JP4735703B2 - Print setting proposal system, print proposal program, and print proposal method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print setting proposal system, a print proposal program, and a print proposal method for automatically proposing optimum printing conditions for a printing use arbitrarily selected by a user.

  In recent years, high-resolution printers have been developed one after another, and even general users can easily perform high-quality printing such as photo printing.

  However, the actual printing is not limited to high-resolution printing, but many memo-level printing is sufficient even at low resolution. If such printing is performed with the high-resolution setting, it is wasteful. In addition, the time required for printing becomes longer.

  For this reason, many conventional printers are provided with a user interface capable of finely setting printing conditions, and the user himself / herself uses the user interface to select printing conditions for each printing, thereby performing optimum printing. It is supposed to be.

Conventionally, as shown in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc., a printing apparatus and a printing method capable of executing a printing operation that saves printing agent consumption while maintaining the actual printing condition, and speeding up printing are achieved. At the same time, a printing control device that can save consumables such as ink has been proposed.
JP-A-11-179966 JP 2000-289307 A

  However, the user interface of a conventional printer generally has many items for the user to select and input printing conditions, and it is troublesome to set them in detail, and each printing condition input (selection) mistake tends to occur. There is a problem.

  On the other hand, in the above-described prior art, consumables are saved by changing the print quality according to the remaining amount of ink or performing outline printing such as contour printing of an image. Does not perform quality printing.

  Therefore, the present invention has been devised in order to effectively solve such a problem, and the purpose thereof is to automatically select the optimum print quality for the application only by the user specifying the application. The present invention provides a novel print setting proposal system, print proposal program, and print proposal method.

[Invention 1]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the print setting proposal system of the invention 1
A print setting proposal system including a printer capable of various printing and a print instruction terminal for executing printing with the printer,
The print instruction terminal
UI providing means for providing a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two or more types of printing applications;
A printing application correspondence table in which detailed printing conditions are stored in advance for each printing application;
A printing condition selection means for selecting a printing condition corresponding to a printing application arbitrarily selected by the user from the printing application correspondence table;
It is characterized by comprising print data creation / transfer means for creating print data to which the print condition selected by the print condition selection means is added and transferring it to the printer.

  As a result, the user who wants to perform printing simply selects the desired printing application, and the optimum print quality for that application is automatically selected, so that the printer can print with a quality suitable for that application. Automatically executed.

  That is, when a user who wants to execute printing arbitrarily selects a target printing application from the user interface provided by the UI providing unit, the printing condition selecting unit performs printing in which detailed printing conditions are stored in advance. The printing conditions corresponding to the selected printing application are automatically selected from the application correspondence table, and then the print data creation / transfer means creates the printing data with the selected printing conditions added to the printer. Then, printing of the print data to which the printing condition is added is executed in the printer.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, every time printing is performed as in the prior art, there is no need for the user to set the printing conditions in detail, and printing errors due to incorrect printing condition input (selection) are greatly reduced. It becomes possible to decrease.

[Invention 2]
A print setting proposal system according to a second aspect is the print setting proposal system according to the first aspect,
The print instruction terminal
When the user changes a part of the contents of the printing condition selected by the printing condition selecting means, the table further comprises a table rewriting means for rewriting the changed contents to the printing application correspondence table. is there.

  As a result, when it is determined that the proposed printing conditions do not match the printing conditions desired by the user, the changed printing conditions are presented when the printing application is selected next time, so that the user can be the same again. Thus, it is not necessary to perform a change work and the labor of the user is reduced.

[Invention 3]
A print setting proposal system according to a third aspect is the print setting proposal system according to the first or second aspect,
The print instruction terminal
It further comprises a printing mode changing unit that counts the number of times the printing condition selected by the printing condition selection unit is counted and automatically adopts a cost-saving printing method when the number reaches the predetermined number. It is what.

  As a result, when printing under the same printing conditions is repeated, a cost-saving printing method is automatically adopted, so unnecessary high-quality printing is avoided and consumables such as ink are used. Savings.

  That is, as will be described in detail in a later embodiment, the present invention not only satisfies the print quality but also expects the user not to be satisfied with the printing quality under the same printing conditions. Therefore, it is considered that it is highly possible that high-quality printing is performed, and that the print quality may be lowered, and a print mode that consumes less consumables is proposed.

