JP2013123878A - Program for predicting processing time of variable print data and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming method that can improve print speed when a saved print job is reused.SOLUTION: PDL data are stored from a received print job, and bit map data created by rasterizing the PDL data are stored. When print setting is changed from ticket information included in the print job, a page requiring re-rasterization is determined, and its result is stored (S11 to S15). When reprint is instructed, the stored determination result and print setting at the reprint are compared, and the page requiring the re-rasterization is printed by re-rasterizing the stored PDL data, while the page not requiring the re-rasterization is printed from the stored bit map data.

Description

  The present invention relates to a variable print data processing time prediction method and a variable print data processing time prediction program, and more particularly to a variable print data processing time prediction program and an image forming apparatus for predicting a rasterization time in variable printing.

  In recent years, on-demand printing (POD (Plain Old Document)) has been put into practical use, and various techniques have been developed. As a technology related to such POD, there is a system capable of reusing a print job. This is because the print job once received is saved in the printing device (image forming device), and when the same print job is printed again, the saved print job is designated and printed, so that printing can be performed quickly. Trying to answer the request.

  When storing such a print job, printing is performed if both the page description language (PDL (page description language)) that is the original data of the received print job and the bitmap data after rasterizing the PDL are stored. The storage capacity of the device (mainly a hard disk drive is used) will be strained.

  Therefore, when saving a print job, the time required for rasterization for each page, the PDL size before rasterization, etc. are checked. If it is determined that the storage capacity is low even if saved in PDL, only PDL is saved and stored. There is a technique for reducing the compression of the storage capacity by storing only bitmap data for pages whose performance is affected by compressing the capacity (Patent Document 1).

  As another technique related to POD, in order to shorten the time from the print command (reception of print job) to the completion of printing, it is received when a print job designated to print a specific page is input. Interpretation of a print job to create intermediate data, discard data other than the specified page from the intermediate data, and create bitmap data from the remaining data that was not discarded. Yes (Patent Document 2).

  In these conventional techniques, when PDL data is stored as a print job, rasterization is always required when the stored print job is reused. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, if only PDL data is left and bitmap data is discarded, the stored PDL must be rasterized when this print job is used for reprinting. Further, in Patent Document 2, rasterization processing is still necessary for only the page designated for printing.

JP 2005-161819 A JP 2005-254515 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving a printing speed when reusing a stored print job, and a method thereof.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) The receiving unit that receives the print job, the original data in the print job received by the receiving unit, and the bitmap data obtained by rasterizing the original data are stored in the storage device, and each page is reproduced when the print setting is changed. It is determined whether or not rasterization is necessary, the result of the determination is stored in a storage device, and the determination result stored in the storage device when a reprint instruction is given and the print setting at the time of the reprint instruction To determine whether or not each page needs to be re-rasterized, and as a result of the determination, the page determined to be re-rasterized is taken out from the storage device, re-rasterized, and printed. A page that is determined not to require re-rasterization includes a control unit that extracts the bitmap data from the storage device and prints the bitmap data. An image forming apparatus symptoms.

  (2) The control unit changes the print setting for each page that needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed from the determination result and the current print setting included in the received print job. Create a management table corresponding to the contents, and determine whether re-rasterization is necessary by comparing the management table and the print settings included in the reprint instruction when the reprint instruction is issued (1) The image forming apparatus according to (1).

  (3) When a print job is received, document data in the print job is stored in a storage device, and the document data is rasterized to create bitmap data, and the bitmap data is stored in the storage device. Step (a) and determining whether or not each page needs re-rasterization when the print setting is changed from the print settings in the print job, and determining whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when changing the print setting. When the step (b) of storing in the storage device and a reprint instruction are issued, the determination result stored in the storage device is compared with the print setting at the time of the reprint instruction to re-rasterize each page. A step (c) for determining whether or not it is necessary, and for the page determined to be re-rasterized as a result of the determination, the document data is extracted from the storage device. To print After re rasterized Te, pages re rasterized is determined to unnecessary image forming method characterized by having a step (d) to be printed is taken out the bitmap data from the storage device.

