JP2022013633A - Information processing apparatus, method for controlling information processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus described in the specification of the present application that allows the image forming apparatus to receive data converted into an appropriate format for processing in the image forming apparatus according to the details of the data even if the data can be processed in the image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus described in the present specification is an information processing apparatus that transmits print data to an image forming apparatus, and has: receiving means that receives, from the image forming apparatus, information indicating processing that can be executed in the image forming apparatus; determination means that, based on the received information, determines whether to convert the print data to print data in a predetermined format; conversion means that, based on the determination, converts the print data to the print data in the predetermined format not including predetermined processing of the processing that can be executed in the image forming apparatus; and transmission means that transmits the print data after the conversion to the image forming apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method for the information processing device, and a program.

When printing data is transmitted from a client terminal such as a mobile terminal to an image forming apparatus and the printing data is interpreted and printed by the image forming apparatus, the client terminal transmits print data in a format that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus. is necessary. Therefore, the ability information indicating which format of the image data the client terminal image forming apparatus can interpret is acquired, the format data based on the acquired ability information is generated, and the data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. For example, when the image forming apparatus cannot interpret the data in the PDF format, the client terminal performs a rendering process, generates the data in the raster data format, and transmits the data to the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus can interpret the PDF format data, the PDF format data is generated, transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and the rendering process is performed in the image forming apparatus (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-185549

Depending on the rendering method and data interpretation method that can be executed by the image forming apparatus, it may take time to interpret and render the data in the image forming apparatus including a specific drawing process transmitted from the client. Further, depending on the processing, the image forming apparatus may perform alternative processing, resulting in an output different from the intended image.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention considers the data converted into a format suitable for processing by the image forming apparatus according to the content of the data even if the data can be processed by the image forming apparatus. It is intended to be received by the image forming apparatus.

The information processing apparatus described in the present specification is an information processing apparatus that transmits print data to an image forming apparatus, and receives information indicating processing that can be executed by the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus executes based on the means, the determination means for determining whether or not to convert the print data into print data in a predetermined format based on the received information, and the determination by the determination means. It has a conversion means for converting into print data in a predetermined format that does not include a predetermined process among the processes that can be performed, and a transmission means for transmitting the print data converted into the predetermined format to the image forming apparatus. It is characterized by.

According to the above configuration, even if the data can be processed by the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus converts the data into a format suitable for processing by the image forming apparatus according to the content of the data. Can be received.

It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the system in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware block of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware block of a client terminal in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the software module of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the software module of a client terminal in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is a sequence diagram which shows a series of processing from the search of an image forming apparatus to printing. In this embodiment, it is a flowchart which shows the device search process which a client terminal executes. In this embodiment, it is a flowchart of the print data optimization process executed by the client terminal. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a PDF load analysis process executed by a client terminal in the first embodiment. It is a flowchart of the print setting influence analysis processing executed by the client terminal in Example 1 and Example 2. In Example 1, it is a flowchart which shows the process which the image forming apparatus sets a device capacity. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a device capacity information table managed by a client terminal in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of PDF load analysis processing executed by a client terminal in the second embodiment. In Example 2, it is a flowchart of the device capacity calculation process executed by the image forming apparatus. In the second embodiment, it is a device capacity information table managed by a client terminal. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the client terminal 102 in the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the alternative process which an image forming apparatus carries out in Example 4. FIG. In Example 4, it is a flowchart of the device Capacity calculation process executed by the image forming apparatus. In the fourth embodiment, it is a device capacity information table managed by a client terminal. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the client terminal in the fourth embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which determines whether or not the format conversion is performed, which is executed by a client terminal in Example 4. FIG.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the printing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the processing performance of the image forming apparatus to which the print job is input is defined as a processing allowable attribute inside the controller of the image forming apparatus and is internally held. When the image forming apparatus is referred from the client terminal for the print job transmission, the client terminal acquires this processing allowance attribute from the image forming apparatus and refers to it when the print job is transmitted.

The client terminal estimates the drawing processing cost of the image forming apparatus when the print data is input as a print job in the PDF format by referring to the processing allowable attribute acquired from the image forming apparatus. The processing allowance attribute stores information required for estimating the drawing processing cost. In this embodiment, the object arrangement information that increases the processing load of the rendering process and the object type information that increases the processing load of the interpret process are stored in the processing allowance information. The details of the drawing processing cost estimation method will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. As a result of estimating the drawing processing cost, when the print job is executed in PDF format, the client terminal switches the data format so that the print job is generated in raster format when the processing related to drawing cannot keep up with the print speed. do.

Further, even if it is estimated that the processing load is smaller when the print job is executed in the raster format, the client terminal adopts the PDF format to perform the print job depending on the print settings applied to the print job. Generate. For example, when printing settings such as blank paper saving, object type image processing, and edge enhancement are applied to raster format data, the processing load of raster format image processing is higher than that of PDF format image processing. In such a case, the client terminal generates a print job in PDF format instead of raster format and sends it to the image forming apparatus.

Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration diagram>
An example of the configuration of the system in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The system according to this embodiment has an image forming apparatus 101 and a client terminal 102. The image forming apparatus 101 is connected to a plurality of client terminals 102 by a network 103.

The image forming apparatus 101 is a multifunction device having various functions such as scanning, faxing, printing, and copying, or a printer having only a printing function.

The client terminal 102 is an information processing device such as a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA, or a multifunctional mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as a smartphone) or a tablet owned by the user. The client terminal 102 transmits print data to the image forming apparatus 101 via the network 103.

The network 103 is a wireless or wired network composed of WAN or LAN.

<Hardware block diagram of image forming apparatus>
FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 of this embodiment. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a controller unit, which controls input / output of image signals and device information.

The central processing unit (CPU) 201 reads the program stored in the auxiliary storage device 203 into the main storage device 202 and executes it. The central processing unit 201 is composed of one or a plurality of processors. The central processing unit 201 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 212.

The main storage device 202 functions as a main memory and a work memory of the central processing unit 201.

The auxiliary storage device 203 is also used for the purpose of temporarily or long-term holding a large amount of data.

RIP204 is a software module that expands intermediate print data into a raster image, or dedicated hardware. The RIP 204 can process the intermediate print data generated on the main storage device 202 by the central processing unit 201 at high speed.

The Network I / F 205 is connected to the network 103 and is responsible for input / output of print data and device information to and from the outside of the image forming apparatus.

The operation unit I / F 206 is an interface unit with the operation unit 208, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 208 to the operation unit 208. Further, the operation unit I / F 206 transmits the information input by the user of the present device from the operation unit 208 to the central processing unit 201.

The device I / F 207 sends out an image signal, gives a device operation instruction, and receives device information based on the instruction of the central processing unit 201. The controller unit 200 is connected to the printer engine 209 via the device I / F207.

The operation unit 208 includes a liquid crystal panel and a sound source as an output device, and a touch panel, a hard key, and a microphone as an input device.

The printer engine 209 is a module that outputs an image signal from the controller unit 200 onto a medium. In the present specification, either the electrophotographic method or the inkjet method in which the printer engine 209 forms an image may be used.

<Hardware block diagram of client terminal>
FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram illustrating the configuration of the client terminal 102 of this embodiment.

The central processing unit (CPU) 301 reads the program stored in the auxiliary storage device 303 into the main storage device 302 and executes it. The central processing unit 301 is composed of one or a plurality of processors. Further, the central processing unit 301 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 307.

The main storage device 302 functions as a main memory and a work memory of the central processing unit 301.

The auxiliary storage device 303 stores an operating system (OS) and various control program bodies. Since the auxiliary storage device 303 is also used for the purpose of temporarily or long-term holding a large amount of data, the print document transmitted to the image forming device 101 is held in this area.

The Network I / F 304 connects to the network 103 and connects the client terminal 102 to an external information terminal via a wired or wireless network.

The operation unit I / F 305 is an interface unit with the operation unit 306, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 306 to the operation unit 306. Further, the operation unit I / F 605 transmits the information input by the user of the present device from the operation unit 306 to the central processing unit 301.

