JP3814410B2 - Printing control apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing control apparatus and method, and particularly in a system including information processing such as a personal computer and a printing apparatus that does not have a unit printing function, output results of a plurality of copies printed on both sides are collected for each unit. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus and method that can be obtained in a form.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When outputting a plurality of copies of one document including text, images, tables, etc. from the information processing apparatus, the output result is output for the number of sheets specified for each page (each sheet for duplex printing) May be output together. As a method for realizing the unit printing that is output collectively for each unit, there are a method performed by a printing apparatus and a method performed by an information processing apparatus.
[0003]
A method for realizing copy printing in a printing apparatus includes a method in which all print data of one print job received from an information processing apparatus is accumulated in the printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus repeatedly outputs the data for a specified number of copies. There is a method of using a device that switches an output destination for each part such as a sorter. In the former case, a memory or a hard disk for storing print data is required for the printing apparatus, and in the latter case, a sorter is required. In any case, there is a problem that it is costly to realize the unit printing with the printing apparatus, and a printing apparatus that cannot perform the unit printing is common.
[0004]
For this reason, a method of realizing copy printing by an information processing apparatus has been conventionally performed. As a conventional method for realizing copy printing in an information processing apparatus, there is a method in which print data is repeatedly transmitted to a printing apparatus for the number of copies to be output in one print job. In order to perform this method, it is necessary for application software that executes printing to perform processing for realizing this method. When double-sided printing is performed by copy printing by this conventional application, if the number of pages of a document to be printed is an odd number, the first page of the next copy is printed on the back of the last page of one copy, and the output There was a problem that it could not be divided into units.
[0005]
As a method for solving this problem, when printing N copies of a document, there has been a method of generating N print jobs for printing one copy and sending them to a printing apparatus. In this method, printing is performed for each copy by an independent print job, and the output can be divided into copies by discharging at the boundary between adjacent portions, that is, at the end of one job.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when generating a print job for each copy, each print job must be canceled or interrupted in order to cancel or interrupt printing of the document being printed.
[0007]
In addition, when printing a document from a printing apparatus shared on a network, a print job transmitted from another client may be inserted between each print job. For this reason, it is necessary to check whether or not there is an output product of another client from a plurality of output products. In addition, when other clients are printing a plurality of copies of a document, print jobs are generated for the number of output copies of each document. As a result, although two types of documents are gathered together for each copy in the discharge tray of the printing apparatus, they are discharged in a mixed state. Clearly, organizing the output will become a very complicated task if more clients print multiple copies of the document.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, and in a printing apparatus that does not have a unit printing function, when printing odd page print data by using double-sided printing of the printing apparatus, the boundary between the parts is the same. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing control apparatus and method for performing printing so that the output is not placed on a sheet and can be divided into output units.
[0009]
In addition, by realizing unit printing that prints multiple copies of a document for each copy in a single print job, even multiple output copies can be managed by a single print job, It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing control apparatus and method that can perform printing without copying another print job even when printing is performed in units of copies.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.
A print control device as a host computer including a printer driver connected to a printing device that prints on the front and back surfaces of a print medium in order,
Storage means for storing a part of print data from the first page to the last page constituting a document to be printed issued from an application in an intermediate code format in a spooler;
A determination unit that determines whether the print setting acquired from the printer driver is printing that uses unit printing and duplex printing;
When it is determined by the determination means that the printing is by unit printing and duplex printing, the storage means reads out the intermediate code format print data stored in the spooler, and the last page of the print data is the print medium A job generating means for generating a print job in a page description language format to be sent to the printing apparatus by inserting a blank page on the back surface and issuing job end data according to the print settings. ,
The job generation means repeatedly reads the print data of the last page from the print data of the first page of the document stored in the spooler a number of times corresponding to the designated number of print copies, and prints the print data of the last page from the first page. Yes it arranged repeatedly designated print number of copies, and the last page and the first page of the next part of the last page to generate one print job of inserting the blank page so as not to be printed on one print medium.
[0011]
Preferably, the job generation unit arranges a plurality of pages in a reduced size on each side of the print medium.
