JP3542370B2 - Print control device and print control method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to a print control apparatus and a print control method, and more particularly, to a print control apparatus and a print control method for interpreting and reconfiguring a page description language that describes image information such as characters and figures and transmitting it to a plurality of output devices. It is about.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional print server system for connecting a black-and-white printer and a color printer, a multi-page document composed of color pages and black-and-white pages is transmitted from an image data source such as a computer system to obtain a print output. In such a case, all pages have been output from a color printer or a black and white printer.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional example, since a black-and-white document may be output from a color printer, there is a problem that it is not preferable in terms of running cost, printing speed, print quality, and the like.
[0004]
That is, when a black-and-white document is output from a color printer, even if only black-and-white data is sent, the printing speed is reduced because development is performed with four color components representing colors. In the case of a printer that represents black with three colors (three colors of Y, M, and C), in addition to the drawback that the speed is low, the registration quality of each pixel is shifted, so that the print quality deteriorates. Further, color printers often use special paper, and running costs are high because special inks or toners are used.
[0005]
Further, even if the document extends over three pages as shown in Fig. 25 (the first page 401 of the document has colored characters in the title portion (black portion) and the other portions are black characters. Even if the second page 402 outputs only black characters, and the document third page 403 includes black characters and a color graph), a color printer and a black-and-white printer output the pages in advance, for example, as shown in FIG. When the originals 401 and 403 are output from the black-and-white printer, and the originals 402 are output, the pages need to be rearranged so as to be correctly configured as one document. This is inconvenient because it is necessary for the system user to check the contents of the document on the printed output.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and has a print control capable of performing output control so that an image including color information (color information) and an image not including color information can be easily arranged after image output. It is an object to provide an apparatus and a print control method.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a print control device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a print control device that is connected to a color output device and a monochrome output device, controls image output by dividing the image information into the color output device and the monochrome output device, and analyzes the image information. Allocating means for allocating the image information to page information output by the color output device and page information output from the monochrome output device; and the page information allocated to the color output device by the allocating means. Generating means for generating dummy page information corresponding to a page position corresponding to a color image page as page information output from the monochrome output device, and outputting the page information output by the color output device to the color output device; The page information output from the monochrome output device and the dummy page information are Comprising a printing control apparatus, characterized in that a transmission means for transmitting the serial monochrome output device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method for controlling print output by dividing image information into a color output device and a monochrome output device, wherein the image information is analyzed, and the image information is converted to the color output device. And a page position corresponding to a color image page included in the page information allocated to the color output device in the allocation step. Generating the dummy page information corresponding to the page information output from the monochrome output device, and outputting the page information output by the color output device to the color output device, while being output by the monochrome output device. And the dummy page information to the monochrome output device. Comprising a printing control method characterized by having a signal process.
[0008]
[Action]
According to the above configuration, according to the present invention, based on image information received from a host computer, color image information is transmitted to a color output device, while dummy image information corresponding to color image information and monochrome image information are transmitted to a monochrome output device. Works as follows.
[0009]
【Example】
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0010]
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a print server system (hereinafter, referred to as a system) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a host computer (hereinafter, referred to as a host) 101 and a host computer (hereinafter, referred to as a host) 102 are connected to a network 103, and a print server (hereinafter, referred to as a server) 104 is also connected to the network 103. I have. The server 104 connects the monochrome printer 105 and the color printer 106. Here, the hosts 101 and 102 transmit a command written in PDL (Page Description Language) to the printer via the server 104, while the black-and-white printer 105 and the color printer 106 transmit the command based on the received PDL command. It has a function of developing and rasterizing an image.
[0011]
It is also assumed that the monochrome printer 105 and the color printer 106 can accept a PDL command of the same language specification. If a command relating to “color” is sent to the monochrome printer 105, ignore the command. Alternatively, print in black and white.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the server 104. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire server, analyzing PDL commands, and performing various calculations; 302, a RAM for downloading programs and used as a buffer; 303, a ROM for storing programs for controlling the system; Is a communication interface that serves as an interface with the network 103 and the hosts 101 and 102, 305 and 306 are printer interfaces that connect the monochrome printer 105 and the color printer 106, respectively, and 307 is a device that connects the above components and exchanges data with each other. This is an internal bus for sending and receiving.
