JP2013075487A - Printing device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce first print time.SOLUTION: A printing device performs pipeline processing in at at least any timing from print data generation until ink ejection. The printing device includes a plurality of processing units, a variable buffer region which secured per processing unit with respect to at least one of the processing units for pipeline processing, and a control unit controlling the size of the buffer region. The control unit includes: a first mode where the buffer region is set to a smaller size as a control mode of the size than a specific size; and a second mode where the buffer region is set to the specific size. When the pipeline processing about leading data (data in the first page) out of the target processing data, the first mode is executed (step S110).

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs pipeline processing at least partly from generation of print data to ink ejection, and a control method thereof.

  In the printing apparatus, print data (dot ON / OFF data) is generated by performing various processes such as color conversion processing and halftone processing on the data to be printed (for example, JPEG image data). And print the image. Conventionally, as a technique for speeding up various processes, a configuration in which each process is executed by pipeline processing has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-188985 A

  In the conventional technique, printing can be performed stably at high speed after printing is started, but the waiting time until printing starts is long and the first printing time is long. In particular, for a print job with a small number of printed sheets, the long first print time cannot be overlooked.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and aims to shorten the first print time.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

Application Example 1 A printing apparatus that performs pipeline processing at least in part from generation of print data to ink ejection,
Multiple processing units;
A variable buffer area reserved for each processing unit for at least one of the plurality of processing units for the pipeline processing;
A control unit for controlling the size of the buffer area,
The control unit is
The size control mode includes a first mode for setting the buffer area to a size smaller than a predetermined size, and a second mode for setting the buffer area to the predetermined size.
A printing apparatus that executes the first mode when the pipeline processing is performed on the first data of processing target data.

  According to this printing apparatus, for the first data of the processing target data, pipeline processing is performed by setting the buffer area to a size smaller than the specified size, and for the subsequent data, the buffer area is set to a predetermined size. Set and pipeline processing is performed. For this reason, the head data is subdivided by making the buffer area smaller, and the latency in the pipeline processing can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to shorten the first print time, which is the time until the printing of the first sheet is completed.

Application Example 2 In the printing apparatus according to Application Example 1, in the case where the control unit performs printing continuously for a plurality of sheets, the first data is not the first sheet in the first mode. A printing apparatus that controls the data in the second mode.
According to this printing apparatus, since the buffer area can be reduced for the first data, the first print time can be reliably shortened.

Application Example 3 In the printing apparatus according to Application Example 2, in the first mode, the size of the buffer area is gradually increased in size as the first mode is positioned on the rear side of the first sheet of data. apparatus.
According to this printing apparatus, the first print time can be further shortened because the size of the buffer area is gradually enlarged as it is positioned rearward in the first sheet of data.

[Application Example 4] The printing apparatus according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 3, wherein the buffer area controlled by the control unit has a processing order of the last processing unit among the plurality of processing units. A printing device that is a buffer area that is not the destination of data.
According to this printing apparatus, the printing speed can be stabilized.

Application Example 5 A control method for controlling a printing apparatus that performs pipeline processing in at least a part from generation of print data to ink ejection,
The printing apparatus includes a plurality of processing units and a variable buffer area secured for each processing unit for at least one of the plurality of processing units for the pipeline processing,
The size control mode includes a first mode for setting the buffer area to a size smaller than a predetermined size, and a second mode for setting the buffer area to the predetermined size.
A method for controlling a printing apparatus, wherein the first mode is executed when the pipeline processing is performed on the first data of processing target data.

  According to this printing apparatus control method, the first printing time can be shortened as in the printing apparatus of Application Example 1.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be realized in various forms other than the first to fifth application examples. For example, the present invention is a computer program for causing a computer to execute the steps of the printing apparatus control method according to the fifth application example. The present invention can be realized in the form of, a form as a recording medium in which the computer program is recorded, a form of a data signal or the like embodied in a carrier wave including the computer program, and the like. As the recording medium, for example, various media such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory card, and a hard disk can be used.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a printing system 100 as a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram functionally illustrating print data generation processing performed by a host computer and image formation processing performed by a printer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of a pipeline process. It is a flowchart which shows the buffer management process performed by the buffer manager. It is a flowchart which shows the buffer management process in 2nd Example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
A. First embodiment:
A-1. Overall system configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a printing system 100 as a first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the printing system 100 includes a host computer 200 and a printer 300. The host computer 200 and the printer 300 are connected by a USB cable 120. The host computer 200 transmits print data to the printer 300 via the USB cable 120, and the printer 300 prints an image on a sheet as a print medium based on the print data received from the host computer 200.

