JP2015112815A - Printing control device, printing control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control device which can complete a job having a high priority more quickly, a printing control method, and a program.SOLUTION: Before completion of printing on a first surface of a continuous sheet on the basis of a preceding double side printing job, execution instruction for a printing job having a high order of priority is inputted. If the inputted printing job having a high order of priority is a single side printing, transportation is so controlled as to form a blank on the first surface of the continuous sheet, thereby so controlling that printing on a second surface of the continuous sheet based on the printing job having a high order of priority and printing on the second surface of the continuous sheet based on the preceding printing job are continuously executed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a program for performing printing using a continuous sheet.

  Conventionally, when printing images on both sides of continuous paper such as roll paper (hereinafter referred to as a continuous sheet), after printing on one side of the continuous paper by printing means, the continuous paper is cut and temporarily wound up, There is known a printing apparatus that re-feeds continuous paper and performs printing on the opposite surface (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-249346

  In such a printing apparatus, printing on one side is continuously performed for a plurality of pages, and printing on the opposite side is performed when printing of all pages on one side is completed. However, in Patent Document 1, since printing on the same surface is continued, if another print job is interrupted midway, the previous double-sided printing cannot be completed. For example, if interrupt printing is to be performed during printing on the first side of double-sided printing, the previous double-sided printing sheet is discharged without printing on the second side. In addition, when waiting for the completion of the previous double-sided printing, the completion of interrupt printing is delayed because continuous sheet refeeding and the like are performed.

  In view of the circumstances described above, the present invention provides a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a program capable of completing a print job with a high priority more quickly.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the print control apparatus according to the present invention is configured to issue an instruction to execute a print job with a high priority by the input unit before completion of printing on the first side of a continuous sheet based on a preceding double-sided print job. When the input high priority print job is single-sided printing, the conveyance control unit controls conveyance so as to provide a blank on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and the print control unit includes: Printing on the second side of the continuous sheet based on the high priority print job and printing on the second side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding print job are continuously executed in an area corresponding to the blank on the second side of the continuous sheet. To control.

  According to the present invention, a high-priority print job can be completed earlier. More specifically, even when printing of a high-priority print job is not in time by the end of the first side printing, It is possible to interrupt a high job and complete the previous double-sided printing appropriately.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the printing flow at the time of the double-sided printing which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the timing which interrupts printing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the relative arrangement | positioning of each component of the apparatus used by this embodiment, an apparatus shape, etc. are an illustration to the last, and are not limited only to them.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus which is an example of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has only a printing function. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited to this. The image forming apparatus further includes a reading device that reads an image on a document and functions as a copying machine, and other functions are added. It is good also as a compound apparatus. In addition, a recording material (recording medium or recording sheet) that uses a roll sheet will be described as an example of printing processing. However, it is possible to continuously print a plurality of pages on the same surface without being cut halfway. If it is a continuous sheet of a scale, it will not be restricted to the roll shape. Further, the continuous sheet may be cut automatically by the image forming apparatus, or may be cut by a user's manual instruction. The material of the recording medium is not limited to paper, and various materials can be used as long as they can be printed. Further, the image forming apparatus may be an image forming apparatus capable of printing not only on a continuous sheet but also on a cut sheet that has been cut into a predetermined size. Further, the printing method is not limited to the image printing by the ink jet method using the liquid ink for image printing described later. Solid ink may be used as the recording agent, and various types such as an electrophotographic method using toner and a sublimation method may be employed. Further, the recording is not limited to color recording using a plurality of color recording agents, and monochrome recording using only black (including gray) may be performed. The printing is not limited to the printing of a visible image, but may be an invisible or difficult-to-view image printing. Other than general images, for example, a wiring pattern, a physical pattern in the manufacture of parts, a DNA base It is good also as printing of various things, such as a print of arrangement | sequences. That is, the present invention can be applied to various types of recording apparatuses as long as the recording agent can be applied to the recording material. Further, when the operation of the printing process in the image forming apparatus is controlled by an instruction from the external apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1, this external apparatus becomes the print control apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus using a roll sheet (a continuous continuous sheet longer than the length of a printing unit (one page) in the transport direction) as a recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the following components 101 to 115, which are arranged in one housing. However, these components may be divided into a plurality of cases.

  The control unit 108 incorporates a controller (including a CPU or MPU), an output device for user interface information (a generator for display information, acoustic information, etc.), and a control unit having various I / O interfaces, and the entire image forming apparatus. Manage various controls.

  Two units, an upper sheet cassette 101a and a lower sheet cassette 101b, are provided as units for supplying roll sheets. The user loads a roll sheet (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) on the magazine and then loads it on the main body of the image forming apparatus. The sheet pulled out from the upper sheet cassette 101a is conveyed in the direction a in the figure, and the sheet pulled out from the lower sheet cassette 101b is conveyed in the direction b in the figure. Sheets from any cassette travel in the direction c in the figure and reach the transport unit 102. The conveyance unit 102 conveys the sheet in the d direction (horizontal direction) in the drawing during the printing process through the plurality of rotating rollers 104. When switching from one sheet cassette to another sheet source, the already pulled out sheet is rewound into the cassette, and a new sheet is fed from a cassette in which a sheet to be newly fed is set. In addition, when a series of printing processes is completed, the already drawn sheet is rewound into the cassette, and when a new print job is received, a new sheet is fed from the cassette.

