JP3303628B2 - Page data imposition device and plate making device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a page data imposition device and a plate making device for performing imposition at the time of making a plate. It is suitable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a printing method in which a printing plate is prepared using a plate making film and printing is performed using the printing plate. The printing process of this printing method will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, first, in a first step K1, print data is created in units of one page using a computer. Then, in a second step K2, a plate making film is created based on the print data. When the print data is color data, a printed matter is expressed using a plurality of colors, so a printing plate for each color is required. For this reason, it is necessary to create a plate making film corresponding to the printing plate for each color. As the type of the plate making film, cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y and black K are generally used. For this purpose, the print data is color-separated into the above four colors on a computer, and each plate making film is created by an exposure machine based on each data. Each plate making film created in this way,
It is called separation film. Further, fine dots called halftone dots are formed at equal intervals on the separation film, and gradation is expressed by the size of the dots.

[0003] In a third step K3, an operation of collecting the separation films into units of several pages for each color is performed. This operation is referred to as a printing plate imposing operation, and a printing plate machine is known as a device for automatically performing this operation. Next, in a fourth step K4, a printing plate is prepared. More specifically, a separation plate on which a printing plate imposing operation has been completed is superimposed on a printing plate to which a photosensitive material has been applied, and exposed and developed to form a printing plate.

In a fifth step K5, the printing plate thus prepared is mounted on a printing press and printing is performed. Here, the offset printing press will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure,
The first to fourth printing units YY, MM, CC, and KK sequentially print yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K, respectively. In the first printing section YY, a printing plate is mounted on the surface of the plate cylinder Y1 to form a plate surface. First, when dampening water is applied to the printing plate, only the non-image portions of the printing plate receive the moisture.
When the printing ink is applied thereto, the printing ink adheres only to the image area due to the repulsion of water. When the plate cylinder Y1 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the printing ink is transferred to the rubber blanket cylinder Y2.
Is copied to Thereafter, the sheet aa sent from the sheet feeding device A passes through the rubber blanket cylinder Y2 and the impression cylinder Y3, and at this time, yellow Y is printed on the sheet aa. Then, in the second to fourth printing units MM, CC, and KK, the first printing unit YY
Similarly, the respective colors of magenta M, cyan C, and black K are printed, respectively, and printing ends.

In this way, printing is performed through each of the printing steps K1 to K5. In the final fifth step K5, since printing is performed using dampening water, the sheet aa is printed. Will stretch. For this reason, there is a problem in that the printing position shifts as the printing sections YY, MM, CC, and KK pass. This will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, when printing is performed on the printing plate T1 of the first printing plate, the printing paper Q1 on which the register mark tb1 representing the reference position is printed is replaced with the printing plate T of the nth printing plate.
n, the printing paper Q on which the register mark tbn is printed
n. Here, the size of the first printing plate T1 and the size of the nth printing plate Tn are the same, but the printing paper Q
n has increased due to the influence of dampening water and the like. Therefore, the registration mark tbn printed on the nth edition does not match the registration mark tb1 printed on the first edition, and is printed inside. When the printing position shifts as described above, the sharpness of the printed matter is impaired.

[0006] In the conventional printing method, in order to solve this problem, when the printing plate imposition is performed in the third step K3,
Create a printing plate by shifting the position of the separation film for each color,
The printing position was prevented from shifting.

[0007]

By the way, with the advance of digital technology, CtP (Computer to Computer) for directly creating a printing plate from print data without using a plate making film.
Plate) technology is being developed. In this CtP, print data is input to a printing plate output machine,
The printing plate coated with the photosensitive material is irradiated with a laser beam modulated based on the printing data to expose the printing plate. Thereafter, this is developed to produce a printing plate for each color plate.

In the conventional printing method, a color separation film is created based on print data, and the position of the color separation film is adjusted when the color separation film is imprinted, thereby eliminating the positional deviation. For this reason, the plate output machine does not have a function of shifting the exposure position on the plate by operating the print data.
Therefore, CtP for supplying print data to the plate output machine
Is difficult to apply to offset printing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its main object to provide a page data imposition apparatus and a plate making apparatus which can easily perform imposition of print data. .

