JP3513930B2 - Printer control device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to raster rasterization of a form (electronic overlay) in a page memory (development of 0,1 data into pixels), and then rasterization of input data to be written in the same page memory. The present invention relates to a printer control device of the type that performs expansion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printer which prints by giving print data from a host computer or a magnetic tape, a predetermined form and input data to be written in the form are
Some print at the same time. In such a case, the printer controller performs raster expansion of the form and raster expansion of the input data and outputs them to the printer.

Since raster rasterization is a relatively time-consuming process, various proposals have been made to speed up printing. For example, there is one in which a page memory dedicated to raster expansion of a form and a page memory dedicated to raster expansion of input data are provided and these raster expansions are processed in parallel (eg, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-121526). ). Also,
There is a method in which data of a raster-expanded form is compressed in advance and stored in a memory somewhere, and when it is necessary, it is read out and decompressed for use.
182822, JP-A-2-159616, JP-A-62-22
6325 publication).

However, the parallel processing requires another set of page memory and the like, and the one for compressing and holding the form requires a compression circuit and a decompression circuit, both of which increase the cost. To keep costs low,
The raster expansion of the form is first performed on one page memory of the printer control device, and then the raster expansion of the input data is sequentially performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a general configuration of such a printer controller. In FIG. 5, 1 is an input medium, 2 is a printer controller, 3 is an input controller, and 4 is O.
S and device driver, 5 is an input processing unit, 6 is an output control unit, 7 is a CPU and memory, 8 is an interface, 9 is a bus, 10 is a disk as a large-capacity storage unit, and 11 is a storage unit (disk) control. An apparatus, 12 is an intermediate memory, 13 is an imaging mechanism, 14 is a page memory, 15 is a video data sending mechanism, 16 is an interface, 17 is a video data receiving mechanism, and 18 is a printer. In the page memory 14, raster expansion of a form and raster expansion of input data to be written therein are sequentially performed.

O drawn in the CPU and the memory 7
The S, the device driver 4, the input processing unit 5, and the output control unit 6 are actually programs. Each program is stored in the disk 10, and when the printer control device 2 is activated (started), the CP
U and memory in memory 7 are loaded.

The input processing section 5 operates when data to be printed by the printer 18 is input from the input medium 1 such as a magnetic tape. The data includes data related to the form and data related to input data to be written in the form. Based on these, the input processing unit 5 creates various print formats including information adapted to a form suitable for actual printing by the printer 18, and temporarily stores them in the disk 10. .

As a print format to be created,
"Page print format" for the entire page
And "input data print format" for input data to be written in the form of the page. The "form print format" of the form that is likely to be used is stored in the disk 10 in advance and is not created by the input processing unit 5 one by one. To do.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the storage status of each print format on the disc. P ₁ ~P _K, D ₁ ~K
_K , F _{1 to} F _H indicate the start address of the area in which each print format is stored. The form print formats 36 to 38 are the form A and form A, respectively.
The print formats for B, ... H are stored in advance. Page print format 3
0 to 32 are print formats for the entire pages of 1 page, 2 pages, ... K pages, respectively, which are created by the input processing unit 5 and sent. The input data print formats 33 to 35 are respectively 1 page, 2 pages, ...
It is a print format for input data to be written on page K, and is also created and sent by the input processing unit 5.

The output controller 6 reads the page print format from the disk 10 via the disk controller 11 page by page and loads the input data print format and the form print format of the page into the intermediate memory 12 based on the page print format. . For example, when the page print format 30 of the first page is read and it is written that the form used for the first page is “form B”, the form print format 37 of the form B is loaded into the intermediate memory 12. To do. Then, the input data print format 3 for the first page
Of course, 3 is also loaded into the intermediate memory 12.

Next, the imaging mechanism 13 rasterizes the form print format on the page memory 14, then rasterizes the input data print format and logically synthesizes with the raster expansion of the form print format. Since this printer control device has only one page memory and performs raster expansion of the form and input data there, two raster expansions cannot be performed in parallel, and the raster expansion of the form is not possible. The raster expansion is sequentially performed such that the raster expansion of the input data is performed after the completion of.