  (4) In step (b), for each page that needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed from the determination result and the current print setting included in the received print job, A step (e) for creating a management table corresponding to the contents of the change, and whether the step (d) requires re-rasterization by comparing the management table with the print settings included in the reprint instruction. (3) The image forming method described in (3)

  According to the present invention, the original data of the received print job and the rasterized bitmap data are stored, and it is determined whether re-rasterization is necessary when the print setting is changed, and the determination result If there is a reprint instruction, only the pages that need to be re-rasterized are re-rasterized based on the determination result, and the pages that do not need to be printed using the bitmap data as they are. . For this reason, at the time of reprinting, there are many pages that do not require re-rasterization, and the printing speed is improved.

1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram for demonstrating the function which CPU performs. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a print job is received. It is a figure which shows the discrimination | determination result (ticket edit influence presence / absence information) of ticket edit influence presence / absence. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which produces a rasterization necessity management table. It is explanatory drawing of a rasterization necessity management table production | generation. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence at the time of a reprint instruction | indication.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is roughly composed of a control unit 2 and a printing unit 3. The image forming apparatus 1 is connected via a network 50 to a client computer 51 (PC) that creates a print job.

  The control unit 2 includes a CPU 21, a transfer memory 24, a hard disk 25 (HDD), a communication interface 26 (NIC: Network Interface Card), an operation unit 27, and a memory 28.

  The CPU 21 controls the entire image forming apparatus 1 and functions as a RIP (Raster Image Processor). Here, the overall control function and RIP function performed by the CPU 21 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining functions performed by the CPU.

  A portion that performs the entire system function performed by the CPU 21 is referred to as a system portion 201, and a portion that performs the RIP function is referred to as an interpreter portion 202.

  In addition to basic operations for causing the image forming apparatus to function as a general image forming apparatus, the system unit 201 performs procedures described later (procedures when a print job is received, procedures for creating a rasterization necessity management table, and processing procedures when a reprint is instructed). The CPU 21 executes a program created based on the control to control each unit related to reprinting.

  On the other hand, the interpreter unit 202 rasterizes document data from a print job as a general RIP function. The document data is configured by a page description language (PDL), and includes ticket information that is print settings in addition to characters and images to be printed. The interpreter unit 202 analyzes the PDL and rasterizes data such as characters and images. Bitmap data created by rasterization is stored in the HDD 25. In this embodiment, the interpreter unit 202 operates in accordance with a procedure for receiving a print job, which will be described later, together with the system unit 201 in addition to a general RIP function, so that the print setting is changed for each page. It is sometimes determined whether re-rasterization is necessary (details will be described later).

  For this reason, it can be said that the control part 2 containing CPU21 in which each program for performing such a function is performed is a computer which executes a program. In this embodiment, the control function and RIP function of the entire system are performed by one CPU 21. Instead, the CPU 21 performs the control function of the entire system, and rasterization is performed as RIP, which is different from the CPU 21. A configuration using a dedicated processor may be used. In this case, the CPU 21 functions as a system unit 201 that controls the entire system and a function that determines whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when the print setting of the interpreter unit 202 is changed (that is, a general RIP Function other than the rasterizing function).

  Returning to FIG. 1, the transfer memory 24 is for temporarily storing bitmap data read from the HDD 25 during printing when the bitmap data is sent to the printing unit 3. The transfer memory 24 temporarily stores bitmap data that has been rasterized when the printing unit 3 is busy, and transmits the bitmap data to the printing unit 3 when printing is possible.

  The hard disk (HDD 25) is a storage device that stores programs for each procedure to be described later, and print job data (PDL data before rasterization, bitmap data after rasterization, ticket information, etc.) sent from the client computer 51. ) Memory. Further, the HDD 25 stores ticket editing influence presence / absence information, which is a determination result of whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when changing print settings, and a rasterization necessity management table created from the ticket editing influence presence / absence information and ticket information, which will be described later. . The program for each procedure is not limited to the hard disk 25 but may be provided together with the firmware of the image forming apparatus 1 and stored in a firmware storage unit (not shown) such as an EPROM.

