JP2017041087A - Image processing system, processing execution control device, image processing method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve productivity of the entire system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses to perform printout.SOLUTION: An image processing system creates job data to be transmitted to an offset printer 2 and job data to be transmitted to a digital printer 1 on the basis of output destination designation information designating offset printing or digital printing for each of a plurality of pages forming job data, and then determines the number of impositions that is the number of pages formed on one recording medium and creates job data on the basis of a time required for formation and output of an image and a time required for post-processing on a sheet on which the image is formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, a process execution control device, an image processing method, and a control program.

  A method of defining and controlling all processes related to the generation of a printed material is used by an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format). According to this method, it is possible to collectively control different types of printers such as an offset printer and a digital printer. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system, and a server that controls such a system is called an HWF server.

  In such an HWF system, there is no difference in font, color, or the like when an output is executed by an offset printer or a digital printer, and a consistent output result is required. However, each of the offset printer and the digital printer is provided with a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine that generates raster data, which is data that is finally referred to in print output, based on the print data. As a result, since different RIP engines are used, there may be a difference in print results.

  In the case of output by an offset printer, raster data generation processing (hereinafter referred to as “RIP processing”) is performed by the RIP engine on the HWF server, and then a CTP (Computer Toe) that creates a version for the offset printer. Data is transferred to (Plate).

  On the other hand, in the case of a digital printer, a configuration called DFE (Digital Front End) generally receives print data, performs RIP processing, and causes the printer engine to execute print output. Therefore, it is required that the processing result by the RIP engine for generating data to be transferred to the CTP and the processing result by the RIP engine installed in the DFE are as identical as possible.

  Further, in the HWF system, it is possible to generate a single printed matter that includes a page output by an offset printer and a page output by a digital printer. As a system control in such a case, a method for improving the operability of the system when allocating pages to an offset printer and a digital printer has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Regarding the difference in the print results described above, the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server and the RIP engine mounted on the DFE are made to correspond to each other so that the same result can be obtained with any RIP engine. Can be solved. On the other hand, even the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not sufficient for improving the operability of the system described above.

  According to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, out of fixed data pages that are continuous in data to be printed in which fixed data and variable data are mixed, fixed data that can be continuously printed by an offset printer. Allocate the number of pages to the offset printer. The remaining pages including variable data are distributed to the digital printer.

  Here, in product printing for generating a printed product as a final product, it is required to shorten the time for printing output as much as possible and increase the number of copies that can be generated per unit time to improve the productivity of the factory. However, in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to the time required until the output of both offset and digital is completed and the final printed matter is generated.

  When sorting in consideration of the time as described above, it is necessary to consider the time required for folding or cutting that occurs due to imposition at the time of print output. There is no consideration of imposition.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to improve the productivity of the entire system in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses and performs printout.

  In order to solve the above problems, an aspect of the present invention is an image processing system that sequentially executes a plurality of predetermined processes, a process execution control device that controls execution of the plurality of processes, An image forming output control device that controls execution of image forming output in an image forming apparatus of a type, wherein the process execution control device controls processing execution of the plurality of processes, and As one example, a control-side drawing information generation unit that generates drawing information, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus when outputting an image, based on output target image information, which is image information of an image formation output target; As one of the processes, a drawing information transmitting unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus and output target image information composed of a plurality of pages are different for each page. Based on output destination designation information for designating a destination, a plate output command that is an output command of output target image information composed of pages output by the plate image forming apparatus and the plateless image formation An individual output command generation unit that generates a plateless output command that is an output command of output target image information configured by pages output by the device, and the image formation output control device includes the control-side drawing information generation unit A drawing information generation unit corresponding to the output side drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information based on the output target image information; and the drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information generated by the output side drawing information generation unit. And an execution control unit that causes the plate-type image forming apparatus to execute image formation output, and the individual output command generation unit records the time required for image formation output and the image formed An image processing system for determining the number of impositions, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for post-processing on the body and generating the plate output command and the non-plate output command .

  According to the present invention, the productivity of the entire system can be improved in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses and performs printout.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the JDF information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the HWF server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the workflow information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the conversion table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the RIP parameter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the RIP engine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the RIP engine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole operation | movement of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information of the division | segmentation request | requirement which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect at the time of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect at the time of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect at the time of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the processing time data which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the division | segmentation job table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the schedule information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the RIP process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of completion prediction timing data which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an image processing system capable of controlling both printers via the same server in a system in which an offset printer and a digital printer are mixed will be described. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system.

  The HWF system according to the present embodiment includes a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine that is shared by a server and a DFE (Digital Front End) that controls the digital printer when the digital printer is operated. The purpose of this embodiment is to improve the productivity of print output of the entire system by adjusting the pages allocated to the offset printer and the digital printer and imposition.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation mode of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to the present embodiment includes a digital printer 1a, 1b, an offset printer 2, a post-processing device 3, an HWF server 4a, 4b (hereinafter referred to as “HWF server 4”), a client terminal. 5a and 5b (hereinafter collectively referred to as “client terminal 5”) are connected via a network.

  The digital printers 1a and 1b (hereinafter collectively referred to as “digital printer 1”) are non-plate type printers that perform image formation and output without using a plate, such as an electrophotographic method and an ink jet method, and include a DFE 100 and a digital engine 150. And a post-processing device 160. The DFE 100 functions as an image formation output control device that is a control unit for causing the digital engine 150 to execute print output and causing the post-processing device 160 to perform post-processing. The digital engine 150 functions as an image forming apparatus. Therefore, the DFE 100 includes a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine for generating raster data that is image data to be referred to when the digital engine 150 executes print output. This raster data is used as drawing information.

  The offset printer 2 is a plate-type printer that performs image formation output using a plate, and includes a CTP (Computer To Plate) 200 and an offset engine 250. The CTP 200 is a device that generates a plate based on raster data. When the plate is generated by the CTP 200, the offset engine 250 can perform offset printing.

  The post-processing device 3 is a device that performs post-processing such as punching, stapling, and bookbinding on the paper printed out by the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. Further, the post-processing device 3 folds or cuts the sheet when the sheet output by the offset printer is an impositioned sheet.

  The HWF server 4 is a server in which HWF software for managing everything from submission of job data including image data to be printed out to printout and post-processing is installed. The HWF server 4 manages the various processes described above based on information generated in an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format) (hereinafter referred to as “JDF information”). That is, the HWF server 4 functions as a process execution control device.

  When performing print output by offset printing using the offset printer 2, the HWF server 4 generates raster data using an RIP engine mounted therein and transmits the raster data to the CTP 200. Therefore, the RWF engine is mounted on the HWF server 4.

  On the other hand, when printing output is performed by the digital printer 1, data is transmitted to the DFE 100. Since the DFE 100 is equipped with the RIP engine as described above, the HWF server 4 can cause the digital printer 1 to execute print output by transmitting print data before RIP processing to the DFE 100.

  Here, there is a case where print output for forming one printed matter is executed in each of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. In such a case, if the font and color are different in the result of both print outputs, the user who receives the output product will feel uncomfortable. For this reason, it is preferable that the print output results of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 are consistent.

  Differences in print output by different devices are mainly caused by RIP processing. Therefore, by using the RIP engine in which the processing is shared by the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, the difference between the output results of both can be minimized.

  In other words, the RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4 in the present embodiment is a RIP engine that supports both the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 and has a process that can be shared. The DFE 100 is equipped with a RIP engine that is common to the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4. Such a configuration is one of the gist according to the present embodiment.

  With such a configuration, a common RIP engine is mounted on the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, when printing output is executed by the digital printer 1, the RIP processing by the HWF server 4 and the RIP processing by the DFE 100 can be combined.

  The client terminal 5 is an information processing terminal for an operator who uses the system to operate the HWF server 4 and is realized by a general PC (Personal Computer) or the like. The operator operates the client terminal 5 to display a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for operating the HWF server 4, and inputs data, sets the above-described JDF information, and the like. JDF information is processing setting information.

  Next, the hardware configuration of information processing apparatuses such as the DFE 100, the HWF server 4, and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the same configuration as a general server, a PC (Personal Computer), or the like. That is, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 40, and an I / F 50. Connected through. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation means and controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 and various hardware and networks. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the information processing apparatus. The operation unit 70 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for a user to input information to the information processing apparatus. Since the HWF server 4 is operated as a server, user interfaces such as the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 can be omitted.

  In such a hardware configuration, the software control unit is configured by the CPU 10 performing calculations according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program loaded into the RAM 20 from a storage medium such as the HDD 40 or an optical disk (not shown). A functional block that realizes the functions of the DFE 100, the HWF server 4, and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware.

  Next, the above-described JDF information will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of JDF information. As shown in FIG. 3, the JDF information includes “job information” regarding job execution, “edit information” regarding raster data, and “finishing information” regarding post-processing. It also includes information on “RIP status”, “RIP device designation”, and “device designation”.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the “job information” includes information such as “number of copies”, “number of pages”, and “RIP control mode”. “Number of copies” is information for designating the number of copies of the printed matter to be output. “Number of pages” is information for designating the number of pages of a printed material. “RIP control mode” indicates a control mode of RIP processing, and “page mode”, “sheet mode”, and the like are designated.

  “Edit information” includes “orientation information”, “printing surface information”, “rotation”, “enlargement / reduction”, “image position”, “layout information”, “margin information”, and “crop mark information”. . “Orientation information” is information for designating the printing orientation, such as “vertical” or “horizontal”. “Print surface information” is information for designating a print surface such as “double-sided” or “single-sided”.

  “Rotation” is information for designating the rotation angle of the image to be output. “Enlargement / reduction” is information for designating a scaling factor of an image to be output. “Offset” of “Image position” is information for specifying an offset of an image to be output. “Position adjustment information” is information for specifying a position adjustment value of an image to be output.

