JP4947093B2 - Printing control program and variable printing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control program for controlling variable printing and a variable printing system.

  The variable printing system is a printing technique for generating a different image for each record in accordance with a value in a database, and has recently attracted attention in the field of print on demand (hereinafter referred to as POD). This variable printing system is required to improve the reply rate and increase the sales expansion effect, and various proposals have been made to increase the appeal to customers.

  For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a preprocessing device that is an image recording unit that records an image on sound paper based on image data, and a sound that records sound data associated with the image data on the sound paper. A recording system including a post-processing unit that is a data recording unit is disclosed. In Patent Document 2 below, a pre-processing device that is an image recording unit that records an image on scent paper based on image data, and a scent record that records a scent associated with the image data on the scent paper. A recording system including a post-processing device as a unit is disclosed.

JP 2007-52658 A JP 2007-152667 A

  By using the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, voice and scent associated with image data can be recorded, and the degree of appeal to customers can be increased.

  However, in the conventional technique, the setting corresponding to the image data is changed on the printer system (printer controller or image forming apparatus) side based on image data generated in advance using a layout editing application for variable printing. There is a need to. For this reason, every time the original image data is changed, the setting on the printer system side must be changed, which is troublesome.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its main purpose is a printing control program and variable printing that can easily set the output form for each record on the apparatus side that instructs variable printing. To provide a system.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print control program that operates on a computer device for instructing variable printing whose print contents can be changed for each record, and the computer device is stored in a database in which a plurality of records are described. A means for generating image layout information for associating each record with an image to be printed based on the above, a condition for acquiring apparatus information describing a print setting condition of an apparatus that executes variable printing, and specifying a record in the database And means for displaying a screen for setting the print setting condition on a display unit, and generating print setting information for associating each record with the print setting condition based on the condition set on the screen displayed on the display unit And a means for outputting the image layout information and the print setting information. Is shall.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication network including a computer device that instructs variable printing whose print contents can be changed for each record, an image forming device that executes the variable printing, and a printer controller that controls the image forming device. In the connected variable printing system, the computer apparatus executes variable printing based on a database in which a plurality of records are described, and means for generating image layout information for associating each record with an image to be printed. Means for acquiring device information in which print setting conditions of the device are described , displaying a condition for specifying a record of the database and a screen for setting the print setting condition on a display unit; and the screen displayed on the display unit based on the conditions set in the print setting conditions as each record Means for generating print setting information for associating the image layout information and means for transmitting the image layout information and the print setting information to the printer controller, wherein the printer controller analyzes the image layout information and the print setting information. And a means for creating a print command in a format usable by the image forming apparatus and transmitting the print command to the image forming apparatus.

  According to the printing control program and the variable printing system of the present invention, not only the image but also the output condition of the apparatus that executes the variable printing can be easily set for each record on the apparatus instructing the variable printing. .

  The reason is that a print control program that operates on a device that instructs variable printing generates image layout information for each record with reference to a database stored in advance, and acquires device information on a device that executes variable printing. This is because the print setting information for each record is generated by associating with the database, and printing is instructed using the image layout information and the print setting information.

It is a figure which shows the example of an output of normal variable printing. It is a figure which shows the example of an output at the time of changing an output form for every record. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the variable printing system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of each apparatus of the variable printing system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the database which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen (print setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the screen (print setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the error display in the screen (print setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen (setting list) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen (standard setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the production | generation method of the variable print data based on Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of the client (printing control program) which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the printer controller according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of description of the variable print data (print setting information) which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of description of the variable print data (image layout information) which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen (print setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the screen (print setting screen) displayed on the display part of the client which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of description of the variable print data (print setting information and image layout information) which concerns on Example 3 of this invention.

  A general variable printing system includes a computer device (a layout editing application for variable printing) that instructs variable printing, a printer controller for POD, and an image forming apparatus.

