JP4207062B2 - Print system, information processing terminal used in the system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for grasping ink shortage in a printing apparatus connected to an information processing terminal before executing a printing process.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing system that prints data to be printed created by an information processing terminal using a printing apparatus is known. In this system, a print control device called RIP (Raster Image Processor) for converting data to be printed into print data that can be processed by the printing device is interposed between the information processing terminal and the printing device. Become. In other words, since the data to be printed is usually PDL (Page Description Language) such as PostScript or image data such as TIFF or JPEG, it is necessary to have a conversion device for printing data that can be processed by the printing device. It becomes.

  In a small-scale system, for example, a personal system, an information processing terminal may have a function as the print control apparatus. On the other hand, a large-scale system, for example, a system constructed as a network, employs a configuration in which a print control apparatus is connected to the network as a separate body from the information processing terminal for the purpose of reducing the processing load on the information processing terminal. At this time, when the print control apparatus receives the print target data from the information processing terminal via the network, the print control apparatus converts the print target data into print data and transmits the print target data to the connected printing apparatus.

  By the way, in such a printing system, the ink of the printing apparatus may run out during printing. At this time, some printing apparatuses continue to print without running out of ink. In this case, since color loss occurs, it becomes necessary to execute the printing process again.

  There is also a printing apparatus that notifies that ink has run out and interrupts the printing process at that stage. In such a printing apparatus, after the ink is replenished, the printing process can be continued from the interrupted portion. However, even in this case, the recording medium such as paper once stops in the middle of printing, causing the recording medium to sag and shift, causing uneven printing, and printing before and after the interrupted portion. It becomes discontinuous.

  In other words, if the printing apparatus runs out of ink during printing, it is often necessary to perform printing again. In particular, in large-format printing, for example, printing of A0 size or larger, if such re-printing occurs, the cost of the recording medium and ink is high, so that significant damage occurs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and enables a user to grasp whether or not ink is insufficient during printing in a printing apparatus prior to printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system and an information processing terminal that can regularly monitor the remaining amount of ink in a printing apparatus and check the latest remaining ink amount.

The printing system according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above-described object, includes an information processing terminal and a printing apparatus that performs printing on a recording medium based on printing data transmitted from the information processing terminal. The information processing terminal includes: preview data generation means for generating preview data for print preview based on the print data; and preview data generated by the preview data generation means. Based on the necessary ink amount prediction means for predicting the required ink amount that is the amount of ink necessary for printing, and transmission of ink information that is information for confirming the remaining amount of ink in the printing device to the printing device Information requesting means for requesting ink, and ink information for receiving the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus A signal means, prior to execution of the printing process in the printing device, and the required amount of ink that has been predicted by the required amount of ink predicting means, based on the ink information received by the ink information receiving unit, the execution of the printing process Determination means for determining whether or not the ink runs short in the middle, while the printing apparatus has an ink information management means for managing the ink information and an ink information transmission request by the ink information request means. If there, and an ink information transmitting means for transmitting the ink information managed by said ink information management unit to the information processing terminal, in the information processing terminal, said ink information requesting means, the ink at predetermined time intervals An information transmission request is made to the printing apparatus, and there is a need for transmission of ink information performed at a predetermined time interval. Respect, based on the ink information sequentially received by the ink information receiving unit, and the ink remaining amount display means for updating the display on the display unit graphically displays the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus, the ink by the determining means If it is determined that insufficient, further comprising an ink shortage display means for displaying the ink shortage on the display unit, wherein the ink remaining amount display means, along with the display by the ink shortage display means it is performed When the ink is replenished to the printing device, the remaining amount of ink increases from the previous ink remaining amount display according to the amount of ink replenished to the printing device based on the ink information. The display is updated as described above.

The ink information refers to information for confirming the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus. For example, the remaining amount of ink itself may be used, or the amount of ink consumed up to the time when a transmission request is made by the ink information requesting unit may be used. When the ink information is the ink consumption, the ink amount at the time when the ink is replenished is stored, and the ink remaining amount can be confirmed by subtracting the ink consumption from this ink amount. Therefore, the ink information management means of the printing apparatus detects and updates the remaining ink level at predetermined time intervals, for example, when the ink information is the remaining ink level. In some cases, it may be possible to manage by accumulating the amount of ink used when executing the printing process.
The print preview refers to confirming the print image on the screen before actually printing on the recording medium. Generally, preview data generated for this purpose is reduced data of image data that is data to be printed, and only the enlargement rate is different. Therefore, if the required ink amount is predicted based on the preview data, the time required to predict the ink amount can be shortened. This will be described below.

