JP4908054B2 - Printing system, printing method and printing processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing method, and a printing processing program for directly printing file data described in a page description language PDL (Page Description Language).

  With the recent development of electrophotographic page printers that are suitable for digital printing, which has been reduced in size and speed, the same handling of rasters, graphics, characters, etc., which has evolved from conventional character-centered printing, and graphics, characters, etc. Printing processing apparatuses using a description language in which enlargement, rotation, deformation, etc. can be freely controlled have become widespread.

  This kind of description language is represented by Acrobat (trademark of Adobe Systems), PDF (Portable Document Format) represented by GDI (GraphicsDevice Interface: Trademark of Microsoft), or PostScript (trademark of Adobe Systems). There is a page description language (PDL).

  For example, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) can print a document file stored in a hard disk by transmitting it to a printer via a network such as a LAN.

  In this case, the document file is usually stored in print data described in PDL (Page Description Language) such as PostScript (trademark of Adobe Systems) that can be analyzed by a printer by a printer driver installed on a PC. It is sent after being converted.

  On the other hand, as a document file distributed on the Internet, a PDF file that can reproduce the same appearance as the original document regardless of the type of hardware or application has become widespread. This PDF file includes an object that can be arranged in the file in an order different from the page order, and reference information indicating the position of the object in the file, and defines a page composed of predetermined objects.

  By the way, a PDF file may have data of several hundred pages, for example. When such a PDF file having a particularly large data size is converted to print data on a PC, the conversion takes time, the processing becomes complicated, and the data size increases due to the conversion, resulting in an increase in data transfer time. For this reason, the load on the PC increases. In order to reduce the load on the PC, there has been proposed a printer capable of directly printing a PDF file transmitted from the PC to the printer without being converted to print data (hereinafter referred to as “PDF direct print”). .

  However, since an object related to data to be printed can be arranged in the file regardless of the page order in the PDF file, and reference information indicating the position of the object in the file is arranged at the end of the file, The printer can print only after receiving the entire PDF file. For this reason, the printer may not be able to receive the entire PDF file due to insufficient memory capacity (usable capacity or free capacity) and cannot execute printing.

  In relation to this problem, there is known an apparatus for reconfiguring the contents of a PDF file so that it can be displayed on the display in order from the received data without receiving the entire PDF file. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In addition, there is a print layout application in which various original documents created by an application program are collected as one document, and management of the document itself and output management are facilitated (see Patent Document 2, etc.).

  In the print layout application, after the original document to be printed is captured as the text, the captured text is usually fixed and the text of the original document cannot be edited. With the print layout application, it was possible to perform only editing related to the appearance of the document, such as layout setting, finishing information addition, annotation data addition, etc., with the body text fixed.

Japanese National Patent Publication No. 11-502954 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-091518

  By the way, when printing an electronic document created by PDF, a dedicated utility is used, and the utility actually transmits the PDF file to the printing machine to perform printing.

  At that time, when the user designates an option depending on drawing such as “background pattern” and “water mark” for the utility, the utility generally takes two methods.

  Method 1: The PDF document is not directly changed, but is realized by adding function ON information of the functions of the printing press called “background pattern printing” and “watermark” to a part of job information other than the PDF file.

  In this method 1, there is a restriction that a picture other than the function of the printing machine cannot be displayed, and the function does not work unless the printing machine main body supports “background pattern printing” or “water mark”.

  Method 2: The utility analyzes the PDF document, changes the PDF with the pattern, characters, “background pattern”, and “watermark” desired by the user as a part of the PDF document, and transmits the data to the printing press.

  In Method 2, various options can be added to the utility, so it is considered a good system that can be expanded in the future.

