JP2021088129A - Image formation device, image formation method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To control screen printing in accordance with contents of a job.SOLUTION: An image formation device 1 includes: an inkjet printing unit 30 for printing an image generated on the basis of an acquired job on a medium M; and a control unit for controlling the inkjet printing unit 30 to print on the medium M, a marker which indicates whether screen printing by screen-printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O for performing screen printing of a screen image on the medium M in accordance with contents of an acquired job is necessary or not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus for forming (printing) an image on a cloth, an inkjet (printing) type inkjet printer or a screen (printing) type flat screen printing machine is known. The inkjet method is a method of ejecting ink from a plurality of fine nozzles to form an image on a cloth, and is excellent in expressing fine patterns and patterns. The screen method is a method in which a screen having holes in the pattern to be printed and a dyed glue is applied is pressed against the cloth, and the color glue is rubbed against the cloth. Compared with the inkjet method, the screen method is uniform in a high-density image. It is easy to form a density image.

Some fabrics to be image-formed are elongated through seams. In this case, it is not preferable to press the seam against the screen because the seam is thicker than the other parts. For this reason, there is known a printing device that detects a seam of a fabric and does not print the fabric by air feeding when the seam of the fabric passes through an inkjet nozzle head or a printing mechanism of a screen (see Patent Document 1). Further, an apparatus in which an inkjet unit and a screen unit are combined is also known.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-212851

In a device that combines an inkjet unit and a screen unit, the image data of a job is such that image data that is preferable to perform only inkjet printing, such as a non-solid image, and an image that is solid. There are image data in which it is preferable to perform inkjet printing and screen printing.

However, although the printing apparatus of Patent Document 1 can detect the seam of the fabric, it cannot perform inkjet printing and screen printing.

In addition, the device that combines the conventional inkjet unit and the screen unit could not control screen printing according to the content of the acquired job.

An object of the present invention is to control screen printing according to the content of a job.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus of the invention according to claim 1 is used.
An image forming unit that prints an image generated based on the acquired job on a medium,
A control unit that controls printing by the image forming unit on the medium of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of the screen printing unit that screen-prints a screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job. Be prepared.

The invention according to claim 2 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
With the screen printing unit
An image detection unit for detecting an image of a marker printed on the medium is provided.
The control unit controls the drive of the screen printing unit according to the detection result of the marker.

The invention according to claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The control unit
A first control unit that controls the image forming unit and a second control unit that controls the screen printing unit are included.
The first control unit controls printing of the marker corresponding to the content of the acquired job on the medium.
The second control unit controls on / off of screen printing of the screen printing unit based on the detection result of the marker.

The invention according to claim 4 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
The first control unit controls whether or not a marker for performing screen printing by the image forming unit is printed according to the content of the acquired job.
The second control unit controls the on / off of the screen printing unit based on the presence / absence of the detected marker.

The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or 4.
The first control unit controls the printing of different types of markers depending on the necessity of screen printing by the image forming unit according to the content of the acquired job.
The second control unit controls the on / off of the screen printing unit based on the type of the detected marker.

The invention according to claim 6 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5.
The screen printing unit is a plurality, and there are a plurality of screen printing units.
The marker includes designated information of the screen printing unit to be driven among the plurality of screen printing units.
The second control unit controls the on / off of the designated screen printing unit based on the detected marker.

The invention according to claim 7 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6.
The first control unit is the image when the content of the image data of the acquired job is solid, has a size suitable for the screen width of the screen printing unit, or has a design that is difficult to express only by screen printing. A marker for turning on the screen printing unit is printed on the medium by the forming unit.

The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The image detection unit is an optical axis sensor, a camera, or a line sensor.

The invention according to claim 9 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The image data of the job is a test chart.

The image forming method of the invention according to claim 10 is
An image formation process that prints an image generated based on the acquired job on a medium,
The image forming step includes a control step of controlling the printing of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing on the medium of the screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job.

The program of the invention according to claim 11
Computer,
Image forming unit that prints the image generated based on the acquired job on the medium,
A control unit that controls printing on the medium by the image forming unit of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of the screen printing unit that screen-prints a screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job.
To function as.

According to the present invention, screen printing can be controlled according to the content of the job.

