JP2016120626A - Image forming apparatus, image forming method, control program and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which can perform correct double-sided printing on a document larger than a predetermined sheet size, an image forming method, a control program and an image forming system.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 200 comprises page data acquisition parts 223, 226, an image generation part 226, a rearrangement control part 226, and an image forming part 250. The page data acquisition parts 223, 226 acquire the page data of a document divided by a set division method. The image generation part 226 generates the image data by rasterizing the page data. The rearrangement control part 226 rearranges the order of printing print images based on the image data in accordance with the set division method. The image forming part 250 prints the print images on the sheets in the order rearranged by the rearrangement control part 226.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, a control program, and an image forming system.

  In recent years, electrophotographic printers have begun to be used not only in offices and homes, but also in comp applications for commercial offset printing. Usually, when printing with an electrophotographic printer, a specified paper size such as A4 size, A3 size, or B5 size is mainly used, so an original (for example, a poster or a newspaper) larger than the specified paper size is printed. When doing so, it is necessary to divide the document.

  In relation to this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 is configured such that when a document larger than a prescribed paper size is divided and printed, the paper is equally divided in consideration of a non-printed portion such as a margin. An image forming apparatus is described.

  Also, in such comp applications, printing is usually performed on one side and the design and color are often checked. However, for newspaper advertisements, etc., printing on both sides and checking the transparency of the back side is also possible. It is requested.

  However, when a document larger than the specified paper size is printed on both sides with a conventional printer, the original is printed correctly, for example, an image obtained by dividing one page of the document is printed across the front and back sides of the paper. There is a problem that you can not.

JP 2004-70455 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, a control program, and an image forming system capable of correctly duplex-printing a document larger than a prescribed paper size.

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

  (1) A page data acquisition unit that acquires page data of a document that has been divided by a set division method, an image generation unit that rasterizes the page data to generate image data, and the set division method And a rearrangement control unit that rearranges the order of printing the print images based on the image data, and an image forming unit that prints the print images on the paper in the order rearranged by the rearrangement control unit. And an image forming apparatus.

  (2) The rearrangement control unit displays the print image so that an odd page print image of the original is arranged on the front surface of the paper and an even page print image of the original is arranged on the back surface of the paper. The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein the printing order is rearranged.

  (3) When the original is divided in the horizontal direction, the rearrangement control unit is configured so that the rearrangement of the print images on the back surface is opposite to the order of the print images on the front surface. The image forming apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the printing order is rearranged.

  (4) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), further including a division method setting unit that sets a division method of the document.

  (5) The apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), further including a page data generation unit that generates page data by dividing the document by the set division method. Image forming apparatus.

  (6) The method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the document dividing method is acquired based on information on an edge portion of the image generated by the image generation unit. Image forming apparatus.

  (7) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the document is larger than a prescribed sheet size.

  (8) The image forming unit prints the print image on the paper by any one of an electrophotographic method, an impact method, a thermal transfer method, and an ink jet method. 7) The image forming apparatus according to any one of 7).

  (9) Acquiring the page data of the document divided by the set dividing method, rasterizing the page data to generate image data, and depending on the set dividing method, An image forming method comprising: rearranging an order of printing print images based on image data; and printing the print image on the paper in the rearranged order.

  (10) In the step of rearranging the printing order of the print images, the odd page print images of the original are arranged on the front side of the paper, and the even page print images of the original are arranged on the back side of the paper. The image forming method according to (9), wherein the order of printing the print images is rearranged as described above.

  (11) In the step of rearranging the order in which the print images are printed, when the document is divided in the horizontal direction, the order in which the print images on the back surface are reversed to the order in which the print images on the front surface are arranged The image forming method as described in (9) or (10) above, wherein the order of printing the print images is rearranged.

  (12) A control program configured to cause a computer to execute the image forming method according to any one of (9) to (11).

  (13) A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to (12) is recorded.

  (14) A division method setting unit that sets a document division method, a page data generation unit that generates page data by dividing the document by the division method set by the division method setting unit, and the page data An image generation unit that generates image data by rasterizing, a rearrangement control unit that rearranges the printing order based on the image data according to the set division method, and the rearrangement control unit An image forming unit that prints the print images on the paper in the order rearranged by the image forming system.

