JP2017205925A - Printing system, print control method and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an operator to implement printing while inserting an output material taken out from a first image formation apparatus by a second image formation apparatus without considering the set in a copy unit.SOLUTION: In a printing system which includes: a first image formation apparatus for performing distributed printing on the basis a job for printing plural copies of documents in which pages of first and second groups are mixed and for printing the pages of the first group; and a second image formation apparatus having a PI (page insertor) for printing the pages of the second group, the second image formation apparatus starts the first printing for outputting only the pages of the second group to the first sheet discharge tray, suspends the first printing after continuing the first printing to the break of the copy being printed when the PI detects that the pages of the first group are set, refers to insertion page information received from the first image formation apparatus, and starts the second printing to output the output material to the second sheet discharge tray by inserting the pages of the first group from the top of the copy to the pages of the second group.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program, and in particular, a printing system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing of a document, a printing control method in the printing system, and printing that operates in each image forming apparatus. It relates to the control program.

  Color pages and monochrome pages in a document are distributed and printed by an image forming apparatus for color printing (abbreviated as a color machine) and an image forming apparatus for monochrome printing (abbreviated as a monochrome machine). A page (or monochrome page) is set on a page inserter (hereinafter abbreviated as PI) of a monochrome machine (or color machine), and the monochrome machine (or color machine) selects a color page (or monochrome page). There are printing systems that perform monochrome printing (or color printing) while being inserted.

  With regard to a technique for distributed printing on such a plurality of image forming apparatuses, for example, Patent Document 1 below includes an information processing apparatus connected to a network, a color image forming apparatus, and a monochrome image forming apparatus, and the information processing In the image forming system in which the color image forming apparatus and the black and white image forming apparatus form an image on both sides of a print medium based on image data output from the apparatus, the information processing apparatus is provided on both sides of the print medium. In the case of forming an image only in color, or in color and black and white, the image data is sent to the color image forming apparatus, and in the case of forming an image only in black and white or in color and black and white on both sides of the print medium, An image forming system for sending the image data to a black and white image forming apparatus is disclosed.

  Further, regarding a technique for performing printing while inserting an output product, Patent Document 2 below is a printing apparatus that performs a printing process based on a print job from an external apparatus, and prints the printed paper. Post-processing means capable of performing post-processing using paper prepared separately from the paper, and detection means for detecting in the post-processing means that the paper prepared separately from the printed paper is placed When the print job for which the post-processing by the post-processing unit is designated is received, the processing of the print job is delayed until the detection unit detects that the paper is placed, and the detection unit And a print control unit that starts execution of the print job when it is detected that the image is placed.

JP 2009-123123 A JP 2005-271296 A

  In Patent Document 2, when a print job is divided and output to a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and an output product (color page) that has been printed by one image forming apparatus is set in the PI of another image forming apparatus, it is automatically Alternatively, the execution of the print job is started with a key input as a trigger. That is, in the conventional printing system, the output image (for example, monochrome) is output by the second image forming apparatus (for example, monochrome machine) until all the output objects (for example, color pages) are output by the first image forming apparatus (for example, color machine). Page) could not be started. Further, the second image forming apparatus (monochrome machine) stopped printing when there were no color pages on the PI. As a result, the operation rate of the second image forming apparatus is reduced.

  In order to solve this problem, the output product is taken out from the discharge tray before the printing of the output product (color page) is completely completed (that is, during color page printing) in the first image forming apparatus (color machine). It is necessary to set it to the PI of the second image forming apparatus (monochrome machine) so that insertion printing can be started. However, when taking out the output product from the paper discharge tray during color page printing, the operator must take out the output product in units of copies and set it in the PI. It cannot be created. Therefore, there is a problem that the operator needs to work in consideration of taking out the output to be inserted from the paper discharge tray in units of copies, and the operability is poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a main object of the present invention is to output an output product taken out from the first image forming apparatus without the operator being aware of the unit of the second unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program capable of performing printing while being inserted by a forming apparatus.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program that can shorten the waiting time of the second image forming apparatus and increase the operating rate.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program capable of taking out an output product in an appropriate unit from the paper discharge tray of the first image forming apparatus.

  One aspect of the present invention is a first image for printing a first group of pages, in which distributed printing is performed based on a job for printing a plurality of originals in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed. A printing system including a forming apparatus and a second image forming apparatus that prints the second group of pages, wherein the first image forming apparatus prints the first group of pages on a discharge tray. A first printing unit that outputs, a detection unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray and that detects the presence or absence of the first group of pages output to the paper discharge tray, and a signal transmitted from the detection unit. And determining whether the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray. If it is determined that the first group of pages has been taken out, it is determined how many pages of the page are taken out. Indication A printing state monitoring unit that generates insertion page information and transmits the information to the second image forming apparatus, and the second image forming apparatus prints the second group of pages; Detecting whether or not the first group page has been set, and inserting the set first group page into a predetermined position of the second group page based on the page configuration of the document; The second printing unit based on the inserter, the first discharge tray and the second discharge tray, the result detected by the page inserter, and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus. The first printing unit outputs only the second group of pages printed on the first paper discharge tray, and the second printing unit prints the first group of pages set on the page inserter. A printing control unit that switches between the second printing that is inserted into the predetermined position of the second group of pages and that is output to the second paper discharge tray, and the printing control unit performs the first printing When the page inserter detects that the first group of pages has been set, the first printing is performed until the break of the part being printed, and then the first printing is interrupted, and the inserted page information The second printing is started from the beginning of the copy.

  One aspect of the present invention is a first image for printing a first group of pages, in which distributed printing is performed based on a job for printing a plurality of originals in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed. A printing control method in a printing system, comprising: a forming apparatus; and a second image forming apparatus that prints the second group of pages while inserting the first group of pages by a page inserter. The first image forming apparatus controls a first printing unit included in the image forming apparatus, prints the first group of pages, outputs the first group of pages to the paper discharge tray, and a detection unit disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray. When it is detected that the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray, the second image forming apparatus generates insertion page information indicating how many pages and how many pages of the taken out pages The second image forming apparatus controls a second printing unit provided in the apparatus to start first printing for outputting only the second group of pages to the first paper discharge tray; During the first printing, when the page inserter detects that the first group of pages printed by the first image forming apparatus has been set, the second printing unit is controlled to perform printing. The first printing is performed up to the break of the copy, and then the first printing is interrupted, the second printing unit and the page inserter are controlled, and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus is Referring to the drawing, from the beginning of the set, the second printing for inserting the first group of pages into a predetermined position of the second group of pages and outputting it to the second paper discharge tray is started.

  One aspect of the present invention is that the second group of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing based on a job that prints a plurality of copies of a document in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed. A print control program that operates on an image forming apparatus that prints a page, wherein the image forming apparatus detects a printing unit that prints the second group of pages and whether the first group of pages is set. Then, a page inserter for inserting the set first group page into a predetermined position of the second group page based on the page configuration of the original, a first discharge tray, and a second discharge tray. A first process for starting the first printing for controlling the printing unit to output only the second group of pages to the first paper discharge tray. When the page inserter detects that the first group of pages has been set during the first printing, the printing unit is controlled to perform the first printing until the break of the printing part. A second process for interrupting the first printing, an image forming apparatus that prints the first group of pages, and how many pages and how many pages are taken out from a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. A third process for receiving the inserted page information, controlling the printing unit and the page inserter, and referring to the inserted page information, the first group of pages from the start of the unit to the second group of pages And a fourth process for starting the second printing that is inserted into the predetermined position and output to the second paper discharge tray.