[0013]
The server 104 having the above configuration plays a role of, for example, analyzing a drawing command shown in FIG. 5 sent from the host and outputting image data to the monochrome printer 105 and the color printer 106.
[0014]
In the following description, a document including three pages shown in FIG. 25 will be used as an example.
[0015]
In the system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the first and third pages are output from the color printer 106 and the second page is output from the monochrome printer 105, as shown in FIG. You. Such control is performed by the server 104 interpreting the PDL transmitted from the host and controlling the transmission of image data to each printer. At this time, in order to solve the inconvenience of rearranging the pages, which has been a conventional problem, at the time of outputting the color page 401 as shown in FIG. After the monochrome page 402, the monochrome page 605 is output. Thus, by replacing the black and white pages 602 and 605 with the color pages 401 and 403, a desired document can be easily obtained.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a description example of a PDL command for instructing a printer output so that the three-page documents 401, 402, and 403 shown in FIG. 25 have output results as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the control of the server 104 will be sequentially described according to the description shown in FIG.
[0017]
First, a PDL command sequence as shown in FIG. 4 is sent from the hosts 101 and 102 to the server 104 via the network 103.
[0018]
The PDL command sequence will be described below.
[0019]
C1 to C4 are commands related to the entire document. Therefore, these commands C1 to C4 have only one location for one document. Commands relating to the entire document include, for example, a character set command (font designation command), a scalable font command (command for specifying whether or not to use a scalable font), a hard reset command (previous printer use environment). ), And a memory mode command (a command for specifying whether the expansion memory is used as a full page memory or a partial page memory).
[0020]
Now, C1 is a document setting start command. C2 is a command indicating the output paper size of the document. In this case, A4 is set. The next C3 indicates the direction of the document. There are a portrait and a landscape. In this case, the portrait (PORT) is shown. C4 is a document setting end command.
[0021]
C5 to C14 are commands for outputting the first page 401 of the document. C5 is for indicating the start of a command. C6 is a command for selecting the font type of the character. In this case, a font set numbered "2" is selected. C7 sets the size of the font and selects a size of "20 points". C8 is a command for setting a character color. Although it has three parameters, the luminance of each of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color components is shown in order. This luminance is assumed to be quantized in 256 steps from 0 to 255. Since this character is “255”, “0”, and “0” respectively for R, G, and B, it indicates a red color. C9 indicates a character string (TITLE...) To be actually drawn. C10 is a command for selecting a font type similarly to C6. In this case, a font set numbered "1" is selected. C11 sets the size of the font and selects "10 points". C12 determines the color of the font. In this case, R, G, and B are all "0", indicating a black color. C13 indicates a character string (NewYork ...) to be actually drawn. C14 indicates the end of the command.
[0022]
C15 to C20 are commands for outputting the second page 402 of the document. C15 is for indicating the start of the command. C16 is a command for selecting a font type. In this case, a font set numbered "1" is selected. C17 is for setting the font size, and "10 points" is selected. C18 determines the font color. In this case, R, G, and B are both "0", indicating a black color. C19 indicates a character string (PDL is...) To be actually drawn. C20 indicates the end of the command.
[0023]
C21 to C35 are commands for outputting the third page 403 of the document. C21 indicates the start of the command as in C15, and indicates the beginning of the third page. C22 to C25 indicate font setting and character drawing as in the first and second pages. C26 indicates the color of the surface painting at the time of drawing a figure. The colors are specified in the order of R, G, and B in the same manner as the character color. The next command C27 is for designating the color of a line for drawing graphics. C28 indicates the coordinates of the position where the figure is drawn. C29 is a command for designating a radius for drawing an arc, and in this case, represents a "10" coordinate unit. C30 is for drawing a closed arc. Two parameters in the command indicate a drawing start angle and an end angle when drawing an arc. Assuming that the vertical information is 0 degrees, in this case, an arc of 0 to 100 degrees is drawn. C31 to C35 specify the color of the surface and the line, specify the position, and the like, similarly to the commands of C26 to C30. C36 designates the end of the command.