Preferably, the job generation means sets the print setting on the back side when the last page of the print data corresponds to the front surface of the print medium when the designated print number is 2 or more and duplex printing is set as the print setting. Insert a blank page.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment suitable for applying the present invention will be described.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer control system showing an embodiment of the present invention. As long as the functions of the present invention are executed, a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices is connected and processed via a network such as a LAN or WAN. The present invention can be applied even to a system.
<Configuration of printing system>
In the figure, the host computer 3000 performs document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets), etc. are mixed based on the document processing program stored in the ROM 3 program ROM or the external memory 11. A CPU 1 is provided for execution. The CPU 1 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 4. The ROM 3 program ROM or external memory 11 stores an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) which is a control program of the CPU 1, and the ROM 3 font ROM or external memory 11 stores the above-mentioned document processing. Font data to be used is stored, and various data to be used when the document processing is performed is stored in the data ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11. The RAM 2 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 1.
[0015]
A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 10. The disk controller (DKC) 7 includes a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, a hard disk (HD) that stores a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), a floppy disk (FD), and the like. Controls access to the external memory 11. A printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via a predetermined bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500.
[0016]
The CPU 1 executes, for example, an outline font rasterization process on the display information RAM set on the RAM 2 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 10. The CPU 1 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 10 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window relating to print settings, and can set the print processing method for the printer driver including printer settings and print mode selection.
[0017]
In the printer 1500, the printer CPU 12 sends a print unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program stored in the external memory 14. An image signal as output information is output. Further, the control program of the CPU 12 and the like are stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data used when generating the output information. In the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk in the data ROM of the ROM 13, it is executed on the host computer. Stores information to be used.
[0018]
The CPU 12 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 18 and is configured to notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer. The RAM 19 is a RAM that functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 12, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. The operation unit 1501 is provided with switches for operation, an LED display, and the like.
[0019]
Further, the number of external memories 14 is not limited to one, and at least one external memory 14 is provided so that a plurality of external memories storing option cards and programs for interpreting printer control languages with different language systems can be connected in addition to built-in fonts. It may be configured. Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided, and printer mode setting information from the operation unit 1501 may be stored.
[0020]
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a connection form between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram when the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500 are directly connected by the bidirectional interface 21, but FIG. 10 shows a case where they are connected via a network. In FIG. 10, a printer 1500a is directly connected to a host computer 3000a, and the host computer 3000a manages print jobs for the printer 1500a. The host computer 3000a permits sharing so that the printer 1500a can be used by other host computers on the network. By this sharing, the host computers 3000b and 3000c can use the printer 1500a via the network.
[0021]
The printer 1500b is directly connected to the network. Management of print jobs for the printer 1500b is performed by the host computer 3000b. The host computer 3000b permits sharing so that the printer 1500b can be used by other host computers on the network. By this sharing, the host computers 3000a and 3000c can use the printer 1500b via the network.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of typical print processing in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is directly connected or connected via a network. The application 201, the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203, and the system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 11, and when executed, are loaded into the RAM 2 and executed by the OS and modules using the modules. It is a program module. The application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external disk 11 via the FD of the external memory 11, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown).
[0023]
The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, the graphic that is similarly loaded into the RAM 2 and executable. Output (drawing) is performed using the engine 202. Similarly, the graphic engine 202 loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 11 to the RAM 2, and converts the output of the application 201 into a printer control command using the printer driver 203. The converted printer control command is output to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 2 by the OS. <Configuration of print control system>
The system according to the present embodiment is premised on a system in which print data from an application is temporarily spooled with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. 3 in addition to a printing system including a printer and a host computer shown in FIG. .
[0024]
FIG. 3 is an extension of the system shown in FIG. 2. When a print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203, a spool file 303 consisting of an intermediate code is once generated. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 202 into printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the spooler 302 converts all print commands into intermediate code data and outputs them to the spool file 303. The latter usually requires less time. In the system shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the spool file 303 can be processed. This makes it possible to realize functions that the application does not have, such as enlargement / reduction of print data from the application or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page.
[0025]
For these purposes, the system of FIG. 2 has been extended to spool with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, an operator performs settings from a setting screen provided by the normal printer driver 203, and the printer driver 203 stores the setting contents in the RAM 2 or the external memory 11.
[0026]
Details of FIG. 3 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a print command from the graphic engine 202. If the print command received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is a print command issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 loads the spooler 302 stored in the external memory 11 into the RAM 2 to print the printer. A print command is sent to the spooler 302 instead of the driver 203.