  The host computer 200 includes a computer main body 210, a display device 220, a keyboard 230, a hard disk drive (HDD) 240, and an external memory 250 as peripheral devices. The computer main body 210 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, a display device controller 214, a keyboard controller 215, an HDD controller 216, a memory controller 217, a communication interface (I / F) 218, and the like. These components 211 to 218 are connected to each other via a bus 219. A display device 220 is connected to the display device controller 214, a keyboard 230 is connected to the keyboard controller 215, an HDD 240 is connected to the HDD controller 216, and an external memory 250 is connected to the memory controller 217. A USB cable 120 is connected to the communication I / F 218. The external memory 250 is, for example, an SD memory card, a compact flash (registered trademark), or the like.

  The CPU 211 performs various processes by executing computer programs stored in the ROM 213 and the HDD 240 using the RAM 212 as a work area. For example, the CPU 211 performs print data generation processing that performs image processing on previously prepared print target data and transmits the obtained processed data to the printer 300 as print data. The print target data may be prepared by acquiring from the outside via the external memory 250 or a network, or may be prepared by generating in the host computer 200. The components of the host computer 200 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and some of the components of the host computer 200 can be omitted or additional components can be added to the host computer 200.

  The printer 300 includes a controller unit 310, a printing unit 320, an operation panel 330, and an external memory 340 controlled by the controller unit 310. The controller unit 310 includes a CPU 311, a RAM 312, a ROM 313, a printing unit interface (I / F) 314, an operation panel interface (I / F) 315, a memory controller 316, and a communication interface (I / F) 318. These components 311 to 318 are connected to each other via a bus 319. A printing unit 320 is connected to the printing unit I / F 314, an operation panel 330 is connected to the operation panel I / F 315, and an external memory 340 is connected to the memory controller 316. A USB cable 120 is connected to the communication I / F 318. The external memory 340 is, for example, an SD memory card, a compact flash (registered trademark), or the like.

  The ROM 313 stores an image forming program for forming an image on a print medium. The CPU 311 executes the image forming program to control the printing unit 320 to perform image forming processing for forming an image by ejecting ink. The printing unit 320 includes functional units necessary for actually forming an image on a print medium, such as an ink cartridge that stores ink, a print head, and a platen. There are four types of ink, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). In the present embodiment, the printer 300 is configured as a so-called line head printer, and can perform high-speed printing (for example, 60 pages or more per minute). The operation panel 313 is an operation unit for the user to perform various settings related to print processing. The user can instruct the controller unit 310 by operating the operation panel 313 to set the type and size of the print medium and to cancel the printing. The print data generation process executed by the host computer 200 and the image formation process executed by the printer 300 will be described next.

A-2. About processing units:
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram functionally showing print data generation processing performed by the host computer 200 and image formation processing performed by the printer 300. The print data generation process on the host computer 200 side is realized by the data input processing unit P1, the rendering processing unit P2, the compression processing unit P3, and the data output processing unit P4. Each of the processing units P <b> 1 to P <b> 4 is a functional component realized by the arithmetic processing of the CPU 211, and corresponds to a “processing unit” described in “Means for Solving the Problems”.

  First, the print target data stored in the external memory 250 (FIG. 1) or the like is captured by the data input processing unit P1. Here, it is assumed that the print target data is vector image color image data. Thereafter, the rendering processing unit P2 converts the print target data into bitmap color image data which is a raster image. Note that data is exchanged between the data input processing unit P1 and the rendering processing unit P2 using the first buffer B1 secured on the RAM 212. That is, the data obtained by the data input processing unit P1 is temporarily stored in the first buffer B1, and the rendering processing unit P2 takes in data from the first buffer B1, and performs processing based on the taken-in data. Do.