  According to the present invention, when printing a document larger than a prescribed paper size, the order of printing the print images is rearranged according to the set division method, so that a document larger than the prescribed paper size is correctly printed on both sides. it can.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the client PC shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining generation of a print job in the client PC shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of poster print setting of the printer driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are schematic views showing a dividing method when the document is divided into six according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a schematic view illustrating a case where a two-page document is divided into 6 (3 × 2) in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining generating page data from a manuscript. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP according to a first embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the printer controller shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of the image forming method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a data flow diagram illustrating a data flow between functional blocks in the printer controller illustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between a front surface and a back surface when a two-page document is printed on both sides in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates rearrangement of the image data in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of an image forming method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a subroutine flowchart for demonstrating the process sequence of acquisition of the division | segmentation method (S204) in FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the procedure which acquires a division method based on an image in the process of acquisition of the division method shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same members.

(First embodiment)
<Configuration of image forming system>
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system of the present embodiment includes a client PC 100 and an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral Multifunctional Peripheral Device) 200 as an image forming apparatus, and these are connected to each other via a communication network 300 so that they can communicate with each other. . Note that the type and number of devices connected to the communication network 300 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. Further, the client PC 100 may be directly connected between the MFP 200 and the apparatus, that is, locally connected, without going through the communication network 300.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of each of the above devices will be described. However, each of the above devices may include a component other than the components described below, or may not include some of the components described below. . Moreover, about the part which has the same function with each apparatus, in order to avoid duplication of description, description is made only for the first time, and the description is omitted after the second time.

<Configuration of client PC>
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the client PC 100 shown in FIG. The client PC 100 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 110, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 120, a hard disk 130, a display 140, an input device 150, a network interface 160, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 170. They are connected to each other via a bus 180 for communication.

  The ROM 110 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 120 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The hard disk 130 stores various programs and various data including an operating system, application software (hereinafter referred to as “application”), and a printer driver.

  The display 140 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and is used for displaying various types of information. The input device 150 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used for inputting various information.

  The network interface 160 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the communication network 300, and standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI are used.

  The CPU 170 controls the ROM 110, the RAM 120, the hard disk 130, the display 140, the input device 150, and the network interface 160 and performs various arithmetic processes according to the various programs.

<Print job>
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining generation of a print job in the client PC shown in FIG. An application and a printer driver are installed on the hard disk 130. The application is software for the user to edit and view a document, and generates document data. The printer driver converts the document data into data described in a page description language (PDL) that can be interpreted by the MFP 200 (hereinafter also referred to as “PDL data”) to generate print data. .

  Then, the printer driver transmits the print data and print setting information to the MFP 200 as a print job. The print setting information is setting information related to a print instruction such as paper type, paper size, single-sided / double-sided printing. In the present embodiment, poster print settings are provided in addition to normal print settings. The printer driver includes a program for performing the conversion process and the print instruction.

<Division method>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of poster print settings of the printer driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The poster print setting is used when a user prints a document having a size larger than a prescribed paper size (hereinafter simply referred to as “document” in the present specification), for example, a poster. In the MFP 200 according to the present embodiment, the original can be divided and printed in paper sizes used in general MFPs, copiers, printers, and the like, for example, A4 size, A3 size, and B5 size. The user can select how to divide the original, that is, how many parts of the original are divided in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) and the vertical direction (vertical direction) according to the poster print setting.

  The printer driver displays a setting screen D for inputting each setting item of the poster print setting. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the user can set the setting items of “division setting” and “paper size”.

  In the setting screen D, the “division setting” can be set to “automatic” or “arbitrary”. When “automatic” is set, the division method is automatically determined based on the document size and the “paper size” setting. On the other hand, when “arbitrary” is set, the user sets the division method arbitrarily by setting the “number of divisions” in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. In the example of the setting screen D shown in FIG. 4, “division setting” is selected as “arbitrary”, and “number of divisions” is selected as three divisions in the horizontal direction and two divisions in the vertical direction. In addition, A4 size is selected as the “paper size”.

  An example of an image preview when the document is divided into six according to the division setting is displayed in the lower part of the setting item of “paper size” on the setting screen D. The user can check the setting contents of the setting items by looking at the image preview. When the user presses the “OK” button at the bottom of the setting screen D, the selected content is set for each setting item. Each setting item of the set poster print setting is transmitted to the printer controller 220 of the MFP 200 as a part of the print setting. An example of the description of PDL data regarding the setting of the division method is shown below.