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an imposition position on a printing plate is determined for each color based on color-separated page data. A page data imposition device for respectively generating output data adjusted to the same, comprising: first storage means for storing the separation page data; and imposition instruction data indicating an arrangement of the separation page data, wherein Input means for inputting the imposition instruction data, display means for displaying the imposition instruction data, and generation means for generating the output data for each printing plate based on the imposition instruction data and the separation page data. And characterized in that:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the input means inputs identification information for identifying the imposition instruction data, and the display means displays the identification information.
A second storage unit that stores the identification information and the imposition instruction data in association with each other, a selection unit that selects the identification information displayed on the display unit, and a storage unit that stores the identification information selected by the selection unit. And reading means for reading the imposition instruction data from the second storage means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing plate preparation apparatus for preparing printing plates in which the imposition position is adjusted for each color based on the color separation page data. A first storage unit for storing the separation page data; an imposition instruction data indicating an arrangement of the separation page data for each printing plate; and an identification for identifying the imposition instruction data. Input means for inputting information, second storage means for storing the identification information and the imposition instruction data in association with each other, display means for displaying the imposition instruction data and the identification information, and display means Selecting means for selecting the identification information displayed on, and generating means for respectively generating plate data for creating each plate based on the imposition instruction data and the separation page data, Based on this plate data Characterized in that it comprises an exposure means for exposing said each plate.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the imposition instruction data input by the input means is:
Since the display is displayed on the display means, the operator can give the imposition instruction while checking the imposition instruction data. The generating means generates output data for each printing plate based on the imposition instruction data and the separation page data. Therefore, if each printing plate is created based on the output data, the printing shift of each color is performed. Is prevented.

According to the present invention, identification information for identifying the imposition instruction data is also displayed on the display means. When this is selected by the selection means, the imposition instruction data is read. Output data, and output data can be generated based on the output data. In the present invention described in claim 2,
A plate making device having a page data imposition device may be used.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1. Configuration of Embodiment Hereinafter, a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a page data imposition device, which generates output data DS in which the layout of pages to be exposed on each printing plate is adjusted. 2 is CEPS (Color Electron
ic prepress system), and generates page data DP. The CEPS2 is an image processing apparatus centered on a computer, and has a color scanner for capturing an image. The above-described page data DP is data in units of pages of print data, and has a resolution required for creating a printing plate. Reference numeral 3 denotes a page design system, which generates page data DP similarly to CEPS2. As a language of the page data DP generated by the page design system 3, for example, a page description language such as Post Script is used. Reference numeral 4 denotes a printing plate output machine, which creates a printing plate for each printing plate based on the output data DS.

Next, the configuration of the page data imposition apparatus 1 will be described. Reference numeral 10 denotes a CPU, which controls the operation of the entire page data imposition apparatus 1. Reference numeral 11 denotes a keyboard, by which numerals, characters, and the like are input. Reference numeral 12 denotes a mouse, by which an operation instruction is input. 13
Is a main storage device composed of a memory or the like, and stores page data DP, various management data, and the like. A hard disk 14 stores a large amount of page data DP and the like. Reference numeral 15 denotes a monitor on which an imposition instruction and an instruction registration screen for registering the instruction are displayed. Also, in the instruction registration screen, a GUI as an instruction target of
Is displayed.

[0017] 2. The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. First, when the process starts,
The page data DP is supplied from the CEPS 2 or the page design system 3 to the page data imposition apparatus 1. The page data DP is temporarily stored in the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14 under the control of the CPU 10.

Here, the page data DP generated by the CEPS 2 or the page design system 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the drawing, the page data DP is configured by combining various data. 1
The operation of arranging various data in a page is called plate collection, and the collected data becomes page data DP. The page data DP includes image data GD, character data MD, and graphic data ZD.

First, the image data GD will be described.
When a printed material such as a catalog is created, it is necessary to appropriately arrange photos and prices of products to be published therein. For this reason, a plurality of image files corresponding to various products are prepared in advance. In the plate collection process, a predetermined image file is read and used as an image material. In addition, one image file is composed of image materials having a certain area, but there are cases where it is desired to use a part of the image material. Sometimes used. Therefore, the image data GD has the following information. That is, the image file name, the shape of the image window, the relative coordinates of the page origin of the image window, the relative coordinates of the page origin of the image arrangement, and the image enlargement ratio for specifying the file. Further, since the image data GD is also intended for a color image, it is represented by yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K, or red R, green G, and blue B, and has the above information for each color. The page origin in this example is “0” at the lower left corner.

The character data MD has a character color (YMC
K value), typeface name, and page origin relative coordinates. Further, the graphic data ZD includes information such as a shape, a line type, a line color (YMCK value), a line width, an end point processing method, a paint method, a paint color (YMCK value), and page origin relative coordinates.

Next, in step S2 shown in FIG.
U10 reads out the page data DP stored in the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14, and decomposes the page data into page data PD corresponding to each color plate. In the following description, the decomposed page data PD is divided into separated page data B
Call it PD. In this example, in order to correspond to the Y, M, C and K versions, four separated page data BP
D is generated. This processing will be described with reference to FIG. First, for image data GD, YMCK
When the data is represented by RGB, it is converted to YMCK when represented by RGB. Next, the character data MD
Is decomposed using the YMCK value specified by the character color. Further, the graphic data is decomposed for the ZD using the YMCK value specified by the line color and the fill color. The various data thus decomposed are collected for each of the Y, M, C, and K versions, and four separated page data BPDs are generated for the same page.

