JP2019086683A - Image forming apparatus, image formation control method, and image formation control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus, an image formation control method, and an image formation program that can improve the accuracy in alignment in a post process of foil image formation and reduce a cost required in the post process.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and a control unit that controls the image forming unit to form, on the sheet, a first image to which a foil is transferred in a predetermined process, and to form, on the sheet, a second image to which a foil is not transferred in the predetermined process and is used for alignment when predetermined processing is performed on the first image in a post process of the predetermined process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

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

  Generally, an image forming apparatus (printer, copier, facsimile, etc.) using electrophotographic process technology irradiates (exposed) a laser beam based on image data to a charged photosensitive drum (image carrier). Form an electrostatic latent image. Then, toner is supplied from the developing device to the photosensitive drum on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, thereby visualizing the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. Furthermore, after the toner image is directly or indirectly transferred to the sheet, the toner image is formed on the sheet by fixing by heat and pressure at the fixing nip.

  Among such image forming apparatuses, one having a foil transfer portion for transferring a foil to a toner image is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the foil transfer portion, for example, in the transfer nip, the sheet on which the toner image is formed and the foil sheet on which the foil is stacked are overlapped and partially heated. As a result, the toner image becomes glue and the foil is transferred to the portion of the toner image.

  In addition, in order to ship the printed matter as a product, another image is superimposed on the foil image or outline extraction of the foil image portion on the label paper is performed in a step subsequent to the step of transferring the foil to form a foil image. There is a case. At that time, it is necessary to perform alignment in the case of overlapping the foil image and another image, and alignment in the outline removal of the foil image portion.

  As a method of alignment of such post-processes, there is a method of forming an image for position detection in a portion which is not used at the time of delivery of a sheet, and performing alignment based on the positional relationship between the image and foil image. Be

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-40183

  However, when performing alignment based on the positional relationship between the image for position detection and the foil image, when attempting to detect the foil image using an optical measuring instrument, the measurement light is irregularly reflected due to the influence of the foil image. I will. As a result, the foil image can not be accurately detected due to the irregular reflection of the measurement light, which in turn causes a problem that the alignment accuracy in the subsequent process of foil image formation is deteriorated.

  Further, in the post-process alignment, the amount of work fluctuates according to the skill of the operator performing the alignment. For example, when an unskilled operator works, trial and error in the alignment may repeat the position adjustment operation in alignment many times.

  As a result, a large amount of foil members such as paper on which a foil image is formed will be used by the adjustment operation. Considering that the foil material is expensive compared to the printing media, and that the foil member used for the adjustment operation can not be used for delivery, it is a great deal for the position adjustment operation in alignment. The problem is that it costs much money.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming control method, and an image forming control program capable of improving the accuracy of alignment in the post-process of foil image formation and reducing the cost involved in the post-process. It is to provide.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is
An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
The image forming unit is controlled to form a first image to which a foil is transferred in a predetermined process on a sheet, the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and the first image is processed in a process after the predetermined process. A control unit that controls the image forming unit to form on the sheet a second image used for alignment when performing predetermined processing on the sheet;
Equipped with

The image formation control method according to the present invention is
An image forming control method of an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, comprising:
Controlling the image forming unit to form on the sheet a first image to which the foil is transferred in a predetermined process;
The image forming portion is configured such that the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and a second image used for alignment in performing a predetermined process on the first image in a process subsequent to the predetermined process is formed on the sheet Control.

An image formation control program according to the present invention is
An image forming control program of an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming control program comprising:
On the computer
A first image forming process for controlling the image forming unit to form a first image to which a foil is transferred in a predetermined process on a sheet;
The image forming portion is configured such that the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and a second image used for alignment in performing a predetermined process on the first image in a process subsequent to the predetermined process is formed on the sheet And a second image forming process for controlling

