JP4777475B2 - Information processing apparatus, control method, and storage medium storing computer-readable program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that transmits print data to a printer, and a storage medium storing a control method and program thereof, and particularly displays a preview based on print data based on the print result when a print instruction is issued. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a storage medium storing a computer-readable program.

Printing apparatuses having a finishing device function such as a stapling function or punching holes are widely used. For such a printing apparatus, printing using the device function of the printing apparatus can be performed in accordance with a printing instruction from a personal computer as a client.
In addition, as a device function, a printing apparatus having a double-sided printing function capable of printing on both sides of a sheet is widespread.
In recent years, there are applications and printer drivers that allow an operator to determine how print data is printed out by performing a preview when a print instruction is issued from a client application.

JP 11-136528 A

  However, as represented by staples and punch holes, there is no system for previewing the finishing function of a device that is a printing apparatus, and it has not been possible to preview more accurate output. For this reason, when the print preview is performed, the operator can determine the print position of the print data. However, when the finishing function of the device is used, what kind of print output result can be obtained by the finishing function. In some cases, punch holes are formed at the print data arrangement position, or print output that is not desired by the operator may be made.

  In addition, when a problem has occurred in the printing result using the device function as described above, there is no method for informing the defect before printing it out.

  Furthermore, since the conventional preview function is a preview of a logical page, a preview unrelated to double-sided printing is displayed in the preview even when both sides are printed on both sides, or multiple pages are drawn on one page of printing paper. When Nup printing in which data is reduced and arranged is specified by the printer driver, a preview of the logical page is displayed in the preview, and the appearance actually output on the printing paper is not displayed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a mechanism capable of displaying a preview reflecting double-sided printing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is, based on the data output from the application and the duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper. Display control means for displaying a preview image on which the reversed image of two pages is superimposed, and the reversed image of the second page is a reversed image to which density adjustment processing is applied.

As described above, according to the present invention, a preview image reflecting double-sided printing can be provided.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a typical printing system of a host computer to which a printer is connected. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print system that temporarily spools an intermediate code before converting a print command from an application into a printer control command. FIG. It is a figure explaining the printer in this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing processing in a spooler 305. 5 is a flowchart illustrating print control in a spool file manager 304. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in a despooler 305. 4 is an example of a print setting screen of a printer driver. It is an example of a screen displaying a list of spool files. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when a spooling page manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305. FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of the preview screen. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of storing print settings in a spool file 303. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information transmitted from a printer driver. FIG. It is the flowchart explaining the process which warns of the malfunction of drawing information and device information on a preview. It is the flowchart which showed an example of defect correction processing. It is a figure which shows an example of a warning dialog. FIG. 5 is an example of a dialog for setting what kind of display is to be performed on print data for which the previewer 306 performs duplex printing. (A) is a display when “all page display” in FIG. 17 is selected. FIG. 17B shows a display when “Display only on the front surface” in FIG. 17 is selected and “Preview with watermark on the back” is not selected. FIG. 17C shows a display when “Display only on the front surface” in FIG. 17 is selected and “Preview with watermark on the back” and “Make odd page front” are not selected. FIG. 17D shows the display when “Display only on front” in FIG. 17 is selected, “Preview with watermark on the back” is selected, and “Odd page is set to front” is selected. FIG. 17E shows a display when “Display only on the front surface” in FIG. 17 is selected, “Preview with watermark on the back” is selected, and “Make odd page front” is not selected. FIG. 19 is a correspondence table between options when all page display is turned off and FIG. 18 at that time. It is a flowchart which shows the process for performing the display of Fig.18 (a). It is a flowchart which shows the process for performing the display of FIG.18 (b). It is a flowchart which shows the process for performing the display of FIG.18 (c). It is a flowchart which shows the process for performing the display of FIG.18 (d). It is a flowchart which shows the process for performing the display of FIG.18 (e). It is an example of the dialog which sets the density adjustment with respect to a back surface preview. In Example 3, it is a flowchart which shows the process in step 705 in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a printer driver property screen when setting print setting information. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a printer driver property screen when designating acquisition of device information from a printer. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a job editing screen when editing an intermediate file job held in a spool file. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a small preview during double-sided printing on a job editing screen. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a small preview when a page layout is changed on a job editing screen. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a small preview when a page is deleted on a job editing screen.

(First Example)
Hereinafter, examples suitable for applying the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printer control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, a connection is made through a network such as a LAN or a WAN, even if it is a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices. The present invention can be applied even to a system.

  In the figure, the host computer 3000 performs document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets, etc.) are mixed based on a document processing program stored in the ROM 103 program ROM or the external memory 111. The CPU 1 has a CPU 101 to be executed, and the CPU 1 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 104. The ROM 103 program ROM or external memory 111 stores an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) which is a control program of the CPU 101, and the ROM 103 font ROM or external memory 111 stores the above-mentioned document processing. Font data to be used is stored, and various data used when the document processing is performed is stored in the data ROM of the ROM 103 or the external memory 111. The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 105 controls key input from a keyboard 109 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 106 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 110. A disk controller (DKC) 107 is a hard disk (HD) or floppy (registered trademark) disk that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), and the like. Controls access to the external memory 111 such as (FD). A printer controller (PRTC) 108 is connected to the printer 1500 via a bidirectional interface (interface) 121 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500. In addition, it is desired that the printing apparatus is shared by a plurality of information processing apparatuses. Since it is considered that a plurality of printing apparatuses exist when a LAN is constructed, 121 is an Ethernet (registered trademark). ) And the like.

  Note that the CPU 101 executes, for example, outline font development (rasterization) processing on the display information RAM set on the RAM 102 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 110. Further, the CPU 101 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 110, and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window relating to print settings, and can set the print processing method for the printer driver including printer settings and print mode selection.

  The printer 1500 is controlled by the CPU 112. The printer CPU 112 outputs an image as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 117 connected to the system bus 115 based on a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 113 or a control program stored in the external memory 114. Output a signal. The ROM 113 stores a control program for the CPU 112 and the like. The font ROM of the ROM 113 stores font data used when generating the output information. In the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 114 such as a hard disk in the data ROM of the ROM 113, the data is stored on the host computer. Information to be used is stored.

  The CPU 112 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 118 and can notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer. The RAM 119 is a RAM that functions as a main memory of the CPU 112, a work area, and the like, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 119 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 114 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 120. The external memory 114 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. Reference numeral 118 denotes a switch for operation on the operation panel described above, an LED display, and the like.

  The external memory 114 described above is not limited to one, and a plurality of external memories 114 are provided so that a plurality of external memories storing an option card and a program for interpreting a printer control language having a different language system can be connected in addition to the built-in font. May be. Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided to store printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of typical print processing in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is directly connected or connected via a network. The application 201, the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203, and the system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 111, and when executed, are loaded into the RAM 102 and executed by the OS and modules using the module. It is a program module. The application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external disk 111 via the FD of the external memory 111, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown). The application 201 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, the graphic that is similarly loaded into the RAM 102 and executable. Drawing data is output using the engine 202. Here, a description will be given using a Windows (registered trademark) OS of Microsoft Corporation. In Windows (registered trademark), the graphic engine 202 that is a drawing means of the OS is generally called GDI (Graphic Device Interface), and the application outputs drawing data called a GDI function to the GDI that is the graphic engine.

