JP2014197777A - Printing control apparatus, printing apparatus, data processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform colorful printing using many colors, on the basis of data for printing with a single color or a small number of colors.SOLUTION: A printer control unit 15 comprises a print data acquisition unit 15c, a print data processing unit 15d, and a printing control unit 15e. The print data acquisition unit 15c acquires data representing a print element and a command designating the printing position of the print element. The print data processing unit 15d performs processing of determining the attributes of the print element or processing of replacing the print element to another print element, on the basis of the printing position designated with the command acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a printing apparatus, a data processing method, and a program for processing data used for printing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus that enables printing with a plurality of colors based on a print command for a single color is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The device described in Patent Document 1 prints text and an image with a set print color when a text print color and an image print color are set in advance and a monochrome print command is input.

JP 2003-266804 A

In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the print colors of text and images are limited. For this reason, there has been a demand for a technique that enables printing by giving a variety of colors, such as printing a plurality of texts and images with different colors.
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and based on data for printing in a single color or a small number of colors, a print control apparatus, a printing apparatus, and a data processing method that enable various printing And to provide a program.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print control apparatus that outputs data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or more print colors. , Based on the print position specified by the command acquired by the acquisition means, the acquisition means for acquiring the data indicating the print element included in the print data, and the command for specifying the print position of the print element, Processing means for performing a print control process including a process for determining an attribute of the print element or a process for replacing the print element with another print element.
According to the present invention, based on the print position of the print element to be printed, an attribute relating to printing of the print element is determined, or a process of replacing the print element with another print element is performed. As a result, for example, processing for increasing the print color of the print element, replacing the print element with another print element with many print colors, and the like can be performed to generate data that enables various printing. The print data to be processed only needs to include a command for designating the print position, and there is no restriction on the print data. Therefore, a variety of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

According to the present invention, in the print control apparatus, a print position of the print element and a processing content executed by the processing unit with respect to the print element are set in association with each other. According to the contents set in association with the print position of the print element specified by the command, processing related to the print element is performed.
According to this configuration, the process for the printing element is performed according to the processing content set in advance in association with the printing position. For this reason, the print control apparatus can process the print element promptly based on the input of the print data.

In the print control apparatus, the processing unit may set the print color of the print element corresponding to the print position specified by the command acquired by the acquisition unit in the print control process. Determined to be a selected color.
According to this configuration, the print color of the print element is determined based on the print position of the print element. Thereby, for example, another printing color can be assigned to a printing element that is printed in a single color. Different print colors can be set for a plurality of print elements having different print positions. Therefore, data for performing various printing can be output.

In the printing control apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the processing unit may include a printing position in which the command acquired by the acquisition unit specifies a printing color of the printing element in the printing control process, and the printing It is determined based on the content of the element.
According to this configuration, the content of the print element is reflected in the process of determining the print color of the print element together with the print position of the print element. For this reason, for example, even for printing elements printed at the same printing position, different printing colors are assigned depending on the contents. Therefore, data for performing more various printing can be output.

In the print control apparatus according to the present invention, the command is a command for designating a print position of the print element on the page for a printed matter to be printed on a page basis.
According to this configuration, it is possible to process print data including a command that designates a print position of a print element on a page. As a result, there is no restriction on the print data to be processed, so that various types of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a printing unit that performs printing with a plurality of colors, and the number of print colors of the print data based on input of print data to be printed with one or a plurality of print colors. In a printing apparatus that performs printing with a larger number of print colors, an acquisition unit that acquires data indicating a print element included in the print data and a command that specifies a print position of the print element, and the acquisition unit acquires Processing means for performing a print control process including a process for determining an attribute of the print element or a process for replacing the print element with another print element based on a print position designated by the command, and a process by the processing means The printing element indicated by the data acquired by the acquisition unit is printed by the printing unit at a printing position specified by the command. And print control means that, characterized in that it comprises a.
According to the present invention, an attribute relating to printing of a printing element is determined based on the printing position of the printing element, or processing for replacing the printing element with another printing element is performed. As a result, for example, processing for increasing the print color of the print element, replacing the print element with another print element with many print colors, and the like can be performed to generate data that enables various printing. The print data to be processed only needs to include a command for designating the print position, and there is no restriction on the input data. Therefore, a variety of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a data processing for outputting data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or a plurality of print colors. In the method, data indicating a print element included in the print data and a command for specifying a print position of the print element are acquired, and the attribute of the print element is set based on the print position specified by the acquired command. A print control process including a process of determining or a process of replacing the print element with another print element is performed.
According to the present invention, an attribute relating to printing of a printing element is determined based on the printing position of the printing element, or processing for replacing the printing element with another printing element is performed. As a result, for example, processing for increasing the print color of the print element, replacing the print element with another print element with many print colors, and the like can be performed to generate data that enables various printing. The print data to be processed only needs to include a command for designating the print position, and there is no restriction on the input data. Therefore, a variety of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a computer that outputs data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or more print colors. A program to be executed, wherein the control unit of the computer acquires data indicating a print element included in the print data and a command for designating a print position of the print element; and Based on a print position designated by the acquired command, the processing unit functions as a processing unit that performs a print control process including a process of determining an attribute of the print element or a process of replacing the print element with another print element. It is characterized by that.
According to the present invention, an attribute relating to printing of a printing element is determined based on the printing position of the printing element, or processing for replacing the printing element with another printing element is performed. As a result, for example, processing for increasing the print color of the print element, replacing the print element with another print element with many print colors, and the like can be performed to generate data that enables various printing. The print data to be processed only needs to include a command for designating the print position, and there is no restriction on the input data. Therefore, a variety of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

  According to the present invention, the input print data is processed based on the print position of the print element, so that a variety of prints are realized by performing processing such as increasing the print color based on the input of various print data. it can.