When the step S2 is completed, the process proceeds to a step S3 shown in FIG. 2, and a necessary imposition page of the separation page data BPD is performed according to the final printing plate size for each color plate. Specifically, the user specifies which pages are to be arranged in what direction and position on the printing plate.

This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a printing plate imposition instruction / registration screen displayed on the monitor 15. In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes an image display unit, which displays a simulation screen indicating a printing plate position under predetermined conditions. Reference numeral 200 denotes a target display unit,
The color plate or page to be imposed is displayed. Also, 3
Reference numeral 00 denotes an imposition pattern list display section, which displays registered imposition patterns. Reference numeral 400 denotes an imposition setting display unit that displays a plate size, a page size, and the like.

First, when the operator operates the keyboard 11 and the mouse 12 to input the printing plate size, that is, the width W and the height H of the printing plate, the input values are displayed in the setting display section 40.
0 are displayed in display frames 421 and 422. Next, when the page size, that is, the width W and height H of the page is input, the input values are displayed in the display frames 431 and 432. When the number of pages to be imposed on one printing plate is input, the input value is displayed in the display frame 440. If “4” is displayed in the display frame 440 as in this example, 1
Imposition of 4 pages per printing plate is performed.

When the above-mentioned input is made, a simulation screen showing the printing plate position is displayed on the print image display section 110. That is, the respective page portions 111 to 114 arranged in the printing plate 110 are displayed. Here, the mouse 12
Is operated, the display frame 212 is clicked, and the type of each color plate of YMCK is input using the keyboard 11 or the like, and the type of the color plate input there is displayed in the display frame 212.
In this example, the cyan C plane is targeted.

Next, which page is to be arranged in each of the page units 111 to 114 is specified. Therefore, when a target page portion is specified with the mouse 12 and a page number is input using the keyboard 11, the page number is displayed in the display frame 220 and the page number is displayed in the page portion. Thereafter, in order to specify the layout direction of the page, the target page portion is specified with the mouse 12 and the layout direction is input with the keyboard 11, and the layout direction is displayed in the display frame 230. In this example, the fourth page is arranged in the page section 112 upside down. Note that the page number displayed in the page portion is represented by a number rotated according to the arrangement direction of the page arranged there.

Thereafter, the arrangement positions of the respective page portions 111 to 114 in the printing plate 110 are specified. Therefore, when the target page portion is specified by the mouse 12 and the coordinate value of the lower left corner of the page portion is input using the keyboard 11 with reference to the printing plate origin, the X and Y coordinate values are displayed in the display frames 241, 242. Will be displayed. The plate origin is usually the lower left corner of the plate.

After the imposition instruction has been input in this way, the process proceeds to step S31, where it is selected whether or not to register the current page imposition instruction. When registering, display frame 2
43 or 410 is specified with the mouse 12, and the imposition pattern name is input using the keyboard 11. Thereafter, when the registration unit 450 is clicked with the mouse 12 (step S
4) Imposition pattern data representing the imposition instruction described above together with the imposition pattern name is stored in the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14. Therefore, the main storage device 13
Alternatively, the hard disk 14 functions as storage means for imposition pattern data. Also, the pattern list display section 31
At 0, the imposed pattern name is newly displayed. On the other hand, when registration is not performed, no special operation is performed.

Next, it is determined whether or not the registered imposition pattern is to be read (step S41). When reading a registered imposition pattern, the pattern list display unit 3
The imposition pattern name displayed in 10 is clicked with the mouse 12, and then the calling unit 320 is clicked (step S5). Then, the CPU 10 accesses the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14, reads out imposition pattern data corresponding to the imposition pattern name, and displays a printing plate imposition instruction / registration screen based on the data. When the reading is stopped after clicking the imposition pattern name with the mouse 12, the cancel unit 330 may be clicked with the mouse 12. In this manner, by reading the registered imposition pattern data, the input operation of the imposition instruction can be omitted. On the other hand, when the imposition pattern is not read, no special operation is performed.

Thereafter, when the execution unit 500 is clicked with the mouse 12, the separation page data BDP corresponding to each page number arranged in the page units 111 to 114 is read from the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14, and Output data DS is generated based on the plate page data BDP and the imposition instruction displayed on the printing plate imposition instruction / registration screen, and is stored in the main storage device 13 or the hard disk 14 (step S6). The format of the output data DS is a data format having separate imposition pattern data and separation page data, and one printing data of the entire printing plate whose page position has been adjusted in consideration of the imposition pattern data. Data format. Which data format is to be output depends on the type of the printing plate output machine 4 at the subsequent stage, and can be selectively output.