  Similarly, the graphic engine 202 loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 111 to the RAM 102, and converts the output of the GDI function from the application 201 into a DDI function (Device Driver Interface) based on the library. The DDI function is output to the printer driver 203. Based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts the printer command into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, such as PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 121 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 102 by the OS.

  In addition to the printing system comprising the printer and host computer shown in FIG. 2, the printing system of this embodiment has a configuration in which print data from an application is temporarily spooled with intermediate code data as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is an extension of the system shown in FIG. 2 and has a configuration in which a spool file 303 including an intermediate code is temporarily generated when a print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 202 into printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the spooler 302 converts all print commands into intermediate code data and outputs the intermediate code data to the spool file 303. The latter usually requires less time. In the system shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the spool file 303 can be processed. As a result, it is possible to realize functions that the application does not have, such as enlargement / reduction or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page with respect to print data from the application.

  For these purposes, the system of FIG. 2 has been extended to spool with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, settings are normally made from a window provided by the printer driver 203, and the printer driver 203 stores the setting contents in the RAM 102 or the external memory 111.

  Details of FIG. 3 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a DDI function that is a print command from the graphic engine 202. When the DDI function, which is a print command received from the graphic engine 202 which is the drawing means of the OS by the dispatcher 301, is a print command (GDI function) issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 stores the external memory 111. Is loaded into the RAM 102, and a print command (DDI function) is sent to the spooler 302 instead of the printer driver 203.

  The spooler 302 interprets the received print command, converts it into an intermediate code that can be easily processed in units of pages, and outputs it to the spool file 303. The intermediate code spool file stored in units of pages is referred to as a page drawing file (PDF). Further, the spooler 302 acquires processing settings (Nup, double-sided, staple, color / monochrome designation, etc.) relating to print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203, and creates a spool file 303 as a job unit file. Save to. The setting file stored for each job is called a job setting file (sometimes simply referred to as SDF: Spool Description File). This job setting file will be described later. The processing settings relating to the print data are set beforehand by the operator before issuing a print instruction from the application.

  FIG. 8 shows one sheet of a property screen for performing each print setting of the printer driver. Here, the operator can make detailed print settings, but this will be done specifically for the explanation of finishing according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 801 denotes a page layout setting. The pull-down window located on the right side of “Page Layout (L):” is “1 page / sheet (normal printing)” “2 pages / sheet” “4 pages / sheet” “6 pages / sheet” “8 pages / sheet” ”And Nup printing can be designated. Also, a pull-down window located on the right side of “arrangement order (X):” can set the arrangement order of logical pages. For example, in “2 pages / sheet”, two arrangement orders “left to right” and “right to left” can be selected. In “4 pages / sheet”, “upper left to right” “upper left to down” “upper right” The four arrangement orders “from left to right” and “from right to bottom” can be selected.

  In FIG. 8, the page layout is “2 pages / sheet”, the arrangement order is “left to right”, and as shown in the simple preview screen 802, 2 pages per sheet. The minute data is arranged so that logical pages increase from the left to the right, and the operator is informed that the data will be drawn. Similarly, FIG. 27 shows one sheet of a property screen for setting each print setting of the printer driver. In 2702 of FIG. 27, a printing method can be set. As printing methods, there are “single-sided printing”, “double-sided printing”, and “bookbinding printing”, each of which can be selected alternatively. In 2703, a paper discharge method can be set, and "sort", "group", and "staple" can be specified alternatively. In 2704, it is possible to specify in which “binding direction” the stapling is performed when stapling is specified. In the “binding direction (L)”, “long edge binding (top)”, “long edge binding (bottom)”, “short edge binding (left)”, and “short edge binding (right)” can be set. In FIG. 27, the printing method is “double-sided printing”, the paper discharge method is “staple”, the binding direction is “long-edge binding (upper)”, and as shown in the simple preview screen 2701, the paper On the other hand, it is suggested by turning the lower right side upside down to inform the operator that stapling will be performed on the upper side of the long side of the paper. In this way, the operator can set the print settings in detail with the printer driver, and the spooler 302 acquires the processing settings related to the print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203 and spools them. The file 303 is saved. The spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 111, but may be generated on the RAM 102.

  Further, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 111 into the RAM 102 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 303.

  When the spool file manager 304 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the despooler 305 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102, and is described in the spool file 303 with respect to the despooler 305. The intermediate code page drawing file is instructed to be printed.

  The despooler 305 processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the job setting file including the processing setting information included in the spool file 303, regenerates the GDI function, and is a drawing means of the OS again. The GDI function is output via the graphic engine 202.

  When the print command (DDI function) received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 as the OS drawing means is a print command (GDI function) issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 is not the spooler 302. Then, a print command is sent to the printer driver 203.

  The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command composed of a page description language or the like based on the DDI function acquired from the graphic engine 202 which is an OS drawing unit, and outputs the printer control command to the printer 1500 via the system spooler 204.

  Further, FIG. 3 shows an example in which a previewer 306 and a setting change editor 307 are provided in addition to the extended system described so far, so that the preview and print setting can be changed. The preview implementation method includes setting whether to perform preview during the processing settings included in the spool file 303. When the spool file manager 304 reads the processing settings and the preview is specified, the spool file It is determined whether the preview can be performed according to the contents of the processing setting relating to the print data stored in 303. Furthermore, setting whether to perform the preview can be realized by providing a user interface as shown in FIG. 8, for example. In order to change the print preview and print settings, it is necessary to specify “Store” in the pull-down menu which is a means for performing “Designation of output destination” in the printer driver properties shown in FIG. If you want to see only the preview, you can also select “Preview” as the destination designation.

  The contents set in the properties of the printer driver are stored as a setting file in a structure provided by the OS (called DEVMODE in the Windows (registered trademark) OS). The structure includes, for example, a setting for whether to store in the spool file manager 304 during the processing settings included in the spool file 303. The spool file manager 304 reads the processing settings via the printer driver, If the store is specified, the page drawing file and the job setting file are generated and stored in the spool file 303 as described above, and the spool file manager window screen pops up as shown in FIG. Listed jobs are displayed.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which one job is spooled, and a job can be operated by pressing a menu bar 901 or a menu icon 902 immediately below it. The number of operations on the menu bar and menu icon is the same. The operation type is “Print” with the job selected, “Save and Print” to leave the spool file of the intermediate code as it is, and “Job Save” to see the output preview of the job considering the print settings. "Preview", "Delete" to delete the intermediate code spool file, "Duplicate" to generate a copy of the intermediate code spool file, "Job edit" to change the print settings of the job (layout settings such as finishing settings), job There are operations such as “order change” for changing the printing order.

  When a preview of a certain job is designated on the window screen (FIG. 9) of the spool file manager, the previewer 306 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 2, and the spool file 303 is transferred to the previewer 306. Is instructed to perform a preview process of the intermediate code job described in (1).

  The previewer 306 sequentially reads the page drawing file (PDF) of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303, processes it according to the content of the processing setting information included in the job setting file (SDF) stored in the spool file 303, and processes the processing. The GDI function is regenerated based on the intermediate data thus output and output to the graphic engine 202. At this time, the output destination is set to its own client area, that is, the display device, and the graphic engine 202 outputs the DDI function for the display device, thereby enabling output on the screen.