  One aspect of the present invention is that the first group of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing based on a job for printing a plurality of copies of a document in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed. A print control program that operates in an image forming apparatus that prints a page, wherein the image forming apparatus prints the first group of pages and outputs the page to a paper discharge tray; A detection unit configured to detect whether or not a group of pages has been taken out; a display unit and an operation unit; and controlling the printing unit in the image forming apparatus to discharge the first group of pages. A first process for outputting to a paper tray; a second process for causing the display unit to display a first screen including a first button for instructing to interrupt printing of the first group of pages; and the first by the operation unit. No button Is detected, the printing unit is controlled to perform printing until the break of the currently printed copy, and then the third process for interrupting the printing, up to the number of printed pages of the first group And a fourth process of generating insertion page information indicating this and transmitting it to another image forming apparatus.

  According to the printing system, the printing control method, and the printing control program of the present invention, an operator can insert an output product taken out from the first image forming apparatus into the second image forming apparatus without being conscious of the group of copies. Printing can be performed. Further, it is possible to shorten the waiting time of the second image forming apparatus and increase the operating rate.

  The reason is that a first image forming apparatus that performs distributed printing based on a job that prints a plurality of originals in which a first group page and a second group page are mixed, and prints the first group page; In a printing system including a second image forming apparatus that includes a PI and prints a second group of pages, the first image forming apparatus detects that the first group of pages has been taken out from the discharge tray. The inserted page information indicating how many pages of the taken out page are sent to the second image forming apparatus, and the second image forming apparatus waits for the completion of the print output of the first image forming apparatus. First, the first printing for outputting only the second group of pages to the first paper discharge tray is started, and when the PI detects that the first group of pages is set, a break ( The end of the part being printed) The first printing is performed, and then the first printing is interrupted, the received first page information is referred to, the first group page is inserted into the second group page from the beginning of the copy, and the second output is inserted. This is because control for starting the second printing output to the paper tray is performed. In addition, the second printing is interrupted at the break of the copy, the first printing is restarted from the beginning of the copy, and when the PI detects that the first group page is set again, the break of the copy being printed is detected. The first printing is performed until the first printing is interrupted, and then the first printing is interrupted, and the second printing is performed from the beginning of the copy (from the beginning of the copy including the odd page if a half-finished page remains in the PI). This is because control to resume is performed.

  Further, according to the printing system, the printing control method, and the printing control program of the present invention, it is possible to take out an output product in an appropriate unit from the paper discharge tray of the first image forming apparatus.

  The reason is that when the first image forming apparatus starts printing the first group of pages (or when the operator approaches the paper discharge tray after starting the printing of the first group of pages), the printing is interrupted. When a guide screen including a specific button to be instructed is displayed and an operation of the specific button is detected, printing is interrupted at a break in the copy, and an inserted page indicating the number of copies of the printed first group page When the information is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus and it is detected that the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray, a guide screen including a specific button for instructing resumption of printing is displayed. This is because when an operation is detected (or when a predetermined time has elapsed since printing was interrupted), control is performed to resume printing from the beginning of the copy.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the variation of the printing system of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other structure of the printing system which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the client apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram and a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a second image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the document data based on 1st Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic operation of the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the processing time of the printing system which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (insertion printing process) of the second image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st image forming apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the 1st image forming apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the first image forming apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the guide screen displayed on the 1st image forming apparatus concerning the 2nd example of the present invention. It is another example of the guide screen displayed on the 1st image forming apparatus concerning the 2nd example of the present invention.

  As shown in the background art, color pages and monochrome pages in a document are distributed and printed on a color machine and a monochrome machine, the operator sets the color page to the PI of the monochrome machine, and the monochrome machine inserts the color page. However, there are printing systems that perform monochrome printing. However, in the conventional printing system, printing of monochrome pages cannot be started on a monochrome machine until all color pages are output on a color machine, and printing is stopped when there are no color pages on the PI. There was a problem that the operating rate of the monochrome machine decreased.

  With respect to this problem, before the printing of the output product (color page) is completely completed by the first image forming apparatus (color machine), the output product is taken out from the paper discharge tray, and the second image forming apparatus (monochrome machine). In this method, if the operator does not set the PI in a set of copies, an output product in which color pages are properly inserted in one copy is considered. It cannot be created. Therefore, there is a problem that the operator needs to take out the output product while paying attention to the group of units, and the operability is poor.

  Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, in a printing system including a first image forming apparatus and a second image forming apparatus having a PI that divides and processes a job for printing a plurality of copies, The image forming apparatus does not wait for completion of the print output of the first image forming apparatus, and starts printing (referred to as normal printing) in a form in which no output is inserted. Further, when the first image forming apparatus detects the removal of the output product (color page), the information (referred to as insertion page information) indicating how many pages and how many copies of the output product thus extracted is the first. 2, the second image forming apparatus controls the printing mode and discharge tray based on the presence / absence of the output set in PI and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus. Switching control is performed.

  Specifically, the second image forming apparatus starts printing (normal printing) without waiting for the completion of the print output of the first image forming apparatus, and discharges it to the first discharge tray. When the output product is set, normal printing is performed until the end of the section (the end of the section being printed), and then the normal printing is interrupted, and the PI is referred to by referring to the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus. Printing is performed while inserting the set output (referred to as insertion printing), and the sheet is discharged to the second discharge tray. When the output set in the PI is inserted to the break of the copy, insertion printing is interrupted leaving a half-finished page in the PI, and normal printing is resumed from the beginning of the copy and discharged to the first discharge tray. When the output is set again in the PI, the normal printing is interrupted at the break of the copy, and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus is referred to and the half-page left in the PI is included. The insertion printing is resumed from the beginning of the copy and discharged to the second discharge tray. Thereafter, the output material discharged to the first paper discharge tray and the output material remaining on the PI are processed using a nearline finisher, an offline finisher, or the like.

  Further, the first image forming apparatus starts the printing (or after the printing is started) so that the output product taken out from the paper discharge tray of the first image forming apparatus matches the inserted page information. When the printer approaches the paper discharge tray, a guide screen for instructing to stop printing is displayed, and when an operation of a specific button for instructing to interrupt printing is detected on the guide screen, printing is performed at a break in the copy. The inserted page information indicating the number of copies of the printed output (color page) is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus, and then it is detected that the color page is taken out from the paper discharge tray. Then, a guide screen for instructing the resumption of printing is displayed, and when a specific button provided on the guide screen for instructing the resumption of printing is operated (or a predetermined time after the interruption of printing) Sutra Once), which from the beginning of the part so as to resume printing.