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the accuracy of alignment in the post-process of foil image formation and reduce the cost involved in the post-process.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an entire configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus provided in the image forming system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing how a toner image is formed. It is a figure which shows a mode that the foil image was formed. It is a figure which shows a mode that the foil image and the character image were superimposed. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position adjustment image was formed. It is a figure which shows a mode after the position adjustment image passes a foil transfer part. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position adjustment image and the character image were superimposed. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position adjustment image and the foil image were formed in parallel. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position adjustment image and the foil image, and the character image were superimposed. It is a figure which shows a mode that the graduation line was formed in the part of the position adjustment image. It is a figure which shows a mode that the position adjustment image and character image in FIG. 11 were superimposed.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an entire configuration of an image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 provided in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment. The image forming system 100 includes a sheet (a recording medium including a continuous paper P indicated by a thick line in FIG. 1 or a non-continuous paper sheet S or the like and a coated paper etc. coated with a resin layer on the paper surface). It is a system that forms an image. Here, the continuous form paper P is, for example, continuous form media having a length exceeding the main body width of the image forming apparatus 1 in the conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 includes a sheet feeding device 2, an image forming device 1, a foil transfer device 3, and a winding device 4 connected in order from the upstream side along the conveyance direction of continuous paper P. including.

  The paper feeding device 2 is a device for feeding the continuous paper P to the image forming apparatus 1. In the housing of the sheet feeding device 2, the continuous sheet P is held in a state of being wound around a support shaft in a roll shape. The paper feeding device 2 conveys the continuous paper P wound around the support shaft to the image forming apparatus 1 at a constant speed via, for example, a plurality of conveyance roller pairs such as a delivery roller and a paper feeding roller. . The sheet feeding operation of the sheet feeding device 2 is controlled by the control unit 101 provided in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process technology. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 primarily transfers the toner images of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) formed on the photosensitive drum 413 onto the intermediate transfer belt 421. After superimposing toner images of four colors on the intermediate transfer belt 421, secondary transfer to continuous paper P fed from the paper feeding device 2 or to paper S fed from the paper feed tray units 51a to 51c. Form an image.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, photosensitive drums 413 corresponding to four colors of Y, M, C, and K are arranged in series in the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt 421, and each color toner image is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 421 in one procedure. A tandem system is adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 10, an operation display unit 20, an image processing unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a sheet conveyance unit 50, a fixing unit 60, and a control unit 101.

  The control unit 101 included in the image forming apparatus 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 102, a read only memory (ROM) 103, a random access memory (RAM) 104, and the like. The CPU 102 reads a program corresponding to the processing content from the ROM 103 and develops it in the RAM 104, and cooperates with the developed program to centrally control the operation of each block of the image forming apparatus 1. At this time, various data stored in the storage unit 72 are referred to. The storage unit 72 includes, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory (so-called flash memory) or a hard disk drive. The control unit 101 is also connected to a foil transfer control unit 340 of the foil transfer device 3 described later.

  The control unit 101 transmits / receives various data to / from an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) via the communication unit 71. Do. For example, the control unit 101 receives image data transmitted from an external device, and forms an image on the continuous paper P or the sheet S based on the image data (input image data). The communication unit 71 is configured of, for example, a communication control card such as a LAN card.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading unit 10 includes an automatic document feeder 11 called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), a document image scanning device 12 (scanner), and the like.

  The automatic document feeder 11 transports the document D placed on the document tray by the transport mechanism and sends it to the document image scanning device 12. The automatic document feeder 11 can continuously read the images (including both sides) of a large number of documents D placed on the document tray one at a time.

  The document image scanning device 12 optically scans a document conveyed on the contact glass from the automatic document feeder 11 or a document placed on the contact glass, and reflects light reflected from the document as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). ) An image is formed on the light receiving surface of the sensor 12a, and an original image is read. The image reading unit 10 generates input image data based on the reading result of the document image scanning device 12. The image processing unit 30 applies predetermined image processing to the input image data.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display unit 20 is configured of, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel, and functions as the display unit 21 and the operation unit 22. The display unit 21 displays various operation screens, the state of an image, the operation status of each function, and the like according to a display control signal input from the control unit 101. The operation unit 22 includes various operation keys such as a ten key, a start key, and the like, receives various input operations by the user, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 101.

