JP2013162320A - Image forming device, control method of the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which previews a superimposition result obtained by superimposing an image read from a document on a template and is capable of changing the aspect ratio of the image read from the document on the preview, and to provide a control method of the image forming device, and a program.SOLUTION: The image forming device sets a superimposition region on which the document image is to be superimposed, in a form image held previously, sets a superimposition region to be superimposed on the form image, in the document image and, if the aspect ratio of the set composition region in the form image and the aspect ratio of the document image to be superimposed on the form image do not match, displays a superimposition image such that the set aspect ratio of the document image is changeable in the superimposition image.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that displays a form composition preview, a control method thereof, and a program.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a multi-function peripheral, an area to be trimmed is specified for a read original, an image in the area is cut out, and the image is combined with a form image registered in the image forming apparatus and output. Yes. However, the aspect ratio of the image read by the image forming apparatus is not necessarily constant. Furthermore, when a composite area is specified for both the read original image and the form image, an arbitrary aspect ratio can be set, and therefore the aspect ratio of the composite area may be different. In that case, depending on the synthesis method, the image may be distorted or the image may be missing. For example, when a read image having a different aspect ratio is scaled (enlarged / reduced) in accordance with the synthesis area, the read image is stretched horizontally or vertically and is synthesized as a distorted image. In addition, since the user cannot grasp the result after synthesis in advance, it may be inconvenient because a desired result may not be obtained when the image after synthesis is printed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an image composition device that composes a read image into a composition area of a template (form) image as a prior art related to such form composition. In this image composition device, when displaying a list of template (form) images, a template (form) image having the same or close aspect ratio of the read image is surrounded by a frame and displayed. This makes it easy to select a template (form) image having an aspect ratio close to that of the read image, and prevents the output (printing) from being a desired result.

JP 2000-244724 A

  However, the above prior art has the following problems. The image synthesizing apparatus of Patent Document 1 proposes a template (form) selection method, which is solved by restricting the user's template (form) selection. Therefore, there is a problem that the user cannot perform synthesis using a desired template (form). Further, regarding the synthesis method, there is a problem that the method for changing the aspect ratio of the synthesis area and the configuration for previewing the synthesis result in advance are not mentioned, and the degree of freedom of user operation is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can preview a composite result obtained by combining an image read from a document and a template, and change the aspect ratio of the image read from the document on the preview. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program.

  The present invention is, for example, an image forming apparatus that synthesizes and outputs a document image read from a document on a previously held form image, and synthesizes a document image in the previously held form image. Composition area setting means for setting the aspect ratio, and aspect ratio determination means for determining whether or not the aspect ratio in the composition area of the set form image matches the aspect ratio of the document image to be combined with the form image. And the aspect ratio match, the composite image obtained by combining the figure indicating the set form image combining area and the original image combined with the form image is displayed on the display unit, and the aspect ratio is A display control means for displaying the composite image on the display unit when the two do not match, and displaying the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image in a changeable manner; The serial display control means, characterized in that it comprises an image forming means for forming an image on a recording material to form an image comprising a synthetic image displayed on the display unit.

  The present invention can provide an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program capable of previewing a composite result obtained by combining an image read from an original and a template and changing the aspect ratio of the image read from the original on the preview. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the relationship of each function in the form composition preview and form composition printing which concern on 1st Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow of form synthesis preview according to the first embodiment. , , , The figure which shows the display flow of the operation part 110 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow for automatically setting a form composition preview and composition method according to the second embodiment. The figure which shows the display transition of the operation part 110 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow for resetting a form composition area of a form composition preview according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention.

<First Embodiment>
<Configuration of image forming apparatus>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4D. First, a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus includes a control unit 100, a scanner 101, a printer 102, and an operation unit 110. The control unit 100 includes a CPU 105, RAM 106, ROM 107, HDD 108, operation unit I / F 109, network I / F 111, modem 112, image bus I / F 114, RIP 116, device I / F 117, scanner image processing unit 118, printer image processing unit. 119, an image editing image processing unit 120, and a CMM (color management module) 130 are provided.