The operation unit 306 includes a liquid crystal panel and a sound source as an output device, and a touch panel, a hard key, and a microphone as an input device.

In addition to the above modules, a disk drive for portable disc recording media such as CDs and DVDs, a flash memory, and a memory reader / writer for portable non-volatile recording media such as microSD are connected to the system bus 307. May be good.

<Software module diagram of image forming apparatus>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the software module of the image forming apparatus 101 in this embodiment. Each software module shown in FIG. 4 is stored as a program in the auxiliary storage device 203, loaded in the main storage device 202, and executed by the central processing unit 201.

The transmission / reception unit 401 receives print data from the Network I / F 205.

The data interpretation unit 402 reads the print data received from the transmission / reception unit 401 via the control unit 403 and interprets the drawing information of the print data. The drawing information extracted as a result of this data interpretation process is sent to the renderer 404 via the control unit 403 and used for the rendering process.

The control unit 403 is in charge of overall control of various processes such as reception of print data, data interpretation, image rendering, management of terminal information and print setting information described later, and remote setting screen control in this embodiment.

The renderer 404 uses RIP 204 to generate a bitmap image from the drawing information sent from the data interpretation unit 402. The generated bitmap image is sent to the printer engine via the device I / F 207, and the image forming process for the printing paper is executed.

The Capability information management unit 505 holds and manages the information of the processing allowable attribute, which is a performance index of the image forming apparatus described later, as the Capability information. The Capability information management unit 405 transmits the Capability information to the client terminal in response to a request for capability response communication from the client terminal. The capacity information includes the contents of processing that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101, setting information of the image forming apparatus 101, and the like.

<Software module diagram of client terminal>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the software module of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment. Each software module shown in FIG. 5 is stored as a program in the auxiliary storage device 303, loaded into the main storage device 302, and executed by the central processing unit 301.

The transmission / reception unit 501 transmits print data from the Network I / F 205.

The print data generation unit 507 generates print data in PDF format based on the user operation of starting printing.

The data conversion unit 502 converts the PDF format print data generated by the print data generation unit 507 into raster format print data based on the calculation result of the processing load calculation unit 504. After the data conversion, the print data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 501 to the image forming apparatus 101 via the control unit 503.

The control unit 503 controls the overall control of each process up to the reception of the device capacity information, the retention / management of the capacity information, the processing load calculation, and the data conversion control according to the result in the present embodiment.

The processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the capacity information of the target image forming apparatus from the capacity information management unit 505, and estimates the processing load when the print data is executed in the PDF format or the raster format.

The Capability information management unit 505 holds and manages the processing allowable attribute of the image forming apparatus 101 registered in the client terminal 102 as the Capability information described later. The capacity information also includes information on the settings of the image forming apparatus 101, which is managed here.

The device search unit 506 searches for a device capable of communicating with the client terminal 102. For example, it controls the OS of the client terminal 102 and the software installed in the client terminal, and detects an image forming apparatus connected to the same network as the client terminal 102. In this embodiment, it is described as detecting an image forming apparatus connected to the same network, but the device search unit 506 detects a device connected to a different network as long as it is a device capable of communicating with the client terminal 102. You may.

<Sequence diagram of this embodiment>
Next, using FIG. 6, the entire sequence from the transmission / reception of device capacity information in the present embodiment by the client terminal 102 and the image forming apparatus 101, processing load calculation, print data optimization, transmission / reception of print data, and execution of print processing is performed. To explain.

First, in S101, the client terminal 102 searches for an image forming apparatus 101 connected in the same network. The client terminal 102 searches for the image forming apparatus 101 by using the search function of the OS or the search function of the software installed in the client terminal.

Next, in S102, the image forming apparatus 101 returns a response indicating that the client terminal 102 is connected to the same network.

Next, in S103, the client terminal 102 requests the image forming apparatus 101 that has returned the connection response to the device capacity information which is a processing allowable attribute indicating the processing performance of the image forming apparatus 101.

Next, in S104, the image forming apparatus 101 sets the device capacity. The device Capability includes object arrangement information that increases the rendering processing load and object type information that increases the interpreter processing load. The object arrangement information that increases the rendering processing load is set based on the rendering method adopted by the image forming apparatus 101. Further, the object type information having a high processing load of the interpreter is set based on the interpreter method adopted by the image forming apparatus 101. In this embodiment, the present process is performed in association with the device capacity information request from the client terminal 102, but the timing is not limited to this. For example, the image forming apparatus 101 may be internally calculated during the initial start-up sequence when the power is turned on for the first time and then held.

Next, in S105, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits the set capacity information to the client terminal 102.

Next, in S106, the client terminal 102 registers in the registration list of the image forming apparatus managed by itself in a form including the Capability information for receiving the information of the image forming apparatus 101. The steps up to this point are the processes for registering the image forming apparatus 101 in the client terminal 102.

When the user operates the client terminal 102 and instructs printing from the application installed on the client terminal 102, the processing after S107 is executed.

Next, in S107, the client terminal 102 converts the print data to be printed into PDF in order to execute the print job. In addition, this sequence diagram is expressed in the form of separating the registration sequence (S101 to S106) of the image forming apparatus and the print job input sequence (S107 to S111). However, this may be performed as a series of sequences. When the registration of the image forming apparatus and the input of the print job are linked, a predetermined period does not occur between S106 and S107.

Next, in S108, the client terminal 102 analyzes the content of the generated PDF format print data and estimates the processing load / drawing processing cost with reference to the capacity information of the image forming apparatus 101 to be input.

Next, in S109, the client terminal 102 determines whether to adopt the PDF format or the raster format as the print data from the estimation result of the processing load in S108, and optimizes the data format.

Next, in S110, the client terminal 102 transmits a print job including the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 101.

Next, in S111, the image forming apparatus 101 executes a print job based on the received print data.

Through the above sequence, the client terminal 102 and the image forming apparatus 101 perform transmission / reception of device capacity information of this embodiment, processing load calculation, print data optimization, transmission / reception of print jobs, and printing processing.

<Details of processing load / drawing processing cost estimation>
As described above, the processing allowance attribute stored in the capacity information indicating the processing performance of the image forming apparatus 101 stores the information required for the client terminal 102 to estimate the drawing processing cost. In the present invention, an example is described in which object arrangement information that increases the processing load of rendering processing and object type information that increases the processing load of interpret processing are stored in the processing allowance attribute.

The object arrangement information that increases the processing load of the rendering process is the maximum value of the number of objects allowed in one page or the number of overlaps between objects allowed in one page.

In this embodiment, two types of rendering processing, a scanline method and a painters method, will be described as an example. The scan line method is a method in which a drawing target area is divided into a scan line area, the overlap of objects included in the area is calculated, and only the display area is rendered. In the scan line method, since only the display area is the rendering target, it is not expected that the processing load will increase depending on the number of objects included in one page. On the other hand, the larger the number of overlapping objects, the longer the arithmetic processing. Therefore, when the scan line method is selected in the image forming apparatus 101, the client terminal 102 determines whether or not the rendering processing load in the image forming apparatus is high based on the number of overlapping objects.

On the other hand, the painter's method is a method in which all the objects included in one page are rendered in order from the one with the lowest overlapping level in the object unit. The painters method is simple as an algorithm, and the influence of the number of overlapping objects contained in one page is small. On the other hand, in the painters method, the number of objects contained in one page is related to the processing speed of the image forming apparatus 101. Therefore, when the painters method is selected in the image forming apparatus 101, the client terminal 102 determines whether or not the rendering processing load in the image forming apparatus is high based on the number of objects included in one page.

For the object type information that increases the processing load of the interpret processing, the type of the object corresponding to the interpretation processing method set in the image forming apparatus 101 is set.

