JP4678320B2 - Printing method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing method and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to a printing method and program for performing poster printing.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a poster printing method is known in which one image is divided and printed on a plurality of sheets, and these are joined to create a single poster (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3392057

  However, in the conventional poster printing method, when connecting poster-printed paper, it is necessary to determine the arrangement by looking at the image on the surface, and it is difficult to determine how to connect the paper There was a problem of being.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for printing a poster constituting one whole image by a printing apparatus by arranging a plurality of pages in a plane. A procedure for printing a partial image corresponding to the page on the front surface of each page of the page, and a procedure for printing an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image on the back surface of the page With. In the first embodiment of the present invention, a partial image is printed on the front surface, and an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image is printed on the back surface. Accordingly, a poster can be created by connecting sheets with reference to the explanation image printed on the back surface. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the poster creator and eliminate the error in joining.

  In the procedure for printing the explanation image, the explanation image may indicate the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the surface. Accordingly, the poster can be created while confirming the position of the page when the completed poster is viewed from the front side.

  In the procedure for printing the explanation image, the explanation image may indicate the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the back side. Thus, the poster can be created while confirming the position of the page when the completed poster is viewed from the back side.

  When printing on the front and back by manually turning the page over and reloading the printing device, the front printed side of the front and back of the page is printed on the front printed side after the front and back side. There may be further provided a procedure for printing an instruction image for instructing a loading direction to the printing apparatus when printing a printing surface after printing. Thereby, even when the page is manually turned over and reloaded, an error in the loading direction at the time of reloading can be eliminated.

  In the procedure for printing the instruction image, when the front printing surface is the front surface, the instruction image may be printed on a blank portion of the partial image on the surface. Thereby, the instruction image can be printed on the surface without overlapping the partial image.

  In the procedure for printing the instruction image, the instruction image may be printed on the back surface when the front printing surface is the back surface. Thereby, the instruction image can be printed on the back surface.

  In the printing method described above, a procedure for acquiring an entire image from the outside, a procedure for determining whether the entire image can be printed on one page, and a plurality of entire images that are not printed on one page. You may further provide the procedure which produces | generates the partial image divided | segmented into the page, and the procedure which produces | generates an explanatory image based on a whole image and a partial image. Thereby, when the entire image cannot be printed on one page, the entire image can be printed as a poster composed of a plurality of pages.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for controlling a printing apparatus that prints a poster constituting one whole image by arranging a plurality of pages in a plane, and the printing apparatus includes a plurality of pages. A procedure for printing a partial image corresponding to the page that is a part of the entire image on the front side of each page and a procedure for printing an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the whole image on the back side of the page are executed. Let Thereby, according to the 2nd form of this invention, the effect similar to a 1st form can be acquired.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a printing apparatus 10 and a printing control apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 10 prints the image indicated in the print data on the paper 30. The print control apparatus 20 supplies print data to the printing apparatus 10 and controls the operation of the printing apparatus 10. The print control apparatus 20 includes a main body 22 that executes a program for controlling the print control apparatus 20. The print control apparatus 20 may further include a display 24 that displays to the user based on the output from the main body 22, and a keyboard 26 and a mouse 28 as examples of input means from the user to the main body 22.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block configuration of the main body 22 together with the printing apparatus 10. The main body 22 includes an application unit 40 and a print control unit 50. The application unit 40 generates print data including an image to be printed on the paper 30. The print control unit 50 inputs the print data generated by the application unit 40 and outputs it to the printing apparatus 10. Instead, the print control unit 50 may input print data generated by other than the application unit 40. Further, if the printing apparatus 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, the printing control unit 50 may be provided in the printing apparatus 10.

  More specifically, the print control unit 50 includes an acquisition unit 52, a determination unit 54, a page printing unit 56, and a poster printing unit 58. The acquisition unit 52 inputs print data from outside and acquires an entire image to be printed. The determination unit 54 determines whether or not the entire image acquired by the acquisition unit 52 can be printed on one page. When the determining unit 54 determines that the entire image can be printed on one page, the page printing unit 56 prints the entire image acquired by the acquiring unit 52 on the surface of one page by the printing apparatus 10. When the determination unit 54 determines that the entire image cannot be printed on one page, the poster printing unit 58 displays a poster constituting one entire image by arranging a plurality of pages in a plane. To print. The acquisition unit 52 may omit the determination by the determination unit 54 when print data including information indicating that printing should be performed on a plurality of pages is received in advance by the application 40 or the like.

  The poster printing unit 58 includes a partial image generating unit 62, an explanation image generating unit 64, a front surface printing unit 66, a back surface printing unit 68, and an instruction image printing unit 70. The partial image generation unit 62 generates a partial image obtained by dividing the entire image into a plurality of pages. That is, the partial image generation unit 62 generates a plurality of partial images so that one entire image appears when the sheets 30 on which the partial images are printed are arranged in a plane and viewed from the front side. For example, the partial image generation unit 62 divides the entire image into M parts (M is an integer of 1 or more) in the horizontal direction and N parts (N is an integer of 1 or more) in the vertical direction, whereby M × N (M XN is an integer of 2 or more).