Specifically, as described in claim 2, the required ink amount predicting means averages the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data, and obtains the average density of the print image corresponding to the averaged gradation. It is conceivable that the ink amount that achieves the average density at the actual print size is predicted as the required ink amount.
As described above, if the density of the image data displayed on the screen is assumed to be expressed as a dot pattern on the recording medium, the ink amount is proportional to the gradation of the image data. Therefore, the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data is averaged, normalized, that is, converted to a value between 0 and 1 to obtain the average density of the printed image, and the actual print size is solid. It is conceivable that the required ink amount is obtained by multiplying the ink amount in the case of painting by the average density of the printed image. Since the number of pixels of the image based on the preview data to be calculated is smaller than the number of pixels of the image based on the data to be printed, the calculation time required for predicting the ink amount can be shortened in this way.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ink remaining amount display means is consumed in the printing apparatus based on the ink information when the remaining ink amount of the printing apparatus decreases due to the start of printing. According to the ink amount, the display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink is smaller than the previous ink remaining amount display.

The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the printing apparatus can use a plurality of colors of ink, and in the information processing terminal, the determination unit executes the printing process for each of a plurality of colors. It is configured to determine whether or not there is a shortage of ink in the middle, and the printing is not started when there is an ink that is determined to be insufficient even by one color among the plurality of colors of ink. The printing start control means for controlling as described above is provided.

Furthermore, the information processing terminal according to claim 5 of the present invention performs printing on the recording medium based on the printing data and transmits ink information, which is information for confirming the remaining amount of ink, to the outside. In an information processing terminal connected to a printing apparatus provided with an ink information transmitting means, a preview data generating means for generating preview data for print preview based on the printing data, and a preview data generating means Based on the preview data, the necessary ink amount prediction means for predicting the required ink amount that is the amount of ink necessary for printing, and information for confirming the remaining amount of ink in the printing device to the printing device. Ink information request means for requesting transmission of certain ink information, and ink for receiving the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus And broadcast receiving means, prior to execution of the printing process in the printing device, and the required amount of ink that has been predicted by the required amount of ink predicting means, based on the ink information received by the ink information receiving means, of the printing process Determining means for determining whether or not ink is insufficient during execution, and the ink information requesting means is configured to make a request for transmission of ink information to the printing apparatus at predetermined time intervals, and In response to an ink information transmission request made at a predetermined time interval, based on the ink information sequentially received by the ink information receiving means, the remaining ink amount in the printing apparatus is updated and displayed on the display unit by a graph display. An amount-of-quantity display means, and an ink shortage display means for displaying an ink shortage when it is determined by the determination means that the ink is insufficient. Further wherein the ink remaining amount display means, along with the display by the ink shortage display means is performed, when the ink is replenished to said printing apparatus, based on the ink information, the printing The display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink increases from the previous display of the remaining amount of ink in accordance with the amount of ink replenished to the apparatus.

The information processing terminal according to claim 6 , wherein the ink remaining amount display means consumes in the printing apparatus based on the ink information when the ink remaining amount of the printing apparatus decreases due to the start of printing. The display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink is smaller than that of the previous display of the remaining amount of ink in accordance with the amount of ink that has been performed.

According to the printing system of the first aspect of the present invention, the remaining amount of ink is displayed in a graph display based on the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus in response to the transmission request of the ink information from the information processing terminal. Based on this display, the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus can be confirmed. Further, since the ink information transmission request is periodically made at predetermined time intervals, the latest ink remaining amount can be confirmed. Then, in the information processing terminal based on the ink information, the ink shortage display means informs the user that the ink is insufficient, so that the user who notices the notification can replenish the printing apparatus with ink, Since the remaining amount of ink as a result of replenishment can be detected from the ink information received at predetermined time intervals, the user can replenish himself / herself by displaying an updated display of the remaining amount of ink corresponding to the amount of ink replenished. The amount of ink that has been used can be confirmed.
In addition, based on the ink information and the required ink amount, it is notified prior to the execution of printing whether or not ink is insufficient during printing. Therefore, the user can replenish ink before the printing process is started, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during printing.
Here, if the required ink amount is predicted based on the preview data, the time required to predict the ink amount can be shortened. Here, the print preview refers to confirming the print image on the screen before actually printing on the recording medium. Generally, preview data generated for this purpose is reduced data of image data that is data to be printed, and only the enlargement rate is different. Therefore, this will be described below.
Specifically, as shown in the print system according to claim 2, the required ink amount prediction means averages the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data, and the print image corresponding to the average gradation It is conceivable that the average amount of ink is obtained, and the ink amount that achieves the average density at the actual print size is predicted as the required ink amount. As described above, if the density of the image data displayed on the screen is assumed to be expressed as a dot pattern on the recording medium, the ink amount is proportional to the gradation of the image data. Therefore, the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data is averaged, normalized, that is, converted to a value between 0 and 1 to obtain the average density of the printed image, and the actual print size is solid. It is conceivable that the required ink amount is obtained by multiplying the ink amount in the case of painting by the average density of the printed image. Since the number of pixels of the image based on the preview data to be calculated is smaller than the number of pixels of the image based on the data to be printed, the calculation time required for predicting the ink amount can be shortened in this way.

