JP4851378B2 - Page data creation method and printing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a page data creation method for creating page data by applying the same layout data to a plurality of sheets in one page, and a printing system for printing the page data created by the creation method. It is.

  In printing forms called form and form printing, such as various slips, mailing address printing, etc., printing is often performed in the following steps.

  For example, a case where a delivery slip for a home delivery service is printed will be described as an example. Of course, the postal code, address, address, etc. of the delivery destination in the print data constituting the slip differ for each slip. On the other hand, the ruled lines and frame lines in the slip, the name of the courier company, etc. are common to all slips. The former is called a variable data part, and the latter is called a fixed data part. In general, the fixed data portion is first printed with a so-called printing press such as a relief printing plate, an intaglio plate, a lithographic printing plate (this is called pre-printing), and then the variation data portion is suitable for variation data printing (printing). In many cases, printing is performed by a so-called printer such as an inkjet method or a thermal transfer method.

Both pre-printing and printing (printing) with a printer are usually performed in units of pages. That is, in pre-printing, printing is often performed with a plate for one page, and printing (printing) with a printer is often performed by creating page data for each page.
In addition, the recording medium on which these data are printed (printed) may be cut paper or sheet cut into a fixed shape in advance, or may be continuous paper.

  In many cases, page data of variable data printed by a printer is edited on an application program called a form layouter on a personal computer or workstation. In the form layouter, a layout frame (this corresponds to a data object to be described later) indicating the postal code, address and address of the delivery destination is set, and the external file data is referred to and flowed into the layout frame. There are many.

  As the external file, a commercially available spreadsheet software file format, CSV file, text file, or the like is often used. 9 and 10 show an example of an external file by spreadsheet software. 9 and 10, the information of each individual recipient is arranged in the row direction, and the postal code, address, address, etc. for each individual are arranged in the column direction. In this file format, one unit in the row direction, that is, one row is often referred to as a record, and one unit in the column direction, that is, one column is often referred to as a field (for example, a zip code field). The form layouter reads one record of data for each delivery slip for each field, flows the data of each field such as zip code, address, address, etc. into the previously set layout frame to obtain the layout data for one delivery slip. create.

  In addition, only one delivery slip may be printed on one page of the recording medium, but in many cases, a plurality of delivery slips having the same layout are arranged vertically and horizontally on one page of the recording medium, so-called multi-sided printing. There are many cases to do. A delivery slip printed with multiple impositions is cut after printing and finished into one slip. In the present specification, one region divided into a plurality of pages is referred to as a sheet.

  When performing multi-sided layout, the layout of a single sheet (for example, the upper left sheet in a page) is only edited on the form layouter, instead of editing all the plurality of sheets in the page, that is, the entire page. For other sheets, the layout of one sheet is often copied as it is. Specifically, for each sheet, the layout information is copied to each sheet and used based on page setting information such as the offset amount from the page origin, the distance between each sheet, the number of columns and the number of rows of the sheet, and the like. Is often used.

  When printing page data created and edited on an application program such as a form layouter such as a personal computer or workstation, the page data that has been activated from the application program is converted to control language data (to be described later) by the printer driver. In general, the control language data is transmitted to the printer controller of the printer, and the printer controller converts the data into video data and operation commands for the printer to cause the printer to perform printing. For example, there is an image forming system described in Patent Document 1.

  Here, the page data means drawing data to be printed by a printer, and includes, for example, data such as a bitmap image, text, a barcode, a two-dimensional code, and a ruled line. In addition, printing activation refers to an action such as an operator operating an application program selecting a print menu of the application program.

  The control language data is data obtained by adding information such as operation commands for starting and stopping printing of the printer, the size of the printing medium, and the printing position to the video data. Note that video data is binarized data in which an image to be printed on a printing medium by a printer is expressed in the minimum unit (dot) of the printer, and is also called raster data or page data. The printing of the fluctuation data is realized by the method as described above.

JP 2002-192791 A

  When form printing is performed in the above process, there are the following problems.

  As described above, the fixed data portion is often performed by a so-called printing machine as pre-printing. However, in this pre-printing stage, for example, printing omission or smearing may occur only on a specific sheet in the page in all pages due to, for example, scratches on the printing plate or adhesion of dust. In addition, a dent or the like may be generated only on a specific sheet on all pages due to a drop or impact of a printed material during handling or conveyance after pre-printing. In such a case, only this specific sheet is unusable in all pages, but other sheets can be used without any problem.