However, when the PDF format is changed and a background pattern and a water mark are added, for example, when the layout is changed, the size of the background pattern is different. Layout change means N-UP (2UP, 4UP, etc., where there are multiple pages in one sheet) or catalog printing (if 8 pages of PDF, 1 page and 8 pages are the same page, 2 pages, 3 pages , 4, 5 pages, 6 and 7 pages become the same page, and booklet printing (a page sorting method that becomes a book) or booklet printing (if 8 pages of PDF, 1, 8 pages, 7, 2 When the page, 3, 6, 5 and 4 pages are printed on a single sheet), adding one copy-forgery-inhibited pattern to each page will reduce the size of the finished product. As a result, there is a possibility that the background pattern may become unreadable if it has meaning. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a page description language (PDL) from the client. In a printing system in which the described file data is sent to a printing machine and the file data described in PDL is directly printed by the printing machine, the PDF file is processed so that an appropriate print result of the background pattern can be obtained. is there.

  Other objects of the present invention and specific advantages obtained by the present invention will become more apparent from the description of embodiments described below.

  In the present invention, when the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern function is selected, various layout changes are prohibited, and the layout is fixed so that printing is possible only with a fixed size of the PDF. By using this method, the user can obtain a tint block print result of a regular size. In addition, unlike the ground pattern, the water mark only changes the size of characters and images. Therefore, the water mark is not specifically prohibited, and the layout change is prohibited only when the ground pattern function is selected.

That is, the present invention includes a client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. The client determines additional pattern generation means for generating an additional pattern such as a watermark or copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, and whether or not the processing target PDF file is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the encrypted PDF file is encrypted. A processing unit that analyzes the processing target PDF file that has not been encrypted or the processing target PDF file that has been decrypted by the client side decryption processing unit , and adds the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit; applied, and PDF files re-creating means for creating again PDF file, An encryption processing means for encrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creating means with an arbitrary encryption key; and decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means And a decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with respect to a printing machine that prints the file data described in the PDF the result and a PDF file sending means for sending to the printer in addition to a PDF file that contains the additional pattern the encrypted, the printing machine, said additional which is the encrypted sent from the client Printer-side decryption processing means for decrypting a PDF file including a pattern with the decryption key, and the printer-side decryption process PDF file containing the additional pattern decoded by the stage, or, printing means for printing file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit, the client changes the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. A printing system for prohibiting a size option , wherein the client prints a PDF file to be printed by the print processing unit in the printing machine when a background pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit. Output to change the output size of If the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the client side decryption processing unit decrypts the processing target PDF file and the PDF file re-creation unit performs the client side decryption processing unit. The processing target PDF file decrypted by the above is analyzed, processed, processed again, a PDF file is created again, and the encryption processing means creates a PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creation means. The additional pattern obtained by encrypting the decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means by the PDF file sending means encrypted with an encryption key different from the encryption key. Is added to a PDF file including Uses the decryption key to decrypt the PDF file including the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client with the decryption key, and decrypts the additional file decrypted by the press side decryption processing means. The file data described in the PDF of the PDF file including the pattern is directly printed by the print processing means .

The present invention also includes a client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. The client determines additional pattern generation means for generating an additional pattern such as a watermark or copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, and whether or not the processing target PDF file is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the encrypted PDF file is encrypted. A processing unit that analyzes the processing target PDF file that has not been encrypted or the processing target PDF file that has been decrypted by the client side decryption processing unit , and adds the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit; applied, and PDF files re-creating means for creating a re-PDF file, the An encryption processing means for encrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the DF file re-creating means with an arbitrary encryption key; and decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means. A decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with a printing press that prints the file data described in the PDF. A PDF file sending means for sending to the printing machine by adding to the PDF file containing the encrypted additional pattern, and the printing machine sends the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client. Printer side decryption processing means for decrypting a PDF file including the decryption key, and the printer side decryption processing means PDF files containing more decoded the additional pattern, or a printing process means for printing the file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating unit, the client changes the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit in the printing machine. A printing method in a printing system that prohibits options , and when the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as an additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit in the client, the printing is performed by the print processing unit in the printing machine. PDF file output size When the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the client side decryption processing means decrypts the processing target PDF file, and the PDF file re-creation means The processing target PDF file decrypted by the client-side decryption processing unit is analyzed, processed, a PDF file is created again, and the additional pattern created by the PDF processing unit by the encryption processing unit A decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means by the PDF file sending means is encrypted with the encryption key different from the original encryption key. Add to the encrypted PDF file containing the additional pattern To the printing press, and the printing press decrypts the PDF file containing the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client with the decryption key by the printing press-side decryption processing means. File data described in the PDF of the PDF file including the additional pattern decoded by the decoding processing unit is directly printed by the printing processing unit .