  After executing the rendering process, the compression processing unit P3 compresses the data for the rendered color image data according to a predetermined compression method (for example, JPEG). Thereafter, the data output processing unit P4 outputs the compressed data to the printer 300 via the communication I / F 220. This compressed data is the “print data” described above. It should be noted that each data is sent between the rendering processor P2 and the compression processor P3 via the second buffer B2, and between the compression processor P3 and the data output processor P4 via the third buffer B3. Exchanges are being made. Similar to the first buffer B1, the second buffer B2 and the third buffer B3 are secured on the RAM 212. Thus, a first buffer B1 as a buffer area is secured for the data input processing unit P1, a second buffer B2 as a buffer area is secured for the rendering processing unit P2, and a compression processing unit P3 is secured. A third buffer B3 is secured as a buffer area.

  On the other hand, the image forming process performed by the printer 300 is realized by the data input processing unit P5, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the data output processing unit P8. Each of the processing units P <b> 5 to P <b> 8 is a functional component realized by the arithmetic processing of the CPU 311, and corresponds to a “processing unit” described in the section “Means for Solving the Problems”.

  First, the print data sent from the host computer 200 is taken in by the data input processing unit P5. Thereafter, the fetched print data is decompressed by the decompression processing unit P6. The print data sent from the host computer 200 is data compressed by the compression processing unit P3 on the printer 300 side, and information on the compression method at the time of compression is recorded in the header. The decompression processing unit P6 reads the header of the print data, determines the compression method from the header, and performs decompression according to the compression method on the print data. Note that data is exchanged between the data input processing unit P5 and the decompression processing unit P6 by using the fourth buffer B4 secured on the RAM 312.

  After execution of the decompression process, the halftone processing unit P7 performs a halftone process in which the gradation of the print data after the decompression process is represented by dot distribution. As a result of the halftone processing section P7, dot on / off data is obtained. Thereafter, the data output processing unit P8 outputs dot on / off data to the printing unit 320. Each of the decompression processing unit P6 and the halftone processing unit P7 passes through the fifth buffer B5, and between the halftone processing unit P7 and the data output processing unit P8 passes through the sixth buffer B6. Data is being exchanged. Similar to the fourth buffer B4, the fifth buffer B5 and the sixth buffer B6 are secured on the RAM 312. Thus, a fourth buffer B4 as a buffer area is secured for the data input processing unit P5, a fifth buffer B5 as a buffer area is secured for the decompression processing unit P6, and a halftone processing unit P7 is secured. Thus, a sixth buffer B6 is secured as a buffer area.

A-3. About pipeline processing:
In the host computer 200 having the above-described configuration, the data input processing unit P1, the rendering processing unit P2, the compression processing unit P3, and the data output are provided by providing the buffers B1 to B3 between the processing units P1 to P4 as described above. The processing unit P4 can be executed by pipeline processing. In the printer 300 having the above-described configuration, the data input processing unit P5, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the buffers B4 to B6 are provided between the processing units P5 to P8 as described above. The data output processing unit P8 can be executed by pipeline processing.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of pipeline processing. FIG. 3A shows a state of pipeline processing in the host computer 200, and FIG. 3B shows a state of pipeline processing in the printer 300. In the example shown in the figure, the print target data is composed of three parts. That is, the print target data is composed of “A”, “B”, and “C” data. The horizontal axis in the figure represents time.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, in the host computer 200, the data input processing unit P1 sequentially executes “A” data, “B” data, and “C” data. When the process for the image data “A” is completed in the data input processing unit P1, the data input processing unit P1 starts executing the process for the image data “B” and the rendering processing unit P2 starts the image “A”. Start processing the data. In this way, the data input processing unit P1, the rendering processing unit P2, the compression processing unit P3, and the data output processing unit P4 are executed in parallel, that is, executed by pipeline processing.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, in the printer 300, the data input processing unit P5 sequentially executes “A” image data, “B” image data, and “C” image data. When the processing for the image data “A” is completed in the data input processing unit P5, the data input processing unit P5 starts executing the processing for the image data “B”, and the decompression processing unit P6 starts the image “A”. Start processing the data. In this way, the data input processing unit P5, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the data output processing unit P8 are executed in parallel, that is, executed by pipeline processing.

