JP4612894B2 - Information processing apparatus, layout processing method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mechanism for performing layout processing related to printing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique (hereinafter referred to as “multiple printing”) in which two sheets are chamfered on one sheet is known for the purpose of reducing printing costs and productivity.

  More specifically, this multiple printing is, for example, a result obtained by printing N pages on the same sheet by imposing them on the same sheet, and cutting them with a cutting machine after printing. Is to get

Further, according to Patent Document 2, there is a technique for performing page allocation processing on one side of a printing sheet so that the sheets are arranged in order when they are cut and stacked. In the present embodiment, this technique is referred to as first half second half printing.
JP 2002-281278 A JP 2001-205858 A

  However, in the techniques such as the multiple printing and the first half printing described above, the number of sheets that can be cut by the cutting machine is not considered. For example, when the number of sheets increases, cutting may be performed only halfway and cutting may fail. Further, for example, it is assumed that the printed material is cut into several bundles, but it is necessary to arrange the page order between the bundles, which requires time and effort for the operator.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, is an information processing apparatus that outputs print data that can be interpreted by a printing apparatus, and a cutting ability acquisition unit that acquires information on cutting ability of the cutting apparatus; Based on information on the cutting ability acquired by the cutting ability acquisition means, setting means for setting a bundle of a plurality of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut as an imposition unit, the imposition unit, and a physical surface of the sheet Logical page arrangement method for how many logical pages to arrange, layout means for imposition based on the number, and the number of bundles to be cut and the number of each bundle based on the layout result imposed by the layout means And cutting information display processing means for displaying information on the number of sheets on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to more reliably prevent a cutting failure and reduce the labor of the operator.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Overview of the entire system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall outline of a document processing system in the present embodiment. Each device is communicably connected via an Ethernet (registered trademark) network.

  Reference numeral 101 denotes a printing apparatus 101. Reference numerals 102 and 103 denote client PCs as client computers. Reference numerals 104 to 107 denote post-processing devices. Reference numeral 104 denotes a paper folding machine. Reference numeral 105 denotes a cutting machine. Reference numeral 106 denotes a saddle stitch binding machine. Reference numeral 107 denotes a bookbinding machine.

  Although only one printing apparatus 101 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of printing apparatuses 101 may be connected. Further, the communication medium for connecting each device is not limited to a network based on Ethernet (registered trademark). For example, a network according to another protocol can be applied. A wireless communication network can also be applied.

<Hardware block diagram of host computer>
<Hardware block diagram>
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the host computer 100 and the printer 107 are communicably connected. Here, the host computer 100 corresponds to one of the clients C in FIG. 1, and the printer 107 corresponds to the printing apparatus 101 in FIG.

  First, the configuration of the computer 100 will be described. Note that the hardware block diagram shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the hardware block diagram of a general information processing apparatus, and the computer 100 of the present embodiment has a general information processing apparatus having a hardware configuration. Applicable.

  In FIG. 2, the CPU 201 executes a program such as an OS or an application stored in the program ROM of the ROM 203 or loaded from the hard disk 211 to the RAM 202. Here, the OS is an abbreviation for an operating system running on a computer, and the operating system is hereinafter referred to as an OS. The processing of each flowchart to be described later can be realized by executing this program. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls key input from a keyboard 209 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 206 controls display on the CRT display 210. A disk controller (DKC) 207 controls data access in a hard disk (HD) 211 or a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) that stores various data. The PRTC 208 controls the exchange of signals with the connected printer 107. The NC 212 is connected to the network and executes communication control processing with other devices connected to the network.

  Next, the configuration of the printer 107 will be described. As shown in the figure, in the printer 107, reference numeral 1301 denotes a printer CPU, which controls each block connected to the system bus 1304 based on a control program stored in a ROM 1302 or an external memory 1303. The image signal generated by the processing of the CPU 1301 is output as output information to the printing unit (printer engine) 1306 via the printing unit I / F 1305. The CPU 1301 can perform communication processing with the host computer 100 via the input unit 1307 and can notify the host computer 100 of information in the printer 107 and the like.

  A program ROM in the ROM 1302 stores a control program for the CPU 1301 and the like. The font ROM in the ROM 1302 stores font data used for generating output information. The data ROM in the ROM 1302 stores information used on the host computer 100 in the case of a printer that does not have an external memory 1303 such as a hard disk.

  The RAM 1308 is a RAM that functions as a main memory, a work area, or the like of the CPU 1301 and is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 1308 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 1303 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 1309. The external memory 1303 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. In addition, the operation panel 1311 includes switches for operation, LED indicators, and the like.

<Hardware block diagram of cutting machine>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the cutting machine 105.

  A control unit (CPU) 302 controls the cutting unit 306 for each block. The control unit 301 communicates with each block via a bus. A storage unit 301 stores and holds information input by the user via the operation unit 304 and information related to the performance of the cutting machine. The communication unit 303 is a part that controls communication with an external device, and can apply communication functions according to various protocols. The operation unit 304 has a function as a user interface for allowing the user to operate the cutting machine and to set the cutting machine. Hereinafter, the user interface is referred to as UI. The drive unit 305 is a power source that drives the cutting unit 306, and includes, for example, a motor and a hydraulic mechanism. Reference numeral 306 denotes a cutting unit, which is composed of a sharp blade or the like so that the recording medium can be cut.