  However, even if you try to print fluctuation data using another sheet that has no problem, the form layouter in the conventional technology can not refer to the data of the external file by skipping a specific sheet in the page. . Accordingly, it is necessary to discard all pages and perform pre-printing again, which causes waste of time and resources for redoing.

  On the other hand, it is possible to perform variable data printing while ignoring the unusable part, and later extract data corresponding to the unusable sheet from the external file and print it again. However, after printing, it is complicated to separate usable sheets from unusable sheets, and it is very complicated to extract data corresponding to a specific sheet from an external file for reprinting. There was a problem that it was easy to make mistakes.

  There is also a method in which an external file is edited and an empty record without data is inserted and printed at a position corresponding to an unusable sheet. Specifically, for example, a blank row may be inserted into a record (row) corresponding to an unusable sheet in the spreadsheet software type external file on the leaf shown in FIG. In this case, since the unusable part is blank data, it is not printed, and all data is printed only on the usable sheet. However, the operation of inserting a blank line at a position corresponding to an unusable sheet in the external file is extremely complicated, and there is a problem that it is easy to make a mistake.

  In recent years, there has been a problem of personal information leakage, and printing companies that print fluctuating data from the viewpoint of protecting personal information cannot extract data from external files or edit external files, or are permitted. There may not be. The printing company is entrusted with printing work by providing external files related to personal information such as a directory from customers. When data cannot be extracted from an external file to be provided or the external file cannot be edited, there is a problem that all preprinted paper with scratches must be discarded.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is a method for performing printing without taking time and effort by selectively avoiding a portion that cannot be used in pre-printing when printing variation data on pre-printed paper. It is to provide.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the page data creation method of the present invention can refer to an external file having a data structure composed of records and fields , and each of a plurality of sheets in one page of a pre-printed recording medium. A page data creation method for imposing the same layout data in a predetermined imposition order set in advance and in the order in which the records of the external file are arranged, wherein each of the plurality of sheets refers to the external file. When imposing data, it is possible to designate whether imposition of the layout data can be specified.

Further, it is also characterized in that the sheet for which imposition of layout data is specified is excluded and imposition is performed on the other sheets in the order of the records of the external file. Further, it is also characterized in that imposition and / or editing of predetermined data other than the layout data can be performed on a sheet for which imposition of layout data is designated as not.

As an application of the present invention, as a printing system, it is characterized by having at least a creatable controller and the image forming apparatus to print data based on the page data creation method described above.

  According to the present invention, since impositionability can be specified on the application program side that creates page data, even if there is a part that cannot be used due to scratches on the preprinted paper, the part that cannot be used Therefore, it is not necessary to perform preprocessing such as rearrangement of the fluctuation data.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a printing system according to the present invention. The printer 11 includes a printer engine 1 and a controller 2, and the client computer 4 includes an application program 41 (a form layouter). The network 3 is an electronic communication network such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Image data printed and activated by an application program 41 on a client computer 4 connected to the network 3 is connected to the controller 2 and the printer engine 1. Printed on a recording medium.

  The client computer 4 is provided with a printer driver 43 for printing by the printer 11. The printer driver 43 is software having a function of converting image data created by the application program 41 into printer control language data. On the other hand, the controller 2 is provided with a spooler 21 and a printer controller 24. The spooler 21 is a set of dynamic link libraries (DLLs) for receiving, storing (spooling), processing, scheduling, and distributing control language data output from the printer driver 43. In this embodiment, the spooler 21 is an operating system ( The functions provided as part of the OS are used as they are.

  The printer controller 24 is software having a function of receiving control language data from the spooler 21, converting it into video data and operation commands for the printer engine, and transmitting them to the printer engine 1. The printer controller 24 controls the operation of the printer engine 1 by transmitting an operation command for the printer engine 1. The printer engine 1 is a printing apparatus having a function of printing on a recording medium based on video data transmitted from the printer controller 24.

  FIG. 2 shows the flow of printing in the printing system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, when image data created by the application program 41 of the client computer 4 is printed and activated, the image data is once stored in the operating system 42, and then the operating system 42 transmits the image data to the printer driver 43. To do.

