JP2014187590A - Image processing device, image processing method and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique enabling confirmation of a process area position in each folded/expanded state of a printed matter in the simulation display of the printed matter.SOLUTION: At the simulation display of a finished state of the printed matter, page data of a print object is read in, and folding way information, indicative of the way of folding the printed matter after printout, and process area information indicative of a process object area in a step after the printout are designated. Then, based on the page data, the folding way information and the process area information, an image of the printed matter is displayed in a folded/expanded state, with a transparent or enhanced display of the process object area. This enables a user to confirm the position of the process area in each folded/expanded state of the printed matter in the simulation display.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program that display a finished state of a printed material by simulation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing technique for displaying and confirming a finished state of a printed matter on a screen is known in order to perform calibration before printing without performing a test print. In particular, in recent years, a technique for displaying a printed matter reflecting paper folding after printing has been proposed. As a display method of a printed matter in consideration of paper folding, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 acquires a paper folding method instruction by a user and combines a print data image with a template image corresponding to the acquired paper folding method. Is displayed (claim 1).

JP 2008-302518 A

  Some printed materials are not only folded in paper but also subjected to processing such as punching and corner cutting in the printed material after printing. For example, when creating a postcard used for direct mail or the like, after printing on both the front and back sides of a printing paper, a round window is formed by punching and the printing paper is folded. As a result, the letter “postcard” can be seen through the round window (see FIGS. 8 to 10). In such a postcard, the positional relationship after folding the round window formed by punching and the letters “postcard” is an important confirmation item in the calibration work.

  However, conventionally, no technique has been proposed for displaying the finished state of a printed matter by reflecting processing such as punching or corner cutting. For this reason, it has not been possible to confirm on the screen whether or not the positional relationship between the processed region and the printed image after folding is appropriate.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of confirming the position of a processing region in each state of folding / development of the printed matter in a simulation display of the printed matter. And an image processing program.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first invention of the present application is an image processing apparatus that displays a simulation of a finished state of a printed material, a page reading unit that reads page data to be printed, and a method for folding the printed material after printing A folding method information specifying unit for specifying folding method information, a processing region information specifying unit for specifying processing region information indicating a region to be processed in a process after printing, the page data, the folding method information, and A display output unit configured to display an image of the printed matter in a folded / unfolded state based on the processing region information and to make the region to be processed transparent or highlighted.

  A second invention of the present application is the image processing apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the processing area information includes information indicating an ablation area to be cut off after printing, and the display output unit displays the ablation area in a transparent manner. To do.

  A third invention of the present application is the image processing device of the first invention or the second invention, wherein the processing area information includes information indicating a prohibited area where printing should be prohibited for processing after printing, and the display The output unit highlights the prohibited area.

  A fourth invention of the present application is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the third invention, and based on the page data and the processing area information, the position of the image in the page data, the processing object, And a determination unit that determines whether the positional relationship with the region to be determined is appropriate.

  A fifth invention of the present application is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the fourth invention, wherein the display output unit is configured to switch on / off of transparency or highlighting based on the processing area information. It further has a part.

  A sixth invention of the present application is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein a storage unit that stores at least one of the folding method information and the processing region information as a template is readable. Also have.

  A seventh invention of the present application is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein the processing region information designating unit is a region to be processed in the mask data having the same format as the page data. Is specified by coloring.

  An eighth invention of the present application is an image processing method for simulating and displaying the finished state of a printed material, wherein a) a step of reading page data to be printed, and b) folding information indicating how to fold the printed material after printing. C) a step of specifying processing region information indicating a region to be processed in a step after printing, and d) based on the page data, the folding information, and the processing region information, Displaying the image of the printed material in a folded / unfolded state, and making the region to be processed transparent or highlighted.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing program for simulating and displaying a finished state of a printed matter, and when the CPU of the computer executes the image processing program in a memory, the computer is a) a printing target. A process of reading page data, b) a process of specifying folding method information indicating how to fold the printed matter after printing, and c) a process of specifying processing area information indicating an area to be processed in a process after printing. D) processing for displaying an image of the printed matter in a folded / unfolded state based on the page data, the folding method information, and the processing area information, and transparentizing or highlighting the area to be processed; , Execute.

  According to the first to ninth inventions of the present application, in the simulation display of the printed matter, the position of the processing region in each state of folding / developing the printed matter can be confirmed.