As described above, the bit map data in which the input data is written in the form is completed. This is sent from the printer control device 2 through the video data sending mechanism 15 and received by the printer 18 by the video data receiving mechanism 17. The printer 18 prints based on the received data. Control signals and the like between the printer control device 2 and the printer 18 are the interfaces 8, 1
It is exchanged via 6.

[0013]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

(Problem) The above-described conventional printer control device has a problem that the output speed of video data suddenly decreases when the form used is complicated.

(Explanation of Problems) FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the raster development time and the video output section. Figure 6
FIG. 6B shows the case where the output speed has not decreased, and FIG. 6B shows the case where the output speed has decreased. (A) shows a page section which is a time section (pitch) for one page, and this section is composed of a section where the page sync signal is high (H) and a section where it is low (L). In the case of a printer controller for a printer that prints 120 pages per minute, one page section is 500
msec. If one page of video data is output per page section, printing is performed at the original speed.

(B) shows the time when the raster expansion of the form is performed, and (c) shows the time when the raster expansion of the input data is performed. By the way, 1b is the time for rasterizing the form of the first page, and 1c is 1
This is the time for rasterizing the input data of the page. (D) shows the video data of the previous page in the printer 18
It is the time to send to. By the way, 2d is 1
This is the time during which the video data obtained by the raster expansion performed in b and 1c is sent to the printer 18.

In the case of FIG. 6A, every page is
Raster expansion of form and raster expansion of input data is 1
Since it ends within the page section, the video data can be output in the next page section. Therefore, in this case, since one page is printed in each page section,
Printing can be performed at the speed originally possessed by the printer 18.

However, in the case of FIG. 6B, the raster expansion of the form and input data of the third page is performed in the page section 3.
Not finished within. Raster expansion 3c of input data
However, it has cut into page section 4. In such a case, the video data is not transmitted in the page section 4 but in the next page section 5. This occurs when the form used for the third page is complicated and raster expansion takes a long time. If two page sections are spent to process one page, the speed will be halved.

Recently, not only simple straight line forms but also rounded lines and forms with decorative patterns have come to be used, but it takes a relatively long time to rasterize these forms. take time. Since rasterization of the input data is performed after that, rasterization does not end within one page section. If you use such a foam only once, it will not slow down much. However, it is often the case that the same form must be printed in succession, such as printing the same form in succession, and when the form is complicated, the reason described above is used. As a result, each page takes two page sections, so the printing speed is halved. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[0019]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a printer control apparatus of the present invention stores an input processing section for creating a required print format based on data from an input medium and the print format. A storage unit, an output control unit for sequentially rasterizing the form print format and the input data print format for one page read from the storage unit to the intermediate memory on the same page memory, and the rasterized data to the printer. In a printer control device having a video data transmission mechanism for transmitting, the page memory has a capacity for storing raster rasterization data for at least two pages, and the output control unit is configured such that the form of this page is the form of the next page , The raster expansion data of the form on this page is copied to the empty area of the page memory. When the raster expansion of the next page is performed, the raster expansion data of the copied form is used to omit the expansion processing of the form print format of the next page on the page memory. .

Further, the printer control device of the present invention includes an input processing unit for creating a required print format based on data from an input medium, a storage unit for storing the print format, and an intermediate memory from the storage unit. Printer control having an output control unit for sequentially rasterizing a read form print format for one page and an input data print format on the same page memory, and a video data transmission mechanism for transmitting raster expanded data to a printer In the apparatus, the page memory has a capacity to store at least two pages of raster expansion data, and the output control unit performs a process of copying the raster expansion data of the form of this page to an empty area of the page memory. When the raster expansion on the next page is performed, the raster expansion data of the copied form If that can be used, characterized by omitting the expansion processing onto the page memory in the form print format on the next page.