In this embodiment, two types of PDF data interpretation processing, a PDFtoPS method and a DirectPDF method, will be described as an example. The PDF to PS method is a method of temporarily converting PDF data into a PS (PostScript) format and causing a PS interpreter to execute processing. When converting PDF data to PS format, it takes time to convert the types of objects that are not supported by PS format. For example, in order to convert a transparent drawing object that is not supported by the PS format to the PS format, a drawing process for reproducing the transparent drawing in a pseudo manner is required, which takes time. In addition, it takes time to convert a PDF format ICCBased color space object into a PS format CIEBased color space object, which is not supported by the PS format. When the PDFtoPS method is adopted as the interpret processing, the client terminal 102 determines whether or not the interprint processing load in the image forming apparatus is high based on the number of transparent objects and ICCBased color space objects.

On the other hand, in the DirectPDF method that interprets PDF format data as it is, it takes time to process an ICCBased color space object having a transparency attribute. Therefore, when the DirectPDF method is adopted as the interpreter processing method, the client terminal 102 determines whether or not the interpret processing load in the image forming apparatus is high based on the number of ICCBased color space objects having the transparency attribute.

In the OS adopted in a high-performance mobile terminal such as a smartphone, which is assumed as one embodiment of the client terminal of the present invention, the print job sequence is controlled by using the IPP attribute in the standard print function. In this embodiment, as an example of the processing permissible attribute and the IPP attribute that handles the capacity information described in the present invention, it is assumed that "pdf-files-supported" and "print-content-optimize" are extended. The specifications of these IPP attributes are expanded to control the print job sequence by storing object arrangement information that increases the processing load of the rendering process, object type information that increases the process load of the interpret process, and the like.

<Flowchart of device search process>
Next, the flow of the device search process of the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

The client terminal 102 can select the image forming apparatus to be used for printing when the print job is input by registering various information of the image forming apparatus 101 to which the job is input when printing the image data in advance. become able to. Therefore, the client terminal 102 searches for an image forming apparatus existing in the same network, receives the device capacity information related to the detected image forming apparatus, and registers it in the internal list. If the process from device search to registration has been executed once before the job is executed, it will not be executed after that.

When the client terminal 102 starts searching for an image forming apparatus in the same network, this flow starts. The program for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is realized by the central processing unit 301 executing the program stored in the main storage device 302 or the auxiliary storage device 303 of the client terminal 102.

First, in S1001, the device search unit 506 starts searching for an image forming apparatus in the same network. The device search unit 506 operates the OS of the client terminal 102 or the application installed in the client terminal 102, and searches for an image forming apparatus that the client terminal 102 can use for printing. The device search in S1001 may detect an image forming device that can be used by the client terminal 102 for printing, and may detect an image forming device on a network different from that of the client terminal 102.

Next, in S1002, the device search unit 506 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus has been detected. When the image forming apparatus is detected, the device search unit 506 proceeds to S1003. If the image forming apparatus is not detected, the device search unit 506 returns the process to S1001 and repeats the process.

In S1003, the capacity information management unit 505 transmits a request for device capacity information to the image forming apparatus detected by the search, and receives the device capacity from the image forming apparatus. The device Capability received here describes the types of image processing and post-processing that can be executed by the image forming apparatus. Further, the device Capability describes parameters and thresholds for determining the processing load according to the interpret method in the image forming apparatus, and object types and thresholds having a high load according to the rendering method. In the present embodiment, the format of the image data transmitted by the client terminal 102 to the image forming apparatus 101 can be determined by acquiring the parameter for determining the processing load and the type of the object having a high processing load. ..

In S1004, the capacity information management unit 505 registers the device capacity information received from the image forming apparatus in the internal list. The device capacity received by the client terminal 102 is managed by, for example, a table described later in FIG.

When the registration process of the image forming apparatus is completed, this flow ends.

By the above processing, the device search processing of the client terminal 102 is executed.

In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 is registered in the client terminal 102 to search for a device at the registration timing. Every time the application of the client terminal 102 instructs to print, the device search may be performed to acquire the information of the image forming apparatus to which the client terminal 102 can be connected.

<Flowchart of device capacity generation process>
Here, the process of generating the device capacity acquired in S1003 of FIG. 7 by the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is started based on the fact that the image forming apparatus 101 receives the acquisition request of the device capacity from the client terminal 102. Further, the program for executing the process shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the main storage device 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203, and is realized by the central processing unit 201 executing the program.

In S5001, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether the rendering method that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101 is a scanline method or a painters method. The rendering method that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101 is a method that is set at the time of shipment from the factory and cannot be changed by the user. When the rendering method is the scan line method, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 proceeds to S5002. When the rendering method is the painters method, the Capability information management unit 405 proceeds to S5003.

In S5002, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the parameter for determining the rendering processing load to be the number of overlapping objects and the number of objects to be the threshold value in the device Capability. The threshold value set here is a predetermined value.

In S5003, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the parameter for determining the rendering processing load to be the number of objects included in one page and sets the threshold value in the device Capability. The threshold value set here is a predetermined value.

In S5004, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether the interpretation method of the image data received from the client terminal 102 is the PDFtoPS method or the DirectPDF method. The interpret method is a method that can be set by the user by operating the operation unit of the image forming apparatus 101. In this embodiment, the user sets the interpret method, but the interpret method may be determined at the time of shipment from the factory and may not be changed by the user. When the interpret method is the DirectPDF method, the Capability information management unit 405 proceeds to S5005. When the interpret method is the PDFtoPS method, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 proceeds to S5006.

In S5005, the Capability information management unit 405 sets a transparency attribute and an ICCBased color space object in the device Capability as an object having a high processing load of the interpret processing. Further, the Capability information management unit 405 sets a threshold value for determining whether or not the processing negative load is high in the device Capability when there is an object of the above type. The threshold value is a predetermined value.

In S5006, the Capability information management unit 405 sets an object having a transparency attribute and an ICCBased color space object in the device Capability as objects having a high processing load of the interpret processing. Further, the Capability information management unit 405 sets a threshold value for determining whether or not the processing load is high in the device Capability when there is an object of the above type. The threshold value is a predetermined value.

In S5007, the capacity information management unit 405 determines whether or not the blank page saving function is effectively set. The blank page saving function is a function that prevents a blank page in image data from being output, and is a function that allows the user to enable or disable it. When the blank page saving function is enabled, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 adds that the blank page saving function is enabled for the device Capacity in S5008. When the blank page saving function is disabled, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 adds that the blank page saving function is disabled for the device Capabilit in S5009.

In S5010, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether or not the object-specific image processing is effectively set. Image processing by object is a function that changes the image processing used according to each attribute in a document in which photographs, characters, and graphics are mixed. When the object-specific image processing is enabled, the Capability information management unit 405 adds that the object-specific image processing is effective to the device Capability in S5011. When the object-specific image processing is disabled, the Capability information management unit 405 adds to the device Capability that the object-specific image processing is disabled in S5012.

In S5013, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether or not the edge enhancement is effectively set. The edge enhancement process is a process for emphasizing the edges of characters and objects. When the edge enhancement process is enabled, the Capability information management unit 405 adds that the edge enhancement is enabled in the device Capacity in S5014. When the edge enhancement process is disabled, the Capability information management unit 405 adds that the edge enhancement is disabled to the device Capacity in S5015.

By performing the processing described in S5007 to S5014, it is possible to add the capability information necessary for determining whether or not the processing when the raster format image data is transmitted to the image processing device takes time to the device capacity. ..

In S5015, the Capability information management unit 405 determines the device Capability information as the print setting information.

In S5016, the capacity information management unit 405 transmits the confirmed device capacity information to the requesting client terminal 102. This flow ends when the transmission process of the device capacity information is completed.

By the above processing, the device capacity calculation processing by the image forming apparatus 101 in this embodiment is executed.

In this embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 11 is started based on the reception of the device capacity acquisition request from the client terminal 102. The process shown in FIG. 11 may be executed periodically, or may be executed at a predetermined timing such as the power on of the image forming apparatus and the timing of returning from sleep.

<Device Capacity information table>
Next, the data structure of the device Capability information table in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12. The table shown in FIG. 12 is a table for the client terminal 102 to manage the device capacity received from the image forming apparatus 101.