  The graphic engine 202 can perform appropriate rendering according to the designated output destination. From this, the previewer 306 can be realized by processing the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the content of the processing setting included in the spool file 303 and outputting using the graphic engine 202, similarly to the despooler 305. It becomes.

  In this way, processing data set in the printer driver is processed based on the job setting file and output from the page drawing file, and how the actual drawing data is printed. Furthermore, Nup (Processing to print N pages of logical pages reduced to one physical page) When specified, when duplex printing is specified, when bookbinding printing is specified, when stamp is specified According to each, it is possible to provide the user with a print preview close to that output by the printer. Note that the preview function of application software such as conventional document creation is drawn based on the page settings in the application, so the print settings in the printer driver are not reflected and the actual printout is performed. It was not possible to make the user recognize the preview.

  By performing the preview process as described above, a large preview of the print processing settings included in the spool file 303 is displayed on the screen by the previewer 306 as shown in FIG. The window 306 is closed, and control is transferred to the spool file manager window screen (FIG. 9).

  If the user performs printing in accordance with the contents displayed by the previewer 306, the spool file manager 304 issues a print request by instructing “print” or “save and print”. As described above, the print request is processed by the despooler 305 based on the job setting file to generate a GDI function and is transmitted to the graphic engine 202, and a print command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301. And printing is performed.

  If a preview of print processing settings included in the spool file 303 is displayed on the screen by the previewer 306, the user makes a print request from the previewer 306. The print request is notified to the spool file manager 304, and the spool file manager 304 performs printing in the system described in FIG. The previewer 306 ends after a print request.

  Further, the user can make corrections while viewing the output contents displayed on the previewer 306. These corrections are realized by providing the user with an operation for the previewer 306 to correct the contents of the spool file 303. When the user modification is completed and a print request is made, the spool file manager 304 and the despooler 305 execute printing according to the contents of the processed spool file 303.

  Here, the setting change using the setting change editor 307 will be described.

  As a realization method, it is possible to set a job designated as “Store” in FIG. With the same flow, a spool file manager window (FIG. 9) pops up and a list of spooled jobs is displayed. When “job editing” is designated on the window screen (FIG. 9) of the spool file manager and a setting change instruction is given, the setting change editor 307 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102 and the setting change editor is loaded. Instruct 307 to display the current or default processing settings. Then, a job setting screen as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed.

  The setting change editor 307 acquires from the spool file 303 of the job setting file of the job for which “job editing” is specified, and the default value of the job setting screen in FIG. 29 based on the setting items specified in the job setting file. To change. In the example shown in FIG. 29, the job setting file of a job designated as “Job Edit” designates the number of copies: 1 copy, the printing method: single-sided, the stapling: none, the layout: 1 page / sheet, etc. Become.

  This setting change editor 307 also processes the page drawing file of the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the processing setting included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303, and uses the graphic engine 202 to manage its own client. By outputting to the area, it is possible to output a small preview on the screen shown in FIG.

  Here, it is possible to change or modify the contents of the processing settings included in the job setting file stored in the spool file 303. At this time, items that can be set in the printer driver 203 may be held in the user interface on the setting change editor 307 or the user interface of the printer driver 203 itself may be called. As shown in FIG. 29, the fraction, printing method (one side, both eyes, bookbinding printing), stapling (saddle finisher, etc.), page layout, arrangement order, etc. can be specified, and by pressing “detail setting” 2907, Most of the items that can be specified with the printer driver can be reset. However, it is not permitted to change settings relating to print quality such as resolution and graphic mode.

  The change item changed here is authenticated in accordance with the authentication request on the setting change editor 307, and control is transferred to the spool file manager 304. If the change is certified, the print setting change is saved, but instead of saving it in the original job setting file, a new job output setting file used for job editing etc. is generated and saved Will do. Details of the job output setting file will be described later.

  If the user performs printing according to the setting change contents as in the confirmation by the previewer 306, a print request is issued on the spool file manager 304. The print request is transmitted to the graphic engine 202, a print command is sent to the printer driver 203 via the dispatcher 301, and printing is executed.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer having a double-sided printing function, which is an example of the printer 1500.

  This printer forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the photosensitive drum 15 with a polygon mirror 31 with laser light modulated with image data for each color obtained based on print data input from the host computer 3000. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to obtain a visible image, and this is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 9 for all colors to form a color visible image. Further, this color visible image is transferred to the transfer material 2, and the color visible image is fixed on the transfer material 2. The image forming unit that performs the above control includes a drum unit having a photosensitive drum 15, a primary charging unit having a contact charging roller 17, a cleaning unit, a developing unit, an intermediate transfer body 9, a paper cassette 1, and various rollers 3, 4, 5, 7, a transfer unit including the transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit 25.

  The drum unit 13 is configured integrally with a photosensitive drum (photoconductor) 15 and a cleaner container 14 having a cleaning mechanism that also serves as a holder for the photosensitive drum 15. The drum unit 13 is detachably supported with respect to the printer main body, and can be easily replaced in accordance with the life of the photosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is configured by applying an organic photoconductor layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by the cleaner container 14. The photosensitive drum 15 rotates when a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted. The driving motor rotates the photosensitive drum 15 in a counterclockwise direction according to an image forming operation. An electrostatic latent image is formed by selectively exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 15. In the scanner unit 30, the modulated laser light is reflected by a polygon mirror that rotates in synchronization with the horizontal synchronizing signal of the image signal by the motor 31 a, and irradiates the photosensitive drum through the lens 32 and the reflecting mirror 33.

  The developing unit includes three color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C for developing yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and black ( And a single black developing device 21B that performs the development of B). The color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C and the black developing unit 21B include a sleep 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS, and coating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB, and 21BB that are in pressure contact with the outer periphery of each of the sleeps 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS. And are provided respectively. The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are provided with application rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR.

  The black developing unit 21B is detachably attached to the printer main body, and the color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachably attached to the developing rotary 23 that rotates about the rotation shaft 22, respectively.

  The sleep 21BS of the black developing device 21B is arranged with a minute interval of about 300 μm, for example, with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. The black developing device 21B conveys the toner by a feeding member built in the device, and imparts a charge to the toner by frictional charging so as to be applied to the outer periphery of the sleep 21BS rotating in the clockwise direction by the coating blade 21BB. Further, by applying a developing bias to the sleep 21BS, the photosensitive drum 15 is developed according to the electrostatic latent image, and a visible image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15 with black toner.

  The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C rotate with the rotation of the developing rotary 23 during image formation, and the predetermined sleeps 20YS, 20MS, and 20CS have a minute interval of about 300 μm with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. Will face each other. As a result, the predetermined color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are stopped at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 15, and a visible image is created on the photosensitive drum 15.

  At the time of color image formation, the developing rotary 23 rotates every rotation of the intermediate transfer member 9, and the developing process is performed in the order of the yellow developing device 20Y, the magenta developing device 20M, the cyan developing device 20C, and then the black developing device 21B. The transfer body 9 rotates four times to sequentially form visible images with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. As a result, a full-color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer body 9.