@PJL SET POSTERPRINTING = ON
@PJL SET HORIZONTALDIVISION NUMBER = 3
@PJL SET VERTICALDIVISIONNUMBER = 2
The first line of the above description is a description for setting whether or not to perform poster printing. When “ON”, poster printing is performed, and when “OFF”, poster printing is not performed. The second line is a description for setting the number of divisions in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction), and the third line is a description for setting the number of divisions in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are schematic views showing a dividing method when the document is divided into six according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The number of divisions in the horizontal direction × the number of divisions in the vertical direction = 6 divisions is (A) 3 × 2, (B) 2 × 3, (C) 6 × 1 and (D) 1 × 6. Is the case. In either case, since the document is divided into six, six sheets are used. The user can select any of (A) to (D) according to the document size and the set paper size. In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the first to sixth serial numbers are assigned to the sheets in order from left to right and from top to bottom of the page.

  In the poster print settings, if the “number of divisions” and “paper size” set by the user cannot cover the entire document, a warning that a part of the document will not be printed is displayed on the setting screen D. You may comprise so that setting may be completed. In addition, when the number of divisions and the paper size set by the user are excessive for the size of the document, a warning that the number of divisions is excessive is displayed on the setting screen D. The setting may be completed. Alternatively, when the “number of divisions” and “paper size” set by the user are not appropriate, the “division setting” may be switched to “automatic” and the division method may be automatically determined.

  In the MFP 200 of the present embodiment, when the document is composed of a plurality of pages, it is possible to perform duplex printing on the above-mentioned “paper size” paper. The printer driver generates page data by dividing each page of the document by the printing method set in the poster print setting.

  FIG. 6A is a schematic view illustrating a case where a two-page document is divided into 6 (3 × 2) in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining generating page data from a manuscript.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the printer driver divides the first page and the second page of the document into six parts. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the printer driver generates page data 1 to 12 from each of the six divided originals, arranges them in the order of the numbers, and transmits them to the MFP 200 as print data of the print job.

<Configuration of MFP>
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the MFP according to the first embodiment of this invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the MFP 200 includes an image reading unit 210, a printer controller 220, a storage device 230, an operation unit 240, a print engine 250, and a control unit 260, which have a bus 270 for exchanging signals. Are connected to each other.

  The image reading unit 210 irradiates a document set at a predetermined reading position on the document table or a document conveyed to a predetermined reading position by an ADF (Auto Document Feeder automatic document conveying device) with a light source such as a fluorescent lamp, The reflected light is photoelectrically converted by a light receiving element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, and image data in bitmap format is generated from the electric signal. The generated image data is subjected to various types of image processing, and then transmitted to the print engine 250.

  The printer controller 220 performs rasterization processing on the print data received from the client PC 100 to generate bitmap format image data. Details of the configuration of the printer controller 220 will be described later.

  The storage device 230 includes a ROM, a RAM, and a hard disk. The ROM stores various programs and parameters in advance. The RAM temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The hard disk is used to store various programs and parameters, and is used to temporarily store image data obtained by the image processing.

  The operation unit 240 receives a user instruction or displays a message to the user. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 240 includes a button switch and a touch panel attached to the casing of the MFP 200. The user inputs an instruction to the MFP 200 by operating these button switches or a touch screen displayed on the touch panel. The touch screen displays input information, various setting information, a warning message, and the like.

  The print engine 250 functions as an image forming unit, prints a printed image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method including charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing processes, and discharges the printed image. Note that the printing method of the print engine 250 is not limited to this, and other than the electrophotographic method, an impact method, a thermal transfer method, an ink jet method, or the like may be used.

  The control unit 260 has a CPU, and controls the above-described units and performs various arithmetic processes according to a program.

  With the above-described configuration, the MFP 200 functions as a printer that prints out a print job received from an external device, functions as a scanner that reads a document image and transmits image data to the external device, and prints image data by reading the document image. It has both a function as an output copier and a function as a facsimile that transmits and receives image data via a telephone line. The MFP 200 can be connected to a finisher having a finishing function such as a plurality of paper feed trays and staples.

<Printer controller configuration>
FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the printer controller shown in FIG. The printer controller 220 includes a RAM 221, a hard disk 222, a communication interface 223, an engine interface 224, an image transfer buffer 225, and a CPU 226, which are connected to each other via a bus 227 for exchanging signals.

  The RAM 221 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The hard disk 222 stores various programs and data including an operating system and a control program. The control program is configured to cause the CPU 226 to execute an image forming method described later.

  The communication interface 223 is an interface for performing communication between the MFP 200 and an external device, such as a network interface based on a standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, or FDDI, a serial interface such as USB or IEEE 1394, a SCSI, A parallel interface such as IEEE1284, various local connection interfaces such as a wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) (Bluetooth), IEEE802.11, HomeRF, and IrDA, and a telephone line interface for connecting to a telephone line are used.