  In particular, according to the second invention of the present application, in the simulation display, when the printed matter is folded, an image of another region overlapping the transparent cut region can be displayed.

  In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, it is possible to easily confirm that the prohibited area is not printed in the simulation display.

  In particular, according to the fourth invention of the present application, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not the positional relationship between the position of the image in the page data and the region to be processed is appropriate. Thereby, a user's confirmation burden can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the fifth invention of the present application, in the simulation display, the presence or absence of transparency or highlighting can be arbitrarily selected.

  In particular, according to the sixth invention of the present application, it is possible to easily specify at least one of folding method information and processing area information by reading a template from the storage unit.

  In particular, according to the seventh invention of the present application, the mask data can be easily combined with the page data during the simulation display.

It is the figure which showed notionally the structure of the image processing apparatus. It is the figure which showed the example of page data. It is the figure which showed the example of the folding method template notionally. It is the figure which showed the example of mask data. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process of simulation display. It is the figure which showed the example of the job creation screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the job selection screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the simulation screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the simulation screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the simulation screen.

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

<1. Configuration of Image Processing Device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that displays a finished state of a printed material by simulation. For example, in the field of commercial printing, the image processing apparatus 1 is used for checking the finished state of a submitted printed matter on a screen before printing and performing a calibration operation thereof.

  The image processing apparatus 1 is configured by installing an image processing program P in a computer 10 having an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU and a memory. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the computer 10 includes a storage unit 20, a job creation unit 21, a display output unit 22, and a determination unit 23. The storage unit 20 is realized by a storage device such as a hard disk drive or a RAM, for example. The storage unit 20 of the present embodiment stores an image processing program P, and a folding template 62 and mask data 63 described later. The functions of the job creation unit 21, the display output unit 22, and the determination unit 23 are realized by the arithmetic processing unit of the computer 10 operating based on the image processing program P.

  The computer 10 is connected to the display unit 30, the input unit 40, the server 50, and an optical drive 80 that reads the image processing program P from the optical disc 81. The computer 10 can transmit and receive various data to and from the display unit 30, the input unit 40, the server 50, and the optical drive 80.

  The display unit 30 is a part for displaying a job creation screen 71, a job selection screen 72, and a simulation screen 73, which will be described later. As the display unit 30, for example, a liquid crystal display is used. The input unit 40 is a part for inputting a command to the computer 10. For the input unit 40, for example, a keyboard and a mouse are used. The user of the image processing apparatus 1 can input various information to the computer 10 by operating the input unit 40 while checking the display unit 30.

  Note that both the function of the display unit 30 and the function of the input unit 40 may be realized by a single device such as a touch panel display.

  The server 50 is a storage device installed outside the computer 10. The server 50 is connected to the computer 10 of the image processing apparatus 1 and is also connected to other computers via a communication line. For this reason, the server 50 can transmit and receive data to and from another computer located at a location away from the image processing apparatus 1.

  The job creation unit 21 is a part for creating, for each printed matter, a job 60 that holds a set of information necessary for simulation display. The job creation unit 21 creates a single job 60 by integrating various information specified on a job creation screen 71 (see FIG. 6) described later. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the job creation unit 21 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a page reading unit 211, a folding information specifying unit 212, and a processing region information specifying unit 213.

  The page reading unit 211 is a part for reading the page data 61 to be printed. The page data 61 is created in a format such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or PostScript (registered trademark of Adobe Systems Inc.). The submitted page data 61 is edited in advance and stored in the server 50. The page reading unit 211 reads the page data 61 stored in the server 50 to the computer 10.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the page data 61. In this embodiment, a case where a triple-type crimp postcard is created will be described. When creating a postcard, the peripheral area 612 is cut after printing on both the front and back sides of the paper. Further, in the subsequent steps, processing such as punching, corner cutting, conveyance, gluing, folding, address printing, etc. is performed, and the pressure-bonded postcard is completed. The page data 61 in FIG. 2 is data for the surface of the crimped postcard. The page reading unit 211 reads the page data 61 for the front surface as shown in FIG. 2 and the page data 61 for the back surface (not shown) from the server 50. Further, the pair of page data 61 is designated for the front side and the back side, respectively.