[0021]

[Operation] If the form used on this page is the same as the form used on the next page and the page memory has an empty area, the raster expansion data of the form on this page is copied to the empty area. This eliminates the need to rasterize the form on the next page. The time to copy raster rasterization data is shorter than the time to newly rasterize, so
It is possible to prevent the output speed to the printer from decreasing.

When rasterizing a form,
As long as there is a free area in the page memory, the raster expansion data may be copied. Then, when the same form is used on the subsequent pages, it is not necessary to newly develop the raster, and it is possible to prevent the output speed to the printer from decreasing.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The basic configuration of the printer controller of the present invention is as follows.
It is almost the same as that of FIG. The first difference is that in the process of the output control unit 6, when a form is raster-expanded on the page memory 14, if there is a free space, the process is copied. is there. Second difference
The point is that the page memory 14 has a capacity to accommodate at least two pages of raster expansion data. At least 2 to allow the copying
This is because the page capacity is required.

The raster expanded form is page memory 1
Copy and save it on 4 and use it when you need it next time. Since the copy time is much shorter than the new raster expansion time, all raster expansion ends in one page section, and the printing speed becomes faster than before.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the concept of the first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 14 is a page memory, 20 is a raster expanded form for this page, and 21 is a raster expanded form for the next page. After rasterizing this page form 20, check the form to be used on the next page, and if it is the same form, page memory 14
Copy it to the free area. If they are not the same, do not copy. When it comes to processing the next page and trying to use the copied form, if you know that the next page is also the same form, make a copy before using it.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the concept of the second embodiment of the present invention. 22 to 24 are raster expansion forms,
25 to 27 are storage forms. Rasterize a new form and copy and save as much space as possible for use on subsequent pages. If such a copy is used, it takes less time than newly rasterizing, so that rasterization of input data is less likely to go into the next page section, and the printing speed can be increased.

Before the description of each embodiment, the page print format in the present invention will be described. Figure 7
Shows the configuration. 7A is a model (sample) of the configuration, and FIGS. 7B and 7C are specific examples. Figure 7
(B) and (C) are examples of page print formats for one page and two pages in FIG.

The page print format is from column 40.
It is composed of information up to the column 50, and each column is a column in which the following information is described. Column 40: Address of the disk 10 in which the page print format of the previous page is stored. This indicates a link relationship.
The column 40 in (b) is set to “0”, which means that there is no item. This is because the first page is the head and there is no page before it. In the column 40 of (C), the start address “P” of the page print format 30 for the previous page (that is, one page) is displayed.
₁ ”is written.

Column 41: Address of the disk 10 in which the page print format of the next page is stored. This indicates a link relationship. Column 42: The page number of this page is described. “1” is described for one page and “2” is described for two pages. Column 43 ... Describes which paper tray to use. Column 44: It is described in which output tray the paper is discharged. Column 45 ... Describes whether single-sided output or double-sided output. Column 46: Address of the disk 10 in which the form print format of the form used on this page is stored. In the page print format for one page of FIG. 7B, the head address “F ₁ ” of the form print format 36 (see FIG. 3) is described in the column 46.
This tells us that page 1 uses "Form A".

Column 47: Address of the disk 10 in which the input data print format of this page is stored. 1
Since the start address of the input data print format 33 for page is D ₁ (see FIG. 3), column 4 in FIG.
7 describes "D ₁ ". Column 48 ... The size of the paper to be used (A4 or B4) is described. Column 49: When the form is raster-developed on the page memory 14, the start address of the area is described. When not rasterized, it is described as "0". Column 50: When the input data is raster-expanded on the page memory 14, the start address of the area is described. When not rasterized, it is described as "0".

(1) First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the input processing unit 5. This operation is the same as the conventional one. (Operation of the input processing unit 5) Step 100 ... Read one page of data from the input medium 1 through the input control device 3 into the input processing unit 5. Step 101 ... A page print format for one page and an input data print format are created from the data and stored in the disk 10.

Step 102 ... It is checked whether each print format stored in the disk 10 has reached a predetermined number of pages. This is something that is also done in the past. The reason for storing only the predetermined number of pages is to prevent the video data supplied to the printer 18 from being interrupted on the way. This is to avoid a situation in which when the output process is started with a small amount of data taken from the input medium 1, the output process progresses quickly and there is not enough data to output.

