JP4510139B2 - Plate making control device and printing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plate making control device for controlling a plate making device for producing a printing plate, and a printing system including the plate making control device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, in the printing field, a CTP (computer to plate) type output device (CTP) that directly outputs a paper image based on paper data (paper image information) created through editing and typesetting to a printing plate without using a film. Printing systems that employ output devices have become the mainstream. As this type of printing system, there is known a printing system including a CTP output device that stores paper data in a memory provided in the apparatus, extracts desired paper data, and outputs a paper image on a printing plate (for example, , See Patent Document 1). According to this printing system, there is an advantage that the paper surface data is received and temporarily stored in the memory, and the paper surface image can be output on the printing plate in a predetermined order according to the printing conditions.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-332190 (FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in particular, in a large-scale printing system such as for newspapers, it is necessary to provide a plurality of CTP output devices and a plurality of rotary presses (printing devices). There is a problem that a proper plate making and printing cannot be performed without providing a function of appropriately distributing the information to a plurality of apparatuses.
[0005]
The present invention has been made based on such knowledge, and even when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, the paper surface data is transferred to a plurality of plate making devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system capable of appropriately sorting and performing printing efficiently and stably.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides paper surface data including information on a paper image recorded on a printing plate, and a color name representing a color or monochrome constituting a color paper surface of each page of the paper data, Receives and accumulates the page ID including the page name and the number of pages, and prints the page management table including the processing status for each page in addition to the information on the page ID and the page data in a predetermined order by a predetermined printing device. Storage means for storing a printing schedule set to be performed, distribution means for distributing the sheet data to a plate making apparatus suitable for the predetermined printing apparatus from among a plurality of plate making apparatuses for producing the printing plate, Based on the page management table corresponding to the page data currently printed in the print schedule, the processing status of each page of the page data is managed while managing the processing status of each page. And control means for causing the said page data plate making to the apparatus, said control means, said distributing plate-making device if there is an alternative plate making device unusable, the page data is data for all monochrome paper image When the paper surface data is made by the alternative plate making apparatus and the paper surface data includes the data of the color paper surface image and there is an already produced printing plate, the color paper image is All of the plurality of printing plates of different colors to be configured are configured to be manufactured by the alternative plate making apparatus .
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The plate-making control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention distinguishes between the color data and the monochrome constituting the color paper surface of each page of the paper data including the information of the paper image recorded on the printing plate and each page of the paper data. A sheet ID including a color name, a page name, and the number of pages to be received is received and accumulated, and in addition to the information of the sheet ID, a sheet management table including the processing status for each page and the sheet data are stored in a predetermined order. A storage unit configured to store a print schedule set to be printed by a printing apparatus; and a distribution for distributing the sheet data to a plate making apparatus suitable for the predetermined printing apparatus from among a plurality of plate making apparatuses for producing the printing plate. And managing the processing status of each page of the page data based on the page management table corresponding to the page data currently printed in the print schedule. And control means for the plate-making apparatus divided performed platemaking of the page data, wherein, in the case where the distributing plate-making apparatus is an alternative plate making device unusable, the page data is all monochrome paper image The paper data is made by the alternative plate making apparatus, and when the paper data includes a color paper image data and there is an already produced printing plate, the color is determined according to a user instruction. All of the plurality of printing plates of different colors constituting the paper image were prepared with the alternative plate making apparatus . According to this, when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, it is possible to distribute to each plate making device according to the paper management information for specifying the paper data. Therefore, an appropriate plate making process is realized according to a predetermined printing schedule, and as a result, an efficient and stable printing process is achieved. In addition, since it is possible to prepare printing plates sequentially and appropriately according to the printing schedule, especially when paper data with a relatively slow schedule is used, there is sufficient time to prepare the printing plate and replacement may occur. However, there is an advantage that a useless printing plate is hardly generated. Furthermore, even when the plate making apparatus becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, the printing plate can be produced using an alternative plate making apparatus, so that the stability of the system can be improved.
[0010]
The plate making control apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first embodiment described above, appropriately acquires and accumulates the paper surface ID from the outside, and the newly acquired paper surface ID is the first. In the case of specifying the same page data as the acquired page ID, for the page data specified by the newly acquired page ID, the sorting is completed without sorting to a plurality of plate making apparatuses. It was considered as a configuration. According to this, for the same paper surface data as the paper surface data for which the printing plate has already been prepared, the printing plate is not prepared again, and generation of useless printing plates can be prevented.