  Above the transport unit 102, a head unit 105 as a printing unit is disposed to face the transport unit 102. In the head unit 105, independent print heads 106 for a plurality of colors (seven colors in the present embodiment) are held along the sheet conveyance direction. In this example, there are seven print heads corresponding to seven colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), LC (light cyan), LM (light magenta), G (gray), and K (black). . Of course, other colors may be used, and it is not necessary to use all of them. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment forms an image on a sheet by ejecting ink from the print head 106 in synchronization with the conveyance of the sheet by the conveyance unit 102. Note that the print head 106 is disposed at a position where the ink discharge destination does not overlap the rotation roller 104. In this embodiment, the ink is directly ejected onto the sheet. However, after the ink is applied to the intermediate transfer member, the image may be formed by applying the ink to the sheet. The printing unit includes the transport unit 102, the head unit 105, and the print head 106. The ink tank 109 stores ink of each color independently. Ink is supplied from the ink tank 109 to a sub tank provided corresponding to each color by a tube, and ink is supplied from the sub tank to each print head 106 through the tube. The print head 106 has line heads of respective colors (seven colors in the present embodiment) arranged along the conveyance direction d during printing. The line head of each color may be formed with a single nozzle tip without a seam, or the divided nozzle tips may be regularly arranged in a single row or a staggered arrangement. . In the present embodiment, a so-called full multi-head in which nozzles are arranged in a range that covers the width of the print area of the maximum size sheet that can be used by the image forming apparatus. As an ink jet method for ejecting ink from a nozzle, a method using a heating element, a method using a piezo element, a method using an electrostatic element, a method using a MEMS element, or the like can be adopted. Ink is ejected from the nozzles of each head based on the print data, and the ejection timing is determined by the output signal of the transport encoder 103. In this embodiment, an ink jet printer using ink as a recording agent is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to various printing methods such as thermal printers (sublimation type, thermal transfer type, etc.), dot impact printers, LED printers, laser printers, and other electrophotographic methods.

  After the image is formed on the sheet, the sheet is conveyed from the conveyance unit 102 to the scanner unit 107. The scanner unit 107 optically reads a print image or special pattern on a sheet to check whether there is a problem with the print image, and checks the state of the apparatus including the ink discharge state. In this embodiment, the image may be confirmed by a method of confirming the ink ejection state by reading a pattern for confirming the head state, or confirming the success or failure of printing by comparing with the original image. It may be a method. The method for confirming the image can be appropriately selected from various methods.

  The sheet is conveyed in the direction e from the vicinity of the scanner unit 107 and introduced into the cutter unit 110 which is a cutting unit. The cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet every predetermined printing unit length. The length of the predetermined printing unit varies depending on the image size to be printed. For example, the length in the transport direction is 135 mm for the L size photograph, and the length in the transport direction is 297 mm for the A4 size. The cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet in units of pages in the case of single-sided printing, but may not cut in units of pages depending on the contents of the print job. In the case of double-sided printing, the cutter unit 110 continuously prints images up to a predetermined length without cutting the first surface (for example, the front surface) of the sheet in units of pages, and the second surface (for example, the front surface). When printing (back side), cut by page. That is, after printing the first side of the sheet and before printing on the second side, the sheet is cut by a predetermined length, and after printing the second side, it is cut by page. Note that the cutter unit 110 is not limited to one that cuts each image when performing single-sided printing or reverse-side printing of double-sided printing. The cutting may be performed by manual operation or the like with a separate cutter device, instead of cutting until a predetermined length is conveyed, but cutting after being conveyed to a predetermined length, and cutting every predetermined unit. When cutting in the width direction of the sheet is necessary, the sheet is cut using another cutter device. Examples of the predetermined unit include one image (one page), an impression unit including a plurality of pages, and the like.

  The sheet conveyed from the cutter unit 110 is conveyed in the direction f in the drawing and is conveyed to the back surface printing unit 111. The back side printing unit 111 is a unit for printing predetermined information on the back side of the sheet when an image is printed only on one side of the sheet. Information to be printed on the back side of the sheet includes information (for example, order management number) corresponding to each print image, such as characters, symbols, and codes. When the print head 106 prints an image for a double-sided print job, the back surface printing unit 111 prints information as described above in addition to the area where the print head 106 prints an image. The back surface printing unit 111 can employ a method such as recording agent stamping, thermal transfer, and ink jet.

  The sheet that has passed through the back surface printing unit 111 is then conveyed to the drying unit 112. The drying unit 112 is a unit that heats a sheet that passes through the unit in the direction g in the drawing with warm air (heated gas (air)) in order to dry the sheet to which ink has been applied. . In addition, instead of using warm air, various drying methods such as cold air, heating by a heater, natural drying only by waiting, irradiation of electromagnetic waves such as ultraviolet light can be employed. The sheets cut to the printing unit length pass through the drying unit 112 one by one, are conveyed in the h direction in the figure, and are conveyed to the sorting unit 114. The sorting unit 114 holds a plurality of trays (18 in this embodiment), and distinguishes the sheet discharge destination tray according to the length of the printing unit or the like. Each tray is assigned a tray number. In the sorting unit 114, a sheet that passes through the unit in the direction i in the figure is checked with a sensor provided on each tray, and a tray set for each print image is checked while checking whether the tray is empty or full. Discharge to the tray corresponding to the number. A tray to which the cut sheet is discharged may be specified by a print job issuer (host device), or an empty tray may be arbitrarily specified on the image forming apparatus side. . One tray can be discharged up to a predetermined number. In the case of a print job exceeding this predetermined number of sheets, it is discharged across a plurality of trays. The number, size, type, and the like of sheets that can be discharged from a tray vary depending on the size (type) of the tray. In FIG. 1, the trays (hereinafter referred to as large trays) arranged vertically (upper and lower) are discharged from both large size sheets (A4 size, etc., larger than the L size) and small sizes (L size). Is possible. Further, a tray (hereinafter referred to as a small tray) arranged side by side (left and right) can discharge a small size (L size) sheet, but cannot discharge a large size sheet. The large tray has more sheets that can be discharged than the small tray. In addition, the state such as sheet discharge or discharge completion is displayed on the display unit so that the user can identify it (for example, using an LED or the like). For example, a plurality of LEDs that emit light of different colors can be provided for each tray, and the user can be notified of the various states of each tray depending on the color of the LEDs that are lit or whether they are lit or blinking. Further, priorities can be assigned to each of the plurality of trays, and when the image forming apparatus 200 executes the print job, the empty trays (sheets do not exist) are assigned to the sheet discharge destinations in order according to the priorities. Will be assigned as. By default, for example, the large tray has higher priority in the upper tray, the lower tray has higher priority in the left side, and the smaller tray has higher priority than the large tray. The priority order is not limited to this, and the priority order at which the user can easily take out the sheet may be increased, or may be changed as appropriate by an operation by the user.