  The image processing unit 30 includes a circuit or the like that performs digital image processing according to initial setting or user setting on input image data. For example, the image processing unit 30 performs tone correction based on tone correction data (tone correction table) under the control of the control unit 101. Further, the image processing unit 30 performs various correction processing such as color correction and shading correction, compression processing, and the like in addition to gradation correction on input image data. The image forming unit 40 is controlled based on the image data subjected to these processes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 40 forms an image forming unit 41Y, 41M, 41C for forming an image with each color toner of Y component, M component, C component, and K component based on input image data. , 41 K, and an intermediate transfer unit 42.

  The image forming units 41Y, 41M, 41C, and 41K for the Y component, the M component, the C component, and the K component have the same configuration. For convenience of illustration and description, the common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and in order to distinguish them, the reference numerals are indicated by adding Y, M, C, or K. In FIG. 1, reference numerals are attached only to the components of the image forming unit 41Y for the Y component, and reference numerals of the components of the other image forming units 41M, 41C, and 41K are omitted.

  The image forming unit 41 includes an exposure device 411, a developing device 412, a photosensitive drum 413, a charging device 414, a drum cleaning device 415, and the like.

  The photosensitive drum 413 is, for example, an undercoat layer (UCL: Under Coat Layer), a charge generation layer (CGL: Charge Generation Layer), and a charge transport layer (Charge generation layer) on the circumferential surface of a conductive cylindrical body (aluminium tube) made of aluminum. It is a negatively charged organic photoreceptor (OPC: Organic Photo-conductor) in which CTL: Charge Transport Layer is sequentially laminated.

  The control unit 101 controls the drive current supplied to a drive motor (not shown) for rotating the photosensitive drum 413 to rotate the photosensitive drum 413 at a constant circumferential speed.

  The charging device 414 uniformly negatively charges the surface of the photoconductive drum 413 having photoconductivity. The exposure device 411 is formed of, for example, a semiconductor laser, and irradiates the photosensitive drum 413 with a laser beam corresponding to the image of each color component.

  The developing device 412 is a developing device of a two-component developing system, and causes toner of each color component to adhere to the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 to visualize an electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.

  The drum cleaning device 415 has a drum cleaning blade or the like in sliding contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 413, and removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 after primary transfer.

  The intermediate transfer unit 42 includes an intermediate transfer belt 421, a primary transfer roller 422, a plurality of support rollers 423, a secondary transfer roller 424, a belt cleaning device 426, and the like.

  The intermediate transfer belt 421 is constituted by an endless belt, and is stretched around a plurality of support rollers 423 in a loop. At least one of the plurality of support rollers 423 is configured by a drive roller, and the other is configured by a driven roller. For example, it is preferable that the roller 423A disposed downstream of the primary transfer roller 422 for the component K in the belt traveling direction is a driving roller. As a result, the traveling speed of the belt in the primary transfer portion can be easily maintained constant. As the drive roller 423A rotates, the intermediate transfer belt 421 travels at a constant speed in the arrow A direction.

  The intermediate transfer belt 421 is a belt having conductivity and elasticity, and is rotationally driven by a control signal from the control unit 101.

  The primary transfer roller 422 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the photosensitive drums 413 of the respective color components. The primary transfer roller 422 is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 413 with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, whereby a primary transfer nip for transferring a toner image from the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421 is formed.

  The secondary transfer roller 424 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the backup roller 423B disposed on the downstream side of the drive roller 423A in the belt traveling direction. The secondary transfer roller 424 is pressed against the backup roller 423 B with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, thereby forming a secondary transfer nip for transferring a toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 421 to the continuous paper P or the sheet S. Be done.

  When the intermediate transfer belt 421 passes through the primary transfer nip, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 413 is sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 421 and primarily transferred. Thereafter, when the continuous paper P or the paper S passes through the secondary transfer nip, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred to the continuous paper P or the paper S. The continuous paper P or the sheet S to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed toward the fixing unit 60.

  The belt cleaning device 426 removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 421 after the secondary transfer.

  Fixing unit 60 is an upper fixing unit 60A having a fixing surface side member disposed on the fixing surface of continuous paper P or sheet S, that is, the side on which a toner image is formed, the back surface of continuous paper P or sheet S That is, the lower fixing portion 60B and the like having the back side supporting member disposed on the side opposite to the fixing surface are provided. By pressing the back surface side supporting member against the fixing surface side member, a fixing nip for conveying the continuous paper P or the sheet S is formed.