Furthermore, the present invention includes a client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. The client determines additional pattern generation means for generating an additional pattern such as a watermark or copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, and whether or not the processing target PDF file is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the encrypted PDF file is encrypted. A processing unit that analyzes the processing target PDF file that has not been encrypted or the processing target PDF file that has been decrypted by the client side decryption processing unit , and adds the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit; applied, and PDF files re-creating means for creating again PDF file, above The PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creating unit is encrypted with an arbitrary encryption key, and the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing unit is decrypted. And a decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with respect to a printing machine that prints the file data described in the PDF the result and a PDF file sending means for sending to the printer in addition to a PDF file that contains the additional pattern the encrypted, the printing machine, said additional which is the encrypted sent from the client A printer-side decryption processing means for decrypting a PDF file including a pattern with the decryption key; and PDF file containing the additional pattern decoded by, or the print processing means for printing the file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating unit, the client changes the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit in the printing machine. In a printing system that prohibits options, print processing for sending file data described in PDF from the client to the printing machine and executing printing processing for directly printing the file data described in PDF on the printing machine The program In Ant, if the tint block as an additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating means is selected, placing a prohibition on the output size option to change the output size of the PDF file to be printed by the printing means in the printing press At the same time, when the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the processing target PDF file is decrypted by the client side decryption processing means, and the processing target decrypted by the client side decryption processing means by the PDF file recreating means The PDF file is analyzed, processed and re-created, and the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creation unit is different from the original encryption key by the encryption processing unit. Encrypt with the encryption key and use the above PDF file. The sending means adds a decryption key for decrypting the PDF file containing the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means to the PDF file containing the encrypted additional pattern and sends it to the printing machine. In the printing machine, the PDF file containing the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client is decrypted by the printing machine side decryption processing means with the decryption key and decrypted by the printing machine side decryption processing means. The file processing described in the PDF of the PDF file including the additional pattern is directly printed by the print processing means .

Since the PDF direct printing function is originally a format that does not have a size due to the nature of PDF, an image can be enlarged and reduced without being affected by the size of the printing medium. However, for the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern added on the utility side that has meaning to the size of the image, the size of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern to be output can be fixed by setting a prohibition to fix the layout. The final output is as large as As a result, the tint block is accurately established.
In addition, according to the present invention, when the client attaches additional information such as a background pattern or a water mark to the PDF file to be processed and creates a new PDF file with the additional information, the PDF file to be processed is encrypted. If the processing target PDF file is once decrypted, an additional pattern is added, and then a new PDF file is created by encryption, and the printing machine transmits the additional pattern sent from the client. When the included PDF file is encrypted, the PDF file is decrypted with a new decryption key, and the file data described in the PDF is directly printed with an additional pattern. , Can prevent the contents of PDF file printing from being analyzed, and has an engine-specific background pattern Turned into re-PDF the image, the other to the diversion, it is possible to so that it can not be diverted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the present invention is a printing system in which a client 110 for which a user instructs printing and an image forming apparatus (printing machine) 120 are connected via a network 130 such as a LAN so that they can communicate with each other. 100. Note that the image forming apparatus 120 may be directly connected to the client 110 via a USB interface or a parallel interface without via the network 130.

  The client 110 is, for example, a so-called personal computer, and as shown in FIG. 2, a CPU 111 for controlling the entire apparatus and various arithmetic processes, a ROM 112 for storing programs and data, and a program and data temporarily as a work area. RAM 113 for storing various data, a hard disk 114 as an external storage device for storing various programs and data, a display unit 115 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information, and a keyboard and mouse for inputting various instructions An input unit 116 including a network interface 117 such as a LAN card for connecting to the network 130 is connected to each other via a bus 118.