[0027]
The spooler 302 converts the received print command into an intermediate code and outputs it to the spool file 303. In addition, the spooler 302 acquires the processing settings relating to the print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203 and stores them in the spool file 303. Although the spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 11, it may be generated on the RAM 2. Furthermore, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 11 onto the RAM 2 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 303.
[0028]
When the spool file manager 304 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the despooler 305 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2, and is described in the spool file 303 with respect to the despooler 305. Instructs the intermediate code to be printed.
[0029]
The despooler 305 processes the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the processing setting included in the spool file 303 and outputs the processed code again via the graphic engine 202.
[0030]
If the print command received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is a print command issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 sends the print command to the printer driver 203 instead of the spooler 302.
[0031]
The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command according to the received print command, and outputs it to the printer 1500 via the system spooler 204 and the bidirectional interface 21.
<Printer configuration>
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser beam printer having a double-sided printing function, which is an example of the printer 1500.
[0032]
This printer forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the photosensitive drum 15 with a polygon mirror 31 with laser light modulated with image data for each color obtained based on print data input from the host computer 3000. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to obtain a visible image, and this is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 9 for all colors to form a color visible image. Further, this color visible image is transferred to the transfer material 2, and the color visible image is fixed on the transfer material 2. The image forming unit that performs the above control includes a drum unit having a photosensitive drum 15, a primary charging unit having a contact charging roller 17, a cleaning unit, a developing unit, an intermediate transfer body 9, a paper cassette 1, and various rollers 3, 4, 5, 7, a transfer unit including the transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit 25.
[0033]
The drum unit 13 is configured integrally with a photosensitive drum (photoconductor) 15 and a cleaner container 14 having a cleaning mechanism that also serves as a holder for the photosensitive drum 15. The drum unit 13 is detachably supported with respect to the printer main body, and can be easily replaced in accordance with the life of the photosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is configured by applying an organic photoconductor layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by the cleaner container 14. The photosensitive drum 15 rotates when a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted. The driving motor rotates the photosensitive drum 15 in a counterclockwise direction according to an image forming operation. The exposure to the photosensitive drum 15 is configured such that an electrostatic latent image is formed by selectively exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 with a laser beam sent from the scanner unit 30. In the scanner unit 30, the modulated laser light is reflected by a polygon mirror that rotates in synchronization with the horizontal synchronizing signal of the image signal by the motor 31 a, and irradiates the photosensitive drum through the lens 32 and the reflecting mirror 33.
[0034]
The developing unit includes three color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C for developing yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and black ( And a single black developing device 21B that performs the development of B). The color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C and the black developing unit 21B include sleeves 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS, and coating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB, and 21BB that are in pressure contact with the outer circumferences of the sleeves 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 20BS, respectively. And are provided respectively. The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are provided with application rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR.
[0035]
The black developing unit 21B is detachably attached to the printer main body, and the color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachably attached to the developing rotary 23 that rotates about the rotation shaft 22, respectively.
[0036]
The sleeve 21BS of the black developing device 21B is arranged with a minute interval of about 300 μm, for example, with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. The black developing device 21B conveys the toner by a feeding member built in the device, and imparts electric charge to the toner by frictional charging so that the coating blade 21BB applies the outer periphery of the sleeve 21BS that rotates in the clockwise direction. Further, by applying a developing bias to the sleeve 21BS, the photosensitive drum 15 is developed according to the electrostatic latent image, and a visible image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15 with black toner.
[0037]
The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C rotate with the rotation of the developing rotary 23 at the time of image formation, and the predetermined sleeves 20YS, 20MS, and 20CS have a minute interval of about 300 μm with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. Will face each other. As a result, the predetermined color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are stopped at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 15, and a visible image is created on the photosensitive drum 15.
[0038]
At the time of color image formation, the developing rotary 23 rotates every rotation of the intermediate transfer body 9, and the developing process is performed in the order of the yellow developing device 20Y, the magenta developing device 20M, the cyan developing device 20C, and then the black developing device 20B. The transfer member 9 rotates four times to sequentially form visible images with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. As a result, a full-color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 9.