1 is a schematic diagram of a system including a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of a control apparatus and a printer. It is a figure which shows the example of the process with respect to the print data by a printer. It is a figure which shows another example of the process with respect to the printing data by a printer. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a printing system 1 according to the present embodiment.
A printing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a host computer 2, a printer 10, and a control device 11. The printer 10 is connected to the host computer 2 and executes printing based on print data output from the host computer 2. Further, the control device 11 can be connected to the printer 10 via a network N such as a LAN or the Internet. The number of printers 10 included in the printing system 1 is not limited, and a plurality of printers 10 may be connected to the host computer 2 or the network N.

The printer 10 is a printing apparatus having a function of printing on a preset printing medium. The printer 10 of this embodiment is an ink jet printer that ejects ink onto the printing surface of a printing medium. The printer 10 can color-print characters and images on a print medium using, for example, four colors of ink of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). The print medium used in the printer 10 of the embodiment is, for example, a label sheet in which labels with an adhesive material cut into a predetermined size are arranged on a long release sheet. In this case, the printer 10 prints characters and images on each label on the release sheet to create an adhesive label. The printer 10 can issue a color label by printing characters and images in color.
The host computer 2 operates according to an operator's operation and outputs print data to the printer 10. This print data includes a command for operating the printer 10 and data of elements (print elements) such as characters and images that the printer 10 prints on a print medium. The commands included in the print data are various commands such as a print start instruction, a line feed instruction, and a print medium conveyance instruction. Also, the print data includes a command for designating an element print position and a print form attribute corresponding to element data such as characters and images. The command for designating the print position includes, for example, coordinates in a printable range of one label printed by the printer 10. The printable range of the label is a range in which ink can be ejected by a print head (not shown) of the printer 10 excluding margins provided at the leading edge, the trailing edge, and the side edge portions on both sides in the label conveyance direction. Say. The printable range is determined in advance according to conditions such as the size of the label and the scanable range of the print head (not shown). The host computer 2 and the printer 10 have information regarding the size of the printable range of the label in the printer 10. The coordinates indicating the printing position are, for example, coordinates in a coordinate system set with one side edge of the tip of the printable range of the label as the origin. Examples of the element data to be printed include text data indicating characters to be printed, image data of an image to be printed, and the like. Attributes of the printing form of the element to be printed include, for example, character size, font type, presence / absence and type of character decoration (bold, italic, underline, etc.), print color, and the like. Commands for specifying the attributes of these printing modes can be used by the host computer 2 and the printer 10. For example, when printing a character in a specific color, text data or ASCII code, which is element data, and a command for specifying the print color of the element are transmitted to the printer 10.

For example, the host computer 2 and the printer 10 are wire-connected by a USB cable, an RS-232C cable, an IEEE1284 cable, or the like. Further, the host computer 2 and the printer 10 may be connected by a wireless communication line such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).
The control device 11 is a device capable of executing a web browser, and there is no particular limitation on the type of device that operates as the control device 11. For example, a notebook PC (personal computer), desktop PC, tablet PC, mobile phone, PDA, or the like can be used as the control device 11.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the printer 10 and the control device 11, and the host computer 2 is also illustrated for convenience of understanding.
The printer 10 includes a touch panel 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, a printer control unit 15 (printing control device), a printer storage unit 16, a printing unit 17 (printing unit), a communication I / F (interface) 18, and an external I. / F19 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 1, the touch panel 12 includes a display panel 12a that displays various screens and a touch sensor 12b that detects an operator's touch operation. The display panel 12a is driven by the display unit 13 to display a setting screen including an image of a printed matter to be printed by the printer 10 and various setting contents. Further, the touch sensor 12b is a film-like sensor that is placed on the display panel 12a. The touch sensor 12b is configured by a pressure detection type sensor or a capacitance detection type sensor, and detects a contact operation or a pressing operation using an operator's hand or an operation pen. The operator can perform various settings of the printer 10 by touching the display panel 12a while viewing the contents displayed on the display panel 12a.

The printer control unit 15 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, other peripheral circuits, and the like, and centrally controls each unit of the printer 10. The printer control unit 15 includes functional blocks of a web application execution unit 15a, a condition setting unit 15b, a print data acquisition unit 15c, a print data processing unit 15d, and a print control unit 15e. These functional blocks will be described later.
The display unit 13 drives the display panel 12a according to the control of the printer control unit 15, and displays various screens such as a setting screen described later on the display panel 12a. The input unit 14 outputs operation data including the detected operation position to the printer control unit 15 when the touch sensor 12b detects an operation.
The printer storage unit 16 includes a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and stores various programs and data in a rewritable manner. The printer storage unit 16 stores processing setting data 16a related to a printed matter that the printer 10 prints. The process setting data 16a will be described later.
The printing unit 17 includes a transport mechanism that transports a print medium set in the main body of the printer 10, a print head that includes nozzles for ejecting ink for each ink color, a drive mechanism that drives the print head, and the like. The printing unit 17 performs color printing on the print medium according to the control of the printer control unit 15.