[Invention 4]
A print setting proposal system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the print setting proposal system according to any one of the first to third aspects,
The print instruction terminal
The printer further comprises a printing mode changing unit that analyzes the printing condition and the printing data selected by the printing condition selection unit and adopts a cost-saving printing method when the difference or the printing interval is small compared to the previous printing content. It is characterized by this.

  This avoids unnecessary high-quality printing because a cost-saving printing method is automatically adopted when printing with a difference or printing interval smaller than the previous printing content. Thus, consumables such as ink can be saved.

  That is, as will be described in detail in a later embodiment of the present invention, when printing is performed with a difference or a printing interval smaller than the previous printing content, the user is a user with many trial prints, or It is a user who is highly likely to have typographical errors in the printed content, or that the design or composition does not match the image, and the consumption of consumables is considered as the same error in the subsequent printing. It proposes fewer printing modes.

[Invention 5]
A print setting proposal system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the print setting proposal system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects,
The print instruction terminal
Font analysis means for analyzing the character font;
The printing apparatus is further provided with a print mode changing means for appropriately changing the print mode in accordance with the size of the character analyzed by the font analyzing means and the type of font, style and character decoration.

  As a result, printing is performed in the optimum print mode according to the character size, font, style, and character decoration type, so unnecessary high-quality printing and low-quality printing that makes it difficult to identify characters are presented. Printing is performed with optimum quality according to the character size, font, and the like.

[Invention 6]
The print setting proposal program of the invention 6
A print instruction terminal computer that executes print data using a printer capable of various printing,
UI providing means for providing a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two or more types of printing applications;
A printing application correspondence table in which detailed printing conditions are stored in advance for each printing application;
A printing condition selection means for selecting a printing condition corresponding to a printing application arbitrarily selected by the user from the printing application correspondence table;
It is characterized by functioning as print data creation / transfer means for creating print data to which the print condition selected by the print condition selection means is added and transferring it to the printer.

  As a result, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained, and the computer system provided in the print instruction terminal for starting up the application software for creating the document can be used on the software as it is. Compared with the case where a new computer system is prepared or dedicated hardware is manufactured to realize each function, it can be realized at a much lower cost and easily.

[Invention 7]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 7
When a user requests printing, a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two or more types of printing applications is presented. After the user selects an arbitrary printing application using the user interface, the printing application is displayed. A detailed print condition suitable for the print condition is proposed, and when the user agrees with the print condition, print data to which the print condition is added is created and transferred to the printer.

  As in the first aspect, this allows the user to select a desired printing application arbitrarily and automatically perform printing with a quality suitable for the application. Each time it is executed, it is not necessary for the user to set the printing conditions in detail, and printing mistakes due to incorrect printing condition input (selection) can be greatly reduced.

[Invention 8]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 8 is the print setting proposal method according to claim 7,
When the user changes a part of the contents of the printing purpose arbitrarily selected by the user, the changed printing condition is stored, and when the same printing purpose is selected after that, the changed printing condition Is presented on the user interface.

  As a result, similarly to the second aspect, since the changed printing conditions are preferentially presented when the next printing application is selected, it is not necessary for the user to perform the same changing work again, and the user's labor is reduced. Is done.

[Invention 9]
The print setting proposing method of the invention 9 is:
When a user requests printing, a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two types of printing applications is presented. After the user selects an arbitrary printing application using the user interface, the selected printing is performed. Counts the number of times a condition is selected, proposes printing conditions to print in the cost-saving printing mode when the number of selections reaches a predetermined number, and further prints the conditions when the user agrees with the printing conditions The print data added with is generated and transferred to the printer.

  As a result, as in the case of the invention 3, when printing under the same printing conditions is repeatedly performed, the user is not only satisfied with the printing quality but also performed with higher quality printing than expected. It is highly possible that the print quality may be reduced, and a cost-saving printing method is automatically adopted, so unnecessary high-quality printing is avoided and ink is consumed. You can save goods.

[Invention 10]
The print setting proposal method according to the tenth aspect includes
When a user requests printing, a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two types of printing applications is presented. After the user arbitrarily selects a printing application using the user interface, the selected printing is performed. When the conditions and print data are analyzed, a print condition is proposed to print in the cost-saving print mode when the content difference or print interval is small compared to the previous print, and the user agrees to the print condition In addition, print data to which the printing conditions are added is created and transferred to the printer.

