JP4105462B2 - Printing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing method for printing a document or an image input from a personal computer or a communication line on a recording sheet, and particularly to saving of the recording sheet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Documents that are input to a printer device from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) and printed on recording paper include various types of documents and images. When printing various types of documents or the like with the printer device in this way, the right end of the document or the like printed on the recording paper may exceed the printing area on the recording paper due to a selection mistake of the recording paper or a difference in the printing area. In addition, when printing is performed on both sides of the recording paper, the sub-scanning direction may be shifted between the front surface and the back surface.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
If the right edge of the document printed on the recording paper exceeds the printing area due to a mistake in the selection of the recording paper or the printing area as described above, the document that exceeds the printing area is printed with a line break to print out the misalignment. As a result, the number of pages to be printed increases and the amount of recording paper used increases. Further, when the double-side printing is performed, if the sub-scanning direction is shifted between the front surface and the back surface, it becomes difficult to view the printed document.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing method capable of improving such disadvantages and printing easy-to-see documents and the like and reducing recording paper to be used.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The printing method according to the present invention has a double-sided printing function, and when printing data is sent from the terminal device when the saving mode is designated, printing of the recording paper is included in the printing data to be printed for one page of the recording paper. If there is a part that exceeds the right edge of the area, select 2-sided printing, and the data that exceeds the right edge of the print area Printing is performed on the back surface of the recording paper so that the sub-scanning direction is the same as the data printed on the front surface.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an engine of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 has a copying function, a printer function, and a facsimile function. The image forming unit 2 is provided with two-stage paper feed trays 3a and 3b storing recording paper at a lower portion and a reading unit 4 at an upper portion. The sheet feeding trays 3a and 3b have sheet feeding rollers 5a and 5b, and the recording sheets stacked in the sheet feeding trays 3a and 3b are fed one by one by the sheet feeding rollers 5a and 5b. In the vicinity of the downstream side of the paper feed rollers 5a and 5b, a vertical conveyance path 6 is formed. In the vertical conveyance path 6, conveyance rollers 7 and 8, an image forming unit 11 having a photosensitive drum 9 and an optical unit 10, and a fixing unit 12 are arranged. A paper discharge roller 13 is provided at the downstream end of the vertical conveyance path 6, and conveys the recording paper on which the image is formed to the paper discharge unit 14. In addition, a manual feed tray 16 that can be opened and closed in the rotation direction with a support shaft 15 as a fulcrum is provided outside the vertical conveyance path 6. On the side surface of the image forming unit 2, a paper feed port for performing manual paper feeding is provided near the upper portion of the support shaft 15, and a common transport path 20 that is a transport path used in common with the duplex unit 17 is a transport roller 7. And the conveyance roller 8 merge with the vertical conveyance path 6. When the manual feed tray 16 is opened horizontally, manual feed can be performed, and the recording paper set on the manual feed tray 16 is conveyed from the common conveyance path 20 to the vertical conveyance path 6.
[0009]
The recording paper fed from the paper feed units 3 a and 3 b or the manual feed tray 16 is conveyed to the image forming unit 11. The image forming unit 11 develops the electrostatic latent image formed by being written on the photosensitive drum 9 by the optical unit 10, and transfers the developed image onto a recording sheet. The fixing unit 12 fixes the image by applying heat and pressure to the recording paper onto which the image has been transferred. The recording paper on which the image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge roller 13 to the paper discharge unit 14. The duplex unit 17 is installed on the outer side of the apparatus main body 2, and when an image is formed on both sides of the recording paper, the recording paper on which an image is formed on one side is switched back by a conveyance roller 18 provided on the upper part of the image forming unit 2. The recording paper is conveyed to the path 19 and conveyed again from the switchback path 19 to the vertical conveyance path 6 via the duplex unit 17.
[0010]
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the printer controller 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 manages the host interface 23 that exchanges control signals, data, and status signals with the host device 22, and the operation of the entire apparatus. When the CPU 24, the ROM 25 storing the processing program of the CPU 24, the RAM 26 for temporarily storing the data sent from the work memory of the CPU 24 or the host device 22 or storing the image data obtained by developing the image, and when the power is turned off. NVRAM 27 for holding data, font ROM 28 for holding several types of fonts used for printing, engine interface 29 for sending control signals of engine 33 and inputting status signals from engine 33, operating conditions, etc. An operation panel 34 that displays the operating status as well as input It has a panel interface 30 for exchanging signals, a network interface 31 that connects with the communication line, the disk interface 32 for exchanging data and programs to a hard disk 35 which is an external storage medium.
[0011]
The operation when printing the print data sent from the host device 22 in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0012]