  The layout editing application reads a database at the time of layout editing, and generates variable print data in which the image content is changed based on the value of each record. The variable print data uses a general-purpose print format such as PostScript or PDF (Portable Document Format), or a dedicated format specialized for variable printing such as Free Form or PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language). In general, the variable printing dedicated format can optimize the rasterization processing in the printer controller by optimizing the image information to be repeatedly used.

  Information indicating the boundary between records can be added to the layout information of the variable printing dedicated format such as PPML, and the print setting is performed by the conventional printer controller, as shown in FIG. It is possible to realize output divided for each record.

  Here, recent image forming apparatuses for POD are provided with a plurality of paper supply / discharge trays, and have various additional functions such as stapling, folding, punching, and bookbinding. Print settings are possible. Thus, if the output form (paper feed tray, paper discharge tray, post-processing, etc.) can be changed for each record during variable printing, the degree of appeal to customers can be increased.

  However, as shown in FIG. 2, the output form is changed for each record (for example, male paper is output on blue paper, female paper is printed on red paper, saddle-stitched for product A advertisement, and flat for product B. In order to output by binding, it is necessary to manually change the print setting for each page on the printer system (printer controller or image forming apparatus) side using the function of the printer controller. Therefore, the number of pages and layout contents change irregularly depending on the value of the database, and handling of enormous number of records is generally performed in parallable printing, without causing errors in the output result and setting in a short time It was very difficult to do.

  Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the print setting for each page can be easily performed not on the printer system (printer controller or image forming apparatus) side but on the computer apparatus side instructing variable printing. Specifically, when a print control program operating on a computer device edits image data based on a database stored in advance, it generates print setting information that associates each record in the database with the print setting conditions of the image forming apparatus. By doing so, different images and output forms are realized for each record.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, a printing control program and a variable printing system according to Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the variable printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a specific configuration of each apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a database, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of apparatus information of the image forming apparatus. 7 to 11 are diagrams illustrating examples of screens displayed on the display unit of the client, and FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method for generating variable print data. FIGS. 13 to 15 are flowcharts showing the operation of each device of the variable printing system of this embodiment, and FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing examples of description of variable print data.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the variable printing system of this embodiment includes a client 10, a printer controller 20, an image processing device 30 (MFP: Multi Function Peripheral) connectable via a communication network, and a database as necessary. A server 40 and a content information server 50 are respectively arranged. Although Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like can be used as a communication network standard, data transfer from the printer controller 20 to the image processing apparatus 30 can also use IEEE1394, Parallel, or the like in addition to Ethernet (registered trademark). It is. In FIG. 3, the printer controller 20 is provided separately from the image processing apparatus 30, but the controller 20 may be included in the image processing apparatus 30. Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[client]
The client 10 is a computer device that instructs variable printing, and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a network I / F unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15, and the like.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), which are connected via a bus. The storage unit 12 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like, and includes data such as a database describing content of each customer and content information, an OS (Operating System), a text creation application, and a layout editing application for variable printing. (Hereinafter referred to as a print control program). Data and programs stored in the ROM and HDD are expanded in the RAM and executed by the CPU.

  The print control program causes the control unit 11 to function as a database reading unit, a content information reading unit, a device information reading unit, a print data editing unit, an image layout information generation unit, and a print setting information generation unit.

  The database reading unit reads a database (see FIG. 5) stored in the storage unit 12 or the database server 40. The content information reading unit reads content information stored in the storage unit 12 or the content information server 50. The apparatus information reading unit reads apparatus information about the image forming apparatus 30 from the printer controller 20 (information that can be set by a general printer driver such as a paper feed tray, a paper discharge tray, and post-processing, see FIG. 6). The apparatus information may be acquired directly from the image forming apparatus 30 or information set by the client 10 may be used.

  The print data editing unit refers to the read database and content information, and performs layout editing that associates each record with the content. In addition, referring to the read database and device information, print settings for associating each record with the print setting conditions of the image forming apparatus 30 are performed.

  The image layout information generation unit generates image layout information (see FIG. 17) that defines how to arrange an image for each record based on the layout editing. Further, the print setting information generation unit generates print setting information (see FIG. 16) that defines what form is printed for each record based on the print setting.