The device capacity information table of FIG. 12A is a table that is managed as a list for each printer name of the image forming apparatus and stores information to be referred to for determining whether or not to calculate the rendering processing load.

"Printer Name" is the name of the image forming apparatus that transmitted the device Capability. The Printer Name may be an identification number or the like unique to each image forming apparatus. The "parameter (threshold value) for determining the processing load" is a parameter for determining whether or not the processing load determined based on the rendering method of each image forming apparatus is large, and the threshold value is shown in parentheses. ing. In this embodiment, the number of overlapping objects on one page or the number of objects included in one page is used as a parameter depending on the rendering processing method of the image forming apparatus. For example, in the case of Printer A, when the maximum overlap of objects in one page exceeds 10, it is determined that the print data has a high processing load due to rendering. “High-load object (threshold value)” is a type of object with a high processing load determined based on the printer's interpret method, and the threshold value is shown in parentheses. For example, in the case of Printer A, when the number of ICCBased objects with a transparency attribute included in one page exceeds 5, it is determined that the print data has a high load of interpret processing. When a plurality of types of objects are set as the types of objects with high addition, such as Printer B, it is assumed that the threshold value for the total number of the plurality of types of objects is described in parentheses.

The device capacity information table of FIG. 12B is managed as a list for each printer name of the image forming apparatus, and is used to determine whether the processing load may increase when the print data is changed to the raster format. Be done. FIG. 12B is also set based on the device capacity acquired from the image forming apparatus 101. “Printer Name” is the name of each image forming apparatus as in FIG. 12A, and may be an identification number or the like of each image forming apparatus. "Blank paper saving" indicates whether or not the blank paper saving function is effectively set in the image forming apparatus. "Image processing by object" indicates whether or not the image processing by object is enabled in the image forming apparatus. "Edge enhancement" indicates whether or not the edge enhancement processing is effectively set in the image forming apparatus. As described above, FIG. 12B stores the setting values of the setting items of the image forming apparatus.

<Flowchart of print data optimization process>
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the print data optimization process executed when the client terminal 102 receives the print instruction will be described. When the client terminal receives a print request from the user, it generates print data in PDF format. The drawing processing load in PDF format is estimated from the drawing object structure of the converted PDF data and the device capacity information, and it is determined whether the PDF processing load is in time for the print speed of the image forming apparatus. When the PDF processing load is not in time for the print speed of the image forming apparatus, the client terminal determines whether or not the image forming apparatus is set to have a high processing load of the raster format image data. If the processing load is not set high, the client terminal converts the PDF data into a raster format and sends it to the image forming apparatus.

The program for executing the process described in this flowchart is stored in the main storage device 302 or the auxiliary storage device 303, and the process is realized by the central processing unit 301 executing the program.

When the client terminal 102 receives the print request from the user, this flow is started.

In S2001, the print data generation unit 507 generates print data in PDF format based on the document data to be printed and the print settings.

In S2002, the processing load calculation unit 504 estimates the processing load when the PDF data generated in S2001 is processed. The details of this process will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. In S2002, the processing load calculation unit 504 executes the processing shown in FIG. 9 and calculates the processing prediction time of each page.

In S2003, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the maximum value of the processing prediction time calculated in S2002 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the processing load of PDF data exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2004. When the processing load of the PDF data is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2007.

In S2004, the processing load calculation unit 504 performs setting analysis processing of the image forming apparatus for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus is set to take a long time to analyze the image data in the raster format based on the device Capability. The processing executed by the processing load calculation unit 504 in S2004 will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S2005, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not to perform conversion to the raster format based on the determination result of S2004. If it is determined that the setting of the image forming apparatus 101 is a setting that takes a long time to process the raster format data, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the conversion process to the raster format is not performed, and proceeds to S2007. .. If it is determined that the setting of the image forming apparatus 101 is not a setting that takes time to analyze the data in the raster format, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the conversion to the raster format is to be performed, and proceeds to S2006.

In S2006, the data conversion unit 502 converts the PDF format image data generated in S2001 into the raster format for the print data format. Here, the PDF format is rasterized and reconverted to the raster format, but if the original image data can be referenced, the raster format image data will be generated without going through the PDF format. May be good. By generating the raster format print data in S2006, it is possible to prevent the print data transmitted to the image forming apparatus from including a drawing command having a high load of drawing processing in the image forming apparatus.

In S2007, the transmission / reception unit 501 transmits a print job including the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 101. When the print job transmission process is completed, this flow ends.

By the above processing, the print data optimization processing of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment is executed. By doing so, even if the image forming apparatus supports PDF format data, if the image forming apparatus takes time for the interpret processing and the rasterization processing, the rasterization processing is performed on the client terminal. be able to.

<Flowchart of PDF load analysis processing>
Next, the flow of PDF load analysis processing by the client terminal 102 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Before submitting the print job to the image forming apparatus, the client terminal 102 internally parses the print data created in the PDF format by preflight to determine how many objects with what attributes are included in what arrangement. To analyze. Based on the information extracted from the PDF data and the device capacity acquired from the image forming apparatus, the client terminal 102 determines whether the PDF data is the PDF data that takes a long time to be processed by the image forming apparatus. This flow starts when the client terminal 102 starts the process of S2002 in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 9 is realized by the central processing unit 301 of the client terminal 102 executing a program stored in at least one of the main storage device 302 and the auxiliary storage device 303.

In S3001, the processing load calculation unit 504 internally parses the PDF data generated in S2001 by preflight. The processing load calculation unit 504 specifies the type and number of objects included in the PDF data from the drawing commands included in the PDF data for one page.

In S3002, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the device Capability information of the image forming apparatus of the print job input destination acquired during the device search process of FIG. 7.

In S3003, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the page has a high processing load for rendering processing from the preflight internal structure analysis result for the PDF data in S3001. The processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the page has a high processing load based on the parameters and threshold values for determining the processing load shown in the table shown in FIG. 12 (A). For example, in the case of Printer A shown in FIG. 12A, it is determined whether or not the number of overlapping objects in one page exceeds 10. When the number of overlapping objects exceeds 10, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the page has a high processing load. On the other hand, when the number of overlapping objects is 10 or less, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the page does not have a high processing load. Further, in the case of Printer C, when the number of objects in one page exceeds 15, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the page has a high processing load. On the other hand, when the number of objects included in one page is 15 or less, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines that the page does not have a high processing load. If the page has a high processing load, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S3004. If the page does not have a high processing load, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S3005.

In S3004, the processing load calculation unit 504 calculates the processing prediction time of the page determined to have a high processing load. The processing load calculation unit 504 calculates by multiplying the processing time per object included in the device Capability information by the number of the objects extracted in S3001. For example, in Printer A, it is assumed that there are 20 overlapping objects. When the device capacity specifies that it takes 3 seconds for each device, the processing load calculation unit 504 calculates that the processing time is 3 * 20 = 60 seconds. The estimated time required for processing one object is a predetermined value based on simulation or the like. The calculation of the estimated processing time of the page determined to have a high processing load is not limited to the above method, and may be performed by using another known method.

In S3005, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines from the preflight internal structure analysis result for the PDF data in S3001 whether or not the number of objects having a high processing load for the interpret processing is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Then, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the object of the type specified by the device Capability is in the page more than the threshold value specified by the device Capability. In S3005, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the PDF data includes a command corresponding to the type of object notified by the device Capability. Further, the processing load calculation unit 504 compares the number of the drawing commands included in the PDF data with the threshold value notified by the device Capacity. When the interpret method adopted by the target image forming apparatus is the PDFtoPS method, the processing load calculation unit 504 compares the number of objects having the transparency attribute and the objects in the ICCBased color space with the threshold value. When the interpret method adopted by the target image forming apparatus is the DirectPDF method, the processing load calculation unit 504 compares the threshold value with an object having a transparency attribute and being an ICCBased color space. When the total number of objects having a high processing load exceeds the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S3006. When the total number of objects having a high processing load is equal to or less than the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S3007. For example, in Printer A of FIG. 12A, when the number of ICCBased objects with a transparency attribute exceeds 5, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances processing to S3006. On the other hand, when the number of ICCBased objects with the transparency attribute is 5 or less, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the processing to S5007.