  The engine interface 224 functions as an interface with the print engine 250. An image transfer buffer 225 is connected to the engine interface 224. The image transfer buffer 225 is a buffer for temporarily storing image data in order to transfer an image to the print engine 250.

  The CPU 226 executes the control program, and controls each part of the printer controller 220 and performs various arithmetic processes. Further, as will be described later, in the present embodiment, the CPU 226 functions as a rearrangement control unit, and rearranges the order of printing the print images based on the image data according to the set division method.

  In this embodiment, the printer controller 220 is configured to include the CPU 226 separately from the control unit 260. However, the CPU of the control unit 260 executes the control program, and controls each unit of the printer controller 220. You may be comprised so that various arithmetic processing may be performed.

<Image forming method>
Next, a procedure for executing the image forming method of the MFP according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the image forming method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a data flow diagram showing the flow of data between functional blocks in the printer controller shown in FIG. . FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the front and back surfaces when a two-page document is printed on both sides in the present embodiment, and FIG. 12 is an arrangement of image data in the present embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates replacement.

  The image forming method of the present embodiment is realized by the CPU 226 of the printer controller 220 executing the procedure of the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, first, a print job is received (step S101). The CPU 226 and the communication interface 223 function as a data receiving unit, and receive a print job (PDL data) transmitted from the client PC 100.

  For example, the print job includes page data 1 to 12 as print data, and includes information such as A4 size, double-sided printing, poster printing on, horizontal division into three, and vertical division into two as print setting information. As described above, the reception unit functions as a page data acquisition unit, and acquires the page data of the document divided by the set division method.

  The received print data and print setting information are stored in the RAM 221. Further, page data 1 to 12 of the print data are sequentially transferred to an interpreter unit as an image generation unit.

  Next, the print data is rasterized (step S102). The CPU 226 functions as an interpreter, rasterizes the page data 1 to 12, and develops the image data 1 to 12 corresponding to the page data 1 to 12 in a frame memory secured on the RAM 221.

  Next, the image data is stored (step S103). In the case of the poster printing process, the image data 1 to 12 are temporarily stored in the hard disk 222 as a storage unit. When the image data 1 to 12 is written to the hard disk 222, the compression processing unit performs compression processing. When the image data 1 to 12 is read from the hard disk 222, the expansion processing unit performs expansion processing. The amount is reduced. The CPU 226 functions as a compression processing unit and an expansion processing unit.

  In the normal printing process, the image data 1 to 12 are not directly stored in the storage unit but are directly transferred to the print engine 250 by the engine interface 224 as an image transfer unit.

  Next, the image data is rearranged (step S104). The CPU 226 rearranges the order of printing the print images based on the image data according to the set division method. The print image is a portion printed by the print engine 250 of the image based on the image data. In the present embodiment, the CPU 226 rearranges the order of printing the print images so that the print images of the odd pages of the original are arranged on the front side of the paper and the print images of the even pages of the original are arranged on the back side of the paper.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when a two-page document is printed on both sides, the first page of the document is printed on the front surface and the second page is printed on the back surface. In double-sided printing, images are printed on the front and back sides of a single sheet of paper, so the left and right positions on the back corresponding to the front are reversed with respect to the positions viewed from the back. Accordingly, the first page is printed on the surface in the horizontal direction so that the numbers of the image data are in ascending order “1, 2, 3” and “4, 5, 6”. On the other hand, the second page is printed in the horizontal direction in the reverse order of the front side, that is, the image data numbers are in descending order “9, 8, 7” and “12, 11, 10”. In FIG. 11, the numbers of the back side image data corresponding to the front side are shown in parentheses.

  The print engine 250 performs printing in the order of the front surface, back surface, second paper surface, back surface,..., Sixth paper surface, back surface of the first sheet. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the CPU 226 considers the order in which the images are printed, and sets the image data in the order of “1, 9, 2, 8, 3, 7, 4, 12, 5, 11, 6, 10”. Sort by. In the rearrangement of the order of the image data 1 to 12, the print order is managed for the addresses stored in the image data 1 to 12 without physically moving the image data 1 to 12 in the hard disk 222. Can be configured to.

  Next, an image is printed (step S105). The print engine 250 prints print images on paper in the order of the image data rearranged in step S104. More specifically, the control unit 260 controls the print engine 250 to print image data 1, 9, 2, 8, 3, 7, 4, 12, 5, 11, 6, 10 Print on both sides of the paper in order.