  In addition, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 120 includes a CPU 121 that controls the entire apparatus and various arithmetic processes, a ROM 122 that stores programs and data, and temporarily stores programs and data as work areas. A variety of data is printed on a recording material such as a sheet using a RAM 123 for storing, an operation panel unit 124 used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions, and a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process. The printing unit 125 and the network interface 126 such as a LAN card for connecting to the network 130 are connected to each other via a bus 127.

  In the printing system 100, the client 110 is installed with a PDF direct printing utility 10 having the following functions.

  The PDF direct printing utility 10 installed in the client 110 performs user-designated duplex printing, resolution, finish options, etc. on the PDF file designated by the user on the PDF direct printing utility screen 20 shown in FIG. A device information addition function 11 for adding device information is provided. Further, the PDF direct printing utility 10 analyzes a PDF file when a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern print function and a watermark-added print function 12 are specified, adds a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and a watermark, and creates a PDF file again. 13 is provided. The PDF direct printing utility 10 includes a decryption processing function 14 for decrypting an encrypted PDF file with a decryption key designated by the user, and an encryption processing function 15 for encrypting with an arbitrary encryption key. . Further, the PDF direct printing utility 10 can acquire the printer model to be printed and other information from the connected printer driver. Further, the PDF direct printing utility includes a decryption key selection function 16 that selects a decryption key by public key verification with the image forming apparatus 120. Further, the PDF direct printing utility 10 includes a print layout selection function 17 for selecting a print layout on the print setting screen 25 shown in FIG. There are a plurality of layouts that can be selected on the print setting screen 25 shown in FIG. 5, “same size printing”, “print with paper”, “catalog print right close”, “catalog print left close”, “booklet print right close”, “booklet print” “Close Left” can be selected. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, this PDF file has an N-Up item, and the number of pages of one page can be selected as 1, 2, and 4.

  In this printing system 100, the PDF direct printing utility 10, as shown in FIG. 7, when “background pattern printing” is selected on the print setting screen 25, the layout N-UP (number of pages of one sheet) is set by the user. Prohibit to prevent selection. When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing is selected, the layout is “same size”, the number of pages of one sheet is 1, and both are grayed out so that they cannot be selected.

  The PDF direct printing utility 10 performs processing according to the procedure (steps S1 to S8) shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  That is, the PDF direct printing utility 10 first converts various device control information into a device control code of the image forming apparatus 120 and stores it as output data in step S1.

  In the next step S2, the screen status of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing option and the watermark option is checked to determine whether either the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing option or the watermark option is selected.

  If the determination result in step S2 is NO, that is, if neither the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing option nor the water mark option is selected, the process proceeds to step S9 to set a PDF file as output data.

  If the determination result in step S2 is YES, that is, if either the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing option or the water mark option is selected, that is, if it is determined that the PDF file itself needs to be recreated, In step S3, it is determined whether or not the PDF file to be processed specified by the user is encrypted.

  If the determination result in step S3 is NO, that is, if the file is not encrypted, the process proceeds to step S5, and the PDF file itself is recreated by adding a background pattern printing option or a water mark to the PDF file designated by the user. Create a new PDF file.

  If the determination result in step S3 is NO, that is, if encryption is performed, in step S4, the decryption target PDF file is decrypted using the decryption key 1 input on the screen, and then the above step is performed. In S5, a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing option or a water mark is added to the decrypted PDF file to be processed to recreate the PDF file itself, and create a new PDF file.

  In the processing of the PDF file in step 5, when the “background pattern printing” is selected on the print setting screen 25, the layout N-UP (number of pages of one sheet) is prohibited so that it cannot be selected by the user. . When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing is selected, the layout is “same size”, the number of pages of one sheet is 1, and both are grayed out so that they cannot be selected.

  In the next step S6, it is determined whether or not the encryption key has been acquired.

  If the determination result in step S6 is YES, that is, if the printer and its PDF file already have a public encryption key in the utility, the process proceeds to step S8, and the key is used to comply with the PDF rules. The PDF file is encrypted, and the decryption key is set as output data in accordance with the original rule exchanged between the image forming apparatus 120 and the utility.

