The ink amount replacement unit corrects the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement according to a difference in color development characteristics between the first ink and the second ink, and the print execution control unit corrects the second ink after the correction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed according to the amount of ink. A replacement ratio changing unit that changes a replacement ratio when the ink amount replacing unit replaces the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to an instruction from the outside;
A display control unit that displays a reduction mode of the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink according to the changed replacement ratio on a predetermined display unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing execution control unit executes printing according to the ink amount after replacement based on the changed replacement ratio. A printing control method for controlling a printing apparatus that can use a first ink and a second ink, which are inks of the same color and have different characteristics, for printing,
A remaining amount ratio acquisition step of acquiring a ratio between the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in the printing apparatus;
An ink amount replacing step of replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to the acquired ratio;
A printing execution control step for causing the printing apparatus to perform printing using the first ink and the second ink according to the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement. Print control method. A print control program for controlling a printing apparatus that can use a first ink and a second ink having the same color and different characteristics for printing,
A remaining amount ratio acquisition function for acquiring a ratio between the remaining amount of the first ink and the remaining amount of the second ink in the printing apparatus;
An ink amount replacement function for replacing the ink amount of the first ink with the ink amount of the second ink according to the acquired ratio;
A print execution control function for causing the printing apparatus to perform printing using the first ink and the second ink according to the ink amount of the first ink and the ink amount of the second ink after the replacement. Print control program.