[0024]
Summarizing the above description, in FIG. 4, reference numeral 601 denotes a document setting instruction relating to setting of the entire document, and 602 to 604 denote page drawing instructions of the first, second, and third pages, respectively.
[0025]
Next, an outline of how the server 104 that has received the PDL command performs the printing process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0026]
First, in step S1002, PDL command analysis processing is performed to reconstruct the command. In step S1003, the image data is sent to the printer, and an output process for discharging the paper or feeding the paper is performed. In step S1004, it is determined whether all pages of the document have been processed, considering that the document includes a plurality of pages. Here, if it is determined that the processing of all pages has been completed, the processing is terminated. However, if it is determined that there are still unprocessed pages, the processing returns to step S1002, and the analysis processing is continued. I do.
[0027]
Next, details of the analysis processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this embodiment, since it is necessary to determine whether to use a black-and-white printer or a color printer for each page, the PDL command is analyzed to determine whether a color is used for each target page. There is a need. The details of the analysis process will be described below.
[0028]
In step S1102, system initialization such as initialization of program internal variables is performed. Specifically, memory clearing of a buffer 1 for storing a command for a color printer and a buffer 2 for storing a command for a monochrome printer is performed. In the present embodiment, each of the buffer 1 and the buffer 2 is secured in another area of the RAM 302.
[0029]
Next, in step S1103, it is determined whether the page of the document to be analyzed is the first page. This is because the processing in the next step S1104 is performed only once for each document, and is therefore performed on the first page. If the page is the first page, the process advances to step S1104 to store a command (document setting command: C1 to C4 in FIG. 4) relating to the entire document in an area of the RAM 302 other than the buffer 1 and the buffer 2. Remember temporarily. On the other hand, if the page is other than the first page, the process proceeds to step S1105.
[0030]
Further, in step S1105 and subsequent steps, a command is analyzed in page units.
[0031]
In step S1105, the analysis from the page start command “Page Start (C5, C15, C21 in FIG. 4)” to the page end command “Page End (C14, C20, C36 in FIG. 4)” is performed. In step S1106, it is determined whether or not these commands include a color setting command “Font Color, Line Color, Fill Color, etc”. If it is determined that the color setting command is included, the process advances to step S1107 to read out the stored document setting command to output from the color printer 106 and buffer it. Write to 1. Subsequently, in step S1108, commands from “Page Start” to “Page End” (C5 to C14 in FIG. 4) are written to the buffer 1. Therefore, 601 and 602 in FIG. 4 are selected, and a document setting command 701 and a portion 702 relating to drawing of the first page as shown in FIG. Next, the process proceeds to step S1111 to read out the above-described document setting instruction and write it into the buffer 2. Further, in a step S1112, "Page Start" and "Page End" are written in the buffer 2. Thus, when the reconstruction of the command of the first page is completed, the process ends. At this time, 701 and 702 in FIG. 7 are stored in the buffer 1, and 801 and 802 in FIG. 8 are stored in the buffer 2.
[0032]
Here, among commands from “Page Start” to “Page End”, a specific command, for example, the above-mentioned memory command mode may need to be considered for each of a color printer and a monochrome printer. For example, when the memory capacity used for the printer is larger than the image information amount, it can be used as a full page memory, and when the memory capacity is not large, a command must be output as a partial memory. There is. Therefore, in steps S1108 and S1110, the same command is not always written to the buffers 1 and 2, but the command is changed and output depending on the color printer and the monochrome printer depending on the case.
[0033]
If the analysis processing is related to the command of the second page, the processing proceeds to steps S1102, S1103, and S1105. In step S1106, it is determined that all the parameter settings of the color setting command (C18 in FIG. 4) are "0", that is, black. Proceed to step S1109.