  The fixing unit 60 fixes the toner image on the continuous paper P or the paper S by heating and pressing the continuous paper P or the paper S transported and conveyed by the secondary transfer of the toner image at the fixing nip. The fixing unit 60 is disposed as a unit in the fixing device F.

  The paper conveyance unit 50 includes a paper feed unit 51, a paper discharge unit 52, a conveyance path unit 53, and the like. In the three sheet feeding tray units 51a to 51c constituting the sheet feeding unit 51, sheets S (standard sheets and special sheets) identified based on basis weight, size and the like are stored for each preset type. . The transport path portion 53 has a plurality of transport roller pairs including a resist roller pair 53a.

  The sheets S accommodated in the sheet feeding tray units 51 a to 51 c are fed one by one from the top and conveyed by the conveyance path unit 53 to the image forming unit 40. In the image forming unit 40, the toner images of the intermediate transfer belt 421 are secondarily transferred collectively on one side of the sheet S, and a fixing process is performed in the fixing unit 60.

  The continuous paper P fed from the paper feeding device 2 to the image forming apparatus 1 is conveyed by the conveyance path unit 53 to the image forming unit 40. Then, in the image forming unit 40, the toner images of the intermediate transfer belt 421 are collectively secondarily transferred onto one side of the continuous paper P, and a fixing process is performed in the fixing unit 60.

  The continuous paper P or the sheet S on which an image has been formed is conveyed to the foil transfer device 3 by the paper output unit 52 provided with a conveyance roller pair (sheet discharge roller pair) 52a.

  The foil transfer device 3 is a device for transferring a foil to an image formed on the continuous paper P or the sheet S discharged from the image forming device 1, that is, a toner image. The foil transfer device 3 includes a feeding unit 310, a foil transfer unit 320, a winding unit 330, and a foil transfer control unit 340.

  The feeding unit 310 feeds, to the foil transfer unit 320, the foil paper PP on which the foil to be transferred to the toner image is stacked. The foil paper PP is, for example, a continuous paper having a length exceeding the width of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 in the conveyance direction, and is held in a roll shape at the feeding unit 310.

  The foil transfer unit 320 transfers the foil to the toner image by overlapping the foil paper PP and the continuous paper P or the paper S conveyed to the foil transfer device 3 at the transfer nip. The foil transfer unit 320 has a heating roller 321 and a pressure roller 322. In the foil transfer portion 320, the heating roller 321 melts the toner image formed on the sheet S, whereby the foil of the foil sheet PP is transferred to the toner image. The toner image is melted and the toner becomes a paste of the foil, whereby the foil is transferred onto the toner image.

  The winding unit 330 is a portion for winding up the foil paper PP on which the foil transfer has been performed in the foil transfer unit 320, that is, the used foil paper PP. In the winding unit 330, the foil paper PP is held in a rolled state.

  The foil transfer control unit 340 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., and cooperates with the control unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 1 to transfer the foil. The foil transfer in device 3 is controlled. The foil transfer control unit 340 controls unwinding and rewinding of the foil sheet PP in the feeding unit 310 based on an instruction of the control unit 101.

  The winding device 4 is a device for winding the continuous paper P conveyed from the foil transfer device 3. In the housing of the winding device 4, for example, the continuous paper P is wound around a support shaft and held in a roll shape. To that end, the winding device 4 supports the continuous paper P transported from the foil transfer device 3 at a constant speed via a plurality of transport roller pairs (for example, a delivery roller, a discharge roller). Take it up. The winding operation of the winding device 4 is controlled by the control unit 101 provided in the image forming apparatus 1.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, a process (hereinafter, referred to as “post-process”) may be performed after the process of forming a foil image which is a toner image to which the foil has been transferred. In the post-process, for example, after the continuous paper P on which the foil image is formed is wound by the winding device 4, the continuous paper P in a state of being wound in a roll is returned to the paper feeding device 2. The process of forming another image on the foil image is mentioned. In addition, as the post process, there is a process of setting the continuous paper P in the winding device 4 in the punching apparatus and extracting the outer shape of the foil image portion.