  The control unit 100 is connected to a scanner 101 that is an image input device and a printer 102 that is an image output device, and performs control for reading image data and printing output. Further, the control unit 100 is connected to the LAN N1 or the public line 104, thereby performing control for inputting / outputting image information and device information via the LAN N1. The printer 102 is coupled to the device I / F 117 and outputs the drawing data generated by the control unit 100 to paper.

  A CPU 105 is a central processing unit for controlling the entire image forming apparatus. A RAM 106 is a system work memory for the CPU 105 to operate, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing input image data. Furthermore, the ROM 107 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program. The HDD 108 is a hard disk drive, and stores system software for various processes, input image data, and the like.

  The operation unit I / F 109 is an interface unit for the operation unit 110 having a display screen capable of displaying image data and the like, and outputs operation screen data to the operation unit 110. The operation unit I / F 109 serves to transmit information input by the operator from the operation unit 110 to the CPU 105. The operation unit 110 is a touch panel type liquid crystal panel and also includes a display unit. The network I / F 111 is realized by a LAN card or the like, for example, and is connected to the LAN N1 to input / output information to / from an external device. The modem 112 is connected to the public line 104 and inputs / outputs information to / from an external device. The above units are arranged on the system bus 113.

  The image bus I / F 114 is an interface for connecting the system bus 113 and an image bus 115 that transfers image data at high speed, and is a bus bridge that converts a data structure. On the image bus 115, a raster image processor 116, a device I / F 117, a scanner image processing unit 118, a printer image processing unit 119, an image editing image processing unit 120, and a CMM 130 are connected.

  A raster image processor (RIP) 116 expands a page description language (PDL data) code and vector data described later into an image. A device I / F 117 connects the scanner 101 and the printer 102 to the control unit 100 and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  The scanner image processing unit 118 performs various processes such as correction, processing, and editing on the image data input from the scanner 101. The printer image processing unit 119 performs processing such as correction and resolution conversion corresponding to the printer 102 on the image data to be printed out. The image editing image processing unit 120 performs various types of image processing such as rotation of image data and compression / decompression processing of image data. The CMM 130 is a dedicated hardware module that performs color conversion processing (also referred to as color space conversion processing) on image data based on a profile or calibration data. A profile is information such as a function for converting color image data expressed in a device-dependent color space into a device-independent color space (eg, Lab). The calibration data is data for correcting the color reproduction characteristics of the scanner 101 and the printer 102.

<Relation between functions in composite preview and composite printing>
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a description will be given of the relationship between each device and each process in the composite preview and composite printing. A scanned image of a paper document, an image after RIP in which PDL is rendered, a document image input to an image forming apparatus such as a FAX reception image, and a form image (201) are stored in the HDD 108 under the control of the control unit 100. (202).

  The operation unit 110 receives a user setting (203) related to composition and a composition preview instruction (204). When receiving these instructions, the control unit 100 combines the stored document image and the form image. Upon receiving the composite preview instruction (204), the control unit 100 displays the generated preview image (207) on the operation unit 110. In addition, the control unit 100 receives a print instruction (210) of the selected composite image via the operation unit 110.

  Upon receiving the preview instruction or the print instruction, the control unit 100 accesses the HDD 108, reads the selected image (205, 206), and generates a preview image (207) or a composite preview image (208). The created image is sent to the operation unit 110 in the case of preview (209), and is sent to the printer 102 in the case of printing (211).

<Processing flow in composite preview and composite printing>
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the form composition executed by the image forming apparatus will be described. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 105 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 107, HDD 108, etc. to the RAM 106 and executing it.

  In step S <b> 301, the CPU 105 receives and stores a form image, a scanned image (original image) read from a paper original, an image after RIP in which PDL is rendered, FAX reception data, and the like. Subsequently, in S302, when image data saved as a form is selected from the operation unit 110 among the data input in S301, the CPU 105 reads out the corresponding form image data and displays a preview of the form image. Create an image.