  The sheet winding unit 113 winds a sheet on which the front surface is printed without being cut for each page by a rotating operation. In duplex printing, a sheet on which an image has been formed on the front surface is not cut in a predetermined unit such as a page unit by the cutter unit 110, but is cut after printing of the front surface is completed. To do. The sheet on which the front surface is printed passes through the unit in the j direction in the figure, and the sheet take-up unit 113 is taken up. Then, after the image formation on the front surface for a series of pages has been completed, the wound sheet has a surface opposite to the previous front surface that can be printed, that is, facing the print head 106. The surface to be reversed is reversed and conveyed again in the k direction in the drawing of the unit. By carrying it in this way, the image on the back surface opposite to the front surface is printed. On the other hand, in the case of single-sided printing, the sheet on which the image is printed is conveyed to the sorting unit 114 without being wound by the sheet winding unit 113.

  As described above, when performing duplex printing, the sheet winding unit 113 is used to wind the sheet, and the sheet is reversed and printed on the back side. Therefore, the sorting unit is used for single-sided printing and double-sided printing. The surface of the sheet when discharged to 114 is different. That is, in the case of single-sided printing, since the sheet is not reversed using the sheet winding unit 113, the sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged with the image of the first page facing down. If a single print job is a job having a plurality of pages, the first sheet is discharged onto the tray, and subsequently discharged onto subsequent pages and the sheets overlap. Such discharge is called face-down discharge. On the other hand, in the case of duplex printing, since the sheet is reversed using the sheet winding unit 113, the sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged with the image of the first page facing up. When one print job is a job for outputting a plurality of sheets, the sheet including the last page is discharged to the tray, and then sequentially discharged to the sheets of the younger pages. The sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged. Such discharge is called face-up discharge.

  The operation unit 115 is a unit for the user to perform various operations and notify the user of various information. For example, it is possible to check the printing status for each order such as on which tray the sheet on which the image designated by the user is printed is stacked, or whether the image is being printed or has been printed. In addition, the user can operate / confirm in order to confirm the various states of the apparatus such as the remaining amount of ink and the remaining amount of the sheet, and to instruct the execution of apparatus maintenance such as head cleaning.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration relating to control in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 200 is the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 200 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an HDD 204, an external I / F 205, an operation unit 206, an image processing unit 207, an engine control unit 208, and a scanner control unit 209, which are connected via a system bus 210. The Here, the CPU 201, the ROM 202, the RAM 203, the image processing unit 207, the engine control unit 208, and the scanner control unit 209 are included in the control unit 108 shown in FIG. Then, the HDD 204, the operation unit 206, the external I / F 205, and the like are connected to the control unit 108 via the system bus 210.

  The CPU 201 is a central processing unit in the form of a microprocessor (microcomputer), and is included in the control unit 108 of FIG. The CPU 201 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 200 by executing a program or starting up hardware. The ROM 202 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 201 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the image forming apparatus 200. The RAM 203 is used by the CPU 201 as a work area, used as a temporary storage area for various received data, and stores various setting data. The HDD 204 can store or read a program to be executed by the CPU 201, print data, and setting information necessary for various operations of the image forming apparatus 200 on a built-in hard disk. Further, when a print job is input, the CPU 201 sets an ID that can identify the received print job in the job queue in the HDD 204 and manages the print order. In place of the HDD 204, another mass storage device may be used.

  The operation unit 206 includes a hard key and a touch panel for the user to perform various operations, and a display unit for presenting (notifying) various information to the user, and corresponds to the operation unit 115 in FIG. . In addition, the presentation of information to the user can also be performed by outputting sound (buzzer, sound, etc.) based on the sound information from the sound generator.

  The image processing unit 207 performs development (conversion) and image processing of print data (for example, data expressed in a page description language) handled by the image forming apparatus 200 into image data (bitmap image). A color space (for example, YCbCr) of image data included in the input print data is converted into a standard RGB color space (for example, sRGB). In addition, various image processing such as resolution conversion to the number of effective pixels (image processing apparatus 200 can perform print processing), image analysis, image correction, and the like is performed on the image data as necessary. Image data obtained by these image processes is stored in the RAM 203 or the HDD 204.

  The engine control unit 208 controls processing for printing an image based on print data on a sheet in accordance with a control command received from the CPU 201 or the like. Specifically, an ink ejection instruction to the print head 106 of each color, an ejection timing setting for adjusting a dot position (ink landing position) on the recording medium, an adjustment based on acquisition of a head driving state, and the like are performed. . The drive of the print head is controlled according to the print data, ink is ejected from the print head, and an image is formed on the sheet. Further, the engine control unit 208 controls the conveyance rollers such as a feed roller drive instruction, a conveyance roller drive instruction, and a conveyance roller rotation status acquisition, and conveys and stops the sheet at an appropriate speed and path. Let

  The scanner control unit 209 controls the image sensor in accordance with the control command received from the CPU 201 or the like, reads an image on the sheet, and analog luminance data of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors. Is obtained and converted to digital data. As the image sensor, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like can be employed. The image sensor may be a linear image sensor or an area image sensor. Further, the scanner control unit 209 obtains an image sensor driving instruction and acquires the status of the image sensor based on the driving, analyzes the luminance data acquired from the image sensor, and discharges ink from the print head 106 or cuts the sheet. The position is detected. The sheet on which the image is correctly printed by the scanner control unit 209 is discharged to the tray of the designated sorting unit after the ink on the sheet is dried.

  The host apparatus 211 corresponds to the above-described external apparatus, is connected to the outside of the image forming apparatus 200, and is an apparatus serving as a supply source of image data for causing the image forming apparatus 200 to perform printing. Issue an order. The host device 211 may be realized as a general-purpose personal computer (PC) or may be another type of data supply device. As another type of data supply device, there is an image capture device that captures an image and generates image data. The image capture device is a reader (scanner) that reads an image on a document and generates image data, a film scanner that reads a negative film or a positive film, and generates image data. Other examples of the image capture device include a digital camera that captures a still image and generates digital image data, and a digital video that captures a moving image and generates moving image data. In addition, install a photo storage on the network or provide a socket for inserting removable portable memory, read the image file stored in the photo storage or portable memory, generate image data and print it It is good also as what to do. Further, instead of a general-purpose PC, various data supply devices such as a terminal dedicated to the image forming apparatus may be used. These data supply apparatuses may be components of the image forming apparatus or may be other apparatuses connected to the outside of the image forming apparatus. When the host device 211 is a PC, an OS, application software for generating image data, and a printer driver for the image forming apparatus 200 are installed in the storage device of the PC. The printer driver controls the image forming apparatus 200 or generates print data by converting image data supplied from application software into a format that can be handled by the image forming apparatus 200. Alternatively, conversion from print data to image data may be performed on the host apparatus 211 side before being supplied to the image forming apparatus 200. Note that it is not essential to implement all of the above processing by software, and a part or all of the processing may be realized by hardware.