  The communication I / F 18 and the external I / F 19 communicate with an external device in accordance with a predetermined communication standard under the control of the printer control unit 15. In the present embodiment, the communication I / F 18 is connected to the network N and performs data communication with the control device 11 in accordance with a predetermined communication standard. Further, the external I / F 19 transmits / receives data to / from the host computer 2 in accordance with a standard such as USB.

The control device 11 includes a control device control unit 23, a display unit 24, an input unit 25, and a communication I / F 26.
The control device control unit 23 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, other peripheral circuits, and the like, and centrally controls each unit of the control device 11. The control device control unit 23 includes a browser execution unit 23a and a command generation unit 23b. These functional blocks will be described later.
The display unit 24 includes a display panel 24a such as a liquid crystal display panel, and displays various screens such as a setting screen described later on the display panel 24a under the control of the control device control unit 23. The input unit 25 is connected to a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, operation keys, and other input devices. The input unit 25 detects an input to the connected input device, and outputs operation data corresponding to the input content to the control device control unit 23.

A predetermined web browser is installed in the control device 11. The browser execution unit 23a of the control device control unit 23 of the control device 11 is a functional block realized by the function of this web browser. That is, the function of the browser execution unit 23a is realized by the cooperation of hardware and software by the CPU executing a web browser and other related programs.
A web application is installed in the printer 10. The web application execution unit 15a of the printer control unit 15 of the printer 10 is a functional block realized by the function of this web application. That is, the function of the web application execution unit 15a is realized by the cooperation of hardware and software by the CPU executing the web application and other related programs.

  The printer 10 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 2 and prints a label according to the print data. The printer 10 of the present embodiment can print a label by partially modifying the contents of print data received from the host computer 2. For example, when the host computer 2 transmits print data for monochrome printing, the printer 10 performs color printing based on the print data for monochrome printing and issues a color label. That is, in a configuration in which the host computer 2 transmits print data for monochrome printing of a label, a color label can be printed by connecting the printer 10 to the host computer 2. In this case, it is not necessary to make any changes to the function of the host computer 2 transmitting print data and the print data transmitted by the host computer 2. The contents of the process performed by the printer 10 on the print data received from the host computer 2 and the conditions for executing the process can be set by operating the control device 11 or the printer 10 itself.

  When setting is performed by operating the printer 10 itself, the display panel 12a and the touch sensor 12b are used. There are two methods for setting by the control device 11. One method uses the functions of the browser execution unit 23a and the web application execution unit 15a. Another method is a method of transmitting a setting command from the control device 11 to the printer 10.

When setting is performed by operating the printer 10, a setting screen is displayed on the display panel 12 a under the control of the printer control unit 15. Here, the operator operates the touch sensor 12b to operate the setting screen.
For example, a setting screen including an image of a printed material to be monochrome printed is displayed on the display panel 12a. The operator designates a portion to be colored in the image of the printed material by a touch operation and designates a printing color. Further, a condition for applying the designated print color is input by a touch operation. The printer control unit 15 associates the condition input by the touch operation, the printing color, and the position to which the printing color is applied, and stores the processing setting data 16 a in the printer storage unit 16. The process setting data 16a is stored in units of print data (so-called print jobs) received from the host computer 2. For example, the processing setting data 16a is stored corresponding to one label printed by the printer 10.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating processing for print data executed by the printer 10. FIG. 3A shows an image of a label on which print data transmitted by the host computer 2 is printed, and FIG. 3B shows an image of a label based on the print data processed by the printer 10.

  The label image R1 shown in FIG. 3A has a configuration in which text, an image, and a barcode are arranged as a plurality of elements on one label sheet. A title printing portion C11 that is painted black is arranged on the label image R1, and text C12 and an image C13 are printed in white on the title printing portion C11. In addition, text C14, C15, C16 and bar codes C17, C18 printed in a single color (for example, black) are arranged at the center and lower part of the label. The label image R1 is an image of a label printed based on print data output from the host computer 2. This print data includes text data of text C12, C14, C15, C16, image data of image C13, and data of barcodes C17, C18. The barcodes C17 and C18 are composed of, for example, barcode fonts.

The print data transmitted by the host computer 2 includes coordinate data indicating the print position of each element described above. This printing position refers to the coordinates of the upper left corner of the printed element. The print data of the label image R1 includes the coordinates P11 of the upper left corner of the title print section C11. The star-shaped image shown in FIG. 3A is a mark that is displayed so as to overlap the print image in order to make it easy to grasp the position of the coordinate P11 of the print position. Similarly, the print data of the label image R1 includes text C12, C14 to C16, an image C13, and coordinates P12 to P18 of the print position of each element of the barcodes C17 and C18. These coordinates P11 to P18 are included in the print data in association with each element.
The printer 10 acquires the print data transmitted by the host computer 2 by the print data acquisition unit 15c (acquisition unit) when performing settings related to the print processing. Next, the condition setting unit 15b (setting unit) creates a label image R1 based on the coordinates of the printing position and the element data in the print data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c, and displays the label image R1 on the display panel 12a.