  In step S <b> 303, the CPU 105 displays a preview image including the form image created in step S <b> 302 on the operation unit 110. Subsequently, in S <b> 304, the CPU 105 receives designation of a synthesis area for the form image from the user via the operation unit 110. When the designation of the composition area is received, in S305, the CPU 105 specifies the composition area of the form image in S304, and acquires the aspect ratio (aspect ratio) of the form composition area.

  In step S <b> 306, when image data stored as a document image is selected from the operation unit 110 among the data input in step S <b> 301, the CPU 105 reads the document image and displays the document image. Create In step S <b> 307, the CPU 105 displays the preview image including the document image created in step S <b> 306 on the operation unit 110. In step S <b> 308, the CPU 105 receives a designation of a synthesis area for the document image from the user via the operation unit 110. In step S309, the CPU 105 specifies the original image combining area in step S304, and acquires the aspect ratio of the original combining area. Note that the CPU 105 in S301 to S309 functions as an example of a synthesis area setting unit.

  Next, in S310, the CPU 105 functions as an aspect ratio determination unit, and compares the aspect ratio of the composite area with respect to the form image acquired in S305 and the aspect ratio of the composite area with respect to the document image acquired in S309. If the aspect ratios do not match, the process proceeds to S311. If the aspect ratios match, the process proceeds to S316. In S <b> 311, the CPU 105 displays the same shape as the aspect ratio of the form composition area acquired in S <b> 305 via the operation unit 110, for example, a rectangular figure.

  Next, in S312, the CPU 105 reads out the original image and creates a preview image of the composite area set in S309. Subsequently, in S313, the CPU 105 displays the preview image created in S312 on the graphic displayed on the operation unit 110 in S311 so that the aspect ratio of the image in the synthesis area of the original image can be changed. Here, the CPU 105 may further display the size of the image so that it can be changed (enlarged / reduced) while maintaining the aspect ratio of the image in the composition area of the document image. In step S <b> 314, the CPU 105 determines whether an aspect ratio of the composite area with respect to the document image and an instruction to change the enlargement / reduction have been received. If a change instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to S315, and if not received, the process proceeds to S316. In step S315, the CPU 105 reads the document image, creates a preview image reflecting the aspect ratio set in step S314 and the enlargement / reduction setting, and displays the preview image on the operation unit 110 as a change result image.

  In step S <b> 316, the CPU 105 determines whether an instruction for displaying a composite preview result has been received. If accepted, the process proceeds to S317, and if not accepted, the process returns to S314. In S317, the CPU 105 synthesizes the preview image of the synthesized region of the document created based on S308 or the preview image of the synthesized region of the document created in S312 and S315 with the synthesized region of the form image in S305, and the synthesized preview result. Create an image of Subsequently, in S318, the CPU 105 displays the composite preview result image generated in S317 on the operation unit 110. In S <b> 319, when the CPU 105 receives a print instruction via the operation unit 110, the CPU 105 outputs an image of the composite preview result to each device according to the output setting, executes image formation on a recording material (paper), and performs processing. finish.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which a form image including a composite image is formed on a recording material has been described. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to such print output. For example, a form image including a composite image is stored and held in an internal memory, or transmitted to an external device via a network. May be.

<Display control of operation unit 110>
Next, display control of the operation unit 110 in the composite preview process will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D. The control described below is realized by the CPU 105 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 107, HDD 108, etc. to the RAM 106 and executing it.

  When the user selects a form composition area designation button 401 on the screen 410, the screen transitions to a screen 420, and the user can select a form image composition area. The screen 410 displays a preview of the form selected by the user and a document image input by the scanner 101 or the like. A dotted line shown on the screen 420 is a form composition area. Here, a composition area is set by connecting points on an image designated by multipoint input. Here, assuming that the operation unit 110 is a touch panel type liquid crystal panel, multipoint input can be input by the user with a stylus pen or the like. Further, in the form composition area, the area of the set area is erased and composited with the document image.

  Also, when the original composition area designation button 402 on the screen 410 is selected, the screen transitions to the screen 430 and the user can select an original image composition area. A dotted line shown on the screen 430 is a document composition area, and here, a composition area is set by connecting points designated by multipoint input. In the original composition area, the area outside the set area is erased and combined.