  Image data, other commands, status signals, and the like supplied from the host device 211 can be transmitted / received to / from the image forming apparatus 200 via the external I / F 205. The external I / F 205 may be a local I / F or a network I / F. The external I / F 205 may be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

  The above-described components in the image forming apparatus 200 are connected via the system bus 210 and can communicate with each other.

  In the above example, one CPU 201 controls all the components in the image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2, but other configurations are possible. That is, some of the functional blocks may be provided with separate CPUs and individually controlled by the respective CPUs. Each functional block can adopt various forms such as dividing as a separate processing unit or control unit or integrating some of them depending on how to share other than the configuration shown in FIG. . Also, a direct memory access controller (DMAC) can be used to read data from the memory.

  Next, a flow of processing when executing a print job by the image forming apparatus 200 in the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow when the image forming apparatus 200 receives a double-sided print job and executes the print job. This flowchart shows the flow of processing performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204 into the RAM 203 and executing it. The sheet size (roll width) and sheet type (plain paper, glossy paper, film, etc.) set in the sheet cassettes 101a and 101b by the operation from the operation unit 206 by the user are registered in the RAM 203. And

  In S301, when a print job is received via the external I / F 205, processing of this print job is started. The accepted print job is temporarily stored in the HDD 204.

  Next, in step S302, the print page order of the received print job is determined. In S302, first, the printing order is determined so that printing on the first surface (for example, the front surface) of the sheet is continued for a plurality of pages, and then printing on the opposite surface is continued for a plurality of pages. Here, what is continuously printed on the same surface is that the sheet types (sheet size and sheet type) of the sheets to be used match. However, if printing on a sheet larger than the output sheet size specified in the print job is permitted even if the sheet sizes do not match, or if the sheet type is not considered, multiple page images will be placed on the same side. You may print continuously. In addition, it may be determined whether to perform continuous printing based on the printing mode (single-sided printing, double-sided printing, bookbinding printing). In any case, any multi-page image that can be printed on the same sheet may be printed continuously. Here, a plurality of pages may be continued on the same surface only in one print job or across a plurality of print jobs. In the present embodiment, the printing order is reversed between the first surface and the second surface. That is, if the first surface is in ascending order, the second surface is in descending order. When printing on the second side, after the last printing on the first side, the sheet is cut and conveyed from the cut side of the sheet (the opposite side of the page that was printed last on the first side) It is to be done.

  Next, in step S303, printing on the first surface (here, the front surface) of the sheet is started in accordance with the page order determined in step S302. That is, the CPU 201 supplies the print data of each page to the image processing unit 207 according to the determined printing order. The image processing unit 207 converts the print data of the front surface into a format that can be printed (development processing to image data), and stores the image data in the HDD 204. The generated image data is supplied to the engine control unit 208 in the order of the pages. At this time, the engine control unit 208 is notified of the image data to be printed on which side of the sheet, the number of pages of data, and information that can specify the print job together with the image data.

  Upon receiving this image data, the engine control unit 208 feeds the sheet from the sheet cassette 101a or 101b according to the size of the image to be printed and the sheet type of the sheet to be used. The engine control unit 208 causes the conveyance unit 102 to convey the sheet to the printing position by the head unit 105, sequentially prints an image based on the image data on the front surface of the sheet, and reaches the reading position of the scanner unit 107. Transport the sheet. Based on the content of the image data obtained by reading the printed image by the scanner unit 107, it is confirmed whether the image is correctly printed, and the printed sheet is conveyed toward the cutter unit 110. Here, when it is confirmed that the image is printed correctly, the cutter unit 110 does not perform cutting in a predetermined unit, and the ink is dried by passing the drying unit 112 while the pages are connected. Then, the sheet is wound by the sheet winding unit 113. Here, the reason why the sheet is wound by the sheet winding unit 113 without cutting the sheet in a predetermined unit is because the printing here is duplex printing. In the case of single-sided printing, a sheet is cut in a predetermined unit (may not be cut in some cases), and winding by the sheet winding unit 113 is not performed. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the image is not printed correctly, the CPU 201 causes the cutter unit 110 to cut the sheet in order to discharge a page that is not printed correctly. Then, the cut sheet is discharged to a tray (for example, a tray at the lowermost position) that discharges defectives among the trays of the sorting unit 114. Then, the CPU 201 supplies image data to the engine control unit 208 again and repeats the subsequent processing in order to perform reprinting for the portion that has not been correctly printed.

  Then, when printing up to the continuous printing on the front surface is completed, the process proceeds to S304, where the cutter unit 110 cuts the printed sheet on the front surface.

  In step S <b> 305, the sheet with the front surface printed on the sheet winding unit 113 is re-conveyed to the conveyance unit 102 so that the surface opposite to the first surface faces the head unit 105. In step S306, the back side is printed. Since the back side printing is the same as the front side, detailed description is omitted, but the back side printing is performed by the cutter unit 110 in units of pages (in the case of bookbinding printing, there may be two pages). Cut the sheet. Then, the cut sheet is discharged to the tray of the sorting unit 114. Depending on the content specified in the print job, the sheet may not be cut here.

  The above is the flow of processing when double-sided printing is performed without interrupting a job with high priority.

  Next, a process when a job having a high priority is input after receiving the above-described double-sided printing process or single-sided printing process will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when printing is performed by interrupting a job having a high priority. Hereinafter, a print job having a higher priority than other print jobs is referred to as an “interrupt job”. This flowchart is a flow of processing performed when the CPU 201 loads a control program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204 into the RAM 203 and executes it. That is, the CPU 201 performs print control, conveyance control, and cutting control, which will be described later.