<Outline of document processing system>
Next, an outline of the document processing system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the document processing system includes an electronic document writer that converts a data file created by a general application into an electronic document file. In addition, a bookbinding application that provides a function for editing the electronic document file is provided to enable creation and editing of a document in which the created data is grouped.

<System configuration and operation>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the document processing system according to the present embodiment. The document processing system is realized by a host computer 100 which is a preferred embodiment for the information processing apparatus of the present invention. A general application 101 shown in FIG. 4 is an application program that provides functions such as word processing, spreadsheet, photo retouching, drawing, painting, presentation, and text editing. This application program has a printing function for the OS. Further, when printing application data such as created document data and image data, a predetermined interface (generally called GDI) provided by an operating system (OS) is used. That is, the application 101 transmits an OS-dependent output command (referred to as a GDI function) to the OS output module that provides the above-described interface in order to print the created data. . On the other hand, the output module that has received the output command converts the output command into a format that can be processed by an output device such as a printer, and outputs the converted command (referred to as a DDI function). Since the format that can be processed by the output device differs depending on the device type, manufacturer, model, etc., a device driver is provided for each device. In the OS, command conversion is performed using the device driver to generate print data, and a print job is generated by using JL (Job Language). When using Microsoft Windows as an OS, a module called GDI (Graphic Device Interface) corresponds to the output module described above.

  The electronic manuscript writer 102 is an improvement of the above-described device driver and is a software module provided for realizing the document processing system. However, the electronic document writer 102 is not intended for a specific output device, and converts the output command into a format that can be processed by the bookbinding application 104 and the printer driver 106 described later in detail. The format after conversion by the electronic document writer 102 (hereinafter referred to as an electronic document format) is not particularly limited as long as a document in units of pages can be expressed in a detailed format. Of substantial standard formats, for example, PDF format or SVG format by Adobe Systems can be adopted as the electronic document format.

  When using the electronic document writer 102 from the general application 101, printing is executed after the electronic document writer 102 is designated as a device driver used for output. However, the electronic document file as created by the electronic document writer 102 does not have a complete format as an electronic document file. Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 designates the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver, and conversion of application data into an electronic document file is executed under the management of the bookbinding application 104. Then, the bookbinding application 104 completes the new incomplete electronic document file generated by the electronic document writer 102 as an electronic document file having a format described later. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to clearly identify this point, a file created by the electronic manuscript writer 102 is called an “electronic manuscript file”, and an electronic manuscript file given a structure by the bookbinding application 104 is called a “book file”. Call. If there is no need to distinguish between them, a document file, an electronic manuscript file, and a book file generated by an application are all referred to as a document file (or document data).

  In this way, by specifying the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver and printing data by the general application 101, the application data is converted into the electronic document format. In this conversion, data in units of pages defined by the application 101 (hereinafter referred to as logical pages or original pages) is converted. The data converted into the electronic document format is stored as an electronic document file 103 in a storage medium such as a hard disk. The hard disk may be a local drive included in a computer that implements the document processing system of the present embodiment, or may be a drive provided on the network when connected to the network.

  The bookbinding application 104 reads an electronic original file (or book file) 103 and provides a user with a function for editing the electronic original file (or book file) 103. However, the bookbinding application 104 does not provide a function for editing the contents of each page, but provides a function for editing the structure of a chapter or book, which will be described later, configured with a page as a minimum unit.

  When the book file 103 edited by the bookbinding application 104 is printed, the bookbinding application 104 activates the electronic document despooler 105. The electronic document despooler 105 is a program module installed in the computer together with the bookbinding application. The document despooler 105 is a module used to output drawing data to a printer driver when printing a document (book file) used in a bookbinding application. The electronic manuscript despooler 105 reads out a designated book file from the hard disk and generates an output command suitable for the OS output module described above to print each page in the format described in the book file. Output to the output module. At that time, the printer driver 106 for the printer 107 used as the output device is designated as the device driver. The above-described output module converts the received output command into a device command and outputs the device command to the designated printer driver 106 for the printer 107, and the printer driver 106 converts the command into a command such as a page description language that can be interpreted by the printer 107. Convert. The converted command is transmitted from the printer driver 106 to the printer 107 via a system spooler (not shown), and the printer 107 prints an image corresponding to the command.

<Electronic manuscript data format>
Before referring to details of the editing application 104, the data format of the book file will be described. The book file has a three-layer structure that mimics a paper medium book. First, the upper layer is called a “book”, imitating one book, and attributes related to the book in general are defined. The middle layer below it corresponds to the chapter in the book and is also called “chapter”. For each chapter, attributes for each chapter can be defined. The lower layer is “page”, which corresponds to each page defined by the application program. For each page, attributes for each page can be defined. Further, one book may include a plurality of chapters, and one chapter may include a plurality of pages.

  (A) shown in FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a book file format. As shown in the figure, in this example, the book, chapter, and page in the book file are indicated by corresponding nodes. One book file contains one book. Since the book and chapter are concepts for defining the structure of the book, they include defined attribute values and links to lower layers as entities. The page has data for each page output by the application program as an entity. Therefore, a page includes a document page entity (document page data) and a link to each document page data in addition to the attribute value.