  The communication interface (NIC 26) connects the image forming apparatus 1 to the network 50. For this purpose, the NIC 26 transmits and receives data according to the standard of the connected network 50. Here, the network 50 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) in which computers and network devices are connected according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Token Ring, and FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), or a dedicated line between the LANs. These are various networks 50 such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) connected by. In FIG. 1, one client computer 51 and one image forming apparatus 1 are connected to the network 50, but a plurality of these may be connected.

  The operation unit 27 includes an operation panel for a user to input various operations to the image forming apparatus 1 and a display screen for displaying the state of the image forming apparatus 1 (for example, displaying a job list). ing. These include, for example, a liquid crystal screen and a touch panel. The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 can also be performed from the client computer 51 via the network 50.

  The memory 28 is a storage device that the CPU 21 uses for various processes. It can also be a storage device for storing ticket editing influence presence / absence information and a rasterization necessity management table, which will be described later.

  The printing unit 3 includes a paper feeding unit 31, a print engine 32, and a post-processing unit 33.

  The paper feed unit 31 supplies a print recording medium such as paper to the print engine 32.

  The print engine 32 prints the bitmap data sent from the control unit 2 on a print recording medium fed from the paper feed unit 31 in accordance with a command from the control unit 2. Here, the print engine 32 is based on, for example, an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method, and is not particularly limited.

  The post-processing unit 33 performs processing such as stapling on a printed sheet, and dividing into a set when printing a plurality of copies. Such a post-processing unit 33 is an optional function and may not be used as the image forming apparatus 1.

  The client computer 51 connected to the image forming apparatus 1 has a printer driver installed in order to create document data to be a print job. In the printer driver, various documents and images created on the client computer 51 are collected into a print job and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 according to an instruction from the user. The print job includes data such as characters and images to be printed and ticket information for setting in what form the data is to be printed, and these are collected together as PDL data. Each print setting including ticket information may be referred to as a ticket.

  Since the function of the printer driver on the client computer 51 is already existing, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, the functional operation of the control unit in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.

  The control unit receives the print job (including PDL data) output from the client computer 51 through the NIC 26 (reception unit).

  The received print job is determined whether it is PDL data by the function of the system unit 201 of the CPU 21 (hereinafter simply referred to as the system unit 201). Here, if it is PDL data, the PDL data is stored in the HDD 25 as it is, and is also passed to the function of the interpreter unit 202 of the CPU 21 (hereinafter simply referred to as the interpreter unit 202). The interpreter unit 202 corresponds to the PDL data when there is a dedicated RIP for rasterizing each type of PDL, such as PostScript, PDF, PCL, or the rasterizing process for a plurality of PDL data with one RIP function. There is something to do.

  The PDL data is converted into bitmap data by rasterization by the interpreter unit 202. The bitmap data is transferred to the system unit 201 and stored in the HDD 25 together with the ticket information in the PDL data. Thereby, in this embodiment, both the PDL data stored in the HDD 25 and the rasterized bitmap data are stored. Both the PDL data and the bitmap data stored in the HDD 25 are not erased from the HDD 25 until reaching an erase instruction from the user or a preset erase standard. The erasure instruction is an instruction from the operation unit of the image forming apparatus 1 or an instruction from the client computer 51, and the erasure standard is, for example, erasure from the oldest reception date and time when the capacity of the HDD 25 becomes below a certain level. For example, the setting or the deletion is performed when the reception date and time reaches a predetermined number of elapsed days (elapsed time).

  The ticket information included in the PDL data is information of various settings in the printing. For example, basic functions such as resolution, paper size (paper tray selection), double-sided / single-sided, post-processing, etc. In addition, depending on the image forming apparatus, for example, 1 dot line emphasis, RGB device link profile, RGB-CMYK device link profile, RGB source profile, rendering, CMYK-CMYK device link profile, CMYK target profile, paper simulation, gray compensation , Gray setting, black overprint, spot color mode, composite overprint, and other function setting information supported by the image forming apparatus (of these pieces of ticket information, For example, if there is a print setting for performing post-processing in the ticket information but there is no post-processing device on the image forming apparatus side, the post-processing is not performed. Print settings are ignored).