  By performing such control, when the operator takes out the output product from the paper discharge tray of the first image forming apparatus, the operator takes out the output product without being aware of whether the output has been output up to the break of the section. It can be set in the PI of the image forming apparatus. Thereby, an operator's operation can be simplified. Further, the second image forming apparatus can complete the print output of the second image forming apparatus early by starting the normal printing without waiting for the completion of the print output of the first image forming apparatus. Further, when the output set in the PI becomes less than one copy, the print output of the second image forming apparatus can be completed quickly by interrupting the insertion printing and restarting the normal printing. As a result, the second image forming apparatus can be used for the next job, and the operating rate of the second image forming apparatus can be increased. Further, the first image forming apparatus detects the operation of a specific button, thereby controlling the interruption / resumption of printing at a break in the copy. It is possible to match the information, and it is possible to obtain an output product in which pages are appropriately inserted.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. . 1 to 3 are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the printing system of this embodiment, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the client device, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first image forming apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram and schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second image forming apparatus. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of document data, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic operation of the printing system. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing time of the printing system according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the printing system of this embodiment, a client device 10, a server 20, a first image forming device 30, and a second image forming device 40 that can be connected via a communication network 50 are arranged on an intranet. The In the printing system configured as shown in FIG. 1, the server 20 issues a print instruction to each of the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 based on the job received from the client apparatus 10. There are three forms. The first image forming apparatus 30 will be described as a color machine, and the second image forming apparatus 40 will be described as a monochrome machine.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the server 20 divides the job received from the client device 10, transmits the divided job to the first image forming device 30 and the second image forming device 40, and Each of the image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 generates printing image data (color printing image data and monochrome printing image data) based on the divided job.

  Second, as shown in FIG. 2B, the server 20 generates image data for printing (image data for color printing and image data for monochrome printing) based on the job received from the client device 10. The generated image data is transmitted to each of the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 (the image data for color printing is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus 30 and the monochrome image is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40. In this mode, image data for printing is transmitted.

  Third, as shown in FIG. 2C, the server 20 transfers the job received from the client apparatus 10 to one image forming apparatus (here, the first image forming apparatus 30), and the one image forming apparatus Print image data (color print image data and monochrome print image data) is generated based on the job, and the generated image data is transmitted to the other image forming apparatus (monochrome print image data). Is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40).

  Although Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like can be used as the standard of the communication network 50, data transfer from the server 20 to the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 in the form of FIG. In addition, for data transfer from the first image forming apparatus 30 to the second image forming apparatus 40 in the form of FIG. 2C, IEEE1394, Parallel, or the like can be used in addition to Ethernet (registered trademark).

  In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the server 20 is configured to divide a job. However, when one image forming apparatus divides a job as shown in FIG. When the client apparatus 10 divides a job and transmits a divided job, as shown in FIG. 3, the server 20 is omitted and the printing system is the client apparatus 10, the first image forming apparatus 30, and the second image forming apparatus. 40 can also be configured.

  In FIGS. 1 to 3, the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 include a controller that performs job processing and image processing. However, the controller is disposed outside each image forming apparatus. Alternatively, the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 may be connected to one controller. In this embodiment, the first image forming apparatus 30 is a color machine, the second image forming apparatus 40 is a monochrome machine, a color page of a job is printed by the color machine, and a monochrome page is inserted while inserting a color page by the monochrome machine. The first image forming apparatus 30 is a monochrome machine, the second image forming apparatus 40 is a color machine, a monochrome page is printed by the monochrome machine, and a monochrome page is inserted by the color machine. It is good also as a structure to print. In this embodiment, the job is divided into a color page and a monochrome page. However, the job is divided into a color page that includes a special color and a color page that does not include a special color, or a page that is printed on paper of the first paper type. In addition, it may be divided into pages to be printed on paper of a paper type other than the first paper type.

  2A (the server 20 divides the job and transmits the divided job, the first image forming apparatus 30 prints the first group of pages (color pages in this embodiment), Each apparatus will be described in detail on the assumption that the image forming apparatus 40 prints a second group of pages (monochrome pages in this embodiment) while inserting color pages.

[Client device]
The client device 10 is a computer device such as a personal computer, and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a network I / F unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15 and the like as shown in FIG. The

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a and memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11b and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11c, which are connected by a bus. The CPU 11a controls the operation of the entire client device 10 by developing the program stored in the ROM 11b or the storage unit 12 in the RAM 11c and executing it. As shown in FIG. 4B, the control unit 11 executes programs such as an OS (Operating System) 16, an application 17, and a printer driver 18.

  The OS 16 is Windows (registered trademark), Macintosh (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), or the like, and enables the client 17 to operate the application 17 and the printer driver 18.

  The application 17 is software for creating a document such as Excel (registered trademark) or Word (registered trademark) of Microsoft (registered trademark). In this embodiment, the first group of pages (color pages) and the second group A manuscript that contains both pages (monochrome pages) is created. Then, the printer driver 18 is read at the time of printing instruction, and the document data created by the application 17 is transferred to the printer driver 18.

  The printer driver 18 describes document data created by the application 17 in a page description language such as a job in a language (PCL (Printer Control Language), PS (Post Script), PCL (Printer Control Language), etc.) that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus. Converted PDL data or PDF (Portable Document Format) data) and transmitted to the server 20 to instruct printing. At that time, the number of copies of the original and color page / monochrome page division instruction information are added to the job.

  The storage unit 12 is configured by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like. The OS 16, the application 17, various programs such as the printer driver 18, original data created by the application 17, created by the printer driver 18. Store job data.

  The network I / F unit 13 is configured by a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, or the like, and connects the client device 10 to the communication network 50 so that a job can be transmitted to the server 20.

  The display unit 14 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, and the like, and displays a document creation screen of the application 17 and a print setting screen of the printer driver 18.

  The operation unit 15 includes a mouse, a keyboard, and the like, and enables operations such as document creation on the document creation screen and a print instruction on the print setting screen.

[server]
The server 20 is a control device that processes jobs. As shown in FIG. 5A, the server 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a network I / F unit 23, and a display unit and an operation unit as necessary. Composed.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU 21a and a memory such as a ROM 21b and a RAM 21c, which are connected by a bus. The CPU 21a controls the operation of the entire server 20 by developing the control program stored in the ROM 21b or the storage unit 22 in the RAM 21c and executing it. As shown in FIG. 5B, the control unit 21 functions as a job analysis unit 24, a job division unit 25, and the like.

  The job analysis unit 24 analyzes the job received from the client device 10, classifies the document into color pages and monochrome pages based on the attributes of each page of the document data, and what page each color / monochrome is on. The number of copies to be printed is determined.

  The job dividing unit 25 receives a job received from the client device 10 as a job for instructing color page printing (a divided job to be transmitted to the first image forming apparatus 30) and a job for instructing monochrome page printing (second image formation). Divided jobs to be transmitted to the apparatus 40).

  The storage unit 22 is configured by an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores a program for the CPU 21a to control each unit, job data received from the client device 10, divided job data divided by the job dividing unit 25, and the like.

  The network I / F unit 23 is configured by a NIC, a modem, and the like, and connects the server 20 to the communication network 50 so as to be able to receive jobs from the client device 10, and to the first image forming device 30 and the second image forming device 40. Enable to send split jobs.

[First image forming apparatus]
The first image forming apparatus 30 is a printing apparatus such as an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripherals) that performs color printing processing based on the divided job received from the server 20, and includes a control unit as shown in FIG. 31, a storage unit 32, a network I / F unit 33, an image processing unit 34, a display operation unit 35, a printing unit 36, and the like.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU 31a and a memory such as a ROM 31b and a RAM 31c, which are connected by a bus. The CPU 31a controls the overall operation of the first image forming apparatus 30 by developing the program stored in the ROM 31b or the storage unit 32 in the RAM 31c and executing it. Further, the control unit 31 functions as a print state monitoring unit 37 and the like as shown in FIG.