  “Custom imposition arrangement” of “layout information” is information specifying the arrangement of the custom surface. “Number of pages” is information for designating the number of pages per sheet. For example, when two pages are collected on one sheet, “2 in 1” is designated. “Page order information” is information specifying information related to the order of pages to be printed. “Creep position adjustment” is information for specifying a value related to the adjustment of the creep position.

  “Margin information” is information for designating values related to margins such as fit boxes and gutters. “Center crop mark information” of “Crop mark information” is information for specifying a value related to the center crop mark. “Corner crop mark information” is information for designating a value related to a corner crop mark.

  “Finishing information” includes “Collate information”, “staple / bind information”, “punch information”, “folding information”, “trim”, “output tray information”, “input tray information”, “cover sheet information” including. “Collate information” is information for designating whether printing is performed in units of pages or in units of documents when a plurality of copies of a document are printed.

  “Staple / bind information” is information for specifying processing related to stapling / binding. “Punch information” is information for designating processing relating to punching. “Folding information” is information for specifying processing related to folding. “Trim” is information for specifying processing related to trimming.

  “Output tray information” is information for designating an output tray. “Input tray” is information for designating an input tray. “Cover / sheet information” is information for designating processing relating to a cover / sheet.

  “RIP status” is execution state information indicating whether or not each RIP internal process, which is each process included in the RIP process, has been executed. In FIG. 3, RIP internal processing items such as “Preflight”, “Normalize”, “Font”, “Layout”, “Mark”, “CMM”, “Trapping”, “Calibration”, “Screening” Is described. Then, the status of the processing state for each item is described. In FIG. 3, “NotYet” indicating unprocessed is set, and is updated to “Done” when each process is executed.

  “RIP device designation” is information for designating whether each RIP internal process is executed on the HWF server 4 side or the DFE 100 side. For each item of RIP internal processing similar to “RIP status”, either “HWF server” or “DFE” is set. When “DFE” is set, information specifying any of a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 is included, such as “DFE (Engine A)”.

  “Device designation” is information for designating a device that executes a print job. In the example of FIG. 3, “digital printer” is designated. The JDF information includes various information in addition to the information shown in FIG. Such information will be described in detail in the following description.

  The JDF information shown in FIG. 3 is generated when the operator displays the GUI of the HWF server 4 via the client terminal 5 and sets various items in the GUI. The RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 or the DFE 100 performs RIP processing based on such JDF information. Further, the post-processing device 3 performs post-processing based on such JDF information. When a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, the job may be submitted with JDF information attached.

  Next, the functional configuration of the HWF server 4 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the HWF server 4 includes an HWF controller 400 and a network I / F 401. The network I / F 401 is an interface for the HWF server 4 to exchange information with other devices via the network.

  The HWF controller 400 manages acquisition of data to be printed, creation of a print job, management of a workflow, distribution of a job to the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, and the like. A process in which job data to be printed is input to the HWF server 4 and acquired by the HWF controller 400 is a submission process in the present system. The HWF controller 400 is configured by installing dedicated software in the information processing apparatus. This software is HWF software.

  In the HWF controller 400, the system control unit 410 controls the entire HWF controller 400. Therefore, the system control unit 410, when realizing each function of the HWF controller 400 described above, gives an instruction to each unit of the HWF controller 400 to execute processing. The data receiving unit 411 receives print job data from another system, or receives job data submitted by an operator's operation.

  A UI (User Interface) control unit 412 controls an operation by an operator via the client terminal 5. A GUI for operating the HWF server 4 is displayed on the client terminal 5, and the UI control unit 412 acquires operation information for the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The UI control unit 412 notifies the system control unit 410 of operation information acquired via the network in this way. The display of the GUI on the client terminal 5 is realized by software installed in the client terminal 5 in advance or information provided from the UI control unit 412 to the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The operator selects job data to be submitted by manipulating the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Thereby, the client terminal 5 transmits job data to the HWF server 4, and the data receiving unit 411 acquires the job data. The system control unit 410 registers the job data acquired by the data reception unit 411 in the job data storage unit 414.

  When job data is transmitted from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4, job data is generated at the client terminal 5 based on the document data or image data selected at the client terminal 5 and then transmitted to the HWF server 4. . The job data is, for example, data in PDL (Page Description Language) format such as PDF (Portable Document Format) and PostScript.

  In addition, the print target data may be transmitted from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4 in the data format dedicated to the application or the general image data format. In that case, the system control unit 410 causes the job control unit 413 to generate job data based on the acquired data. The job control unit 413 generates job data based on data to be printed by the function of the RIP engine 420.

  Note that the print target data registered in the job data storage unit 414 is PDL information as described above. This PDL information is not only primary data generated based on the print target data, but also halfway. There may be intermediate data that has been processed. These pieces of information are used as output target image information that is information about an image to be imaged and output. Examples of the case where the intermediate data is stored in the job data storage unit 414 include the case where the job data is registered in the HWF server 4 in the intermediate data state in addition to the state in the middle of the processing already started in the HWF server 4. There can be. Hereinafter, when “PDL information” is set, it indicates primary data that has not been subjected to RIP processing, and when “intermediate data” is set, data in the middle of processing in which RIP processing has been executed halfway is indicated. Show.

  Further, as described above, the JDF information described with reference to FIG. 3 is set and generated by an operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Alternatively, when a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, it is given in advance. The JDF information acquired in this way is received as job data by the data receiving unit 411 together with the PDL information. The system control unit 410 registers the JDF information and PDL information acquired in this way in the job data storage unit 414 in association with each other.

  In the present embodiment, the case where JDF information is used as attribute information indicating the contents of a job has been described as an example. However, this is only an example, and other formats such as PPF (Print Production Format) information may be used.

  Further, the system control unit 410 can divide the received job data for each print region such as a page unit based on an operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Each of the job data divided in this way is registered in the job data storage unit 414 as divided individual job data.

  For each job for which division is specified, when an output destination device is selected by an operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the selection result is associated with the job data in the job data storage unit 414. Saved. As an output destination selection mode, for example, there may be a selection mode such as the digital printer 1 for the cover portion and the offset printer 2 for the body.

  Such job division processing is executed by the division / imposition unit 422 through control by the system control unit 410 and the job control unit 413. The division / imposition unit 422 performs job division processing in consideration of imposition in both offset printing and digital printing in job division processing. At that time, the division / imposition unit 422 performs imposition and job division so that the job is completed in as short a time as possible so that the print output productivity of the entire system is improved. Such a function is one of the gist according to the present embodiment. Details will be described later.

  The device information management unit 416 manages information by acquiring information on other devices included in the system, such as the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing device 3, and storing them in the device information storage unit 417. The other device information includes a network address assigned when the device is connected to the network and device function information. The device function information includes, for example, a printing speed, usable post-processing functions, an operation state, and the like.

  The device information communication unit 415 periodically acquires information on other devices included in the system via the network I / F 401. As a result, the device information management unit 416 periodically updates the information of other devices stored in the device information storage unit 417, so that even if the information of other devices changes dynamically, the device information storage unit The information stored in 417 is kept accurate.

  The workflow control unit 418 determines the execution order of each process when processing job data registered in the job data storage unit 414 on the system, and stores the information in the workflow information storage unit 419. Each process defined in the workflow has its execution order determined in advance, and in order to maintain the order, the process is controlled to proceed to the next process when the previous process is completed.

  In other words, what is stored in the workflow information storage unit 419 is workflow information obtained by combining the respective processes that can be executed in the HWF system in the designated order. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of workflow information. On the other hand, parameters when each process is executed are specified in the JDF information as described above. In the workflow information storage unit 419, workflow information set based on an operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 is registered in advance.

  The execution instruction for the job data registered in the HWF server 4 is notified to the system control unit 410 via the UI control unit 412 based on the operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. As a result, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device described above.

  As described above, in the aspect of selecting an output destination device on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the system control unit 410 selects an output destination device according to the designated content. In addition, a mode in which selection is automatically performed based on a comparison between job contents and device characteristics is also possible.

  When an output destination device is automatically selected based on a comparison between job contents and device characteristics, the system control unit 410 acquires information on available devices from the device information management unit 416. When the output destination device is determined in this way, the system control unit 410 adds information indicating the determined output destination device to the JDF information.

  After determining the output destination device, the system control unit 410 instructs the workflow control unit 418 to execute a job. At this time, the workflow information registered in advance in the workflow information storage unit 419 based on the operator's operation may be used, or new workflow information may be generated based on the contents set according to the operator's operation. .

  When the workflow control unit 418 receives an execution instruction from the system control unit 410, the workflow control unit 418 instructs the job control unit 413 to execute each process in accordance with the specified execution order according to the specified workflow information or newly generated workflow information. In other words, the workflow control unit 418 and the job control unit 413 function as a process execution control unit in conjunction with each other.

  Upon receiving the execution instruction, the job control unit 413 inputs the above-described PDL information and JDF information to the RIP engine 420 to execute the RIP process. The JDF information includes information indicating which of the plurality of RIP internal processes performed by the RIP engine is executed by the HWF server 4 or the DFE 100.

  The job control unit 413 refers to the RIP process distribution information in the information included in the JDF information, and if the process instructed by the workflow control unit 418 is a process to be executed in the HWF server 4, the RIP engine 420 Causes the specified process to be executed. The RIP engine 420 executes RIP processing based on parameters specified in the JDF information in accordance with instructions from the job control unit 413.

  The RIP engine 420 that has executed the RIP process in this manner updates the RIP status of the RIP process that has executed the process. As a result, the status of the RIP internal process executed by the HWF server 4 among the plurality of RIP internal processes is changed to “Done”. The RIP engine 420 functions as a control-side drawing information generation unit.