Further, according to the printing system of claim 3 , in addition to the effect of claim 1, in the case where the remaining amount of ink decreases after starting printing by the ink information received at a predetermined time interval, Since the display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink decreases according to the amount of ink consumed in the printing apparatus by the remaining ink amount display means, it is possible to check the latest remaining ink amount even after the start of printing. it can.

Further, according to the printing system of the fourth aspect , since printing is not started when it is determined that the ink is insufficient, the printing quality is reduced by the shortage of ink during the printing as in the past. Can be prevented, and when reprinting is required, waste of the recording medium and ink caused by the reprinting can be eliminated.

According to the information processing terminal of the fifth aspect of the present invention, as in the case of the first aspect, the ink remaining amount is determined based on the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus in response to the ink information transmission request from the information processing terminal. Since the amount is displayed in a graph display, the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus can be confirmed based on this display. Further, since the ink information transmission request is periodically made at predetermined time intervals, the latest ink remaining amount can be confirmed. Then, in the information processing terminal based on the ink information, the ink shortage display means informs the user that the ink is insufficient, so that the user who notices the notification can replenish the printing apparatus with ink, Since the remaining amount of ink as a result of replenishment can be detected from the ink information received at predetermined time intervals, the user can replenish himself / herself by displaying an updated display of the remaining amount of ink corresponding to the amount of ink replenished. The amount of ink that has been used can be confirmed.

Further, according to the information processing terminal of the sixth aspect , as in the case of the second aspect, when the ink remaining amount decreases after the start of printing based on the ink information received at predetermined time intervals, the ink remaining Since the display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink is reduced according to the amount of ink consumed in the printing apparatus by the amount display means, the latest ink remaining amount can be confirmed even after the start of printing.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a print system according to the present embodiment. The print system of the present embodiment is a network system as shown in FIG. That is, a terminal 10 as an “information processing terminal” and a raster image processor (hereinafter referred to as “RIP”) 20 as a “printing control device” are connected via a network 40 such as a local area network. In addition, a printer 30 as a “printing apparatus” is connected.

  The printing system of the present embodiment is a large-format printing system that prints, for example, an advertising banner, and the like, and a recording medium having a width of 1.5 m and a length of several tens of meters is set in the printer 30. Therefore, in the printing system of the present embodiment, the amount of processing data for printing becomes large, so the RIP 20 having a print control function is prepared separately from the terminal 10 to reduce the processing load on the terminal 10. ing.

  The terminal 10 includes a display 11, a mouse 12, a keyboard 13, and a terminal computer 14. Similarly, the RIP 20 includes a display 21, a mouse 22, a keyboard 23, and a RIP computer 24. The terminal computer 14 and the RIP computer 24 are configured as a computer system having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output circuit, a network interface, and a bus connecting these components as main parts. Through the input / output circuit, the above-described displays 11 and 21, mice 12 and 22, and keyboards 13 and 23 are connected to the terminal computer 14 and the RIP computer 24, respectively. Since the configuration of such a computer system is well known, detailed description of the configuration is omitted.

  The printer 30 includes a printing mechanism that performs printing on a recording medium, and a control mechanism that mainly includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU performs printing-side processing that will be described later. The printer 30 is an ink-jet color printer, and performs color printing with four colors of ink, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Hereinafter, the four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are also referred to as “CMYK”.