It is a schematic front view which shows the whole structure of the image forming apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the image forming example in the case of driving all the printing part in an image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st print control process. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd print control processing. It is a figure which shows the image formation example at the time of performing screen printing in the 1st and 2nd print control processing. It is a figure which shows the image formation example at the time of not performing screen printing in the 1st and 2nd print control processing. It is a flowchart which shows the 3rd print control process. It is a flowchart which shows the 4th print control processing. It is a figure which shows the image formation example at the time of not performing screen printing in the 3rd and 4th print control processing.

The first and second embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail in order with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

(First Embodiment)
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. First, the apparatus configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of image formation in the case of driving all the printing units in the image forming apparatus 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the image forming apparatus 1, an inkjet type image forming and a screen type image forming are used in combination. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a feeding roller 11 of the medium M, a transport belt 10, a drive roller 12 as a transport roller of the transport belt 10, a driven roller 13, a guide roller 14, a pressing roller 15, a peeling roller 16, and the like. A shake-off roller 17, an inkjet printing unit 30, an image detection unit 64, a screen processing unit 40, a drying unit 19, a cleaning unit 20, a gluing unit 21, and the like are provided.

The medium M is a continuous medium such as a cloth, and is wound around a feeding roller 11. The medium M is fed out according to the rotation of the feeding roller 11, and the medium M is guided to the transport belt 10 and fed out according to the rotation of the guide roller 14. The number and arrangement of the guide rollers 14 are set so as to give tension so that the medium M does not wrinkle. Then, the medium M is pressed against the transport belt 10 by the pressing roller 15 and adhered to and placed on the surface of the transport belt 10.

The transport belt 10 is bridged between the drive roller 12 and the driven roller 13, and orbits in a predetermined direction according to the rotation of the drive roller 12. The driven roller 13 rotates according to the movement of the transport belt 10.

The peeling roller 16 is located at a distance from the transport belt 10, and pulls the medium M from the outer peripheral surface of the transport belt 10 with an appropriate tension to peel the glued medium M from the transport belt 10. The drying unit 19 dries the ink and color paste of the medium M that has been peeled off by the peeling roller 16. The shake-off roller 17 shakes off the image-formed medium M dried in the drying portion 19 in a zigzag shape, discharges the medium M, and stores the medium M in the carriage 18.

The feeding roller 11, the driving roller 12, the driven roller 13, the pressing roller 15, the peeling roller 16, the swing-off roller 17, and the transport belt 10 are included in the transport portion. The transport unit is controlled to transport the medium M at a speed that is synchronized as a whole. Further, here, the transport unit performs an intermittent (intermittent) transport operation of suspending the transport of the medium M in accordance with the image forming operation of the inkjet printing unit 30 and the screen processing unit 40.

The cleaning unit 20 cleans the colored glue and the like adhering to the surface of the transport belt 10. The gluing portion 21 is glued so that the medium M adheres to the surface of the transport belt 10 with an appropriate strength. The cleaning operation and the gluing operation do not have to be performed every cycle.

In the section (upper surface side) of the medium M that is adhered to the transport belt 10, the inkjet printing unit 30, the image detection unit 64, and the screen processing unit 40 face the transport belt 10 (medium M) in this order from the upstream side. positioned. The image detection unit 64 is arranged downstream of the inkjet printing unit 30 and upstream of the screen processing unit 40, detects an image on the upper surface of the medium M, and generates detection information.

The inkjet printing unit 30 ejects ink from the nozzle openings arranged on the ejection surface on the lower surface side (the side facing the transport belt 10) and lands the ink on the medium M, thereby producing an image (inkjet image) on the medium M. (Inkjet printing). The inkjet printing unit 30 has an inkjet head 32 (described later) having nozzles capable of ejecting inks of a plurality of colors, and a carriage 33 for moving the inkjet head 32, and can form a color image. Here, the inkjet printing unit 30 is a scanning type (scan type) capable of forming a two-dimensional image by ejecting ink while scanning a row of nozzles in which nozzles are arranged with a predetermined width in the transport direction in the width direction. It is a thing. The scanning width in the width direction corresponds to the width in which an image can be formed on the medium M, and the width in the transport direction (one transport distance) is, for example, screen printing as an auto screen of the screen processing unit 40. It is equal to the width L (that is, the width of the image generation area by the screen printing unit) in the transport direction of the unit. Alternatively, the image may be formed by scanning a plurality of times for each width shorter than the width L.