  Based on a signal transmitted from the detection unit 36b provided on the paper discharge tray 36a of the printing unit 36 for detecting the presence or absence of the output product, the printing state monitoring unit 37 has taken out the output product from the paper discharge tray 36a. Judge whether or not. When it is determined that the output product has been taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a, insertion page information indicating how many pages and what page of the taken out output product is generated and transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40. .

  The print status monitoring unit 37 may be configured as hardware, or may be configured as a print control program that causes the control unit 31 to function as the print status monitoring unit 37, and cause the CPU 31a to execute the print control program. Also good.

  The storage unit 32 includes an HDD or an SSD, and stores various programs, divided jobs received from the server 20, image data generated by the image processing unit 34, and the like.

  The image processing unit 34 converts the divided job received from the server 20 into image data that can be printed by the printing unit 36. The image processing unit 34 includes a RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit 34a, a gradation correction unit 34b, a halftone processing unit 34c, and the like. The RIP unit 34a translates the divided job received from the server 20 to generate intermediate data, performs color conversion on the intermediate data using a color conversion table, performs rendering, and generates image data of each page. . The tone correction unit 34b adjusts the brightness and contrast of the image data generated by the RIP unit 34a. The halftone dot processing unit 34c converts the tone-corrected image data into halftone dots.

  The display operation unit 35 includes a touch panel, a hard switch, and the like in which an operation unit such as a touch sensor in which electrodes are arranged in a lattice shape is formed on a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device. Various screens are displayed and various instructions regarding printing are received.

  The printing unit 36 (first printing unit) performs color printing processing on paper based on the image data generated by the image processing unit 34. Specifically, the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device is irradiated with light corresponding to the image from the exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image, and the toner charged by the developing device is attached and developed. The image is primarily transferred to the transfer belt, secondarily transferred from the transfer belt to the paper, and the toner image on the paper is further fixed by the fixing device, and then output to the paper discharge tray 36a. In addition, a detection unit 36b that detects the presence or absence of an output product (or the presence or absence of a person approaching the discharge tray 36a) is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray 36a, and a signal detected by the detection unit 36b is transmitted to the control unit 31. To do.

[Second image forming apparatus]
The second image forming apparatus 40 is a printing apparatus such as an MFP that executes page insertion processing and monochrome printing processing based on the divided job received from the server 20, and includes a control unit 41, as shown in FIG. A storage unit 42, a network I / F unit 43, an image processing unit 44, a display operation unit 45, a printing unit 46, a page inserter (PI) 47, and the like.

  The control unit 41 includes a CPU 41a and a memory such as a ROM 41b and a RAM 41c, which are connected by a bus. The CPU 41a controls the overall operation of the second image forming apparatus 40 by developing and executing the program stored in the ROM 41b or the storage unit 42 in the RAM 41c. The control unit 41 functions as a print control unit 48 as shown in FIG. 7B.

  The print control unit 48 controls the printing unit 46 and the PI 47 to print only a monochrome page without performing the page insertion process based on the result detected by the PI 47 and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus 30. First printing (normal printing) to be output to the first paper discharge tray 46a, and second printing (insertion printing) to print a monochrome page while performing the page insertion processing and output it to the second paper discharge tray 46b. Switch between. At that time, normal printing is started without waiting for the completion of the output of the color page in the first image forming apparatus 30. If the PI 47 detects that the output has been set during normal printing, normal printing is continued until the end of the set (the last page of the set). Insert printing starts from the beginning. At the time of this insertion printing, it is determined by referring to the insertion page information whether the end of the color page set in the PI 47 is a line break. As a result of the above determination, if the end of the color page set in PI 47 is a break in the set, insert printing is performed until there is no color page set in PI 47, and then the insert printing is interrupted, and the normal start from the start of the set Resume printing. When the PI 47 detects that the output is set again, the normal printing is continued until the break of the copy, and then the normal printing is interrupted, and the insertion printing is started from the beginning of the copy with reference to the inserted page information. Resume. As a result of the above determination, if the end of the color page set in PI 47 is not a break in the set, insertion printing is performed up to the set break, leaving a half-finished page in PI 47, and then the insertion printing is interrupted. Normal printing is resumed from the beginning of. When the PI 47 detects that the output is set again, the normal printing is continued until the break of the copy, and then the normal printing is interrupted, and the half-page remaining in the PI 47 is referred to by referring to the inserted page information. Insert printing restarts from the beginning of the copy including the page.

  The print control unit 48 may be configured as hardware, or may be configured as a print control program that causes the control unit 41 to function as the print control unit 48 and cause the CPU 41a to execute the print control program. .

  Similar to the first image forming apparatus 30, the storage unit 42 is configured by an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores various programs, divided data received from the server 20, image data generated by the image processing unit 44, and the like.

  Similar to the first image forming apparatus 30, the image processing unit 44 converts the divided job received from the server 20 into image data that can be printed by the printing unit 46. The image processing unit 44 includes a RIP unit 44a, a gradation correction unit 44b, a halftone processing unit 44c, and the like. The image processing unit 44 analyzes finishing function instructions such as punching and stapling instructed by the printer driver 18 and notifies the printing unit 46 of the finishing function instructions.

  Similar to the first image forming apparatus 30, the display operation unit 45 includes a touch panel, a hard switch, and the like, displays various screens related to printing, and accepts various instructions related to printing.

  The printing unit 46 (second printing unit) performs a monochrome printing process on paper based on the image data generated by the image processing unit 44. The printing unit 46 includes a first paper discharge tray 46 a and a second paper discharge tray 46 b, and performs normal printing or insertion printing according to the control of the print control unit 48. When normal printing is performed, an output product of only monochrome pages is output to the first paper discharge tray 46a. When insertion printing is performed, the output operates in conjunction with PI 47, and a mixture of color pages and monochrome pages is output. The product is output to the second paper discharge tray 46b. In addition, the printing unit 46 performs a finishing process according to a finishing function instruction notified from the image processing unit 44.

  The PI 47 inserts a paper storage unit for setting an output material, a detection unit for detecting whether or not the output material is set in the paper storage unit, and an output material set in the paper storage unit into a specific page of the job ( And an insertion unit that inserts a color page set in the paper storage unit into a predetermined position of a monochrome page printed by the printing unit 46 based on the page configuration of the document. The detection unit notifies the control unit 41 (print control unit 48) that the output material has been stored in the paper storage unit and that the output product in the paper storage unit has been exhausted.

  FIG. 7C shows an example of the arrangement of the control unit 41 (printing control unit 48), the printing unit 46 (including the first discharge tray 46a and the second discharge tray 46b), and the PI 47. .

  1 to 7 show an example of the printing system according to the present embodiment, and the configuration thereof can be changed as appropriate. For example, the first image forming apparatus 30 or the second image forming apparatus 40 may be provided with an image reading unit that reads an image of a document, or the image processing unit may be separated from the image forming apparatus.

  Next, the operation of the printing system of this embodiment will be outlined. In the following description, the first image forming apparatus 30 is a color machine, the second image forming apparatus 40 is a monochrome machine, and the second image forming apparatus 40 prints a monochrome page while inserting a color page set in the PI 47. It will be explained as a thing.

  First, a document for printing is created by the application 17 installed in the client device 10. The application file format document data is converted into a PDL file format job by the printer driver 18 and transmitted to the server 20 via the intranet.

