JP5114937B2 - Image forming apparatus and printed matter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and printed matter.

  In recent years, due to improvements in the performance of computers, scanners, printing devices, copiers, etc., it has become possible to easily make copies, making it difficult to distinguish originals from copies.

  In addition, since tickets such as tickets, coupons, and lottery tickets are often printed on the printing device and are highly convertible, these tickets are copied or printed by a high-performance device. As a countermeasure against forgery by such a high-performance device, various devices and methods have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a printed matter having an anti-counterfeiting effect that makes it easy to identify and judge a genuine product and a color-copied product by visual observation without relying on equipment or special lighting.

  The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured to print a specific background pattern on a printed material using metallic ink with metallic luster that is reproduced in different tones that can be visually identified by copying with a color copier. It is.

  Further, Patent Document 2 proposes an electrophotographic toner, an electrophotographic developer, an image, and a sheet for producing a glossy image on demand using an electrophotographic method instead of printing.

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a toner including a light reflecting material and a developer for an electrophotographic method including a toner and a light reflecting material, which are used for forming a glossy image by an electrophotographic method. By providing a sheet having an image formed with the above-described toner and developer, a glossy image can be produced on demand.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-290646 JP 2004-061822 A

  The proposals in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 both distinguish the difference between the original and the copy by using a material having a special gloss and that the difference in gloss cannot be reproduced by a copying machine. It is a thing.

  However, when using a material with a special gloss, in addition to the printing part necessary for performing normal printing, it is necessary to additionally provide a printing part for using this special material, Therefore, there has been a problem that the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus becomes expensive.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus and a printed material that have a printing method in which an original and a copy can be easily distinguished while performing normal printing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention utilizes the fact that there is a difference in gloss between black produced by mixing a single color and a plurality of colors while adopting an apparatus for performing almost normal printing. By arranging the colors in close proximity, this difference in gloss is made to stand out, and when copying, the characteristic is lost, so that it can be easily recognized that it is not a duplicate.

That is, the invention of the printed matter of claim 1 includes a first image printed with a color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material based on a designated color, glossiness, and brightness; If the color of the first image is adjacent to the first image and is achromatic, the color is achromatic. If the color of the first image is chromatic, the color is the same as that of the first image. The second image and the third image printed with a color that includes a black color material, has a lower ratio of the black color material than the first image, and is formed by mixing a plurality of color materials. The first to third images have different brightness in the first image and the second to third images, and the surface gloss of the first image and the second image are different from each other. Black, cyan, magenta so that the surface gloss of the image is the same and the surface gloss of the first image is different from the surface gloss of the third image. Colorant of the yellow toner is selected, the third image the first, by the selected color material is characterized in that it is printed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printed matter according to the first aspect, wherein the first printed with an achromatic color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material based on the designated color, glossiness, and brightness. An image and a second image printed with an achromatic color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material adjacent to the first image and a black color material. A third image printed in a black color, and the first to third images have different brightness levels between the first image and the second to third images. Black, cyan so that the surface gloss of the second image is the same as the surface gloss of the second image, and the surface gloss of the first image is different from the surface gloss of the third image. , especially that magenta, the yellow coloring material in the toner is selected, the first to third image is printed by said selected colorant To.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the first to third images include an adjacent portion between the first image and the second image, and the first image. It is characterized in that at least one dot is overlapped in each adjacent portion of the adjacent portion with the third image .

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3 , wherein the first image is a background image, and the second to third images are graphics or characters drawn on the background image. It is an image .

  According to the image forming apparatus and the printed matter of the present invention, when the black component of an image is printed with a single color toner or with a combination of a plurality of toners, an image with different glossiness is adjacent when printed. Since the image to be printed is attached to the printed material data and printed out, the original printed material and the copied material can be easily distinguished visually.

  This image can be printed with only yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M) or black (K) toner, and the original can be printed without using any special glossy toner. The printed matter can be easily distinguished visually from the copy.

  Further, in the plurality of images having different glossiness, one image is a background image of another image, and at the adjacent portion of both images, the background image is overlaid on the other image by at least one dot and printed. Printing misalignment can be made inconspicuous.

  In addition, by arranging each image that is adjacent to the background image and that has the same brightness difference with respect to the background image but has a large difference in glossiness and one that has almost no glossiness in the vicinity, the difference in glossiness is caused. Each image can be easily distinguished.

  It is also possible to mix images with similar glossiness but different infrared absorptivity with an equivalent configuration, so as a means of confirming the original, a difference in infrared absorptivity in addition to gloss difference There is an effect that can be easily used.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a printed material according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes an information processing apparatus 1 and an electrophotographic color printing apparatus 2 connected by a USB (= Universal Serial Bus) cable 3. The print data is printed out by the printing apparatus 2.