When the keyboard 11 is operated to input an output instruction to the printing plate output device 4, output data DS is supplied from the page data imposition device 1 to the printing plate output device 4,
A printing plate is created based on this (step S).
7). Since the output data DS is obtained by adjusting the page position in the printing plate, it is possible to create a printing plate in which the printing position deviation between the respective color plates is considered in advance. For example, in the offset printing press shown in FIG. 7, if the printing of black K performed in the fourth printing unit KK is performed 0.3 mm outside due to the influence of dampening water, a printing plate used therefor is created. The output data DS for the printing is generated so as to correspond to this condition, so that the deviation of the printing position can be eliminated. Thereby, CtP can be applied to offset printing.

[0032] 3. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, for example, as follows.

In the above embodiment, the call of the registered page imposition instruction shown in FIG. 2 (step S41) may not be performed after the registration of the current page imposition instruction (steps S31 and S4). That is, when the page imposition instruction is performed (step S3), the page imposition instruction is called,
Based on the called pattern data, a page imposition instruction may be given by making a change to the pattern data.

In the above embodiment, additional information such as a comment may be stored together with the pattern name. In this case, printing conditions such as the type of printing machine, the type of printing paper, and the type of printing ink can be stored. For this reason, it is also possible to issue a page imposition instruction using these additional information. More specifically, when various printing conditions are input, a registered imposition pattern closest to the conditions is read, and a new imposition instruction can be issued by changing the registered imposition pattern.

In the above embodiment, the color plate is YMCK
Although the plate is used, a special feature such as gold and silver may be added thereto.

In the above embodiment, the page data imposition apparatus 1 outputs the output data D adjusted for the page imposition position.
By generating S, the printing position deviation due to the elongation of the printing paper in the offset printing is eliminated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any purpose of resolving a print position shift, for example, a print position shift due to a mechanical error of a printing press.

In the above embodiment, the delivery of the output data DS between the page data imposition apparatus 1 and the plate output machine 4 may be off-line. In this case, the output data DS generated by the page data imposition apparatus 1 is recorded on an information recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk, and the information recording medium is reproduced by the plate output device 4 to obtain the output data DS. good. Further, the printing plate output machine may have the function of the page data imposition apparatus 1.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, imposition instructions can be given according to each printing plate. Output data is generated for each printing plate based on the imposition instruction data and the separation page data to represent this instruction. If each printing plate is created based on this output data, then It is possible to eliminate a printing deviation caused by a mechanical error, an elongation of a printing sheet generated during printing, and the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily read the imposition instruction data that has already been created, and to generate output data based on the read imposition instruction data. The input of the imposition instruction can be omitted, or a new imposition instruction can be input with reference to the past imposition instruction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
It is.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining page data.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining separated page data.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a printing plate imposition instruction / registration screen.

FIG. 6 is a process chart of a printing method using a plate making film.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an offset printing press.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a printing position shift.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 page data imposition device BDP separation page data DS output data 10 CPU (generating means, reading means) 11 keyboard (input means) 12 mouse (input means, selecting means) 13 main storage device (first and second storage) Means) 14 hard disk (first and second storage means) 15 monitor (display means)

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-208219 (JP, A) JP-A-2-88239 (JP, A) JP-A-60-76747 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41C 1/10-1/12 B41B 23/00-27/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A page data imposition apparatus for generating output data in which an imposition position on a printing plate is adjusted for each color based on color-separated separation page data, wherein the separation page data is First storage means for storing the imposition instruction data representing the arrangement of the separation page data for each printing plate; display means for displaying the imposition instruction data; A page data imposing apparatus, comprising: generating means for generating the output data for each printing plate based on the instruction data and the color separation page data. 2. The input means inputs identification information for identifying the imposition instruction data, the display means displays the identification information, and stores the identification information and the imposition instruction data in association with each other. Storage means, selection means for selecting the identification information displayed on the display means, and the imposition instruction data from the second storage means in accordance with the identification information selected by the selection means. 2. The page data imposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising reading means for reading. 3. A printing plate preparation apparatus for preparing printing plates in which the imposition position is adjusted for each color based on the separated color separation page data, wherein a first color separation page data is stored. Storage means, and input means for inputting imposition instruction data representing the arrangement of the separation page data for each printing plate, and inputting identification information for identifying the imposition instruction data; and Second storage means for storing the imposition instruction data in association with each other; display means for displaying the imposition instruction data and the identification information; and selection means for selecting the identification information displayed on the display means. Generating means for respectively generating plate data for creating each of the printing plates based on the imposition instruction data and the separation page data; and generating the printing plates based on the printing plate data. Exposure means for exposing Printing plate making apparatus according to claim Rukoto.