  Thus, as in the case of Invention 4, when printing is performed with a difference or printing interval smaller than the previous printing content, the user judges that the subsequent printing has the same error and saves it. Proposing printing conditions for printing in the cost printing mode, and when the user agrees to the printing conditions, a cost-saving printing method is automatically adopted, so unnecessary high-quality printing is avoided. Thus, consumables such as ink can be saved.

[Invention 11]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 11 is
When a user requests printing, a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two or more types of printing applications is presented. After the user arbitrarily selects a printing application using the user interface, the printing application is displayed. Analyzes the character fonts used in, proposes printing conditions according to the analyzed character size, font, style, and type of character decoration, and adds the printing conditions when the user agrees to the printing conditions The print data thus created is transferred to a printer.

  Thus, as in the fifth aspect, since printing is executed in an optimal print mode according to the character size, font, style, and character decoration type, unnecessary high-quality printing and characters are difficult to identify. Low quality printing is not presented, and printing with optimum quality according to the character size and font type is performed.

[Invention 12]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 12
In the print setting proposal method according to the eleventh aspect,
When the character size is larger than the predetermined size, a printing condition for printing at a resolution lower than the normal setting is proposed.

  As a result, when the character size is larger than the predetermined size, it can be determined that the character is easy to see and can be printed at a resolution lower than the normal setting, so that the consumption of consumables can be suppressed.

[Invention 13]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 13 is:
In the print setting proposal method according to the eleventh aspect,
When the character size is smaller than the predetermined size, a printing condition for printing at a higher resolution than the normal setting is proposed.

  As a result, when the character size is smaller than the predetermined size, it is determined that the character is difficult to see, and printing is performed at a higher resolution than the normal setting, so low-resolution printing is performed so that the character cannot be recognized. Can be avoided.

[Invention 14]
The print setting proposal method of the invention 14
In the print setting proposal method according to the eleventh aspect,
When the character font is Mincho, Line, or Regular font, or when the character style is italic, bold, bold italic, or the character decoration is hollow, strikethrough, shaded, embossed, In either case of superscript or subscript, a printing condition for printing at a resolution higher than the normal setting is proposed.

  As a result, when the character font is Mincho, Line, or Regular font, or when the character style is italic, bold, bold italic, or the character decoration is hollow, strikethrough, or shaded , Embossed, superscript, or subscript, it is judged that the characters are difficult to see and will be printed at a higher resolution than the normal setting, so low-resolution printing is performed so that the characters cannot be recognized. It can be avoided reliably.

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

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a print setting proposal system according to the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, this print setting proposal system includes a printer 200 capable of various printing, and a print instruction terminal 100 that executes printing with the printer 200. The print instruction terminal 100 further includes: UI providing means 10, printing condition selection means 12, printing application correspondence table 14, table rewriting means 16, print data creation means 18, print data transfer means 20, font analysis means 22, and print mode change means 24.

  First, the printer 200 capable of various printing is a general printer commercially available at home appliance stores, that is, printing in other stages from low-resolution monochrome printing to high-resolution color photo printing. Or a printer having a function capable of arbitrarily finely setting the type of printing paper used for printing (plain paper, recycled paper, glossy paper, A3, A4, B5, etc.).

  Next, the print instruction terminal 100 includes a printer driver for the printer 200 and a general-purpose personal computer (PC) in which application software for document creation and various operation systems (OS) are incorporated. A function is provided in which arbitrary print data composed of images, texts, and the like is created using the application software and the like, and this is sent to the printer 200 to issue a print instruction.

  On the other hand, the UI providing means 10, the printing condition selection means 12, the printing application correspondence table 14, the table rewriting means 16, the print data creation means 18, the print data transfer means 20, and the font analysis means 22 incorporated in the print instruction terminal 100. Of the print mode changing means 24, first, the UI providing means 10 provides a function of presenting a user interface that allows the user to arbitrarily select at least two types of printing applications.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the UI providing unit 10 includes a print usage selection screen in which a print usage of a printed matter to be printed by a user can be freely selected and a detailed setting screen in which detailed settings of printing conditions can be set. A function for visually presenting a user interface composed of, for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal monitor of the print instruction terminal 100 is provided.

  Next, the printing application correspondence table 14 describes detailed printing conditions corresponding to the printing application displayed by the UI providing means 10, and is stored in a storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk of the printing instruction terminal 100. It is stored so that it can be read and rewritten.