The screen processing unit 40 has screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O for adhering color paste of a specific color to the medium M in a predetermined image pattern, and each screen printing unit 42R, 42G, 42B. , 42A, 42O are used to sequentially adhere the color pastes of each color to the medium M to form an image (screen image) corresponding to each image pattern (screen printing). For each screen printing unit 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O, for example, red, green, blue, gray, and gold (containing gold powder) color pastes are used, respectively, and the width L (image formation length) described above is used in the transport direction. ) Red, green, blue, gray, and gold color images can be output.

Further, the plate spacing of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O is also set to the width L. However, the number of screen printing units of the screen processing unit 40, the color of the color paste, the predetermined image pattern of the holes in the plate, and the spacing are not limited to the above examples.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 mainly includes an inkjet unit 50 and a screen unit 60, and has a configuration in which the inkjet unit 50 and the screen unit 60 are communicated and connected. The inkjet unit 50 includes a control unit 51 as a first control unit, an operation unit 52, a display unit 53, an inkjet printing unit 30 as an image forming unit, and a communication unit 54, and each unit includes a bus 55. It is connected via.

The control unit 51 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The CPU controls the overall operation of the inkjet unit 50 in an integrated manner. In particular, the control unit 51 reads the program stored in the ROM by the CPU, expands it into the RAM, and executes various processes in cooperation with the program expanded in the RAM. The control unit 51 controls the inkjet printing unit 30 to form an inkjet image on the medium M. RAM is a volatile memory that temporarily stores various information and various programs. The ROM is a memory that can read and store information, and stores various data and programs. In particular, the ROM stores a first print control program for executing the first print control process described later.

The operation unit 52 receives the operation input from the user and outputs the operation information corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 51. The operation unit 52 has, for example, a touch panel provided on the display panel of the display unit 53 and various keys.

The display unit 53 has a display panel such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an EL (ElectroLuminescence) display, and displays various display information on the display panel based on the control of the control unit 51. The contents of the display information include, for example, a status screen, a menu screen, and a setting screen related to inkjet image formation.

The inkjet printing unit 30 includes a head driving unit 31, an inkjet head 32, a carriage 33, and a scanning driving unit 34. The head drive unit 31 outputs a voltage signal for deforming the piezoelectric element of the inkjet head 32 in a desired pattern based on the control of the control unit 51. The waveform pattern of the voltage signal and the like may be preset and held.

The inkjet head 32 is provided for each of a plurality of colors such as C (cyan) M (magenta) Y (yellow) K (black), and is provided with an ink tank, a flow path, a piezoelectric element, a plurality of nozzles, and the like, respectively. Have. The piezoelectric element is an actuator that applies pressure fluctuation to the ink in the nozzle in order to eject the ink from the nozzle. The actuator is not limited to the piezoelectric element, and may be another actuator, for example, a heating wire that heats the ink in the nozzle to generate bubbles.

The carriage 33 is a member on which the inkjet head 32 is mounted and moves the inkjet head 32. The carriage 33 has, for example, a belt spanned between two pulleys that are rotated by a motor (not shown), and the head drive unit 31 is driven by the rotation of the motor based on the drive signal output by the scanning drive unit 34. , The inkjet head 32 is moved. The scanning drive unit 34 generates a drive signal, outputs the drive signal to the carriage 33, and drives the head drive unit 31 and the inkjet head 32 in the main scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction) based on the control of the control unit 51. Scan. Here, it is assumed that the motor of the carriage 33 can rotate in the reverse direction, and the scanning drive unit 34 can output a drive signal so that the motor can rotate in any direction.

The communication unit 54 is a communication unit that communicates with the screen unit 60 by a predetermined communication method and also communicates with a PC (Personal Computer) 2 as an external device via a network by a predetermined communication method. The communication method between the communication unit 54 (inkjet unit 50) and the screen unit 60 is, for example, input / output signal line communication, serial communication, or a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The communication method between the communication unit 54 (inkjet unit 50) and the PC 2 (external device) is, for example, a wired or wireless LAN.

The PC 2 is a PC that is communication-connected to the inkjet unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 1. In particular, the PC 2 transmits job data including the image data to be printed, and causes the image forming apparatus 1 to perform printing.

The screen unit 60 includes a control unit 61 as a second control unit, an operation unit 62, a display unit 63, a screen processing unit 40, an image detection unit 64, a transport drive unit 65, and a drying drive unit 66. A cleaning drive unit 67, a glue drive unit 68, and a communication unit 69 are provided, and each unit is connected via a bus 70. It is assumed that the control unit C has control units 51 and 61.