The operator performs a touch operation for designating an element to be processed based on the label image R1 displayed on the display panel 12a. For example, when instructing to change the printing color of the title printing unit C11, the operator touches the star at the coordinate P11 indicating the printing position of the title printing unit C11. Subsequently, the operator designates the print color of the title print unit C11. This designation is performed, for example, by causing the condition setting unit 15b to display a dialog box or palette for selecting a color on the display panel 12a. The print colors that can be set are the background color, foreground color, character color, and the like. The print color may be set to “randomly select a color and print”.
By this operation, the title printing unit C11 is selected as an element to be processed, and the print color is designated. Similarly, a print color is designated for one or a plurality of elements displayed in the label image R1. When an operation for instructing that the designation of the print color for the label image R1 is completed, the condition setting unit 15b associates the element to be processed with the designated print color and temporarily stores them in the RAM or the like. . For example, the condition setting unit 15b creates and stores data indicating the processing content “print the element whose printing position is coordinate P11 in blue”.

  Further, in the label image R1, when the coordinate P16 of the text C16 is designated and the background color is designated as yellow, the printing position “coordinate P16” and “background color” as the type of the set color are designated as “yellow”. Is generated by the condition setting unit 15b.

  When the printer 10 performs the processing specified in this way and a color attribute is added to the print data, a label image R2 shown in FIG. 3B is printed based on the processed print data. A label image R2 in FIG. 3B is a print image of the label after the change. The title printing unit C11 printed at the coordinate P11 has a black print color in the label image R1, but a blue print color in the label image R2. The text C16 printed at the coordinate P16 is printed with the background color added. Therefore, even if the print data transmitted by the host computer 2 is data for monochrome printing using only black ink, the printer 10 can print a color label.

Furthermore, the process for the element to be printed is not limited to the addition of attributes relating to the print color, including the above-described background color designation, foreground color designation, and print color designation of the element itself. For example, it is possible to specify a process for replacing image data included in print data as an element with other image data. By replacing the monochrome image data with the color image data, the label can be printed in color based on the print data for monochrome printing of the label, and as a result, an attribute relating to the print color is added. For example, image replacement can be specified by including in the process setting data 16a information (for example, a file name) that specifies the print position (for example, coordinates) of the element and the image data after replacement. Alternatively, the image data may be included as an element at a specific printing position. Furthermore, the image data included in the print data may be specified to be replaced without specifying the print position.
When the processing setting data 16a includes information specifying replacement of image data, the printer 10 replaces the image data included in the print data received from the host computer 2 and performs labeling based on the replaced print data. To print.

Here, the printer 10 can be operated to specify conditions for selecting print data to which the process is applied. When the processing content “print element whose printing position is coordinate P11 is printed in blue” is applied to all print data, all the corresponding elements are printed in blue. In this case, there is no problem if only one type of label is printed by the printing system 1. However, when a plurality of types of labels are printed by the printer 10, a label having a different form from the label image R1 is printed in the print color set in the label image R1. The same applies when a print color is designated for the print positions P12 to P18-18.
Therefore, the printer 10 applies the set processing when the print data received from the host computer 2 meets the set conditions. This condition can be set for each processing content set based on the label image R1, that is, for each label.

For example, the following three methods can be used for setting conditions.
1. The printing positions of a plurality of elements in the print data match the set pattern.
2. The print data includes an element of the set content.
3. The print data includes an element having a set content corresponding to the set print position.

  In the first condition, a pattern of print positions of a plurality of elements included in the print data is a condition. For example, the print data of the label image R1 in FIG. 3A includes eight coordinates P11 to P18 as element print positions. A combination of these eight coordinates P11 to P18 can be set as a processing target condition pattern. In this case, when print data including all eight coordinates P11 to P18 is transmitted from the host computer 2, the printer 10 prints the print data with the set print color. Further, a pattern constituted by print positions of all elements of the print data may be set as a condition, or a pattern constituted by print positions of some elements may be set as a condition. In addition, only print data including all print positions (coordinates) constituting the pattern may be a processing target, or a part of the print data may be a processing target.

For example, among the coordinates P11 to P18 of the label image R1, a combination of four coordinates P11 to P14 is set as a condition pattern. When the print data received from the host computer 2 includes three coordinates P11 to P13, this print data may be processed. Further, when the print data received from the host computer 2 includes all of the coordinates P11 to P14 and includes other coordinates, this print data may be processed.
That is, as a first setting method, if the ratio of coordinates included in the received print data out of the coordinates constituting the condition pattern is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 75%), the print data is set as a processing target. Can be set. Apart from this, as a second setting method, if the proportion of coordinates included in the received print data is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (for example, 75%), the print data Can be set to be processed.
In general, the first setting method is suitable for relaxing the conditions for selecting the processing target. Also, the second setting method is suitable when there are few coordinates constituting the condition pattern, or when print data to which elements are added is to be processed.