  The RIP execution result data generated by executing the RIP process is any of PDL information, intermediate data, and raster data. Although these differ in the contents of the RIP internal processing, intermediate data is generated based on data that was initially PDL information as the processing proceeds, and finally raster data is generated. The RIP execution result data is stored in the job data storage unit 414 in association with the job being executed.

  When one RIP internal process is completed, the RIP engine 420 notifies the job control unit 413 of the completion, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418. Thereby, the workflow control unit 418 starts control of the next process according to the workflow information.

  When the content of the job received from the workflow control unit 418 is a request for another system, the job control unit 413 inputs job data in a form corresponding to the other system to the job transmission / reception unit 421, and Send it. In the case of transmission of job data to the offset printer 2, the print target data is converted into raster data and then transmitted as job data.

  On the other hand, when transmitting job data to the digital printer 1, the job control unit 413 designates the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 among the plurality of RIP engines included in the DFE 100 and sends it to the job transmission / reception unit 421. Enter job data. As a result, the job transmitting / receiving unit 421 transmits the job data to the DFE 100 by designating the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420.

  The job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits job data obtained by packaging PDL information or intermediate data and JDF information to the DFE 100. As a transmission mode of job data, PDL information or intermediate data may be external resource data, and a URL indicating a storage location of PDL information or intermediate data may be described in JDF information. In this case, the URL that receives the JDF information accesses the URL, and acquires PDL information or intermediate data. Further, in the case of offset printing, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits raster data generated by the RIP engine 420 to the CTP 200.

  The job data transmitted to the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 in this way are sequentially executed in the CTP 200 and DFE 100 that are the transmission destinations. The scheduling unit 423 adjusts the order of jobs executed in each device, that is, the schedule so that the standby time in each of the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing device 3 is short and the throughput of the entire system is improved as much as possible. This is an execution order adjustment unit. The scheduling unit 423 performs the above-described scheduling process via the device information management unit 416 and the device information communication unit 415. Details will be described later.

  Next, a functional configuration of the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The DFE 100 receives job data from the HWF server 4 and performs control of the received job, execution control of RIP processing, and control of the digital engine 150. The HWF server 4 causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output by transmitting job data to the DFE 100. That is, the DFE 100 functions as a server for providing a digital print function to the HWF server 4.

  The job control function provided by the DFE 100 is a control function for a series of operations such as job data reception, JDF information analysis, raster data creation, and print output by the digital engine 150. The execution control of the RIP process is a control for causing the RIP engine to execute the RIP process based on information generated by analyzing the JDF information and the PDL information.

  The information generated by the analysis of the JDF information is information obtained by extracting information used for the RIP processing from the JDF information described in FIG. 3 and converting the information into a format decipherable by the DFE 100. It is called “attribute”. By executing the RIP process with reference to the job attributes in the DFE and the PDL information, intermediate data and raster data are created.

  The control function of the digital engine 150 is a function that causes the digital engine 150 to transmit raster data and part of the above-described job attributes in the DFE to execute print output. These functions are realized by the blocks shown in FIG. Each block shown in FIG. 6 is realized by the CPU 10 performing arithmetic processing according to a program loaded in the RAM 20 or a program stored in the ROM 30 and operating other hardware as described in FIG.

  The DFE 100 includes a network I / F 101, a display 102, and a DFE controller 110, and a plurality of RIP engines are mounted inside the DFE controller 110. This is installed corresponding to the RIP engine of another device that may transmit a job to the DFE 100 in the HWF system. In the present embodiment, since a plurality of different RIP engines are included in the plurality of HWF servers 4a and 4b, a plurality of RIP engines are mounted on the DFE 100 corresponding to the respective RIP engines.

  The job receiving unit 111 includes a plurality of individual job receiving units 112 therein. The individual job receiving unit 112 receives job data from the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101. The plurality of individual job reception units 112 correspond to a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100, respectively. The individual job receiving unit 112 functions as an individual receiving unit.

  As described above, when transmitting job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100, a corresponding RIP engine is designated and transmitted. Therefore, in the job receiving unit 111, the individual job receiving unit 112 corresponding to the designated RIP engine receives job data.

  The job data can be input to the DFE 100 from the HWF server 4 via a network, or via a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. In this embodiment, a case where JDF information is included in job data will be described as an example. However, when JDF is not included, the job receiving unit 111 creates a dummy JDF and assigns JDF information to the job data. .

  The individual job receiving unit 112 functions as a virtual printer in which job contents are set in advance, in addition to the case where the individual job receiving unit 112 is provided corresponding to each RIP engine described above. That is, the RIP engine installed in the DFE 100 and the individual job receiving unit 112 in which the job content is set are provided, and the job is executed with the preset content by designating one of the individual job receiving units 112. It becomes possible.

  One of the possible settings in the individual job receiving unit 112 according to the present embodiment is “pass-through mode”. This “pass-through mode” does not perform JDF information analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117, which is a JDF information analysis function provided separately from the RIP engine in the DFE 100, and executes JDF information analysis in the RIP engine. Mode.

  With such a function, it is possible to use JDF information in a format not supported by the JDF analysis unit 117, or to use a RIP engine that is difficult to provide a JDF analysis function outside the RIP engine in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. It becomes. In the present embodiment, the above-described “pass-through mode” is used when the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 and the RIP engine 120 mounted on the DFE 100 share processing. The same RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 is used as the output side drawing information generation unit.

  When the RIP process is distributed to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is preferable that the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 are not considered as much as possible and are executed as a series of processes. Therefore, when data that has been processed halfway in the HWF server 4 is input to the DFE 100, the same JDF analysis processing as when unprocessed job data is input is omitted, and processing is continued as processing in the HWF server 4. Preferably it is performed.

  In the present embodiment, since the same RIP engine corresponding to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is mounted, it is possible to suitably realize such control of RIP processing. In such a case, since it is preferable that the data processed by one RIP engine is directly transferred to the other RIP engine, such control is preferably realized by the “pass-through mode” described above. I can do it.

  The system control unit 113 stores the job data received by the individual job reception unit 112 in the job data storage unit 114 or passes it to the job control unit 116. If the DFE 100 is set to store job data, or if there is a job that is already being executed, the system control unit 113 stores the job data in the job data storage unit 114. If the JDF information describes whether or not to store in the job data storage unit 114, the system control unit 113 follows the description.

  The case where job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114 is, for example, a case where the print content is previewed in the DFE 100. In this case, the system control unit 113 obtains print target data included in the job data, that is, PDL information and intermediate data from the job data storage unit 114, generates preview data, and transfers the preview data to the UI control unit 115. Accordingly, the UI control unit 115 causes the display 102 to display a preview of the print content.

  When generating preview data, the system control unit 113 passes the data to be printed to the job control unit 116 and requests generation of preview data. The job control unit 116 passes the data to be printed to the RIP unit 118 to generate preview data, and passes the generated preview data to the system control unit 113.

  Also, when the operator changes the JDF information in the DFE 100, the job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires JDF information from the job data storage unit 114 and passes it to the UI control unit 115. As a result, the JDF information of the job data is displayed on the display 102, and the operator can change it by operation.

  When the operator changes the JDF information by operating the DFE 100, the UI control unit 115 receives the change content and notifies the system control unit 113 of the change. The system control unit 113 updates the received change contents to reflect the target JDF information, and stores the updated JDF information in the job data storage unit 114.

  In principle, the system control unit 113 retrieves the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 in the order in which they are stored, and passes them to the job control unit 116. Further, in the case of job data described in the JDF information to be executed after waiting for an execution instruction in the DFE 100, when the job execution instruction is received, the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 is transferred to the job control unit 116. Deliver.

  The job execution instruction is input from the HWF server 4 via the network or input by an operator operation on the DFE 100. For example, when the job execution time is set in the JDF information, the system control unit 113 delivers the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 to the job control unit 116 when the set time comes.

  In the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment, the order in which the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 is retrieved by the system control unit 113 and delivered to the job control unit 116 as described above is adjusted by scheduling. Is done. The scheduling adjustment is performed by the scheduling unit 423 described with reference to FIG. Details will be described later.

  The job data storage unit 114 is a storage area for storing job data as described above, and is realized by the HDD 40 described with reference to FIG. In addition, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected via a network may be used.

  The UI control unit 115 receives information displayed on the display 102 and an operator's operation on the DFE 100 as described above. In the above-described JDF information editing operation, the UI control unit 115 interprets the JDF information and displays the contents of the print job on the display 102.

  The job control unit 116 performs control related to job execution based on a job execution instruction from the system control unit 113. Specifically, the control performed by the job control unit 116 includes JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117, RIP processing by the RIP unit 118, and control processing of the digital engine 150 by the printer control unit 122.

  Upon receiving a job execution instruction from the system control unit 113, the job control unit 116 inputs JDF information included in the job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 and makes a JDF conversion request. The JDF conversion request is a request for processing for converting JDF information described in the format of the JDF information generation source into a format recognizable by the RIP unit 118. That is, the JDF analysis unit 117 functions as a processing setting information conversion unit.

  On the other hand, when “pass-through mode” is specified as described above, the job control unit 116 inputs the JDF information included in the job data acquired from the system control unit 113 to the RIP unit 118 as it is. The designation of “pass-through mode” is described in the JDF information by the individual job receiving unit 112, for example. In addition, when “pass-through mode” is designated by the individual job receiving unit 112, designation of “page mode” and “sheet mode” is also described according to the designated RIP engine 120.