  The front page data 61 and the back page data 61 are not necessarily separate data files. For example, both a front page and a back page may be included in a single PDF file, and each page may be designated for the front side and the back side, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the page data 61 includes not only the image of the finished area 611 that remains after cutting, but also the image of the peripheral area 612 that is cut off by cutting. In the peripheral area 612, alignment marks 613 used for positioning in the printing press are arranged. However, the page data 61 does not include folding method information and processing area information described later.

  The folding information specifying unit 212 is a part for specifying folding information indicating how to fold a printed material after printing / cutting. In the present embodiment, a plurality of folding method information is stored in the storage unit 20 as a folding template 62 created in advance. The folding information specifying unit 212 reads an arbitrary folding method template 62 from the storage unit 20 based on a user operation. Thereby, folding method information is designated. In this way, if the folding information is made into a template in advance, the folding information can be easily specified when the job 60 is created.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of the folding template 62. The folding template 62 in FIG. 3 corresponds to the crimping postcard in FIG. 2, and has a mountain fold 621 and a valley fold 622. Thus, the folding template 62 includes information such as the position and direction of the fold, the distinction between mountain fold / valley fold, and the folding order.

  The processing area information specifying unit 213 is a part for specifying processing area information indicating an area where specific processing is performed after printing. In the present embodiment, a plurality of pieces of processing area information are stored in the storage unit 20 as mask data 63 that is a template created in advance. The processing area information designation unit 213 reads arbitrary mask data 63 from the storage unit 20 based on a user operation. Thereby, processing area information is designated. As described above, if the machining area information is pre-templated, the machining area information can be easily specified when the job 60 is created.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mask data 63. The mask data 63 in FIG. 4 corresponds to the crimping postcard in FIG. In the present embodiment, data in the same format as the page data 61 (for example, PDF data) is used for the mask data 63. In the mask data 63, a region to be processed is designated by coloring. In this way, if the mask data 63 is created in the same format as the page data 61, the process of synthesizing the mask data 63 with the page data 61 during the simulation display described later becomes easy. Moreover, it becomes easy to visually confirm the area | region used as a process target by utilizing coloring.

  In the example of FIG. 4, in the step after printing / cutting, the cut region 631 cut off by punching and corner cutting is colored with the first color. In addition, the prohibited area 632 that should be prohibited for printing for conveyance and address printing is colored with a second color different from the first color. In this way, if a plurality of regions to be processed are colored with different colors for each attribute, these regions can be distinguished as information, and these regions can be visually distinguished on the mask data 63. it can.

  The job creation unit 21 creates the job 60 by integrating the page data 61, the folding template 62, and the mask data 63 described above. Therefore, the job 60 includes information on page data 61, a folding template 62, and mask data 63.

  The display output unit 22 is a part for displaying the finished state of the printed matter on the display unit 30 based on the job 60 by simulation. The display output unit 22 displays the image of the finished area 611 of the page data 61 in a folded / unfolded state according to the folding template 62. The selection of the folded / unfolded state is performed based on, for example, an input signal generated when the user operates the input unit 40. Further, the display output unit 22 combines (masks) the mask data 63 with the page data 61 and displays it on the display unit 30. Thereby, the region to be processed of the printed material is displayed partially transparent or colored.

  The display output unit 22 stores data for performing a simulation display in the server 50. For this reason, the user who is away from the computer 10 can acquire the data from the server 50 via the communication line, and can confirm the simulation display of the printed matter on the screen at hand. In that case, for example, a web browser can be used as a viewer for performing simulation display.

  The determination unit 23 is a part for determining the suitability of the print position based on the job 60. The determination unit 23 automatically determines whether the positional relationship between the position of the image in the page data and the area to be processed is appropriate in each folding / development display state. For example, it is automatically determined whether the cut region 631 and the image to be placed under the folded region are appropriately overlapped or whether the prohibited region 632 does not include a print image.

<2. About simulation display>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when the finished state of the printed matter is displayed by simulation in the image processing apparatus 1. The processing in FIG. 5 is executed by causing the computer 10 to operate the job creation unit 21, the display output unit 22, and the determination unit 23 while referring to the image processing program P and information input from the input unit 40. The The simulation display process will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the image processing apparatus 1, when performing simulation display, the computer 10 first displays the job creation screen 71 on the display unit 30. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the job creation screen 71. In the example of FIG. 6, fields for designating the job name, front page data 61, back page data 61, folding template 62, and mask data 63 are provided in the job creation screen 71. .