  In the above condition 2, the contents of the elements included in the print data are conditions. For example, the print data of the label image R1 in FIG. 3A includes eight elements C11 to C18. It can be set on condition that some or all of the elements are included. More specifically, it can be set as a condition including the text “Visitor”. In this case, in order to relax the conditions, print data including other text that is partially in common with the text “Visitor” may be processed. Also, print data including the text “Visitor” and including other elements may be the processing target. The content of this element may be a condition of an image or barcode, and in the case of an image, a file name may be a condition.

  In the above condition 3, the contents of the element included in the print data and the printing position of the element are the conditions. For example, the print data of the label image R1 in FIG. 3A includes eight elements C11 to C18. It can be set on condition that some or all of the elements are included. In this case, not only is the element of each content included, but the condition is that the printing position of the element is the designated coordinate. More specifically, it can be set on the condition that the text “Visitor” at the coordinate P16 is included. Also in this case, in order to relax the conditions, print data including other text that is partially in common with the text “Visitor” may be processed. Also, print data including the text “Visitor” and including other elements may be the processing target. The print position may be set as a range instead of coordinates. In addition, an image or barcode may be used as a condition for the content of an element, and a file name may be used as a condition in the case of an image.

These conditions may be input when the printing position or element and the printing color are designated by the operation of the touch sensor 12b, or the condition types may be set in advance. The condition setting unit 15b associates the correspondence between the designated print position or element with the print color and the condition of the print data to be processed, and stores it as the process setting data 16a.
When the processing content for colorizing the print data is input in this way and the processing setting data 16a is stored, the printer 10 can process the print data.

As described above, the function of the browser execution unit 23a of the control device 11 can be used to specify the element and print color and the condition. In this case, the browser execution unit 23a accesses the web application execution unit 15a of the printer control unit 15 in response to an operation of the input unit 25, and requests data of a web page for setting. The web application execution unit 15 a generates web page data for setting and transmits the data to the control device 11. Here, the setting web page may include a script for calling a program executed by the web application execution unit 15a.
The browser execution unit 23a displays a setting screen on the display panel 24a based on the web page data transmitted from the web application execution unit 15a. For example, a label image R1 shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the setting screen. When the selection of the element to be processed and the designation of the print color are performed by the input of the input unit 25 based on the setting screen, the browser execution unit 23a transmits the designated content to the web application execution unit 15a. The web application execution unit 15a acquires the designated content and temporarily stores it by the function of the condition setting unit 15b. The function of the condition setting unit 15b is the same as that when the setting is performed by the printer 10. Further, when a condition is designated by an operation of the input unit 25, the browser execution unit 23a transmits data indicating the designated condition to the web application execution unit 15a. The web application execution unit 15a acquires the condition transmitted from the control device 11, and the condition setting unit 15b generates the process setting data 16a based on the acquired condition.

Further, the above setting can be performed by transmitting a setting command from the control device 11 to the printer 10.
The control device 11 includes a command generation unit 23b. The command generation unit 23 b generates a setting command for setting the printer 10. When the setting command is received from the control device 11, the condition setting unit 15 b generates processing setting data 16 a based on the content of the received setting command and stores it in the printer storage unit 16.

The setting command includes, for example, a condition description part and a processing content description part.
In the condition description part, the condition of the print data to which the process is applied is described.
The processing content description part describes the condition of the element to be processed and the processing content to be performed on this element. The element condition can be specified by, for example, the print position, the element type, and the content. The type of element is text data or image data. The content of the element includes a file name of the image data, a size of the image data (resolution, number of pixels, etc.), characters included in the text data, printing attributes such as character decoration and font of the text data, and the like. As described above, the contents of the process for the element include the background color, the foreground color, the print color of the element itself, the replacement of image data, and the like.

An example of a setting command is given.
[Setting command S]
(start)
(Starting coloring conditions)
Coordinate 0,0
(End of coloring conditions)
(Foreground color) Blue (End of coloring)
(Starting coloring conditions)
Coordinates 42,33
(End of coloring conditions)
(Foreground color) White (Start coloring conditions)
Coordinates 37, 241
(End of coloring conditions)
(Background color) Light blue
(End of coloring)
(End)
Here, (start) and (end) indicate the start and end of the setting command. (Coloring condition start) and (Coloring condition end) are commands for specifying the conditions of the elements to be colored, and are accompanied by data such as coordinates serving as conditions. (Foreground color) is a command for specifying the foreground color of an element, and includes data indicating the color to be specified.
This setting command S does not include a condition description part. In the processing content description part, processing for setting blue as the foreground color for the elements whose coordinates of the printing position are 0 and 0, processing for setting white as the foreground color for the elements of the coordinates 42 and 33, and coordinates 37 and 241 A process for setting light blue as the background color of the element is described.