  The JDF analysis unit 117 converts the JDF information described in the generation source format into a format that can be recognized by the RIP unit 118 as described above. The JDF analysis unit 117 holds a conversion table therein, and in accordance with the conversion table, the RIP unit 118 extracts necessary information from the information included in the JDF information and converts the description format. As a result, the above-described job attributes within DFE are generated.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table held by the JDF analysis unit 117 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the conversion table according to the present embodiment is information in which a description format in JDF information and a description format in job attributes in DFE are associated with each other. For example, the “number of copies” information described in FIG. 3 is described as “A · Amount” in the actual JDF information, and is converted into a description of “number of copies” when generating the job attribute in DFE.

  The job attributes in the DFE are generated by the processing of the JDF analysis unit 117 using the conversion table as shown in FIG. The information described in the job attributes within DFE is, for example, “job information”, “edit information”, “finishing information”, etc. shown in FIG.

  Also, the JDF analysis unit 117 sets “RIP control mode” in the job attributes within DFE when generating the job attributes within DFE. In “RIP control mode”, “page mode”, “sheet mode”, and the like are set. The JDF analysis unit 117 assigns the “RIP control mode” according to the type of the individual job reception unit 112 that has received the job data, the contents of the job, the HWF software that constitutes the HWF server 4 that is the transmission source of the job data, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the setting of aggregate printing in a print job is handled in “page mode”. Details of the “RIP control mode” will be described later.

  The job control unit 116 generates “RIP parameters” based on the job attributes in the DFE generated by the JDF analysis unit 117, and passes RIP parameters to the RIP control unit 119 of the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing. Let it run. As a result, the RIP unit 118 executes RIP processing based on the RIP parameters.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of RIP parameters according to the present embodiment. The RIP parameters according to the present embodiment include “input / output data type”, “data read information”, and “RIP control mode” as the initial information. “Input / output data type” designates the type of input / output data such as “JDF”, “PDL”, and the like. The designation format includes a text format, an extension of image data, intermediate data, and the like in addition to “JDF”, “PDL”, and the like.

  The “data read information” is information on how to specify the read position and write position of input / output data and the specified position. “RIP control mode” is information of “page mode” and “sheet mode”. In addition, the information at the beginning includes unit information used in the RIP parameter and data compression method information.

  “Input / output image information” includes “output image information”, “input image information”, and “image handling information”. “Information about output image” includes information such as format, resolution, size, color separation, color shift, and page orientation of output image data. The “information about the input image” includes information such as the format, resolution, page range, and color setting of the input image data. “Information relating to image handling” includes information such as an offset of an enlargement / reduction algorithm, an object area, and an offset of a halftone.

  “PDL related information” is information related to PDL information targeted by the RIP parameter, and includes information on “data area”, “size information”, and “data arrangement method”. Note that the PDL information referred to here is data to be printed in a job, and includes intermediate data. “Data area” designates area information in which PDL information is stored. “Size information” specifies the data size of the PDL information. “Data arrangement method” designates a data arrangement method in the memory of PDL information such as “little endian” and “big endian”.

  On the other hand, in the “pass-through mode”, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters based on JDF information and PDL information or intermediate data. In this case, information for referring to the corresponding JDF information item is set in each item constituting the RIP parameter.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the RIP parameters include “RIP control mode”. The RIP control unit 119 controls the RIP engine 120 according to the “RIP control mode”. Therefore, the sequence is determined according to the “RIP control mode”. As described above, “page mode” and “sheet mode” are set in the “RIP control mode”.

  The “page mode” is a process for generating raster data by executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pre-combination pages collected on one sheet. “Sheet mode” is a process of generating Raster data collected on one sheet by executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pages collected on one sheet.

  In the case of “pass-through mode”, “pass-through mode” is designated in “RIP control mode”. However, this is an example, and “pass-through mode” may be described in an item other than “RIP control mode”.

  Further, the job control unit 116 sets “RIP engine identification information” in the RIP parameter. “RIP engine identification information” is information for identifying a plurality of RIP engines 120 included in the RIP unit 118. In the present embodiment, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is used in the DFE 100.

  Therefore, the JDF information includes information specifying the individual job receiving unit 112 as described above, and job data is received by the individual job receiving unit 112 specified as such. The individual job receiving unit 112 corresponds to one of the RIP engines 120, and adds identification information of the corresponding RIP engine 120 to the received JDF information. The job control unit 116 adds the above-described “RIP engine identification information” to the RIP parameter based on the identification information of the RIP engine 120 added to the JDF information in this way.

  In the RIP unit 118, the RIP control unit 119 controls a plurality of RIP engines 120, and executes RIP internal processing based on the input RIP parameters to generate raster data. Here, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment has a function to cope with the possibility that the system according to the present embodiment may receive print jobs from a plurality of different HWF servers 4.

  Different types of HWF servers 4 may have different data handling methods in print jobs. For example, the difference is “RIP control mode” such as “page mode” and “sheet mode” described above. In the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “page mode”, the data of the original page corresponding to the number of aggregations is specified in order for the aggregation printing.

  On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “sheet mode”, all the data of the original page before aggregation is designated and the RIP process is executed. That is, the parameter designation method for the RIP engine 120 is different. Such a difference is not limited to the “RIP control mode”. For example, it occurs due to differences in the format and handling method of the original data, such as handling the margins of the original data.

  In order to deal with such a difference, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment performs a conversion process of a parameter designated for the RIP engine 120 in accordance with the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP process. For example, when data corresponding to “page mode” is input to the RIP engine 120 corresponding to “sheet mode”, the parameter described in “page mode” is converted to “sheet mode”. The function of the RIP engine 120 will be described in detail later.

  The image storage unit 121 is a storage unit that stores raster data generated by the RIP engine 120. The image storage unit 121 is realized by the HDD 40 described with reference to FIG. In addition, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected via a network may be used.

  The printer control unit 122 is connected to the digital engine 150 and reads out raster data stored in the image storage unit 121 and transmits the raster data to the digital engine 150 to execute print output. Further, finishing information included in the job attributes within DFE is acquired from the job control unit 116, thereby performing control for finishing processing.

  The printer control unit 122 can acquire information of the digital engine 150 itself by exchanging information with the digital engine 150. For example, in the case of the CIP4 standard, a standard called DevCaps for transmitting / receiving device specification information to / from a printer is defined as a standard for JDF information. Also known is a method for collecting printer information using a communication protocol called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and a database called MIB (Management Information Base).

  The device information management unit 123 manages device information that is information on the DFE 100 itself and the digital engine 150. The device information includes information on the RIP engine 120 included in the RIP unit 118 and information on the individual job reception unit 112 configured in the job reception unit 111. The information of the individual job receiving unit 112 includes the above-described “pass-through mode” information. Furthermore, the device information management unit 123 according to the present embodiment acquires and manages the job data execution order in the job data storage unit 114, that is, the scheduling information described above.

  The device information communication unit 124 exchanges device information with the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101 in accordance with specifications such as MIB and JMF (Job Messaging Format). Thereby, the device information communication unit 415 of the HWF server 4 acquires device information from the DFE 100. As a result, in the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, information on the RIP engine 120 included in the DFE 100 and information on the individual job reception unit 112 are reflected. Also, scheduling information in the job data storage unit 114 is grasped in the HWF server 4.

  When the digital engine 150 is controlled by the printer control unit 122 in the DFE 100 and the print output is completed, the system control unit 113 recognizes this via the job control unit 116. Then, the system control unit 113 notifies the HWF server 4 of a print job completion notification via the job reception unit 111. As a result, the job transmission / reception unit 421 of the HWF server 4 receives a job completion notification.

  In the HWF server 4, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transfers a job completion notification to the job control unit 413, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of job completion. Transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100 is originally executed by the workflow control unit 418 according to the workflow information.

  When the workflow control unit 418 recognizes the completion of the job by the DFE 100, the workflow control unit 418 controls the execution of the next process according to the workflow information. As processing set next to the print output by the DFE 100, for example, post-processing by the post-processing device 3 is available.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 when JDF analysis processing is performed by the JDF analysis unit 117. As described above, the RIP engine 120 is a software module that generates Raster data by executing RIP internal processing based on the RIP parameters described in FIG. As the RIP engine, for example, APPE that is a PDF printing engine provided by Adobe Systems is used as a base.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the RIP engine 120 includes a control unit 201 and other parts. Portions other than the control unit 201 are expansion units that can be expanded by vendors. The control unit 201 executes RIP processing by using various functions included as an extension unit.

  The input unit 202 receives an initialization request or an RIP processing execution request, and notifies the control unit 201 of the request. When the initialization request is made, the above-described RIP parameters are also input to the control unit 201. Upon receiving the initialization request, the control unit 201 inputs the simultaneously received RIP parameters to the RIP parameter analysis unit 203. Then, the RIP parameter analysis result is acquired by the function of the RIP parameter analysis unit 203, and the order in which the respective extension units included in the RIP engine 120 are operated in the RIP process is determined. In addition, the format of data generated as a result of these processes determines any of a raster image, preview image, PDF, intermediate data, and the like.

  In addition, when the control unit 201 receives an RIP process execution request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 operates each unit of the extension unit according to the processing order determined when the initialization request is received. The preflight processing unit 204 checks the validity of the contents of the input PDL data. When an invalid PDL attribute is found, the control unit 201 is notified. Upon receiving this notification, the control unit 201 notifies the external modules such as the RIP control unit 119 and the job control unit 116 via the output unit 213.

  The attribute information confirmed by the preflight processing is information that may cause a situation in which processing by other modules included in the RIP engine 120 becomes impossible, such as whether or not a non-corresponding font is specified. It is.

  The normalization processing unit 205 converts the input PDL data into PDF when it is PostScript instead of PDF. The mark processing unit 206 develops the graphic information of the designated mark and superimposes it on the designated position in the image to be printed.