A-4. About Buffer Manager:
Each of the buffers B1 to B6 is a variable buffer area. When pipeline processing is performed, the size (size) of the area needs to be appropriately controlled. The buffer manager controls the size of this buffer. The buffer manager is software that operates by a CPU (CPU 211 on the host computer 200 side, CPU 311 on the printer 300 side) according to a program stored in a ROM (ROM 212 on the host computer 200 side, ROM 312 on the printer 300 side), and controls the size. As a mode, a second mode in which the size of each of the buffers B1 to B3 and B4 to B6 is set to a predetermined size (hereinafter referred to as “full size”), and a size smaller than the full size (hereinafter referred to as “ And a first mode set to “small size”.

  In this embodiment, the full size is a size that can store data for one page of the print medium. The small size is a size that can store one row of data having a predetermined width in one page. The full size need not be limited to one page, and may be another size such as two pages, three pages, or the like. The small size does not need to be limited to one line, and may be the size of other lines such as two lines, three lines, or a width that is not in units of lines. The configuration of the buffer manager executed by the CPUs 211 and 311 corresponds to the “control unit” described in the section “Means for Solving the Problems”.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing buffer management processing executed by the buffer manager. The buffer management process is executed by both the CPU 211 of the host computer 200 and the CPU 311 of the printer 300. The buffer management process manages all the buffers B1 to B3 and B4 to B6, but is illustrated as controlling one buffer in the drawing. Here, focusing on the fourth buffer B4 on the printer 300 side, the following description will be given.

  As shown in the figure, when the process is started, the CPU 211 first executes the first mode described above (step S110). That is, the size of the buffer (for example, the fourth buffer B4) is set to the size for one line.

  Next, the CPU 211 performs a delay process for a predetermined period (step S120). The predetermined period referred to here is the processing unit that secures the buffer, that is, the processing unit that sends data to the buffer (for example, the data input processing unit P5 for the fourth buffer B4) in step S110. This is a period in which processing is performed so that data of the set size for one line is sent to the buffer.

  In parallel with the process of step S120, the CPU 211 performs a process of determining whether or not the process of the print target data is completed during the delay period (step S130). If it is determined in the delay period that the processing of the print target data has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S140, and it is determined whether or not the processing of the data for one page of the print target data has been completed. judge. The reason why the determination value is set to one page of data is that the full size of the buffer is one page. For example, when the full size is determined to be two pages, the determination value is two pages. Become.

  If it is determined in step S140 that the data for one page has not been completed, the CPU 211 returns the process to step S110 and moves the process to the subsequent line. As a result, for the data corresponding to one page of the print target data, processing of the processing unit, for example, processing of the data input processing unit P5, is executed with one line as a processing unit, and the data in the fourth buffer B4 is transferred. Accumulation will be done. Although not shown, the other processing units, that is, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the data output processing unit P8 are similarly processed with one row as the processing unit for the data of the first page. Processing is executed. In the same way, not only on the printer 300 side but also on the host computer 200 side, the processing for the data of the first page is executed with one line as the processing unit in all the processing units. The print target data corresponds to “processing target data” described in the column “Means for Solving Problems”. One page of data to be printed corresponds to the “first data” described in the “Means for solving problems” column.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S140 that the data for one page has been completed, the CPU 211 executes the second mode described above (step S150). That is, the size of the buffer (for example, the fourth buffer B4) is set to the full size.

  Thereafter, the CPU 211 performs a delay process for a predetermined period (step S160). In the predetermined period referred to here, in the processing unit that secures the buffer (for example, the data input processing unit P5 for the fourth buffer B4), the data of one page size set in step S150 is stored in the buffer. This is the period during which only the processing is sent.

  In parallel with the process of step S160, the CPU 211 performs a process of determining whether or not the process of the print target data is completed during the delay period (step S170). If it is determined that the processing of the print target data has not been completed during the delay period, the CPU 211 returns the process to step S140 and moves the process to the subsequent page. As a result, for the data corresponding to the second and subsequent pages of the print target data, processing of the processing unit, for example, processing of the data input processing unit P5, is performed with one page as a processing unit, and the data to the fourth buffer B4 is stored. Data is written. Although not shown in the figure, the other processing units, that is, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the data output processing unit P8 are similarly processed in units of one page for the second and subsequent pages. The process is executed. In the same way, not only on the printer 300 side but also on the host computer 200 side, the processing for the data for the second and subsequent pages is executed in units of one page in all processing units. If it is determined in step S170 that the processing of the print target data has been completed, the processing ends at “END” and the buffer management processing is terminated.