  Note that a print page when outputting to a paper medium or the like may include a plurality of document pages. This structure is not displayed by a link, but is displayed as an attribute in each hierarchy of a book, chapter, and page.

  In FIG. 5, a book 301 has a book attribute defined therein and two chapters 302A and 302B are linked. By this link, it is displayed that chapters 302A and 302B are included in book 301. The chapter 302A is linked to pages 303A and 303B, indicating that these pages are included. Each page 303A, 303B has an attribute value defined, and includes links to the original document page data (1), (2). These links indicate the data (1) and (2) of the original page data 304 as shown in (B) of FIG. 5, and the entities of the pages 303A and 303B are the original page data (1) and (2). Is displayed.

  FIG. 6 is a list of book attributes. For items that can be defined overlapping with the lower layer, the attribute value of the lower layer is preferentially adopted. Therefore, for items included only in the book attribute, the value defined in the book attribute becomes a valid value throughout the book. However, items that overlap the lower layer have meanings as default values when they are not defined in the lower layer. Each illustrated item does not specifically correspond to one item, but may include a plurality of related items.

  FIG. 7 is a list of chapter attributes, and FIG. 8 is a list of page attributes. The relationship between chapter attributes and page attributes is the same as the relationship between book attributes and lower layer attributes.

  In FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, items unique to the book attribute are six items of printing method, bookbinding details, front / back cover, index paper, slip sheet, and chapter break. These are items defined throughout the book. As printing method attributes, three values of single-sided printing, double-sided printing, and bookbinding printing can be designated. Here, bookbinding printing is a method of printing in a format that allows bookbinding by bundling a separately designated number of sheets into two and folding the bundle. As the bookbinding details attribute, when bookbinding printing is designated, the spread direction, the number of sheets to be bundled, and the like can be designated.

  The front cover / back cover attribute includes designation of adding sheets as a front cover and a back cover when printing an electronic document file to be collected as a book, and designation of print contents on the added sheet. The index sheet attribute includes designation of insertion of index sheets with ears separately prepared in the printing apparatus as chapter breaks and designation of print contents in the index (ear) portion. This attribute can be used when a printing device used by an inserter having an insert function for inserting a sheet prepared separately from the printing sheet into a desired position, or a plurality of paper cassettes can be used. Effective in some cases. The same applies to the slip sheet attribute.

  The slip sheet attribute includes designation of insertion of a sheet supplied from an inserter or a sheet feed cassette as a chapter break, and designation of a sheet feed source when a slip sheet is inserted.

  The chapter break attribute includes designation of whether to use a new sheet, use a new print page, or do nothing in particular at the chapter break. During single-sided printing, the use of a new paper and the use of a new print page have the same meaning. In double-sided printing, if “use new paper” is specified, consecutive chapters will not be printed on one sheet, but if “use new print page” is specified, consecutive chapters will be 1 It may be printed on the front and back of a sheet of paper.

  As for chapter attributes, there are no items unique to chapters, and all items overlap with book attributes. Therefore, if the definition in the chapter attribute is different from the definition in the book attribute, the value defined in the chapter attribute has priority. Items common only to the book attribute and chapter attribute are five items: paper size, paper orientation, N-up printing designation, enlargement / reduction, and paper discharge method. Among these, the N-up print designation attribute is an item for designating the number of document pages included in one print page. Examples of arrangements that can be specified include 1 × 1, 1 × 2, 2 × 2, 3 × 3, and 4 × 4. The paper discharge method attribute is an item for designating whether or not stapling is performed on the discharged paper, and the validity of this attribute depends on whether the printing apparatus to be used has a stapling function.

  Items unique to the page attribute include a page rotation attribute, zoom, layout designation, annotation, and page division. The page rotation attribute is an item for designating a rotation angle when placing an original page on a print page. The zoom attribute is an item for designating the scaling factor of the original page. The scaling factor is specified with the size of the virtual logical page area as 100%. The virtual logical page area is an area occupied by one original page when the original page is arranged in accordance with designation of Nup or the like. For example, if it is 1 × 1, the virtual logical page area is an area corresponding to one print page, and if it is 1 × 2, each side of one print page is an area reduced to about 70%.

  Attributes common to the book, chapter, and page include a watermark attribute and a header / footer attribute. Here, the watermark is a separately designated image or character string that is printed over data created by an application. The header / footer is a watermark printed on the upper margin and the lower margin of each page. However, items that can be specified by variables such as page numbers and date / time are prepared in the header / footer. The contents that can be specified in the watermark attribute and the header / footer attribute are common to the chapter and the page, but the book is different from them. In the book, the contents of the watermark and header / footer can be set, and how the watermark, header and footer are printed throughout the book can be specified. On the other hand, for a chapter or page, whether or not to print a watermark or header / footer set in the book can be specified for the chapter or page.

<Book file generation procedure>
The book file has the structure and contents as described above. Next, a book file creation procedure by the bookbinding application 104 and the electronic document writer 102 will be described. The book file creation procedure is realized as part of the book file editing operation by the bookbinding application 104.