  The server 20 analyzes the job and classifies each page of the document into a color page and a monochrome page, and divides the page into a job for instructing printing of a color page and a job for instructing printing of a monochrome page. Is sent to the first image forming apparatus 30, and a divided job instructing monochrome page printing is sent to the second image forming apparatus 40. Note that information indicating the page number of each color / monochrome is added to the divided job transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40.

  The first image forming device 30 and the second image forming device 40 receive the divided job, and the image processing unit converts the divided job into bitmap format image data. The image processing unit 44 of the second image forming apparatus 40 analyzes finishing function instructions such as punching and stapling instructed by the printer driver 18 and notifies the printing unit 46 of finishing function instructions, and the printing unit 46 finishes. Perform finishing according to the function instructions. It is also possible to execute print processing using bitmap image data stored in the image forming apparatus and using a job management application.

  Next, an operation when page insertion is performed in the second image forming apparatus 40 will be described. When the server 20 receives the color data / monochrome page division instruction together with the original data, the server 20 divides the original data into color page data and monochrome page data based on the page attributes. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the manuscript data is composed of P1, 2, and 4 monochrome page data (white page in the figure) and P3 and 5 color page data (hatched page in the figure). Suppose that a plurality of copies are printed with these five pages as one copy. This division process may be performed by the server 20 or by one image forming apparatus.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9, the color page data is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) (see (1) in the figure), and the monochrome page data is sent to the second image forming apparatus 40 (see FIG. 9). (See (1 ') in the figure), and the printing process is started for each.

  While printing a color page with the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine), the operator takes out the output from the paper discharge tray 36a at an arbitrary timing and sets it on the PI 47 of the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine). (See (2) in the figure).

  The first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) transmits the insertion page information of the color output material taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a by the operator to the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) (see (3) in the figure). ).

  When the PI 47 detects that the color output is set, the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) refers to the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) and outputs the color. The object insertion process is controlled (see (4) in the figure). Specifically, when the PI 47 detects that a color output product has been set, the insertion process starts from the beginning of the copy. When insertion printing is performed up to the break of the copy, the halfway page is left in the PI 47 and the insertion process is interrupted. At that time, the monochrome output product in which the color output product is not inserted is discharged to a different paper discharge tray from the color / monochrome mixed output product in which the color output product has been inserted (see (5) in the figure).

  After all color pages and monochrome pages have been output, the operator can convert the monochrome output product with no color page inserted and the color output product without insertion (the color output product remaining in PI 47) into a nearline finisher or an offline finisher. Set to, and insert processing. Alternatively, a monochrome output product may be set in the first PI of the second image forming apparatus 40 and a color output product may be set in the second PI, and insertion processing may be performed to finish the remaining output products.

  Next, the processing time of the printing system when the above control is performed will be described. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing processing of each apparatus when 100 copies of the document having the configuration shown in FIG. 8 are distributed and printed by the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) and the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine). It is a figure, and the horizontal axis of a figure is a time axis. The operations of the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) and the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) at each timing are as follows.

[Operation of First Image Forming Apparatus 30 (Color Machine)]
T0: Start printing on a color machine T0 to T1: A color machine prints a color page T1: An operator takes out a color output from the color machine. For example, a color output product of 19 copies + P3 (half edge page) is taken out. The color machine transmits to the monochrome machine insertion page information of the color output product taken out from the paper discharge tray by the operator.

[Operation of Second Image Forming Apparatus 40 (Monochrome Machine)]
T0: Start printing on a monochrome machine (in this case, start printing simultaneously with a color machine)
T0 to T3: The monochrome machine prints only monochrome pages and outputs them to the first paper discharge tray. T3: The monochrome machine receives the inserted page information from the color machine, and the operator outputs the color output to the monochrome machine PI. Set (19 copies + P3) T3 to T4: The monochrome machine prints only monochrome pages to the break of the copy (here 20 copies) and outputs to the first paper discharge tray. T4 to T5: The monochrome machine prints to PI A monochrome page is printed while inserting the set color output, and output to the second paper discharge tray (here, 19 copies are printed, and the odd P3 is left in PI)
T5: The monochrome machine suspends insertion printing and resumes normal printing (printing a monochrome page from the beginning of the copy)

[Operation of First Image Forming Apparatus 30 (Color Machine)]
T1-T2: The color machine continues to print the remaining color pages and completes.
T2: The operator takes out the printed color output from the color machine (here, P5 (half-end page) +80 copies). The color machine transmits to the monochrome machine insertion page information of the color output product taken out from the paper discharge tray by the operator.

[Operation of Second Image Forming Apparatus 40 (Monochrome Machine)]
T6: The monochrome machine receives the inserted page information from the color machine, and the operator sets the color output (P5 + 80 copies) to the PI of the monochrome machine. T6 to T7: The monochrome machine sets only the monochrome page to the break ( 15 copies are printed here and output to the first paper discharge tray. T7 to T8: The monochrome machine prints a monochrome page while inserting the color output set in the PI, and outputs it to the second paper discharge tray. (Here, 46 copies including P3 left in PI)
T8: 35 copies of color output remain on the PI of the monochrome machine. Thereafter, the operator uses the nearline finisher and the color output 20 + 15 = 35 copies output on the first discharge tray and 35 copies of the color output remaining on the PI. Insert it in an offline finisher.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the printing system of the present embodiment (particularly, the second image forming apparatus 40) will be described. The CPU 41a executes the processing of each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12 by developing and executing the print control program stored in the ROM 41b or the storage unit 42 in the RAM 41c.

  First, document data is created by the control unit 11 (application 17) of the client apparatus 10, and a job including document data and color page / monochrome page division instructions is generated by the control unit 11 (printer driver 18). A job is submitted to the server 20 via the server 50 (S101).

  The control unit 21 (job analysis unit 24) of the server 20 analyzes the job, classifies the document into color pages and monochrome pages based on the attributes of each page of the document data, and the color / monochrome page number. In addition, the control unit 21 (job dividing unit 25) divides into a job instructing printing of a color page and a job instructing printing of a monochrome page. A divided job instructing printing of a color page is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) via the communication network 50, and a divided job instructing printing of a monochrome page is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome). (S102).

  When the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) receives the divided job, the control unit 41 (printing control unit 48) controls the printing unit 46 to start normal printing (S103). Is output to the first paper discharge tray 46a (S104). Then, the control unit 41 (printing control unit 48) determines whether a color page is set in the PI 47 based on the notification from the PI 47 (S105). If a color page is not set in PI 47, the process returns to S104 to continue normal printing. If a color page is set in PI 47, insertion printing control is performed (S106). Details of the insertion printing control will be described later. Thereafter, the control unit 41 (print control unit 48) determines whether or not monochrome page printing has been completed (S107). If monochrome page printing has not been completed, the insertion printing is interrupted, and the process returns to S104. Resume normal printing. On the other hand, when monochrome page printing is completed (including the case where monochrome page printing is completed in the middle of insertion printing), a series of printing control is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) receives the divided job, the printing unit 36 starts color printing (S108), and the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) performs the discharge tray 36a. Based on the signal from the detection unit 36b provided in the printer, it is determined whether a printed color page has been taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a (S109). When the printed color page is taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a (Yes in S109), the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) determines how many pages of the printed color page are taken out. The inserted page information is generated, and the generated inserted page information is notified to the second image forming apparatus 40 (S110). Further, the operator sets the printed color page taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a on the PI 47 of the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine). Thereafter, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the printing of all the color pages has been completed (S111). If the printing of the color pages is not completed, the control unit 31 returns to S108 and continues the printing of the color pages. If printing has been completed, printing is terminated. The inserted page information may include the job ID and job name of the job, the name of the user who sent the job, the individual identification information of the second image forming apparatus 40, in addition to the number of pages and the number of copies. good.