  When the designation of the composition area of the form image and the composition area of the document image is completed, a preview screen such as a screen 440 is displayed. A graphic represented by a dotted line on the screen 440 represents the form composition area set on the screen 420. On the screen 440, the vertical + and − keys 441 are operation keys that can enlarge and reduce the original image area in the vertical direction, and the horizontal + and − keys 442 indicate the original image area in the horizontal direction. This is an operation key that can be enlarged or reduced. The enlargement key 443 is an operation key for enlarging the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the original image step by step while maintaining the current aspect ratio each time the key is pressed. The reduction key 444 is an operation key for stepwise reducing the vertical and horizontal directions of the document image while maintaining the current aspect ratio each time the key is pressed.

  By these operations, the enlargement / reduction of the area of the document image and the change of the aspect ratio can be freely operated. For example, when a vertical + key is pressed on the screen 450, the document image is enlarged in the vertical direction. On the screen 460, the original image is further reduced in the horizontal direction by pressing the -key in the horizontal direction after the screen 450. By performing these operations, the user can adjust the method for synthesizing the document image while confirming the graphic represented by the dotted line as the form synthesis area, so that the result after synthesis can be easily grasped.

  Finally, when the adjustment of the aspect ratio of the document image is completed, as shown in a screen 470, the composite preview result in the set area is displayed. In the present embodiment, the aspect ratio change operation using the + and − keys and the enlargement / reduction change operation using the enlargement / reduction key have been described as examples. Even with this operation, the present invention can be realized.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the method for manually changing the aspect ratio of the original image and the enlargement / reduction has been described. However, in this embodiment, the operation for changing the aspect ratio of the original image and the enlargement / reduction is automatically performed. A user explains a method of selecting from a plurality of synthesis method options. Note that a description of the same configuration and control as in the first embodiment is omitted. First, with reference to FIG. 5, a processing procedure related to automatic control of form composition will be described. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 105 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 107, HDD 108, etc. to the RAM 106 and executing it. Further, this flowchart is processed subsequent to the case where S310 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is NO (when the aspect ratio does not match).

  In step S501, the CPU 105 determines whether the form composition area set in step S304 is a square area. If it is a rectangle, the process proceeds to S502, and if it is not a rectangle, the process proceeds to S507. In S502, the CPU 105 displays a graphic having the same shape or the same aspect ratio as the form composition area acquired in S304 on the operation unit 110. Subsequently, in S503, the CPU 105 performs enlargement / reduction on the original composition area preview image in S309 so as to match the aspect ratio of the form composition area acquired in S305, and recreates the preview image. This processing is a composition method that matches the aspect ratio of the form composition area. After that, in S504, the CPU 105 combines the preview image of the document image created in S503 with a figure having the same shape as the form combining area and displays it on the operation unit 110.

  Next, in step S505, the CPU 105 performs enlargement / reduction so as to be inscribed in the form composition area set in step S304 while maintaining the aspect ratio of the document composition area set in step S308, and the composition area preview of the document. Recreate as an image. Unlike S503, this process is not a form area side but a composition method that matches the aspect ratio of the document composition area.

  In step S <b> 506, the CPU 105 combines the original composition preview image created in step S <b> 505 with a figure having the same shape as the form combination area and displays the combined image on the operation unit 110. At this time, two preview screens displayed in S504 and S506 are displayed on the operation unit 110. In S507, the CPU 105 displays a graphic having the same shape or similar shape to the form composition area acquired in S305. In step S508, the CPU 105 displays the original composition area preview image in step S309 on the graphic displayed on the operation unit 110 in step S507. Through the processing of S502 to S508, one or more and three or less preview images are displayed on the operation unit 110.

  In step S <b> 509, the CPU 105 determines whether an aspect ratio of the document composition area or an instruction to change enlargement / reduction has been received. If a change instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to S510, and if not received, the process proceeds to S511. In step S510, the CPU 105 reads the document image, edits the preview image according to the aspect ratio received in step S509 and the enlargement / reduction setting, and displays the edited preview image on the operation unit 110.