[0034]
In step S1109, the document setting instruction stored in the processing of the previous page is read and written to the buffer 2. Subsequently, in step S1110, commands from “Page Start” to “Page End” (C15 to C20 in FIG. 4) are written in the buffer 2. Therefore, 601 and 603 in FIG. 4 are selected, and the buffer 2 stores a document setting command 801 and a portion 802 relating to drawing of the second page as shown in FIG. In this way, when the reconstruction of the command of the second page is completed, the processing is terminated.
[0035]
When the analysis processing is related to the command of the third page, the same processing as that of the first page is performed, and as shown in FIG. 10, the command is transmitted to the document setting instruction 901 and the portion 902 related to the drawing of the third page. Is reconstructed.
[0036]
Next, details of the output processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the output processing of the first page, the output processing of the second page, and finally the output processing of the third page will be described.
[0037]
In step S1202, it is checked whether data is written in the buffer 1. In the case of the first page, since data is written in the buffer 1, the process proceeds to step S 1203, and outputs the data in the buffer 1 of the RAM 302 from the printer interface 305 to the color printer 106. As a result, the first page 401 of the document is output from the color printer 106. Subsequently, in step S1204, the process outputs the data in the buffer 2 from the printer interface 306 to the monochrome printer 105. Thus, the blank paper 602 is output from the monochrome printer 105.
[0038]
In the case of the process for the second page, since data is stored in the buffer 2, the process proceeds to step S1204 according to the determination in step S1202, and outputs the data in the buffer 2 of the RAM 302 from the printer interface 306 to the monochrome printer 105. As a result, the second page 402 of the document is output from the monochrome printer 106.
[0039]
The output process of the third page is performed in the same manner as the first page. In step S1203, the commands 901 and 902 of the reconstructed commands shown in FIG. 10 are sent to the color printer 106, and the third page 403 of the document is output. Is output. In step S1204, the commands 903 and 904 are sent to the monochrome printer 105, and a blank page 605 is output.
[0040]
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by analyzing the command on a page-by-page basis, it is checked whether the target page is composed of only black-and-white information or contains color information. By selecting a printer and outputting a blank page from a monochrome printer at a location corresponding to a color page, it is possible to easily insert and replace a color page after printing and outputting to a monochrome page.
[0041]
In this embodiment, a blank page is output to replace a color original, but it goes without saying that a page for printing characters, graphics, the number of pages, etc. may be output instead.
[0042]
In the present embodiment, for example, a PDL command (document setting command and page drawing command for three pages) sent from the host as shown at 1301 in FIG. Output processing is performed by sending the data to the selected printer in sequence. That is, the document setting command and the drawing command for the first page are combined (1302 in FIG. 12) and transmitted to the color printer. At the same time, the document setting command and the blank page output command are combined and transmitted to the monochrome printer (1305 in FIG. 12). Next, the document setting command and the drawing command for the second page are combined (1303 in FIG. 12) and transmitted to the monochrome printer. Finally, the document setting command and the drawing command of the third page are combined (1304 in FIG. 12) and transmitted to the color printer. At the same time, the document setting command and the blank page output command are combined and transmitted to the monochrome printer (1306 in FIG. 12). .
[0043]
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the output processing may be performed after the command analysis and the command reconstruction of all pages are completed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the PDL command 1301 sent from the host is reconstructed into a color printer command 1402 and a black and white printer command 1403 including a blank page output command (NULL). Output to
[0044]
Thus, the color printer and the black-and-white printer can be operated at the same time, so that the output speed of the entire document can be improved.
[0045]
Further, as a system configuration, a configuration in which the host 101 is directly connected to the server 104 in which the monochrome printer 105 and the color printer 106 are connected as shown in FIG. 14 without using a network can be used.
[0046]
[Second embodiment]
Although the printer connected in the first embodiment has a rasterizing function of receiving, analyzing, and drawing a PDL command, in the present embodiment, a server to which a printer (bitmap printer) not having a rasterizing function can be connected. A case where the system is configured using the above will be described. In the following description, when referring to the devices, device components, PDL commands, and processing steps already described in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals and reference symbols as used in the first embodiment will be used. The description here is omitted.