  The intermediate transfer member 9 is configured to contact the photosensitive drum 15 and rotate as the photosensitive drum 15 rotates. The intermediate transfer member 9 rotates clockwise when forming a color image and is visible four times from the photosensitive drum 15. Receive multiple images. Further, the intermediate transfer member 9 simultaneously transfers a color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 onto the transfer material 2 by contacting a transfer roller 10 described later at the time of image formation and sandwiching and conveying the transfer material 2. At the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member, a TOP sensor 9a and an RS sensor 9b for detecting the position in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member 9, and a density sensor for detecting the density of the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer member. 9c is arranged.

  The transfer roller 10 includes a transfer charger that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the photosensitive drum 15, and is configured by winding a metal shaft with a medium resistance foamed elastic body.

  As shown by a solid line in FIG. 4, the transfer roller 10 is separated downward so as not to disturb the color visible image while the multiple color visible image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 9. After the four color visible images are formed on the intermediate transfer member 9, the transfer roller 10 is shown by a dotted line by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with the timing of transferring the color visible image to the transfer material 2. It is located above indicated by. As a result, the transfer roller 10 is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 9 via the transfer material 2 with a predetermined pressing force, and a bias voltage is applied to transfer the color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2.

  The fixing unit 25 fixes the transferred color visible image while conveying the transfer 2, and a fixing roller 26 for heating the transfer material 2 and a pressure roller for pressing the transfer material 2 against the fixing roller 26. 27. The fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 are formed in a hollow shape, and heaters 28 and 29 are incorporated therein, respectively. That is, the transfer material 2 holding the color visible image is conveyed by the fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27, and the toner is fixed on the surface by applying heat and pressure.

  The transfer material 2 after fixing the visible image is then discharged to the paper discharge unit 37 by the paper discharge rollers 34, 35, and 36, and the image forming operation is completed.

  The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 and the intermediate transfer member 9, and waste toner or toner after the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 15 is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 9. The waste toner after transferring the four color visible images created on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2 is stored in the cleaner container 14.

  The transfer material (recording paper) 2 to be printed is taken out from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller 3 and conveyed so as to be sandwiched between the intermediate transfer member 9 and the transfer roller 10 to record a color toner image. Then, the toner image passes through the fixing unit 25 and is fixed. In the case of single-sided printing, the conveyance path is formed so that the guide 38 guides the recording paper to the upper paper discharge unit, but for double-sided printing, the path is formed so as to guide to the lower-side duplex unit.

  The recording sheet guided to the duplex unit is once fed to the lower part of the tray 1 (conveying path indicated by a two-dot chain line) by the conveying roller 40 and then conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent to the duplex tray 39. On the double-sided tray 39, the front and back sides of the sheet placed on the sheet feeding tray 1 are reversed, and the front and back are reversed in the transport direction. Double-sided printing can be performed by transferring and fixing the toner image again in this state.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process of the page unit storage step in the generation of the spool file 303 in the spooler 302. This processing is processing after the dispatcher 301 receives a DDI function, which is drawing data output from the graphic engine 202, when the application requests printing, and passes this drawing data to the spooler 302.

  First, in step 501, the spooler 302 receives a print request from the dispatcher 301 from the application via the graphic engine 202. As described above, in the application, a dialog for inputting print settings as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed before the print instruction, and the print settings input from this dialog are passed to the spooler 302 from the printer driver. The setting input dialog shown in FIG. 8 includes setting items such as 801 for determining the number of logical pages to be laid out on one physical page.

  In step 502, the spooler 302 determines whether the received print request is a job start request. If it is determined in step 502 that it is a job start request, the process proceeds to step 503, where the spooler 302 temporarily stores the intermediate data. A spool file 303 to be stored in the RAM 102 is created in the RAM 102. Subsequently, the spooler 302 receives print setting information (DEVMODE) set in the printer driver, and stores the print setting information in the job setting file of the spool file 303.

  In step 504, the spooler 302 notifies the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process, and in step 505, the page number counter of the spooler 302 is initialized to 1. Here, the spool file manager 304 reads job information for a job for which printing has started and print setting information, which is processing settings, from the job setting file of the spool file 303.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 502 that the spooler 302 is not a job start request, the process proceeds to step 506.

  In step 506, the spooler 302 determines whether the received request is a job end request. If it is determined that the request is not a job end request, the process advances to step 507, and the spooler 302 determines whether the received request is a page break. If it is determined in step 507 that the page is a page break, the process advances to step 508, and the spooler 302 notifies the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process. Then, the page number counter is incremented.

  If it is determined in step 507 that the print request received by the spooler 302 is not a page break, the process proceeds to step 509, where the spooler 302 prepares to write intermediate code to the page drawing file.

  In step 510, the spooler 302 converts drawing data, which is a print request for characters, graphics, images, and the like, into intermediate data stored in the spool file 303. In step 511, the spooler 302 writes the print request converted into the form (intermediate data) that can be stored in step 510 in the page drawing file of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the process returns to step 501 to accept a print request from the application again. The series of processing from step 501 to step 511 is continued until a job end request (End Doc) is received from the application. Further, the spooler 302 simultaneously acquires information such as processing settings stored in the DEVMODE structure from the printer driver 203 and stores the information in the spool file 303 as a job setting file. On the other hand, if the spooler 302 determines in step 506 that the print request from the application is the end of the job, all the print requests from the application are complete, so the process proceeds to step 512 to the spool file manager 304. The progress of the printing process is notified and the process ends.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the control in the spool file manager 304 between the spool file 303 generation process and the print data generation process described below.

  In step 601, the spool file manager 304 receives a print processing progress notification from the spooler 302 or the despooler 305.

  In step 602, the spool file manager 304 determines whether or not the progress notification is a print start notification from the spooler 302 notified in the above-described step 504, and if so, proceeds to step 603 to set the printing processing. The print setting information is read from the spool file 303 and job management is started. On the other hand, if the print start notification is not received from the spooler 302 in step 602, the process proceeds to step 604, and the spool file manager 304 is notified of the completion of printing of one logical page from the spooler 302 notified in step 508. Determine if there is. If it is a print end notification of one logical page, the process proceeds to step 605, and the spool file manager 304 stores logical page information for this logical page. In the subsequent step 606, it is determined whether printing of one physical page can be started for the n logical pages for which spooling has been completed at this point. If printing is possible, the process advances to step 607, and the spool file manager 304 determines the physical page number from the logical number assigned to one physical page to be printed.

  Regarding the calculation of the physical page, for example, when the processing setting is 4up setting in which four logical pages are arranged in one physical page, the first physical page can be printed when the fourth logical page is spooled. It becomes a physical page. Subsequently, the second physical page can be printed when the eighth logical page is spooled.

  Even if the total number of logical pages is not a multiple of the number of logical pages allocated to one physical page, the logical page to be allocated to one physical page can be determined by the spool end notification in step 512.

  In step 608, the spool file manager 304 notifies the despooler 305 of information such as the logical page number constituting the physical page that can be printed and the physical page number in the format shown in FIG. In addition, the spool file manager 304 notifies the despooler 305 of print setting information at the same time. Thereafter, the process returns to step 601, and the spool file manager 304 waits for the next notification. In the present embodiment, print processing can be performed even if all the print jobs are not spooled when one page of print data, that is, a logical page constituting one physical page is spooled.