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to bitmap data and ticket information, ticket influence presence / absence information is created by the interpreter unit 202 and notified to the system unit 201, and is also stored in the HDD 25. The ticket influence presence / absence information is data describing a result of determining, on a page-by-page basis, whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when a print setting related to drawing is changed (details will be described later).

  At the time of reprinting, the system unit 201 determines whether or not to execute rasterization again based on the ticket influence presence / absence information.

  Next, a procedure of processing performed by the control unit will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure when a print job is received.

  When receiving the print job, the system unit 201 passes the received PDL data to the interpreter unit 202 (S11).

  The interpreter unit 202 that receives the PDL data converts the PDL data into bitmap data (sometimes referred to as raster data) by rasterization processing (S12). Here, processing in the interpreter unit 202 includes processing in units of bands, processing in units of pages, and the like. Here, rasterization in units of pages will be described as an example. Accordingly, rasterization for one page is performed in S12.

  Subsequently, the interpreter unit 202 extracts ticket information embedded in the PDL data (S13). There are two types of ticket information, one set for each print job and one set for each page. The setting for each print job is extracted at the time of rasterizing the first page, and that for each page is extracted for each page. .

  Subsequently, the interpreter unit 202 checks the presence / absence of ticket editing influence on the rasterized page (S14). The presence / absence of the ticket editing influence indicates whether or not the rasterization has to be performed again when the print setting is changed, and is performed in units of pages. As an example, a gray replacement setting will be described. The function of the gray replacement setting is a function for replacing the portion with K when there is an image of C = M = Y in the image. For this reason, when the gray replacement setting is changed, the bitmap data stored as it is rasterized cannot be handled. When the stored setting of rasterized data is a color print setting, that is, a setting that is not gray replacement, if the setting is changed to perform gray replacement in reprinting, re-rasterization must be performed.

  Therefore, when such a gray replacement setting change is made, whether or not the setting change affects reprinting is checked for each page as whether or not the ticket editing is affected. In this gray replacement setting, it is checked whether or not a pixel of C = M = Y exists in the rasterized data. If a pixel of C = M = Y exists, the gray replacement setting of the page is performed at the time of reprinting. If is changed, it must be re-rasterized. That is, it is recognized as a page having an influence by ticket editing, and is recorded as ticket editing influence presence / absence information as having a ticket editing influence. C is cyan, M is magenta, Y is yellow, and K is black.

  Subsequently, the interpreter unit 202 passes the bitmap data, ticket information, and ticket editing influence presence / absence information obtained by rasterization to the system unit 201, and the system unit 201 stores them in the HDD 25 (S15). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the rasterizing process for all pages has been performed (S16). If not completed, the process returns to S12 to continue the process of the next page. Ends.

  Here, the determination result of the presence / absence of the ticket editing influence will be described with further examples. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a determination result (ticket edit influence presence / absence information) of the presence / absence of ticket edit influence. In this figure, a circle indicates an affected page, and a blank indicates that there is no effect.

  Since the resolution setting needs to change the resolution of the bitmap data after rasterization by changing the setting, it affects all pages, and therefore affects all pages. In gray replacement, the pages that are affected by the setting change are only the pages in which C = M = Y pixels exist, so those pages are affected. In gray compensation, pages of R, G, B = 0, 0, 0 or C, M, Y, K = 0, 0, 0, 100 are affected. In black overprinting, R, G, B = 0, 0, 0 or C, M, Y, K = 0, 0, 0, 100 pages are affected. In the composite overprint, a page having an overprint command (true.setterprint) is affected.

  Although some examples included in the ticket information have been described here, various print settings are included in the ticket information. Table 1 shows examples of various print settings and a determination method for determining, for each page, whether or not the settings require rasterization when the print settings are changed. A page that meets the conditions described as the determination method indicates that the page needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed. Therefore, a page that matches this determination method is a page that is affected by ticket editing. In the case of changing the resolution, re-rasterization is necessary. Therefore, the resolution is not shown in Table 1 in Table 1.