When printing the produced document or image using the image forming apparatus 1, the host device 22 prints the print data together with the print data in the saving mode, and when printing in the saving mode, prints on one page of the recording paper. In the print data to be printed, the control signal designates whether the data exceeding the right end of the print area of the recording paper is printed by double-sided printing or single-sided printing.
[0013]
When printing the print data sent from the host device 22 together with this control signal, the CPU 24 determines whether or not the saving mode is designated (step S1). If the saving mode is not designated, the normal single-sided printing is performed. Print data is printed on recording paper (step S2). When the saving mode is designated from the host device 22 (step S1), the CPU 24 determines whether there is data exceeding the right end of the printing area of the recording paper in the printing data to be printed for one page of the recording paper. (Step S3), and if there is no data exceeding the right end of the print area of the recording paper in the print data to be printed for one page of the recording paper, the simplex printing is selected and the surface of the recording paper is selected. (Step S8).
[0014]
If there is data that exceeds the right edge of the print area of the recording paper in the print data to be printed for one page of the recording paper, and double-sided printing is designated (step S4), double-sided printing is selected. (Step S5) Only the print data in the print area of the recording paper is printed on the surface of the recording paper in the printing data for one page (Step S6), and the recording paper is printed in the printing data for one page. Data exceeding the right end of the area is printed on the back side of the recording paper (step S7). The position of printing on the back side of the recording paper is the same in the sub-scanning direction as the data printed on the surface of the recording paper among the data that exceeds the right end of the printing area of the recording paper in the printing data for one page. Print as follows.
[0015]
In this way, printing data printed on one page of recording paper can be printed without losing data beyond the right edge of the printing area of the recording paper, and data exceeding the right edge of the printing area can be printed. It is possible to clarify which part. Furthermore, if the data that exceeds the right edge of the print area is printed on a new line, it is necessary to print the print data for one page on two sheets of recording paper, but it exceeds the right edge of the print area of the recording paper. By printing the recorded data on the back side of the recording paper, the printing data for one page can be printed on one recording paper, and the usage amount of the recording paper can be reduced. In addition, a mark or the like for specifying the first portion of the portion printed on the back surface of the recording paper and the last portion of the portion printed on the surface to which the portion is connected is printed, or the color of the portion is changed. By doing so, it can be made clear which part is beyond the right end of the print area.
[0016]
After printing one page of print data, single-sided printing is selected (step S8). If there is print data, printing is continued (step S9). Further, in the saving mode, when print data to be printed on one page of the recording paper is designated to print data that exceeds the right end of the printing area of the recording paper by single-sided printing (step S3). S4) After printing the print data in the print area on the surface of the recording paper among the print data that exceeds the right end of the print area of the recording paper, the portion beyond the right end of the print area is changed to a line feed. Print on the surface of the recording paper with the right edge aligned with the printed part. In this way, it can be clarified that there is data exceeding the right end of the printing area of the recording paper.
[0017]
In the above description, when there is data exceeding the right end of the print area of the recording paper in the print data to be printed for one page of the recording paper, the case where the data exceeding the right end is printed on the back surface of the recording paper is described. However, if there is data that exceeds the right edge of the print area of the recording paper in the save mode and print data printed on one page of the recording paper, double-sided printing is selected immediately and the right edge is exceeded. The data may be printed on a new line, and print data exceeding one page of the recording paper may be printed on the back side of the recording paper.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention has a double-sided printing function, and when print data is sent from the terminal device when the saving mode is designated, the print paper of the print paper is printed in one page of the print paper. If there is a part that exceeds the right edge of the print area, select 2-sided printing, and the data that exceeds the right edge of the print area is recorded in the data that exceeds the right edge of the print area. By printing on the back side of the recording paper so that the sub-scanning direction is the same as the data printed on the front side of the paper, the amount of recording paper used can be reduced and the portion beyond the right edge of the printing area can be easily seen be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an engine of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation in a saving mode.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Image forming apparatus, 2; Image forming unit, 17: Duplex unit,
21; printer controller, 22; host device, 24; CPU.

Claims (1)

A portion that has a double-sided printing function and that exceeds the right edge of the printing area of the recording paper in the printing data to be printed on one page of the recording paper when the saving data is designated and sent from the terminal device. If double-sided printing is selected , the data printed on the surface of the recording paper is sub-scanned with the data that exceeds the right edge of the printing area. A printing method comprising printing on the back side of a recording paper so that the directions are the same .

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