  The information processing apparatus 1 is a computer that is generally used, and is configured by functional blocks of an input unit 11, a control unit 12, an output unit 13, a storage unit 14, and an external interface unit 15, and is printed The apparatus 2 includes functional blocks of a control unit 20, an image forming unit 30, a storage unit 29, and an external interface unit 39.

  The input unit 11 of the information processing apparatus 1 is configured by an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, for example, and controls the operation of these input devices to input various data, programs, and the like to the information processing apparatus 1.

  The control unit 12 is a CPU (= Central Processing Unit) of the information processing apparatus 1, controls each part of the information processing apparatus 1, and controls the entire information processing apparatus 1.

  The output unit 13 includes a display device such as a display, for example, and controls the display device to display various processing results and various data and programs stored in the storage unit 14.

The external interface unit 15 performs communication control of transmission / reception of control signals and data signals with other devices connected to the information processing device 1 (in the present embodiment, the printing device 2).
The storage unit 14 includes, for example, a storage device such as a ROM (= Read Only Memory), a RAM (= Random Access Memory), a nonvolatile memory (= Nonvolatile Memory), a magnetic disk, and the like, and controls these storage devices. Stores and stores various data and programs.

  A printer driver 140 of the printing apparatus 2 for realizing the present invention is installed on a magnetic disk (not shown) of the storage unit 14. In addition to the printer driver 140, the entire computer system of the information processing apparatus 1 is installed. An OS (= Operating System) 142 to be managed and application software 141 for creating and processing print data and printing instructions are installed.

  Details of the printer driver 140 will be described later.

  On the other hand, the control unit 20 of the printing apparatus 2 performs overall control of the entire printing apparatus 2, performs image processing according to printing conditions on print data instructed by the information processing apparatus 1, and outputs the print data to the image forming unit 30.

  The image forming unit 30 is based on the image data output by the image processing under the control of the control unit 20, yellow color (hereinafter referred to as “Y”), cyan color (hereinafter referred to as “C”), magenta color (hereinafter referred to as “C”). Hereinafter, a color image is formed on a sheet with each toner of “M”) and monochrome black (hereinafter referred to as “K”) and output.

  The storage unit 29 includes, for example, a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, and an EEPROM (= Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory). The storage unit 29 controls these storage devices and stores various data, programs, and the like.

  The external interface unit 39 performs communication control of transmission / reception of control signals and data signals with other devices (the information processing device 1 in this embodiment) connected to the printing device 2.

  The functional detailed configuration of the main part according to the present invention of the control unit 20 and the image forming unit 30 of the printing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 of the printing apparatus 2 includes a protocol analysis control unit 21, a PDL analysis command / data analysis unit 22, a character development unit 23, an image development unit 24, a color determination unit 25, and an information combination unit 26. A buffer memory 27 and an output control unit 28.
The protocol analysis control unit 21 analyzes the print information input to the printing apparatus 2 and mixes image information and code information. For example, a command or data described in PDL (page description language) (for convenience of description, “PDL Command and data ”) is transferred to the PDL command / data analysis unit 22.

  The PDL command / data analysis unit 22 analyzes the PDL command and data and converts them into intermediate code data.

  Specifically, for example, PDL such as Postscript (PostScript: trademark of Adobe Systems Inc., USA) or Interpress (InterPress: trademark of Xerox Corporation, USA) is analyzed and converted into intermediate code data.

  The image developing unit 24 develops image data that can be formed by the image forming unit 30 based on image shape information such as resolution, contour, position, and rotation angle of the image output from the PDL command / data analyzing unit 22. Further, outline information is acquired from the character development unit 23, and character information such as character data is developed into image data. Also, image data compression, expansion, image enlargement, reduction, rotation, mirror image are performed as necessary. After processing such as conversion and resolution conversion, the processed or expanded image data is output to the information combining unit 26.

  The color determination unit 25 performs image data developed by the image development unit 24 based on the color information of the image output from the PDL command / data analysis unit 22 for each color of C, M, Y, and K included in the printing apparatus 2. Color parameters to be converted into image data are generated and output to the information combining unit 26.

  The information combining unit 26 converts the image data output from the image developing unit 24 based on the color parameters output from the color determining unit 25 into image data for each color of C, M, Y, K, and images for each color. Data is stored in the buffer memory 27.

  The output control unit 28 reads image data for each color from the buffer memory 27 and outputs the image data to the image forming unit 30.

  The image forming unit 30 includes an exposure control unit 31, a K developing cartridge 32 containing K toner (a portion surrounded by a broken line), a Y developing cartridge 33 containing a Y toner (a portion surrounded by a broken line), C C developing cartridge 34 containing toner (portion surrounded by broken line), M developing cartridge 35 storing M toner (portion surrounded by broken line), paper transport belt 36, paper transport roller 37, and paper transport roller A paper transport mechanism for transporting the paper 10 composed of 38 is provided.