  The network I / F unit 13 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, and the like, and connects the client 10 to the communication network.

  The display unit 14 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an ELD (ElectroLuminescent display), and the like, and displays a document creation screen, a print setting screen, a setting list screen, a standard print setting screen, and the like. . The operation unit 15 includes a mouse, a keyboard, and the like, and enables an operation for setting a condition for specifying a record or setting a print setting condition to be associated with a record that satisfies a specific condition on the print setting screen.

[Printer controller]
The printer controller 20 is a device that controls the image processing apparatus 30 according to an instruction from the client 10, and includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a network I / F unit 23, a printer I / F unit 24, and the like.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU and a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, which are connected via a bus. The storage unit 22 is configured by an HDD or the like, and stores device information, data such as image information after rasterization, and a program such as a print command generation application. Data and programs stored in the ROM and HDD are expanded in the RAM and executed by the CPU.

  The print command generation application causes the control unit 21 to function as an image layout information analysis unit, a print setting information analysis unit, and a RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit. The image layout information analysis unit analyzes the image layout information transmitted from the client 10. The print setting information analysis unit analyzes the print setting information transmitted from the client 10. The RIP unit generates a print command converted into a data format usable by the image forming apparatus 30 based on the analysis result. In this print command, different images and print setting conditions are described for each record in the database.

  The network I / F unit 23 includes a NIC or the like, and connects the printer controller 20 to the communication network. The printer I / F unit 24 includes a NIC or the like, and enables communication with the image processing apparatus 30.

[Image processing device]
The image processing device 30 is a device that executes variable printing in accordance with a print command received from the printer controller 20, and includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a controller I / F unit 33, a printer unit 34, and a panel operation unit. 35 or the like.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU and a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and these are connected via a bus. The storage unit 32 is configured by an HDD or the like, and includes data such as a print command, information for an application for realizing a print function, and paper stored in a paper feed tray (size, paper type, amount, color, and the like). And a program such as an application for transmitting device information describing conditions (including device failure information) that can be output at present to the printer controller 20. Data and programs stored in the ROM and HDD are expanded in the RAM and executed by the CPU.

  The controller I / F unit 33 includes a NIC or the like, and enables communication with the controller 20.

  The printer unit 34 includes constituent elements necessary for image formation using an image forming process such as an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, and an ink jet recording method. The printer unit 34 of this example employs an electrophotographic system, and includes components such as a charging device, a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a transfer roller, a transfer belt, and a fixing device. Specifically, the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device is irradiated with light according to the bitmap data from the exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image, and charged with the developing device is attached and developed, The toner image is transferred to a paper medium via a primary transfer roller and a secondary transfer belt and fixed by a fixing device.

  The panel operation unit 35 is provided with a pressure-sensitive operation unit (touch panel) in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid on the display unit, and enables operation of the image processing apparatus 30 and registration of setting information. .

  FIG. 4 is an example of the variable printing system according to the present embodiment, and the configuration can be changed as appropriate as long as the print control program having the above configuration can be executed by the client 10.

  Next, a specific example of print setting for each record will be described.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a database used for editing of general variable printing. This database is customer information for the purpose of printing promotional materials such as direct mail and catalogs, and customer information is stored in each record for each item such as name / sex / address. Generally, a database used for variable has 100 records or more, and in some cases, 10,000 records or more.

  FIG. 6 is an example of device information for performing print settings in association with a database. In the apparatus information, parameters that can be set when output by the designated image forming apparatus 30 are described. For example, parameters are prepared for each item of a paper feed tray, a paper discharge tray, and post-processing, and can be specified as output settings. The setting items preferably have the same setting items as a general printer driver.