The control unit 61 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like. The CPU controls the overall operation of the screen unit 60 in an integrated manner. The control unit 61 reads the program stored in the ROM by the CPU, expands it in the RAM, and executes various processes in cooperation with the program expanded in the RAM. The control unit 61 controls the screen processing unit 40 to form a screen image by superimposing it on the same range as the inkjet image on the medium M. In particular, the ROM stores a second print control program for executing the second print control process described later.

The operation unit 62 receives the operation input from the user and outputs the operation information corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 61. The operation unit 62 has, for example, a touch panel provided on the display panel of the display unit 63 and various keys.

The display unit 63 has a display panel such as an LCD or an EL display, and displays various display information on the display panel based on the control of the control unit 61. The contents of the display information include, for example, a status screen, a menu screen, and a setting screen related to screen image formation.

The screen processing unit 40 includes a screen driving unit 41 and screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O. The screen drive unit 41 drives the drive unit of the squeegee (spatula) of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O based on the control of the control unit 61. The screen printing unit 42R has a squeegee (spatula), a driving unit thereof, a plate in which a predetermined image pattern is formed as a hole, and a red color paste. A red color paste is applied in advance on the plate of the screen printing unit 42R. The screen printing unit 42R drives the driving unit of the squeegee in response to the driving signal from the screen driving unit 41, and pressurizes the squeegee while moving the squeegee from the upper surface side of the screen printing unit. By adhering the glue to the medium M, a red screen image having the shape of the above-mentioned predetermined image pattern is formed on the medium M. The screen printing units 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O also form green, blue, gray, and gold screen images on the medium M in the same manner as the screen printing unit 42R.

Further, in the screen processing unit 40, at least one of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O can be installed, positioned, removed, or replaced by a user (engineer).

The image detection unit 64 is composed of an optical axis sensor, a camera, a line sensor, and the like, and detects an image of the upper surface of the medium M conveyed downstream of the inkjet printing unit 30 and upstream of the screen processing unit 40, and the detection information thereof. (Image data) is output to the control unit 61.

Based on the control of the control unit 61, the transport drive unit 65 outputs a drive signal to each unit of the transport unit to operate each unit. Here, the transport drive unit 65 synchronously rotates at least the feeding roller 11, the guide roller 14, the pressing roller 15, the driving roller 12, the peeling roller 16, and the shake-off roller 17, and the medium M delivered from the feeding roller 11. Is adhesively moved onto the transport belt 10 and further peeled off from the transport belt 10 to be discharged. When the synchronization between the rollers is deviated, the transport drive unit 65 may individually fine-tune the rotation speed of each unit.

Based on the control of the control unit 61, the drying drive unit 66 causes the ink and the color paste on the medium M to perform a predetermined operation so as to be able to dry inside the drying unit 19. The predetermined operation is, for example, a heating operation of a heating element such as a heater, a blowing operation by rotation of a fan or the like, or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto.

The cleaning drive unit 67 operates the cleaning unit 20 based on the control of the control unit 61 to perform the cleaning operation. Examples of the cleaning operation include detergent application and wiping operation. When the cleaning unit 20 is not continuously operated, the cleaning drive unit 67 may be able to temporarily separate the cleaning unit 20 from the transport belt 10.

The gluing drive unit 68 operates the gluing unit 21 based on the control of the control unit 61 to apply a gluing material that appropriately adheres the medium M to the surface of the transport belt 10.

The communication unit 69 is a communication unit that communicates with the inkjet unit 50 by a predetermined communication method. The communication method between the communication unit 69 (screen unit 60) and the inkjet unit 50 is, for example, input / output signal communication, serial communication, or a wired or wireless LAN.

As shown in FIG. 3, consider a configuration example in which the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, and 42A are arranged on the transport belt 10 as the screen processing unit 40 in the image forming apparatus 1. In FIG. 3, for simplification of illustration and description, the inkjet image is simply represented by a circular image, and the screen image is represented by “A”, “B”, “C”, and solid coating. The same applies to FIGS. 7 and 10.

In the image forming apparatus 1 having the configuration of FIG. 3, a case where image forming is performed by all of the inkjet printing unit 30 and the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A installed in the screen processing unit 40 will be described. First, the inkjet printing unit 30 forms the inkjet image shown as a circular image in a predetermined range of the medium M, the screen printing unit 42R forms the screen image shown in "A" in the same range, and the screen printing unit 42G forms the screen image shown in the same range. The screen image shown in "B" is formed in the same range, the screen image shown in "C" is formed in the same range by the screen printing unit 42B, and the solid screen image is formed in the same range by the screen printing unit 42B. Will be done. In this way, the inkjet image of the circular image, A, B, C, and the solid ink jet image are sequentially superimposed on the same range of the medium M.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the first print control process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the second print control process. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of image formation in the case of performing screen printing in the first and second print control processes. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of image formation when screen printing is not performed in the first and second print control processes.