[0047]
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a print server system (hereinafter, referred to as a system) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, a host 101 and a host 102 are connected to a network 203, and a print server (hereinafter, referred to as a server) 204 is also connected to the network 203. The server 204 plays a role of, for example, analyzing a drawing command as shown in FIG. 17 sent from the host and outputting an image to a printer. The print server 204 connects the monochrome printer 205 and the color printer 206.
[0048]
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a document composed of three pages sent from the host used in the following description. In FIG. 16, the first page 402 of the document includes only black characters, the second page 403 of the document includes black characters and a color graph, and the third page 401 of the document includes title-colored characters (black portions). Yes, other parts are black letters.
[0049]
When such a document is decomposed into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and Bk (black) color components, the original 402 becomes a yellow image 104, a magenta image 107, a cyan image 110, and a black image 113. become that way. Since the original 401 is composed of only the black component, it is more efficient to output the image with the monochrome printer 205 than with the color printer 206. On the other hand, the document 403 is composed of the yellow image 105, the magenta image 108, the cyan image 111, and the black image 114, and the document 103 is composed of the yellow image 106, the magenta image 109, the cyan image 112, and the black image 115. It must be output by the printer 206. The image data of each color component described above is stored in an image memory (not shown) provided in the server 204.
[0050]
FIG. 17 is a description example of a PDL (Page Description Language) command for outputting documents 402, 403, and 401 of three pages from a printer. Since the PDL commands shown in FIG. 17 have already been described in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned and the description is omitted here. In any case, the command sequence shown here is sent from the hosts 101 and 102 to the server 204 via the network 203. Next, an outline of how the server 204 that has received the PDL command performs the printing process will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
[0051]
In step S1002, a PDL command analysis process is performed, in the next step S903, a drawing process for drawing in an image memory (not shown) in the server 204, and in a step S1003, an output process. In step S1004, it is determined whether all pages of the document have been processed. In the drawing processing, objects such as figures and characters are actually developed and drawn in the memory while referring to device-specific intermediate codes (described later) created in the analysis processing.
[0052]
FIG. 19 is a memory map showing the storage addresses of the image data of each color component in the image memory of the print server 204. As shown in FIG. 23, the address (addresses 0 to 0xBFFFFF) is Y (yellow), the address (addresses 0xC00000 to 0x17FFFFF) is M (magenta), the address (addresses 0x1800000 to 0x23FFFFF) is C (cyan), and , Addresses (addresses 0x2400000 to 0x2FFFFFF) are Bk (black) storage areas. The image data of each color component developed by the drawing process is stored at the above address.
[0053]
Next, details of the analysis processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, since it is necessary to determine whether to use a black-and-white printer or a color printer for each page, the PDL command is analyzed to determine whether a color is used for each target page. There is a need. The details of the analysis process will be described below.
[0054]
The purpose of the analysis process is mainly to analyze a PDL command and generate an intermediate code used in the drawing process. As a result, a command that does not depend on the device is converted into an intermediate code, which is a command that depends on the device. For example, in the command shown in FIG. 17, the coordinates are specified in centimeters (cm) or inches (inch), but in the intermediate code, they are converted into dots. In addition, the color designation is also converted from the RGB expression to the CMYBk expression suitable for the device color material (toner or the like).
[0055]
After the initialization in step S1102, in the command analysis processing in step S403, the parameters shown in FIG. 17 are sequentially read and analyzed to set various parameters for creating an intermediate code.
[0056]
If it is determined that the analyzed command is not a color setting command by the determination of the color setting command in step S404, the process proceeds to step S501, and an intermediate code depending on a device is created. On the other hand, if the analyzed command is a color setting command, the process proceeds to step S405, and the color expression is converted (masked) from the expression in the RGB space to the expression in the CMYBk space. In steps S406 to S413, the flag (CFLG) is set to “ON” unless any of the Y, M, and C components of the conversion result is “0”, and if the value of the Bk component is not “0”, Turn on the flag (BWFLG). It is assumed that these flags (CFLG, BWFLG) have been set to “OFF” in the initialization in step S1102.