  For example, as shown in Table 1 below, printing applications include “for internal meetings”, “for external meetings”, “for team meetings”, “for memo level”, “for product plan”, and “for photographs”. , Etc., the “paper type”, “paper size”, “character printing resolution”, “image printing resolution”, “printing color”, “printing direction” corresponding to each printing application, Various printing conditions such as “printing surface”, “printing direction”, and “number of divisions” are described in detail.

  Then, the printing condition selection unit 12 compares the printing application correspondence table 14 and the printing condition selected by the user with the UI providing unit 10 with each other, and instantly determines specific printing conditions corresponding to the printing application. The function to select is to be provided.

  For example, using the print application correspondence table 14 in Table 1 as an example, when the user selects “for memo level” as the print application on the user interface, the paper type: reproduction is set as the corresponding print condition. Fine printing conditions such as paper, paper size: A4, character printing resolution: 150 dpi, image printing resolution: 150 dpi, printing color: black, printing surface: double-sided, printing direction: vertical, number of divisions: 1 are determined instantaneously, and When “Photo” is selected as the printing application, the paper type: glossy paper, paper size: A4, character printing resolution: 2400 dpi, image printing resolution: 2400 dpi, printing color: color, printing surface are selected as the corresponding printing conditions. The printing conditions such as: single-sided, printing direction: horizontal, number of divisions: 1, etc. are determined instantaneously in the same manner.

  Next, the table rewriting unit 16 provides a function of rewriting the changed contents to the printing application correspondence table 14 when a part of the contents of the printing conditions selected by the printing condition selecting unit 12 is changed by the user. It is supposed to be.

  For example, taking an example using the printing application correspondence table 14 shown in Table 1, when “for memo level” is selected as the printing condition, various printing conditions are finely determined simultaneously with the selection, but FIG. As shown in Fig. 3, if the user interface is used to change a part of the detailed settings, for example, the default (standard) print side to "single side" When the table rewriting means 16 rewrites only the portion related to the “printing surface” and the same printing condition is selected thereafter, the new printing condition after the change is automatically selected from the next time. Become.

  The printing mode changing means 24 changes the printing condition (printing mode) mechanically determined in accordance with the selection of the printing application as appropriate according to a predetermined condition. Specifically, the printing mode changing unit 24 selects the printing application. In addition to the normal printing mode that is mechanically determined, two printing modes, a printing mode (low resolution printing mode) and a high quality printing mode (high resolution printing mode), which are less costly than the normal printing mode. A function for changing the mode according to a predetermined condition is provided.

  Here, as the predetermined condition for changing the print mode, in the present embodiment, there are three conditions such as the number of times of selecting a printing use, the contents to be printed, and the size and type of character font (character style, character decoration). Specific examples thereof will be described later in detail with reference to flowcharts. When the print mode is changed depending on the size and type of the character font, the font is analyzed by the font analysis unit 22 as shown in FIG. When the printing mode is changed according to the printing application selection count and the printing content, the printing mode selection means 24 counts the printing usage selection count and analyzes the printing content, respectively.

  The print data creation means 18 and the print data transfer means 20 create the print data to which the print conditions selected by the print condition selection means 12 and the print conditions changed by the print mode change means 24 are added to the printer. A function of transferring data to 200 is provided.

  Next, the processing flow, operation and effect of the print setting proposal system of the present invention having such a structure will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, the flow of FIG. 5 shows the basic flow of the system of the present invention.

  As shown in the drawing, the system of the present invention first constantly monitors whether there is a print request from the application or OS of the print instruction terminal 100 (step S100), and when it is determined that there is a print request (YES), The UI providing unit 10 presents a predetermined user interface to the user on the monitor of the print instruction terminal 100 or the like.

  The user interface is not particularly limited as long as at least two or more printing applications can be arbitrarily selected as described above, but in the example of FIG. In addition to the six types of “for conference”, “for team conference”, “for memo level”, “for product plan”, and “for photo”, it is possible to arbitrarily select the printing purpose of “for new creation”. . It should be noted that a user interface for detailed setting is further added to the user interface for selecting a printing application as shown in FIG.

  Next, as shown in step S104 of FIG. 5, when such a user interface is presented, whether or not the user has selected any printing application is monitored using the user interface, and there is a selection. If YES (YES), the printing condition selection unit 12 refers to the printing application correspondence table 14 (step S108) and selects a printing condition corresponding to the printing application.