  The terminal 10 generates data to be printed, which is image data such as TIFF or JPEG, in response to an instruction from the user. When there is a print instruction from the user, the print target data is transmitted to the RIP 20 via the network 40. When data to be printed is transmitted from the terminal 10, the RIP 20 performs a predetermined process, and then prints data that can be processed by the printer 30 such as bitmap data indicating each dot of the print image. Is converted into data for use and output to the printer 30. The printer 30 executes a printing process based on the printing data, and as a result, an image based on the print target data transmitted from the terminal 10 is printed on the recording medium. In this embodiment, in order to avoid complications, the terminal 10 and the printer 30 are connected one by one. However, a plurality of terminals are connected to the network 40, and a plurality of terminals are connected to the RIP 20. It is also possible to have a configuration in which other printers are connected.

  The print system of the present embodiment is characterized in that prior to execution of printing, the user is notified whether or not the ink of the printer 30 is insufficient during printing.

  Therefore, hereinafter, processing executed by the RIP 20 and the printer 30 will be described in order based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  First, the print setting process executed in the RIP 20 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This print setting process is a process executed by the CPU included in the RIP computer 24 of the RIP 20, and is a process executed prior to printing.

  First, in first step S100, preview data for print preview is generated. Print preview refers to confirming a print image on a screen before actually printing on a recording medium. Generally, preview data generated for this purpose is reduced data of image data that is data to be printed, and only the enlargement rate is different. Here, preview data is generated based on image data as print target data transmitted from the terminal 10 and stored in the RAM of the RIP computer 24, and an image based on the preview data is displayed on the display 21.

  In S110, the user performs print settings based on the image displayed in S100. That is, the user refers to an image based on the preview data displayed on the display 21 provided in the RIP 20, performs scaling that is enlargement / reduction of the print size via the mouse 22 or the keyboard 23, and trimming that is selection of a print area, Make print settings such as rotating the print image. Then, when the print setting is completed, execution of printing is instructed. That is, as described above, the data to be printed created by the terminal 10 is transmitted to the RIP 20 according to the user's instruction via the terminal 10, and subsequently, the final data by the user is transmitted via the RIP 20. Print settings are made, and execution of printing is instructed.

  In the subsequent S120, the required ink amount is predicted. This process predicts the amount of ink required for printing image data. The prediction of the ink amount is performed with reference to the print setting set in S110 based on the preview data generated in S100.

  Here, a method for predicting the required ink amount in the present embodiment will be described.

  When an image based on image data is printed on a recording medium, for example, the density in a full-color image in which one pixel is displayed on the screen in RGB with a luminance of 256 gradations is, for example, a dot pattern of four colors of CMYK inks. It is expressed by adjusting the ejection amount of the four color inks according to the gradation of the image data. In the latter method, since the apparatus is expensive, it is common to express the density of the image with a dot pattern as in the former method, but in any case, the ink amount is proportional to the gradation of the image data. Will do.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data is averaged, normalized, that is, converted into a value of 0 to 1 to obtain the average density of the printed image, and actually The required amount of ink is calculated by multiplying the amount of ink when the print size is solid by the average density of the printed image. When trimming is performed as a print setting in S110 described above, the gray levels of the pixels corresponding to the trimming portion are averaged and normalized, and the average density of the print image corresponding to the trimming portion is calculated. Then, the required ink amount is obtained by multiplying the ink amount when the actual print size corresponding to the trimming portion is solidly applied by this average density. When the image data on the screen is expressed in RGB and the print image is expressed in CMYK, the gradation set for each of RGB is converted into the gradation in each of CMYK, and then the above-described The average density may be calculated by such a method.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the ink amount required for printing is predicted based on the preview data.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 2 again, the description of the print setting process will be continued.

  In S130, the print setting set in S110 and the required ink amount predicted in S120 are stored. These pieces of information are stored in a print setting area prepared in a RAM provided in the RIP computer 24.

  In subsequent S140, the print start flag is turned OFF, and then the print setting process is terminated. The print start flag is a variable that can take two values “ON” or “OFF”, and is prepared in the RAM of the RIP computer 24.

  Next, the ink amount notification process executed in the RIP 20 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. This ink amount notification process is also a process executed by the CPU included in the RIP computer 24 of the RIP 20 in the same manner as the print setting process described above.

  First, in the first step S200, the printer 30 is requested to transmit the remaining amount of ink in the printer 30. When the remaining amount of ink is transmitted from the printer 30 in response to this transmission request, the transmitted amount of remaining ink is received in S210. In S220, the ink remaining amount is displayed on the display 21 provided in the RIP 20. In this embodiment, the ink remaining amount is displayed in a graph as in the screen display example shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the remaining amount of ink is displayed in the area A in the central portion of the screen, and is displayed as a bar graph with scales of 0,100. Here, the shaded area indicates the remaining amount of ink of each color.