  7 and 8 show an example of a print setting screen 60 for performing print settings in association with the database and device information. The print setting screen 60 is created by the print control program (print data editing unit) of the client 10 and is displayed on the display unit 14. Is displayed. In this print setting screen 60, a condition for specifying a record and a print setting condition can be set by selecting a button or a menu. When the condition specified by each record is satisfied for the item name of the database, the specified print setting is used. Indicates that printing is to be executed. For example, FIG. 7 shows that when the gender is male and the product is A, paper is fed from the tray 2 for printing, and after the saddle stitching post-processing, the paper is discharged to the main tray. Further, FIG. 8 shows that when the gender is female and the product is B, the paper is fed from the tray 3 to be printed, and the paper is discharged to the sub-tray after performing the post-processing (two places on the upper side). Yes.

  In the above print settings, a preview corresponding to the print settings may be displayed in the print result column so that the user can easily understand the print results. Further, in a print setting, an error message as shown in FIG. 9 may be displayed when a prohibited combination is set, as in a general printer driver. By displaying, it is possible to notify the user that an incorrect setting has been made. Furthermore, a setting list screen 61 as shown in FIG. 10 may be displayed so that the user can easily confirm the contents of the print settings.

  Further, in the above condition setting, there is a possibility that the print setting cannot be added because the specific record does not meet the set condition. For example, when the database of FIG. 5 is used, in the setting list of FIG. 10, when the sex is male and the product is B, the print setting is not performed when the gender is female and the product is B. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11, a standard print setting screen 62 for setting standard print setting conditions is displayed and set in advance, and if the condition settings are not met, standard print settings are set. You can also. The standard print settings may use values set by the printer driver.

  In this embodiment, the print control program (device information reading unit) reads the device information of the image forming device 30 from the printer controller 20 and associates the database with the device information on the print setting screen 60. If there is no change in the device information, such as the paper to be stored in each paper feed tray is fixed, the once read device information is saved in the storage unit 12 of the client 10, and the print setting screen is displayed based on the saved device information. 60 may be created.

  Further, when the types of sheets accommodated in the image forming apparatus 30 connected to the communication network and the post-processing that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 30 are known, the apparatus information is not read from the printer controller 20. The device information can also be set on the client 10 side. At this time, the printer controller 20 determines whether print settings are appropriate, and if print settings that cannot be executed by the designated image forming apparatus 30 are made, processing such as notifying the client 10 of an error may be performed.

  Next, an outline of a method for generating variable print data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 shows elements necessary for generating print setting information and image layout information included in variable print data.

  In order to generate print setting information, a database serving as original data and a print setting condition in which a user associates the database with device information are referred to. The print setting conditions are set in advance on the print setting screen 60 before the variable print data is generated, and are stored in a list. Then, the value of each record in the database is read when variable print data is generated, and the print setting contents that match the print setting conditions are described in the print range of the target record.

  Similarly, in order to generate image layout information, a database serving as original data and an image layout condition in which the database and content information are associated with each other in the print data editing unit are referred to. When the variable print data is generated, the value of each record in the database is read, and the contents of the image that meets the image layout conditions are described in the print range of the target record.

  Next, the detailed operation of the variable printing system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[Processing of Client 10 (Print Control Program): See FIG. 13]
The variable printing system of the present embodiment is characterized in that a printed matter corresponding to the value of each record in the database is generated. Therefore, the database reading unit specifies and reads the database from the storage unit 12 or the database server 40 ( S100).

  Next, when the user selects whether to insert a different image for each record or to perform different print settings for each record based on the values in the database (S110), the print data editing unit prints a print described later according to the selection. Setting editing (S120) or image layout editing (S130) is performed.

  In the print setting editing, as shown by (1) in the upper right of FIG. 13, when the user selects an output image forming apparatus (S121), the apparatus information reading unit is connected to the designated image forming apparatus 30. The apparatus information is read from the print controller 20, and the above-described print setting screen 60 is displayed on the display unit 14 (S122). Next, the user inputs a condition setting for specifying a record in the database on the print setting screen 60 (S123). This condition setting can be defined in a logical operation format from the values in the database, for example, when the gender of the target record in the customer data is male and resident in Tokyo, or when the gender is female or local. Next, the user inputs print settings corresponding to the above condition settings (S124), and repeatedly executes the above condition settings and print settings until all the output form settings that the user wants to realize are satisfied (S125). Note that image layout editing is the same as a general variable printing method, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Then, the user repeatedly performs print setting editing and image layout editing until all editing is completed (S140). In a general variable printing system, the print setting is often determined by the image size, the number of pages, the image configuration, and the like. Therefore, it is desirable to perform the print setting editing after the image layout editing.