  FIG. 9 shows a procedure when the bookbinding application 104 opens a book file. First, it is determined whether the book file to be opened is to be newly created or is an existing one (S701). In the case of new creation, a new book file not including a chapter is created (S702). In the example of FIG. 4, the newly created book file is a book node that has only the book node 301 and does not have a link to the chapter node. As the book attribute, a set of attributes prepared in advance for new creation is applied. Then, a UI screen for editing the new book file is displayed (S703). FIG. 13 is an example of a UI screen when a book file is newly created. In this case, since the book file has no substantial content, nothing is displayed on the UI screen 1100.

  On the other hand, if there is an existing book file, the designated book file is opened (S703), and a UI screen is displayed according to the structure, attributes, and contents of the book file. FIG. 12 is an example of a UI screen that displays a book file designated from an existing book file. The UI screen 1100 includes a tree portion 1101 that shows a book structure, and a preview portion 1102 that displays a printed state. In the tree portion 1101, chapters included in the book and pages included in each chapter are displayed in a tree structure as shown in FIG. A page displayed in the tree portion 1101 is a manuscript page. In the preview area 1102, the contents of the print page are reduced and displayed. The display order reflects the book structure.

  In the opened book file, application data converted into an electronic manuscript file by the electronic manuscript writer 102 can be added as a new chapter. This function is called an electronic document import function. By importing an electronic document into a newly created book file by the procedure shown in FIG. 9, an entity is given to the book file. This function is activated by dragging and dropping application data on the screen of FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows an electronic document import procedure. First, the application program that generated the specified application data is activated. Then, the electronic original writer 102 is designated as a device driver, and the application data is printed out to be converted into electronic original data (S801). When the conversion is completed, it is determined whether or not the converted data is image data (S802). This determination is made based on the file extension of the application data under the Windows OS. For example, if the extension is “bmp”, it is determined to be Windows bitmap data, if “jpg”, it is determined to be jpg compressed image data, and if “tiff”, it is determined to be image data in the tif format. In the case of such image data, since it is possible to generate an electronic document file directly from the image data without starting an application as in S8010, the processing of S8010 can be omitted.

  If the data is not image data, the electronic document file generated in S801 is added as a new chapter to the book of the book file that is currently open (S803). As the chapter attribute, the value of the book attribute is copied for those that are common to the book attribute, and for those that are not, the preset value is set in advance.

  In the case of image data in S802, in principle, no new chapter is added, and each original page included in the electronic original file generated in S801 is added to the designated chapter (S804). However, if the book file is a newly created file, a new chapter is created, and each page of the electronic document file is added as a page belonging to the chapter. As for the page attribute, an attribute value is given to an attribute common to the upper layer attribute, and a value is given to an attribute that inherits the attribute defined in the application data in the electronic document file. For example, when Nup designation or the like is designated in the application data, the attribute value is inherited. In this way, a new book file is created or a new chapter is added.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a procedure for generating an electronic document file by the electronic document writer 102 in S801 shown in FIG. First, a new electronic document file is created and opened (S901). An application corresponding to the designated application data is started, and an output command is transmitted to the output module of the OS using the electronic document writer as a device driver. The output module converts the received output command into electronic document format data by the electronic document writer 102 and outputs the data (S902). The output destination is the electronic document file opened in S901. It is determined whether or not conversion has been completed for all the designated data (S903). If completed, the electronic document file is closed (S904). The electronic manuscript file generated by the electronic manuscript writer 102 is a file including manuscript page data entities shown in FIG.

<Edit book file>
As described above, a book file can be created from application data. With respect to the generated book file, the following editing operations are possible for chapters and pages.
(1) New addition (2) Delete (3) Copy (4) Cut (5) Paste (6) Move (7) Rename chapter (8) Rename page number (9) Insert cover (10) Insert paper Insert (11) Insert index paper (12) Page layout for each document page.

  In addition, an operation for canceling an editing operation once performed, and an operation for redoing the canceled operation are possible. These editing functions enable, for example, editing operations such as integration of a plurality of book files and rearrangement of chapters and pages within the book file. Also, editing operations such as deleting chapters and pages, changing the layout of manuscript pages, and inserting slip sheets and index sheets can be performed in the book file. When these operations are performed, the operation results are reflected in the attributes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, or in the structure of the book file. For example, if a blank page new addition operation is performed, a blank page is inserted at a designated location. This blank page is treated as a manuscript page. If the layout of the original page is changed, the changed content is reflected in attributes such as a printing method, N-up printing, front / back cover, index paper, slip sheet, and chapter break.

<Output book file>
The book file created and edited as described above has a final purpose of print output. Here, when the user selects a file menu from the UI screen 1100 of the bookbinding application shown in FIG. 12 and selects printing from the file menu, printing is output by the designated output device. At this time, the bookbinding application 104 first creates a job ticket from the currently opened book file, and passes the job ticket to the electronic document despooler 105. On the other hand, the electronic document despooler 105 converts the job ticket into an OS output command, for example, a Windows GDI function, and transmits it to an output module, for example, GDI. The output module generates a command suitable for the device by the designated printer driver 106 and transmits the command to the device.