  First, in S401, an interrupt print job execution instruction is input. As described above, the interrupt print job is a job having a higher priority than other print jobs. An interrupt print job execution instruction is input by, for example, inputting a print job including information indicating that it should be executed urgently from the host device 211. In addition, an instruction to execute an interrupt print job is input by selecting a specific print job from the host apparatus 211 or the operation unit 206 from among print jobs already received by the image forming apparatus 200 and instructing to execute it urgently. You may make it do. Alternatively, an instruction to execute an interrupt print job may be input when the user directly designates “interrupt printing”. In addition, when there is a print job having a lower priority than the input print job, an interrupt print job execution instruction may be input. Note that the priority order of print jobs may be specified for each print job, or may be determined based on the issuer of the print job. Although the details of the print job set to “interrupt printing” will be described later, printing is executed prior to a normal print job not designated for interruption.

  In step S402, it is determined whether there is a preceding job being printed. When there is no print job that is received and waiting before the interrupt print job in the image forming apparatus 200, one unit of printing is completed and preparation for the next printing is being performed, and the image forming apparatus 200 is performing printing. If not, it is determined that there is no preceding job being printed. If it is determined that there is no execution job being printed, the process advances to step S403 to execute printing based on the print job input in step S401. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a preceding job being printed, the process proceeds to S404.

  In step S404, it is determined whether printing for the interrupt print job can be performed following the sheet used in the preceding job. In this embodiment, based on whether the sheet type (sheet size, sheet material, etc.) specified in the interrupt print job input in S401 is the same as the sheet type used in the preceding job. judge. Here, as the sheet type, only the sheet size or only the material of the sheet may be set as the comparison target, or both the sheet size and the material may be set as the comparison targets. Further, when the image forming apparatus 200 supports only a specific sheet, or when the sheet type is not specified in the print job, the determination of S404 and the processes of S419 to 425 are omitted. If it is determined in S404 that the sheet types are the same, the process proceeds to S405. If it is determined that the sheet types are not the same, the process proceeds to S419.

  In step S405, it is determined whether the preceding job is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet. That is, it is determined whether the preceding job is a duplex printing job. If it is determined that the preceding job is duplex printing, the process proceeds to S409, and if it is determined that the preceding job is not duplex printing, the process proceeds to S406.

  In step S406, it is determined whether the interrupt print job input in step S401 is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet. That is, it is determined whether the interrupt print job is a double-sided print job. If it is determined that the interrupt print job is duplex printing, the process proceeds to S426. If the interrupt print job is determined not to be duplex printing, the process proceeds to S407.

  In step S407, the preceding job currently being printed is interrupted and printing of the interrupt print job input in step S401 is started. The interruption of the preceding job here may be performed after the printing of the page on which printing has been started, or printing of the page of image data that has already been prepared for printing by the engine control unit 208. You may go where you are finished. In step S408, after printing of the interrupt print job is completed, the remaining pages of the interrupted preceding job are printed. Here, since the preceding job and the interrupt job are single-sided printing, the printed sheet is not taken up by the sheet take-up unit 113. The printed sheet is cut into predetermined units by the cutter unit 110, and is discharged to a designated tray.

  In step S409, it is determined whether the interrupt print job input in step S401 is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet. If it is determined that the print job is to perform duplex printing, the process proceeds to S410. If the print job is not to perform duplex printing, the process proceeds to S414.

  In step S410, it is determined whether the preceding job determined to be printing in step S402 is printing the front side of double-sided printing. In other words, it is determined whether the preceding job is before completion of printing of the front side of double-sided printing. If it is determined that the preceding job determined to be printing in S402 is not printing the front side of double-sided printing, the process proceeds to S426. Specifically, if printing on the back side of the sheet has already been started, the process proceeds to S426. On the other hand, if the preceding job determined to be printing in S402 is printing the front side of double-sided printing, the process proceeds to S411. Specifically, in the middle of printing on the front side of the sheet, or printing on the front side is completed, but the sheet is being wound up by the sheet winding unit 113 (printing on the back side) If not, the process proceeds to S411. That is, in this embodiment, if printing on the back side (second side) of the sheet is not started in the double-sided printing of the preceding job in S410, the preceding job determined to be printing in S402 is It is determined that the surface is being printed.

  In step S411, the front side of the interrupt job is printed following the printing of the front side of the preceding job. Here, after printing the last image of the front surface of the preceding job, the cutter unit 110 does not cut the sheet, and prints the front surface of the interrupt job following the last image of the preceding job. I do. Then, the process proceeds to S412. At this time, because of double-sided printing, the printed sheet is taken up by the sheet take-up unit 113. This eliminates the need for sheet cutting and rewinding to the cassette between the preceding job and the interrupt job, and wasteful processing does not occur.

  In step S412, the sheet is cut by the cutter unit 110 when the last image of the front surface of the interrupt job is printed, and the sheet is reversed for printing on the back surface. Then, the process proceeds to S413.

  In step S413, the back side of the interrupt job is printed. When this is completed, the back side of the preceding job is printed. Here, the cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet in a predetermined unit, and the interrupt job sheet and the preceding job sheet are discharged to different trays of the sorting unit 114 so that they are not mixed with each other. Here, the reason why the reverse side of the interrupt job is printed first is that the inverted sheet reaches the print head 106 from the side on which the last image on the front side of the interrupt job is printed. . As a result, the interrupt job can be printed first, and the interrupt job can be completed quickly. Moreover, the preceding job is not greatly delayed.

  In step S414, it is determined whether the preceding job determined to be printing in step S402 is printing the front side of double-sided printing. In other words, it is determined whether the preceding job is before completion of printing of the front side of double-sided printing. Since the determination in S414 is the same as the determination in S410, description thereof is omitted. If it is determined that the preceding job is printing on the front side of double-sided printing, the process advances to step S428. If it is determined that the preceding job is not printing on the front side of double-sided printing, the process advances to step S426.

  In step S428, it is determined whether the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207 is completed by the time when the preceding job determined to be printing the front side in step S414 completes the front side printing. If it is determined that the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207 is completed before the preceding job completes the front surface printing, the process proceeds to S415, and if it is determined not to complete, the process proceeds to S429.

  In step S415, the interrupt job, which is single-sided printing, is printed following the printing of the front side of the preceding job. Here, since the preceding job is duplex printing, the sheet winding unit 113 performs winding after the top of the sheet has passed through the drying unit 112. Since the preceding job is duplex printing, a printed sheet based on the preceding job is supplied to the sheet winding unit 113. Then, the process proceeds to S416.