Step 103: It is checked whether the output control unit 6 has been requested to start printing. The request was made because the number of pages reached the specified number before, but after that, the number of pages became less than the specified number of pages, so the data was read again. If the number of specified pages was reached again, the print start should have been requested. Is. Step 104 ... If not requested yet, request. Step 105 ... If the read data does not reach the predetermined number of pages, and if there is data to be printed, the process returns to Step 100 and is further read.

(Operation of Output Control Unit 6) The output control unit 6 has a "form management table" for managing in which area of the disk 10, the intermediate memory 12 and the page memory 14 the information regarding the form exists. Set up. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the form management table. Reference numeral 51 is a form management table, and 52 is a form entry column.
One form entry column 52 includes a disk address column 521, an intermediate memory address column 522, and a page memory address column 523. Information on one form is recorded in one form entry field 52.

9 and 10 are flow charts for explaining the operation of the output control section 6 in the first embodiment. The operation is roughly divided into the following four processes. 1st process ... Loading the form to be used this time and the input data into the intermediate memory 12 2nd process ... Raster expansion of the form to be used this time 3rd process ... Copying if the form on the next page is the same and there is a free space 4th process … Raster expansion of input data Fifth process… Output of video data

[First Process] ... Step 200 in FIG. 9 ... It is checked whether or not the print start is requested from the input processing section 5. Step 201: The page print format for page N is read from the disk 10. N is a positive integer, and when it is sufficient to output in one-sided output in the order of page numbers, N is sequentially increased from 1, such as 1, 2, 3 ,. When it is not possible to output the page numbers in order for double-sided output, N can be changed in the order of pages required for double-sided output.

Step 202: Check whether page N requires a form. This can be checked by looking at the page print format column 46 (see FIG. 7) for the page N read from the disk 10. If the value in the column 46 is "0", the form is not used. If used, the address of the disk 10 storing the form should have been written.

Step 203: When using a form, it is checked whether the form is already loaded in the intermediate memory 12. It is the form management table 51 (see FIG.
You can tell by looking at (see). The disk address column 521 in which the same address as the address in the above column 46 is written is searched, and if there is, the intermediate memory address column 522 corresponding to it is searched. If it is not loaded, it is “0”, and if it is loaded, the loaded intermediate memory 12
The address should be written.

Step 204: When the form print format is not loaded in the intermediate memory 12, the form print format is loaded from the disk 10 into the intermediate memory 12. Step 205 ... Write the loaded address of the intermediate memory 12 in the intermediate memory address column 522 of the corresponding form entry column 52 of the form management table 51. Step 206 ... Load the input data print format of page N from the disk 10 into the intermediate memory 12.

[Second Step] ... Step 207 of FIG. 9 ... It is checked whether a page N requires a form. Step 208 ... It is checked whether the form has been raster-expanded. This can be understood by looking at the form management table 51. Look for a disk address column 521 that has the same address as the address in column 46 above, and if there is,
Look at the corresponding page memory address column 523.
It is "0" if raster expansion is not performed, and if raster expansion is performed, raster expanded page memory 14
The address should be written.

Step 209 ... If raster expansion is not performed, raster expansion is performed on the page memory 14 and the memory area is treated as "in use". By overwriting later,
This is to prevent the expanded data from being deleted. Step 210 ... Write the start address of the raster expanded area in the page print format column 49 of page N.

[Third Process] FIG. 10 Step 211: The page print format of the next page N + 1 is read from the disk 10. Step 212: Check whether a form is required for page N + 1. Required if page print format column 46 (see FIG. 7) for page N + 1 is not "0". Step 213: Check whether it is the same as the form used on the previous page N. This can be understood by comparing the values in the page print format column 46. Since the value in that column is the address of the disk 10 in which the form print format of the form to be used is stored, if it is the same, it means that the form is the same.