An example of print data transmitted by the host computer 2 is shown. The print data T exemplified below is data for printing the label image R1 shown in FIG.
[Print data T]
(Coordinates) 0,0 (rectangular) 500x90 (district)
(Coordinates) 42, 33 (Typeface) Arial20 (Character) WORD EXPO 2013 (District)
(Coordinates) 415, 29 (Image) FACE. PNG (ward)
(Coordinates) 95,115 (Typeface) Arial10 (Character) 00 Company (District)
(Coordinates) 325, 115 (identifier) 12345 (ward)
(Coordinates) 93,165 (Typeface) Arial20 (Characters) YAMADA, Yusuke (District)
(Coordinates) 325, 227 (identifier) 856321354 (ward)
(Coordinates) 37,241 (Typeface) Arial25 (Character) Visitor (District)
Here, (coordinate) is a command for designating coordinates, (rectangle) is a command for instructing rectangular drawing, and (typeface) is a command for designating font and font size. (Character) is a command for instructing text printing, accompanied by text data to be printed. (Identifier) is a command for instructing printing of a barcode, and is accompanied by barcode data. (Division) is a command indicating a command delimiter.

Based on this print data T, the following elements are printed.
-Draw a rectangle of horizontal 500 dots and vertical 90 dots at coordinates 0,0.
-Characters “WORD EXPO 2013” are printed at coordinates 42 and 33. The font is Arial and the character size is 20.
-Print the image data of the file name “FACE.png” at the coordinates 415, 29.
・ The character “00 Company” is printed at the coordinates 95 and 115. The font is Arial and the character size is 10.
・ "12345" is printed on the coordinates 325 and 115 as a barcode.
・ The characters “YAMADA, Yusuke” are printed at the coordinates 93,165. The font is Arial and the character size is 20.
-Print "856321354" as a barcode at coordinates 325,227.
・ The character “Visitor” is printed at the coordinates 37 and 241. The font is Arial and the character size is 25.

When the print data T is processed according to the process setting data 16a generated based on the setting command S, the next print data U is generated. The print data U can also be referred to as data obtained by converting the print data T by the printer 10.
[Print data U]
(start)
(Coordinates) 0,0 (rectangle) 500x90 (foreground) blue (ku)
(Coordinates) 42, 33 (Typeface) Arial20 (Text) WORD EXPO 2013 (Foreground color) White (Ku)
(Coordinates) 415, 29 (Image) FACE. PNG (ward)
(Coordinates) 95,115 (Typeface) Arial10 (Character) 00 Company (District)
(Coordinates) 325, 115 (identifier) 12345 (ward)
(Coordinates) 93,165 (Typeface) Arial20 (Characters) YAMADA, Yusuke (District)
(Coordinates) 325, 227 (identifier) 856321354 (ward)
(Coordinates) 37,241 (Typeface) Arial25 (Character) Visitor (Background color) Light blue (District)
(End)
A label printed by the printer 10 in accordance with the print data U is as a label image R2 in FIG. For the label image R1, the rectangle with coordinates 0 and 0 is colored blue, the character string “WORD EXPO 2013” with coordinates 42 and 33 is printed in white, and the character string “Visitor” with coordinates 37 and 241 is light blue. The background color is printed.

The printer 10 can similarly process all print data received from the host computer 2 using the processing setting data 16a generated based on the setting command S. That is, for print data in which elements are arranged at coordinates 0, 0, coordinates 42 and 33, and coordinates 37 and 241, the print color, foreground color, or background color is set for the elements at these positions.
Each command indicated by () in the setting command and the print data is actually defined and described as a combination of alphanumeric characters, for example.

Furthermore, by specifying the print data to be processed based on the content of the element, for example, the print color can be changed according to the character of the character string of the element.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of processing for print data executed by the printer 10. 4A to 4C each show an image of a label based on print data processed by the printer 10.
The label image R3 shown in FIG. 4A is an example in which the background color is set by changing the print color of the text C16 in the print data of the label image R1 shown in FIG. Further, the label image R4 of FIG. 4B has a text C21 including a character string different from the print data of the label image R1 at the coordinate P21. Also, the label image R5 in FIG. 4C has a text C22 including a character string different from the print data of the label image R1 at the coordinate P22.

  Here, the print color and the background color are changed when the character string of the text C16 is “Visitor”, when the character string of the text C16 is “Member”, and when the character string is “Staff”. Think. In this case, the conditions of the print data to be processed and the processing contents are set in association with each other, and when the print data includes the character string “Visitor”, the process for defining the print color of the character as blue and the background color as light blue is defined. do it. Similarly, when the character string “Member” is included, the print color of the character is red and the background color is light red, and when the character string “Staff” is included, the print color of the character is green and the background color is yellow. it can. For these settings, the process setting data 16a may be generated for each condition of the character string, or a plurality of conditions and process contents corresponding to each condition may be included in one process setting data 16a.

  5 to 7 are flowcharts showing the operation of the printer 10. FIG. 5 shows a setting operation for the printer 10, and particularly shows an example in which setting is performed by operating the touch panel 12. FIG. 6 shows in detail the setting process in step S16 of FIG. FIG. 7 shows the operation of the printer 10 when print data is received from the host computer 2.