  In step S <b> 511, the CPU 105 determines whether a selection instruction has been received from the displayed composite preview result display. If accepted, the process proceeds to S512. If not accepted, the process returns to S509. In step S <b> 512, the CPU 105 acquires, from the operation unit 110, information indicating which combination method has been selected from the settings displayed on the operation unit 110 by the processes in steps S <b> 502 to S <b> 510.

  Next, in S513, the CPU 105 combines the preview images according to the combining method acquired in S512 to create a combined preview image. Subsequently, in S <b> 514, the CPU 105 displays the composite preview result image generated in S <b> 513 on the operation unit 110. Finally, in S515, the CPU 105 outputs the composite preview result image generated in S514 to each device according to the output setting, and ends the process.

<Display control of operation unit 110>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the display control of the operation unit 110 in the automatic control of the synthesis method in the present embodiment will be described. The control described below is realized by the CPU 105 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 107, HDD 108, etc. to the RAM 106 and executing it.

  On the screen 610, a plurality of preview images are displayed by the processing of S502 to S508 of FIG. Note that, on the screen 610, the case where the form composition area is determined to be a square in S501 is taken as an example. The content of the preview display 601 indicates “a compositing method in accordance with the aspect ratio of the form compositing area created in S503”. Reference numeral 602 denotes a “compositing method according to the aspect ratio of the document combining area created in step S505”. Reference numeral 603 represents the same preview image as the screen 440, and the vertical + and-keys are operation keys that can enlarge and reduce the area of the original image in the vertical direction, and the horizontal + and-keys. The key is an operation key capable of enlarging / reducing the area of the document image in the horizontal direction. Here, the enlargement key and the reduction key are not displayed, but may be displayed as a matter of course. Therefore, by using these keys, the user can freely operate the enlargement / reduction of the area of the document image and the change of the aspect ratio as in the first embodiment.

  By selecting a check box at the top of each preview display, it is possible to display a synthesis preview result by the selected synthesis method. In FIG. 6, as indicated by 604, the synthesis method 602 is selected. Also, as shown at 605, a margin area can be set at the time of synthesis, and it is possible to select a case where a background on the form side is used and a case where a background on the document side is used for the margin area. . For example, the margin area is an area inside the dotted line, which is a form synthesis area, where no document image is displayed, as described in the preview display 602. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, since the setting of the margin area is set to use the background on the form side, an image on the form side corresponding to the area is displayed in the margin area.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the form composition area is reset after confirming the composition preview result. Note that the description of the same configuration and control as in the first and second embodiments is omitted. Moreover, this embodiment can be realized in combination with at least one of the first and second embodiments. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 105 reading out the control program stored in the ROM 107, HDD 108, etc. to the RAM 106 and executing it. Further, this flowchart is processed subsequent to S318 and S514 in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  In step S <b> 701, the CPU 105 receives resetting of the form composition area from the user via the operation unit 110. At this time, the CPU 105 detects and retains the aspect ratio of the form composition area before resetting and the size of the area. Subsequently, in S702, the CPU 105 identifies the composition area received in S701, and detects the aspect ratio of the form composition area and the size of the area.

  In step S <b> 703, the CPU 105 displays a screen for selecting change of the paper size of the form image on the operation unit 110, and determines the user's selection. If the size is to be changed, the process proceeds to S704. If the size is not to be changed, the process returns to S302 again using the form composition area acquired in S702. In step S <b> 704, the CPU 105 compares the size of the form composition area before resetting acquired in step S <b> 701 with the size acquired in step S <b> 702, and forms the paper size of the form image in which the area after change fits based on the information of the area before setting. Is calculated and the paper size of the form image is changed. That is, here, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to change the paper size according to the reset size of the composite area, and the paper size of the form image is changed according to the determination result.