In S3006, the processing load calculation unit 504 calculates the processing prediction time by the rendering process. The processing load calculation unit 504 multiplies the processing time per object of the type having a high processing load included in the device Capability information by the number of the objects extracted in S3001 to calculate the rendering processing prediction. For example, in Printer A, it is assumed that the processing time for each rendering process is 4 seconds, and there are 20 types of objects with a high processing load. The processing load calculation unit 504 calculates 4 * 20 = 80 seconds as the processing prediction time. The estimated time required for processing one object is a predetermined value based on simulation or the like. The method for calculating the estimated processing time is not limited to the above method, and a known method may be used.

In S3007, the processing load calculation unit 504 calculates the processing time per page from the processing time calculated in S3004 and S3006. The processing load calculation unit 504 calculates the processing prediction time for one page by adding the processing prediction time obtained in S3004 and the processing prediction time obtained in S3006. In this embodiment, the total of the predicted times calculated in S3004 and S3006 is set as the processed predicted time for one page, but the method for calculating the processed predicted time for one page is not limited to the above. For example, in S3004 and S3006, the estimated processing time is obtained by using the result of simulating the processing time in an image forming apparatus having a standard hardware configuration. In S3007, the processing load calculation unit 504 may estimate the processing time in consideration of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. For example, when it is described in the device Capability that the processing is performed at a speed 1.2 times faster than the standard hardware configuration due to the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus, the processing load calculation unit 504 processes by the following method. Predict the time. The processing load calculation unit 504 divides the total value of S3004 and S3006 by 1.2 to predict the processing time per page.

In S3008, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not there is an unprocessed page. If there is an unprocessed page, the processing load calculation unit 504 returns the processing to S3001 and executes the processing of S3001 to S3007 for the next page. If there is no unprocessed page, the processing load calculation unit 504 ends the processing shown in FIG. By executing the process shown in FIG. 9, the estimated processing time of each page can be obtained. In S2003 of FIG. 8, the maximum value of the processing prediction time obtained in FIG. 9 is compared with the threshold value.

By the above processing, the PDF load analysis processing of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment is executed. The processing time per object used in S3004 and S3006 may be stored in the information processing apparatus in advance, or may be notified by the device capacity from the image forming apparatus.

<Flowchart of print setting influence analysis processing>
Next, the flow of the print setting influence analysis processing by the client terminal 102 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the present invention, when the data structure of the PDF data generated for the print job has a structure in which the processing load of the image forming apparatus is high, the rendering is performed on the client terminal side and the raster image printing job is input to the image forming apparatus. .. However, when it is input in raster format such as blank paper saving, object type image processing, edge enhancement function, pixel calculation processing for drawing object discrimination processing is required, and the processing load becomes rather high. exist. The client terminal refers to the setting of the image forming apparatus and decides whether or not to perform the conversion to the raster format.

This flow is started when the client terminal 102 starts the processing of S2004. The process described in this flowchart is realized by the central processing unit 301 of the client terminal 102 executing a program stored in at least one of the main storage device 302 and the auxiliary storage device 303.

In S4001, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the setting information of the image forming apparatus included in the device Capability information.

In S4002, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether the blank page saving is invalid in the setting information. If it is invalid, the process proceeds to S4003. If it is valid, the process proceeds to S4005.

In S4003, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether the object type image processing is invalid. If it is invalid, the process proceeds to S4004. If it is valid, the process proceeds to S4005.

In S4004, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether the edge enhancement function is disabled. If it is invalid, the process ends. If it is valid, the process proceeds to S4005.

In S4005, the processing load calculation unit 504 stores that the image forming apparatus is set to take a long time to process the raster image. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the client terminal from converting the PDF format data into the raster format when the image forming apparatus is set to take a long time to process the raster image. After S4005, the processing load calculation unit 504 ends the setting analysis processing of the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 10, when any one of the blank page saving function, the image processing for each object, and the edge enhancement is effectively set, the processing load calculation unit 504 states that the processing to the raster image is set to take a long time. Judged. Only when a plurality of the above functions are valid, the processing load calculation unit 504 may determine that the raster image is set to take a long time to process.

By executing the above processing, it is possible to analyze the data in the PDF format and perform the rendering processing on the client terminal when it is estimated that the interpreter processing and the rendering processing in the image forming apparatus take time. By converting the format of the non-printing data on the client terminal in this way, it becomes possible to reduce the time until printing without performing the interpret processing and the rendering processing in the image forming apparatus.

<Example 2>
In the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 stores the drawing object arrangement and the type information that increase the processing load in the rendering and the interpret method adopted by the image forming apparatus 101 as the device Capability information, and provides them to the client terminal 102. However, it is also conceivable that the image forming apparatus 101 does not select and set the drawing object arrangement and the type information that increase the processing load as the device Capability information, but simply notifies the client terminal 102 of the rendering and the interpret method to be adopted. .. In that case, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained by estimating the processing load by discriminating the drawing object arrangement and the type that increase the processing load from the rendering and the interpret method information included in the device Capability information on the client terminal 102 side. Obtainable.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, rendering and interpretation method information are stored in the device Capability information, and a drawing object arrangement that increases the processing load from the information and a realization means in a configuration in which the type information is discriminated and the processing load is estimated will be described. ..

<Flowchart of device capacity calculation process>
First, the process according to FIG. 14, which is executed instead of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment, will be described.

FIG. 14 is a process of setting the device capacity that the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the client terminal 102. When the image forming apparatus 101 receives the device capacity transmission request from the client terminal 102, this flow is started. FIG. 14 is realized by the central processing unit 201 executing a program stored in at least one of the main storage device 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 11 are given for the same processing as in FIG.

In S5001, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether the rendering method adopted by itself is the scanline method or the painters method. In the case of the scan line method, the capacity information management unit 405 proceeds to S5102. In the case of the painters method, the Capability information management unit 405 proceeds to S5103.

In S5102, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the rendering method information in the device Capacity, assuming that the rendering method is the scanline method.

In S5103, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the rendering method information in the device Capacity, assuming that the rendering method is the painters method.

In S5004, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether the interpret method adopted by itself is the PDFtoPS method or the DirectPDF method. In the case of the DirectPDF method, the Capacity information management unit 405 proceeds to S5105. In the case of the PDFtoPS method, the Capability information management unit 405 proceeds to S5106.

In S5105, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the interpreter algorithm included in the device Capability to the DirectPDF.

In S5106, the Capability information management unit 405 sets the interpreter algorithm included in the device Capability to PDFtoPS.

Since S5007 to S5016 are the same processes as those in FIG. 11, the description thereof will be omitted.

By the above processing, the device capacity calculation processing by the image forming apparatus 101 in this embodiment is executed.

The client terminal 102 receives the device capacity generated in FIG. 14 in S1003 of the device search process shown in FIG. 7, and stores it in the table shown in FIG. 15 (A).

FIG. 15A is a table in which the rendering and interpreting methods adopted by the image forming apparatus 101 are stored for each printer name in the items of the renderer algorithm and the PDF interpreter algorithm, respectively.

<Flowchart of PDF load analysis processing>
A flow of PDF load analysis processing by the client terminal 102 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13. In the second embodiment, the device Capability information obtained from the image forming apparatus 101 includes the rendering and the interpret method, and does not include the drawing object arrangement and the type information that increase the processing load. Therefore, the client terminal 102 sets the drawing object arrangement and the type information that increase the processing load from the notified device Capability. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the same processes as in FIG. 9, and the description of the processes common to those in FIG. 9 will be omitted.

The program for executing the process shown in FIG. 13 is stored in the main storage device 302 or the auxiliary storage device 303, and is realized by the central processing unit 301 executing the program.

When the client terminal 102 receives a print instruction from the user, this flow is started.

In S3002, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the device Capability information of the image forming apparatus of the print job input destination acquired during the device search process of FIG. 7. The processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the table shown in FIG. 15A to specify the renderer algorithm.