The inkjet unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 1 receives, for example, at least one job (data) including image data to be inkjet printed from the PC2 via the communication unit 54 and stores it in the RAM of the control unit 51 as a trigger. , The control unit 51 executes the first print control process according to the first print control program stored in the ROM. Further, in the screen unit 60, the control unit 61 controls the transport drive unit 65, the drying drive unit 66, the cleaning drive unit 67, and the glue drive unit 68 in response to the input of instruction information from the user via the operation unit 62. Then, the medium M is fed out from the feeding roller 11, and the guide roller 14, the pressing roller 15, the driving roller 12, the peeling roller 16, the drying part 19, the shake-off roller 17, the cleaning part 20, and the gluing part 21 are driven. It is assumed that the drive for discharging to the carriage 18 is started via each part and the transport belt 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, the control unit 51 displays the list information of the jobs stored in the RAM on the display unit 53, and accepts the job selection input from the user via the operation unit 52 (step). S11). Then, the control unit 51 causes the inkjet printing unit 30 to start inkjet printing on the medium M with the normal image data included in the job selected in step S11 (step S12). Then, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the job selected in step S11 is the first job type for screen printing (step S13). For example, if the content of the image data of the job is solid, the size matches the screen width, the design is difficult to express only by screen printing such as the color containing gold powder, etc., screen printing is performed in addition to inkjet printing. The first job type is a second job that does not perform screen printing when the content of the image data of the job is not solid, the size does not match the screen width, or the design is difficult to express only by inkjet printing. Seed.

When the selected job is the first job type (step S13; YES), the control unit 51 sets a marker on the medium M to the effect that the inkjet printing unit 30 performs screen printing corresponding to the position of the inkjet image. Inkjet printing is performed at the end position in the main scanning direction (step S14), and the first print control process is completed.

When the selected job is the second job type (step S13; NO), the first print control process ends without performing inkjet printing of the marker.

It is assumed that the second print control process is executed at a predetermined cycle in the screen unit 60 of the image forming apparatus 1. In the screen unit 60, triggered by the elapse of a predetermined cycle from the execution of the previous second print control process, the control unit 61 follows the second print control program stored in the ROM to perform the second print control. Execute the process.

As shown in FIG. 5, first, the control unit 61 reads the inkjet image of the upper surface of the medium M by the image detection unit 64 and acquires the detection result (step S21). Then, the control unit 61 determines whether or not there is a marker image in the detection result acquired in step S21 (step S22).

When there is a marker (step S22; YES), the control unit 61 drives all the screen printing units installed as the screen processing unit 40 by the screen driving unit 41 to screen-print the screen image on the medium M. (Step S23), the second print control process is terminated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, consider an image forming apparatus 1 in which screen printing units 42R and 42G are installed as the screen processing unit 40. In the image forming apparatus 1, the inkjet printing unit 30 ink-prints the inkjet image (circular image in the figure) and the marker (“●” in the figure) on the medium M in accordance with step S21, and the screen printing unit The red screen image of the test chart (“A” in the figure) is screen-printed in the same range as the inkjet image of the medium M by the 42R, and the green screen image (“B” in the figure) of the test chart is printed by the screen printing unit 42G. ) Is screen-printed in the same range as the inkjet image of the medium M.

When there is no marker (step S22; NO), the control unit 61 tells the screen drive unit 41 until the inkjet image detected in step S21 of the medium M passes through the screen processing unit 40 (or the designated screen printing unit). All the screen printing units installed as the screen processing unit 40 are not driven (turned off) (step S24), and the second print control process is terminated. In this way, the inkjet image is not screen-printed on the inkjet-printed medium M.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the image forming apparatus 1 similar to FIG. 6, only the inkjet image (circular image in the figure) of the test chart is used as the medium M by the inkjet printing unit 30 in accordance with step S11. Inkjet printing. Corresponding to step S24, the medium M is not screen printed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 prints the image generated based on the acquired job on the medium M, the inkjet printing unit 30, and the screen image according to the content of the acquired job. A control unit C for controlling printing on the medium M by the inkjet printing unit 30 of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O for screen printing on the medium M is provided.