  In S416, the cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet between the last image on the front surface of the preceding job and the first image of the interrupt job. That is, the sheet on which the image of the front surface of the preceding job and the image of the interrupt job are printed is conveyed toward the cutter unit 110, and the boundary between the last image of the preceding job and the top image of the interrupt job is the cutter unit 110. When the cutting position is reached, the sheet is cut. Then, the process proceeds to S417.

  In S417, the sheet on which the front surface of the preceding job has been printed is continuously wound by the sheet winding unit 113. On the other hand, the sheet on which the interrupt job has been printed is discharged to the designated tray of the sorting unit 114 by switching the conveyance path after the sheet of the preceding job is conveyed to the sheet winding unit 113 side. That is, in S417, the printed sheet is supplied to the sheet winding unit 113 in S415, but the interrupt job is cut before being taken up by the sheet winding unit 113 and conveyed to the sorting unit 114. At this time, the sheet of the interrupt job is cut by the cutter unit 110 in a predetermined unit. Then, the process proceeds to S418. It should be noted that the tray to which the interrupt job sheet is discharged is the tray designated at the time of the interrupt job instruction or the interrupt job tray. In this way, by using a tray different from the preceding job, it is possible to prevent the preceding job from being mixed with the sheet.

  In S418, after the interrupt job printing is completed, the sheet of the preceding job is conveyed from the sheet winding unit 113 in a state where the sheet surface is reversed, and printing of the back surface of the preceding job is executed. The sheet on which the image of the back side of the preceding job is printed is cut by the cutter unit 110 in a predetermined unit, and the cut sheet is discharged to the tray designated by the preceding job. Thus, the preceding job sheet is discharged to a different tray from the interrupt job sheet, so that the preceding job and the interrupt job are not mixed with each other, and the user can easily take out the sheet.

  In step S429, the sheet is continuously conveyed by the amount of blank space necessary for the interrupt job at the end of the front side printing of the preceding job. Then, the continuous sheet is taken up by the sheet take-up unit 113 and temporarily stored. Then, the process proceeds to S430.

  In step S430, after the front surface printed sheet that has been wound and temporarily stored in the sheet winding unit 113 is reversed, the printed sheet is sent to the transport unit 102, and the front surface is blank. Interrupt printing is performed on the back side of the sheet portion. That is, interrupt printing is performed on the area corresponding to the blank on the front surface on the back surface. The sheet of the interrupt job is cut by the cutter unit 110 in a predetermined unit. Then, it progresses to S431. Note that the tray to which the interrupt job sheet is discharged is the tray specified when the interrupt job is designated or the tray for the interrupt job. In this way, by using a different tray from the preceding job, it is possible to prevent the preceding job sheet and the interrupt job sheet from being mixed.

  In step S431, the back side of the preceding job that was being printed is printed on the front surface printed sheet from which the interrupt job sheet has been cut by the cutter unit 110. The sheet on which the image of the back side of the preceding job is printed is cut by the cutter unit 110 in a predetermined unit, and the cut sheet is discharged to the tray designated by the preceding job. In this way, the sheets of the preceding job are discharged to a tray different from the sheets of the interrupt job, so that the sheets of the preceding job and the interrupt job are not mixed with each other, and the user can easily take out the sheet. .

  In step S419, it is determined whether the preceding job is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet. If the preceding job is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet, the process proceeds to S420. If the preceding job is not a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet, the process proceeds to S426.

  In S420, it is determined whether the interrupt print job input in S401 is a print job for printing on both sides of the sheet. If it is determined that the print job is to print on both sides, the process proceeds to S426. If it is determined that the print job is not to print on both sides, the process proceeds to S421.

  In step S421, it is determined whether the preceding job determined to be printing in step S402 is printing the front side of double-sided printing. Since the determination in S421 is the same as the determination in S410, description thereof is omitted. If it is determined that the preceding job is printing on the front side of double-sided printing, the process advances to step S422. If it is determined that the preceding job is not printing on the front side of double-sided printing, the process advances to step S426.

  In step S422, printing of the front surface of the preceding job is continued, and during that time, the interrupt print job is held in the HDD 204 and waited. In the present embodiment, the front side pages on which printing is continued are all front side pages of one print job, but it is determined in step S302 that printing is continuously performed on the front side. Alternatively, it may be all of the front pages of a plurality of print jobs. If it is determined in step S421 that the front side has already been printed, only the process of waiting for the interrupt print job is performed in step S422. Since the preceding job here is duplex printing, the printed sheet is taken up by the sheet take-up unit 113. Then, the process proceeds to S423.

  In step S423, when printing of the front surface of the preceding job is completed, the printed sheet is cut by the cutter unit 110, and the printed sheet is held in a state of being wound by the sheet winding unit 113, and is waited. Then, the process proceeds to S424.

  In step S424, the interrupt job that has been waiting in step S422 is printed. Since the sheet type of the interrupt print job and the sheet type of the preceding job are different, supply a sheet set in a cassette different from the cassette that supplied the sheet of the preceding job and execute printing To do. In addition, after replacing the sheet of the cassette that has supplied the sheet of the preceding job, the replaced sheet is supplied and printing is performed. The sheet on which the interrupt job has been printed is cut in a predetermined unit, and the cut printed sheet is discharged to a designated tray. Then, the process proceeds to S425. Note that the tray that is the discharge destination is different from the tray specified in the preceding job, and the sheet of the preceding job and the sheet of the interrupt job are not mixed with each other.

  In S425, after the interrupt printing in S424 is completed, the preceding job is resumed, the sheet surface of the sheet held by the sheet winding unit 113 is reversed and conveyed to the print head 106, and printing on the back surface is performed. Then, the cutter unit 110 is made to cut the sheet in a predetermined unit, and the cut sheet is discharged to a designated tray. Note that the tray as the discharge destination is different from the discharge destination of the interrupt job sheet.

  In step S426, the interrupt print job input in step S401 is set at the top position where it can be interrupted in the job queue waiting to be printed, and waits. That is, even if there is a subsequent print job that has not yet started print processing, this interrupt print job is started before that. At this time, the preceding job that has already started printing is continued without interrupting printing.