In the process of FIG. 5, when the setting start is instructed by operating the touch sensor 12b (step S11), the print data acquisition unit 15c waits until the print data is received via the external I / F 19 (step S12). When the print data is received (step S12; Yes), the print data acquisition unit 15c acquires the received print data, and the condition setting unit 15b extracts the print position (coordinates and the like) of the element (step S13).
The condition setting unit 15b creates a print image based on the print data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c and displays it on the display panel 12a (step S14). The print image displayed here is, for example, the label image R1 shown in FIG.

  The condition setting unit 15b detects an operation of the touch sensor 12b, and receives an input relating to the designation of the element to be processed, the designation of the print color, or the replacement of the image data (step S15). The condition setting unit 15b executes a setting process for generating the process setting data 16a based on the input content (step S16). The setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

  After the setting process, the condition setting unit 15b determines whether or not to print the processed label based on the process setting data 16a generated by the setting process (step S17). The determination in step S17 is performed according to a prior setting whether to perform printing or a selection input by the touch sensor 12b. When printing is performed (step S17; Yes), the print data processing unit 15d (processing unit) processes the print data received in step S12 based on the processing setting data 16a generated in step S16. Then, based on the processed print data, the print control unit 15e (print control means) controls the printing unit 17 to execute printing (step S18), and this process is terminated. On the other hand, when printing is not performed (step S17; No), the print data processing unit 15d discards the print data received in step S12 (step S19), and ends this process. Before discarding the print data in step S19, the print data processing unit 15d may process the print data received in step S12 and display a print image based on the processed print data on the display panel 12a. In this case, for example, the label image R2 shown in FIG. 3B is displayed, and the operator can visually recognize the setting contents.

  In the setting process of FIG. 6, a condition for specifying print data to be processed is selected. First, a print data condition designation method is selected by operating the touch sensor 12b (step S31). The condition setting unit 15b determines whether or not the selected condition is only the print position of the element to be processed (step S32). When the selected condition is only the printing position of the element to be processed (step S32), the condition setting unit 15b associates the element selected by the operation of the touch sensor 12b with the processing content (step S33). Then, the condition setting unit 15b generates processing setting data 16a reflecting the setting content and stores it in the printer storage unit 16 (step S34).

  When the condition selected in step S31 is not only the print position of the element to be processed (step S32; No), the condition setting unit 15b determines that the selected condition is a combination of the print position of the element to be processed and text. It is determined whether or not there is (step S35). When the selected condition is a combination of the printing position and text of the element to be processed (step S35; Yes), the condition setting unit 15b selects the element, processing content, and text (character string) selected by operating the touch sensor 12b. Are associated with each other (step S36). Thereafter, the condition setting unit 15 b proceeds to step S <b> 34 and generates processing setting data 16 a and stores it in the printer storage unit 16.

  If the condition selected in step S31 is not a combination of the printing position of the element to be processed and the text (step S35; No), the condition setting unit 15b performs processing assuming that the selected condition is a pattern of the printing position. Do. The condition setting unit 15b detects the pattern of the print position in the print data received in step S12 (FIG. 5) (step S37). Next, the condition setting unit 15b sets the detected pattern in association with the element selected by the operation of the touch sensor 12b and the processing content (step S38), and proceeds to step S34.

In the processing shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when setting is performed by the function of the browser execution unit 23a of the control device 11, input is performed by the browser execution unit 23a instead of the operation of the touch sensor 12b. Further, the contents displayed on the display panel 12a are displayed on the display panel 24a of the control device 11.
When the setting is performed by the setting command generated by the command generation unit 23b, the condition setting unit 15b generates and stores the processing setting data 16a according to the setting command received via the communication I / F 18.

As shown in FIG. 7, the printer 10 stands by until print data is received from the host computer 2 during normal operation (step S51). When the host computer 2 transmits the print data, the print data acquisition unit 15c receives the print data via the external I / F 19 (step S51; Yes). Here, the print data processing unit 15d determines the presence / absence of the processing setting data 16a in the printer storage unit 16 (step S52). When the process setting data 16a is stored (step S52; Yes), the print data processing unit 15d acquires the process setting data 16a and extracts the print position in the received print data (step S53). Here, the print data processing unit 15d determines whether the print position of the received print data meets the conditions of the process setting data 16a (step S54). If the condition is met (step S54; Yes), the print data processing unit 15d executes the process according to the process setting data 16a (step S55). Thereafter, the print control unit 15e executes printing based on the processed print data (step S56).
When the process setting data 16a is not stored (step S52; No) and when the print data does not match the process setting data 16a (step S54), the print control unit 15e performs printing based on the received print data. This is performed (step S57).

  As described above, according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the printer 10 is printed with a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data to be printed with one or a plurality of print colors. A printer control unit 15 for outputting data. The printer control unit 15 includes a print data acquisition unit 15c, a print data processing unit 15d, and a print control unit 15e. The print data acquisition unit 15c acquires data indicating a print element included in the input print data and a command for designating the print position of the element. The print data processing unit 15d performs processing for determining the attribute of an element or processing for replacing an element with another element based on the print position specified by the command acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c. The print control unit 15e causes the printing unit 17 to print the element indicated by the data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c at the print position specified by the command, reflecting the processing by the print data processing unit 15d. For this reason, it is possible to perform processing for determining an attribute related to printing of an element based on the printing position of the element or replacing the element with another element. Thereby, for example, data that enables various printing can be generated by performing processing such as increasing the printing color of the element or replacing the element with another element having a large printing color. Further, the print data to be processed only needs to include a command for specifying the print position, and there is no restriction on the input print data. Therefore, a variety of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the number of print colors for various types of print data input.