Therefore, the marker can be printed and screen-printed can be controlled according to the content of the job.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an inkjet printing unit 30 and an image detecting unit 64 that detects an image of a marker printed on the medium M by the inkjet printing unit 30. The control unit C controls the drive of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O according to the detection result of the marker. Therefore, screen printing can be appropriately performed by detecting the marker. In particular, since unnecessary screen printing can be prevented, wasteful consumption of color paste can be prevented. Further, it is not necessary to provide an on / off button for screen printing in each screen printing unit, and the device configuration can be simplified. Further, it is possible to prevent the color paste from adhering to other screen printing parts due to the screen printing of the screen printing part by mistake. Further, in the device that combines the inkjet unit and the screen unit, as printing modes, an inkjet printing mode in which only inkjet printing is performed, a screen printing mode in which only screen printing is performed, and an inkjet printing + screen printing mode in which inkjet printing and screen printing are performed are provided. Even if it is prepared, the image forming apparatus 1 does not require the user to be aware of the print mode, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

Further, the control unit C includes a control unit 51 that controls the inkjet printing unit 30 and a control unit 61 that controls the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an inkjet unit 50 and a screen unit 60. The control unit 51 controls printing of the marker corresponding to the acquired job content on the medium M. The control unit 61 controls on / off of screen printing of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O based on the detection result of the marker. Therefore, screen printing can be appropriately performed according to the content of the job.

Further, the control unit 51 controls the presence or absence of inkjet printing of the marker to the effect that the inkjet printing unit 30 performs screen printing according to the content of the acquired job. The control unit 61 controls on / off of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O based on the presence or absence of the detected marker. Therefore, screen printing can be reliably and appropriately performed depending on the presence or absence of a marker corresponding to the content of the image data of the job.

Further, the control unit 51 has a design in which the content of the acquired job image data is solid and can only be expressed by a size suitable for the screen width of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O or screen printing. In a certain case, a marker for turning on the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O is made to be inkjet printed on the medium M by the inkjet printing unit 30. Therefore, screen printing can be performed more appropriately according to the content of the image data of the job.

The image detection unit 64 is an optical axis sensor, a camera, or a line sensor. Therefore, the marker can be easily and surely detected.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a third print control process. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a fourth print control process. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of image formation when screen printing is not performed in the third and fourth print control processes.

The device configuration of the present embodiment uses the image forming device 1 as in the first embodiment. However, it is assumed that the ROM of the control unit 51 stores a third print control program for executing a third print control process, which will be described later, in place of the first print control program. Further, it is assumed that the ROM of the control unit 61 stores a fourth print control program for executing the fourth print control process, which will be described later, in place of the second print control program.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

In the inkjet unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example, a control unit is triggered by receiving at least one job (data) including image data to be inkjet printed from the PC 2 and storing it in the RAM via the communication unit 54. 51 executes the third print control process according to the third print control program stored in the ROM. Further, in the screen unit 60, the control unit 61 controls the transport drive unit 65, the drying drive unit 66, the cleaning drive unit 67, and the glue drive unit 68 in response to the input of instruction information from the user via the operation unit 62. Then, the medium M is fed out from the feeding roller 11, and the guide roller 14, the pressing roller 15, the driving roller 12, the peeling roller 16, the drying part 19, the shake-off roller 17, the cleaning part 20, and the gluing part 21 are driven. It is assumed that the drive for discharging to the carriage 18 is started via each part and the transport belt 10.

As shown in FIG. 8, first, step S31 is executed. Steps S31, S32, and S33 are the same as steps S11, S12, and S13 of the first print control process of FIG.

When the selected job is the first job type (step S33; YES), the control unit 51 sets a first marker for performing screen printing corresponding to the position of the inkjet image by the inkjet printing unit 30. Inkjet printing is performed at the end position of the medium M in the main scanning direction (step S34), and the third print control process is completed.

When the selected job is the second job type (step S33; NO), the control unit 51 does not perform screen printing corresponding to the position of the inkjet image by the inkjet printing unit 30. Is inkjet-printed at the end position of the medium M in the main scanning direction (step S35), and the third print control process is completed.