  Here, the job ticket is data having a structure in which the original page is a minimum unit. The structure in the job ticket defines the layout of the manuscript page on the paper. One job ticket is issued per job. For this reason, there is a document node at the top, and attributes of the entire document, such as double-sided printing / single-sided printing, are defined. Below that, a paper node belongs, and includes attributes such as an identifier of a paper to be used and designation of a paper feed port in the printer. Each paper node includes a node of a sheet printed on the paper. One sheet corresponds to one sheet. A print page (physical page) belongs to each sheet. For single-sided printing, one physical page belongs to one sheet, and for double-sided printing, two physical pages belong to one sheet. Each physical page has an original page arranged thereon. The physical page attribute includes the layout of the original page.

  The electronic document despooler 105 converts the above-described job ticket into an output command to the output module.

<Contents of preview display>
As described above, when the book file is opened by the bookbinding application, the UI screen 1100 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. The tree portion 1101 displays a tree showing the structure of an open book (hereinafter referred to as “target book”). In the preview section, three display methods are prepared according to the user's designation. First, a mode called a document view that displays a document page as it is. In this document view mode, the content of the document page belonging to the book of interest is reduced and displayed. Note that the layout is not reflected in the display of the preview unit 1102. Next, the second is a print view mode. In the print view mode, the document page is displayed on the preview unit 1102 in a form that reflects the layout of the document page. The third is a simple print view mode. In this simple print view mode, the contents of each original page are not reflected in the display of the preview portion, but only the layout is reflected.

<Explanation related to layout processing>
14 to 24 are various drawings for explaining the processing in this embodiment. Hereinafter, the layout process will be described with reference to these various drawings.

<Setting screen related to layout processing>
FIG. 14 shows an example of a UI screen of the bookbinding application 104. “Imposition” and “Imposition method” in FIG. 14 are input fields for inputting detailed settings of various impositions.

  In the “imposition” setting, as the attributes of imposition, it is possible to specify multi-surface layout, multi-line layout, multi-surface front / second half printing, simple duplex, simple quad, and simple front / rear printing. In particular, the present embodiment will be described with a focus on the settings for multi-front first half printing and simple first half printing. Multi-imposition is an imposition method in which a plurality of pages are allocated to one sheet and cut to obtain a document of a desired size. Multi-continuous is an imposition method in which the same page is allocated to one sheet and cut to obtain a document of a desired size. Multi-sided front / rear printing is a combination of different logical pages on one side of a physical sheet so that when multiple printed sheets are stacked and cut and the parts are stacked, the page order is arranged continuously in the stacking direction. This is an imposition method for assigning. FIG. 17 shows what kind of print result can be obtained when the multi-page front / rear printing is set. In the case of the print result shown in FIG. 17, there is no problem if the cutting capability of the cutting machine is 50 sheets or more. However, it is assumed that the cutting ability is actually less than 50 sheets. In the following description, such a case can be dealt with.

  In addition, the simple first half printing is a simple imposition setting for the first half printing, and cannot be set to “move” or “register mark”. Here, it is assumed that the first half printing is selected. FIG. 20 shows what “dob” and “dragonfly” are and how they are related to each other. “Dobb” is the part that falls. The “dragonfly” is a mark for cutting. In FIG. 20, corner registration marks and center registration marks are shown.

  There are 2, 4, 8, m × n, etc. in the setting of “imposition method”, and in the example of FIG. 17, a document having 4 pages and a total logical page number of 200 pages is allocated to 50 physical sheets. The “imposition method” here is one of the imposition attributes, and is a logical page arrangement method of how many logical pages are arranged on one surface of a physical medium (physical paper). The “imposition method” may be fixed at 1 × 2 (vertical × horizontal), for example. The total number of logical pages indicates how many pages the document corresponds to logically. If logical pages are arranged on one side and 1 UP on a physical sheet, the number of physical sheets is equal to the number of logical pages. Become.

<Description of operation related to layout processing>
FIG. 19 shows a flowchart for explaining the operation related to imposition.

  In step S2101, imposition setting acquisition processing is performed. This is processing for acquiring the imposition setting of the bookbinding application 104. This is a process of acquiring the “imposition” setting content of the UI screen shown in FIG. 14 described in detail above.

  Next, in S2102, it is determined whether multi-front first / second half printing or simple first / second half printing is set. Here, it is determined whether the imposition setting acquired in S2101 is the first / second half printing or the simple first / second half printing.

  Next, an imposition method setting acquisition process is performed in S2103. This is a process for acquiring the imposition method setting of the bookbinding application 104. This is a process for acquiring the setting contents of the “imposition method” in the UI screen shown in FIG. Here, as described above, 2, 4, 8, and m × n (user definition) can be selected. Here, it is assumed that 4 (horizontal 2 × vertical 2) is set via the UI screen of FIG. If the “imposition method” is fixed to 1 × 2 (vertical × horizontal), for example, the setting of the fixed imposition method is acquired.