[0011]
In the plate making control apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first embodiment, the sheet ID is a replacement for replacing the accumulated sheet data with new sheet data. It is configured to include information, to appropriately acquire and store paper data from the outside, and to replace only when new paper data is acquired within a predetermined time. According to this, when the time for replacement of the paper data is set in advance before the production of the printing plate and new paper data for replacement is received within the time that can be replaced, it is stored. Therefore, it is possible to produce an appropriate printing plate by replacing the sheet data.
[0013]
A printing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a sheet storage device that stores sheet data, a plurality of plate making apparatuses that produce a printing plate on which a sheet image based on the sheet data is recorded, and the printing A plurality of printing devices for printing the paper image using a plate, and specifying the paper data comprising color names, surface names, and page numbers representing colors or monochromes constituting the color paper surface of each page of the paper data A paper surface management device for creating a paper surface ID to be processed, and receiving and storing paper surface data from the paper surface storage device, while receiving a paper surface ID from the paper surface management device, and processing status for each page based on the received paper surface ID Is created, and the page data corresponding to the page data currently being printed in the print schedule set to print the page data by a predetermined printing device in a predetermined order. Plate making control for making plate making by distributing the paper surface data to a plate making apparatus suitable for the predetermined printing device set in the printing schedule while managing the processing status of each page of the paper surface data based on the surface management table and a device, the plate making controller in the case where the distributing plate-making apparatus is an alternative plate making device unusable, when the page data is data for all monochrome paper image, the paper surface by the alternate plate making device When there is a preprinted printing plate that includes data of color paper image and the paper data includes color paper image data, a plurality of printing plates of different colors constituting the color paper image are specified by the user. All of the above were configured to be manufactured by the alternative plate making apparatus . According to this, even when the plate making apparatus becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, the printing plate can be produced using an alternative plate making apparatus, so that the stability of the system can be improved. If there is no alternative plate making apparatus, it is possible to remove the page data from the printing schedule and prepare an appropriate printing plate by the operator.
[0015]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including a plate making control device according to the present invention. This printing system usually prints on the newspaper page. The page storage device 1 that appropriately stores the generated page data (here, the image information of one page of newspaper) and the page data are specified. A paper surface management device 2 for creating a paper surface ID (paper surface management information), a plurality of CTP output devices (plate making devices) 7 to 10 for producing a printing plate on which a paper image based on the paper surface data is recorded, and the printing plate A plurality of rotary presses (printing devices) 3 to 6 for printing a paper image using the printer, a transporter 20 for transporting the printing plate produced by the CTP output devices 7 to 10 to the rotary presses 3 to 6, and CTP output. The CTP controllers 13 to 16 that control basic operations of the devices 7 to 10 and the paper surface data from the paper surface storage device 1 are received and stored, while the paper surface ID is received from the paper surface management device 2, and the stored paper surface data is stored. The paper A CTP server (plate making control device) 11 that distributes to any of a plurality of CTP output devices 7 to 10 based on D, and a personal computer for an operator to make various settings and commands including setting a print schedule for each device (PC) 12. Each device is connected to be communicable with each other via a LAN. Here, the paper surface storage device 1 and the paper surface management device 2 are remotely located, and are connected to the LAN via gateways (GWs) 17 to 19. Is done.
[0017]
FIG. 2 shows an example of setting a print schedule in the printing system shown in FIG. Here, a schedule for printing a plate (prefecture version) for each region having a different page configuration is shown. The operator assigns a plurality of printing candidate prefecture editions displayed in the prefecture edition table 21 to each rotary press (here, No. 1 to No. 7) with priority. Or, since the printing priority order of each prefecture version is generally the same for each date or day of the week, it is possible to register a standard printing schedule in advance and set it manually only when there is a change. It is. In this case, the priority order of the rotary press is highest in the first machine, and the priority order is lower in order of the numbers from the second machine. The schedule list 22 indicates that each of the rotary press No. 1 and No. 2 performs printing in the order of the second edition Shizuoka, the third edition Yamanashi, the fourth edition Kanagawa, and the fifth edition Chiba.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows an example of the page ID created by the page management apparatus shown in FIG. In the page ID 30, in order to specify the corresponding page data, the color name representing the color and monochrome constituting the color page, the date of issue, the paper name representing the morning edition and the evening edition, and the version name representing the revision number , Various names such as the surface name and the number of pages. Each information is extracted from these codes using the corresponding conversion tables 31 to 34. Here, the code of each item of color, date, paper name, plate name, page name, and page number divides the page ID by a digit, that is, the number of start digits indicating the position in the page ID where the code of each item starts. And the total number of digits indicating the total number of codes of each item can be extracted from the page ID. Here, the color name starts from “C” in the first digit of the page ID. “Cyan” is obtained, “March 24” is obtained from “0324” in the 2nd to 5th lines, the paper name “Main Paper” is obtained from “1” in the sixth digit, and the seventh and eighth digits are obtained. The version name “1st version” is obtained from “01”, the face name “2nd face” is obtained from “002” in the 10th to 12th digits, and the “first page” is obtained from “01” in the 2nd digit of the last line. Desired. Such a paper ID 30 is created as one paper ID corresponding to the paper data of each page constituting the prefecture version, and is managed collectively as a set of paper IDs for each prefecture version to which the paper data belongs. In some cases.