It is assumed that the fourth print control process is executed at a predetermined cycle in the screen unit 60 of the image forming apparatus 1. In the screen unit 60, triggered by the elapse of a predetermined cycle from the execution of the previous fourth print control process, the control unit 61 follows the fourth print control program stored in the ROM to control the fourth print. Execute the process.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, step S41 is executed. Step S41 is the same as step S21 of the second print control process of FIG. Then, the control unit 61 determines whether or not there is an image of the first marker in the detection result acquired in step S31 (step S42).

If there is a first marker (step S42; YES), the control unit 61 executes step S43 and ends the fourth print control process. Step S43 is the same as step S23 of FIG.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, consider an image forming apparatus 1 in which screen printing units 42R and 42G are installed as the screen processing unit 40. In the image forming apparatus 1, the inkjet printing unit 30 inkjet-prints the inkjet image (circular image in the figure) and the first marker (“●” in the figure) on the medium M in accordance with step S21. The red screen image (“A” in the figure) of the test chart is screen-printed in the same range as the inkjet image of the medium M by the screen printing unit 42R, and the green screen image (in the figure) of the test chart is screen-printed by the screen printing unit 42G. "B") is screen-printed in the same range as the inkjet image of the medium M.

If there is a second marker or there is no marker (step S42; NO), the control unit 61 executes step S44 and ends the fourth print control process. Step S44 is the same as step S24 of FIG.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in the image forming apparatus 1 similar to FIG. 6, the inkjet printing unit 30 uses the inkjet printing unit 30 to display an inkjet image (circular image in the figure) of the test chart and a second marker in accordance with step S11. (“X” in the figure) is inkjet printed on the medium M. Corresponding to step S44, the medium M is not screen printed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the control unit 51 controls the printing of different types of markers by the inkjet printing unit 30 depending on whether or not screen printing is necessary, depending on the content of the acquired job. The control unit 61 controls on / off of the screen printing units 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, and 42O based on the type of the detected marker. Therefore, screen printing can be reliably and appropriately performed according to the type of marker corresponding to the content of the image data of the job.

The description in each of the above embodiments is an example of a suitable image forming apparatus, image forming method, and program according to the present invention, and is not limited thereto.

In each of the above embodiments, an inkjet printing unit is used as an example of the image forming unit, but the image forming unit is not limited to inkjet printing as long as it is an image forming unit that prints an image generated based on an acquired job on demand. ..

For example, in each of the above embodiments, in the case of screen printing, the screen printing is performed by driving all the screen printing units installed as the screen processing unit 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. ..

In the first embodiment, the screen printing unit to be driven can be specified, and in step S14 of FIG. 4, a marker for performing screen printing is added to the pattern of the screen printing unit designated in the screen processing unit 40. It may be configured to have a corresponding expression format (shape, color, etc.). In step S23 of FIG. 5, the control unit 61 drives a designated screen printing unit according to the expression format of the read marker to screen-print the test chart on the medium M. Therefore, screen printing can be performed by driving only an arbitrary necessary screen printing unit.

The marker may be a symbol such as a bar code or a two-dimensional code such as a QR (Quick Response) code (registered trademark), and the symbol may include designated information of a screen printing unit to be driven. The control unit 61 decodes the image of the read marker to acquire the designated information, and drives the screen printing unit designated by the designated information to screen-print the screen image on the medium M. In this configuration, the image detection unit 64 may be used as a symbol reader.

Similarly, in the second embodiment, the screen printing unit to be driven can be specified, and in step S34 of FIG. 8, the first marker for performing screen printing is specified in the screen processing unit 40. The configuration may be such that the expression format (shape, color, etc.) corresponds to the pattern of the screen printing unit. In step S43 of FIG. 9, the control unit 61 drives the designated screen printing unit according to the expression format of the read marker to cause the medium M to screen-print the screen image.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured to cause the inkjet printing unit 30 to perform inkjet printing of a normal inkjet image, but the present invention is not limited to this. The image to be inkjet-printed by the inkjet printing unit 30 may be used as a test chart for adjustment. The test chart is a nozzle check chart, a main scanning adjustment chart, or the like. The nozzle check chart is a test chart for confirming the state of the nozzle of the inkjet head 32. In the nozzle check chart, if there is a missing nozzle or a foreign substance in the nozzle, the nozzle does not eject ink weakly or ejects in the first place, and an image of the missing portion is obtained. The main scanning adjustment chart is a test chart for adjusting the discharge position in the main scanning direction. In the main scanning adjustment chart, the user sees the overlap between the lines of a certain reference head and the head of a certain color, and the user inputs the value as an adjustment value to the operation unit 52, and the control unit 51 presses the inkjet printing unit 30. adjust. This procedure is repeated, and finally the adjustment value is adjusted to 0. In this configuration, screen printing is not performed on the test chart of the inkjet image.