  If the printing conditions are selected in this way, in the next step S110, the UI providing means 10 again presents the user interface displaying the printing conditions corresponding to the printing application and displays the user interface to the user. An agreement is made as to whether printing can be executed under the printing conditions (step S112). If the user's consent is obtained as a result, the print data creation means 18 and the print data transfer means 20 include the print data. Print data to which the selected print condition is added is created and transferred to the printer 200 (steps S114 and S116).

  On the other hand, if the consent is not obtained in step S112 (NO), the process proceeds to step S118, where a user interface for detailed setting is presented, and if the setting is changed using the user interface, the table is rewritten. The means 16 rewrites the changed printing condition in the corresponding column of the printing application correspondence table 14 (step S112), and then adds the changed printing condition to the print data and transfers it to the printer 200 (step S112). S114, S116).

  In the example of FIG. 2, first, “for team meeting” is selected as a printing application (selection (1)), and detailed printing conditions corresponding to it are presented ((2) presentation). When the user agrees with the printing conditions, printing is instructed by clicking “print” or the like ((3) printing). When printing is completed normally, a message to that effect is displayed and printing is performed. The user can recognize that the process has ended normally.

  On the other hand, if the user does not agree with the printing conditions at the stage of presenting the printing conditions, for example, if the print quality is to be increased a little as shown in the figure, the interface for detailed settings is clicked, for example. Is displayed (4) Detailed setting, the resolution of the print quality is set higher than the default state of 300 dpi (for example, 600 dpi), and the user is asked for consent again ((5) print confirmation). By executing printing, it is possible to obtain a printed matter having a desired quality.

  On the other hand, FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example in which a new print application to be displayed on the user interface is newly created.

  That is, in order to newly create a printing application other than the printing application displayed on the user interface, for example, a “patent specification confirmation” printing application, as shown in FIG. Select (click) (Select 1) to display a screen for entering a new print application name, and enter the name of the print application named “For specification confirmation” in the display field (2) Print (Use name input) and display the detailed setting screen (3 print setting (detailed setting)).

  Next, using this detailed setting screen, enter the detailed print application corresponding to the “detail confirmation”, and then click the “setting” item. A detailed printing application corresponding to “confirmation” is added to the printing application correspondence table 14, and an item “specification confirmation” is added to the screen for selecting the printing application as shown in FIG. ((4) “For statement confirmation” added).

  Therefore, when it is desired to execute printing for “specification confirmation” from the next time onward, detailed printing conditions are instantly determined by simply selecting “specification confirmation” displayed on the user interface. Unless the user disagrees with the printing conditions, the user can save the trouble of selecting and inputting a detailed printing application again, and can execute printing suitable for “detail confirmation” printing.

  Next, the flow of FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which a print mode changing function is added to the basic flow described above.

  That is, as shown in the figure, the flow from “print request monitoring” in step S100 to “print condition acquisition” in step S108 is the same as described above, but in the present embodiment, “print condition” in step S108. After “acquisition” is performed, the number of regular selections of the printing conditions, that is, the number of selections when the printing conditions are not changed is counted (step S200).

  Then, in the next step S202, it is determined whether or not the number of times of selection of the printing condition has reached a predetermined number, for example, 3 times, and if it is determined that the number has not been reached (NO), FIG. Normal printing is performed through steps similar to steps S110, S112, S118, S120, S122, and S114. When it is determined in step S202 that the number of selections has reached a predetermined number (YES), In step S204, the cost-saving printing mode is selected.

  In other words, if the user agrees many times unconditionally with the printing conditions proposed by the system, the printing conditions proposed by the system (especially the printing quality depending on the resolution process) are the quality expected by the user. It can be considered that the above is possible and high, suggesting an excessive print quality that the user is satisfied with, and as a result, a high-cost print.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, the number of printing condition selections is counted in this way, and when the count reaches a predetermined number, for example, the print quality is automatically reduced by about 10% from 300 dpi to 270 dpi. By automatically switching to a cost-saving printing mode where printing paper is selected from plain paper to cheaper recycled paper, consumption of consumables such as ink and toner consumed by the printer can be reduced, making it economical Printing with excellent properties can be executed.

  If the cost-saving printing mode is selected in step S204 as described above, the process proceeds to the next step S206, and a UI indicating that the cost-saving printing mode has been selected is presented to the user. If the consent is not obtained in step S208 (NO), printing is executed under the original printing conditions. If the consent is obtained (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S210 and the printing for the cost-saving printing mode is performed. After the data is created, the print data is added and then transferred to the printer (step S214), and printing is executed in the cost-saving print mode.