[0057]
For example, if Y = 100, M = 100, C = 0, Bk = 0,
When CFLG = ON, BWFLG = OFF,
If Y = 0, M = 0, C = 0, Bk = 255,
When CFLG = OFF, BWFLG = ON.
[0058]
When ON / OFF of these flags is determined, the process proceeds to step S501, and an intermediate code is generated. Next, in step S502, it is checked whether or not all commands for one page have been analyzed. If it is determined that the analysis has been completed, the process ends. If not, the process returns to step S403 to read the next command. Proceed with analysis.
[0059]
Next, details of the output processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the output process, the developed image recorded in the image memory of the server 204 is output to the printer.
[0060]
First, in step S802, various parameters required for output processing are initialized, and in step S803, it is determined whether the conditions of CFLG = "OFF" and BWFLG = "ON" are satisfied.
[0061]
If the above condition is satisfied, the process advances to step S804 to set parameters, select an interface, initialize the printer, and the like for output from the monochrome printer 205. Subsequently, in step S805, data is output to the printer only from the area of the image memory where the information of Bk is stored, and when the output of the data is completed, a paper ejection command is issued to the printer. As a result, a black and white original is actually output from the printer.
[0062]
If the above condition is not satisfied, the process advances to step S806 to set parameters, select an interface, initialize the printer, and the like for output from the color printer 206. Subsequently, in step S807, data is output to the color printer 206 from the area of the image memory where the information of each color component of Y, M, C, and Bk is stored, and a paper discharge command is issued. As a result, a color original is output from the color printer 206. Subsequently, in step S808, a paper ejection command is issued to the monochrome printer 205 to output a blank paper.
[0063]
Therefore, according to this embodiment, by analyzing the PDL command, it is determined whether the target page is composed of only black and white information or contains color information, and the output printer is determined according to the result. In addition to the selection, when a color page is output, a blank page is output from a black-and-white printer, whereby the color and black-and-white page configurations can be clarified. Further, since the blank page can be used again for printing, it can contribute to a reduction in operation cost.
[0064]
In this embodiment, the ON / OFF setting of the flags (CFLG, BWFLG) is performed in the analysis process, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, this processing may be performed in the drawing processing. In this case, the drawing process is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The processing will be described below.
[0065]
First, in step S702, initialization such as clearing the image memory, initializing parameters, and securing a work memory is performed. In step S703, the intermediate code generated in the previous analysis processing is referred to. Next, in step S704, an address to be actually drawn in the image memory is calculated. At this time, it is checked in step S705 whether the address (ADR) satisfies 0 ≦ ADR ≦ 0x2400000. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S706, and the flag (CFLG) is set to “ON”. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S707, and the flag (BWFLG) is set to “ON”. (It is assumed that the flags (CFLG, BWFLG) are initially set to “OFF” in the initialization in step S702).
[0066]
Next, in step S708, the image is actually drawn in the memory. Since what has just been described relates to the drawing of one pixel in the drawing of an object, it is determined in step S709 whether or not the drawing has been completed for the entire object (circle, rectangle, character, etc.). If it is determined that drawing has not been completed, the process returns to step S704 to repeat address calculation and drawing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the drawing is completed, the process proceeds to step S710. In step S710, it is determined whether all of the intermediate code processing has been processed, that is, whether or not processing of all objects has been completed. Here, if it is determined that the processing of all objects has been completed, the drawing processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an unprocessed intermediate code, the process returns to step S703 and refers to the remaining intermediate codes.
[0067]
As described above, the ON / OFF setting of the flags (CFLG, BWFLG) for each intermediate code can be performed in the drawing process.
[0068]
In the output process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 24, after the initialization process in step S802, the number of output pages is stored in step S8021, and after the color print output in step S807, the output page number is calculated in step S809. It is developed in the area where the information of Bk is developed in the image memory. Then, a paper ejection command is issued to the monochrome printer 205, and the paper on which the number of pages is drawn is output.