  In step S2104, a cutting ability (number of physical sheets) acquisition process is performed. This is a process of acquiring the setting content of the number of sheets to be cut in the UI screen example shown in FIG. The user sets the number of sheets to be bundled in consideration of the cutting machine capability. Here, the number of sheets to be set only needs to be within the cutting ability, and the number of sheets set here is set as an imposition unit. For example, when the number of sheets that can be cut is 25 sheets of A3 plain paper, the imposition unit is a bundle of 25 sheets. Further, when the number of sheets that can be cut is 25 sheets of A3 plain paper, the imposition unit may be a bundle of 20 sheets. Further, by setting a plurality of bundles as imposition units, the number of sheets in the last bundle may be smaller than other imposition units. In this case, the last derived sheet number is set as the imposition unit. Then, the page is divided into a plurality of bundles according to the imposition unit, and the page imposition for the first and second half printing described later is changed by the layout processing for each imposition unit (for each bundle). Here, it is assumed that 20 is set as the number of cutting abilities. Here, the setting of “the number of sheets to be cut” in FIG. 14 may be input by the user using a keyboard or the like, or set based on information on the cutting ability acquired from the cutting machine on the network via the network. May be.

  In step S2105, the total logical page number acquisition process is performed. This is a process of acquiring how many logical pages are included in the bookbinding application 104 by the electronic document import means described above or by the subsequent editing operation. More specifically, this is a process of holding the current number of logical pages in the bookbinding application 104 and acquiring it. Here, information of 200 pages is acquired as the total number of logical pages.

  In step S2107, imposition processing is performed in consideration of cutting ability (number of sheets).

More specifically, in the process of calculating the page to be assigned to each page from the previously obtained imposition method (N), cutting ability (number of sheets) setting (M), and total logical page number (L), and performing imposition. is there. First, here, how many sheets (assuming one side) are required is calculated by P = L / N (rounded up after the decimal point). Also, how many bundles can be calculated is calculated by O = P / M (rounded up after the decimal point). By this O = P / M processing, the number of bundles (imposition units) of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut can be calculated based on the obtained cutting ability. Then, a logical page represented by the following logical expression is assigned to the qth arrangement of the Xth sheet in the n-th bundle.
(Q-1) * T + X- (n-1) * T + N * M * (n-1)
T = M (when 1 <= n <O-1)
T = P−M * (n−1) (when n = O)
Note that the X-th sheet is described with reference to the example of FIG. In the above logical expression, N * M * (n-1) can be interpreted as the offset value of the start logical page. X- (n-1) * T can be interpreted as indicating the total number of the Xth medium in the n-th bundle. Further, (q-1) * can be interpreted as defining the relationship between logical pages on the same medium.

  In FIG. 18, as a specific example, N = 4, M = 20, and L = 200 are assumed, so P = 50 and O = 3, and the imposition result as illustrated is obtained.

  In step S2108, imposition layout display processing is performed. For example, the imposition process performed in S2108 is displayed on the preview unit 1102 of the bookbinding application 104 shown in FIG. Thereby, the user can recognize the imposition state.

  When an instruction to start printing is given after the processing in S2108, the printer driver 106 in FIG. 4 converts the data in the electronic document format subjected to the imposition processing in S2107 into a format that can be interpreted by the printing apparatus. The converted data (for example, page description language) that can be interpreted by the printer is output to the printer 107 via the communication medium, and is recorded on the medium (paper) by the printer 107.

<Description of operation related to cutting information display>
Next, processing for displaying the cutting information when printing from the bookbinding application 104 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 15 and 16 and the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the user tries to print a document, “print” is selected from the file menu of the bookbinding application 104. Then, a print setting dialog as illustrated in FIG. 15 is displayed. The user sets desired print attributes such as printer selection, number of copies, variable printing, and display of cutting information. When a print start instruction is given via the UI screen display of FIG. 15, the flowchart of FIG. 21 is executed.

  First, when the print start button is pressed in S2301, a process for determining whether to display cutting information is performed. More specifically, it is determined whether or not “display cutting information” is set in the print attribute setting on the UI screen of FIG. If the user desires to display the information at the time of printing, the setting of “display cutting information” in FIG. 15 is checked. Here, the user desires to display and has set a check input.

  Next, a cutting information acquisition process is performed in S2302. This is a process of acquiring the content calculated in the imposition process (S2107) in consideration of the setting attribute and the cutting ability (number of sheets) shown in FIG.

  Then, a cutting information display process is performed in S2303. This is a process of displaying the content acquired in the previous cutting information acquisition process (S2302). This is illustrated in FIG. Here is an example that displays the type of imposition, the order of stacking after cutting, and how many and how many bundles can be made. Thus, the user can easily grasp and cut how many sheets and how many sheets of the printed material are stacked at the time of printing. This is particularly effective when a print start instruction is issued without explicitly setting the number of sheets to be cut, or when printing is performed without confirming the settings of a saved document. Thereafter, a printing process is performed in S2304, and a printing result is obtained.

  Also, the display in FIG. 16 is described to be performed when a print start instruction is issued and the check box of “Display cutting information” is set on the UI screen in FIG. This is not a limitation. For example, based on the information on the cutting ability acquired in S2104, the information may be displayed on the display unit only when the total number of physical sheets exceeds the number of printable sheets, and the information may be efficiently presented to the user.