  In S230, it is determined whether print settings are stored. As described above, print settings are made by the user prior to printing (S110 in FIG. 2), and the settings are stored in the print setting area prepared in the RAM of the RIP computer 24 (S130 in FIG. 2). ). Accordingly, the print setting area prepared in the RAM of the RIP computer 24 is referred to here to determine whether or not the print setting by the user is stored. If print settings are stored (S230: YES), the process proceeds to S240. On the other hand, when the print setting is not stored (S230: NO), the process proceeds to S290.

  In S240, the necessary ink amount stored in the RAM of the RIP computer 24 is read. In S250, the read necessary ink amount is displayed on the display 21 provided in the RIP 20. In the present embodiment, as shown in the screen display example of FIG. 6, the required ink amount is displayed with a triangular mark indicating the position on the graph with respect to the bar graph indicating the ink amount displayed in the region A. That is, in FIG. 6, since the hatched area in the bar graph indicates the ink remaining amount, the position indicated by the triangular mark exceeds the hatched area, that is, closer to the scale of “100”. In some cases, ink will run out. Therefore, it can be seen from the display screen shown in FIG. 6 that the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are not insufficient, but the black ink is insufficient.

  In S260, it is determined whether ink is insufficient. In this process, the remaining ink amount received in S210 and the necessary ink amount read from the RAM of the RIP computer 24 in S240 are compared for each color to determine whether or not ink is insufficient. . If it is determined that the ink is insufficient (S260: YES), the fact that the ink is insufficient is displayed on the display 21 of the RIP 20 in S270, and then the process proceeds to S300. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no ink shortage (S260: NO), the print start flag is turned ON in S280, and then the process proceeds to S300.

  The display indicating that ink is insufficient in S270 is displayed in a region B different from the graph display, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, since the black ink is insufficient, the message “Black ink is insufficient” is output.

  Further, in S290, which is shifted when a negative determination is made in S230, the display of the necessary ink amount is cleared. This process is executed when a negative determination is made in S230, that is, when the print setting is not stored in the print setting area prepared in the RAM of the RIP computer 24, the information stored in the print setting area is As will be described later, the data is deleted after the printing data is transmitted to the printer 30. That is, when printing is started by the printer 30, the display of the required ink amount is not necessary, and the display of the required ink amount is cleared. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S300.

  In S300, it is determined whether a predetermined time such as 3 seconds has elapsed. If it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed (S300: YES), the processing from S200 is repeated. On the other hand, this determination process is repeated until the predetermined time has not elapsed (S300: NO). Through the processing of S300, the RIP 20 requests the printer 30 to transmit the remaining amount of ink at a predetermined time interval (S200). When the user refills ink, the screen display is updated accordingly. Will be.

  Next, print control processing in the RIP 20 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This print control process is also executed by the CPU of the RIP computer 24 included in the RIP 20, and is executed subsequent to the print setting process described above with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S400, it is determined whether or not the print start flag is ON. If the print start flag is ON (S400: YES), the process proceeds to S410. On the other hand, as long as the print start flag is not ON (S400: NO), that is, when the print start flag is OFF, this determination process is repeated.

  In S410, the print setting stored in the RAM of the RIP computer 24 and the image data as the data to be printed are read. In step S420, the read image data is converted into print data that can be printed by the printer 30 based on the print settings.

  In step S430, print data is transmitted to the printer 30. By the transmission processing in S430, the printer 30 performs printing on the recording medium as will be described later.

  In S440, the print setting area is cleared, that is, the stored print settings are deleted, and then the print control process is terminated. By clearing the print setting area, a negative determination is made in S230 in the ink amount notification process shown in FIG.

  The process described above is a process executed in the RIP 20. Next, a print-side process executed in the printer 30 corresponding to the process described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in the first step S500, it is determined whether or not data has been received from the RIP 20. If it is determined that data has been received from the RIP (S500: YES), the process proceeds to S510. On the other hand, this determination process is repeated until data is received from the RIP 20 (S500: NO). In other words, when any data is received from the RIP 20, the processing from S510 is performed for the first time.

  In S510, the data received from the RIP 20 is analyzed. In subsequent S520, a branching process based on the data analysis result is performed.