  The font processing unit 207 takes out the font data, converts the font into an embedded PDL font, and performs outline processing. A CMM (Color Management Module) processing unit 209 converts the color space of an input image into CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blackK) based on a color conversion table described in an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile. The ICC profile is color ICC information and device ICC information.

  The trapping processing unit 210 performs a trapping process. The trapping process is to expand each color area so that the gap is filled in order to prevent gaps from occurring in the boundary part when there is a positional deviation between adjacent color areas that touch the boundary. It is processing to do.

  The calibration processing unit 211 adjusts the variation in the color balance due to the temporal variation of the output device and individual differences in order to increase the accuracy of color conversion by the CMM processing unit 209. Note that the processing by the calibration processing unit 211 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120.

  The screening processing unit 212 performs a halftone dot generation process in consideration of the final output. Note that the processing by the screening processing unit 212 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120 in the same manner as the processing by the calibration processing unit 211. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside. The RIP result is one of a raster image, preview image, PDF, and intermediate data determined at the time of initialization.

  The rendering processing unit 218 performs rendering processing for generating raster data based on input data. Of the processing units shown in FIG. 9, the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 may be executed simultaneously by the rendering processing unit 218.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 when not accompanied by JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the case where the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not accompanied is a case where RIP internal processing is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 has the same configuration as the RIP engine 120 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 without JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is almost the same as the configuration described in FIG. 9. Only the parts different from FIG. 9 will be described below. The part other than the control unit 201 is an extension unit as in FIG.

  When receiving the initialization request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 in the example of FIG. 10 acquires JDF information together with the initialization request. Then, the control unit 201 analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information by using the function of the job attribute analysis unit 214, and similarly to the case of FIG. 9, the processing order of each extension unit and the format of the data generated as a result of the processing To decide.

  In particular, in the case of the RIP engine 120 installed in the DFE 100, the data format of the processing result is often raster data for input to the printer control unit 122. On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4, the data format of the processing result differs depending on the distribution mode of processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, the control unit 201 in the RIP engine 420 determines the data format of processing results such as PDL information and intermediate data based on the analysis result by the job attribute analysis unit 214.

  Further, the control unit 201 analyzes the RIP status information included in the JDF information by using the function of the RIP status analysis unit 215, and confirms whether or not there is already executed RIP internal processing. If there is an already executed RIP internal processing unit, the corresponding extension unit is excluded from the processing target.

  Note that the RIP status analysis unit 215 can analyze the PDL information and execute the same processing as well as analyzing the RIP status included in the JDF information. In the case of PDL information, attribute information such as parameters disappears for already executed RIP internal processes, so it is possible to determine an unexecuted RIP internal process based on the remaining attribute information.

  The layout processing unit 217 performs imposition processing. The RIP status management unit 216 rewrites the RIP status corresponding to the RIP internal processing executed by each expansion unit to “Done” according to the control of the control unit 201. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside of the engine. The RIP result is data in a data format determined at the time of initialization.

  The rendering processing unit 218 shown in FIG. 10 also performs rendering processing for generating raster data based on input data, as in FIG. In addition to the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 among the processing units illustrated in FIG. 10, the processing by the layout processing unit 217 may be executed simultaneously by the rendering processing unit 218.

  Further, as described above, depending on the “RIP device designation” information included in the JDF information, a plurality of RIPs mounted in the DFE 100 such as “DFE (Engine A)” and “DFE (Engine B)” may be used. The engine 120 may be used properly. Since the control unit 201 cannot entrust processing to an extension unit of another RIP engine, it is processed by the job control unit 116.

  As described above, the job control unit 116 adds “RIP engine identification information” to the RIP parameter. At this time, a different RIP parameter is generated for each RIP internal process in which a different RIP engine is designated. In the case of the example in FIG. 3, the RIP parameters for “Engine A” for which execution of “font” and “layout” is designated, the RIP parameters for “Engine B” for which execution of “Mark” is designated, and RIP parameters for “Engine A” for which execution of subsequent processing is designated are generated.

  Then, the job control unit 116 requests the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing in order for each generated RIP parameter in accordance with the processing order within the RIP. As a result, “Engine A” and “Engine B” are selectively used to execute RIP internal processing.

  At this time, as a method for executing only the designated process in each engine, information on “RIP status” can be referred to. That is, only the designated process can be executed by setting the status of only the process item to be executed to “NotYet” and setting the other process to “Done”.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, the RIP engine 120 that is common to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE 100. Here, the common RIP engine is at least a part related to the generation of raster data.

  Therefore, the RIP engine 420 and the RIP engine 120 do not share all the processing units shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. At least processing units related to raster data generation, such as the mark processing unit 206, the font processing unit 207, the layout processing unit 217, and the rendering processing unit 218, may be shared. Note that the processing unit related to the generation of raster data is shared in a minimum configuration, and may be shared for other processing units.

  Next, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows an example in which print output is executed by the digital printer 1. As shown in FIG. 11, in the HWF server 4, the device information communication unit 415 acquires device information from the DFE 100 and the CTP 200 via the network, and the device information management unit 416 registers information in the device information storage unit 417 ( S1101). The process of S1101 is periodically executed.

  On the other hand, the client terminal 5 transmits a job registration request to the HWF server 4 when a job data registration operation is performed by an operator's operation on the system GUI (S1102). In the HWF server 4, the UI control unit 412 acquires a job registration request. Accordingly, the data receiving unit 411 acquires job data in accordance with the control of the system control unit 410 (S1103).

  When the job data is acquired by the data receiving unit 411, the system control unit 410 controls the job control unit 413 to convert the format of the acquired job data into the PDL format (S1104). The job data converted in this way is registered in the job data storage unit 414. In the GUI in which a job registration operation is performed in S1102, in addition to an interface for specifying data to be registered by a file path or the like, an input unit for specifying each item of information included in the JDF described in FIG. Is displayed.

  Further, through the processing of S1101, the HWF server 4 acquires information on the type of the RIP engine installed in the DFE 100. Therefore, in the GUI of the client terminal 5, in the input field for designating “RIP device designation” information shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to select which RIP engine is to be executed when the DFE is executed. It becomes possible.

  Further, when a job data division operation is performed by an operator's operation on the system GUI, the client terminal 5 transmits a job division request to the HWF server 4 (S1105). FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of information included in the job division request transmitted in S1105. As shown in FIG. 12, in addition to information indicating the job to be divided, information specifying the content of division is transmitted in the job division request. The information indicating the content of the division is information in which a device that executes print output is specified in units of pages. The information shown in FIG. 12 is used as output destination designation information for designating a different output destination for each page for an output target image composed of a plurality of pages.

  In the present embodiment, the output destinations of a plurality of pages included in a printed matter constituting one booklet, that is, a printed matter output by one job data, are divided into the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. As an example. Such designation of the output destination is transmitted to the HWF server 4 by a division request in S1105, for example.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the job division request, the division / imposition unit 422 divides the job in units of pages according to the division contents for the division target job specified in the information shown in FIG. Generate (S1106). At this time, the device designated for each division range is used as “device designation” information shown in FIG. 3 in the JDF information. Jobs divided and generated in this way are stored in the job data storage unit 414 as individual jobs.

  Here, in S1106 according to the present embodiment, the dividing / imposing unit 422 also performs the imposition processing of the page at the same time, and performs the imposition so that the processing is completed in a short period as described above. The page imposition processing is processing for determining the number of pages formed on one recording medium, and generates information corresponding to “number of pages” of “layout information” in the JDF information shown in FIG. It becomes processing. If there is a page for which offset printing or digital printing is not specified, the page is assigned to offset printing or digital printing so that the processing is completed in a short period of time.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an aspect of processing performed by the division / imposition unit 422. In the case of FIG. 13, four pages from the thirteenth page to the sixteenth page are designated as output by the digital printer 1 among the printed matter of all 32 pages. The page specified as output by the digital printer 1 is a variable printing page for printing data having different contents for each copy (hereinafter referred to as “variable data”), for example.

  On the other hand, when the final printed matter is obtained by folding and cutting after imprinting by performing imposition in an offset printer, generally possible folding modes are two-fold, three-fold, and the like. Therefore, the number of impositions per page that can be handled is limited to a power of 2. For this reason, in the example of FIG. 13, P1 to P8 are output on four pages on one side, and P9 to P12 are output on two pages on one side.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a case in which different imposition is performed in the same division content as FIG. 13. In the example of FIG. 14, P1 to P12 and P17 and subsequent pages output by offset are all imposed so as to be output on two pages on one side. As a result, in the print output in the offset printer 2, when the print size of different pages is the same, and it takes time to change the size of the plate, the print output is performed in a shorter period than the case shown in FIG. It is possible to finish. In other words, the division / imposition unit 422 can perform division and imposition of job data so that all pages output by the offset printer can be output with the same number of impositions. Further, since the number of pages formed on one side of the sheet is reduced, the number of folding processes is reduced, and the folding process can be completed in a short period accordingly.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a case where imposition is performed when the output destinations from the ninth page to the twelfth page are not specified in the divided contents of FIG. 13 and either an offset printer or a digital printer is acceptable. is there. In the example of FIG. 15, in the example of FIG. 13, P1 to P8 are output on four pages on one side, and P9 to P16 including P9 to P12 which are not specified are output on four pages on one side in the digital printer. It is attached.

  In the case of FIG. 15, it is expected that the time required for print output is shortened by the smaller number of output sheets as compared with the modes of FIGS. 13 and 14. On the other hand, both the paper output from the offset printer 2 and the paper output from the digital printer 1 need to be folded and cut in half, and that much time is required.

  The division / imposition unit 422 according to the present embodiment determines the division / imposition mode in which print output is completed in the shortest time in consideration of such imposition and division modes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the division / imposition unit 422 holds information related to the time required for various processes in the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1.