In the printer 10, the printing position of the element and the processing content executed by the print data processing unit 15d regarding the element are set in the processing setting data 16a in association with each other. The print data processing unit 15d performs a process related to the element according to the content set in the process setting data 16a in association with the print position of the element. For this reason, an element can be quickly processed based on the input print data.
Further, the print data processing unit 15d determines the print color of the element to be the color set in the process setting data 16a corresponding to the print position specified by the command acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c. As a result, another print color can be assigned to an element to be printed in a single color. Furthermore, different printing colors can be set for a plurality of elements having different printing positions. Therefore, data for performing various printing can be output.
The print data processing unit 15d determines the print color of the element based on the print position specified by the command acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c and the content of the element. For this reason, for example, even for elements printed at the same printing position, different printing colors are assigned depending on the contents. Therefore, data for performing more various printing can be output.
Further, the command included in the print data is a command for designating the printing position of the element on the page for the printed matter printed in units of pages. For this reason, since there is no restriction on the print data to be processed, various types of printing can be realized by performing processing such as increasing the print color on various print data.

In addition, embodiment mentioned above shows the one aspect | mode which applied this invention to the last, and a deformation | transformation and application are arbitrarily possible within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the control device 11 and the printer 10 are not limited to the configuration connected via the network N, but may be connected one-to-one by wired communication means such as a USB cable, or wireless communication such as a wireless LAN. You may connect by a means. In addition, the number of colors of ink used by the printer 10 may be two colors, black and a color other than black, or may be four-color ink of CMYK as described above, and more multicolor inks. It is good also as a structure which uses. The printer 10 may be a printing apparatus capable of color printing, and may be constituted by a thermal transfer printer, a thermal sublimation printer, a color laser printer, or the like. Each functional block shown in FIG. 2 can be arbitrarily realized by cooperation of hardware and software, and does not suggest a specific hardware configuration. Further, the functions of the functional blocks of the printer 10 and the control device 11 may be provided in another device externally connected to these devices. Further, the printer 10 and the control device 11 may execute various operations by executing a program stored in an externally connected storage medium.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing system, 10 ... Printer (printing apparatus), 11 ... Control apparatus, 12 ... Touch panel, 15 ... Printer control part (control part), 15a ... Web application execution part (control part), 15b ... Condition setting part, 15c ... print data acquisition unit (acquisition means), 15d ... print data processing part (processing means), 15e ... print control part (print control means), 17 ... printing part, 23 ... control device control part, 23a ... browser execution part, 24: Display section.

Claims (8)

In a print control apparatus that outputs data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or a plurality of print colors,
Obtaining means for obtaining data indicating a print element included in the print data and a command for specifying a print position of the print element;
Processing means for performing a print control process including a process of determining an attribute of the print element based on a print position specified by the command acquired by the acquisition means or a process of replacing the print element with another print element;
A printing control apparatus comprising: The print position of the print element and the processing content executed by the processing unit with respect to the print element are set in association with each other,
2. The printing according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit performs processing related to the print element in the print control process in accordance with a content set in association with a print position of the print element specified by the command. Control device.   The processing means is characterized in that, in the print control processing, the printing color of the printing element is determined to be a color set corresponding to a printing position designated by the command acquired by the acquisition means. The print control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The processing means determines the print color of the print element based on the print position designated by the command acquired by the acquisition means and the content of the print element in the print control process. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command is a command for designating a print position of the print element on the page for a printed matter to be printed on a page basis. In a printing apparatus that has printing means for printing in a plurality of colors and performs printing with a larger number of printing colors than the number of printing colors of the printing data based on input of printing data to be printed in one or more printing colors,
Obtaining means for obtaining data indicating a print element included in the print data and a command for specifying a print position of the print element;
Processing means for performing a print control process including a process of determining an attribute of the print element based on a print position specified by the command acquired by the acquisition means or a process of replacing the print element with another print element;
Reflecting the processing by the processing means, a printing control means for printing the printing element indicated by the data acquired by the acquiring means at the printing position specified by the command by the printing means;
A printing apparatus comprising: In a data processing method for outputting data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or a plurality of print colors,
Obtaining data indicating a print element included in the print data, and a command for specifying a print position of the print element;
Performing a print control process including a process of determining an attribute of the print element or a process of replacing the print element with another element based on the print position designated by the acquired command;
A data processing method characterized by the above. A program executed by a computer that outputs data printed in a larger number of print colors than the print data in response to input of print data printed in one or a plurality of print colors,
The control unit of the computer
Acquisition means for acquiring data indicating a print element included in the print data, and a command for specifying a print position of the print element;
Processing means for performing a print control process including a process of determining an attribute of the print element based on a print position specified by the command acquired by the acquisition means or a process of replacing the print element with another print element;
A program characterized by making it function.

Images