  On the other hand, if the progress notification is not a print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302 in step 604, the process advances to step 609, and the spool file manager 304 notifies the job end from the spooler 302 notified in step 512 described above. It is determined whether or not. If it is a job end notification, the process proceeds to step 606 described above. On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification, the process advances to step 610, and the spool file manager 304 determines whether or not the received notification is a print end notification of one physical page from the despooler 305. If it is a print end notification for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 612, where it is determined whether all of the processing settings have been printed. When printing is completed, the process proceeds to step 612, and the despooler 305 is notified of printing completion. On the other hand, if it is determined that printing for the processing setting has not yet been completed, the processing proceeds to step 606 described above. The despooler 305 in this embodiment assumes that the number of physical pages that can be simultaneously printed is one.

  In step 608, information necessary for printing one physical page is sequentially stored in a file so that it can be reused. If reuse is unnecessary, a high-speed medium such as a shared memory is used. May be implemented in such a manner that one physical page is overwritten one after another to save speed and resources. Further, when the spool progress is faster than the despooling progress or when the despooling is started after the spooling of all the pages is completed, it is not notified in step 608 that page printing is possible for each physical page. Depending on the progress on the despooling side, it is possible to save the number of notifications by setting the notification contents that a plurality of physical pages or all physical pages can be printed.

  If it is determined in step 610 that the input notification is not a print end notification of one physical page from the despooler 305, the process advances to step 613, and the spool file manager 304 ends the print from the despooler 305. Determine if it is a notification. If it is determined that the print end notification is received from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 614 to delete the spool file 303 and finish the process. On the other hand, if the print end notification is not received from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 615 to perform other normal processing and wait for the next notification.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the print data generation process in the despooler 305.

  In response to a print request from the spool file manager 304, the despooler 305 reads necessary information (page drawing file and job setting file) from the spool file 303 and generates print data. A method of transferring the generated print data to the printer is as described with reference to FIG.

  In the generation of print data of the despooler 305, first, in step 701, the notification from the spool file manager 304 is input. In the subsequent step 702, it is determined whether or not the input notification is a job end notification. If the input notification is a job end notification, the process proceeds to step 703, an end flag is set, and the process proceeds to step 705.

  On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification in step 702, the process proceeds to step 704, and the despooler 305 determines whether a print start request for one physical page in step 608 is notified. If it is not determined to be a start request in step 704, the process proceeds to step 710, other error processing is performed, and the process returns to step 701 to wait for the next notification. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 704 that the print start request is for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 705, and the despooler 305 stores the ID of the physical page that can be printed that is notified in step 704.

  In the subsequent step 706, the despooler 305 determines whether or not the printing process has been completed for all the pages of the physical page ID stored in step 705. If all the physical pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step 707 to determine whether the end flag is set in step 703 described above. If the end flag is set, it is considered that the printing of the job has been completed, the processing end notification of the despooler 305 is notified to the spool file manager 304, and the processing ends. If it is determined in step 707 that the end flag is not set, the process returns to step 701 to wait for the next notification. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 706 that there are still printable physical pages, the process proceeds to step 708, and the despooler 305 sequentially reads and reads the unprocessed physical page ID from the stored physical page ID. Information necessary for generating print data of a physical page corresponding to the physical page ID is read and printing processing is performed.

  In the print processing, the print request command stored in the spool file 303 is converted into a format that can be recognized by the graphic engine 202 in the despooler 305, and is converted into a GDI function in the Windows (registered trademark) OS, and transferred to the graphic engine 202. For the processing setting (N page printing or Nup printing) for laying out a plurality of logical pages on one physical page as in the present embodiment, conversion is performed while taking the reduced arrangement into consideration in this step. When the necessary print processing is completed, in step 709, the spool file manager 304 is notified of the end of print data generation for one physical page. Then, the process returns to step 706 and is repeated until the print processing is performed for all the printable physical page IDs stored in step 705.

  The above is the flow of print processing using the dispatcher 301, the spooler 302, the spool file manager 304, and the despooler 305. By performing the processing as described above, the application 201 is released from the printing process at the timing when the spooler 302 generates the intermediate code and stores it in the spool file 303, so that it takes less time than outputting directly to the printer driver 203. . Further, since the spool file 303 is temporarily stored as an intermediate file (page drawing file, job setting file) based on the print settings of the printer driver, the print preview to be actually printed can be recognized by the user, The print jobs generated by the application can be combined and rearranged, and even when the print setting is changed, the user can perform the operation without starting up the application again and performing printing.

  Here, in print processing using the spooler 302, a job output setting file is generated when the despooler 305 makes a print request to the graphic engine 202, but a job output setting file is also generated when previewing or combining jobs. Is done. The job output setting file is equivalent to the job setting file in the case of a single job, and is generated based on a plurality of job setting information in the case of a combined job. Here, the job output setting file will be described.

  The job setting file mainly holds the contents of DEVMODE received via the printer driver 203, and is configured from FIGS.

  First, it is a job identification ID for identifying a job, and is determined by the name of a file storing this information, the name of a shared memory, and a random number. Next, there is a plurality of output paper size information combined with an ID for identifying the paper size. This is because the output paper size can be changed in units of subsequent physical pages, and each physical page is designated by a paper size identification ID. The following information relates to finishing, and is information indicating whether single-sided printing, double-sided printing, or bookbinding printing is designated. Further, there is information indicating the coordinate value of the effective print area and the like, and information on whether or not the preview is designated. The next information is information on DEVMODE, which is information indicating the number of logical pages to be allocated to the physical page, and also holds arrangement information indicating where each logical page is arranged. The DEVMODE further includes additional information (watermark, framed, date, user name addition) and the like.

  Hereinafter, details of the preview system according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a preview screen. As described above, by designating an area on the preview screen to the graphic engine 202, output to such a screen is possible.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which print information and print setting information in the spool file 303 are stored. Based on these pieces of information, settings such as the number of pages from an application to be previewed, to perform double-sided printing, or to be reduced and arranged on one page are stored.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of device information sent from the printer driver. The spool file 303 can store device information in a format as exemplified in the example. The device information is stored in the printer driver setup utility from the factory, and is stored as a file under the OS when the printer driver is installed. Alternatively, as shown in 2801 in FIG. The client may acquire device information through two-way communication with a printer or print server when the operator presses the “information acquisition (G)” button using a mouse. If the printer driver has two-way communication with the printer via the network or two-way interface to acquire device information when the “Device information acquisition” button is pressed, the finishing option is added or changed to the device. However, it is possible to acquire an optional finishing function connected to the device each time, improving usability. This is because finishing options have been diversified in recent years, and even the options that can be connected to the “MEDIO 600” image processing apparatus provided by Canon Inc. are just “saddle finisher C2”, “finisher This is because there are “C1”, “Finisher E1”, “Multi-tray 3”, and the like. Further, “punch hole position information” and “staple position information” in FIG. 13 are all shown in the printer coordinate system in this embodiment. The printer coordinate system is a coordinate system having bits in accordance with the resolution of the image processing apparatus as a device, and is a 600 dpi (having 600 dots per inch) coordinate system. That is, the punch hole position (X, Y) indicates the position of the X dot and the Y dot. Needless to say, when a degradation (decrease in resolution) occurs due to lack of memory or the like, it is changed accordingly. In this embodiment, the device information is held in the printer coordinate system. However, the device information is not limited to this, and may be a physical distance from the reference point. For example, the device information may be from the reference point at the upper left of the sheet. Information such as the position of (X centimeter, Y centimeter) may be given.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing when the previewer 306 previews device information and drawing information.