[0069]
This makes it easier to replace the color pages after the print output is completed.
[0070]
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus including a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.
[0071]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if information of a document in which a color image and a black-and-white image are mixed is sent, the information is output to a page which is output to each of a color output device and a monochrome output device. At the page position corresponding to the color image page, the corresponding dummy page information is also printed out from the monochrome output device when the color image is printed out, so that the color image output and the monochrome image output after the image output There is an effect that is easy to organize.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a print server system according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a server 104.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document output to a printer.
FIG. 4 is a description example of a PDL command instructing a printer output.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a printing process according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating details of an analysis process according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 illustrates a reconstructed PDL command.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a reconstructed PDL command (blank page).
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a reconstructed PDL command.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a reconstructed PDL command.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of output processing according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the reconfiguration of the PDL command.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the reconfiguration of the PDL command.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a schematic configuration of the print server system.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a print server system according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a document composed of three pages according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 17 is a description example of a PDL command instructing a printer output for the three-page document shown in FIG. 16;
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a printing process according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 19 is a memory map showing storage addresses of image data of each color component.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of analysis processing according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating details of an analysis process according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing details of output processing according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating details of a drawing process.
FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the output process.
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document including three pages.
FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a printer output of the document shown in FIG. 25 according to a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
103, 203 network
104, 204 print server
105, 205 black and white printer
106, 206 color printer
301 CPU
302 RAM
303 ROM
304 communication interface
305, 306 Printer interface
307 Internal bus

Claims (12)

A print control device that is connected to a color output device and a monochrome output device and controls print output by dividing image information into the color output device and the monochrome output device,
Analyzing the image information, and page information output the image information by the color output device, and a distributing means for distributing to the page information output from the monochrome output device,
A generation unit that generates dummy page information corresponding to a page position corresponding to a color image page included in the page information allocated to the color output device by the allocation unit as page information output from the monochrome output device;
The page information output by the color output device to the color output device, whereas, in that it has a transmission means for transmitting said the page information output from the monochrome output apparatus dummy page information to the monochrome output device Characteristic print control device. 2. The color output device according to claim 1, wherein the color output device and the monochrome output device are a color printer and a monochrome printer having a function of developing an image based on information transmitted by the transmission unit. Print control device. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the dummy page information is information for not recording any information on a recording medium output from the monochrome printer. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the dummy page information includes information for instructing recording of the number of recording pages on a recording medium output from the monochrome printer. The image information print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is described by a page description language. First image developing means for developing a color image based on the page information distributed to the color output device by the distribution means;
A second image developing unit that develops a monochrome image based on the page information allocated to the color output device by the allocation unit;
The print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a storage means for storing the color image and a monochrome image that is expanded by the first and second image development unit. A print control method for controlling print output by dividing image information into a color output device and a monochrome output device,
Analyzing the image information, a sorting step of sorting the image information into page information output by the color output device and page information output from the monochrome output device,
A generation step of generating dummy page information corresponding to a page position corresponding to a color image page included in the page information allocated to the color output device in the allocation step as page information output from the monochrome output device;
A transmitting step of transmitting the page information output by the color output device to the color output device, and transmitting the page information and the dummy page information output by the monochrome output device to the monochrome output device. Characteristic print control method. 8. The color output device according to claim 7, wherein the color output device and the monochrome output device are a color printer and a black-and-white printer each having a function of developing an image based on information transmitted in the transmission step. Printing control method. 9. The print control method according to claim 8, wherein the dummy page information is information for not recording any information on a recording medium output from the monochrome printer. 9. The print control method according to claim 8, wherein the dummy page information includes information instructing recording of the number of recording pages on a recording medium output from the monochrome printer. 11. The print control method according to claim 7, wherein the image information is described in a page description language. Allotted to the color output device in the allocation step A first image developing step of developing a color image based on the page information;
A second image development step of developing a monochrome image based on the page information allocated to the color output device in the allocation step;
12. The print control method according to claim 7, further comprising: storage means for storing a color image and a monochrome image developed in the first and second image development steps.

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