  The user of the image processing apparatus 1 operates the input unit 40 to input information in each of these fields. As a result, the job name, front page data 61, back page data 61, folding template 62, and mask data 63 are designated. Thereafter, the user of the image processing apparatus 1 operates the input unit 40 to select a job creation button 711 provided at the bottom of the job creation screen 71. Then, the job creation unit 21 executes a process for creating the job 60 (step S10).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the job creation process in step S10 is specifically performed by reading page data 61 (step S11), specifying a folding template 62 (step S12), and specifying mask data 63 (step S13). 3). Note that the processes of steps S11 to S13 can be executed in any order.

  In step S11, the page reading unit 211 reads page data 61 to be printed. In the present embodiment, the front page data 61 and the back page data 61 specified on the job creation screen 71 are read from the server 50.

  In step S12, the folding information specifying unit 212 specifies the folding template 62. In the present embodiment, the folding template 62 designated on the job creation screen 71 is read out from a plurality of folding templates 62 stored in the storage unit 20 in advance. Thereby, folding information used for simulation display described later is designated.

  In step S <b> 13, the processing area information specifying unit 213 specifies mask data 63 indicating an area where processing such as drilling or corner cutting is performed. In the present embodiment, the mask data 63 designated on the job creation screen 71 is read out from the plurality of mask data 63 stored in advance in the storage unit 20. Thereby, the region to be processed is specified.

  The job creation unit 21 creates a single job 60 by integrating the page data 61, the folding template 62, and the mask data 63 specified in steps S11 to S13.

  When the job 60 is created, the computer 10 displays a job selection screen 72 on the display unit 30. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the job selection screen 72. In the example of FIG. 7, a plurality of created jobs 60 are displayed in the job list field 721 on the left side of the job selection screen 72. The user of the image processing apparatus 1 operates the input unit 40 to select an arbitrary job 60 from the plurality of jobs 60 in the job list column 721. Then, information about the selected job 60 and thumbnail images of the page data 61 included in the job 60 are displayed in the job information field 722 on the right side of the job selection screen 72.

  In addition, the job selection screen 72 is provided with a simulation start button 723 for instructing execution of simulation display for each of the front surface and the back surface. When the user of the image processing apparatus 1 operates the input unit 40 and selects the simulation start button 723, the display output unit 22 performs a simulation display of the printed matter on the display unit 30 based on the selected job 60 ( Step S20).

  8 to 10 are diagrams illustrating examples of the simulation screen 73 displayed on the display unit 30 in step S20. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, an image of the finished area 611 in the page data 61 is displayed on the simulation screen 73. Also, the user of the image processing apparatus 1 can display the image in the simulation screen 73 as if it was folded / unfolded by operating the input unit 40 (for example, dragging an image with a mouse). . This folding / unfolding operation is executed based on the folds 621 and 622 specified by the folding template 62.

  On the simulation screen 73, the mask data 63 is combined with the page data 61 and displayed. For example, the cut region 631 designated by the mask data 63 is displayed in a transparent manner. For this reason, in the folded state as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, an image of another region overlapping the cut region 631 can be displayed. Therefore, for example, in the crimped postcard after folding, it can be confirmed on the simulation screen 73 whether or not the letters “postcard” are properly arranged in the round window formed by punching.

  In the simulation screen 73, the prohibited area 632 specified by the mask data 63 is highlighted by coloring or the like. For this reason, the user can confirm on the simulation screen 73 that a print image is not included in the prohibited area 632. Instead of coloring, the prohibited area 632 may be highlighted by displaying the outline with a thick line.

  As described above, in the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, on the simulation screen 73, the image of the printed material is displayed in a folded / unfolded state, and the regions 631 and 632 to be processed are made transparent or highlighted. For this reason, on the simulation screen 73, the position of the processing area in each state of folding / developing the printed matter can be confirmed.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the simulation screen 73 of this embodiment is provided with a display switching button 731 and an automatic determination button 732.

  When the user operates the input unit 40 to select the display switching button 731, the excision area 631 becomes transparent or the prohibition area 632 highlight display is turned ON / OFF. That is, the display output unit 22 of the present embodiment includes a switching unit that switches ON / OFF of partial transparency or highlight display on the simulation screen 73. Therefore, the user of the image processing apparatus 1 can arbitrarily select the presence or absence of transparency or highlighting on the simulation screen 73.