  In step 1401, the previewer 306 reads intermediate data converted from drawing data from the application stored in the spool file 303.

  In step 1402, the previewer 306 reads the contents of the job setting file including the print setting information in FIG. 12 and the device information in FIG. 13 and the page drawing file. As described above, the device information is stored in advance as a file under the OS. As an acquisition method, there are a type stored at the time of installation and a type directly acquired from the device at a timing specified by the operator.

  In step 1403, the previewer 306 performs intermediate code drawing processing of the page drawing file according to the contents of the read job setting file. In the processing of the spool file manager 304 in FIG. 6, the processing procedure is not linked to the despooler 305 but to the linkage with the previewer 306. Further, step 705 in the processing flow of the despooler 305 in FIG. Instead of the printing process, the process replaced with the screen display may be performed. That is, the previewer 306 reads the intermediate data of the page drawing file from the spool file 303 based on the notification from the spool file manager 304, and performs layout processing (reduction, enlargement, arrangement order) based on the print setting information of the job setting file. The intermediate data for one physical page obtained is converted into a GDI function that can be interpreted by the graphic engine 202, the output destination of the graphic engine 202 is set as a display means such as a CRT display, and the graphic engine 202 becomes a display driver. On the other hand, the DDI function is made to pop out. Note that the previewer 306 not only performs drawing processing as in the despooler 305 to bring out the GDI function, but also simultaneously performs drawing processing based on device information.

  In step 1404, the previewer 306 determines whether there is an overlapping coordinate from the coordinate information of the drawing data based on the intermediate data and the coordinate information of the device information. If there is an overlap, the previewer 306 proceeds to step 1405; Go ahead and wait for events from users. As shown in the device information in FIG. 13, for example, when a punch hole is specified for a print job being processed, this determination is made based on the punch hole position information and the punch hole size information. It can be determined how large the punch hole is made at the position. Therefore, it is determined whether there is an overlap from the position of the drawing data coordinate system and the position of the punch hole. The same applies to staples. Further, when the device information is held at the physical distance as described above, it is necessary to convert the physical distance into the printer coordinate system. First, the centimeter is changed to inches, and the inch is changed to the number of dots based on the print resolution set by the operator in the “printing purpose” of the printer driver. Here, when “printing purpose” is “document / table”, the printing resolution is 600 dpi, and when it is “quick document / table”, the printing resolution is 300 dpi. .

  If coordinate overlap is detected in step 1404, the previewer 306 displays a warning dialog as a setting defect in step 1405. FIG. 16 shows an example of the display. In this example, options for continuing printing, correcting, and canceling printing are provided for warnings.

  In step 1406, the previewer 306 waits for an event from the user, and proceeds to step 1407 if there is an event input.

  In step 1407, if the event is to continue printing, the process proceeds to step 1410. The previewer 306 determines that printing is to be continued, notifies the despooler 305, and causes the despooler to generate a GDI function from the intermediate data again for printing. Make it. If the event from the user is another event, the process proceeds to step 1408.

  If the event is correction in step 1408, the process proceeds to step 1411. The previewer 306 opens the printer driver property screen and causes the operator to perform print format correction processing. The correction processing that can be performed by the operator here is cancellation of punching or stapling processing, change of the paper size, change of Nup printing, change of printing margin (up / down / left / right), etc., and correction related to the drawing data itself. Cannot be done. That is, it is limited to the print setting information that can be set on the property screen of the printer driver. If it is desired to change the drawing data itself, “Print Cancel” is selected. In step 1408, if the event is another event, the process proceeds to step 1409.

  In step 1409, the printing is stopped because the event is printing stop, and the processing of the printer driver is stopped. In this embodiment, the printer driver is not only the printer driver 203 that generates PDL to be output to the printer from the DDI function, but also the device information including the dispatcher 301, spooler 302, spool file manager 304, despooler 305, and previewer 306. This module includes a module capable of previewing in consideration of the above, and a portion provided by this printer driver vendor to the OS is collectively referred to as a printer driver. The dispatcher 301, the spooler 302, the spool file manager 304, the despooler 305, and the previewer 306 can also be provided as software independent of the printer driver 203. However, a part for acquiring device information must partially cooperate with the printer driver. I must. Although the preview function of the present invention can be realized after the processing of the printer driver 203, it is more efficient to perform the processing before passing the drawing data to the printer driver 203 in order to correct or cancel printing. Is good. In the development stage, the printer driver 203 depends on the language. In recent years, Canon printers have two language levels, LIPS III and LIPSIV, and PCL and ESC / ESC / There are languages such as P, ESC / Page, Postscript, etc., and developing a module that can perform the preview function in each printer driver is a nonsense due to the problem of development cost, processing before passing drawing data to the printer driver 203 This is very efficient because it only requires development at the OS level. This is because, if the OS is currently developed with Windows (registered trademark) 95, 98, NT of Microsoft Corporation, USA, OS8 of Apple Corporation, Linux, etc., problems between printer languages will be eliminated.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating in detail the correction process in step 1408 of FIG.

  First, in step 1501, the previewer 306 waits for an event from the user. At this time, as described above, the property screen of the printer driver is displayed, and the “correct” button in FIG. 13 is displayed as an invalid button such as grayed out.

  In step 1502, if the “OK” button 2705 is pressed by the operator via a pointing device such as a mouse on the printer driver property screen of FIG. 27, the previewer 306 determines that the event is to continue printing. , The process proceeds to step 1503. In step 1503, the previewer 306 updates the correction contents stored in the memory described later in step 1506 to the spool file 303, performs printing, and exits the processing.

  In step 1504, if the “update” button 2707 is pressed by the operator via a pointing device such as a mouse on the property screen of the printer driver in FIG. 27, the previewer 306 determines that the event is related to the correction contents. Proceed to 1506.

  In step 1506, the previewer 306 acquires the print setting information currently set on the printer driver property screen as shown in FIG. 27 from the printer driver 203, and stores the acquired print setting information in the spool file 303. The print setting information already stored is updated.

  If it is determined in step 1504 that the event is not related to correction contents, for example, if the “cancel” button 2706 is pressed in the property screen of FIG. 27, the previewer 306 in step 1505 indicates that the event is print cancellation. To cancel printing.

  As described above, in the preview system, device information and drawing information are previewed at the same time, and if a malfunction is detected, a warning is issued and correction can be made to provide an output that matches the user's request. It becomes possible.