[0019]
FIG. 4 shows an example of a page management table configured based on the page ID information shown in FIG. This page management table is composed of a monochrome page table 41 and a color page table 42, and the pages that are paired on the two-page spread of the newspaper are displayed on the left and right. The monochrome paper table 41 is composed of K (black) data of monochrome paper and color paper, while the color paper table 42 is C (cyan), Y (yellow), and M (magenta) of color paper images. Consists of data. In this case, color page images are included on pages 1, 2, 3, 23, and 24 and pages 48, 47, 46, 26, and 25 that are paired with them.
[0020]
The information shown in the page management table includes the processing status of the page data specified by the page ID in addition to the information obtained from the page ID. Here, as an item indicating the information of the page data, “change” indicating whether the printing plate prepared in the previous plate is used as it is (“through” in the figure) or newly created (“replacement” in the figure). ”,“ Page ”,“ version number ”,“ surface name ”, monochrome paper surface (not shown in the drawing), color paper image K (“ parent ”in the drawing), or color paper image C, M, Y ( “Color” in the figure, indicating the difference between “color” and paper data replacement (generally called “chase”, “retry”, etc. depending on the degree of necessity for replacement) (“1” in the figure) “S” indicating “addition” and “take” shown, and “S” indicating that the size is one page size different from the standard (2 pages size) (“S” in the drawing), and the CTP server 11 is the sheet storage device 1. “Reception” indicating the time when the page data identified by the page ID is received, and the page data "Status" is displayed indicating whether it is waiting for reception ("not received" in the figure), plate making ("processing" in the figure), waiting for printing ("waiting" in the figure), or printing completed ("completed" in the figure) Has been.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the printing system including the plate making control device of the present invention configured as described above will be described.
[0022]
5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the printing system of the present invention. First, the CTP server 11 obtains in advance standard paper IDs belonging to the prefecture editions of the evening edition for the day scheduled for printing and the morning edition for the next day (ST101). Next, the operator registers the prefecture version to be output in the print schedule (ST102). Therefore, it is determined whether or not all the paper IDs belonging to the prefecture version registered in the print schedule have been received (ST103). If there is a shortage, the shortage paper ID is received (ST104). Although details will be described later, when all the page IDs belonging to the registered prefecture version are prepared, the prefecture version for output is registered (ST105).
[0023]
Next, the CTP server 11 receives the paper data for output according to the set print schedule (ST106). Therefore, it is determined whether or not the page data is the same as the already stored page data (ST107). If the page data is the same, it is stored as unprocessed page data without performing output processing (ST201). Returning to ST106 to receive the page data. The unprocessed paper surface data is appropriately confirmed later by an operator, and appropriate processing is executed when necessary.
[0024]
On the other hand, if it is different from the accumulated sheet data, it is determined whether the sheet data is registered in the current schedule (ST108). Here, if it is determined that the data is not currently being output, there is a possibility of replacement page data (chasing or reclaiming page data). Therefore, it is determined whether the page data is before the current schedule (ST109). If it is paper data of the previous schedule, it is determined whether or not it is paper data for replacement (ST110). Further, if it is paper data for replacement, it is determined whether or not the current time is within a preset time (ST111). If the conditions of ST109 to ST111 are not satisfied, the page data is stored as it is (ST201), and the process returns to ST106 to receive the next page data.
[0025]
If it is determined in ST108 that the page data is currently being output and if it is determined in ST111 that it is within the set time, whether or not output of the page data on the rotary press 1 is determined based on the page ID. (ST112). Although details will be described later, if the page data can be output by the rotary press 1, an output process is executed (ST113). The same operation as ST112 and ST113 is also executed in the subsequent rotary press 2 (ST202, ST203) and the subsequent rotary presses. Finally, it is determined whether or not the output from the last rotary press N is possible (ST204). If the paper data is not output from the rotary press N, it is stored as it is (ST201), and the next paper data is received by ST106. Return. On the other hand, if the page data can be output by the rotary press N, the output is executed (ST205).