  In step S427, when the preceding job has been printed and the interrupt job processing order has been reached in the queue, the interrupt job is printed. Note that the sheet of the preceding job performed in S426 and the sheet of the interrupt job performed in S427 are discharged to different trays so that they are not mixed with each other.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in printing using a continuous sheet, it is possible to interrupt a subsequent job without wasting the printed portion of the preceding job that has already started printing. Also, interrupt printing can be performed without greatly delaying the completion of the preceding job. Specifically, by continuing the preceding job and the interrupt job without cutting the sheet in the middle, the number of times of rewinding the sheet to the cassette or re-conveying from the cassette is reduced, and the preceding job and interrupt printing are performed. Both can be executed efficiently.

  If an interrupt job occurs at a predetermined timing during execution of duplex printing (for example, the timing of the dotted line on the front surface of jobs 1 and 2 in FIG. 5), the interrupt occurs after completion of duplex printing of the preceding job. If the job is interrupted, the completion of printing the interrupt job will be delayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, first, after printing the front surface and the back surface of a print job which is double-sided printing, the ink discharge from the print head 106 is stopped, and the cutter unit 110 Cut the sheet. Thereafter, the sheet is once pulled back to the front of the conveyance unit 102, and all the units necessary for printing such as the roll sheet unit 101, the conveyance unit 102, and the head unit 105 are stopped, and then printing of the interrupt job is started again.

  In this embodiment, when an interrupt job for single-sided printing occurs at a predetermined timing during double-sided printing, as shown in FIG. 5B, printing data is displayed before the front-side printing of the preceding job is completed. Is not prepared, the sheet is conveyed so that the interrupt job is blank. Then, printing data is prepared while the continuous sheet is being wound by the sheet winding unit 113, and interrupt printing is output before printing the back side of the preceding job. Thereby, the single-sided printing interrupt job can be completed quickly. For example, it is possible to output interrupt printing earlier than the time shown in FIG.

  Further, in this embodiment, there are a plurality of timings at which interrupt printing is interrupted, and interrupt printing can be executed as soon as possible according to the timing of interrupt printing input and the progress of image processing of interrupt printing.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in S428, it is determined whether the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207 is completed until the preceding job that is determined to be printing the front side in S414 completes the front side printing. However, the determination may not be performed. In this case, if the interrupt job is single-sided printing and the front side of the preceding job is being printed, a blank space is printed on the continuous sheet to print the interrupt printing job, and the second side of the preceding job is printed. The interrupt print job may be printed in the area corresponding to the blank on the front side.

  In addition, when a part of the image processing of the interrupt job of the image processing unit 207 is completed by the time when the preceding job completes the front surface printing, the predetermined unit is printed out of the completed part. Also good. In this case, in S428, instead of determining whether the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207 is completed before the preceding job completes the front surface printing, the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207 is performed. What is necessary is just to determine whether there is a completed part. If there is a part completed in the image processing of the interrupt job in the image processing unit 207, in S429, a predetermined unit of the part for which the image processing has been completed is printed, and the image processing is completed and printed. Subsequent to the portion, a blank for the page of the interrupted job that has not been printed (the remaining portion excluding the printed predetermined unit) is inserted and wound by the sheet winding unit 113. In step S430, after the front surface printed sheet that has been wound and temporarily stored in the sheet winding unit 113 is reversed, the printed sheet is sent to the transport unit 102, and the front surface becomes blank. The remaining part of the interrupt printing is printed on the back side of the sheet part. The sheet of the interrupt job is cut by the cutter unit 110 in a predetermined unit. Then, it progresses to S431. In this case, printing is as shown in FIG. That is, the portion (Job 3-1) where the printing data can be prepared before the front surface printing of the preceding job is completed is printed following the preceding jobs 1 and 2, and the portion where the printing data cannot be prepared (Job 3-2). Invert the sheet by adding the corresponding white space. Then, before the back side printing of the preceding job, the portion (Job 3-2) where the print data has not been prepared is printed in the added blank portion. Thereby, the single-sided printing interrupt job can be completed quickly. For example, it is possible to output interrupt printing earlier than the time shown in FIG.

  In S412, S423, the sheet is cut. However, when all the sheets set in the cassette are used, the sheet may not be cut. In this case, if the sheet is separated from the cassette 101a or 101b, winding by the sheet winding unit 113 can be completed.

  In the above-described embodiment, in order to prevent mixing of sheets discharged by the printing process of the preceding job and sheets discharged by the interrupt printing, the sheet of the preceding job and the sheet of the interrupt printing are discharged to different trays. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The interrupt printing sheet may be set to be discharged to a specific tray among the trays of the sorting unit 114. For example, the uppermost stage of the large tray may be used for interrupt printing.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the preceding job has started printing on the back side according to the determination in S410, 414, 420, the preceding job is completed and then interrupt printing is executed in S426. Interrupt printing may be executed without waiting. More specifically, when printing of the back side of the preceding job is performed when an interrupt printing instruction is input in step S401, the back side printing is completed to the point where it can be stopped, and the sheet winding is performed when the sheet is cut. The take-up unit 113 is rotated in the reverse direction. As a result, the sheet of the preceding job is waited in the state of being wound by the sheet winding unit 113, and interrupt printing is executed. When the interrupt printing is completed, the continuation of printing on the back surface of the preceding job is executed. Thereby, even if the preceding job has shifted to printing on the back side, the interrupt printing can be completed quickly. At this time, the sheets discharged by the printing of the preceding job are discharged to the same tray before and after interruption, or are discharged to a tray other than the tray before interruption and the tray for interruption printing. The former saves the trouble of rearranging the sheets before and after the interruption, and the latter makes it possible to distinguish the minutes before and after the interruption.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, in S411, 415, and 421, the printing on the front surface of the preceding job is completed as it was decided to print continuously, but this is completed. Interrupt printing may be started before starting. Specifically, if the front side of the preceding job is printed when an interrupt printing instruction is input in step S401, the front side printing is completed until the stoppage is possible. Then, the printing of the surface is interrupted and the sheet is cut by the cutter unit 110. Then, the cut sheet is waited in a state of being wound by the sheet winding unit 113, and interrupt printing is executed. Thereafter, printing of the preceding job that has been waiting is resumed. When the preceding job is resumed, the printing order needs to be determined again. When resuming, since the front side has been printed up to the middle of the schedule, it is necessary to print the opposite side first. Therefore, the number of pages printed on the front side is specified, and the opposite side is printed. Subsequently, the remaining pages on the front side are continuously printed, and the opposite side is printed. The printing order is determined so that printing is performed in the above order. It should be noted that the sheets discharged by printing the preceding job are discharged to the same tray before and after interruption, or to a tray other than the tray before interruption and the tray for interruption printing. This makes it possible to complete interrupt printing earlier.