Step 214: When the forms are found to be the same, it is checked whether or not the page memory 14 has an empty area large enough to copy the raster expanded form. If not, it will not be copied. Step 215 ... If there is a free area, it is copied, and the copied memory area is treated as "in use". Step 216: The head address of the copy destination memory area is set to the page 4 of page N + 1 page print format.
9 (see FIG. 7).

[Fourth Process] ... Step 217 in FIG. 10 ... It is checked whether a page N requires a form. Step 218 ... If necessary, raster-expand the input data because it must have already been raster-expanded at the stage of the second process. The raster expansion of the input data is performed based on the input data print format loaded in the intermediate memory 12, and is combined with the form already raster-expanded in the form of a logical sum.

Step 219 ... If the form is not used, only the input data is rasterized. The expanded memory area is treated as "in use". Step 220 ... Write the start address of the raster expanded area on the page memory 14 in the page print format column 50 of page N (see FIG. 7).

Output process ... Steps 221 and 222 in FIG. 10 ... Output as page N video data to the printer 18. Step 223 ... All the area of the intermediate memory 12 and the area of the page memory 14 used for the page N are released. That is, the handling of "in use" is canceled. Step 224: Check whether the page print format for the next page still exists in the disk 10. If there is, the process returns to step 201 to read the data, and if there is no, the process ends.

(2) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The operation of the input processing unit 5 is the same as in the second embodiment and is as shown in FIG.

(Operation of Output Control Unit 6) The output control unit 6 is provided with a "form management table" (see FIG. 4) as in the case of the first embodiment. 11 and 12 show
7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the output control unit 6 in the second embodiment. The operation is roughly divided into the following four processes. 1st process ... Loading the form to be used this time and the input data into the intermediate memory 12. Second process ... Raster expanding the form to be used this time 3rd process ... Copying the form if there is a free space. 4th process ... Raster expanding the input data. Fifth step ... Video data output

[First Step] ... FIG. 11 Steps 300 to 306 ... These are Step 2 of FIG.
The same as 00 to 206. That is, the first process in the second embodiment is the same as the first process in the first embodiment.

[Second process] ... Step 307 in FIG. 11 ... It is checked whether or not a form is required for page N. Step 308 ... Checks whether the form has been rasterized. This can be understood by looking at the form management table 51. A disk address field 52 in which the same address as the address in the page print format field 46 is written
Look for a 1 and if there is, look at the corresponding page memory address column 523. "0" if raster is not expanded
If raster-expanded, the address of the page memory 14 raster-expanded should be written.

Step 309: If raster expansion has been completed in the page memory 14, the address is written in the page print format column 49 of page N. Step 310: The address of the page memory address column 523 (this is the start address of the raster expanded area) in the form entry column 52 of the form in the form management table 51 is erased to "0". . The reason for doing this is that it has been decided that this raster expansion will be used for future output.

Step 311 ... If the form is not raster-expanded in step 308, it is checked whether or not there is an empty area required for raster expansion on the page memory 14. Step 312 ... If there is no free area, a free area is compulsorily created. Specifically, the value of the page memory address column 523 of any form entry column 52 of the form management table 51 is set to "0". As a result, the area in which the form in the form entry field 52 is rasterized is treated as an empty area.

Step 313 ... The form used this time is raster-developed in the page memory 14, and the memory area is treated as "in use". This is to prevent the expanded data from being deleted by overwriting later. Step 314 ... Write the start address of the raster expanded area in the page print format column 49 of page N.

[Third Process] ... Step 315 in FIG. 12 ... It is checked whether or not there is a free area in the page memory 14. If not, the raster expanded form is not copied. Step 316: If there is a vacant area, the form of page N raster-developed is copied there and the area is treated as "in use". Step 317 ... Specify the page memory address of the copy destination,
It is written in the page memory address column 523 of the form of the form management table 51.

[Fourth Process] ... Step 318 in FIG. 12 ... It is checked whether or not a form is required for page N. Step 319: If necessary, the input data is raster-expanded because it has already been raster-expanded at the stage of the second process. The raster expansion of the input data is performed based on the input data print format loaded in the intermediate memory 12, and is combined with the form already raster-expanded in the form of a logical sum.