  As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 19, the number of sheets can be determined as an imposition unit based on the acquired cutting ability information. Then, imposition can be performed in units of bundles within the determined number of sheets or the number of sheets. When imposition is performed in units of bundles, as shown in FIG. 18, a printed matter in continuous page order can be obtained by simply stacking sheets in each bundle.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, a case has been described in which multi-front front / rear printing or simple front / rear printing is instructed. However, the present invention is not limited to a case in which multi-front front / rear printing or simple front / rear printing is instructed. According to another embodiment, imposition that assumes cutting ability can be performed also during skewer printing, which is one of the imposition orders of multi-record printing of variable printing. Further, the cutting information can be displayed on the display unit as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, an imposition process during skewer printing will be described.

  One of the imposition attributes of the bookbinding application 104 is multi-page front / rear printing. As described in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, a print result of a plurality of pages is cut and overlapped to obtain an expected print result. If variable setting is performed at this time, skewering is performed. It becomes printing. Also in the case of skewer printing, a print result that is assumed may be obtained by cutting and stacking after printing and printing as in the first embodiment.

  There are 2, 4, 8, m × n, etc. as the imposition method selected by the imposition and imposition method shown in the UI screen example of FIG. In this example, 100 records are allocated. Further, in this example, the skew printing is set by setting the first half printing, but the skew printing may be explicitly set from the multi-record setting on the UI.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the operation of the imposition process of the second embodiment.

  First, in S2201 to S2204, processing similar to that in the first embodiment is performed.

  Thereafter, in S2205, it is determined whether or not variable setting has been performed. The bookbinding application 104 can set fields for mail merge printing, connect to a database, capture records, and print them. This is a process for determining whether the field setting or database connection is established. This database connection may be a connection to an external database server, or a file held in the time unit.

  Next, a record setting acquisition process is performed in S2206. This is a process of acquiring settings such as the record set in the field and the number of records. Here, it is assumed that the database is a file stored inside and the number of records is 200.

  Next, in S2207, the total logical page number acquisition process is performed as in the first embodiment. This is a process of acquiring how many logical pages are included in the bookbinding application 104 by the above-described electronic document import means, which are taken in or edited thereafter. This is a process of holding the current number of logical pages in the bookbinding application 104 and acquiring it. Here, it is assumed that there are two pages.

In step S2208, imposition processing is performed in consideration of the record and the cutting ability (number of sheets). This calculates the pages to be allocated to each page from the previously obtained imposition method (N), cutting ability (number) setting (M), total logical page number (L), and record number (R), and performs imposition. It is processing. First, here, how many sheets (assuming one side) are required is calculated by P = L * R / N (rounded up after the decimal point). Also, how many bundles can be calculated is calculated by O = P / M (rounded up after the decimal point). Then, a logical page for each record represented by the following logical expression is assigned to the qth arrangement of the Xth sheet in the n-th bundle. Here, the logical page is a number in which the first page of the first record, the second page of the first record, the first page of the second record, the second page of the second record,. Become.
(Q-1) * T + X- (n-1) * T + N * M * (n-1)
T = M (when 1 <= n <O-1)
T = P−M * (n−1) (when n = O)
Here, as described above, since N = 4, M = 20, L = 2, and R = 200 are assumed, P = 100, O = 5, and the imposition result shown in FIG. 23 is obtained. .

  In step S2210, imposition layout display processing is performed. In the same manner as described in step S2108, display processing on the preview portion of the bookbinding application 104 is performed.

  Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when a print start instruction is issued, the cutting information as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed.

  As described above, according to the first and second embodiments described above, the first half and second half printing and multi-record printing (skew printing) surfaces that are assumed to be cut for each specific number of sheets (for each imposition unit). It can be attached. As a result, it is possible to provide first-half printing and multi-record printing (skew printing) for each bundle according to the cutting ability, reducing the labor of the operator after cutting, and reducing the work space for sorting. it can.

[Third Embodiment]
Further, the information on the cutting capability (number of sheets) acquired in S2104 in FIG. 18 may be acquired from other modules including information on the cutting machine held in the bookbinding application and MIS. Here, MIS is an abbreviation for Management Information System.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Further, according to another embodiment, it is conceivable that a specific setting is internally performed in the bookbinding application 104 at the time of printing in order to easily take out a bundle assuming a cutting ability.

  More specifically, an imposition process based on the cutting ability, the set imposition method, and the like is first performed as in the above-described embodiments. Then, according to the flowchart of FIG. 16, the printing process is performed in S2304. Before performing the processing of S2304, the interleaf sheet is internally set between the bundles. As the designation at this time, an attribute that prints nothing on the slip sheet is selected, and a color sheet or the like prepared in advance is changed as the paper source. After that, printing processing is executed in S2304, and it becomes possible to insert slip sheets at the bundle separation. Here, the slip sheet is set, but it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by setting the paper shift from the index paper or the inserter and the paper shift for each bundle.