  Also, printing on the same surface of the preceding job is not completed depending on whether the usage amount (length in the transport direction) of the remaining sheets of the preceding job at the time when the interrupt printing instruction is input is larger than a predetermined amount. It may be determined whether or not to interrupt.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sheet that has been printed on the first surface during double-sided printing is wound up by the sheet winding unit 113. However, the sheet may be put on standby without being wound into a roll. . In other words, any reversing mechanism that can continuously print on the first side and then wait (hold the sheet) and cause the sheet to be reversed and then printed on the second side. The standby state and inversion may be in various forms.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when printing on the back surface (second surface) after printing the front surface (first surface), printing of the preceding job is performed after performing interrupt printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when switching from printing on the first side to the second side, the head unit 105 has an area corresponding to the blank area on the first side of the sheet after the area corresponding to the printed area on the first side of the preceding job. In the case of being supplied to the printer, interrupt printing is performed after the preceding job is printed.

  In the above description, processing such as scheduling of the print order and determination of whether or not to interrupt can be performed by an external device such as a host device or an external controller, and printing is performed on the image forming apparatus accordingly. May be executed. At this time, the external apparatus may acquire the status (information such as the current printing status) from the image forming apparatus and determine the printing order and interrupt timing.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed. Further, the program may be executed by a single computer or may be executed in conjunction with a plurality of computers. Moreover, it is not necessary to implement all of the above-described processing by software, and part or all of the processing may be implemented by hardware. Further, the CPU is not limited to the one that performs all the processing by one CPU, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while appropriately cooperating.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications (including application to other embodiments, combinations with other embodiments, and the like) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention.

101a, 101b Roll sheet unit 102 Conveying unit 103 Conveying encoder 104 Rotating roller 105 Head unit 106 Print head 107 Scanner unit 108 Control unit 109 Ink tank 110 Cutter unit 111 Back surface printing unit 112 Drying unit 113 Sheet winding unit 114 Sorting unit 115 Operation unit

Claims (10)

When the print job is double-sided printing, a print control unit that causes the printing unit to execute printing on the first surface of the continuous sheet and the second surface opposite to the first surface;
A conveyance control means for controlling conveyance of a continuous sheet;
Input means for inputting a print job execution instruction having a higher priority than other print jobs;
Have
Prior to the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, the input unit inputs an instruction to execute the high-priority print job, and the inputted high-priority print job is In the case of printing, the conveyance control unit controls conveyance so as to provide a blank on the first side of the continuous sheet, and the print control unit sets the area corresponding to the blank on the second side of the continuous sheet. A printing control apparatus that performs control so that printing based on a print job with a high priority and printing on the second surface of the continuous sheet based on the preceding print job are continuously performed.   Prior to the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, the input unit inputs an instruction to execute the high-priority print job, and the inputted high-priority print job is 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the case of printing, the conveyance control unit performs control so as to provide a blank space necessary for printing the print job with a high priority on the first surface of the continuous sheet. Print control device.   Prior to the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, the input unit inputs an instruction to execute the high-priority print job, and the inputted high-priority print job is If printing is performed and printing of the input high-priority print job on the first side of the continuous sheet is not in time, the conveyance control unit performs conveyance so as to provide a blank on the first side of the continuous sheet. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus controls the print control apparatus.   Prior to the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, the input unit inputs an instruction to execute the high-priority print job, and the inputted high-priority print job is If printing is performed and printing of the input high-priority print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet is not in time, the conveyance control unit may select a continuous sheet of the input high-priority print job. The printing control means transfers the first side of the continuous sheet to the first side of the high-priority print job on the second side of the continuous sheet. Control is performed so as to continuously execute printing for a predetermined unit that cannot be printed in time and printing on the second surface of the continuous sheet based on the preceding print job. The print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   Prior to the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, the input unit inputs an instruction to execute the high-priority print job, and the inputted high-priority print job is In the case of printing, the print control unit prints the continuous sheet based on the preceding print job after printing based on the high priority print job in the area corresponding to the blank on the second surface of the continuous sheet. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed so that printing on the second surface is continuously performed. After the printing on the first surface of the continuous sheet and before the printing on the second surface, it further has a cutting control means for cutting the continuous sheet to the cutting unit,
After the conveyance control unit conveys the continuous sheet so as to provide a blank on the first surface, the cutting control unit causes the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet so as to include the blank. The printing control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A determination unit for determining whether the continuous sheet used in the preceding double-sided print job is the same as the continuous sheet used in interrupt printing based on the interrupt printing instruction input by the input unit;
An execution instruction for the print job having a high priority is input by the input unit before completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job by the determination unit, and the input When the printed job with a high priority is single-sided printing, the conveyance control unit controls conveyance so as to provide a blank on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and the print control unit controls the first sheet of the continuous sheet. Control is performed so that printing based on the print job with the highest priority and printing on the second surface of the continuous sheet based on the preceding print job are continuously performed in an area corresponding to the blank on two sides. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing control apparatus is a printing control apparatus.   The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising the printing unit. When the print job is double-sided printing, a printing control step for causing the printing unit to perform printing on the first surface of the continuous sheet and the second surface opposite to the first surface;
A conveyance control process for controlling conveyance of a continuous sheet;
An input step for inputting a print job execution instruction having a higher priority than other print jobs;
Have
The execution instruction of the high priority print job is input before the completion of printing on the first side of the continuous sheet based on the preceding double-sided print job, and the input print job with the high priority is single-sided printing , Controlling the conveyance so as to provide a blank on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and printing based on the print job having a high priority in the area corresponding to the blank on the second surface of the continuous sheet and the preceding print job The printing control method is characterized in that printing is performed so as to continuously execute printing on the second surface of the continuous sheet based on the above.   A program that implements each means of the print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the print control method according to claim 9 by a computer.

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