  When the user operates the input unit 40 and selects the automatic determination button 732, the determination unit 23 determines whether the positional relationship between the cut region 631 and the print image is appropriate or the prohibited region 632 described above. Automatically determines whether a print image is included. Thereby, the work load for the user to check the finished state of the printed matter is reduced.

<3. Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, an example of a triple-type crimping postcard has been described. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a crimping postcard but also to a simulation display of various printed materials that are folded after printing. Further, if the folding information is appropriately specified, the printed material can be displayed in a simulation by an arbitrary folding method. Therefore, not only a simple folding method such as a double postcard or a triple postcard but also an irregular folding method can be handled. For example, vertical and horizontal creases may be mixed in the printed material.

  Further, the folding method information and the processing area information may be input from the input unit 40 every time the job 60 is created without forming a template. However, in order to reduce the work burden at the time of creating a job, it is preferable that a general folding method and a processing area are made into a template. That is, it is preferable to store at least one of the folding method information and the machining area information as a template so that the information can be read out easily.

  In the above embodiment, only the finished area 611 is displayed on the simulation screen 73. However, the display / non-display of the peripheral area 612 may be switched by performing a predetermined operation. . By doing so, it is possible to confirm the position of the finished area 611 in the page data 61 and the presence / absence of an addition.

  Further, the job creation screen 71, the job selection screen 72, and the simulation screen 73 displayed on the display unit 30 may have other display modes as long as they display the same contents.

  Moreover, you may combine suitably each element which appeared in said embodiment and modification in the range which does not produce inconsistency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 10 Computer 21 Job creation part 22 Display output part 23 Judgment part 30 Display part 40 Input part 50 Server 60 Job 61 Page data 62 Folding template 63 Mask data 73 Simulation screen 71 Job creation screen 72 Job selection screen 80 Optical Drive 81 Optical disc 211 Page reading unit 212 Folding information specifying unit 213 Processing region information specifying unit 611 Finished region 612 Peripheral region 621, 622 Fold 631 Cut region 632 Forbidden region P Image processing program

Claims (9)

An image processing apparatus that displays a simulation of the finished state of a printed matter,
A page reading unit that reads page data to be printed;
A folding information specifying unit for specifying folding information indicating how to fold the printed matter after printing;
A processing region information specifying unit for specifying processing region information indicating a region to be processed in a process after printing;
A display output unit for displaying the image of the printed matter in a folded / unfolded state based on the page data, the folding method information, and the processing region information, and transparentizing or highlighting a region to be processed;
An image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The processing area information includes information indicating an excision area to be cut off after printing,
The display output unit is an image processing device that displays the cut region in a transparent manner. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The processing area information includes information indicating a prohibited area where printing should be prohibited for processing after printing,
The display output unit is an image processing apparatus that highlights the prohibited area. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
An image processing apparatus further comprising: a determination unit that determines whether a positional relationship between an image position in page data and a region to be processed is appropriate based on the page data and the processing region information. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The display output unit further includes a switching unit that switches ON / OFF of transparency or highlighting based on the processing area information. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
An image processing apparatus further comprising a storage unit that stores at least one of the folding method information and the processing area information as a template so as to be read out. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The processing area information specifying unit specifies an area to be processed by coloring in mask data having the same format as the page data. An image processing method for simulating and displaying the finished state of a printed material,
a) reading page data to be printed;
b) designating folding information indicating how to fold the printed matter after printing;
c) a step of designating processing region information indicating a region to be processed in a step after printing;
d) displaying the image of the printed matter in a folded / unfolded state based on the page data, the folding information, and the processing area information, and transparentizing or highlighting the area to be processed;
An image processing method including: An image processing program for simulating the finished state of a printed material,
When the CPU of the computer executes the image processing program in the memory,
a) reading page data to be printed;
b) a process of designating folding information indicating how to fold the printed matter after printing;
c) a process of designating processing area information indicating an area to be processed in a process after printing;
d) processing for displaying an image of the printed matter in a folded / unfolded state based on the page data, the folding method information, and the processing area information, and transparentizing or highlighting the area to be processed;
An image processing program for executing

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