A-5. Example effect:
Therefore, according to the printing system 100 of the first embodiment, for the data of the first page of the print target data, the pipeline processing is performed by setting the buffers B1 to B6 to the size of one line, For data from the second page onward, pipeline processing is performed with the buffers B1 to B6 set to full size. For this reason, the data of the first page is subdivided with a smaller buffer, and the latency in the pipeline processing can be reduced. As a result, one first print time can be shortened.

B. Second embodiment:
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The printing system according to the second embodiment has the same hardware configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the configuration of buffer management processing executed by the host computer 200 and the printer 300, which are software, is different. . In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be described below using the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing buffer management processing executed by the buffer manager. The buffer management process is executed by both the CPU 211 of the host computer 200 and the CPU 311 of the printer 300, as in the first embodiment. The processing in steps S130 to S170 in FIG. 5 is the same as the processing in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment, and is given the same step number. That is, the processing for the second and subsequent pages of the print target data is the same as in the first embodiment, and only the processing for the first page is different.

  As shown in the figure, when the process is started, the CPU 211 first sets a value 1 that is an initial value to a variable n (step S205). Next, the size of the buffer (for example, the fourth buffer B4) is set to the number of lines of the variable n (= n lines) (step S210). This setting of the buffer size is the first mode in the second embodiment.

  Thereafter, the CPU 211 performs a delay process for a predetermined period (step S160). In the predetermined period referred to here, in the processing unit that secures the buffer (for example, the data input processing unit P5 for the fourth buffer B4), the data of the size of n rows set in step S210 is stored in the buffer. This is the period during which only the processing is sent. Thereafter, the CPU 211 increments the variable n by a value 1 (step S225). After execution of step S225, the CPU 211 advances the process to step S130.

  The processing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment in steps S130 and S140, and if it is determined in step S140 that one page of the data to be printed has been completed, the CPU 211 performs step S210. The process is returned to and the buffer size for the incremented n rows is set.

  Therefore, in the buffer management process having the above-described configuration, the number of lines incremented for each line such as 1 line, 2 lines, 3 lines,. As a result, processing of the processing unit, for example, processing of the data input processing unit P5 is executed. As for the data for the second and subsequent pages, the processing is executed with one page as a processing unit, as in the first embodiment. Similarly, the decompression processing unit P6, the halftone processing unit P7, and the data output processing unit P8 execute the processing for the data of the first page, with the number of rows incremented for each row as a processing unit. The Similarly, not only on the printer 300 side but also on the host computer 200 side, in all processing units, for the data of the first page, the number of rows incremented in order is used as the processing unit, and for the second and subsequent pages, one page is the processing unit. The processing of each processing unit is executed.

  Therefore, according to the printing system of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the buffers B1 to B6 can be reduced for the data of the first page, so that the first print time can be shortened. . When the buffer is reduced, the protocol overhead added to the fragmented data increases, but the speed reduction due to latency due to the data transfer in the buffer can be reduced, so the first print time can be shortened. It is. Particularly in this embodiment, the size of each of the buffers B1 to B6 is gradually enlarged as it is located at the rear side in the data of the first page, so that the ratio of the protocol assigned to the data can be gradually reduced. As a result, the first print time can be further shortened from the overall balance.

C. Variations:
The first and second embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, a function realized by software may be realized by hardware. In addition, the following modifications are possible.

・ Modification 1:
In each of the above embodiments, the buffer is set to the full size for the second and subsequent pages, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the first embodiment, the buffer may be a half page size on the second page, and the buffer may be full size (one page) on and after the third page. In the second embodiment, the buffer may be gradually expanded from one line to half a page on the first page, the buffer may be a half page size on the second page, and a full size (one page) may be set on the third and subsequent pages.