  If the data from the RIP 20 is a transmission request for the remaining amount of ink, the process proceeds to S530. This is a case where the data transmitted in the process of S200 shown in FIG. 3 is determined. At this time, the remaining ink level is detected in S530, and the detected remaining ink level is transmitted to the RIP 20 in S540. In the RIP 20, the transmitted ink remaining amount is received by the processing of S210 in FIG. Thereafter, the print side processing is terminated.

  If the data from the RIP 20 is print data, the process proceeds to S550. This is a case where the data transmitted in the process of S430 shown in FIG. 4 is determined. At this time, in S550, printing on the recording medium is performed based on the received print amount data. Thereafter, the print side processing is terminated.

  If the data from the RIP 20 is neither a transmission request for the remaining ink amount nor printing amount data, other processing is executed according to the received data in S560, and then the printing side processing is terminated.

  Next, the effect which the printing system of this embodiment exhibits is demonstrated. In order to facilitate understanding of the description here, the conventional problems will be described first.

  Conventionally, in the printing system, if the ink of the printer 30 is insufficient during printing, the quality of printing cannot be maintained, and printing may have to be performed again. In particular, in large-format printing, for example, printing of A0 size or larger, if such printing is performed again, the cost of the recording medium and ink increases.

  On the other hand, in the print system according to the present embodiment, when a print execution instruction is issued from the user (S110 in FIG. 2), the print start flag is turned off (S140 in FIG. 2), and printing is not executed. (S400: NO in FIG. 4). The RIP 20 requests transmission of the remaining amount of ink in the printer 30 (S200 in FIG. 3), and receives the remaining amount of ink transmitted from the printer 30 in response to this request (S210 in FIG. 3). In addition, the RIP 20 predicts a necessary ink amount that is an ink amount necessary for the printer 30 for printing based on the print target data transmitted from the terminal 10 and the print setting from the user (in FIG. 2). S120). Then, the remaining ink amount received from the printer 30 and the predicted required ink amount are compared and displayed for each color ink using a graph (see S220 and S250 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6). That is, prior to execution of printing, the remaining ink amount and the necessary ink amount are displayed in a state that can be compared. Further, the remaining ink amount is compared with the required ink amount (S260 in FIG. 3), and when the ink is insufficient (S260: YES in FIG. 3), that fact is displayed (S270 in FIG. 3). . As a result, the user can replenish ink before the printing process is started, and as a result, the user can be prevented from running out of ink during printing.

  Further, in the print system of the present embodiment, the RIP 20 makes a transmission request for the remaining amount of ink at predetermined time intervals (S300 in FIG. 3: YES, S200). For this reason, if the ink has been replenished after the ink shortage is displayed, the remaining amount of ink after replenishment is received (S210 in FIG. 3). Therefore, the remaining amount of ink is updated and displayed (S220 in FIG. 3), and after the ink is replenished, it is determined again whether or not the ink runs short during the printing process (S260 in FIG. 3). As a result, it can be confirmed whether or not the replenished ink is really sufficient, which is very convenient for the user. In addition, since the printer 30 is a color printer as described above, for example, even when ink of a certain color is insufficient and another color ink is accidentally replenished, the mistake is noticed. The possibility increases.

  Furthermore, in the print system according to the present embodiment, the RIP 20 predicts the required ink amount based on the print target data transmitted from the terminal 10 and the print setting from the user. Preview data is generated from this data (S100 in FIG. 2), and the required ink amount is predicted based on this preview data (S120 in FIG. 2). In other words, since the number of pixels of the image based on the preview data to be calculated is smaller than the number of pixels of the image based on the data to be printed, the calculation time required for predicting the ink amount can be shortened.

  The CPU of the RIP computer 24 included in the RIP 20 of the present embodiment corresponds to “necessary ink amount predicting means”, “ink information requesting means”, “ink information receiving means”, and “preview data generating means”. The display 21 included in the RIP 20 corresponds to “ink amount information notifying unit”.

  The process of S100 in the print setting process shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the process as the preview data generating unit, and the process of 120 corresponds to the process as the necessary ink amount predicting unit. Also, the processing of S200 and S300 in the ink amount notification processing shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to processing as ink information requesting means, and the processing of S210 corresponds to processing as ink information receiving means. Further, the processing of S220 to S270 in FIG. 3 corresponds to the processing as the ink amount information notification means.

  Further, the processing of S530 in the printing side processing shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the processing as the ink information management means, and the processing of S540 corresponds to the processing as the ink information transmission means.