  Next, variable print data is generated (S150). At this time, since the variable print data includes print setting information and image layout information corresponding to each record, the print setting information generation unit and the image layout information generation unit are as shown in (2) at the lower right of FIG. After reading the record value of the database (S151), the print setting information and the image layout information are described according to the record value and the settings made in the print setting editing and the image layout editing (S152, S153). Then, the above process is repeatedly executed for all records for which a print command has been issued (S154).

  Thereafter, the control unit 11 transmits the generated variable print data to the print controller 20 (S160).

  16 and 17 show description examples of variable print data. 16 and 17 are examples in which print setting information and image layout information are described in a markup language, and each is configured as an independent file.

  In the print setting information of FIG. 16, the page range in which the designated print setting is valid is described in units of the number of pages, and the contents of the print setting are described in <page range> to </ page range>. In the figure, the first record of the database is composed of three pages of images using the layout information of the first to third pages, and after feeding A4 size paper from tray 1 and printing the image only on one side. In addition, it is described that post-processing of staples is performed at two places on the left side and discharged from the main tray. The second record is composed of 4 pages of images using layout information for the 4th to 7th pages, feeds A3 size paper from the tray 2, prints the image, and then performs post-processing for two central staples and half-folding. And discharging from the sub-tray is described.

  In the image layout information of FIG. 17, the image layout information is described for each page area (<page n> to </ page n>). The image information in the page is composed of object information, and is composed of a reusable object stored in the storage unit 22 in the print controller 20 after the rasterizing process and a unique object that is used only once during a print job. In the <object> tag, in addition to the object arrangement area (<position>, <size>), image data constituting the object or path information to the image data is described. In this embodiment, the print setting information and the image layout information are associated with each other based on the page unit.

[Process of Print Controller 20: See FIG. 14]
First, when the print controller 20 receives the variable print data transmitted from the client 10 (S200), the print controller 20 starts an analysis process (S210), and determines whether the image layout information or the print setting information (S220). When the analysis target is image layout information, the image layout information analysis unit analyzes the image layout information (S240), and then the RIP unit transmits to the image forming apparatus 20 in the same manner as general variable RIP processing. Raster data to be generated is generated (S250). On the other hand, when the analysis target is print setting information, the print setting information analysis unit performs an analysis process of the print setting information (S230).

  When analyzing print setting information, a general variable printing system often cannot output with one print command in order to realize an output form that differs for each page. For example, processing such as stapling, folding, and punching can be specified only in units of jobs, and in many cases cannot be specified in units of pages. Therefore, as shown on the right side of FIG. 14, first, the effective setting range is analyzed (S231), and it is determined whether one type of variable print data needs to be divided into a plurality of print commands within the print controller 20 ( If it is necessary to divide the print command, the print command is divided into a plurality of print commands (S233), and print settings are added (S234).

  Next, a print command in which the print setting is associated with the raster data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 30 (S260). Then, the variable printing analysis process is repeatedly executed until the analysis of all information in the data is completed (S270).

  [Processing of Image Forming Apparatus 30: See FIG. 15]

  The image forming apparatus 30 receives a print command from the print controller 20 and analyzes it (S300). Next, a different image printing process is executed for each record in accordance with the output form according to the print setting (S310). Then, the print process is repeatedly executed for all print commands (S320). Note that the processing of the image forming apparatus 30 of this embodiment is the same as that of a general image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus 30 does not need to consider the concept of a database record.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the client 10 (print control program) displays the print setting screen 60 and associates the database with the apparatus information to enable print setting for each record. Printouts can be created in different output formats.