Modification 2
In each of the above embodiments, the buffer management processing according to the present invention is applied to all the buffers B1 to B3 provided in the host computer 200 and all the buffers B4 to B6 provided in the printer 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this. I can't. The buffer management process may be performed on an arbitrary number of buffers B1 to B3 included in the host computer 200 and an arbitrary number of buffers among all the buffers B4 to B6 included in the printer 300. In this case, it is preferable that the buffer management process is not performed on the last stage buffer. That is, the host computer 200 preferably selects buffers to be applied from the buffers B1 and B2 other than the third buffer B3, and the printer 300 preferably selects buffers to be applied from the buffers B4 and B5 other than the sixth buffer B6. . The last-stage buffer is a destination for fetching data of the processing unit having the last processing order. By not performing the buffer management processing of the present invention on the last-stage buffer, the data output processing units P4 and P8 fetch data. Can always be performed from the full size buffers B3 and B6. Accordingly, data output from the host computer 200 to the printer 300 and print data output to the printing unit in the printer 300 can be performed at a more stable speed, and printing at a stable print speed is possible.

・ Modification 3:
In each of the above embodiments, the buffer management processing according to the present invention is performed on the buffers B1 to B3 included in the host computer 200 and the buffers B4 to B6 included in the printer 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The configuration may be applied only to the host computer 200 side, that is, to at least one of the buffers B1 to B3 included in the host computer 200. Further, it may be configured to be applied only to the printer 300 side, that is, to at least one of the buffers B4 to B6 provided in the printer 300. In short, the present invention can be applied to a printing apparatus (in the embodiment, corresponding to the host computer 200 or the printer 300) that performs pipeline processing at least partly from generation of print data to ink ejection.

-Modification 4:
In each of the embodiments, the print target data is color image data and the halftone process is performed on the printer 300 side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the print target data is black data, that is, black text data or black graphic data, the halftone process may be performed on the hot computer 200 side. In this configuration, the buffer management processing according to the present invention may be applied to each buffer.

  It should be noted that elements other than those described in the independent claims among the constituent elements in the above-described embodiments and modifications are additional elements and can be omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to these examples and modifications, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Printing system 200 ... Host computer 210 ... Computer main body 211 ... CPU
212 ... RAM
213 ... ROM
214 ... Display device controller 215 ... Keyboard controller 216 ... HDD controller 217 ... Memory controller 219 ... Bus 220 ... Display device 230 ... Keyboard 240 ... Hard disk drive (HDD)
250 ... External memory 300 ... Printer 310 ... Controller 311 ... CPU
312 ... RAM
313 ... ROM
315: Operation panel interface 316: Memory controller 318 ... Communication interface 319 ... Bus 320 ... Printing unit 330 ... Operation panel 340 ... External memory

Claims (5)

A printing apparatus that performs pipeline processing at least partly from generation of print data to ink ejection,
Multiple processing units;
A variable buffer area reserved for each processing unit for at least one of the plurality of processing units for the pipeline processing;
A control unit for controlling the size of the buffer area,
The control unit is
The size control mode includes a first mode for setting the buffer area to a size smaller than a predetermined size, and a second mode for setting the buffer area to the predetermined size.
A printing apparatus that executes the first mode when the pipeline processing is performed on the first data of processing target data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit is
A printing apparatus that performs control in the first mode for data on the first sheet and in the second mode for data other than the first sheet when printing a plurality of sheets continuously. The printing apparatus according to claim 2,
The printing apparatus according to the first mode, wherein the size of the buffer area is gradually increased as it is positioned rearward in the first sheet of data. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The printing apparatus, wherein the buffer area controlled by the control unit is a buffer area that is not a data fetch destination of the last processing unit among the plurality of processing units. A control method for controlling a printing apparatus that performs pipeline processing at least in part from generation of print data to ink ejection,
The printing apparatus includes a plurality of processing units and a variable buffer area secured for each processing unit for at least one of the plurality of processing units for the pipeline processing,
The size control mode includes a first mode for setting the buffer area to a size smaller than a predetermined size, and a second mode for setting the buffer area to the predetermined size.
A method for controlling a printing apparatus, wherein the first mode is executed when the pipeline processing is performed on the first data of processing target data.

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