If the determination result in step S6 is NO, that is, if the encryption key has not been acquired, communication with the image forming apparatus 120 is acquired in step S7, and the encryption key cannot be acquired. After generating a random encryption key, the process proceeds to step S8, where the key is used to encrypt the PDF file according to the PDF rules, and the decryption key is acquired between the image forming apparatus 120 and the utility. Set the output data according to the exchanged original rules. In this case, the new decryption key 2 is used instead of the decryption key 1 used when generating the PDF.

  In the next step S9, a PDF file is set in the output data.

  In the next step S10, the output data is sent to the image forming apparatus 120.

  In step S5, the PDF direct printing utility 10 in the printing system 100 processes the PDF file according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, for example.

  The flowchart in FIG. 9 is a processing flow of the PDF direct printing utility 10 when performing tint block printing.

  Here, in the normal output, the background pattern is a technique in which a picture or character drawn at the same darkness as the background as shown in FIG. 10A rises as shown in FIG. 10B when copied. That is.

  When the PDF direct printing utility 10 enters the processing of the PDF file (step S5), first, in step S51, the manufacturer information is read from the internal information of the printer driver connected to the PDF file, and whether or not it is own. Determine whether.

  If the determination result in this step S51 is NO, that is, it is determined that it is not the company's own, the tint block and water mark processing is not performed, and the processing is ended as it is. PDF processing is not performed for other companies' printing machines.

  If the determination result in step S51 is YES, that is, if it can be determined that the printer is in-house, the process proceeds to step S52, and the background information of the background pattern and the character density information are acquired from the information held by the connected driver. Determine if you can.

  If the decision result in this step S52 is YES, that is, if the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern information can be acquired from the printing press driver, the process proceeds to step S55, and the background of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and the character density are determined from the information held by the connected driver. To generate a tint block pattern.

  If the determination result in step S52 is NO, that is, if the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern information cannot be acquired from the printer driver, the process proceeds to step S53, and whether or not there is copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and character density information in the utility as model information. Determine whether.

  If the determination result in this step S53 is YES, that is, if there is copy-forgery-inhibited pattern information in the utility, the process proceeds to step S55, and the background of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and the character density are determined from the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern information in the utility. Is generated.

  If the determination result in step S53 is NO, that is, if there is no copy-forgery-inhibited pattern information in the utility, basic device information is read in step S54, and the process proceeds to step S55, based on the basic device information. The background pattern of the background pattern and the character density are determined to generate a background pattern.

  In the next step S56, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern pattern generated in step S55 is added to the PDF file to be processed specified by the user as a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern print option, and the PDF file itself is recreated to create a new PDF file.

  That is, in this printing system 100, the direct printing utility 10 installed in the client 110 checks the target printing machine 120, acquires it from the connected printing machine driver information, and obtains the appropriate “background pattern”, “ The density of “Watermark” printing is automatically selected. Appropriate “background pattern” and “watermark” print images selected by the above process are taken into the PDF file to be processed selected by the user. Specifically, the PDF file itself to be printed selected by the user is directly analyzed and developed by the print utility 10, converted into an image with “background pattern” and “watermark”, and converted to PDF again.

  When the direct printing utility 10 converts the PDF file again, the PDF file is encrypted. The decryption key at that time is selected by some means and does not require user input. The user is not informed of the decryption key. By using this method, the user can obtain the best “background pattern” and “water mark” printing results without being aware of the printing press.

  Here, FIG. 11A shows the data structure of normal PDF transfer, and FIG. 11B shows the data structure of encrypted PDF transfer. That is, in the case of normal PDF transfer in which nothing is performed, the transfer data 30 includes device setting data 31, a PDF start command 32, and PDF data 33 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of encrypted PDF transfer, the transfer data 40 includes device setting data 41, a decryption key 42, a PDF start command 43, and PDF data 44, as shown in FIG. Composed.

  In the printing system 100, the PDF data is encrypted using a PDF file function.

  Here, the structure and interpretation method of the PDF file will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of a standard PDF file.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the standard PDF file 200 includes a header part 210, a body part 220, a mutual compatibility table 230, and a trailer part 240.