  The printer driver 43 receives the image data from the operating system 42, converts it into printer control language data, and transfers the control language data to an arbitrary port. For example, PostScript (registered trademark) can be used as the control language data. A printer port is generally used as a port to which the control language data is transferred, but transfer to an arbitrary device such as a printer server connected to the network or a hard disk connected to the network is also possible. Here, a case where data is transferred to the spooler 21 of the controller 2 connected to the network 3 will be described.

  The spooler 21 has functions such as receiving control language data created by the printer driver 43, temporarily storing and scheduling the received control language data, and redistributing it to an arbitrary device. In this embodiment, the printer controller 24 is configured to read the control language data stored in the spooler 21 as necessary, and the printer controller 24 analyzes the control language data read from the spooler 21 to obtain a printer engine. 1 video data is converted.

  When the conversion to the video data is completed, the printer controller 24 transmits the video data and the print command to the printer engine 1 so that the printer engine 1 starts printing.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a page setting screen of the application program 41 on the client computer 4 in the page data creation method of the present invention. The page setting screen includes a parameter setting panel 51 and a page image panel 52 for setting parameters. The parameter setting panel 51 includes a paper size setting unit 53, a sheet setting unit 54, and a printing direction setting unit 55. The paper size setting unit 53 defines the paper size to be used for printing. However, the paper size information associated with the printer driver 43 may be read and displayed in a list, and the operator may specify from the list. A method of individually specifying the height and width of the paper size may be used. The sheet setting unit 54 is for setting information for arranging sheets in a page. In order to arrange a sheet in a page, it is necessary to specify at least the sheet size, the offset from the page origin, the margin between sheets, and the number of matrices, and each setting value can be input.

The sheet setting is not limited to the setting method as shown in FIG. 3, but for example, the number of rows and columns of the sheet, the top and bottom left and right margins of the page, and the margin between sheets are set, and the margin is removed from the page size. Thus, a method of obtaining the sheet size may be used. As the unit of each parameter described above, it is desirable that the unit can be selected from a plurality of inches and millimeters, and the versatility can be further expanded if the unit can be designated by a dot which is the minimum expression size of the printer.
The imposition order setting unit 55 sets the imposition order. Generally, the so-called Z-direction output is often used when imposing in order from the upper left of the page toward the right, lowering it to the second level when it reaches the upper right sheet, and imposing sequentially from the leftmost sheet. However, it is desirable that imposition can be performed in various directions so that work can be easily performed in a subsequent process such as a cutting process after printing is completed. Also in the embodiment of the present invention, not only a general Z direction output but also a reverse Z direction output or a method of outputting in the vertical direction can be selected.

  The imposition order setting unit 55 can also specify skewer printing. The skewered printing is not imposing the sheet in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction as in the Z direction output, but imposing the sheet in the overlapping direction in a state where the sheets are stacked. The skewer printing will be described in detail with reference to an example in FIG.

  An OK button 56 and a cancel button 57 are arranged on the page setting screen. By pressing the OK button 56, the set parameters are saved and reflected on the layout screen described with reference to FIG. 4 to close the page setting screen. If the sheet size set by the sheet size setting unit 53 protrudes when the sheet is arranged using the sheet size set in the sheet setting 54 and the offset / margin / matrix number, the layout screen is displayed. An alarm may be issued to the operator before reflecting to the operator. When the cancel button 57 is pressed, the page setting screen is closed without reflecting on the layout screen.

  FIG. 4 is a layout operation screen of the application program 41 on the client computer 4 in the page data creation method of the present invention. The layout operation screen has a sheet display unit 61 that displays a sheet area based on the page settings set in FIG. 3, and creates layout data by arranging necessary objects. Objects consist of simple graphic objects such as rectangles, ellipses, and line segments, data objects such as text, barcodes, and two-dimensional codes, and image objects such as bitmaps. An object is generated by inputting various parameters such as barcode type and size. Data objects include a fixed data type whose contents are fixed in advance, an external data type that acquires data from an external file each time it is output to a printer, and a sequential data type that outputs a continuous numerical value. As with data objects, there are fixed data types and external data types for image objects, so that the same data can be output over and over, or fluctuating data can be output. ing.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an imposition availability designation screen in the page data creation method of the present invention. Designation of whether imposition is possible may be performed on the page image panel 52 of FIG. 3, or may be performed from another menu. When the page image panel 52 is used, a negative mark 58 such as a cross is added by selecting a sheet that is not desired to be output with a mouse cursor or the like. For the sheet with the negative mark 58, the layout data is not imposed, and the layout data that should have been output to the sheet is carried over to the next sheet. Even for a sheet with a negative mark 58, the negative mark 58 can be erased by selecting it again with a mouse cursor or the like. Further, although not shown, for a sheet with a negative mark 58, a setting for associating a specific layout may be provided. In this case, when printing to a printer, an effect of preventing an error when using printed paper can be expected by outputting a layout associated with a sheet with a negative mark 58. For example, visibility can be improved by placing a large character such as “use prohibited” in the layout associated with the negative mark 58.

  FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the result output without specifying imposition and the output result when imposition specification of the page data creation method of the present invention is performed. When imposition is not specified in the same layout (FIG. 6), and when a negative mark 58 is added in imposition specification and a layout in which the character “use prohibited” is arranged on the corresponding sheet (FIG. 7) Are the respective output results. In the case of an application program that cannot be specified for imposition, for example, the printing plate is scratched at the pre-printing stage, so the sheet in the 4th row and the 2nd row from the upper left sheet is scratched across all pages and cannot be used as a product. In such a case, it is necessary to discard the corresponding sheets of all pages and then reprint the data printed on the corresponding sheets. However, by performing imposition designation according to the page data creation method of the present invention, printing can be performed efficiently by skipping sheets that cannot be used as shown in FIG. By outputting characters such as “”, it is possible to prevent a human error that a damaged sheet is used by mistake.

  FIG. 8 shows the result of imposition designation of the page data creation method of the present invention, and the skewed printing by arranging the text of the serial number data type of the start value: 1, the end value: 1500, and the increment value: 1. It is. After the printing process is completed, the sheets are cut and overlapped in units of pages, cut using a cutting machine, and a bundle of sheets printed with “use prohibited” is discarded. Thereafter, since the upper left sheet bundle is sequentially overlapped and sequentially arranged from 1 to 1500 from above, subsequent processes can be performed efficiently. On the other hand, when output is performed using an application program in which imposition designation cannot be performed when performing the same printing, 701 to 800 are printed on sheets on which “use prohibited” is printed by imposition designation. For this reason, after the cutting is completed, the sheet bundle of 701 is discarded, and further, 701 to 800 are reprinted and cut, and then the inefficient work of inserting between 700 and 801 is forced. . Thus, by using the page data creation method of the present invention, useless work can be eliminated, leading to a reduction in human errors. In addition, there is no need to use paper for reprinting, which is economically effective.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a printing system of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the flow of printing in the printing system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the page setting screen of the application program in the page data creation method of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the layout screen of the application program in the page data creation method of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imposition designation | designated screen of the application program in the page data creation method of this invention. It is a figure which shows the result output when imposition designation | designated is not carried out. It is a figure which shows the result output when imposition designation | designated by the application program in the page data creation method of this invention. It is a figure which shows the output result when imposition specification is performed with the application program in the page data creation method of this invention, and skewered printing is performed. It is a figure which shows the example of the external file by the spreadsheet software which is an example of the external file concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the example which inserted the blank record in the external file which is an example of the external file concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer engine 2 Controller 3 Network 4 Client computer 11 Printer 21 Spooler 24 Printer controller 41 Application program 42 Operating system 43 Printer driver 51 Parameter setting panel 52 Page image panel 53 Paper size setting part 54 Sheet setting part 55 Printing direction setting part 56 OK Button 57 Cancel button 58 Negative mark 61 Sheet display

Claims (4)

An external file having a data structure consisting of records and fields can be referred to, and the same layout data is set in a predetermined imposition order set in advance on each of a plurality of sheets in one page of a pre-printed recording medium , and A page data creation method for imposing the order of records in an external file, wherein whether the layout data is impositioned when imposing the layout data with reference to the external file on each of the plurality of sheets A method for creating page data, characterized in that it can be specified. 2. The page data creation method according to claim 1 , wherein a sheet for which imposition of layout data is specified is excluded and imposition is performed on the other sheets in the order of arrangement of records in the external file. 3. The page data according to claim 1, wherein imposition and / or editing of predetermined data other than the layout data can be performed on a sheet for which imposition of the layout data is specified as not allowed. How to make. A printing system comprising at least a controller capable of creating print data based on the page data creation method according to claim 1 and an image forming apparatus.

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