[0039]
The intermediate transfer member 9 is configured to contact the photosensitive drum 15 and rotate as the photosensitive drum 15 rotates. The intermediate transfer member 9 rotates clockwise when forming a color image and is visible four times from the photosensitive drum 15. Receive multiple images. Further, the intermediate transfer member 9 simultaneously transfers a color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 onto the transfer material 2 by contacting a transfer roller 10 described later at the time of image formation and sandwiching and conveying the transfer material 2. At the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member, a TOP sensor 9a and an RS sensor 9b for detecting the position of the intermediate transfer member 2 in the rotation direction, and a density sensor for detecting the density of the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer member. 9c is arranged.
[0040]
The transfer roller 10 includes a transfer charger that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the photosensitive drum 15, and is configured by winding a metal shaft with a medium resistance foamed elastic body.
[0041]
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, the transfer roller 10 is separated downward so as not to disturb the color visible image while the multiple color visible image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 9. After the four color visible images are formed on the intermediate transfer member 9, the transfer roller 10 is shown by a dotted line by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with the timing of transferring the color visible image to the transfer material 2. It is located above indicated by. As a result, the transfer roller 10 is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 9 via the transfer material 2 with a predetermined pressing force, and a bias voltage is applied to transfer the color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2.
[0042]
The fixing unit 25 fixes the transferred color visible image while conveying the transfer material 2. The fixing unit 25 heats the transfer material 2 and pressurization for bringing the transfer material 2 into pressure contact with the fixing roller 26. And a roller 27. The fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 are formed in a hollow shape, and heaters 28 and 29 are incorporated therein, respectively. That is, the transfer material 2 holding the color visible image is conveyed by the fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27, and the toner is fixed on the surface by applying heat and pressure.
[0043]
The transfer material 2 after fixing the visible image is then discharged to the paper discharge unit 37 by the paper discharge rollers 34, 35, and 36, and the image forming operation is completed.
[0044]
The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 and the intermediate transfer member 9, and waste toner or toner after the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 9. The waste toner after transferring the four color visible images created on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2 is stored in the cleaner container 14.
[0045]
The transfer material (recording paper) 2 to be printed is taken out from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller 3 and conveyed so as to be sandwiched between the intermediate transfer member 9 and the transfer roller 10 to record a color toner image. Then, the toner image passes through the fixing unit 25 and is fixed. In the case of single-sided printing, the conveyance path is formed so that the guide 38 guides the recording paper to the upper paper discharge unit. However, for double-sided printing paper, the path is formed so as to guide the paper to the lower duplex unit. .
[0046]
The recording sheet guided to the duplex unit is once sent to the lower part of the tray 1 (conveying path indicated by a two-dot chain line) by the conveying roller 40 and then conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent to the duplex tray 39. On the double-sided tray 39, the front and back sides of the sheet placed on the sheet feeding tray 1 are reversed, and the front and back are reversed in the transport direction. Double-sided printing can be performed by transferring and fixing the toner image again in this state.
<Double-sided printing for each unit>
FIG. 4 shows an example of copy printing by a conventional application (FIG. 4A) and an example of an output result obtained by the print control system of this embodiment (FIG. 4B). In the conventional output result, when the total page number N of the copies is an odd number, the first page of the second copy is printed on the back surface of the last page of the first copy. As a result, it is impossible to divide the output product into units. In addition, on the front and back of each sheet of the first and second copies, the combination of printed pages is different. On the other hand, in the output result of the print control system of this embodiment, when the total number of pages N is an odd number, a blank page is inserted on the back side of the page, so that the pages included in other portions are the same paper. It is possible to divide the output product into copies, and the combination of pages printed on the front and back of each sheet is the same for all copies.
[0047]
FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the state of the print job queue during unit printing. FIG. 11A shows the state of the print job queue when eight print jobs are generated in order to print eight copies of “Printer Test Page”. In order to cancel or interrupt this printing, it is necessary to give an instruction to cancel or interrupt each of the eight print jobs. Further, another print job “Script.doc” is interrupted between the fifth and sixth copies. Since eight copies are printed by one printer using eight print jobs, this situation occurs when another print job is sent to the printer almost simultaneously with the print jobs.
[0048]
In contrast, FIG. 11B shows an example of a print job queue in the printing system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 11B, in order to execute printing of a plurality of copies in a single print job, it is displayed as one job in the print job queue. In addition, printing can be canceled or interrupted by an operation for that one print job. Also, other print jobs do not interrupt, and different documents do not mix.