In S3103, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether the rendering method adopted by the image forming apparatus 101 at the input destination is the scanline method or the painters method. In the case of the scan line method, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the processing to S3104. In the case of the painters method, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances processing to S3105.

In S3104, the processing load calculation unit 504 uses the number of overlapping objects included in one page as a parameter when determining the processing load in the rendering process, and sets a threshold value thereof. In S3105, the processing load calculation unit 504 uses the number of objects in one page as a parameter when determining the processing load in the rendering process, and sets a threshold value. In S3104 and S3105, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the table shown in FIG. 15B stored in advance, and determines the parameters used when determining the processing load and the threshold value thereof. FIG. 15B stores parameters and threshold values used when determining whether or not the processing load is high for each rendering method.

In S3106, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether the interpret method adopted by the image forming apparatus 101 at the input destination is the PDFtoPS method or the DirectPDF method. In the case of the DirectPDF method, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances processing to S3107. In the case of the PDFtoPS method, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances processing to S3108.

In S3107, the processing load calculation unit 504 sets an object type having a high processing load as an interpret processing as having a transparency attribute and being an ICCBased color space object. Further, in S3107, the processing load calculation unit 504 sets a threshold value used for determining whether or not the processing load is high. In FIG. 13, an ICCBased color space object having a transparency attribute is described as TYPE A. In S3108, the processing load calculation unit 504 sets an object type having a high processing load as an interpret processing as an object having a transparency attribute or an ICCBased color space object. Further, in S3108, the processing load calculation unit 504 sets a threshold value used for determining whether or not the processing load is high. In FIG. 13, an object having a transparency attribute or an ICCBased color space object is described as TYPE B. S3107 and S3108 are executed based on the table shown in FIG. 15C stored in advance in the image forming apparatus.

Since the processes described in S3003 to S3008 are the same processes as in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

By the above processing, the PDF load analysis processing of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment is executed.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention described so far, it is possible to control the format of print data so that printing can be performed without performing processing with a high processing load by the image forming apparatus.

<Example 3>
In the first and second embodiments described above, the load coefficient when the image forming apparatus 101 performs the PDF format image data generated by the client terminal 102 is calculated, and the processing load in the image forming apparatus 101 is considered to be high. In some cases, it was decided to convert to a raster image. In the third embodiment, a method for more easily determining whether or not to convert to a raster image will be described. In the third embodiment, the arrangement information and the object type information of the object having a high processing load are acquired as the device Capability from the image forming apparatus 101. When the generated image data in the PDF format satisfies the object arrangement having a high processing load or includes an object of a type having a high processing load, the client terminal 102 converts the image data in the PDF format into the image data in the raster format. do. Since the contents shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, 11 and 12 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the client terminal 102 in the third embodiment. The program for executing each process shown in FIG. 16 is stored in at least one of the main storage device 302 and the auxiliary storage device 303 of the client terminal 102, and the central processing unit 301 executes the program. Processing is realized. The same processes as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the preflight of S3001, the processing load calculation unit 504 acquires the type, number, and the number of overlapping objects included in each page of the generated PDF.

In S6003, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the number of objects included in one page of PDF data exceeds the threshold value specified by the device Capability. In S6003, when the parameter for determining the processing load is the number of objects on one page and there is a page in which the number of objects on one page exceeds the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2006. In S6003, when the standard of the processing load is the number of objects on one page and the number of objects on one page is equal to or less than the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S6004. When the number of overlapping objects is specified as a parameter for determining the processing load on the device Capability, the processing load calculation unit 504 processes the S6004 without performing the process of comparing the number of objects in one page with the threshold value. Proceed. Further, the threshold value used in S6003 may be 1.

In S6004, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the maximum value of the number of overlapping objects per page of PDF data exceeds the threshold value. When the number of overlapping objects on one page is specified as a parameter for determining the processing load and there is a page in which the number of overlapping objects on one page exceeds the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2006. In S6004, when the number of overlapping objects on one page is specified as a parameter for determining the processing load and the number of overlapping objects on one page is equal to or less than the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S6005. When the number of objects is specified as a parameter for determining the processing load in the device Capability acquired from the image forming apparatus 101, the processing load calculation unit 504 does not perform the determination described in S6004 and proceeds to S6005. ..

Next, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the PDF data includes an object of the type specified as an object having a high processing load by the device Capability. When the PDF data includes a drawing command corresponding to an object having a high processing load, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the processing to S6006. If an object of a type with a high processing load is not included, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to process in S2007.

In S6006, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the number of high-load type objects included in one page exceeds the threshold value. When the number of high-load type objects included in one page exceeds the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2006. When the number of high-load type objects included in one page is equal to or less than the threshold value, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2007. The threshold value here may be 1. In this embodiment, after determining in S6005 whether or not the PDF data includes an object having a high processing load in the image forming apparatus, it is determined whether or not the number of the objects exceeds the threshold value. If the determination of S6006 is not performed and an object having a high load is included, the process may proceed to S2006 regardless of the number of objects.

By doing so, when there is a possibility that the interpreter processing and the rendering processing in the image forming apparatus 101 take time, the client terminal can perform the rasterization processing and transmit the raster image to the image forming apparatus. can.

In Example 3, unlike Examples 1 and 2, the setting analysis process of the image forming apparatus before the conversion process to the raster image was not performed. Before the conversion to the raster format in S2006, the process described in S2004 of FIG. 8 may be executed, and it may be decided whether or not to perform the conversion to the raster format according to the result. Further, in the third embodiment, the process described in S6004 and S6005 may not be performed, but only S6005 and S6006 may be performed. In this case, the client terminal performs the rendering process on the client terminal when the rendering process on the image forming apparatus takes time regardless of whether or not the interpret processing on the image forming apparatus takes time. Become. Further, in the third embodiment, it was determined in S6005 whether or not the PDF data includes an object of a type having a high processing load. Then, when it is determined that the PDF data includes an object of a type having a high processing load, it is determined whether or not the number of objects of the type having a high processing load exceeds the threshold value. According to the determination in S6005 that a type of object having a high processing load is included in the PDF data, processing may proceed to S2006 regardless of the number of objects. In the above case, if the device Capability includes an object type having a high processing load in the image forming apparatus, the threshold value may not be included.

As described above, in the third embodiment, it is possible to switch whether or not to perform the rasterization processing on the client terminal based on the arrangement and number of objects included in the PDF data without calculating the load coefficient and the processing time per page. can.

<Example 4>
In the above embodiment, the client performs the image processing when the drawing takes a long time to be executed by the image processing. Among the processes sent from the client terminal, there is a process that the image forming apparatus cannot execute, and the process is converted into another process and executed. If the image processing device substitutes for the processing, a drawing process different from the drawing expected by the client device will be executed. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, it is an object to prevent the print data sent from the client device from including a drawing instruction in which the image forming apparatus performs alternative processing.

In this embodiment, an example focusing on image quality rather than drawing processing load will be given.

The image forming apparatus replaces a specific image processing function with a different processing due to the limitation of the mounted hardware and the like. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a process substituted by the image forming apparatus as described above.

FIG. 17A is a diagram showing an alternative process when the PDF data, which is the received print data, includes an instruction for drawing characters in a font that is not mounted on the image forming apparatus. Here, alternative processing is performed in which the drawing of a font not included in the image forming apparatus is replaced with another font mounted on the image forming apparatus.

601 of FIG. 17A shows the drawing result when the PDF data is displayed in the designated font. On the other hand, 602 shows the drawing result when the substitute processing is performed by the built-in font of the image forming apparatus. In 602 after the substitution processing, the character indicating the parentheses of the character "year (Heisei)" is covered with the character "Heisei" in 602. This occurs when the image forming apparatus develops a proportional font having a different character width for each character included in the PDF data with a font having the same character width. In the PDF data, the drawing start position of each character may be specified. At this time, the drawing start position of each character included in the PDF data is set based on the font width when the PDF data is generated. However, if the font used by the image forming apparatus for font expansion changes, the width when drawing symbols such as parentheses will change from when the PDF data is generated. It happens that the symbols overlap. When the PDF data transmitted by the client terminal includes a font for which the image forming apparatus replaces the font, the client terminal converts the PDF data into raster data and transmits it to the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 17B is a diagram showing an example of an alternative process executed by the image forming apparatus when drawing a transparent object. Originally, the transparency process considers the transparency after applying the specified color profile to the color value of the object placed on the entire surface and the color value of the object placed on the back side to perform color conversion. The transparent synthesis process is executed.