  Next, processing after rasterized data, ticket information, and ticket editing influence presence / absence information are created and stored in the HDD 25 will be described. In this embodiment, a rasterization necessity management table for determining whether or not rerasterization is necessary for each page when a reprint instruction is issued is created using ticket editing influence presence / absence information.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating a rasterization necessity management table. Here, the creation of this management table will be described by taking gray replacement as an example.

  First, the system unit 201 extracts ticket information and ticket editing influence presence / absence information stored in the HDD 25 (S21).

  Subsequently, the system unit 201 generates a rasterization necessity management table for each page from the extracted ticket information and ticket editing influence presence / absence information (S22).

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of rasterization necessity management table generation. FIG. 6A shows ticket editing influence presence / absence information, FIG. 6B shows ticket information, and FIG. 6C shows a rasterization necessity management table.

  To explain gray replacement as an example, it can be seen from the acquired ticket editing influence presence / absence information that the pages that have an effect on gray replacement are pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17. Further, it can be seen from the ticket information that the current setting for gray replacement is OFF.

  From these two pieces of information, it is understood that when the gray replacement setting is changed to ON, re-rasterization of pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17 is necessary. Accordingly, the rasterization necessity management table records that pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17 need to be rasterized again in the gray replacement ON item (FIG. 6 (c). ) In circles indicates that re-rasterization is necessary, and blanks indicate that it is not necessary).

  Similarly, regarding other print settings in the ticket information, a rasterization necessity management table is generated by recording the necessity of re-rasterization from the ticket editing influence presence / absence information and the ticket information.

  In this rasterization necessity management table, the print setting is determined based on the ticket edit influence presence / absence information which is a determination result of whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when the print setting is changed, and the current print setting included in the stored print job. This is a management table for each page that needs to be re-rasterized when changed, corresponding to the change contents of the print setting (from ON to OFF or vice versa).

  The system unit 201 stores the completed rasterization necessity management table in the HDD 25 in association with the PDL data, bitmap data, and ticket information corresponding to the print job (S23). This is the end of this process.

  With the processing so far, when a print job is received, if a reprint instruction is given, preparation for printing at higher speed is completed.

  As described above, the print job reception process and the rasterization necessity management table creation process are shown as separate procedures, but these processes may be performed continuously. That is, after receiving and rasterizing a print job, the rasterization necessity management table may be created from the check information on the effect of ticket editing from the ticket information of the rasterized page as it is, and the check result and the ticket information of the page. In this case, the rasterization necessity management table is filled with each print setting (ticket) for each rasterized page, but when the last page is finally rasterized, the same as in FIG. 6C. The rasterization necessity management table is generated.

  Next, a processing procedure when there is a reprint instruction will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when there is a reprint instruction.

  First, the system unit 201 accepts a reprint instruction (S31). This reprinting instruction is performed according to an instruction from the client computer 51 or an instruction from the operation unit 27 of the image forming apparatus 1. An instruction from the client computer 51 is, for example, a request from the client computer 51 to the image forming apparatus 1 for a print job list, and the control unit 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 in response to the print job currently stored. A reply is sent to the client computer 51 in a list format. In the print job list to be returned at this time, a print job name for identifying each print job for each print job (the print job number, the name of the user who sent the print job, etc. may be sent together) The ticket information attached to the print job is also sent. Upon receiving this print job list, the client computer 51 displays the print job list, from which the user designates a print job to be reprinted, edits the ticket information as necessary, and issues a reprint instruction. It will be. When the ticket information is edited, the image forming apparatus 1 is notified of a reprint instruction including the edited ticket information in the reprint instruction. On the other hand, if the ticket information is not edited, it is not necessary to include the ticket information in the reprint instruction, and only the reprint instruction is notified to the image forming apparatus 1.

  The instruction from the operation unit 27 is almost the same as the instruction from the client computer 51, and a print job list is displayed on the operation unit 27 of the image forming apparatus 1. The user designates a print job to be reprinted from the operation unit 27, edits (instructs) ticket information as necessary, and gives a reprint instruction.

  Here, if there is no reprinting instruction from the user, this process ends. If there is a reprint instruction from the user (S31: YES), the system unit 201 confirms whether there is edited ticket information in the received reprint instruction (S32). This confirmation determines that the ticket information is edited if the reprint instruction includes ticket information. The ticket information received here is temporarily stored in the memory 28.