  Table 1 below shows the arrangement order of the image data when the division method is 3 × 2, 2 × 3, 6 × 1, and 1 × 6.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when printing a document larger than a prescribed paper size, the print image printing order is rearranged according to the set division method. More specifically, the order of printing the print images is rearranged so that the print images of the odd pages of the original are arranged on the front side of the paper and the print images of the even pages of the original are arranged on the back side of the paper. Further, when the document is divided in the horizontal direction, the first page image of the document is printed in ascending order on the front side of the paper, and the second page image of the original is printed on the back side of the paper with the order of the first page. Rearrange them so that they are printed in the reverse order, that is, in descending order. Note that rearrangement can be similarly performed in cases other than the division method shown in Table 1 above, or when the number of pages of the document is three or more.

  Note that the rearrangement of the print image printing order may be prepared in advance in the hard disk 222 as shown in Table 1 for each division method, or may be calculated from the number of divisions.

  As described above, the MFP 200 according to the present embodiment has the following effects.

  When printing a document larger than the prescribed paper size, the order of printing the print images is rearranged according to the set division method, so that a document larger than the prescribed paper size can be correctly printed on both sides.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the case where the division method is acquired using the printer driver has been described. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which a division method is acquired based on image data after rasterization without using a printer driver. In the following, detailed description of the same configuration as in the first embodiment will be omitted in order to avoid duplication of description.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the image forming method according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a subroutine flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the division method acquisition (S204) in FIG. is there. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining a procedure for acquiring a division method based on an image in the process of acquiring the division method illustrated in FIG.

  The image forming method of the present embodiment is realized by the CPU 226 of the printer controller 220 executing the procedure of the flowchart of FIG. 13 and the subroutine flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 13, steps S201 to S203 correspond to steps S101 to S103 of the first embodiment, respectively, and steps S205 and S206 correspond to steps S104 and S105 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  The outline of the image forming method of this embodiment is as follows. First, the print controller 220 receives a print job, stores page data in the hard disk 222 (steps S201 and S202), and rasterizes the page data to generate image data (step S203). Next, the print controller 220 acquires a division method based on the image data (step S204), and rearranges the image data using the division method (step S205). Then, the print engine 250 prints an image based on the rearranged image data (step S206).

  Some commercially available applications have a function of generating page data by dividing a document. In this case, the printer driver transmits the page data to the MFP 200, but does not transmit information regarding the division method to the MFP 200. Therefore, the print controller 220 cannot acquire information regarding the division method from the client PC 100.

  In the present embodiment, the print controller 220 acquires a division method based on image data generated by rasterizing the page data.

  The procedure for obtaining the division method is as follows. As shown in FIG. 14, first, it is determined whether or not the left end portion of the current image is a part of the print image (step S301). When the left end portion of the current image is a part of the print image (step S301: YES), it is determined that the current image continues from the previous image (step S302).

  On the other hand, when the left end portion of the current image is not a part of the print image (step S301: NO), it is determined that the current image is the left end (step S303). More specifically, the CPU 226 obtains the pixel value of the left end portion of the image. If the pixel value is other than 0, the left end portion of the image is a part of the print image, and the current image is the previous image. It is judged that it continues. On the other hand, when the pixel value is 0, the CPU 226 determines that the left end portion of the image is not a part of the print image and the current image is the left end.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the right end portion of the current image is a part of the print image (step S304). When the right end portion of the current image is a part of the print image (step S304: YES), it is determined that the current image continues with the next image (step S305).

  On the other hand, when the right end portion of the current image is not a part of the print image (step S304: NO), it is determined that the current image is the right end (step S306). More specifically, the CPU 226 obtains the pixel value of the right end portion of the image, and when the pixel value is other than 0, the right end portion of the image is a part of the print image, and the current image is the next image. It is judged that it continues. On the other hand, when the pixel value is 0, the CPU 226 determines that the right end portion of the current image is not a part of the print image and the current image is the right end.

  Next, it is determined whether or not it is the last image (step S307). If the current image is not the last image (step S307: NO), the process returns to step S301. The CPU 226 performs the processing of steps 301 to S306 for all the image data, and specifies the left end image and the right end image.