However, since the color space supported by the PDF varies from the Device color space, the ICCBased color space, and the Special color space, the image forming apparatus may not have the transmission processing corresponding to the color space of the received print data. Therefore, the image forming apparatus may perform a process of drawing a pattern such as 604 instead of the transmission process.

FIG. 17B shows a case where a 50% transparency attribute is specified in the region 603 where the white rectangle and the black rectangle overlap. The image forming apparatus arranges the white rectangle and the black rectangle like a checkered pattern like 604 in order to realize the transparent expression in a pseudo manner. 605 is a partially enlarged view of 604. By arranging them so that the arrangement ratio is 50:50, the transparent expression of 50% is reproduced in a pseudo manner. By using a pattern image in which the ratios of the white rectangle and the black rectangle are changed, the transmission ratio can be changed in a pseudo manner. When printing is performed by an image forming apparatus that employs such pseudo-transparency processing, it is desirable for the image quality to be appropriately transparently synthesized on the client terminal side and input to the image forming apparatus in raster format. ..

FIG. 17C shows an example of a case where an object having a spot color designation is color-converted in an alternative color space. The spot color is a color specified by a special color designation other than the CMYK color which is a process color. For example, glossy colors such as gold and silver.

In an image forming apparatus that does not have a process of reproducing a spot color with a color that can be output by the image forming apparatus, the process of reproducing the spot color is replaced by a color conversion of a specific default color space. In the above image forming apparatus, a specific color conversion process possessed by the image forming apparatus is performed on the CMYK signal value designated together with the spot color, and the CMYK value at the time of output is determined.

FIG. 17C shows an object to which a spot color is specified and the result of alternative processing. 606 and 607 are objects to which the spot color is specified. 608 and 609 are objects after 606 and 607 have been replaced. As can be seen from 608 and 609, the alternative processing may eliminate the color difference from other adjacent objects. Therefore, when printing PDF data including spot colors, it is desirable for the image quality to be appropriately spot color matched on the client terminal side and input to the image forming apparatus in a raster format.

In this embodiment, the PDF format or the raster format is switched as the data format of the print data depending on the presence or absence of such an object related to the image quality.

<Flowchart of device capacity generation process>
Also in the fourth embodiment, the sequence from the search for the image forming apparatus by the client terminal to the printing is substantially the same as that in FIG. In the fourth embodiment, the setting of the device capacity in S104 of FIG. 6 is the process of FIG. 18, and the processing load calculation in S108 is the process of FIG. 21 below.

First, the process of generating the device capacity by the image forming apparatus in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This flowchart is started based on the fact that the image forming apparatus 101 receives the acquisition request of the device capacity from the client terminal 102. Further, the program for executing the process shown in FIG. 18 is stored in the main storage device 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203, and is realized by the central processing unit 201 executing the program. For the same processing as in FIG. 14, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 are given, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In S9001, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 101 is an apparatus that performs alternative spot color processing in which an object with a spot color designation is substituted in the default color space. In the case of an apparatus that performs alternative spot color processing, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 proceeds to S9002. If the device does not perform the alternative spot color processing, the Capacity information management unit 405 proceeds to the processing to S9003. Whether or not the image forming apparatus performs the process of converting the spot color in the default color space may be set in advance for each model, or may be set by the user as a device setting.

In S9002, the Capability information management unit 405 additionally sets an alternative spot color to the device Capacity as an item to be executed as an alternative process by itself.

In S9003, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 101 is an apparatus that substitutes the transparent designated object as the pseudo-transparency processing. In the case of an apparatus that performs pseudo-transparency processing, the Capacity information management unit 405 proceeds to S9004. If the device does not perform the pseudo-transparency processing, the Capacity information management unit 405 proceeds to S9005. Whether or not each device performs an alternative process of replacing the transparent object with the pattern image may be set for each model, or may be set by the user after shipment.

In S9004, the Capability information management unit 405 additionally sets the pseudo-transparency processing to the device Capacity as an item to be executed as an alternative processing by itself.

In S9005, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 101 is a device that performs alternative replacement processing for the non-embedded font object with the printer built-in font. In the case of a device that performs alternative replacement processing with the font built in the printer, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 proceeds to S9006. In the case of a device that does not perform alternative replacement processing with the font built in the printer, the Capability Information Management Unit 405 proceeds to processing to S5015. It should be noted that whether or not to perform an alternative process of replacing a predetermined font included in the PDF data with a font stored in the image forming apparatus may be set for each model, or may be set by the user.

In S9006, the Capability information management unit 405 additionally sets the font substitution replacement processing by the printer built-in font to the device Capability as an item to be executed as the substitution processing by itself. In S9006, the Capability information management unit 405 adds information indicating a font to be the target of the alternative processing to the device Capability.

The processing in S5015 and S5016 is the same as in FIG.

By the above processing, the device capacity calculation processing by the image forming apparatus 101 in this embodiment is executed.

In this embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 18 is started based on the reception of the device capacity acquisition request from the client terminal 102. The process shown in FIG. 18 may be executed periodically, or may be executed at a predetermined timing such as the power on of the image forming apparatus and the timing of returning from sleep.

<Device Capacity information table>
Next, the data structure of the device Capability information table in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The table shown in FIG. 19 is a table for the client terminal 102 to manage the device capacity received from the image forming apparatus 101.

The device capacity information table of FIG. 19 is a table that is managed as a list for each printer name of the image forming apparatus and stores information to be referred to for determining what kind of alternative processing is to be performed.

"Printer Name" is the name of the image forming apparatus that transmitted the device Capability. The Printer Name may be an identification number or the like unique to each image forming apparatus. The "alternative processing" holds the alternative processing performed by each image forming apparatus for each function.

In the example of FIG. 19, Printer A implements font substitution, pseudo-transparency processing, and alternative spot color as alternative processing. Further, when the PDF data describes that the character code is expanded by Font A, the Printer A stores that the character code is expanded by another font.

Similarly, it is shown in the table that Printer B performs font substitution and alternative spot color, and Printer C performs pseudo-transparency processing and alternative spot color as alternative processing.

The client terminal 102 refers to the information of the alternative processing included in the device Capability, and determines whether to use the PDF format or the raster format as the print data format. This is determined by whether there is a non-embedded font object in the case of font substitution, a transparency attribute specification object in the case of pseudo-transparency processing, and a spot color specification object in the case of alternative spot color.

<Flowchart of print data optimization process>
Next, with reference to FIG. 20, the print data optimization process executed when the client terminal 102 receives the print instruction in the fourth embodiment will be described. When the client terminal receives a print request from the user, it generates print data in PDF format. From the drawing object structure of the converted PDF data and the device capacity information, it is determined whether or not there is an object to which the alternative processing is applied. When there is an object to which the alternative processing is applied, the client terminal converts the PDF data into a raster format and sends it to the image forming apparatus.

The program for executing the process described in this flowchart is stored in the main storage device 302 or the auxiliary storage device 303, and the process is realized by the central processing unit 301 executing the program.

When the client terminal 102 receives the print request from the user, this flow is started. The same processes as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The processing in S2001 and S2006 is the same as in FIG.

The processing in S3001 and S3002 is the same as in FIG.

In S7001, the processing load calculation unit 504 executes a determination process for determining whether or not the generated PDF data includes an object to be substituted by the image forming apparatus. The details of the determination process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S7002, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the determination result of S7001 and determines whether or not there is an object to which the alternative processing is applied to the PDF data. If there is an object to which the alternative processing is applied, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the processing to S2006. In S2006, a process of converting the generated PDF data into raster data is executed. If the object to which the alternative processing is applied does not exist, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2007. In this case, the client terminal 102 transmits the generated PDF data as it is to the image forming apparatus.