[0049]
<Printing control procedure>
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5 and subsequent drawings, the unit printing process at the time of duplex printing will be described in detail. 5 and 6 are control procedures executed by the spool file manager 304. FIG.
[0050]
When printing is started from the application 201, the spooler 302 acquires print settings from the printer driver 203 and records them in the spool file 303. When the spool file manager 304 is not activated, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager into the RAM 2 and notifies the spool file manager that printing has started.
[0051]
When the spool file manager 304 reads the print setting recorded in the spool file 303 and determines that the print is a unit print and uses the double-sided print of the printer, the spool file manager 304 starts the process of FIG.
[0052]
In step 500, the number of copies designated as N indicating the number of remaining copies not subjected to printing processing is set. In step 501, a “job start” indicating the head of a print job is issued to the printer, and the start of one print job is notified to the printer. However, the number of copies specified at the time of printing is assumed to be 1 or more.
[0053]
In step 502, it is checked whether N is 1 or more, and if it is less than 1, the process is terminated as the designated number of copies is processed. If the number is one or more, one copy is printed in step 503, the remaining number of copies is reduced by one in step 504, and the process returns to step 502. In this way, printing is performed in units of copies by performing the printing process of step 503 for the designated number of copies. When printing of the designated number of documents is completed, “Job End” is issued to notify the printer of the end of one print job.
[0054]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the process in step 503 of FIG. In step 601, 1 is set to K indicating the page number being processed, and processing for the first page is started. In step 602, it is checked whether the Kth page exists, and if it exists, the despooler 305 is instructed to print the page (step 603). Then, the process for the K page is terminated, the value of K is incremented (step 604), the process returns to step 602, and the process proceeds to the next page. If it is determined in step 602 that the Kth page does not exist, it is checked in step 605 whether K is an even number, that is, the back side. If K is not an even number (back side), the K-1th page is an even number (back side), which is the last page of the set, so that one copy of the printing process is terminated. On the other hand, when K is an even number, the K page corresponds to the back side of double-sided printing, and there is no K page, so a blank page is printed as the K page.
[0055]
As described above, when the number of pages in one copy is an odd number, a blank page is inserted on the back side of the last sheet of the copy to obtain the output result of the print control system of this embodiment shown in FIG. I can do it. In this way, it is possible to output a printed matter that is printed in duplex on both sides, whether the number of pages is even or odd.
[0056]
In addition, by realizing multiple-unit printing in a single print job in this way, printing can be stopped or interrupted in the same way as for a normal job, and other copies can be printed during other printing. It is possible to prevent the print job from being interrupted.
[Second Embodiment]
The extended system shown in FIG. 3 can realize a function of reducing a plurality of pages (N pages) and printing them together on one page. Hereinafter, this function is referred to as N-up printing. Even in the case of N-up printing, the present invention can be applied by the following procedure. Hereinafter, a page (number) printed from the application software is called a logical page (number), and a page (number) actually output is called a physical page (number). In N-up printing, N logical pages are reduced, combined into one physical page, and printed.
[0057]
FIG. 7 shows the output result of the unit printing by the conventional application and the output result obtained by the print control system of this embodiment when N-up printing is performed by the extended print data generation method shown in FIG. Is. According to the conventional output result, when the total number of physical pages P of one part is an odd number, the first physical of the second copy is placed on the back of the last physical page of the first copy (the second back in FIG. 7A). The page is printed. As a result, it is impossible to divide the output product into units. In addition, on the front and back of each sheet of the first copy and the second copy, the combination of printed logical pages is different.
[0058]
On the other hand, in the output result of the print control system of this embodiment, when the total number of physical pages P of one part is an odd number, a logical page included in different parts is inserted by inserting a blank page on the back side. Is not arranged on the front and back surfaces of the same paper, and the output can be divided into copies. Also, the combination of logical pages printed on the front and back of each sheet is the same for all copies.
[0059]
Hereinafter, the unit printing process at the time of duplex printing in N-up printing will be described in detail. 5 and 8 show control procedures executed by the spool file manager 304. FIG.