Step 320 ... If the form is not required for the page N, that is, if the form is not used, only the input data of the page N is raster-expanded. Therefore, it is checked whether or not there is an empty area necessary for rasterizing the page memory 14 on the page memory 14. Step 321 ... If there is no free space, Step 312
Forcibly create a free area in the same way as.

Step 322 ... Raster develops the input data and treats the expanded memory area as "in use". Step 323 ... The head address of the raster-developed memory area is set to the page print format column 5 of page N.
Write 0 (see FIG. 7).

[Output Process] ... Steps 324, 325 in FIG. 12 ... Output to the printer 18 as video data of page N. Step 326 ... All the area of the intermediate memory 12 and the area of the page memory 14 used for the page N are released. That is, the handling of "in use" is canceled. Step 327: Check whether the page print format for the next page still exists in the disk 10. If yes, the process returns to step 301 to read, and if no, the process ends.

[0059]

As described above, according to the printer control apparatus of the present invention, when the form used on this page is the same as the form used on the next page, and there is an empty area in the page memory,
Since the raster rasterization data of the form of this page is copied to the empty area, it is not necessary to raster rasterize the form in processing the next page. Since the time for copying the raster expansion data is shorter than the time for newly expanding the raster, it is possible to prevent the output speed to the printer from decreasing.

Also, when rasterizing a form,
As long as there is free space in the page memory, if you copy the raster expansion data, you do not have to newly expand the raster when you use the same form on the next page, and the output speed to the printer also decreases. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a concept in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a concept in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the storage status of each print format on a disc.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a form management table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a general configuration of a printer control device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between raster expansion time and a video output section.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of a page print format.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the input processing unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the first half of the operation of the output control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the second half of the operation of the output control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the first half of the operation of the output control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the second half of the operation of the output control unit according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input medium, 2 ... Printer control device, 3 ... Input control device, 4 ... OS and device driver, 5 ... Input processing part, 6 ... Output control part, 7 ... CPU and memory, 8 ... Interface, 9 ... Bus, 10 ... Disk, 11 ... Disk control device, 12 ... Intermediate memory, 13 ... Imaging mechanism, 14 ... Page memory, 15 ... Video data sending mechanism, 16 ... Interface, 17 ... Video data receiving mechanism, 18 ... Printer, 20 ... This Page form, 21 ... Next page form, 22-24 ... This page form, 25-27 ... Storage form, 30-3
2 ... Page print format, 33-35 ... Input data print format, 36-38 ... Form print format, 51 ... Form management table, 52
... Form entry field, 521 ... Disk address, 5
22 ... Intermediate memory address, 523 ... Page memory address

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input processing unit for creating a required print format based on data from an input medium, a storage unit for storing the print format, and a form print for one page read from the storage unit to an intermediate memory. In a printer controller having an output control unit for sequentially rasterizing a format and an input data print format on the same page memory, and a video data sending mechanism for sending raster expanded data to a printer, the page memory is If the form of this page is the same as the form of the next page, the output control unit has a capacity for storing at least two pages of raster expanded data, and the output control unit stores the raster expanded data of the form of this page in the page memory. Process to the free space of
In the raster expansion of the next page, the raster expansion data of the copied form is used to omit the expansion processing of the form print format of the next page onto the page memory. 2. An input processing unit for creating a required print format based on data from an input medium, a storage unit for storing the print format, and a form print for one page read from the storage unit to an intermediate memory. In a printer controller having an output control unit for sequentially rasterizing a format and an input data print format on the same page memory, and a video data sending mechanism for sending raster expanded data to a printer, the page memory is The output control unit has a capacity to store at least two pages of raster expansion data, and the output control unit performs a process of copying the raster expansion data of the form of this page to an empty area of the page memory,
A printer control device, wherein when raster expanded data of the copied form can be used in raster expansion of the next page, expansion processing of the form print format of the next page onto the page memory is omitted.