  On the other hand, when the current image is the last image (step S307: YES), the division method is recognized (step S308). The CPU 226 determines that a print image including a continuous image from the left end image to the right end image is included. The CPU 226 can recognize the division method with the number of images from the left end image to the right end image as the number of divisions in the horizontal direction and the number of pairs of the left end and right end images as the number of divisions in the vertical direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, image 1 is the leftmost image because the pixel value at the left end is 0, and it is determined that the print image continues from image 1 to image 2 because the pixel value at the right end is not 0. Is done. Since the pixel values at the left end and the right end of the image 2 are not 0, it is determined that the print image continues from the image 1 to the image 3. Since image 3 has a pixel value at the left end that is not 0, a print image continues from image 2 to image 3 and since the pixel value at the right end is 0, it is determined to be the right end image. Therefore, it is determined that the images 1 to 3 include continuous print images.

  Similarly, for the images 4 to 6, the left end image and the right end image are specified. As a result, it is determined that images 4 to 6 include continuous print images. From the above results, it is determined that the dividing method of image 1 to image 6 shown in FIG. 15 is horizontal division into three and vertical division into two.

  Note that the upper end portion and the lower end portion, or the left end portion, the right end portion, the upper end portion, and the lower end portion may be used for specifying the end portion of the print image.

  As described above, the MFP 200 according to the present embodiment has the following effects in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

  Even when information about the division method cannot be acquired from the client PC 100, the division method can be acquired based on image data generated by rasterizing page data.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the MFP was described as an example of the image forming apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming apparatus may be a printer, a copier, or the like.

  The means and method for performing various processes in the printing system of the present embodiment can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. Here, the program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated into the software of the device as one function of the device.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, the case where the division method is set in the printer driver of the client PC has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case, and the MFP may be configured to have a division method setting unit for setting a document division method.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, the case where the printer driver of the client PC generates the page data by dividing the document by the set dividing method has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case, and the MFP may be configured to have a page data generation unit that generates page data by dividing a document by a set division method.

D setting screen,
100 client PCs,
110 ROM,
120 RAM,
130 hard disk,
140 display,
150 input devices,
160 network interface,
170 CPU,
200 MFP,
210 Image reading unit,
220 Printer controller,
221 RAM,
222 hard disk,
223 communication interface,
224 engine interface,
225 image transfer buffer,
226 CPU,
230 storage device,
240 operation unit,
250 print engine,
260 Control unit.

Claims (14)

A page data acquisition unit that acquires page data of a document divided by the set division method;
Rasterizing the page data to generate image data; and
A rearrangement control unit that rearranges the order of printing the print images based on the image data according to the set division method;
An image forming unit that prints the print images on the paper in the order rearranged by the rearrangement control unit;
An image forming apparatus. The reordering control unit
The printing order of the printed images is rearranged so that the printed images of odd pages of the original are arranged on the front side of the paper and the printed images of even pages of the original are arranged on the back side of the paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The rearrangement control unit, when the document is divided horizontally,
3. The image according to claim 1, wherein an order of printing the print images is rearranged so that an arrangement order of the print images on the back surface is opposite to an arrangement order of the print images on the front surface. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dividing method setting unit that sets a dividing method of the document.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a page data generation unit that generates page data by dividing the document by the set division method.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document dividing method is acquired based on edge information in an image of the image data generated by the image generation unit. .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document is larger than a prescribed paper size. The image forming unit includes:
8. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the print image is printed on the paper by any one of an electrophotographic method, an impact method, a thermal transfer method, and an ink jet method. apparatus. Obtaining page data of the original divided by the set division method;
Rasterizing the page data to generate image data;
Rearranging the order of printing the print images based on the image data according to the set division method;
Printing the print images on the paper in the rearranged order;
An image forming method. In the step of rearranging the order of printing the print images,
The printing order of the printed images is rearranged so that the printed images of odd pages of the original are arranged on the front side of the paper and the printed images of even pages of the original are arranged on the back side of the paper. The image forming method according to claim 9. In the step of rearranging the order of printing the print images,
When the document is divided horizontally,
11. The image according to claim 9, wherein an order of printing the print images is rearranged so that an arrangement order of the print images on the back surface is reverse to an arrangement order of the print images on the front surface. Forming method.   A control program configured to cause a computer to execute the image forming method according to any one of claims 9 to 11.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the control program of Claim 12. A division method setting section for setting a document division method;
A page data generation unit that generates page data by dividing the document by the division method set by the division method setting unit;
Rasterizing the page data to generate image data; and
A rearrangement control unit that rearranges the order of printing the print images based on the image data according to the set division method;
An image forming unit that prints the print images on the paper in the order rearranged by the rearrangement control unit;
An image forming system.