[0060]
When the spool file manager 304 reads the print settings recorded in the spool file 303 and determines that the print is a unit print and uses the duplex printing of the printer, as in the first embodiment, the spool file manager 304 Process 5 is started. However, in step 503, if N-up printing is designated in the print settings, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is performed instead of FIG.
[0061]
In step 801, 1 is set to P indicating the physical page number being processed, and processing of the first physical page is started. In N, the number N of logical pages to be arranged on each physical page of N-up printing (for example, N = 4 in the case of 4-up in which 4 pages are reduced to 1 page) is set.
[0062]
In step 802, it is checked whether (N (P-1) +1) logical page exists.
[0063]
(N (P-1)) means the number of logical pages that have been printed up to (P-1) physical page. Therefore, the value added by +1 means the first logical page to be arranged on the P physical page. If this logical page exists, it is necessary to print the P physical page. Otherwise, it is not necessary to print the P physical page, and (P-1) the physical page becomes the final page of the copy.
[0064]
If the result of step 802 is YES, since there is a P physical page, the despooler 305 is instructed to print the P physical page (step 803). Then, the process for the P physical page is terminated, the value of P is incremented (step 804), and the process returns to step 802 to proceed to the process for the next physical page.
[0065]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step 802 that (N (P−1) +1) logical pages do not exist, it is checked in step 805 whether P is an even number, that is, the back side. When P is an even number, the P-th page corresponds to the back side of double-sided printing and there is no P-physical page, so a blank page is printed as the P-physical page.
[0066]
As described above, also in the case of N-up printing, when the number of pages in the set is an odd number, the blank page is inserted on the last back side of the set to obtain the output result shown in FIG. Thus, for example, when a print request of a desired number of copies is divided and output by making a repeated print request from a host computer or the like, regardless of the number of pages per copy, each copy is independent, Each part can obtain a printed material with the same appearance.
[0067]
In addition, by realizing multiple unit printing in a single job in this way, printing can be stopped or interrupted in the same way as for a normal job, and other print jobs can be printed during unit printing. It is possible to prevent interruption.
[0068]
[Other Embodiments]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.) including a single device. You may apply to.
[0069]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.
[0070]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0071]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0072]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0073]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when odd-numbered page print data is output by using double-sided printing of a printing apparatus, the boundaries of each part are not arranged on the same sheet, and are divided into units. Is possible.
[0075]
Further, even when the function of printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page is used together, it is possible to prevent the boundaries between the parts from being arranged on the same sheet and to divide them into units.
[0076]
In addition, by implementing multiple-unit printing with a single job, printing can be canceled or interrupted in the same way as for a normal job, and other print jobs can interrupt during printing. Can be prevented.
[0077]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating typical print data generation in a host computer.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating print data generation that is an extension of FIG. 2 for generating an intermediate code.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an output example of copy duplex printing.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for copy printing.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a print processing procedure for each unit of copy printing.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an output example when performing unit duplex printing for N-up printing.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process procedure of each unit of copy printing in N-up printing.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a laser beam printer having a duplex unit.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a connection form between a host computer and a printer.
FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a state of a printer queue during unit printing.
FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a state of a printer queue at the time of copy printing in the present embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 CPU
2 RAM
3 ROM
4 System bus 12 CPU
13 ROM
19 RAM
3000 Host computer 1500 Printer

Claims (12)

A print control device as a host computer including a printer driver connected to a printing device that prints on the front and back surfaces of a print medium in order,
Storage means for storing a part of print data from the first page to the last page constituting a document to be printed issued from an application in an intermediate code format in a spooler;
A determination unit that determines whether the print setting acquired from the printer driver is printing that uses unit printing and duplex printing;
When it is determined by the determination means that the printing is by unit printing and duplex printing, the storage means reads out the intermediate code format print data stored in the spooler, and the last page of the print data is the print medium A job generating means for generating a print job in a page description language format to be sent to the printing apparatus by inserting a blank page on the back surface and issuing job end data according to the print settings. ,
The job generation means repeatedly reads the print data of the last page from the print data of the first page of the document stored in the spooler a number of times corresponding to the designated number of print copies, and prints the print data of the last page from the first page. Yes arranged repeatedly designated print number of copies, and the last page and the first page of the next part of the last page to generate one print job of inserting the blank page so as not to be printed on one print medium A printing control apparatus characterized by the above.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job generation unit arranges a plurality of reduced pages on each surface of the print medium.   The job generation means inserts a blank page on the back side when the last page of the print data corresponds to the front side of the print medium when the specified print number is 2 or more and double-sided printing is set as the print setting. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A printing control method in a printing control apparatus as a host computer including a printer driver connected to a printing apparatus that sequentially prints on the front and back surfaces of a printing medium,
A storing step of storing a part of print data from the first page to the last page constituting a document to be printed issued from an application in an intermediate code format in a spooler;
A determination step of determining whether the print setting acquired from the printer driver is printing that uses unit printing and duplex printing;
When it is determined in the determination step that the printing is a unit printing and double-sided printing, the intermediate code format print data stored in the spooler is read out in the storage step, and the last page of the print data is a print medium. A determination step of determining whether the surface is a surface of
When the last page of the print data corresponds to the front surface of the print medium, a blank page insertion step of inserting a blank page on the back surface;
A job generation step of generating a print job in a page description language format sent to the printing apparatus by issuing job end data;
In the job generation step, the print data of the last page is read from the print data of the first page of the document stored in the spooler repeatedly for the number of times corresponding to the designated print number, and the print data of the last page from the first page is read Yes arranged repeatedly designated print number of copies, and the last page and the first page of the next part of the last page to generate one print job of inserting the blank page so as not to be printed on one print medium A printing control method characterized by the above.   The print control method according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of pages are reduced and arranged on each surface of the print medium.   The print control method according to claim 4, wherein the print data for the designated number of print copies is sent to a printing apparatus as data of a single print job. A printing system comprising a printing control device as a host computer equipped with a printer driver and a printing device,
The print control apparatus includes a storage unit that stores a part of print data from a first page to a last page constituting a document to be printed issued from an application in a spooler in an intermediate code format;
A determination unit that determines whether the print setting acquired from the printer driver is printing that uses unit printing and duplex printing;
When it is determined by the determination means that the printing is by unit printing and duplex printing, the storage means reads out the intermediate code format print data stored in the spooler, and the last page of the print data is the print medium A job generating means for generating a print job in a page description language format to be sent to the printing apparatus by inserting a blank page on the back surface and issuing job end data according to the print settings. ,
The printing apparatus prints on the front and back surfaces of the print medium in order,
The job generation means repeatedly reads the print data of the last page from the print data of the first page of the document stored in the spooler a number of times corresponding to the designated number of print copies, and prints the print data of the last page from the first page. Yes arranged repeatedly designated print number of copies, and the last page and the first page of the next part of the last page to generate one print job of inserting the blank page so as not to be printed on one print medium A printing system featuring.   The printing system according to claim 7, wherein the print control apparatus arranges a plurality of pages in a reduced manner on each surface of the print medium.   The job generation means inserts a blank page on the back side when the last page of the print data corresponds to the front side of the print medium when the specified print number is 2 or more and double-sided printing is set as the print setting. The printing system according to claim 7. A computer- readable recording medium storing a program executed by a host computer having a printer driver connected to a printing apparatus that sequentially prints on the front and back surfaces of the printing medium,
Storage means for storing a part of print data from the first page to the last page constituting a document to be printed issued from an application in an intermediate code format in a spooler;
A determination unit that determines whether the print setting acquired from the printer driver is printing that uses unit printing and duplex printing;
When it is determined by the determination means that the printing is by unit printing and duplex printing, the storage means reads out the intermediate code format print data stored in the spooler, and the last page of the print data is the print medium The computer as a job generation means for generating a print job in a page description language format sent to the printing apparatus by inserting a blank page on the back surface and issuing job end data according to the print settings. Make it work
The job generation means repeatedly reads the print data of the last page from the print data of the first page of the document stored in the spooler a number of times corresponding to the designated number of print copies, and prints the print data of the last page from the first page. Yes arranged repeatedly designated print number of copies, and the last page and the first page of the next part of the last page to generate one print job of inserting the blank page so as not to be printed on one print medium A computer-readable storage medium characterized by the above.   The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the program further realizes means for reducing and arranging a plurality of pages on each surface of the print medium.   The job generation means inserts a blank page on the back side when the last page of the print data corresponds to the front side of the print medium when the specified print number is 2 or more and double-sided printing is set as the print setting. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 10.

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