  As described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the ink amount information is displayed on the display 21 of the RIP 20, but it may be displayed on the display 11 of the terminal 10. In that case, instead of the process of S220 in FIG. 3, the remaining ink amount is transmitted to the terminal 10, and further, the required ink amount is transmitted to the terminal 10 instead of the process of S250 in FIG. 3. As an example, the terminal 10 may be configured to execute the same processing as S260 to S280 in FIG. 3 based on the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount transmitted from the RIP 20. At this time, the print start flag in the process of S280 is prepared in the RAM of the RIP computer 24 included in the RIP 20, and the terminal 10 outputs a signal instructing ON or OFF of the print start flag to the RIP 20. do it. More specifically, the RIP computer 20 includes a program having a Web server function, and the terminal 10 includes a program having a Web browser function. A JAVA program for displaying a graph as shown in FIG. 6 is executed in a Web browser operating on the terminal 10. On the other hand, the Web server in the RIP computer 20 periodically transmits the necessary ink amount and the remaining ink amount to the Web browser. The JAVA program executed by the Web browser operating on the terminal 10 receives the ink amount and the remaining ink amount transmitted from the Web server in the RIP computer 20, and based on these, S260 to S280 in FIG. A similar function is realized. Of course, the ink amount information may be displayed on both the display 21 of the RIP 20 and the display 11 of the terminal 10.

  As a display format on the display 21 of the RIP 20, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount are displayed using one graph for each color ink. Of course, graphs corresponding to the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount may be displayed side by side, or the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount may be displayed as numerical values.

  Further, if the required ink amount and the ink remaining amount based on the ink information are displayed side by side by a graph or numerical value, the user may be able to determine how much ink should be replenished from this display. It is further preferable that the remaining amount is compared with the required ink amount, and the ink shortage amount is notified when the ink is insufficient. In this way, it is not necessary for the user himself to determine how much ink should be replenished, and convenience is improved.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the RIP 20 requests the printer 30 to transmit the remaining amount of ink and receives the remaining amount of ink transmitted from the printer 30. However, in the RIP 20, as a result It suffices if the remaining amount of ink in the printer 30 is known. Therefore, for example, the printer 30 may accumulate and transmit the ink consumption from the ink replenishment point. In this case, if the RIP 20 stores the ink amount at the time of ink replenishment, the ink remaining amount can be calculated by subtracting the ink consumption amount from this ink amount.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment was the structure which made the inkjet printer 30 object, the technical idea of this invention is to the point which alert | reports to a user before execution of printing whether ink is insufficient. In this sense, the present invention may be applied to a laser printer that uses toner that is attracted to a charged portion and fixed by heat, or a printer that uses an ink ribbon.

  In the above embodiment, when the required ink amount is predicted, preview data is generated from the data to be printed, and the required ink amount is predicted based on the preview data. As a result, the time required to predict the required ink amount can be shortened as described above, but at the same time, the gradation of the image based on the preview data is calculated to obtain the average density of the print image. It is also advantageous in that it is obtained with the accuracy of In other words, the calculation time and accuracy in determining the required ink amount are contradictory matters, and it can be said that the above method considers the balance between the two.

  By the way, when only emphasis is placed on shortening the time required to predict the required ink amount, it is conceivable to use the following method.

  (1) A method for predicting the ink amount when the actual size is solidly applied as the necessary ink amount, and (2) the density of the past print image (ink is ejected to all dots of the print size) The ratio of dots, the same shall apply hereinafter), and a method of predicting the required amount of ink by multiplying this density by the amount of ink when the actual print size is solid-coated, and (3) past For example, a method of storing the maximum density of the print image and predicting the required ink amount by multiplying the ink amount when the actual print size is solidly multiplied by the maximum density is conceivable. In the methods (1) to (3), since the density of the print image is not calculated in the prediction, the time required for the prediction can be reduced.

  Conversely, when importance is attached to the accuracy in obtaining the required ink amount, it is conceivable to use the following method. When the printer 30 prints the density of an image with a dot pattern, the RIP 20 prints image data that is data to be printed, and printing data in which each dot of the print image is a bitmap corresponding to 1 bit for each color. Convert to Therefore, a method of predicting the required ink amount by counting “1” in the bitmap data, that is, the dots from which ink is ejected, can be considered. In this way, the required ink amount can be accurately predicted.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the printing system of embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print setting processing in RIP. It is a flowchart which shows the ink amount alerting | reporting process in RIP. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing in RIP. 6 is a flowchart illustrating printing-side processing in the printer. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the screen display of ink amount information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal 11 ... Display 12 ... Mouse 13 ... Keyboard 14 ... Terminal computer 20 ... RIP (raster image processor)
21 ... Display 22 ... Mouse 23 ... Keyboard 24 ... RIP computer 30 ... Printer 40 ... Network