  The explanation image generation unit 64 generates an explanation image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the whole image based on the whole image and the partial image. In this case, the explanation image generation unit 64 generates a unique explanation image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image in association with each of the plurality of partial images generated by the partial image generation unit 62. For example, if the entire image is divided into M parts in the horizontal direction and divided into N parts in the vertical direction, the explanation image generation unit 64 displays an explanation image indicating the horizontal and vertical positions of the partial image in the whole image. May be generated.

  The front surface printing unit 66 prints a partial image corresponding to the page, which is a part of the entire image generated by the partial image generation unit 62, on the surface of each page of the plurality of pages. In this case, the front surface printing unit 66 prints each partial image on a different paper 30. The back side printing unit 68 causes the printing apparatus 10 to print a description image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image generated by the description image generation unit 64 on the back side of the page. That is, the back surface printing unit 68 prints an explanatory image corresponding to a partial image printed on the front surface of the paper 30 or printed on the back surface of the paper 30.

  The front side printing unit 66 and the back side printing unit 68 may print the front side partial image or the back side explanatory image on the single paper 30 first. However, it is preferable to print the explanation image on the back side first because dirt attached to the partial image during conveyance can be reduced. Further, the front surface printing unit 66 and the back surface printing unit 68 may continuously print the front surface and the back surface of the paper 30 using the double-sided printing function of the printing apparatus 10, or manually print a page after printing one surface. The other side may be printed after turning over and waiting for reloading.

  When the instruction image printing unit 70 prints on the front and back surfaces by manually turning over and reloading the page with respect to the printing apparatus 10, the instruction image printing unit 70 prints on the front print surface printed first on the front and back surfaces of the page. The printing apparatus 10 prints an instruction image for instructing a loading direction to the printing apparatus 10 when printing a post-printing surface printed after the front surface and the back surface. Thereby, the error of the loading direction at the time of reloading can be eliminated.

  In the case of printing the instruction image, the instruction image printing unit 70 may print the instruction image on the blank portion of the partial image on the front surface when the front printing surface is the front surface. In this case, the instruction image printing unit 70 may print the instruction image on the margin. Thereby, the instruction image can be printed on the surface without overlapping the partial image. Further, the instruction image printing unit 70 may print the instruction image on the back surface when the front printing surface is the back surface. Thereby, the instruction image can be printed on the back surface.

  According to the print control apparatus 20 having the above configuration, a partial image is printed on the front surface of the paper 30 and an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image is printed on the back surface. Accordingly, a poster can be created by connecting sheets with reference to the explanation image printed on the back surface. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the poster creator and eliminate the error in joining.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of partial images printed on a plurality of sheets 30 (30-1 to 30-4). FIG. 4 shows an example of a partial image printed on the front surface of the upper left sheet 30-1 in FIG. 3 and an explanatory image printed on the back surface. The partial image generation unit 62 divides one whole image into a plurality of partial images (in the case of FIG. 4, the partial image generation unit 62 divides the entire image into four divided into two in the horizontal direction and two in the vertical direction). The front surface printing unit 66 prints each partial image on the surface of different paper 30 (for example, paper 30-1 to 30-4).

  For example, the explanation image generation unit 64 may generate an explanation image 110 that indicates the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the surface as shown in FIG. Then, the back surface printing unit 68 may print the explanation image 110 on the back surface of the paper 30. Accordingly, the poster can be created while confirming the position of the page when the completed poster is viewed from the front side.

  The explanation image 110 may include a plurality of reduced images 111, 112, 113, 114 obtained by reducing each partial image. In this case, the plurality of reduced images 111 to 114 are arranged as seen from the front side of the completed poster. Further, in the explanation image 110, a reduced image (for example, the reduced image 111) corresponding to the partial image printed on the surface is displayed differently from the other reduced images (for example, the reduced images 112 to 114). In addition, in the explanation image 110, a number indicating the position or order with respect to the whole may be attached to each of the reduced images 112 to 114. Thereby, the explanatory image 110 can indicate the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the front surface.

  FIG. 5 shows another example of the partial image printed on the front surface of the upper left sheet 30-1 and the explanatory image printed on the back surface of FIG. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the explanation image generation unit 64 may generate an explanation image 110 that indicates the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the back side. Then, the back surface printing unit 68 may print the explanation image 110 on the back surface of the paper 30. Thus, the poster can be created while confirming the position of the page when the completed poster is viewed from the back side.

  The explanation image 110 represents the identification number 121 given to the partial image printed on the front surface of the paper 30 and the arrangement of each partial image when the completed poster is viewed from the back side. The number arrangement diagram 122 may be included. As an example, the identification number 121 may describe a corresponding number (“2” in the example of FIG. 5). In the number arrangement diagram 122, as an example, a plurality of identification numbers assigned to the respective sheets 30 may be described in correspondence with the arrangement of the respective sheets 30 when a poster is configured. Thereby, the description image 110 can indicate the position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the back side.