  If the ticket information has not been edited (S32: NO), the system unit 201 can reuse the bitmap data stored in the HDD 25 as it is, so that the bitmap data in the HDD 25 is transferred to the printing unit 3 for all pages. Transmit (S33). Thereafter, the printing unit 3 prints in the order in which all pages have been sent (S50).

  On the other hand, if the ticket information has been edited, the system unit 201 reads the ticket information received together with the reprint instruction from the memory 28 (S34). Here, a specific example will be described assuming that gray replacement is changed from OFF to ON.

  Subsequently, the system unit 201 reads the rasterization necessity management table stored in the HDD 25 (S35).

  Subsequently, the system unit 201 determines whether the page to be printed needs to be re-rasterized by comparing the ticket information with the rasterization necessity management table (FIG. 6C) (S36). Here, the case where the gray replacement is changed to ON will be described as an example. If the page to be printed is the first page and there is no gray replacement change instruction (that is, there is no gray replacement instruction or an OFF instruction for the first page), the first page of the rasterization necessity management table, If the gray replacement item is seen, since ON and OFF are blank, it is determined that rasterization is unnecessary. Assume that the gray replacement of ticket information is ON when the page to be printed is the second page. Then, on the second page of the rasterization necessity management table, if a gray replacement item is seen, a circle is marked in the ON position. Therefore, it is determined that rasterization is necessary for the second page in which the gray replacement is turned on in the reprint instruction.

  This is similarly determined in the reverse case. Although not shown, for example, in the rasterization necessity management table, if a gray replacement item is turned OFF, if the reprinting instruction indicates a gray replacement OFF instruction, it is determined that the page needs to be rasterized. It will be.

  Subsequently, when the system unit 201 determines that re-rasterization is not required for the page to be printed (S37: NO), the bitmap data of the page to be printed is transmitted from the HDD 25 to the printing unit 3 (S40). Thereafter, the printing unit 3 prints the sent page (S50).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the page to be printed needs to be re-rasterized, the PDL data of the page to be printed is read from the HDD 25, sent to the interpreter unit 202, re-rasterized (S37), and the re-rasterized bitmap data is printed. It transmits to the part 3 (S39). Thereafter, the printing unit 3 prints the sent page (S50).

  The bitmap data re-rasterized in S37 is sent to the printing unit 3 without being stored in the HDD 25. Therefore, the re-rasterized bitmap data is not saved (however, when the printing unit 3 is busy, such as printing another page, the transfer memory 24 waits for printing). If the data cannot be temporarily saved, the data may be temporarily stored in the HDD 25).

  It is determined whether or not reprinting has been completed for all pages (S51). If not, the process returns to S36 to perform the subsequent processing. If all pages have been completed, the reprinting process is terminated.

  Here, the case where the gray replacement is changed has been described as an example, but the same applies when other print settings in the ticket information are changed.

  The effect by this embodiment demonstrated above is demonstrated.

  In this embodiment, together with the original data (PDL data) in the received print job, the rasterized bitmap data is stored in the storage device (HDD 25). Then, it is determined whether or not each page needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed, and the determination result is stored in the storage device (HDD 25) as ticket editing influence presence / absence information. Further, when the print setting is changed from the current setting based on the ticket editing influence presence / absence information and the received ticket information, a rasterization necessity management table is created so that each change content can be recognized on a page basis. If there is a reprint instruction, the rasterization necessity management table stored in the storage device (HDD 25) and the ticket information at the time of the reprint instruction are compared to determine whether each page needs to be rerasterized. To do. As a result of the determination, the page determined to require re-rasterization is printed after the PDL data is taken out from the storage device (HDD 25) and re-rasterized, and the bitmap data is determined to be printed from the storage device (HDD 25). Remove and print.

  In other words, the original data of the received print job and the rasterized bitmap data are stored, and it is determined whether re-rasterization is necessary when the print setting is changed, and the determination result is also saved. On the other hand, when there is a reprint instruction, only the pages that need re-rasterization are re-rasterized based on the discriminator, and the pages that do not need to be printed using the bitmap data as they are.