[0026]
Therefore, it is determined whether or not all the paper data belonging to one prefecture version registered in the print schedule has been output (ST206). If there is unoutput paper data, the next paper data is received. Return to ST106. On the other hand, when the output of all the page data is completed, it is determined whether or not the next prefecture version registered in the print schedule exists (ST207), and if the next prefecture version exists, Transition to the prefecture version (ST208). Next, it is determined whether or not already accumulated sheet data exists (ST209). If accumulated sheet data exists, the process returns to ST112 to perform output processing, while the accumulated sheet sheet is present. If no data exists, the process returns to ST106 to receive the page data, and each step is executed in the same manner as described above. Finally, if it is determined in ST207 that all the prefecture versions registered in the print schedule have been completed, the printing process ends.
[0027]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the registration process for the output prefecture version shown in FIG. When the registration process is started, information on the page ID belonging to the prefecture version with the highest priority in the printing schedule is first input to the page management table for the first rotary press, and the page ID is registered for output. (ST301). Further, it is determined whether or not the next prefecture version is registered in the print schedule (ST302). If the next prefecture version is registered, information on the paper ID belonging to the prefecture version is stored in the paper management table. Input (ST303).
[0028]
Therefore, it is determined whether or not the page ID is the same as the page ID already registered in the previous print schedule (ST304). If the page ID is the same as the already registered page ID, the page ID is registered as a page ID that is not output. (ST305). On the other hand, if it is different from the registered page ID, the page ID is registered as an output page ID (ST306). Next, it is determined whether or not the registration of the output of all the paper IDs belonging to the prefecture version has been completed (ST307), and the registration processing of ST304 to ST306 is repeatedly executed until the registration is completed. When all the registrations are completed, the process returns to ST302 again, and ST303 to ST307 are repeatedly executed until the registration process for all the prefecture versions scheduled to be printed on the rotary press 1 is completed.
[0029]
If it is determined in ST302 that all of the prefecture plates scheduled to be printed on the first rotary press are registered, it is determined whether or not the next rotary press is used (ST308). Therefore, if there is a next rotary press, the process returns to ST301, and each step is executed as described above. Finally, when it is determined in ST308 that the next rotary press does not exist, the registration process ends.
[0030]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the output process of the rotary press shown in FIG. When the output process is started, first, it is determined whether or not a standard CTP output device suitable for the rotary press on which the page data is printed is normal (ST401). Therefore, if the standard CTP output device is normal, a printing plate is produced by the CTP output device, and normal printing is performed (ST402).
[0031]
On the other hand, if the standard CTP output device cannot be used due to a failure or the like, it is determined whether there is an alternative CTP output device (ST403). Therefore, if there is no alternative CTP output device, the output processing is terminated without being performed, but if there is an alternative CTP output device, it is determined whether or not the paper surface data includes color paper image data. Determination is made (ST404).
[0032]
Here, if the page data is composed of monochrome pages, a printing plate is produced as it is with an alternative CTP output device, and printing is executed (ST405). On the other hand, when the paper surface data includes color paper surface image data, when a plurality of different color printing plates constituting the same color paper surface image are produced by different CTP output devices, their mutual recording is performed. Since color misregistration may occur due to a difference in accuracy or the like, it is desirable to produce these printing plates with the same CTP output device.
[0033]
Therefore, if a color paper image is included, it is determined whether or not there is a printing plate already produced in the standard CTP output device (ST406). When there is no prepared printing plate, a series of a plurality of printing plates are all prepared in the alternative CTP output device, so that the printing plate is produced as it is and printing is executed. (ST407). On the other hand, if some printing plates have already been printed in the standard CTP output device, whether or not all printing plates including those already printed are to be produced in the alternative CTP output device. If all the outputs are determined (ST408), a printing plate is produced in an alternative CTP output device and printing is performed (ST409).