(Second embodiment)
In the present embodiment, processing related to a preview system when printing is performed on a device capable of duplex printing will be described. Since the configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment, description of the hardware and software module configurations is omitted. Reference numerals will be described using those used in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12 of the first embodiment, the print setting information includes a setting for whether to perform double-sided printing.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a dialog for setting what kind of display the print data for which the previewer 306 performs duplex printing is to be displayed. This dialog may be settable from the printer driver 202. In this case, the setting contents are stored as print setting variables as shown in FIG. Also, this dialog can be displayed and set from the previewer 306. When previewing, the previewer 306 displays the dialog shown in FIG. 12 and allows the operator to designate it. In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that display setting is performed from the previewer 306. FIG. 18 is a view showing a display corresponding to the setting in FIG. 17 in a print job consisting of three pages.
FIG. 18A shows a display when “Display all pages” in FIG. 17 is selected. In this case, the back side is displayed as if it were another sheet, but all pages can be displayed. When this “display all pages” is selected, the other options are grayed out and cannot be selected.
FIG. 18B shows a display when “Display only surface” in FIG. 17 is selected, “Preview with watermark on the back” is not selected, and “Odd page is set to front” is selected.
FIG. 18C shows a display when “Display only the front surface” in FIG. 17 is selected and “Preview with watermark on the back” and “Make odd page front” are not selected.
FIG. 18D shows a display when “Display only surface” in FIG. 17 is selected, “Preview with watermark on the back” is selected, and “Odd page is set to front” is selected.
FIG. 18E shows a display when “Display only surface” in FIG. 17 is selected, “Preview with watermark on the back” is selected, and “Odd page is set to front” is not selected.
Here, when “display only the front surface” in FIG. 17 is selected, “preview with watermark on the back” and “set odd page to front” can be selected.

  The options when all pages are turned off and the correspondence table with FIG. 18 are as shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the display of FIG.
In step 2001, the previewer 306 sets a counter i to 1.
In step 2002, the previewer 306 inputs the number of pages of the print job from the print setting information.
In step 2003, the previewer 306 determines whether the counter i has exceeded the number of pages, and if so, exits the processing assuming that the preview processing is finished. If not, the process proceeds to step 2004.
In step 2004, the previewer 306 determines the drawing area of the i-th page in the preview screen.
In step 2005, the previewer 306 draws the i-th page in the drawing area. As described in the first embodiment, this drawing process is a process of changing the intermediate data read from the spool file 303 to a GDI function that is drawing data and outputting it to the graphic engine 202.
In step 2006, the previewer 306 increments the counter i by 1, returns to step 2002, and performs preview processing for the next page.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the display of FIG.
In step 2101, the previewer 306 sets a counter i to 1.
In step 2102, the previewer 306 inputs the number of pages of the print job from the print setting information.
In step 2103, the previewer 306 determines whether the counter i has exceeded the number of pages, and if so, exits the processing assuming that the preview processing has been completed. If not, the process proceeds to Step 2104.
In step 2104, the previewer 306 determines the drawing area of the i-th page in the preview screen.
In step 2105, the previewer 306 draws the i-th page in the drawing area.
In step 2106, the previewer 306 increments the counter i by 2, returns the processing to step 2102, and performs preview processing for the next odd page.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the display of FIG.
In step 2201, the previewer 306 sets a counter i to 1.
In step 2202, the previewer 306 inputs the number of pages of the print job from the print setting information.
In step 2203, the previewer 306 determines whether or not the counter i has exceeded the number of pages. If not, the process proceeds to step 2204.
In step 2204, the previewer 306 determines the drawing area of the i-th page in the preview screen.
In step 2205, the previewer 306 draws the i-th page in the drawing area.
In step 2206, the previewer 306 increments the counter i by 2, returns the processing to step 2202, and performs preview processing for the next even page.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the display of FIG.
In step 2301, the previewer 306 sets a counter i to 1.
In step 2302, the previewer 306 inputs the number of pages of the print job from the print setting information, and further inputs the back side drawing density value set and input by the operator in the density adjustment dialog shown in FIG. 25. The density adjustment dialog shown in FIG. 25 is displayed when the “OK” button is pressed while the operator has checked “Preview with empty side” in the display setting dialog for double-sided printing shown in FIG. Shall be.
In step 2303, the previewer 306 determines whether or not the counter i has exceeded the number of pages, and if so, exits the processing assuming that the preview processing is finished. If not, the process proceeds to step 2304.
In step 2304, the previewer 306 determines the drawing areas of the i-th page and the (i + 1) -th page in the screen. These drawing areas have the same coordinates.
In step 2305, the previewer 306 draws the (i + 1) th page in the drawing area. The drawing at this time is drawn with the density reduced and reversed. In the reversal process, when regenerating the drawing data from the intermediate data, a command to invert and a density command based on the drawing density value are added and output to the graphic engine 202.
In step 2306, the previewer 306 draws the i-th page in the drawing area. Since the drawing at this time is overwritten in the same area as the (i + 1) th page, overwriting is performed so as not to erase the drawing on the (i + 1) th page for the coordinates that are not drawn on the i-th page.
In step 2307, the previewer 306 increments the counter i by 2, returns the processing to step 2302, and performs the preview processing for the next page.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the display of FIG.
In step 2401, the previewer 306 sets a counter i to 1.
In step 2402, the previewer 306 inputs the number of pages of the print job from the print setting information, and further inputs the back side drawing density value set and input by the operator in the above-described density adjustment dialog of FIG.
In step 2403, the previewer 306 determines whether or not the counter i has exceeded the number of pages. If not, the process proceeds to step 2404.
In step 2404, the previewer 306 determines the drawing areas of the i-th page and the (i + 1) -th page in the screen. These drawing areas have the same coordinates.
In step 2405, the previewer 306 draws the i-th page in the drawing area. The drawing at this time is drawn with the density reduced and reversed.
In step 2406, the previewer 306 draws the (i + 1) th page in the drawing area. Since the drawing at this time is overwritten in the same area as the (i + 1) th page, overwriting is performed so as not to erase the drawing on the (i + 1) th page for the coordinates that are not drawn on the i-th page.
In step 2407, the previewer 306 increments the counter i by 2, returns the processing to step 2402, and performs preview processing for the next page.

  With the above processing, a plurality of display methods can be provided in preview in double-sided printing.

  The description of the first embodiment and the second embodiment is for the case where the output destination selection 803 is “preview” or “store” in the printer driver properties of FIG. Here, a supplementary explanation will be given for the case of “store”.

  As described above, when “Store” is selected as the output destination, the window drawing 9 of the spool file manager pops up when the page drawing file and the job setting file are stored in the spool file 303 as intermediate data. . The window 903 displays a list of files spooled as intermediate data (page drawing file and job setting file). When the mouse is brought close to the icon displayed in the list, the overlap between the mouse and the icon is determined. When it is determined that the icon is overlapped, the job setting information is displayed near the icon. Here, “Job 1” is set to 600 dpi, one-page printing, and single-sided printing. The number of pages is 8.

  When “Job Edit” is selected for this job, the user interface shown in FIG. 29 is displayed. In this figure, 2901 is a job name, and the name can be changed. Reference numeral 2902 denotes a window for displaying a small preview. The preview displayed here is also generated by the previewer 306. In the preview, the necessary number of sheets (the number of physical pages) is counted and displayed. “Job1” requires 8 pages of paper.

  Reference numeral 2903 denotes a “delete page” button. When the user presses this button, the page specified in the window 2902 is deleted. Since the designated page is surrounded by a frame like the “Job1-3” portion of FIG. 32, the user can recognize it. In FIG. 32, the page “Job1-4” is deleted. Here, the logical page is deleted from the preview according to the page deletion instruction, but the actual page drawing file is not deleted, but a job output file that is a copy of the job setting file is generated, and the logical page used there This is realized by changing the number. In this way, when the “return to initial state” button is pressed, the logical page deleted so far can be restored.

  Reference numeral 2904 denotes a “preview” button. When the user presses this button, a large preview as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. As described above, the preview creation method is the same for both the small preview and the large preview, and only the enlargement ratio is different.