Claims (6)

In a printing system comprising: an information processing terminal; and a printing apparatus that performs printing on a recording medium based on printing data transmitted from the information processing terminal.
The information processing terminal
Preview data generation means for generating preview data for print preview based on the print data;
Necessary ink amount predicting means for predicting a required ink amount that is an ink amount necessary for printing based on the preview data generated by the preview data generating means;
Ink information requesting means for requesting the printing apparatus to transmit ink information that is information for confirming the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus;
Ink information receiving means for receiving the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus;
Prior to execution of the printing process in the printing apparatus, based on the required ink amount predicted by the required ink amount prediction unit and the ink information received by the ink information receiving unit, ink is being processed during the execution of the printing process. A judgment means for judging whether or not it is insufficient,
With
On the other hand, the printing apparatus
Ink information management means for managing the ink information;
An ink information transmitting unit that transmits the ink information managed by the ink information managing unit to the information processing terminal when there is a request for transmitting ink information by the ink information requesting unit ;
In the information processing terminal,
The ink information requesting unit is configured to make a transmission request for ink information at a predetermined time interval to the printing apparatus,
Ink that causes the display unit to update and display the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus based on the ink information sequentially received by the ink information receiving unit in response to the ink information transmission request performed at the predetermined time interval. Remaining amount display means,
An ink shortage display means for displaying ink shortage on the display unit when the determination means determines that ink is short ;
The ink remaining amount display means is configured to supply the ink to the printing apparatus based on the ink information when the ink is replenished to the printing apparatus in accordance with the display by the ink shortage display means. A printing system configured to update a display so that a remaining amount of ink increases from a previous ink remaining amount display in accordance with a replenished ink amount. The necessary ink amount predicting means averages the gradation of each pixel of the image based on the preview data, obtains an average density of the print image corresponding to the averaged gradation, and obtains the average density with an actual print size. The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein the printing system is configured to predict such an ink amount as a necessary ink amount. The ink remaining amount display means, based on the ink information, when the ink remaining amount of the printing apparatus decreases due to the start of printing, according to the ink amount consumed in the printing apparatus, printing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that updating the display of to reduce the remaining amount of ink than the display. The printing apparatus can use a plurality of colors of ink,
In the information processing terminal,
The determination means is configured to determine whether or not ink is insufficient during the execution of the printing process for each of a plurality of colors, and if even one color is insufficient by the determination means among the plurality of colors of ink. printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 case, characterized by comprising a print start control means for controlling so as not to start the printing is judged ink is present. Information processing connected to a printing apparatus having ink information transmitting means for performing printing on a recording medium based on printing data and transmitting ink information, which is information for checking the remaining amount of ink, to the outside On the terminal,
Preview data generation means for generating preview data for print preview based on the print data;
Necessary ink amount predicting means for predicting a required ink amount that is an ink amount necessary for printing based on the preview data generated by the preview data generating means;
Ink information requesting means for requesting the printing apparatus to transmit ink information that is information for confirming the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus;
Ink information receiving means for receiving the ink information transmitted from the printing apparatus;
Prior to execution of the printing process in the printing apparatus, based on the required ink amount predicted by the required ink amount prediction unit and the ink information received by the ink information receiving unit, ink is being processed during the execution of the printing process. A judgment means for judging whether or not it is insufficient,
With
The ink information requesting unit is configured to make a transmission request for ink information at a predetermined time interval to the printing apparatus,
Ink that causes the display unit to update and display the remaining amount of ink in the printing apparatus based on the ink information sequentially received by the ink information receiving unit in response to the ink information transmission request performed at the predetermined time interval. Remaining amount display means,
An ink shortage display means for displaying an ink shortage when the determination means determines that ink is insufficient ;
The ink remaining amount display means is configured to supply the ink to the printing apparatus based on the ink information when the ink is replenished to the printing apparatus in accordance with the display by the ink shortage display means. An information processing terminal, wherein the display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink increases from the previous display of the remaining amount of ink according to the amount of ink replenished. The ink remaining amount display means, based on the ink information, when the ink remaining amount of the printing apparatus decreases due to the start of printing, according to the ink amount consumed in the printing apparatus, The information processing terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the display is updated so that the remaining amount of ink is smaller than the display.

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