  For example, the instruction image printing unit 70 may print the instruction image 123 in which the loading direction of printing is indicated by an arrow. Further, the back surface printing unit 68 may print a marginal image 124 indicating an overlapping area with the adjacent paper 30 when connecting posters on the back surface.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the print control unit 50 during printing. The print control unit 50 starts the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 when printing on the paper 30 is requested. First, the acquisition unit 52 acquires the entire image from the outside (S11). Next, the determination unit 54 determines whether or not the entire image can be printed on one page (S12). When the entire image can be printed on one page (S12: Yes), the page printing unit 56 prints the entire image on the surface of one page (S13).

  If the entire image cannot be printed on one page, the partial image generating unit 62 generates a partial image obtained by dividing the entire image into a plurality of pages (S14). Next, the explanation image generation unit 64 generates an explanation image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the entire image based on the entire image and the partial image (S15).

  Next, the front surface printing unit 66 and the back surface printing unit 68 repeat steps S17 to S20 by the number of partial images generated by the explanation image generation unit 64 (S16, S21). In the iterative process, first, the front surface printing unit 66 identifies one partial image to be printed (S17). Next, the front surface printing unit 66 prints an explanatory image for the identified partial image on the back surface of the page. At the same time, the instruction image printing unit 70 prints on the back side an instruction image indicating a loading direction that matches the direction of the explanation image printed on the back surface and the direction of the partial image printed on the front surface (S18). Next, the back surface printing unit 68 waits for manual reloading of the paper 30 (S19). Next, when determining that the reloading has been performed, the back surface printing unit 68 prints the specified partial image (S20).

  Then, when the printing of all the partial images and the explanation images corresponding thereto is completed, the printing control unit 50 ends the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. Through the above processing, when the entire image cannot be printed on one page, the entire image can be printed as a poster composed of a plurality of pages. If the printing apparatus 10 has a double-sided printing function, the instruction image printing in step S18 and the standby process in step S19 need not be performed. Further, instead of the above processing, a partial image and an instruction image may be printed on the front surface in step S18, and an explanatory image may be printed on the back surface in step S20.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

An example of the printing apparatus 10 and the printing control apparatus 20 is shown. A functional block configuration of the main body 22 is shown together with the printing apparatus 10. An example of partial images printed on a plurality of sheets 30 is shown. FIG. 3 shows an example of a partial image and an explanatory image on the sheet 30-1 in the upper left of FIG. 3 shows another example of the partial image and the explanatory image on the sheet 30-1 at the upper left of FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the print control unit 50 during printing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing apparatus, 20 Print control apparatus, 22 Main body, 24 Display, 26 Keyboard, 28 Mouse, 30 Paper, 40 Application part, 50 Print control part, 52 Acquisition part, 54 Judgment part, 56 Page printing part, 58 Poster printing part 62 Partial image generation unit, 64 Description image generation unit, 66 Front side print unit, 68 Back side print unit, 70 Instruction image print unit, 110 Description image, 111, 112, 113, 114 Reduced image, 121 Identification number, 122 Number arrangement Figure, 123 instruction image, 124 margin image

Claims (5)

A method of printing a poster constituting one whole image by arranging a plurality of pages in a plane by a printing device,
Printing a partial image corresponding to the page that is a part of the whole image on the surface of each of the plurality of pages;
A procedure for printing an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the whole image on the back surface of the page;
When printing on the front surface and the back surface by turning over and reloading the page with respect to the printing apparatus, the front surface printed on the front printed surface of the front surface and the back surface of the page And a procedure for printing an instruction image for instructing a loading direction to the printing apparatus when printing a post-printing surface printed after the back surface,
In the procedure for printing the explanation image, the explanation image indicates a position of the partial image when the poster is viewed from the back side.   2. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the procedure of printing the instruction image, the instruction image is printed on a margin part of the partial image on the surface when the front printing surface is the surface.   The printing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the procedure of printing the instruction image, the instruction image is printed on the back surface when the front printing surface is the back surface. A procedure for acquiring the entire image from outside;
A procedure for determining whether the entire image can be printed on one page;
A procedure for generating the partial image obtained by dividing the whole image into the plurality of pages when the whole image cannot be printed on one page;
Generating the explanation image based on the whole image and the partial image;
The printing method according to claim 1, further comprising: A program for controlling a printing apparatus that prints a poster constituting one overall image by arranging a plurality of pages in a plane,
In the printing device,
Printing a partial image corresponding to the page that is a part of the whole image on each page surface of the plurality of pages;
On the back side of the page, a procedure for printing an explanatory image indicating the position of the partial image with respect to the whole image when the poster is viewed from the back side ;
When printing on the front surface and the back surface by turning over and reloading the page with respect to the printing apparatus, the front surface printed on the front printed surface of the front surface and the back surface of the page And a procedure for printing an instruction image for instructing a loading direction to the printing apparatus when printing a post-printing surface printed after the back surface,
A program that executes

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