[0034]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of another printing system according to the present invention. This printing system has basically the same device configuration as the printing system shown in FIG. 1, but differs in that a CTP server connected via a LAN on the premises is located at a remote location. As shown in FIG. 9, the production base 1 is provided with a CTP server 511, and the production bases 2 and 3 are also provided with similar devices. On the other hand, the printing base 1 includes a CTP controller 513, a CTP output device 517, and a PC 512, and the printing bases 2 and 3 also include similar devices. The production bases 1 to 3 and the printing bases 1 to 3 that are remotely located are connected to each other via a wide area communication network 515. Here, the CTP server of one production base substitutes for another production base. It can function as a CTP server, and it is also possible to control printing processes at a plurality of printing bases with a CTP server at one production base. L3 (layer 3) switches 520 and 521 are provided at a connection unit at each site as a routing device that designates an appropriate route in connection via the wide area communication network 515. For convenience of explanation, the paper storage device, the paper management device, and the rotary press are not shown, but are the same as those in the printing system of FIG. As in the printing system of FIG. 1, a plurality of CTP controllers and CTP output devices can be arranged at each printing base.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when printing a paper image based on the paper data using a plurality of plate making apparatuses and a plurality of printing devices, each of the paper management information for specifying the paper data Since distribution to the plate-making apparatus is possible, an appropriate plate-making process is realized according to a predetermined printing schedule, and as a result, an efficient and stable printing process is achieved. In addition, since it is possible to prepare printing plates sequentially and appropriately according to the printing schedule, especially when paper data with a relatively slow schedule is used, there is sufficient time to prepare the printing plate and replacement may occur. However, there is an advantage that a useless printing plate is hardly generated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system provided with a plate making control device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of setting of a printing schedule. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a page management table configured based on information on a page ID. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing system of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a printing system of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the output prefecture version shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the output processing of the rotary press shown in Fig. 6. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of another printing system according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper surface storage device 2 Paper surface management device 3-6 Rotary press 7-10 CTP output device 12 PC
13-16 CTP controller

Claims (4)

Receives page data including the page image information recorded on the printing plate and the page ID including the color name, page name, and page number representing the color or monochrome of each page of the page data. Storage means for storing, in addition to the information on the page ID, a page management table including a processing status for each page and a print schedule set to print the page data in a predetermined order by a predetermined printing device A paper distribution unit that distributes the paper surface data to a plate making device that is suitable for the predetermined printing device among a plurality of plate making devices that produce the printing plate, and corresponds to the paper surface data that is currently printed in the printing schedule. Based on the page management table, the processing status of each page of the page data is managed, and the allocated plate making apparatus performs the plate making of the page data. And control means,
Wherein, in the case where the distributing plate-making apparatus is an alternative plate making device unusable, when the page data is data for all monochrome paper image, to perform the engraving of the page data by the replacement of the plate making apparatus When the paper surface data includes color paper surface image data and an already produced printing plate exists, all of the plurality of different color printing plates constituting the color paper surface image are replaced with the substitute according to the user's instruction. A plate making control device produced by a plate making device. When the page ID is appropriately acquired from outside and stored, and the newly acquired page ID specifies the same page data as the previously acquired page ID, the newly acquired page ID is 2. The plate making control device according to claim 1, wherein the paper surface data to be identified is regarded as having been assigned without being assigned to the plurality of plate making devices. The page ID includes replacement information for replacing the stored page data and new page data, and acquires and stores the page data as needed from outside, and stores the new page data within a predetermined time. The plate making control device according to claim 1, wherein the replacement is performed only when acquired. A paper storage device for storing paper data, a plurality of plate making apparatuses for producing a printing plate on which a paper image based on the paper data is recorded, and a plurality of printing apparatuses for printing the paper image using the printing plate; A paper surface management device for creating a paper surface ID for specifying the paper surface data, which includes a color name, a surface name, and the number of pages representing the color or monochrome constituting the color paper surface of each page of the paper surface data, and the paper surface storage device The paper surface data is received and stored from the paper surface management device, the paper surface ID is received from the paper surface management device, a paper surface management table to which the processing status for each page is added based on the received paper surface ID is created, and the paper surface data is stored Each of the page data based on the page management table corresponding to the page data currently being printed in the print schedule set to print by a predetermined printing device in the order of While managing the processing status of, and a plate making controller for causing said plate making distributes the page data to fit the plate making apparatus to a predetermined printing apparatus which is set in the print schedule,
The plate making controller in the case where the distributing plate-making apparatus is an alternative plate making device unusable, when the page data is data for all monochrome paper image, line plate making of the page data by the replacement of the plate making apparatus When there is a printing plate that has already been produced and contains the data of the color paper image, all of the plurality of different color printing plates constituting the color paper image are replaced by the user's instruction. A printing system characterized by being produced by a plate making apparatus .

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