[Other Embodiments]
As described above, the storage medium storing the software program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Therefore, as long as it has the function of the program, the form of the program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS is not limited.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, etc. Can be used.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As another program supply method, a browser on a client computer is used to connect to an Internet home page. Then, the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server, an ftp server, and the like that allow a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer are also included in the claims of the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. For example, based on an instruction of the program code, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing. Needless to say, the process includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

  Further, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

It is a figure which shows the whole document processing system outline | summary of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of a host computer and a printer. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of a cutting machine. It is a functional block diagram which shows the software structural example of the document processing system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a book file. It is a figure which shows the list of book attributes. It is a figure which shows the list of chapter attributes. It is a figure which shows the list of page attributes. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure which opens a book file. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure which imports an electronic manuscript file into a book file. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for converting application data shown in S801 of FIG. 8 into an electronic document file. It is a UI screen of a bookbinding application. It is a UI screen when a book file is newly created. It is a figure which shows the example of a user interface for performing print setting. It is a figure which shows the example of a user interface for performing the setting which concerns on a cutting information display. It is a figure which shows the example of cutting information display. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result to which the layout process was performed. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result to which the layout process was performed. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement which concerns on an imposition process. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting state of a register mark and a dove. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement which concerns on cutting information display. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result to which the layout process was performed. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result to which the layout process was performed. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement which concerns on an imposition process.

Claims (16)

An information processing apparatus that outputs print data that can be interpreted by a printing apparatus,
Cutting ability acquisition means for acquiring information on cutting ability of the cutting apparatus;
A setting unit that sets a bundle of a plurality of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut based on information on the cutting ability acquired by the cutting ability acquisition unit;
Layout means for performing imposition based on the imposition unit and a logical page arrangement method of how many logical pages are arranged on the physical surface of the paper ;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a cutting information display processing unit configured to display information on the number of bundles to be cut and the number of each bundle on a display unit based on a layout result imposed by the layout unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an imposition method acquisition unit configured to acquire the logical page arrangement method of how many logical pages are arranged on a physical surface of a sheet. The bundle includes a first bundle and a second bundle, and further includes start logical page determination means for determining a start logical page in the second bundle based on imposition on the first bundle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the layout unit performs imposition of the second bundle based on the determined start logical page and imposition unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when variable printing is set, the logical page is determined based on a record arrangement in variable printing. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting information display processing unit further displays information indicating a stacking order after cutting .   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting ability acquisition unit acquires information on the cutting ability via a network. An information processing apparatus that outputs print data that can be interpreted by a printing apparatus,
Cutting ability acquisition means for acquiring information on cutting ability of the cutting apparatus;
A setting unit that sets a bundle of a plurality of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut based on information on the cutting ability acquired by the cutting ability acquisition unit;
A determining means for determining a starting logical page of the next bundle by setting an already-arranged logical page as an offset according to a page arrangement method for arranging a plurality of logical pages on a physical surface of paper;
Layout means for imposition of the next bundle based on the imposition unit, the page arrangement method, and the start logical page determined by the determination means ;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a cutting information display processing unit that displays information on the number of bundles to be cut and the number of each bundle on a display unit based on the layout result imposed by the layout unit. A layout processing method in an information processing apparatus that outputs print data that can be interpreted by a printing apparatus,
A cutting ability acquisition process for acquiring cutting ability information of the cutting apparatus;
A setting step of setting a bundle of a plurality of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut as an imposition unit based on the information of the cutting ability acquired in the cutting ability acquisition step;
A layout step of performing imposition based on the imposition unit and a logical page arrangement method of how many logical pages to arrange on the physical side of the paper ;
And a cutting information display processing step of displaying information on the number of bundles to be cut and the number of each bundle on a display unit based on the layout result imposed by the layout step .   The layout processing method according to claim 8, further comprising an imposition method acquisition step of acquiring the logical page arrangement method of how many logical pages are arranged on a physical surface of a sheet. The bundle includes a first bundle and a second bundle, and further includes a start logical page determination step of determining a start logical page in the second bundle based on imposition on the first bundle.
10. The layout processing method according to claim 8, wherein the layout step performs imposition of the second bundle based on the determined start logical page and imposition unit.   11. The layout processing method according to claim 8, wherein when the variable printing is set, the logical page is determined based on a record arrangement in the variable printing. The layout processing method according to claim 8 , wherein the cutting information display processing step further displays information indicating a stacking order after cutting .   The layout processing method according to claim 8, wherein the cutting ability acquisition step acquires information on the cutting ability via a network. A layout processing method in an information processing apparatus for outputting print data interpretable by a printing apparatus,
A cutting ability acquisition process for acquiring cutting ability information of the cutting apparatus;
A setting step for setting a bundle of a plurality of sheets within the number of sheets that can be cut as an imposition unit based on information on the cutting ability acquired by the cutting ability acquisition step;
A determination step of determining a start logical page of the next bundle by setting an already-arranged logical page as an offset according to a page arrangement method of arranging a plurality of logical pages on a physical side of a sheet;
A layout step for imposition of the next bundle based on the imposition unit, the page arrangement method, and the start logical page determined by the determination step ;
And a cutting information display processing step of displaying information on the number of bundles to be cut and the number of each bundle on a display unit based on the layout result imposed by the layout step .   A program causing a computer to execute the layout processing method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.   A storage medium for storing a program in a computer-readable form for causing a computer to execute the layout processing method according to claim 8.

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