  Based on the processing time data shown in FIG. 16, the division / imposition unit 422 calculates the processing time for each imposition, offset printing, and digital printing for each imposition, division mode, as described in FIGS. Then, a division mode and an imposition mode that minimize the processing time of each of offset printing and digital printing are determined.

  Regarding the division of job data, the division / imposition unit 422 generates JDF information for each of the divided pages as described above, and stores it in the job data storage unit 414. As for the imposition determination result, the division / imposition unit 422 updates the JDF information of each divided job data based on the determined imposition mode. Items updated at this time are, for example, “number of pages”, “layout information”, and “finishing information” among the items shown in FIG.

  As a result of such division processing, the job data storage unit 414 stores a division job table that is information indicating a job division mode. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a divided job table according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the divided job table is information in which “small job ID”, “large job ID”, and “expected processing time” are associated with each other.

  “Small job ID” is an identifier for identifying each divided job data. “Large job ID” is an identifier for identifying job data before division. The “expected processing time” is time information calculated based on the processing time data shown in FIG. 16 for each divided job. Such a function of the division / imposition unit 422 is one of the gist according to the present embodiment.

  Of the job data divided and generated for each small job ID in this way, the job data transmitted to the offset printer 2 is a plate output command, and the job data transmitted to the digital printer 1 is It is a no-print output instruction. That is, the division / imposition unit 422 functions as an individual output command generation unit that generates job data for causing the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 to execute processing.

  In determining the imposition, in addition to an aspect in which the aspect determined by the division / imposition unit 422 is forcibly adopted, an aspect in which the final determination is presented to the operator is possible. In that case, the system control unit 410 transmits a screen for displaying the mode determined by the division / imposition unit 422 to the client terminal 5 via the UI control unit 412 as a response screen to the processing of S1105. As a result, the operator can check the division and imposition mode determined by the system.

  In addition, by transmitting display information for displaying a screen showing the expected processing time for various division and imposition modes as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 to the client terminal 5, any one of the respective modes is displayed. May be selected by the operator.

  Further, when a workflow generation operation is performed by an operator's operation on the system GUI, the client terminal 5 transmits a workflow generation request to the HWF server 4 (S1107). In the workflow generation request, information specifying the contents of the workflow as shown in FIG. 5 and information specifying a job to be processed according to the workflow are transmitted.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the workflow generation request, the system control unit 410 inputs the information received together with the request to the workflow control unit 418. As a result, the workflow control unit 418 generates new workflow information based on the received information, stores the new workflow information in the workflow information storage unit 419, and associates the workflow with the job specified in the request (S1108). The association between the workflow and the job is executed by adding an identifier for identifying the workflow to the JDF information, for example.

  After such processing, when a job execution operation is performed by an operator's operation on the system GUI at the client terminal 5, the client terminal 5 transmits a job execution request to the HWF server 4. Note that the operations of S1102 to S1109 may be executed according to different operations, or a job registration request, a job division request, a workflow generation request, and a job execution request may be performed by a single operation.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the job execution request, the system control unit 410 acquires the specified job data from the job data storage unit 414 based on the information for specifying the job data received together with the request (S1110). . In addition, the system control unit acquires the latest information on the device specified in the acquired job data from the device information management unit 416, and sets the device information for the job (S1111).

  Thereafter, the system control unit 410 delivers the job data to the workflow control unit 418 and starts execution of the workflow (S1112). The workflow control unit 418 acquires workflow information associated with the acquired job data from the workflow information storage unit 419, and executes processing according to the workflow information.

  In the workflow process, first, an in-server process to be executed by the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is executed (S1113). In step S <b> 1113, the job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to execute processing as described above under the control of the workflow control unit 418.

  When the identifier designated in the execution request in S1109 is the “large job ID” described in FIG. 17, it is a collective execution request for all the “small job IDs” associated with the designated large job ID. It is processed. In that case, in the in-server processing of S1113, RIP processing for offset printing is executed, and raster data transmission processing to the offset printer 2 is also executed.

  As described above, transmission of raster data to the CTP 200 is executed by the job transmission / reception unit 421. In this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 functions as a drawing information transmission unit. For post-processing by the post-processing device 3 that can be executed only by the output result from the offset printer 2, an execution request is transmitted from the HWF server 4 to the post-processing device 3 in the in-server processing in S1113. Also in this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits job data related to post-processing to the post-processing device 3.

  Thereafter, when the workflow process reaches the process in the DFE 100, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 to transmit job data to the DFE 100 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418 (S1114). In step S <b> 1114, the job control unit 413 specifies the individual job reception unit 112 corresponding to the information specified in the JDF information from the plurality of individual job reception units 112.

  When any one of the plurality of individual job receiving units 112 is specified when transmitting job data to the DFE 100, the appropriate individual job receiving unit 112 in the DFE 100 receives the job data. When job data is input to the DFE 100, as described above, RIP processing and output processing by the digital engine 150 are executed in the DFE 100 (S1115).

  In step S1115, as described with reference to FIG. 6, job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, and the job is executed in the scheduled order. At that time, in the HWF server 4, the scheduling unit 423 acquires schedule information managed in the DFE 100, and performs rescheduling processing so that efficient system operation is realized (S1116).

  In the DFE 100, when the designated processing is completed, the job receiving unit 111 notifies the HWF server 4 of completion (S1116). Upon receiving the completion notification from the DFE 100 via the job transmission / reception unit 421, the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of completion. As a result, the workflow control unit 418 makes a post-processing request to the post-processing device 3 to execute the post-processing specified in the workflow after the control by the DFE 100 (S1117).

  In step S <b> 1117, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418 and makes a post-processing request to the post-processing device 3. By such processing, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment is completed.

  Next, the intra-DFE processing in S1115 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, first, the individual job receiving unit 112 designated when transmitting job data from the HWF server 4 receives the job data (S1801). When the individual job receiving unit 112 receives the job data, the individual job receiving unit 112 updates the JDF information so that the individual setting set for itself is reflected in the job data (S1802).

  The above-described “pass-through mode” setting is also reflected in S1802. The job data reflecting the individual settings is input to the system control unit 113. The system control unit 113 stores the input job data in the job data storage unit 114 according to the setting, and performs a preview process or the like via the UI control unit 115 according to the operation of the operator.

  When the job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, the system control unit 113 adjusts the processing order of the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 based on the exchange of information with the HWF server 4. Scheduling is performed (S1803). The rescheduling process according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of job data execution order information stored in the job data storage unit 114, that is, schedule information managed in the DFE 100 as described above. The schedule information shown in FIG. 19 is managed by the device information management unit 123. As shown in FIG. 19, in the schedule information according to the present embodiment, a “job ID” for identifying job data stored in the job data storage unit 114, its “execution order”, and “priority” of each job ”Is associated.

  In step S1803, the system control unit 113 that has stored new job data in the job data storage unit 114 instructs the device information management unit 123 to perform rescheduling. Thereby, the device information management unit 123 controls the device information communication unit 124 to transmit the schedule information illustrated in FIG. 19 to the HWF server 4.

  In the HWF server 4, the scheduling unit 423 acquires the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 and adjusts the execution order in the DFE 100 so that the waiting time of each of the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing device 3 is minimized. . FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating one mode.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing job execution schedules in the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing device 3. A conceptual diagram as shown in FIG. 20 can be generated based on the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 and the information of the divided job table shown in FIG. These pieces of information are used as information indicating the job execution status in each apparatus.

In the example of FIG. 20, the jobs of the offset printer 2, the digital printer 1, and the post-processing device 3 associated with the same large job ID are indicated by solid diagonal lines. The processing by the post-processing device 3 can be executed only after the processing in the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 is completed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20, the processing of the post-processing device 3 is started at timing t _{1 and} completed at timing t ₂ .

  In contrast, FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state after the schedule illustrated in FIG. 20 is rescheduled by the scheduling unit 423. In the example of FIG. 21, the execution order of the job indicated by the slanted line in FIG. It is up.

Result of rescheduling, as shown in FIG. 21, completed timing the processing and both are in the process and the digital printer 1 in the offset printer 2 reassigned earlier _t'1 than t _1, the processing of the post-processing apparatus 3 is completed The timing is raised to t ′ ₂ of the timing to perform. Further, since the postponed job is executed in parallel with the processing of the post-processing device 3, the time for completing the processing as the entire system is not affected.

  The scheduling unit 423 refers to the “priority” shown in FIG. 19 in rescheduling as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, and the priority of the job indicated by the dashed diagonal line is higher than the priority of the job indicated by the solid diagonal line. If it is low, the execution order is changed. At this time, the scheduling unit 423 calculates a difference in expected completion timing between the offset print job and the digital print job. Then, if the job with the later completion timing of both jobs is replaced with the job that is executed immediately before, the job execution based on whether or not the difference between the completion timings of both jobs is reduced. Change the order. By performing processing in consideration of such priorities, the efficiency of the entire system can be improved. With this process, the rescheduling process in S1803 is completed.

  Note that such rescheduling processing is executed for the job data newly stored by the processing of S1801 and S1802. Therefore, when the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 is transmitted from the DFE 100 to the HWF server 4 in S1803, the job ID of the job data to be processed is also notified. However, since the newly stored job data is in principle the last execution order, the scheduling unit 423 can execute the process on the job data having the latest “execution order” among the received schedule information. good.

  Further, the scheduling unit 423 performs similar rescheduling processing by periodic polling in addition to the case where schedule information is received by processing of the DFE 100 as shown in FIG. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a job delay occurs in the portion indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 21 from the rescheduled state as illustrated in FIG. 21 as a result of such polling.