  Further, the operator takes out only the monochrome page portion from the first paper discharge tray 46a of the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) and removes only the remaining color page portion from the PI 47 as necessary. Insert them in the nearline finisher or offline finisher.

  Next, the insertion printing control in S106 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the control unit 41 (print control unit 48) continues normal printing and outputs only monochrome pages to the first paper discharge tray 46a (S201). Is determined (S202). If the page to be printed is not the first page of the next part, the process returns to S201 to continue normal printing. This processing is performed so that insertion printing can be started from the beginning of the next copy.

  When the print target page is the first page of the next copy, the control unit 41 (print control unit 48) interrupts normal printing and starts insertion printing (S203), and controls the printing unit 46 and the PI 47 to insert the page. With reference to the page information, a monochrome page is printed while inserting a color page, and an output product in which the color page and the monochrome page are mixed is output to the second paper discharge tray 46b (S204). At this time, the control unit 41 (printing control unit 48) determines whether the color output product set in the PI 47 has a good number of pages per copy, and the color output product has a good number of pages per copy. In this case, all the color output products set in the PI 47 are inserted and discharged to the second discharge tray 46b as a completed output product in which color pages are inserted into monochrome pages. On the other hand, if the color output is not a good number of pages per set, the color output set in PI 47 is inserted up to a clean page (part break), and the color page is inserted into the monochrome page. The output product is discharged to the second paper output tray 46b, and the half-finished page with poor sharpness is left in the PI 47, and the next output product is awaited.

  Specifically, when the number of color pages per copy is p, the number of color page copies set in PI 47 is m, and the odd page number is n, the control unit 41 (printing control unit 48) performs p colors. It is determined whether or not page insertion has been completed (S204). If insertion of p color pages has not been completed, the process returns to S204 to continue insertion printing. When the insertion of p color pages is completed (when one copy is completed), the control unit 41 (print control unit 48) subtracts 1 from m (S206), and determines whether m is 0 or not. (S207). If m is not 0, one or more color pages remain in PI 47, so that the process returns to S204 to continue the insertion printing. When m becomes 0, the series of insertion printing control is terminated.

  As described above, the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) prints only a monochrome page without waiting for the printing completion of the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) and outputs it to the first paper discharge tray 46a. When normal printing is started and color output is set in PI 47, normal printing is continued until the break of the section, and then a monochrome page is printed while inserting the color output set in PI 47, and the second discharge tray By starting the insertion printing to be output to 46b, the waiting time of the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) can be shortened and the operating rate can be increased. Further, by executing insertion printing up to the break of the copy based on the inserted page information, the pages can be inserted in the correct order, and the first can be performed at an arbitrary timing without being conscious of whether or not the output of the copy is output. The output can be taken out from the image forming apparatus 30 and set in the PI 47 of the second image forming apparatus 40, and the operability for the operator can be improved.

  Next, a printing system, a printing control method, and a printing control program according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 13 and 14 are a block diagram and a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the first image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. 16 and 17 are examples of a guide screen displayed on the display operation unit of the first image forming apparatus.

  In the first embodiment described above, the operator takes out the output product (color page) from the paper discharge tray 36a of the first image forming apparatus 30 at an arbitrary timing. However, color pages are continuously printed. In this case, the number of color pages and the number of pages taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a by the operator may be different from the number of printed color pages and the number of pages recognized by the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37). There is sex. Specifically, when a subsequent color page is discharged immediately after the color page is taken out from the discharge tray 36a (for example, when there is a printed color page in the conveyance path from the fixing device to the discharge tray 36a). The number of printed color pages and the number of pages recognized by the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) are larger than the number of color pages and the number of pages taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a by the operator. . In such a case, if insertion printing is performed based on the inserted page information, the page specified by the inserted page information cannot be inserted, or the page to be resumed may be wrong when resuming the insertion printing after being interrupted. There is a fear.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number of pages and the number of pages of color pages taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a by the operator, the number of copies of the printed color pages and the number of pages recognized by the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37), In order to prevent misalignment, the operator can instruct to interrupt / restart printing of the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine), and when the operator instructs to interrupt printing (or the operator discharges paper) When the tray 36a is approached, the printing is controlled to be interrupted. Further, when the operator gives an instruction to resume printing (or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the interruption of printing), control is performed so as to resume printing. As a result, the printed color page recognized by the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) is directed to be taken out by the operator without excess or deficiency.

  In this case, the configurations of the client device 10, the server 20, and the second image forming device 40 are the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIG. 7 of the first embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. The control unit 31 of the one image forming apparatus 30 functions as a print state monitoring unit 37, a display control unit 38, and a print control unit 39.

  Based on a signal transmitted from the detection unit 36b provided on the paper discharge tray 36a of the printing unit 36 for detecting the presence or absence of the output product, the printing state monitoring unit 37 has taken out the output product from the paper discharge tray 36a. Judge whether or not. When it is determined that the output product has been taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a, insertion page information indicating how many copies of the output product have been taken out is generated and transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40.

  When the printing unit 36 starts printing a color page, the display control unit 38 causes the display operation unit 35 to display a guide screen (first screen) described later. Then, information for interrupting printing (guide information) is displayed on the guide screen, and a specific button (stop instruction button) for the operator to instruct to interrupt printing is displayed. Further, when the print state monitoring unit 37 determines that the output product has been taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a, the display control unit 38 causes the display operation unit 35 to display a guide screen (second screen). Then, information for resuming printing (guide information) is displayed on the guide screen, and a specific button (resume instruction button) for the operator to instruct resumption of printing is displayed.

  The print control unit 39 monitors the operation of the guide screen (or hard key) by the operator and detects the operation of the stop instruction button (or hard key) by the operator (or the detection unit 36b provided on the printing unit 36 approaches the operator). Is detected), the printing unit 36 is instructed to suspend printing after continuing printing to the break of the printing part. In addition, when the print control unit 39 detects an operation of the start instruction button (or hard key) by the operator (or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the printing was interrupted), the print control unit 39 causes the printing unit 36 to start from the beginning of the unit. Instructs to resume printing.

  The print status monitoring unit 37, the display control unit 38, and the print control unit 39 may be configured as hardware, and the control unit 31 functions as the print status monitoring unit 37, the display control unit 38, and the print control unit 39. The print control program may be configured so that the CPU 31a executes the print control program.

  FIG. 14A illustrates an example of the arrangement of the control unit 31 (display control unit 38 and print control unit 39), the printing unit 36 (including the paper discharge tray 36a), and the display operation unit 35. FIG. 6B shows an example of the arrangement of the paper discharge tray 36a and the detection unit 36b in the printing unit 36.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the first image forming apparatus 30 of the printing system of this embodiment will be described. The CPU 31a executes the process of each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 by developing the print control program stored in the ROM 31b or the storage unit 32 in the RAM 31c and executing it. Since the operation of the entire printing system is the same as that in FIG. 11 of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted, and detailed control in S108 to S111 in FIG. 11 will be described.