  In the header part 210, a comment starting with “%” is described. From this header section 210, it can be seen that the file format is PDF and the version of the PDF specification to which it conforms.

  The body part 220 is composed of a plurality of objects. An object is an individual element constituting a document. A conceptual diagram of the body portion 220 is shown in FIG. Each object has an object number and its contents, and the contents are actual drawing data. Other objects are numbered from the contents. The first object 221 is defined by the description from “10obj” to “endobj”, and the other objects 222, 223,. Examples of the object include a page object, a page list object, a catalog object, a data object, and a font object.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the cross-reference table 230 is a collection of drawing index data (pointers) representing the position of an object, which is a data group that holds each unit. In the cross reference table 230, the position of each object is represented by an offset. Here, the offset refers to the number of bytes from the beginning of the file to the beginning of the data of interest. Thereby, it is possible to randomly access the objects arranged in the body part 220. The cross-reference table 230 starts with a line containing the keyword “xref” in the file.

  The trailer unit 240 is information to be accessed at the start of file analysis. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the trailer unit 240 describes information indicating the position of the cross-reference table 230 in the file and the number of the object to be referred to first. The number shown next to the “startxref” flag is an offset of the cross-reference table 230. This trailer 240 exists at the end of the file and begins with a line containing the keyword “trailer”.

  When interpreting a PDF file, first, the trailer unit 240 existing at the end of the data is always referred to and where the intercompatible table 230 exists in this data is checked.

  That is, when interpreting a PDF file, as shown in FIG. 16, first, the inter-compatible table 230 is searched from the trailer unit 240, a necessary object pointer is determined therein, and the actual state of the object is searched from the pointer. To do.

  Here, FIG. 16 shows the flow of drawing object data search in the data structure of the PDF file shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the trailer unit 240 includes a “startxref” flag indicating where the mutual compatibility table 230 is located in the entire data, and uses the value as an index (pointer) from the beginning of the entire data. The data of the intercompatible table 230 can be searched. At this time, a character string “Encrypt” exists in the encrypted PDF file, and the character string does not exist in the non-encrypted PDF file. The encrypted PDF file is actually encrypted in two types: “character string” and “stream” such as an image. The decryption key is common and does not exist in the PDF file. The image forming apparatus 120 uses a decryption key given from the outside. The outside of the image forming apparatus 120 indicates a platform that controls a PDF file printing routine.

  The inter-compatible table 230 includes used object information on each page, and when the target page is printed, the pointer of the target object is known, so the search is performed from the beginning of the entire data.

  As shown in the conceptual diagram of the body portion 220 in FIG. 13, each object has an object number and its contents, and the contents are actual drawing data. When the other object is numbered from the contents, the operation of returning to the mutual compatibility table 230 and searching for the target object is repeated.

  In this way, it is possible to search the intercompatible table 230 from the trailer unit 240, determine a necessary object pointer in the table, and search the actual state of the object from the pointer.

  In this printing system 100, in the case of an in-house driver, since the background shade information on the background pattern and the shade information on the character on the background pattern are stored in accordance with the actual engine as the background pattern correspondence in the driver, it is installed in the client 110. The PDF direct printing utility 10 also has a mechanism for sharing the information. If the background information of the background in the background pattern and the density information of the characters above it cannot be obtained from the printer driver, the fixed information table of the past model owned by itself is used. By doing so, it is possible to print at least the tint pattern of the shade information possessed by the engine characteristics.