  In such a case, the scheduling unit 423 checks whether there is a job whose processing time is between the job end time in the offset printer 2 and the job end time in the digital printer 1. If there is such a job, the processing order is advanced so that the job is preferentially processed. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example when such rescheduling is performed.

  According to the aspect of FIG. 23, there is no change in the processing completion time of the entire system. However, it is possible to advance and execute a specific job without affecting the completion time of each job, and it is possible to advance the timing for completing each job individually.

  When the job execution timing in the DFE 100 reaches the execution order shown in FIG. 19, the operator's operation or the set execution time, or the like (S1804 / YES), the system control unit 113 performs job control on the job data. Input to the unit 116. The job control unit 116 refers to the input job data and confirms whether or not it is in the pass-through mode (S1805). As a result, when it is not in the pass-through mode (S1805 / NO), the job control unit 116 inputs job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 and generates job attributes within DFE (S1806).

  As a result of the confirmation in S1805, if it is in the pass-through mode (S1805 / YES), or if the JDF conversion is completed and the job attributes within DFE are generated, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters (S1807). If it is not the pass-through mode, the RIP parameters as described in FIG. 8 are generated in S1807. On the other hand, in the pass-through mode, RIP parameters including information other than “input / output image information” among the information shown in FIG. 8 are generated, and JDF information is referred to for other portions.

  When the job control unit 116 generates the RIP parameter, the job control unit 116 inputs necessary information to the RIP unit 118 to execute the RIP process. Accordingly, first, the RIP control unit 119 performs the parameter conversion described above (S1808). Then, the RIP control unit 119 designates the converted parameter and causes the RIP engine 120 to execute the RIP process (S1809). Thereby, raster data is created by the RIP engine 120.

  In S1807, as described above, RIP parameters are generated for each RIP engine based on the “RIP device designation” information shown in FIG. In step S1809, RIP processing is executed in order for each generated RIP parameter to generate raster data.

  When raster data is generated and acquired from the RIP unit 118, the job control unit 116 inputs the raster data to the printer control unit 122 and causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output (S1810). By such processing, the processing within DFE is completed.

  Next, the RIP process in S1809 of FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 24, first, the control unit 201 executes an initialization process based on an initialization request to the input unit 202 (S2401). In S2401, in the case of the example of FIG. 9, the RIP parameter analysis unit 203 receives and analyzes the RIP parameter, and as described above, an extension unit that executes processing among the respective extension units included in the RIP engine 120, Determine the order. In addition, the format of data generated as a result of processing is determined.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 10, the job attribute analysis unit 214 receives and analyzes JDF information and PDL information, and determines an extension unit for executing processing and the order thereof. In addition, the format of data generated as a result of processing is determined. Subsequently, in the example of FIG. 10, the control unit 201 causes the RIP status analysis unit 215 to perform status analysis.

  In the status analysis, the RIP status analysis unit 215 refers to the “RIP status” shown in FIG. 3 and selects one item of RIP internal processing (S2402). If the status is “Done” (S2403 / YES), the corresponding extension unit is excluded from the execution target extension units determined in the process of S24FS01 (S2404). On the other hand, if “NotYet” (S2403 / NO), no particular processing is performed.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 repeats the processing until the processing from S2402 is completed for all the RIP internal processing items (S2405 / NO). After the RIP status analysis unit 215 completes the processing from S2402 for all the RIP internal processing items (S2405 / YES), when the input unit 202 acquires the RIP processing execution request (S2406 / YES), the control unit 201 Causes each extension unit to execute processing in order (S2407).

  In S2407, processing is requested only for the extension units determined in the processing of S2401 and not excluded by the processing of S2404. Further, processing is requested in accordance with the processing order determined in S2401. When the processing is executed by the extension unit and raster data is generated, the output unit 213 outputs the processing result (S2408). By such processing, the processing by the RIP unit 118 is completed.

  In the present embodiment, the case of the processing of S2402 to S2405, that is, the case where the status analysis processing is executed only in the case of the example of FIG. 10, that is, the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the pass-through mode is taken as an example. Yes. This is based on the fact that the status analysis process is required when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP process as described above.

  In such a case, using the same RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, the RIP process is executed as a series of processes without being aware of the boundary between the two. Accordingly, it is preferable that the data processed by the RIP engine 420 in the HWF server 4 is directly input to the RIP engine 120 in the DFE 100, and a pass-through mode that does not pass through the JDF analysis unit 117 provided outside the RIP engine is suitable.

  However, this is merely an example, and even when the mode is not the pass-through mode, if the RIP process is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is necessary to perform status analysis. That is, when RIP processing is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is necessary to exclude RIP processing already executed in the HWF server 4 on the DFE 100 side.

  Therefore, even if the RIP engine 120 does not support the pass-through mode, the RIP status analysis unit 215 may be provided in order to share the RIP processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. In other words, even if the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing, it is necessary to perform the status analysis by the RIP status analysis unit 215 after performing the JDF analysis by the JDF analysis unit 117 on the DFE 100 side. RIP internal processing may be determined.

  In the HWF system according to the present embodiment, the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE 100. Therefore, there is a difference between the raster data of the print job processed by the RIP engine 420 for output by the offset printer 2 and the raster data of the print job processed by the RIP engine 120 for output by the digital printer 1. Does not occur. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the difference in printing results between different types of image forming apparatuses.

  In addition, since a plurality of HWF servers 4 are provided, various data having different parameter designation formats for RIP processing are input. In this case, it is necessary to change the parameter designation mode according to each format, and a mode in which such a function is assigned to the job control unit 116 shown in FIG. 6 is conceivable. However, since the job control unit 116 is related to other modules that are major elements in the DFE 100, such as the system control unit 113 and the printer control unit 122, when the function of the job control unit 116 is expanded, the entire system The impact on

  In contrast, in the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment, the RIP control unit 119 performs parameter conversion based on control from the job control unit 116. That is, the RIP control unit 119 functions as a control value conversion unit. Therefore, the adverse effects caused by the function expansion of the job control unit 116 as described above are eliminated, and the function expansion of the RIP control unit 119 can cope with a new parameter designation format without greatly affecting the entire system. Is possible.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, job data for each of offset printing and digital printing is generated based on one job data including offset printing and digital printing. At that time, the division / imposition unit 422 determines imposition in consideration of time required for post-processing such as print output, folding, and cutting. Therefore, the productivity of the entire system can be improved in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses and performs print output.

  As described above, the optimum imposition mode is different based on the number of pages in each of offset printing and digital printing. Therefore, when the dividing / imposing unit 422 generates job data for each of offset printing and digital printing, imposition is performed together, thereby contributing to improvement in productivity of the entire system.

  When there is a page for which digital printing or offset printing is not specified, the division / imposition unit 422 considers the time required for each of offset printing and digital printing, and the page is either offset printing or digital printing. Allocate to Thereby, it can contribute to the improvement of productivity of the whole system.

  Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, the scheduling unit 423 adjusts the job processing order in the DFE 100, and increases the parallelism of the processes of the offset printer 2, the digital printer 1, and the post-processing device 3, thereby improving efficiency. Plan. Thereby, it can contribute to the improvement of productivity of the whole system.

  As described above, such rescheduling is periodically performed by polling from the HWF server 4 side as well as when job data is input to the DFE 100 and stored in the job data storage unit 114. This makes it possible to optimize the job execution order when a delay occurs in each apparatus.

  In addition, rescheduling at an arbitrary timing after the job data is input, as described above, notifies the HWF server 4 at the timing when a delay occurs in each device in addition to polling from the HWF server 4. May be executed.

  In the above embodiment, the case where job data is stored and scheduled in the job data storage unit 114 of the DFE 100 has been described as an example. In addition, it may be configured such that job data waiting in order is held in the HWF server 4, and the scheduling process may be performed on the job data held in the HWF server 4.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where imposition is determined in S1106 of FIG. 11 so that the time required for image formation output is minimized is described as an example, as described in FIGS. In addition, as described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 23, it is preferable that the completion timing of offset printing and the completion timing of digital printing have as little difference as possible. Therefore, in S1106, the division / imposition unit 422 may perform division and imposition so that the difference between the time required for offset printing and the time required for digital printing is minimized.

  Further, the division / imposition unit 422 may perform division and imposition so as to directly adjust the completion timing of offset printing and the completion timing of digital printing as described with reference to FIGS. In this case, the division / imposition unit 422 refers to information on the timing when all jobs of job data already generated and stored for each of offset printing and digital printing are completed. Then, the estimated processing time of each newly generated offset printing and digital printing is added to the above completion timing, and job data is divided and impositioned so that the difference in timing of the addition result is as small as possible.

  FIG. 25 is an example of expected completion timing data indicating the timing at which all jobs of job data already generated and stored for each of the offset printing and digital printing described above are completed. The information as shown in FIG. 25 is obtained by adding the “estimated processing time” for each of offset printing and digital printing in the divided job table generated as shown in FIG. 17 and adding it to the current time.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in S1106 in FIG. 11, the case where imposition is performed at the time of job division request before the execution of the workflow is described as an example. However, a configuration in which the process of S1106 is executed as part of the workflow is also possible. In this case, the output destination designation information shown in FIG. 12 is also described as a part of the JDF information, and by referring to the JDF information as a part of the workflow, the job data division and plane as described in FIGS. The attachment process is executed.

  In the above embodiment, “page mode” and “sheet mode” have been described as examples of the “RIP control mode”. Here, in the “page mode”, as described above, the RIP control unit 119 transmits the pre-RIP data to the RIP engine 120 for each of a plurality of pre-aggregation pages, and performs the RIP process for each page to be aggregated. To generate raster data in the selected state.