  Next, the flow in FIGS. 7 and 8 shows another embodiment in which a function for changing the print mode is added.

  First, as in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the flow of the embodiment of FIG. 7 is the same as that described above from “print request monitoring” in step S100 to “acquisition of print conditions” in step S108. In this embodiment, after “print condition acquisition” in step S108 is performed, the print content is further analyzed (step S300), and the print content is compared with the previous print content. It is determined whether printing is performed in the normal printing mode as shown in FIG. 5 or the cost-saving printing mode as shown in FIG.

  That is, in the next step S302, if the difference between the print contents is small compared to the previous print contents (the difference is about a few characters and hardly changes as a whole), or if the print interval is short, the user can try It can be considered that the user is often printed, or the user frequently has typographical errors in the printed contents or has the habit of determining the final design or composition by repeatedly performing printing. For such users, for example, when high-resolution photo printing is performed, if high-resolution printing is always proposed at the trial printing stage, a large amount of consumables is consumed, resulting in high printing costs. End up. Therefore, when the difference between the print contents is smaller than the previous print contents or the print interval is short, the user is regarded as a user who has many trial prints or failed prints, and the consumption amount of the consumables is small. It proposes fewer printing modes.

  Accordingly, as shown in the figure, when it is determined in step S302 that the difference or the printing interval is not small (NO), the same steps as in steps S110, S112, S118, S120, S122, and S114 in FIG. 5 are performed. Normal printing is performed, but if it is determined in step S302 that the difference or the printing interval is small (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S204 to select the cost-saving printing mode. Through the steps 204 to S214 as shown, printing in the same cost-saving printing mode is performed on condition that the user's consent is obtained.

  Note that the determination as to whether or not to perform the cost-saving printing mode according to the difference from the previous printing or the printing interval differs greatly depending on the user or the type of each printing content, and is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in Table 2 below, the previous print document name, print time, document content difference, print time difference, etc. are recorded as log information, and compared with the previous print by comparing them. Whether or not the printing is almost the same can be grasped fairly accurately. For example, in Table 2 below, it is possible to determine that the documents with the print numbers 1 and 2 and the documents with the print numbers 3 and 4 have the same document name and are actually the same contents. It can be easily determined from the document content difference item that the content is hardly changed. The documents with print numbers 4 and 5 have the same document names (BBB.rtf) and (BBB2.rtf), and the contents are actually only 10 characters. You may do it.

  Therefore, in the case of Table 2, it may be determined that the printing of the printing number 5 is a trial printing, and this printing is preferentially performed in the cost-saving printing mode.

  On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the flow from step S100 to step S108 is the same as the above, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, but in the present embodiment, the process of step S108 is performed. After that, the character font is further analyzed (step S400), and whether the printing is performed in the normal printing mode or the cost-saving printing mode as described above according to the result of analyzing the size of the character font. Judgment is made.

  That is, when the character size to be printed in the next step S402 is larger than the predetermined size, it can be considered that the recognition is not affected at all even if it is lower than the originally proposed print quality. In such a case, if the printing is executed with the quality as originally proposed, excessive printing will result, and consumables will be wasted. Therefore, when the character size to be printed is larger than the predetermined size in this way, it is assumed that the normally proposed printing condition is excessive quality, and a printing mode that consumes less consumables is proposed. Is.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when it is determined in step S402 that the character size is not larger than the predetermined size (NO), the same as steps S110, S112, S118, S120, S122, and S114 in FIG. In this step S402, when it is determined that the character size is larger than the predetermined size (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S204 to select the cost-saving printing mode. Thereafter, through steps 204 to S214 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, printing in the same cost-saving printing mode is performed on the condition that the user's consent is obtained.

  In addition, the ease of character recognition is greatly influenced not only by the character size but also by the character typeface (font). That is, Gothic and Mincho are usually easy to recognize, but line fonts and pen fonts are usually difficult to recognize even if they have the same character size as Gothic and Mincho.

  Therefore, in such a case, after selecting the printing conditions, the character font is analyzed, and if it is determined that the printed matter includes a character font that is difficult to recognize, the quality is higher than that normally proposed. If the printing conditions are automatically selected, it is possible to accurately provide a printed material that is easier for the user to view.