  As a result, a page whose setting has not been changed at the time of reprinting can be printed using the bitmap data as it is, so that the rasterization time can be omitted accordingly, and high-speed printing is possible. On the other hand, even if the setting is changed, since it is determined whether or not the page does not require re-rasterization of PDL data, it is possible to perform high-speed printing by reusing bitmap data on a page that does not require re-rasterization. it can.

  In particular, as compared with Patent Document 1 of the prior art, in Patent Document 1, a page saved as PDL data must be re-rasterized. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the influence of ticket editing (change of print settings) is first determined, and only the pages that need to be re-rasterized are re-rasterized on the basis thereof, so the possibility of re-rasterization is reduced. The printing speed is faster than the prior art.

  Compared with Patent Document 2 of the prior art, Patent Document 2 has a mechanism for rasterizing only a specified page, but in this case, the specified page is always rasterized. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the influence of ticket editing (change of print settings) is first determined, and only the pages that need to be re-rasterized are re-rasterized on the basis thereof, so the possibility of re-rasterization is reduced. The printing speed is faster than the prior art.

  Although the embodiment to which the present invention is applied has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the rasterization necessity management table is created, but only the ticket editing influence presence / absence information may be created without creating the rasterization necessity management table. In such a case, at the time of reprinting, if there is edited ticket information, the changed page is confirmed by comparing the contents with the stored ticket information. Then, the page may be searched from the ticket editing influence presence / absence information, and the corresponding page (the page of the item marked with ○ in the ticket editing influence presence / absence information) may be re-rasterized.

  Further, for example, in the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 2 and the printing unit 3 related to printing are configured as one system, but these may be configured separately. That is, a control device having a control unit that performs various types of control (including prediction of rasterization time) and a printing device having a printing unit related to printing are configured separately, and these are connected by a communication line. Form may be sufficient.

  In addition, the present invention can be variously modified based on the configurations described in the claims.

1 image forming apparatus,
2 control unit,
3 Printing department,
31 Paper feeder,
32 print engine,
33 Post-processing section,
21 CPU,
24 memory for transfer,
25 Hard disk (HDD),
26 Communication interface (NIC),
27 Operation part,
50 network,
51 client computers,
201 system part,
202 Interpreter part.

Claims (4)

A receiving unit for receiving a print job;
Document data in the print job received by the receiving unit and bitmap data rasterized from the document data are stored in a storage device, and whether each page needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed is determined. Whether the determination result is stored in the storage device, and when the reprint instruction is issued, the determination result stored in the storage device is compared with the print setting at the time of the reprint instruction to determine whether each page needs to be re-rasterized The page for which re-rasterization is necessary as a result of the determination is taken out from the storage device, re-rasterized, printed, and the page for which re-rasterization is not required is printed in the storage device A control unit for taking out and printing the bitmap data from:
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The control unit responds to the change in the print setting for each page that needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed from the determination result and the current print setting included in the received print job. And determining whether or not re-rasterization is necessary by comparing the print settings included in the management table and the reprint instruction when the reprint instruction is issued. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When a print job is received
(A) storing original data in the print job in a storage device, rasterizing the original data to create bitmap data, and storing the bitmap data in the storage device;
Determining whether or not each page needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed from the print settings in the print job, and storing a determination result on whether or not re-rasterization is necessary when the print setting is changed in the storage device ( b) and
If there is a reprint instruction,
Comparing the determination result stored in the storage device with the print setting at the time of the reprint instruction to determine whether or not each page needs to be re-rasterized;
As a result of the determination, pages that have been determined to need re-rasterization are printed after the original data is extracted from the storage device and re-rasterized, and the bitmap data is extracted from the storage device if it is determined that re-rasterization is unnecessary. Printing step (d),
An image forming method comprising: In step (b), the change contents of the print setting for each page that needs to be re-rasterized when the print setting is changed from the determination result and the current print setting included in the received print job. A step (e) of creating a management table corresponding to
4. The image forming method according to claim 3, wherein the step (d) determines whether or not re-rasterization is necessary by comparing the management table and a print setting included in the reprint instruction.

Images