  When performing such a post process, it is necessary to perform alignment in the case of overlapping a foil image and another image, and alignment in the outline removal of a foil image part. As a method of alignment in the post process, as shown in FIG. 3, a detection image M for position detection is formed on a portion not used at the delivery of the continuous paper P, that is, a portion different from the toner image T, There is a method of performing alignment based on the positional relationship between the detected image M and the toner image T.

  The detection image M is formed at, for example, a position on the upper right of the toner image T and a position different from the toner image T in the continuous paper P. The detected image M is formed outside the processing line C when outline removal is performed. Hereinafter, the flow of each process in the method of performing alignment will be described.

  First, in the image forming apparatus 1, the image forming unit 40 performs a first process of forming the detection image M and the toner image T. In the first step, when a plurality of toner images T are formed in parallel in the transport direction on continuous paper P, the positional relationship between one toner image T and a detected image M corresponding to the toner image T A plurality of detection images M are formed on the continuous paper P so that the same. The toner image T corresponds to the "first image" in the present invention.

  After the first step, the continuous paper P on which the detection image M and the toner image T are formed is conveyed to the foil transfer device 3 and a second step is an example of a predetermined step of transferring the foil to the toner image T. To be done. As shown in FIG. 4, in the second step, the foil is transferred to the toner image T on the continuous paper P to form a foil image T 1, and thereafter, the continuous paper P is taken up by the winding device 4.

  After the second step, the continuous paper P on which the foil image T1 has been formed is returned to the paper feeding device 2 and conveyed again to the image forming apparatus 1, and the foil image T1 and another image are superimposed. Three steps are performed. As shown in FIG. 5, in the third step, another character image (“ABCDEFG” shown in FIG. 5) to be superimposed on the foil image T1 is formed on the continuous paper P. In the third step, a character image is formed on the basis of the positional relationship between the foil image T1 and the detection image M. The third process may be performed by another image forming apparatus.

  In the case where outline removal is performed, after the second step or the third step, the continuous paper P is set in the punching device, and the fourth step in which the portion of the processing line C of the continuous paper P is punched out Is done. Also in this case, punching is performed based on the positional relationship between the foil image T1 and the detection image M.

  In the measurement of the positional relationship between the foil image T1 and the detection image M, for example, an optical measuring machine may be used. However, since the foil is transferred to the foil image T1, measurement light from the measuring machine is irregularly reflected. Due to the irregular reflection of the measurement light, the foil image T1 can not be accurately detected by the measuring machine, and there is a problem that the alignment accuracy in the process after the process of forming the foil image T1 is deteriorated.

  Further, in the alignment in the third step, the amount of work fluctuates according to the skill of the operator who performs the alignment. For example, when an unskilled operator works, trial and error in the alignment may repeat the position adjustment operation in alignment many times.

  As a result, a large amount of foil members such as paper on which a foil image is formed will be used by the adjustment operation. Considering that the foil material is expensive compared to the printing media, and that the foil member used for the adjustment operation can not be used for delivery, it is a great deal for the position adjustment operation in alignment. The problem is that it costs much money.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 101 performs a predetermined process on the foil image T1 in the third step, that is, a position as an example of a second image used for alignment when performing a process of superimposing a character image The image forming unit 40 is controlled to form the adjusted image T2. The position adjustment image T2 is, for example, an image constituted only by the outline of the foil image T1.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 101 does not transfer the foil to the position adjustment image T2 when the continuous paper P is transported to the foil transfer device 3, the foil transfer unit via the foil transfer control unit 340 Control 320 In this way, in the third step, when the detection image M and the position adjustment image T2 are detected using an optical measuring instrument, irregular reflection of the measurement light is prevented. As a result, since the position adjustment image T2 can be accurately detected, as shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to easily perform the position alignment when superposing the character image and the position adjustment image T2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 101 controls the image forming unit 40 to form the position adjustment image T2 and the foil image T1 in parallel to the continuous paper P. Specifically, the control unit 101 forms the position adjustment image T2 and the foil image T1 such that the plurality of position adjustment images T2 and the plurality of foil images T1 are aligned in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper P.