The processing in S2007 is the same as in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a process executed by the processing load calculation unit 504 in S7001 of FIG.

The program for executing the process described in this flowchart is stored in the main storage device 302 or the auxiliary storage device 303, and the process is realized by the central processing unit 301 executing the program.

In S2101, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the device Capability of the image forming apparatus to which the image data is sent, and determines whether or not the Capability that substitutes the spot color conversion process by another color conversion process is included. judge. For example, when the printer used for printing is "Printer A", the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the table shown in FIG. 19 and determines whether or not the alternative processing of Printer A includes the "alternative spot color". do. When the device capacity indicates that the spot color color conversion process is replaced by another process, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the process to S2102. If the device capacity does not indicate that the spot color color conversion process is replaced by another process, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2102.

In S2102, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the PDF data generated in S2001 includes an object for which a spot color is specified. The processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the PDF data and determines whether or not characters and figures that specify the spot color are included. When it is determined that the PDF data includes an object for which a spot color is specified, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2107. If the PDF data does not include an object for which a spot color is specified, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2103.

In S2103, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the device Capability of the image forming apparatus to which the image data is sent, and determines whether or not the Capability indicating that the transmission process is replaced with the pattern image is included. judge. For example, when the printer used for printing is "Printer A", the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the table shown in FIG. 19 and determines whether or not "pseudo-transparency processing" is included in the alternative processing of Printer A. do. When the device transparency is indicated to substitute the transparency processing with the drawing of the pattern image, the processing load calculation unit 504 advances the processing to S2104. If the device transparency does not indicate that the transparency process is replaced by drawing a pattern image, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2105.

In S2104, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the PDF data generated in S2001 includes an object for which transparent processing is specified. If an object for which transparency processing is specified is included, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to processing to S2107. If the object for which transparent processing is specified is not included, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2105.

In S2105, the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the device Capability of the image forming apparatus to which the image data is sent. The processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the referenced device Capability includes a Capability that performs alternative processing for expanding a specific font with another font that can be expanded by the image forming apparatus. For example, when the printer used for printing is "Printer A", the processing load calculation unit 504 refers to the table shown in FIG. 19 and determines whether or not "font substitution" is included in the alternative processing of Printer A. .. When the Capability indicating that the specific font is expanded by another font that can be expanded by the image forming apparatus is included, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2106. If the Capability indicating that the alternative process of expanding the specific font with another font that can be expanded by the image forming apparatus is performed is not included, the processing load calculation unit 504 ends the flow shown in FIG. 21.

In S2106, the processing load calculation unit 504 determines whether or not the PDF data generated in S2001 includes a command for designating a specific font. The specific font is a font specified by the device Capacity. For example, when the image forming apparatus used for printing is "Printer A", among the alternative processes corresponding to Printer A in FIG. 19, "Font A" designated by font substitution is a specific font. The specific font may be one type or a plurality of types. When the PDF data includes a command for designating a specific font, the processing load calculation unit 504 proceeds to S2107. If the PDF data does not include a command for designating a specific font, the processing load calculation unit 504 ends the flow shown in FIG. 21.

In S2107, the processing load calculation unit 504 stores in the auxiliary storage device 303 a flag indicating that the PDF data includes an object to be replaced by the image forming apparatus. In S7002 of FIG. 20, the processing load calculation unit 504 makes a determination based on the flag stored in S2107.

By the above processing, the print data optimization processing of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment is executed. By doing so, when there is an object in the PDF data to which the alternative processing is applied by the image forming apparatus, the rasterization processing can be performed on the client terminal.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, when it is determined that the processing load is high, it is determined whether or not the image forming apparatus is set to take a long time for the raster format processing. If it is determined that the processing load in the PDF format is high without performing the determination, the conversion to the raster format may be performed.

In the above embodiment, the device capacity is acquired from the image forming apparatus at the timing of device search. The timing of acquiring the device capacity is not limited to the above timing. For example, in the client terminal 102, the device capacity may be acquired from the selected image forming apparatus at the timing when the image forming apparatus used for printing is selected. Further, the client terminal 102 may acquire the device capacity from the image forming apparatus based on the instruction from the user to execute printing.

In the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 3, when the PDF data generated by the client terminal is PDF data including an object having a high processing load in the image forming apparatus, the format conversion is executed. Then, in the fourth embodiment, the format conversion is executed for the PDF data generated by the client terminal when the image forming apparatus may execute a predetermined alternative process for the PDF data. When the PDF data generated by the client terminal is PDF data including an object having a high processing load on the image forming apparatus, or when the PDF data may be subjected to a predetermined alternative processing on the image forming apparatus. , Format conversion may be performed.

The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program code. This is the process to be executed. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium in which the computer program is stored constitutes the present invention.

Claims (20)

An information processing device that sends print data to an image forming device.
A receiving means for receiving information indicating a process that can be executed by the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus, and a receiving means.
A determination means for determining whether or not to convert the print data into print data in a predetermined format based on the received information.
A conversion means for converting print data in a predetermined format that does not include a predetermined process among the processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the determination by the determination means.
An information processing apparatus comprising: a transmission means for transmitting the print data converted into the predetermined format to the image forming apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means can perform the processing of drawing an object having a high processing load in the image forming apparatus. The determination means determines whether or not to convert the print data into the predetermined format based on whether or not the image forming apparatus includes a command to execute a predetermined process among the processes indicated by the information at least. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination is made. The determination means determines whether or not to convert the print data into the predetermined format based on the number of commands for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined process included in the print data per page. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is characterized by the above. The information according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines whether or not to convert the print data into the predetermined format based on the number of objects overlapping with the print data per page. Processing equipment. The predetermined format is a raster format.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the conversion means converts print data in PDF format into print data in raster format. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the received information is information determined based on an interpret method used by the image forming apparatus for interpreting the print data. .. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the received information is based on the renderer algorithm of the print data of the image forming apparatus. Further having a search means for searching for an image forming apparatus,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the receiving means receives the information from the image forming apparatus detected by the search. The process that can be executed by the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the characters included in the print data received from the information processing apparatus are developed in a font different from the predetermined font specified in the print data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The process according to claim 1, wherein the process that can be executed by the image forming apparatus is a process of replacing a transparent object included in the print data received from the information processing apparatus with drawing of a pattern image and printing. Information processing equipment. The processing that can be performed by the image forming apparatus is a color for a color specified in a predetermined format included in the print data received from the information processing apparatus and a color specified in a format different from the predetermined format. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a process for executing a conversion process. An image forming device that can communicate with an information processing device.
A receiving means for receiving a request for capability information of the image forming apparatus from the information processing apparatus, and
A transmission means for transmitting information indicating a predetermined process among the processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus to the information processing apparatus in response to the received request.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a receiving means for receiving print data not including a command for executing the predetermined process from the information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined process is a process of developing characters included in the print data in a font different from the predetermined font specified in the print data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the transmitting means transmits information indicating the predetermined font to the information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined process is a process of replacing a transparent object included in the print data with drawing of a pattern image and printing. The information indicating the predetermined processing is in a format different from the predetermined format for the color specified in the predetermined format instead of the color conversion processing for the color specified in the predetermined format included in the print data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the information indicates that the color conversion process for the color specified in is executed. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the print data that does not include a command for executing the predetermined process is print data of a raster image. The item according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein the print data is print data generated by the processing apparatus converting print data including a command for executing the predetermined process. The image forming apparatus described. It is a control method of an information processing device that transmits print data to an image forming device.
A receiving step of receiving information indicating a process that can be executed by the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus, and
A determination step for determining whether or not to convert the print data into print data in a predetermined format based on the received information.
A conversion step of converting into print data in a predetermined format that does not include a predetermined process among the processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the determination in the determination step.
A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising: a transmission means for transmitting the print data converted into the predetermined object to the image forming apparatus.

Images