  Next, a printing control program and a variable printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19 are diagrams illustrating examples of screens displayed on the display unit of the client. Note that the configuration of the variable printing system, the flow of processing, and the description of the variable print data are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the first embodiment, each condition is selected from the menu when setting the record condition. However, the condition can be set by inputting a logical expression. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, when the gender is male and the product is A or B, the print setting contents in the figure are output, as shown in FIG. 19, when the gender is female and the product is B, or the address Can be output with the print settings in the figure when Tokyo is included.

  Such a logical expression input requires programming knowledge for directly inputting the logical expression, but has an advantage that complicated and diverse condition setting is possible.

  Next, a printing control program and a variable printing system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a description example of variable print data. Note that the configuration of the variable printing system, the flow of processing, and the variable printing setting are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the variable print data is divided into a file describing the image layout information and a file describing the print setting information. However, as shown in FIG. It is.

  In this example, tags (<record> to </ record>) indicating boundaries between records in the database are defined in the variable print data, and print setting information (<print settings> to </ print> is displayed below that. Setting>) and image layout information (<image layout> to </ image layout>) are described, and the range in which the print setting is valid is a range in which the boundary between the records is defined by a tag. In FIG. 20, the first defined record area of the database is composed of three pages of images. A4 size paper is fed from the tray 1, printed on only one side, and then stapled at two places on the left side. This indicates that post-processing is performed and paper is discharged from the main tray. The second defined record area is composed of four pages of images. A3 size paper is fed from tray 2, printed, and then post-processed with two central staples and half-folding. Indicates to paper.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the paper feed tray, the paper discharge tray, and the post-processing are defined by the print setting information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiments, and relates to an output form. The same applies to any element.

  The present invention can be used in a print control program and a variable printing system that operate on a client.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Client 11 Control part 12 Storage part 13 Network I / F part 14 Display part 15 Operation part 20 Printer controller 21 Control part 22 Storage part 23 Network I / F part 24 Printer I / F part 30 Image processing apparatus 31 Control part 32 Storage Unit 33 Controller I / F unit 34 Printer unit 35 Panel operation unit 40 Database server 50 Content information server 60, 63 Print setting screen 61 Setting list screen 62 Standard print setting screen

Claims (6)

A print control program that operates on a computer device that instructs variable printing in which print contents can be changed for each record,
Said computer device,
Means for generating image layout information associating each record with an image to be printed based on a database in which a plurality of records are described;
Means for acquiring device information in which print setting conditions of a device that executes variable printing are described, and for displaying a condition for specifying a record in the database and a screen for setting the print setting conditions on a display unit;
Means for generating print setting information associating each record with the print setting condition based on the condition set on the screen displayed on the display unit;
Means for outputting the image layout information and the print setting information;
A print control program characterized by being made to function as The print control program according to claim 1, wherein the device information is information acquired from a device that executes the variable printing or a device that controls the device . The print control program according to claim 1 , wherein the print setting condition is information defining one or more items selected from a paper feed tray, a paper discharge tray, and post-processing. . Variable printing in which a computer device for instructing variable printing whose print contents can be changed for each record, an image forming device that executes the variable printing, and a printer controller that controls the image forming device are connected via a communication network. In the system,
The computer device includes:
Means for generating image layout information associating each record with an image to be printed based on a database in which a plurality of records are described;
Means for acquiring device information in which print setting conditions of a device that executes variable printing are described, and for displaying a condition for specifying a record in the database and a screen for setting the print setting condition on a display unit;
Means for generating print setting information for associating each record with the print setting condition based on the condition set on the screen displayed on the display unit;
Means for transmitting the image layout information and the print setting information to the printer controller,
The printer controller
Variable by the image layout information and analyzes the print setting information to create the print command formats available in the image forming apparatus, comprising means for transmitting the print command to the image forming apparatus, and wherein the Printing system. The computer device includes:
The variable printing system according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus information is acquired from the printer controller . 6. The variable printing system according to claim 4 , wherein the print setting condition is information defining one or more items selected from a paper feed tray, a paper discharge tray, and post-processing. .

Images