  For example, as shown in Table 3 below, if the font size is a Gothic font of 12P or less and the character style is italic, the output resolution can be sufficiently recognized even at 600 dpi, but the font size is also 12P or less. When the line style is italic and the character style is italic, it tends to be difficult to recognize correctly without a resolution of at least 800 dpi.

  Further, if an image (resolution) analysis function is also added to the above-described font analysis unit 22, characters can be printed at a high resolution, and only the image can be draft printed, or vice versa. That is, it is preferable to print an image at a resolution suitable for the image resolution. For example, as shown in Table 4 below, when the image resolution is 30 pixels / inch or less, a resolution as low as about 100 dpi may be used. In cases where the image resolution exceeds 30 pixels / inch, if the image is output at a high resolution of about 1200 dpi, the original image quality will not be significantly impaired, and excessive high-quality printing will not be performed. High quality printing.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of a print setting proposal system. It is detail drawing which shows an example of a user interface. It is detail drawing which shows an example of a user interface. It is detail drawing which shows an example of a user interface. It is a flowchart figure which shows the basic flow of this system. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow which can select cost-saving printing mode. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow which can select cost-saving printing mode. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow which can select cost-saving printing mode.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... UI provision means, 12 ... Print condition selection means, 14 ... Print application corresponding table, 16 ... Table rewriting means, 18 ... Print data creation means, 20 ... Print data transfer means, 22 ... Font analysis means, 24 ... Print mode Change means, 100 ... print instruction terminal, 200 ... printer.

Claims (4)

A printing system including a printer capable of various printing and a print instruction terminal for instructing execution of printing by the printer,
The print instruction terminal
A first user interface that displays at least two or more printing applications, allows the user to arbitrarily select one of the printing applications, and has a printing application name, and the following printing condition selection means UI providing means for providing a second user interface for displaying print conditions to be read;
Printing condition storage means in which detailed printing conditions are stored in advance for each printing application;
Printing condition selection means for reading out printing conditions corresponding to a printing application arbitrarily selected by the user using the first user interface from printing conditions stored in the printing condition storage means;
Print data creation / transfer means for creating print data added with the print conditions read by the print condition selection means and transferring them to the printer;
The UI providing unit further includes a third user interface that receives an input of the detailed print condition corresponding to a print application other than the print application in which the print condition is stored in the print condition storage unit, and the third user interface Providing a fourth user interface for accepting an input of the name of the printing application corresponding to the printing condition input by the user interface;
The printing application whose name is input via the fourth user interface and the printing condition input via the third user interface corresponding to the printing application are stored in the printing condition storage unit, The printing application is added to the printing application selected in the first user interface ;
The print data can be created and transferred by the print data creation / transfer means without receiving a print condition setting operation by the user after selection by the user in the first user interface. system. In claim 1,
The UI providing means can further change the setting for the printing application already displayed in the first user interface, and the change result is stored in the printing condition storage means. I will provide a
A printing system characterized by that. In claim 2,
Pictures corresponding to the printing application are displayed on the third user interface and the fifth user interface.
A printing system characterized by that. A print instruction terminal computer for instructing execution of printing on a printer capable of various printing,
A first user interface that displays at least two or more printing applications, allows the user to arbitrarily select one of the printing applications, and has a printing application name, and the following printing condition selection means UI providing means for providing a second user interface for displaying print conditions to be read;
Printing condition storage means in which detailed printing conditions are stored in advance for each printing application;
Printing condition selection means for reading out printing conditions corresponding to a printing application arbitrarily selected by the user using the first user interface from printing conditions stored in the printing condition storage means;
Create print data with the print conditions read by the print condition selection means added and function as print data creation / transfer means for transferring to the printer,
The UI providing means further includes a third user interface for receiving an input of the detailed printing conditions corresponding to a printing application other than the printing application in which the printing conditions are stored in the printing condition storage unit; Function to provide a fourth user interface that accepts an input of the name of the printing purpose corresponding to the printing condition input in the user interface;
The printing application whose name is input via the fourth user interface and the printing condition input via the third user interface corresponding to the printing application are stored in the printing condition storage unit, Causing the printing application to be added to the printing application selected in the first user interface ;
After the user's selection in the first user interface, the print data can be created and transferred by the print data creation / transfer means without receiving a print condition setting operation by the user. A printing program characterized by

Images