  Reference numeral 2905 denotes a pull-down menu for changing the printing method, and one of “single-sided printing”, “double-sided printing”, and “bookbinding printing” can be designated. In FIG. 29, the preview is “single-sided printing”, but by changing this printing method to “double-sided printing”, the preview screen is automatically switched as shown in FIG. In the screen of FIG. 30, the preview is such that the lower right side of the front surface is folded forward and the lower left side of the back surface is folded back so that “double-sided printing” can be understood. Also, since the number of sheets is halved, the number of sheets is displayed between the front and back surfaces. This is because the job setting information and the page drawing file are read from the spool file 303 and the GDI function is output to the graphic engine 202 during the preview processing of the previewer 306. This is realized by obtaining the print settings set in FIG. 29) and halving the page count during double-sided printing. In addition, each time the print setting is changed in the spool file manager window, a copy of the job setting file of the spool file 303 is generated, the setting change is rewritten to the file, and the previewer 206 is changed at the preview time. It can also be realized by reading a job setting file.

  Reference numeral 2906 denotes a pull-down menu for changing the page layout. “1 page / sheet” “2 pages / sheet” “4 pages / sheet” “8 pages / sheet” “2 × 2 poster” “3 × 3 poster” “ One of “4 × 4 posters” can be designated. In FIG. 29, the preview is “1 page / sheet”. However, by changing this page layout to “2 pages / sheet”, the surface of the preview is automatically switched as shown in FIG. In the screen of FIG. 31, two logical pages are drawn on one sheet of paper (one physical page) so that the page layout of “2 pages / sheet” can be understood. In FIG. 31, since double-sided printing is performed, four logical pages are drawn side by side on one sheet of paper.

  Reference numeral 2907 denotes a button for changing the detailed setting. When this button is pressed, the printer driver property screen of FIG. 27 is displayed. Here, it is possible to change the print settings in detail. When the setting is changed on the property screen of the printer driver and the “OK” button is pressed, the small preview is changed corresponding to the print setting on the job editing screen of FIG.

  In this way, by storing the output destination of the printer driver in the spool file 303 as an intermediate file as a store, it becomes possible to preview, further change the print settings, and display the preview according to the change. User convenience is improved.

(Third embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the process of performing the preview process after determining the number of pages in the preview system when printing on a device capable of duplex printing has been described. However, in the present embodiment, before the number of pages is determined. It is also possible to perform preview processing from the beginning.

Specifically, the processing shown in FIG. 26 may be performed for step 705 in FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of the despooler 305 and the previewer 306.
In step 2601, the despooler 305 acquires the page number notified of the print request.
In step 2602, the despooler 305 acquires display setting information set and input in advance by the operator in the dialog of FIG. 17, and determines whether the page number requested for printing is a page number that can be previewed. For example, in FIG. 18B, only even pages are drawn, so that preview is impossible and the process returns to step 701. In FIG. 18D, since the drawing is performed from the even-numbered page, the drawing returns to step 701 without drawing. As described above, in the case where the preview is impossible, in step 706, a print end notification is sent out for two physical pages.

  In addition to the above, since preview is possible, the process proceeds to step 2603.

  In step 2603, the despooler 305 activates the previewer 306 to notify the page number being processed, and the previewer 306 performs a preview drawing process for the designated page. The drawing method follows each drawing method in the second embodiment.

  With the above steps, it is possible to perform preview processing before determining the number of pages.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (copier, printer, facsimile device, etc.) composed of a single device. You may apply to.

  Another object of the present invention is to read a program code stored in a storage medium by a computer (or CPU or MPU) of a system or apparatus, which stores a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. It is also achieved by executing.

  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 a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like is used. be able to.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after 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, the function expansion board is based on the instruction of the program code. Also included is a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 CPU
2 RAM
3 ROM
4 System bus 12 CPU
13 ROM
19 RAM
3000 Host computer 1500 Printer

Claims (24)

Based on the two-sided printing is set by the output data and the printer driver from the application, is printed with the first page of the image to be printed on the first surface of the paper to the second surface of the for paper a display control means for displaying the preview image and the inverted image is superimposed on the second page to,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inverted image of the second page is an inverted image to which density adjustment processing is applied. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inverted image is an image that is inverted with respect to a long side of a sheet in the preview image. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving density adjustment processing applied to the inverted image is displayed,
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reverse image of the second page is a reverse image to which the density adjustment process received via the designation unit is applied . The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the designation unit receives a density value as the density adjustment process of the inverted image. Based on the data output from the application and duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper the information processing apparatus comprising: the display control means and the reverse image is a preview image overlaid, that obtain Bei designation means for designating the density of the inversion image.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inverted image is an image that is inverted with respect to a long side of a sheet in the preview image. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving an instruction to change density applied to the inverted image is displayed.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the designation unit designates the density according to a change instruction received through the designation unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the designation unit receives a density value of the inverted image. A control method executed in an information processing apparatus,
Based on the data output from the application and duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper A display control step of displaying a preview image superimposed with the reverse image of
The control method according to claim 2, wherein the reverse image of the second page is a reverse image to which density adjustment processing is applied.   The control method according to claim 9, wherein the inverted image is an image that is inverted with respect to a long side of a sheet in the preview image. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving density adjustment processing applied to the inverted image is displayed,
11. The control method according to claim 9, wherein the inverted image of the second page is an inverted image to which the density adjustment process received via the designation unit is applied.   The control method according to claim 11, wherein the designation unit receives a density value as the density adjustment process of the inverted image. A control method executed in an information processing apparatus,
Based on the data output from the application and duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper A display control step for displaying a preview image on which a reversed image of
A control method comprising a specifying step of specifying the density of the reverse image.   The control method according to claim 13, wherein the inverted image is an image that is inverted with respect to a long side of a sheet in the preview image. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving an instruction to change density applied to the inverted image is displayed.
The control method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein in the designation step, the density is designated according to a change instruction received through the designation unit.   The control method according to claim 15, wherein the designation unit receives a density value of the inverted image. A storage medium storing a program executed in a computer,
Based on the data output from the application and duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper Causing the computer to execute a display control process for displaying a preview image superimposed with the reverse image of
A storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the inverted image of the second page is an inverted image to which density adjustment processing is applied.   The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the inverted image is an image that is inverted with respect to a long side of a sheet in the preview image. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving density adjustment processing applied to the inverted image is displayed,
The storage medium according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the reverse image of the second page is a reverse image to which the density adjustment process received via the designation unit is applied.   The storage medium according to claim 19, wherein the designation unit receives a density value as the density adjustment process of the inverted image. A storage medium storing a program executed in a computer,
Based on the data output from the application and duplex printing set by the printer driver, the first page image to be printed on the first side of the paper and the second page to be printed on the second side of the paper A display control step for displaying a preview image on which a reversed image of
A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a specifying step for specifying the density of the reverse image.   The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein the inverted image is an image inverted in the preview image with reference to a long side of a sheet. When the double-sided printing is set, a designation unit for receiving an instruction to change density applied to the inverted image is displayed.
The storage medium according to claim 21 or 22, wherein in the designation step, the density is designated according to a change instruction received via the designation unit.   The storage medium according to claim 23, wherein the designation unit receives a density value of the inverted image.

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