  The plurality of alignment images T2 are formed to be parallel to the transport direction, and the plurality of foil images T1 are formed to be parallel to the transport direction.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10, alignment between each position adjustment image T2 and the character image is performed using the continuous position adjustment image T2, and based on the alignment, the continuous foil image T1 and the character image And overlay. As a result, it is possible to improve the accuracy of alignment in the third step, that is, the step after the step of forming the foil image T1.

  Further, by using the alignment image T2 for alignment, the amount of work of the operator who performs alignment adjustment work can be significantly reduced. As a result, since the foil member etc. used for the said adjustment operation can be reduced, the cost concerning an adjustment operation can be reduced.

  Further, since the foil is not transferred to the position adjustment image T2, it is not necessary to use an expensive foil material for the adjustment operation, which can further reduce the cost of the adjustment operation.

  Further, since the position adjustment image T2 is formed of only the outline of the foil image T1, the amount of toner used for the position adjustment image T2 can be reduced. As a result, the cost of the adjustment operation can be further reduced.

  Further, in the third step, the control unit 101 forms the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 on the continuous paper P in an order such that the position adjustment image T2 is processed prior to the foil image T1. The forming unit 40 is controlled.

  For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 9, in the third step shown in FIG. 10, the order of processing in the first step and the second step is arbitrarily changed so that the order of processing is from the left side. That is, in accordance with the third step, the formation order of the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 is determined. In this way, when setting the continuous paper P in the apparatus in the third step, it is possible to save time and effort in the order in which the position adjustment image T2 is processed first, so the number of operation man-hours can be reduced. can do.

  In addition, the control unit 101 may perform control to add auxiliary information for assisting the alignment in the predetermined process of the post process to the portion of the position adjustment image T2. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the control unit 101 controls the image forming unit 40 so as to form a scale line L which is a standard of the arrangement position of the character image.

  With such a scale line L, the amount of positional deviation in alignment can be easily confirmed, so that the alignment accuracy in the third step can be further improved. In addition, since the number of alignment adjustment operations can be reduced by improving the accuracy of alignment in the third step, it is possible to reduce the number of discarded portions in the continuous paper P, which results in cost reduction. it can. When the positional deviation amount in alignment can be confirmed more precisely, the intervals of the graduations of the graduation line L may be narrowed.

  In addition, the control unit 101 continuously forms the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 under the same environment. Specifically, the control unit 101 forms the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 on the continuous paper P by a series of image formation processing.

  The position of the image on the continuous paper P is changed according to the external environment at the time of printing, so that the positions of the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 do not shift.

  Further, the control unit 101 changes the quantity of the foil image T1 and the quantity of the position adjustment image T2 which are preset, in accordance with the setting instruction of the user.

  The amount of work varies depending on the skill of the operator who performs alignment adjustment work. Specifically, in the case of a skilled operator, the number of position adjustment images T2 decreases, and in the case of an unskilled operator, the number of position adjustment images T2 increases. Therefore, it is necessary to make the quantities of the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 changeable. However, when there is no setting instruction from the user, the number of steps for setting the number of images can be reduced by using the preset number of foil images T1 and position adjustment images T2.

  The control unit 101 may control the image forming unit 40 to form the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 when the foil transfer device 3 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1. The foil transfer apparatus 3 may be used as an option of the image forming apparatus 1, and in this case, software related to foil transfer control is incorporated into the control unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Therefore, if the foil transfer is not performed by forming the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 when the foil transfer apparatus 3 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1, the position is erroneously set. It can be suppressed that the adjustment image T2 is formed. In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours such as the change of software when the foil transfer portion 320 is added.

  When the control unit 101 acquires an operation instruction of the foil transfer unit 320, the image forming unit 40 may be controlled to form the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2.

  According to the present embodiment configured as described above, since the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 are formed in parallel, it is possible to improve the accuracy of alignment in the later steps.

  In addition, since continuous paper P is used in the present embodiment, processing in the post-process can be easily performed.

  In the above embodiment, an image constituted only by the outline of the foil image T1 is exemplified as the position adjustment image T2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the toner image T in the foil image T1 is halftoned. It may be a processed image. Also in this case, the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image can be easily distinguished, and the amount of toner can be reduced more than the toner image T in the foil image T1, so the amount of toner can be reduced.