  In addition, a processing mode is also possible in which the RIP control unit 119 transmits all pre-RIP data for a plurality of pre-aggregation pages to the RIP engine 120, and the RIP engine 120 executes the RIP processing while performing imposition processing. is there. Such a processing mode is called a “surface mode”. Even when the “surface mode” is used, the RIP control unit 119 performs the conversion process of the parameter specified for the RIP engine 120 in accordance with the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP process, as described above. As a result, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the RIP control parameters are converted as an example of the process for dealing with the difference between the “RIP control modes” has been described. In addition, for example, the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP process may be selected according to the format of the original data.

  In this case, when the RIP control unit 119 obtains the RIP processing target data from the job control unit 116, the RIP control unit 119 refers to the information on the “RIP control mode”. Then, the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the designation of “page mode”, “sheet mode”, “surface mode” or the like is selected, and RIP processing is executed. The function of the RIP control unit 119 can cope with the difference between the parameter designation method in the original data and the corresponding “RIP control mode” of the RIP engine 120 as described above.

  Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, on the assumption that the same RIP engine is mounted on a plurality of devices, each of the RIP internal processing is executed by the information of “RIP device designation” as shown in FIG. Manage the devices to be used. When the RIP process is executed in the DFE 100, the RIP internal process that has already been executed is excluded based on the information of “RIP status”.

  According to such a configuration, the operator can easily change the RIP internal processing handled by each device by changing the information of “RIP device designation”. In this case, since necessary processing is determined based on the information of “RIP status”, only necessary processing is executed in the DFE 100.

  By such processing, when RIP processing is performed in a plurality of devices, it is possible to facilitate the change of the processing that each device is responsible for. Further, when the RIP process is executed by each of the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, the same image as when the RIP process is executed by only one of them can be generated.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when RIP internal processing is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, the “pass-through mode” is set, and the information processed in the HWF server 4 is directly input to the RIP engine of the DFE 100. Is done. Since the same RIP engine is installed in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is possible to continue the RIP process as a series of processes without being aware of the difference between the devices. In such a case, by using the above-described “RIP status” information, it is possible to more suitably realize the dynamic change of the distribution mode when distributing the RIP processing among a plurality of devices.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, each individual job reception unit 112 that corresponds to each of the plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 and that is associated with individual settings such as “pass-through mode” is provided in the DFE 100. Is provided.

  Thereby, on the HWF server 4 side, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 can be specified by specifying the individual job receiving unit 112. In addition, it is possible to specify that the processing is in the “pass-through mode”. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize the processing by the same RIP engine between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 as described above, setting the “pass-through mode”, and the like.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in the “RIP device designation” information in FIG. 3, when RIP processing is executed in the DFE 100, one of a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 can be designated. is there. This makes it possible to execute RIP processing by flexibly using the functions installed in each RIP engine.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as described in FIG. 3, as an example, information on “RIP device designation” is provided, and the workflow control unit 418 determines a module to execute processing based on this information. explained. In addition, for example, information corresponding to “RIP device designation” may be described in the workflow information shown in FIG.

  In such a case, since information corresponding to “RIP device designation” is not included in the JDF information, it is not transmitted to the DFE 100 side. As a result, on the DFE 100 side, the RIP engine 420 on the HWF server 4 side cannot determine the designated process, but the DFE 100 side can determine the process to be executed by referring to the “RIP status”. I can do it.

  In addition, it is also possible to analyze the content of data received on the DFE 100 side and determine the RIP processing that has already been executed. However, in this case, since processing for analyzing the input data occurs, it takes time. On the other hand, by using the “RIP status” information, it is possible to quickly execute image formation output without performing such analysis processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital printer 2 Offset printer 3 Post-processing apparatus 4, 4a, 4b HWF server 5, 5a, 5b Client terminal 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
40 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
70 Operation unit 80 Bus 100 DFE
101 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Display 111 Job receiving part 112 Individual job receiving part 113 System control part 114 Job data storage part 115 UI control part 116 Job control part 117 JDF analysis part 118 RIP part 119 RIP control part 120 RIP engine 121 Image storage part 122 Printer control part 123 Device information management unit 124 Device information communication unit 130 Job management unit 150 Digital engine 200 CTP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 201 Control part 202 Input part 203 RIP parameter analysis part 204 Preflight processing part 205 Normalization processing part 206 Mark processing part 207 Font processing part 209 CMM processing part 210 Trapping processing part 211 Calibration processing part 212 Screening processing part 213 Output part 214 Job attribute Analysis unit 215 RIP status analysis unit 216 RIP status management unit 217 Layout processing unit 218 Rendering processing unit 400 HWF controller 401 Network I / F
410 System control unit 411 Data reception unit 412 UI control unit 413 Job control unit 414 Job data storage unit 415 Device information communication unit 416 Device information management unit 417 Device information storage unit 418 Workflow control unit 419 Workflow information storage unit 420 RIP engine 421 Job Transmission / reception unit 422 Division / imposition unit 423 Scheduling unit 430 Job management unit

JP 2008-146607 A

Claims (9)

An image processing system that sequentially executes a plurality of defined processes,
A process execution control device that controls execution of the plurality of processes, and an image formation output control device that controls execution of image formation output in a plateless image forming apparatus,
The process execution control device includes:
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control-side drawing information generation for generating drawing information, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus when outputting an image, based on output target image information, which is image information of an image formation output target And
As one of the plurality of processes, a drawing information transmitting unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus;
Output of output target image information constituted by pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating different output destinations for each page for output target image information constituted by a plurality of pages An individual output command generation unit that generates a plate output command that is a command and an output command of output target image information configured by pages output by the plateless image forming apparatus.
The image forming output control device includes:
A drawing information generation unit corresponding to the control side drawing information generation unit, and an output side drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information based on the output target image information;
An execution control unit that causes the plateless image forming apparatus to execute image formation output based on the drawing information generated by the output side drawing information generation unit,
The individual output command generation unit determines the number of impositions, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. An image processing system for generating the plate output command and the non-plate output command.   The individual output command generation unit determines the number of impositions and generates the output command so that the time required for image formation output by the plate-type image forming apparatus is the shortest. Item 8. The image processing system according to Item 1.   The individual output command generation unit is configured so that the difference between the time required for image formation output by the plate-type image forming apparatus and the time required for image formation output by the plateless image forming apparatus is minimized. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the output command is generated by determining an imposition number.   The individual output command generation unit generates the output command by determining the number of impositions so that all pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus can be output with the same number of impositions. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing system is an image processing system.   A plurality of the plate generations already generated and stored in the storage medium so as to reduce a difference between the completion timing of the image formation output by the plate output command and the completion timing of the image formation output by the plateless output command 5. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising an execution order adjustment unit that changes an execution order of an output instruction or the non-plate output instruction. 6.   The execution order adjustment unit acquires information on an execution status of image formation output in the plate-type image forming apparatus and the non-plate-type image forming apparatus every predetermined period, and according to the acquired execution status, 6. The execution order is changed so that a difference between an image formation output completion timing according to a plate output instruction and an image formation output completion timing according to the non-plate output instruction is reduced. Image processing system. In an image processing system that executes a plurality of predetermined processes, image formation is performed in a plurality of image formation output control devices that control execution of the plurality of processes and control execution of image formation output in a plateless image forming apparatus A process execution control device for executing output,
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control-side drawing information generation for generating drawing information, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus when outputting an image, based on output target image information, which is image information of an image formation output target And
As one of the plurality of processes, a drawing information transmitting unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus;
Output of output target image information constituted by pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating different output destinations for each page for output target image information constituted by a plurality of pages An individual output command generation unit that generates a plate output command that is a command and an output command of output target image information configured by pages output by the plateless image forming apparatus.
The individual output command generation unit determines the number of impositions, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. Generating a versioned output instruction and a non-versioned output instruction;
The control-side drawing information generation unit corresponds to an output-side drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information based on the output target image information in the image formation output control device. . An image processing method in an image processing system, comprising: a process execution control device that controls execution of a plurality of predetermined processes; and an image formation output control device that controls execution of image formation output in a plateless image forming apparatus. ,
The process execution control device includes:
Controlling execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, drawing information which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus at the time of image formation output is generated based on output target image information which is information on an image formation output target image,
As one of the plurality of processes, the generated drawing information is transmitted to a plate-type image forming apparatus,
Output of output target image information constituted by pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating different output destinations for each page for output target image information constituted by a plurality of pages A plate output command that is a command and a plateless output command that is an output command of output target image information composed of pages output by the plateless image forming apparatus are generated, and at that time, it is required for image forming output Based on the time and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed, the imposition number which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium is determined to generate the plate output instruction and the non-plate output instruction. ,
The image forming output control device includes:
In the process execution control device, the drawing information generation unit corresponding to the drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information generates the drawing information based on the output target image information,
An image processing method that causes the plateless image forming apparatus to execute image forming output based on drawing information generated by the output side drawing information generation unit. In an image processing system that executes a plurality of predetermined processes, image formation is performed in a plurality of image formation output control devices that control execution of the plurality of processes and control execution of image formation output in a plateless image forming apparatus A control program for controlling a process execution control device for executing output,
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control-side drawing information generation for generating drawing information, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus when outputting an image, based on output target image information, which is image information of an image formation output target And
As one of the plurality of processes, a drawing information transmitting unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus;
Output of output target image information constituted by pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating different output destinations for each page for output target image information constituted by a plurality of pages An individual output instruction generation unit that generates a plate output instruction that is a command and an output instruction of output target image information that is configured by a page output by the plateless image forming apparatus. Realized in the device,
The individual output command generation unit determines the number of impositions, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. Generating a versioned output instruction and a non-versioned output instruction;
The control-side drawing information generation unit corresponds to an output-side drawing information generation unit that generates the drawing information based on the output target image information in the image formation output control device.