  For example, consider a case where the form image before resetting is A4 size and the form composition area is 4 cm long and 2 cm wide. If the form composition area is expanded to 5 cm in length and 2.5 cm in width after resetting, the form image can be changed to an optimal form image that fits the area after the change by enlarging the form image to A3 size by 141%. it can. According to this embodiment, after confirming with the preview of the synthesis result, even when the desired result cannot be obtained because the initially designated form synthesis area is too small, it can be reset.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (13)

An image forming apparatus that synthesizes and outputs a document image read from a document with a previously held form image,
A synthesis area setting means for setting a synthesis area for synthesizing a document image in the previously held form image;
Aspect ratio determining means for determining whether or not the aspect ratio in the composition area of the set form image matches the aspect ratio of the document image to be combined with the form image;
If the aspect ratios match, a combined image obtained by combining the graphic representing the set form image combining area and the original image combined with the form image is displayed on the display unit, and the aspect ratios do not match. A display control means for displaying the composite image on the display unit and displaying the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image in a changeable manner;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image of a form image including a composite image displayed on the display unit by the display control unit on a recording material. The display control means includes
2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein when the aspect ratio does not match, the size of the image in the document image combined with the form image is displayed so as to be able to be enlarged and reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio. The image forming apparatus described. The display control means includes
When the aspect ratio does not match, when the display unit receives at least one of the change in the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image and the change in the size while maintaining the aspect ratio, the change is made. The original image combined with the form image reflecting the content and the image combined with the graphic indicating the set synthesis area of the form image are displayed on the display unit as a change result image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The display control means includes
In the case where the aspect ratios do not match, in addition to the composite image, the figure indicating the set composite area of the form image and the change in the aspect ratio and the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image are retained. Display another composite image that combines the image with at least one of the size changes in the state,
The image forming unit forms an image on a recording material according to an image selected by a user via a display unit among the displayed composite image and the other composite image. 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of items 3. The other composite image is
An image obtained by combining the figure showing the set synthesis area of the form image and the original image combined with the form image whose aspect ratio is changed in accordance with the aspect ratio of the figure;
An image obtained by combining the figure showing the set synthesis area of the form image and the original image synthesized with the form image whose size is changed while maintaining the aspect ratio according to the aspect ratio of the figure; The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, comprising at least one of the following. When the display control means displays the composite image when the aspect ratio does not match,
The image according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a form image or a document image corresponding to an area within the figure where a synthesized document image is not displayed is displayed. Forming equipment. The display control means includes
7. The system according to claim 1, wherein a user instruction is received, and a composite area with the document image to be composited is reset in the previously held form image using the composite area setting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The image forming unit includes:
When the composite area of the original image to be combined is reset in the previously held form image by the display control means, the size of the recording material on which the image is formed is changed according to the reset size of the composite area The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein it is determined whether or not it is necessary to change the size of the recording material according to the determination result. The synthetic area setting means further includes:
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a synthesis area with a form image to be synthesized is set in the document image. 10. The image forming unit includes:
Instead of forming the form image including the composite image displayed on the display unit by the display control unit on the recording material, the corresponding image data is stored in the storage unit of the image forming apparatus, or the network is stored. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus transmits the image to an external apparatus connected via the image forming apparatus.   The composite area setting means sets an area connecting a plurality of points on an image input by a user via a form image or a document image displayed on the display unit as a composite area. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 1 to 10. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus that combines and outputs a document image read from a document with a previously held form image,
A synthesis area setting step for setting a synthesis area for synthesizing the document image in the previously held form image;
An aspect ratio determining unit that determines whether or not the aspect ratio in the set synthesis area of the form image matches the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image;
When the display control means has the same aspect ratio, the display unit displays a combined image obtained by combining the graphic representing the set form image combining region and the original image combined with the form image, A display control step of displaying the composite image on the display unit when the aspect ratio does not match, and displaying the aspect ratio of the document image combined with the form image in a changeable manner;
A method for controlling an image forming apparatus, wherein: the image forming unit executes an image forming step of forming an image on a recording material including a form image including the composite image displayed on the display unit in the display control step.   The program for making a computer perform each step in the control method of the image forming apparatus of Claim 12.

Images