  First, when the first image forming apparatus 30 receives a color print job (division job), the control unit 31 (print control unit 39) controls the print unit 36 to start color printing (S301). Next, the control unit 31 (display control unit 38) causes the display operation unit 35 to display a guide screen for guiding the operator to operate a specific button when taking out the output product (S302). FIG. 16 is an example of the guide screen 60a. On this guide screen 60a, guide information 61 such as information relating to a job that is currently undergoing color printing (job ID, user name, job name, job registration time, etc.) and information relating to a method for extracting an output product is displayed. Then, a start instruction button 62 for instructing start of the job, a stop instruction button 63 for instructing stop of the job, and the like are displayed. During printing of a color page, the stop instruction button 63 may be blinked or the display color may be changed to highlight the stop instruction button 63 (highlighting is expressed by hatching in the figure). preferable.

  Then, the control unit 31 (printing control unit 39) determines whether or not a specific button (the stop instruction button 63 in FIG. 16) has been operated based on a signal from the display operation unit 35 (S303). Is detected (or the detection unit 36b provided in the printing unit 36 detects the approach of the operator) (Yes in S303), the number of color pages is reduced to the number of clear pages (up to the break of the copy). Printing is performed and printing is temporarily stopped (S304). Thereafter, the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) generates insertion page information indicating the number of copies of the printed color output product (that is, the color output product taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a). The inserted page information is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) (S305). Note that the destination of the insertion page information may be a portable information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet. In this case, the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) and the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) are the same. Even without being under a network, information can be transferred from the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) to the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine) via the portable information terminal.

  Next, the control unit 31 (printing state monitoring unit 37) monitors the removal of the output material by the operator based on the signal from the detection unit 36b provided on the paper discharge tray 36a (S306), and the output material is extracted. (Yes in S306), the control unit 31 (display control unit 38) causes the display operation unit 35 to display a guide screen that guides the operator to operate a specific button in order to resume printing ( S307). FIG. 17 is an example of the guide screen 60b. The guide screen 60b displays guide information 61 such as information related to a job that is currently undergoing color printing and information related to a printing resumption method, and a start instruction button 62, a stop instruction button 63, and the like. When printing of a color page is stopped, the start instruction button 62 is blinked or the display color is changed to highlight the start instruction button 62 (in the figure, the highlighted display is expressed by hatching). Is preferred.

  Then, the control unit 31 (printing control unit 39) determines whether or not a specific button (start instruction button 62 in the figure) is operated based on a signal from the display operation unit 35 (S308). If it is detected that the operation has been performed (or a predetermined time has elapsed since the printing was interrupted) (Yes in S308), the printing of the color page is resumed (S309). Then, the control unit 31 (printing control unit 39) determines whether or not printing of all the color pages has been completed (S310). If printing has not been completed, the process returns to S302 to continue color printing and complete printing. If so, the series of printing control is terminated.

  As described above, when the first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) starts color printing, the first image forming apparatus 30 displays the guide screen 60a, and when a specific button for instructing stop of color printing is operated (or the operator sets the discharge tray). After printing up to a clear number of pages in units of copies, the printing is temporarily stopped and the inserted page information is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40, so that the output material taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a by the operator is output. Can be transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 40 (monochrome machine). The first image forming apparatus 30 (color machine) displays a guide screen 60b when an output is taken out from the paper discharge tray 36a, and operates a specific button for instructing resumption of color printing (or When a predetermined time has elapsed since the printing was interrupted), the color printing can be appropriately executed by resuming the color printing.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the configuration and control of the printing system can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, a case where a job for printing a plurality of pages in which P1, 2, and 4 are monochrome pages and P3 and 5 are color pages has been described as an example. The page configuration and the number of copies are not particularly limited, and the print control of the present invention is similarly applied to any case where a job for printing a plurality of originals including pages in the first group and pages in the second group is processed. Can be applied to.

  In each of the above embodiments, the first image forming apparatus 30 is a color machine, the second image forming apparatus 40 is a monochrome machine, and the second image forming apparatus 40 prints a monochrome page while inserting a color page. Although described, the first image forming apparatus 30 is a monochrome machine, the second image forming apparatus 40 is a color machine, and the second image forming apparatus 40 prints a color page while inserting a monochrome page. The printing control of the invention can be applied as well.

  In each of the above embodiments, one of the first image forming apparatus 30 and the second image forming apparatus 40 is a monochrome machine and the other is a color machine, but both are monochrome machines or color machines (printing capability and color reproducibility, It is also possible to use an image forming apparatus that uses different types of paper, paper, or the like. Further, in each of the above embodiments, one image forming apparatus (first image forming apparatus 30) that outputs a document to be inserted is output. For example, a plurality of image forming apparatuses (for example, two) output a document to be inserted. Then, each document may be set in a plurality of (for example, two) PIs mounted on one image forming apparatus to perform insertion processing.

  The present invention is applied to a printing system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing of a document, a printing control method in the printing system, a printing control program that operates in each image forming apparatus, and a recording medium that records the printing control program. Is possible.

10 Client device 11 Control unit 11a CPU
11b ROM
11c RAM
12 storage unit 13 network I / F unit 14 display unit 15 operation unit 16 OS
17 Application 18 Printer Driver 20 Server 21 Control Unit 21a CPU
21b ROM
21c RAM
22 storage unit 23 network I / F unit 24 job analysis unit 25 job division unit 30 first image forming apparatus 31 control unit 31a CPU
31b ROM
31c RAM
32 storage unit 33 network I / F unit 34 image processing unit 34a RIP unit 34b gradation correction unit 34c halftone processing unit 35 display operation unit 36 printing unit 36a discharge tray 36b detection unit 37 print state monitoring unit 38 display control unit 39 Print control unit 40 Second image forming apparatus 41 Control unit 41a CPU
41b ROM
41c RAM
42 storage unit 43 network I / F unit 44 image processing unit 44a RIP unit 44b gradation correction unit 44c halftone processing unit 45 display operation unit 46 printing unit 46a first paper discharge tray 46b second paper discharge tray 47 PI
48 Print control unit 50 Communication network 60a, 60b Guide screen 61 Guide information 62 Start instruction button 63 Stop instruction button

Claims (20)