  In the printing system 100, when the PDF direct printing utility 10 changes the contents of the PDF file, the PDF file is encrypted and transferred to the image forming apparatus 120. The encryption key and the decryption key for encryption and decryption can be understood only by the image forming apparatus 120 and the PDF direct printing utility 10. When the PDF direct printing utility 10 transmits a modified PDF file to the image forming apparatus 120, the PDF file is always encrypted and transferred, and the decryption key is transferred by a manufacturer's original method, thereby forming an image of another company. The device 120 cannot print. In addition, even if the data can be stolen by monitoring the transfer route, data cannot be printed by other companies. Even if you can print on your own machine and get a printed matter, you cannot know the additional work added by a utility such as a watermark because the PDF file is encrypted. If the PDF file to be printed has already been encrypted, the decryption key input by the user to the PDF direct printing utility 10 is required when the PDF file is recreated. The decryption key used when the PDF direct printing utility 10 re-encrypts is completely different from the one input by the user. Thus, it is possible to prevent other manufacturers from analyzing the contents of the PDF file printing of the PDF direct printing utility 10 by analyzing the tool. That is, an image having an engine-specific copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is converted to PDF, and at that time, a PDF encryption method is used so that it cannot be diverted or diverted. By performing encryption at the time of re-PDF conversion, it is possible to prevent information leakage of PDF on the transfer path, and it is possible to prevent in-house technology from being analyzed by analysts of other companies.

  In this printing system 100, when the utility remodels (reprocesses) the PDF, it is not possible to understand what the user or analyst has done by performing encryption. For this purpose, only an encryption process is used, and the encryption process is not an essential requirement of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system including an image forming apparatus and a client to which the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the said client. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows a PDF direct printing utility screen. It is a figure which shows the print setting screen of a PDF direct print utility. It is a figure which shows the selection function of the print layout on the said print setting screen. It is a figure which shows the state which prohibited selection of the print layout on the said print setting screen. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a printing process by the said PDF direct printing utility. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the processing of a PDF file in the case of performing the tint block printing executed by the PDF direct printing utility. It is a figure which shows the result of a background pattern printing typically. It is a figure which shows the data structure (A) of normal PDF transfer, and the data structure (B) of encryption PDF transfer. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure of a standard PDF file. It is a conceptual diagram of the body part in a PDF file. It is a figure which shows the structure of the mutual compatibility table | surface in a PDF file. It is a figure which shows the structure of the trailer part in a PDF file. It is a figure which shows the flow of drawing object data search.

Explanation of symbols

10 PDF direct printing utility,
11 Device information addition function,
12 Water mark added printing function,
13 PDF file re-creation function,
14 Decryption processing function,
15 Encryption processing function
16 Decryption key selection function,
20 PDF direct printing utility screen,
100 printing system,
110 clients,
111 CPU,
112 ROM,
113 RAM,
114 hard disk,
115 display,
116 input section,
120 image forming apparatus,
121 CPU,
122 ROM,
123 RAM,
124 operation panel,
125 printing section,
126 network interface,
127 bus,
130 network,
200 PDF files,
210 header section,
220 body part,
230 Interoperability table,
240 trailer section,
221, 222, 223, object

Claims (3)