  Further, the position adjustment image T2 may be formed in a color different from that of the toner image T for the foil image T1. By doing this, the toner image T for the foil image T1 is formed in a color that does not affect the image quality of the foil image T1, while in the formation of the position adjustment image T2, the image quality of the foil image T1 is increased. Without considering the influence, it is possible to use a toner whose cost is low or to use a toner of a color that can be easily distinguished from the foil image T1.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the plurality of foil images T1 and the plurality of position adjustment images T2 arranged in parallel are all arranged at equal intervals, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is not necessary to arrange at equal intervals. . For example, the control unit 101 performs control such that an interval between the adjacent foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 has a predetermined length. The predetermined length is set to a length or the like wider than the interval between two adjacent foil images T1 among the plurality of foil images T1.

  The portion of the continuous paper P where the alignment image T2 is formed is not delivered but discarded. Therefore, by setting the interval between the adjacent foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 widely, the portion of the foil image T1 to be delivered and the portion of the position adjustment image T2 can be easily distinguished. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the operator may contaminate or damage the foil image T1 during the adjustment operation.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the toner image is exemplified as the image for transferring the foil, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is of an inkjet type, it may be an image formed of ink as an image for transferring a foil.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although 3rd process illustrated what is applied to continuous paper P, this invention is not limited to this, You may apply to a sheet. In addition, when the size of the sheet is small, such as a sheet, the control unit 101 may form the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image T2 on different sheets, or the foil image T1 and the position adjustment image. The sheet T2 may be formed on the same sheet.

  In the above embodiment, although the third step is illustrated as the post-step to which the present control is applied, the present invention is not limited to this and the fourth step described above, that is, the step in which outline removal is performed Control may be applied.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the image forming unit 40 and the foil transfer unit 320 are provided in separate devices is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, the image forming unit 40 and the foil transfer unit 320 And may be provided in one device.

  In addition, any of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of embodying the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted in a limited manner by these. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the scope or main features of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 image forming apparatus 2 sheet feeding device 3 foil transfer device 4 take-up device 40 image forming unit 100 image forming system 101 control unit 310 feeding unit 320 foil transfer unit 330 take-up unit 340 foil transfer control unit

Claims (14)

An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
The image forming unit is controlled to form a first image to which a foil is transferred in a predetermined process on a sheet, the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and the first image is processed in a process after the predetermined process. A control unit that controls the image forming unit to form on the sheet a second image used for alignment when performing predetermined processing on the sheet;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The control unit controls the image forming unit to form the first image and the second image in parallel on the same sheet.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The second image is an image obtained by halftone processing the first image.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The second image is an image constituted only by the outline of the first image,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The second image is formed in a color different from that of the first image.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The control unit controls the image forming unit to continuously form the first image and the second image under the same environment.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The control unit changes the number of the first image and the number of the second image set in advance according to a setting instruction of the user.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The control unit is configured to form the first image and the second image on a sheet in an order such that the second image is processed earlier than the first image in the post-process. Control the
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The control unit performs control of providing auxiliary information for assisting the alignment in the predetermined process of the post process to a portion of the second image.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The sheet is a continuous sheet media,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The control unit controls the interval between the first image and the second image to be a predetermined length.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The control unit controls the image forming unit to form the first image and the second image when an apparatus for transferring the foil is connected to the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11. An image forming control method of an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, comprising:
Controlling the image forming unit to form on the sheet a first image to which the foil is transferred in a predetermined process;
The image forming portion is configured such that the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and a second image used for alignment in performing a predetermined process on the first image in a process subsequent to the predetermined process is formed on the sheet Method for controlling image formation. An image forming control program of an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming control program comprising:
On the computer
A first image forming process for controlling the image forming unit to form a first image to which a foil is transferred in a predetermined process on a sheet;
The image forming portion is configured such that the foil is not transferred in the predetermined process, and a second image used for alignment in performing a predetermined process on the first image in a process subsequent to the predetermined process is formed on the sheet To execute a second image forming process to control
Image formation control program.

Images