A first image forming apparatus for printing the first group of pages and the second group for performing distributed printing based on a job for printing a plurality of originals in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed And a second image forming apparatus that prints the page of
The first image forming apparatus includes:
A first printing section that prints the first group of pages and outputs it to a paper discharge tray;
A detector that is disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray and detects the presence or absence of the first group of pages output to the paper discharge tray;
Based on a signal transmitted from the detection unit, it is determined whether or not the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray, and if it is determined that the first group of pages has been taken out, what is the taken out page? A printing state monitoring unit that generates insertion page information indicating how many pages of the copy and transmits to the second image forming apparatus,
The second image forming apparatus includes:
A second printing unit for printing the second group of pages;
Detecting whether or not the first group page has been set, and inserting the set first group page into a predetermined position of the second group page based on the page configuration of the document; With a sorter,
A first discharge tray and a second discharge tray;
Based on the result detected by the page inserter and the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus, only the second group of pages printed by the second printing unit is included in the first paper discharge tray. And the first group of pages set in the page inserter is inserted into the predetermined position of the second group of pages printed by the second printing unit, and the second discharge is performed. A second printing unit that outputs to the paper tray, and a print control unit that switches between the two printings.
When the page inserter detects that the first group of pages has been set during the first printing, the print control unit performs the first printing until the break of the part being printed. Suspending the first printing, referring to the inserted page information, and starting the second printing from the beginning of the copy;
A printing system characterized by that. The print control unit refers to the insertion page information to determine whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a cut of a part. , Performing the second printing until there is no page in the first group set in the page inserter, then interrupting the second printing and restarting the first printing from the beginning of the copy,
The printing system according to claim 1. When the page inserter detects that the page of the first group is set again, the print control unit performs the first printing until the break of the part being printed, and then performs the first printing. Suspend and resume the second printing from the beginning of the set,
The printing system according to claim 2. The print control unit refers to the insertion page information to determine whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a cut of a part. , The second printing is performed up to the break of the page portion of the first group set in the page inserter, leaving the odd page on the page inserter, and then the second printing is interrupted, Resuming the first printing from the beginning,
The printing system according to claim 1. When the page inserter detects that the page of the first group is set again, the print control unit performs the first printing until the break of the part being printed, and then performs the first printing. Interrupting and restarting the second printing from the beginning of the copy including the odd page left on the page inserter,
The printing system according to claim 4. One of the first group page and the second group page is a monochrome page, and the other is a color page.
The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: A first image forming apparatus for printing the first group of pages, which performs distributed printing based on a job for printing a plurality of originals in which the first group of pages and the second group of pages are mixed; and a page inserter And a second image forming apparatus that prints the second group of pages while inserting the first group of pages by:
The first image forming apparatus includes:
Controlling a first printing unit provided in the apparatus to print the first group of pages and outputting the page to a paper discharge tray;
When the detection unit disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge tray detects that the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray, the insertion indicating the number of pages to which the taken page is taken out is inserted. Generating page information and transmitting it to the second image forming apparatus;
The second image forming apparatus includes:
Controlling the second printing unit provided in the apparatus to start the first printing for outputting only the second group of pages to the first paper discharge tray;
During the first printing, when the page inserter detects that the first group of pages printed by the first image forming apparatus is set, the second printing unit is controlled to perform printing. The first printing is performed up to the break of the part, and then the first printing is interrupted,
The second printing unit and the page inserter are controlled to refer to the inserted page information received from the first image forming apparatus, and from the start of the unit, the first group of pages is changed to the second group of the second group. Starting the second printing which is inserted into a predetermined position of the page and outputted to the second discharge tray;
And a printing control method. The second image forming apparatus includes:
When starting the second printing, the insertion page information is referred to determine whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a cut of a part. In the case of a break, the second printing is performed until there is no page in the first group set in the page inserter, and then the second printing is interrupted.
Restarting the first printing from the beginning of the copy;
The printing control method according to claim 7. The second image forming apparatus includes:
After resuming the first printing, when the page inserter detects again that the first group of pages has been set, the first printing is performed until the break of the part being printed, and then the first printing is performed. Interrupt printing and restart the second printing from the beginning of the copy;
The print control method according to claim 8. The second image forming apparatus includes:
When starting the second printing, the insertion page information is referred to determine whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a cut of a part. If it is not a break, the second printing is performed up to the break of the page of the first group set in the page inserter, leaving an odd page on the page inserter, and then the second printing is interrupted. And
Restarting the first printing from the beginning of the copy;
The printing control method according to claim 7. The second image forming apparatus includes:
After resuming the first printing, when the page inserter detects again that the first group of pages has been set, the first printing is performed until the break of the part being printed, and then the first printing is performed. Suspend printing and resume the second printing from the beginning of the copy, including the odd page left on the page inserter,
The printing control method according to claim 10. One of the first group page and the second group page is a monochrome page, and the other is a color page.
The printing control method according to claim 7, wherein the printing control method is a printing method. An image forming apparatus that prints the second group of pages among a plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing based on a job that prints a plurality of originals in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed A print control program that runs on
The image forming apparatus includes:
A printing unit for printing the second group of pages;
Detecting whether or not the first group page has been set, and inserting the set first group page into a predetermined position of the second group page based on the page configuration of the document; With a sorter,
A first discharge tray and a second discharge tray,
In the image forming apparatus,
A first process for controlling the printing unit to start the first printing for outputting only the second group of pages to the first paper discharge tray;
If the page inserter detects that the first group of pages has been set during the first printing, the printing unit is controlled to perform the first printing up to the break of the printing part, A second process for interrupting the first printing;
A third process of receiving, from the image forming apparatus that prints the first group of pages, inserted page information indicating how many pages and how many pages have been taken out from a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus;
Control the printing section and the page inserter, refer to the inserted page information, and insert the first group page at the predetermined position of the second group page from the beginning of the section. A fourth process for starting the second printing to be output to the paper discharge tray,
A print control program characterized by that. In addition to the image forming apparatus,
Referring to the inserted page information, it is determined whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a break in the part. If the last is a break in the part, the page inserter A fifth process for performing the second printing until there is no page in the first group set, and then interrupting the second printing;
A sixth process of resuming the first printing from the beginning of the copy,
The print control program according to claim 13. In addition to the image forming apparatus,
When the page inserter detects again that the first group of pages has been set, a seventh process is performed to perform the first printing until a break in the part being printed, and then interrupt the first printing;
An eighth process of resuming the second printing from the beginning of the copy,
The print control program according to claim 14. In addition to the image forming apparatus,
Referring to the inserted page information, it is determined whether the last page of the first group set in the page inserter is a break of a part. If the last is not a break of a part, the page inserter A fifth process in which the second printing is performed up to the break of the set page portion of the first group to leave an odd page on the page inserter, and then the second printing is interrupted;
A sixth process of resuming the first printing from the beginning of the copy,
The print control program according to claim 13. In addition to the image forming apparatus,
When the page inserter detects again that the first group of pages has been set, a seventh process is performed to perform the first printing until a break in the part being printed, and then interrupt the first printing;
Including the odd page left in the page inserter, causing the eighth process to resume the second printing from the beginning of the copy,
The print control program according to claim 16. An image forming apparatus that prints the first group of pages among a plurality of image forming apparatuses that perform distributed printing based on a job that prints a plurality of originals in which a first group of pages and a second group of pages are mixed A print control program that runs on
The image forming apparatus includes:
A printing unit for printing the first group of pages and outputting the pages to a paper discharge tray;
A detection unit for detecting whether or not the first group of pages has been removed from the paper discharge tray;
A display unit and an operation unit,
In the image forming apparatus,
A first process for controlling the printing unit to output the first group of pages to the paper discharge tray;
A second process for causing the display unit to display a first screen including a first button for instructing to interrupt printing of the first group of pages;
When the operation of the first button by the operation unit is detected, a third process for controlling the printing unit to perform printing until the break of the printing unit, and then interrupting the printing,
A fourth process of generating insertion page information indicating the number of copies of the first group of printed pages and transmitting the information to another image forming apparatus;
A print control program characterized by that. In addition to the image forming apparatus,
When the detection unit detects that the first group of pages has been taken out from the paper discharge tray, the display unit includes a second button for instructing resumption of printing of the first group of pages. 5th process which displays a screen,
When the operation of the second button by the operation unit is detected, the printing unit is controlled to execute a sixth process for resuming printing from the beginning of the unit.
The print control program according to claim 18. One of the first group page and the second group page is a monochrome page, and the other is a color page.
20. The print control program according to claim 13, wherein the print control program is any one of claims 13 to 19.

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