A client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. An additional pattern generation unit that generates an additional pattern such as a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, a client-side decryption processing unit that determines whether or not the PDF file to be processed is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the file is encrypted; It analyzes the decoded processing object PDF file by not even processing target PDF file or the client-side decoding unit is subjected to a processing of adding the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating means, again PDF file and PDF file re-creation means for creating, re-above PDF file An encryption processing means for encrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the generating means with an arbitrary encryption key; and decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means to generate the PDF The decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with a printing machine that prints the file data described in the above is encrypted. And a PDF file sending means for adding to the PDF file including the additional pattern and sending it to the printer, and the printer includes the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client. Decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means for decrypting the file with the decryption key and the printer-side decryption processing means PDF file contains the serial additional pattern, or it and a print processing unit for printing the file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating unit, the client is prohibited from an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. Printing system,
When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit, the client prohibits an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. When the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the processing target PDF file is decrypted by the client side decryption processing unit, and the processing target decrypted by the client side decryption processing unit by the PDF file re-creation unit The PDF file is analyzed, processed and re-created, and the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creation unit is different from the original encryption key by the encryption processing unit. Encrypt with the encryption key and send the PDF file Accordingly, the decryption key for decrypting the PDFF file containing the additional pattern has been encrypted by the encryption processing means in addition to PDF files containing the additional pattern the encrypted sent to the printer,
The printing machine decrypts the PDF file including the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client with the decryption key by the printing machine side decryption processing means, and decrypts it by the printing machine side decryption processing means. A printing system for directly printing file data described in the PDF of the PDF file including the additional pattern by the print processing means . A client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. An additional pattern generation unit that generates an additional pattern such as a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, a client-side decryption processing unit that determines whether or not the PDF file to be processed is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the file is encrypted; It analyzes the decoded processing object PDF file by not even processing target PDF file or the client-side decoding unit is subjected to a processing of adding the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating means, again PDF file and PDF file re-creation means for creating, re-above PDF file An encryption processing means for encrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the generating means with an arbitrary encryption key; and decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means to generate the PDF The decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with a printing machine that prints the file data described in the above is encrypted. And a PDF file sending means for adding to the PDF file including the additional pattern and sending it to the printer, and the printer includes the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client. Decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means for decrypting the file with the decryption key and the printer-side decryption processing means PDF file contains the serial additional pattern, or it and a print processing unit for printing the file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating unit, the client is prohibited from an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. A printing method in a printing system for applying
When a tint block is selected as an additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit in the client, a prohibition is imposed on an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. In addition, when the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the processing side PDF processing unit decrypts the processing target PDF file, and the PDF file re-creation unit decrypts the processing target PDF file by the client side decryption processing unit. Analyzing the target PDF file, processing it, creating a PDF file again, and using the encryption processing means, the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creation means is the original encryption key. Encrypt with a different encryption key The file sending unit, a decryption key for decrypting the PDF file that contains the additional pattern has been encrypted by the encryption processing means in addition to PDF files containing the additional pattern the encrypted sent to the printer,
In the printer, the PDF file including the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client is decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means with the decryption key, and decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means. A printing method characterized in that file data described in the PDF of a PDF file including the additional pattern is directly printed by the print processing means . A client that sends file data described in PDF (Portable Document Format) to a printer, and a printer that directly prints file data described in PDF sent from the client. An additional pattern generation unit that generates an additional pattern such as a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, a client-side decryption processing unit that determines whether or not the PDF file to be processed is encrypted, and performs decryption processing when the file is encrypted; It analyzes the decoded processing object PDF file by not even processing target PDF file or the client-side decoding unit is subjected to a processing of adding the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating means, again PDF file and PDF file re-creation means for creating, re-above PDF file An encryption processing means for encrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the generating means with an arbitrary encryption key; and decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means to generate the PDF The decryption key for decrypting the PDF file including the additional pattern encrypted by the encryption processing means in accordance with a predetermined rule defined with a printing machine that prints the file data described in the above is encrypted. And a PDF file sending means for adding to the PDF file including the additional pattern and sending it to the printer, and the printer includes the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client. Decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means for decrypting the file with the decryption key and the printer-side decryption processing means PDF file contains the serial additional pattern, or it and a print processing unit for printing the file data described above PDF PDF files containing the additional pattern unencrypted sent from the client directly When the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is selected as the additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generating unit, the client is prohibited from an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. in the printing system applying, sends the file data described in PDF from the client to the printer, the file data described in PDF a printing processing program for executing a printing process for printing directly in the printing press ,
When a tint block is selected as an additional pattern generated by the additional pattern generation unit in the client, a prohibition is imposed on an output size option for changing the output size of the PDF file printed by the print processing unit on the printing machine. In addition, when the processing target PDF file is encrypted, the processing side PDF processing unit decrypts the processing target PDF file, and the PDF file re-creation unit decrypts the processing target PDF file by the client side decryption processing unit. Analyzing the target PDF file, processing it, creating a PDF file again, and using the encryption processing means, the PDF file including the additional pattern created by the PDF file re-creation means is the original encryption key. Encrypt with a different encryption key The file sending unit, a decryption key for decrypting the PDF file that contains the additional pattern has been encrypted by the encryption processing means in addition to PDF files containing the additional pattern the encrypted sent to the printer,
In the printer, the PDF file including the encrypted additional pattern sent from the client is decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means with the decryption key, and decrypted by the printer-side decryption processing means. A print processing program for directly printing the file data described in the PDF of the PDF file including the additional pattern by the print processing means .

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