Further, the test chart may include inkjet printing and screen printing for adjusting the position of the inkjet printing unit 30 and adjusting the position of the screen processing unit 40. This test chart includes an inkjet image including a cross mark arranged at an end position of the medium M or a rectangular image having a diagonal line passing through the end positions of four points of the medium M, and a rectangular image having a cross mark or a diagonal line. It becomes a test chart for printing a screen image including. However, this screen image is formed in advance on the plate of each screen printing unit of the screen processing unit 40.

Further, in the above embodiment, the inkjet unit 50 may have an image detection unit 64. In this configuration, in the first print control process of FIG. 4 of the first embodiment, after step S11, the control unit 51 uses the image detection unit 64 to generate an inkjet image in the same manner as in step S21 of FIG. The image of the marker is read and analyzed, and the position information of the marker and the analysis result are transmitted to the screen unit 60 via the communication unit 54. The control unit 61 of the screen unit 60 performs the same processing as in steps S22 and S23 of FIG. 5 by using the received marker position information and the analysis result. Alternatively, in this configuration, the control unit 51 transmits the image data obtained by reading the inkjet image by the image detection unit 64 to the screen unit 60 via the communication unit 54, and the control unit 61 transmits the image data of the received inkjet image. May be used to perform the same processing as in steps S21 to S23 of FIG. In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the inkjet unit 50 has the image detection unit 64 is the same as described above.

Further, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each part constituting the image forming apparatus 1 in the above embodiments can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 Image forming device 10 Conveying belt 12 Driving roller 13 Driven roller 14 Guide roller 15 Pressing roller 16 Peeling roller 17 Shake-off roller 18 Cart 19 Drying part 20 Cleaning part 21 Gluing part 50 Inkjet part C, 51 Control part 52 Operation part 53 Display 54 Communication unit 55 Bus 30 Inkjet printing unit 31 Head drive unit 32 Inkjet head 33 Carriage 34 Scanning drive unit 60 Screen unit 61 Control unit 62 Operation unit 63 Display unit 64 Image detection unit 65 Transport drive unit 66 Dry drive unit 67 Cleaning Drive unit 68 Glue drive unit 69 Communication unit 70 Bus 40 Screen processing unit 41 Screen drive unit 42R, 42G, 42B, 42A, 42O Screen printing unit M Medium

Claims (11)

An image forming unit that prints an image generated based on the acquired job on a medium,
A control unit that controls printing by the image forming unit on the medium of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of the screen printing unit that screen-prints a screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job. An image forming apparatus provided. With the screen printing unit
An image detection unit for detecting an image of a marker printed on the medium is provided.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls driving of the screen printing unit according to a detection result of the marker. The control unit
A first control unit that controls the image forming unit and a second control unit that controls the screen printing unit are included.
The first control unit controls printing of the marker corresponding to the content of the acquired job on the medium.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second control unit controls on / off of screen printing of the screen printing unit based on the detection result of the marker. The first control unit controls whether or not a marker for performing screen printing by the image forming unit is printed according to the content of the acquired job.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second control unit controls on / off of the screen printing unit based on the presence or absence of the detected marker. The first control unit controls the printing of different types of markers depending on the necessity of screen printing by the image forming unit according to the content of the acquired job.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the second control unit controls on / off of the screen printing unit based on the type of the detected marker. The screen printing unit is a plurality, and there are a plurality of screen printing units.
The marker includes designated information of the screen printing unit to be driven among the plurality of screen printing units.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the second control unit controls on / off of a designated screen printing unit based on the detected marker. The first control unit is the image when the content of the image data of the acquired job is solid, has a size suitable for the screen width of the screen printing unit, or has a design that is difficult to express only by screen printing. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein a marker for turning on the screen printing unit is printed on the medium by the forming unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image detection unit is an optical axis sensor, a camera, or a line sensor. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the image data of the job is a test chart. An image formation process that prints an image generated based on the acquired job on a medium,
An image forming method including a control step of controlling the printing of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of a screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job in the image forming step. Computer,
Image forming unit that prints the image generated based on the acquired job on the medium,
A control unit that controls printing on the medium by the image forming unit of a marker indicating the necessity of screen printing of the screen printing unit that screen-prints a screen image on the medium according to the content of the acquired job.
A program to function as.

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