  The exposure control unit 31 exposes a laser beam 311 to a later-described photoconductor of the developing cartridge for each color based on the image data for each color output from the control unit 20, and each latent image corresponding to the image data for each color is exposed to each light. Form on the body.

  The laser beam 311 is transmitted by the laser transmission device 310 based on the control of the exposure control unit 31, and is guided and exposed to each photoconductor by each lens 312 and the reflecting mirror 313.

  The K developing cartridge 32 includes a charging roll 320, a photoreceptor 321, a developing roll 322, a black (K) toner box 323, a wiper blade 325, and a waste toner box 326. The charging roll 320 charges the photoreceptor 321. The photosensitive member 321 forms a latent image corresponding to the K image data by exposure with the laser beam 311, and the developing roller 322 transfers the latent image formed on the photosensitive member 321 to the black (K) toner box 323. Development is performed with the stored K toner to form a K toner image.

  A transfer roll 44 is disposed at a position facing the photoconductor 321 of the K developing cartridge 32, and the sheet 10 on which the K toner image 324 on the photoconductor 321 is conveyed by the conveyance belt 36 by the action of the transfer roll 44. Transfer on top.

  The wiper blade 325 scrapes K toner remaining on the photoconductor 321 without being transferred onto the paper 10 from the photoconductor 321 and stores it in the waste toner box 326.

  Each of the developing cartridges of the Y developing cartridge 33, the C developing cartridge 34, and the M developing cartridge 35 is the K developing cartridge 32 except that each color toner (Y, C, or M) is stored in the toner box of each developing cartridge. It is configured in the same way.

  Each developing cartridge is arranged in the order of the M developing cartridge 35, the C developing cartridge 34, the Y developing cartridge 33, and the K developing cartridge 32 from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the paper 10 conveyed by the conveying belt 36. The M toner image, the C toner image, the Y toner image, and the K toner image 324 are sequentially transferred onto the paper 10 to be transferred, and the transferred toner images are fixed on the paper 10 by a fixing unit (not shown). The paper 10 is discharged.

  Note that C, M, Y, and K toners that are generally used have a characteristic of producing a certain amount of surface gloss when fixed on the paper 10.

  The technology for converting the color information contained in PDL data described in PDL into C, M, Y, and K colors is a well-known technology, and various colors can be obtained based on the principle of the three primary colors. In general, K is used to replace the gray shadow tone that is created by combining three colors of C, M, and Y, and UCR (under color removal) is a combination of C, M, and Y toners. Technology.

  The color information of the print data created by the application software 141 based on this known technique is converted into C, M, Y, and K, and usually each value of CMYK that is determined is used for a specific color designation. . In general, in the case of simple black, printing is performed with one K color.

  However, the printing apparatus 2 according to the present invention prepares a combination of a plurality of CMYKs for the same hue (or the same achromatic color), and thereby authentication codes having different glossiness (see FIG. 3 for details). Printing is realized. In the following example, the case where the authentication code is achromatic will be described.

  In the simplest example, black printing is performed with a single color K toner, and C, M, and Y toners known as so-called process black are overprinted.

  At this time, since the total amount of toner used in process black increases, generally it seems that the gloss will be higher than that of printing with normal single color K toner, but depending on the material of the toner, the single color of K is more glossy. Can be high.

  Depending on the combination of toners, there may be cases where the gloss is the same as that of K toners. However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that toners having an appropriate gloss difference are used.

  Now, the image forming apparatus 100 configured as described above outputs the color print data created by the information processing apparatus 1 by normal color printing, and at the same time easily distinguishes the original printed material from the printed material. It is configured so that an authentication code can be added and output.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the printed material 4 and the copied material 5 in which the original and the printed material printed out by the image forming apparatus 100 can be easily distinguished, and FIG. 3A is an overall view of the printed material 4. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram for explaining the printing state of the authentication code 41 added to the printed material 4, and FIG. 3C is an overall view of the copied material 5 obtained by copying the printed material 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, whether or not the printed material 4 is an original document is included in the printed material 4 in addition to the document content 40 (the portion surrounded by a broken line) created by the application software 141 of the information processing apparatus 1. An authentication code 41 that can identify whether or not is printed.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the authentication code 41 is printed with a code “original” (in this case, a letter “original”) 410 and a rectangular background pattern 411.

  Here, the code 410 is printed in process black by mixing C, M, and Y, and the background pattern 411 is printed in black by K.

  The background pattern 411 may be printed so that the adjacent portion of the code (original) 410 and the background pattern 411 overlaps the code (original) 410 by about 1 dot, for example.

  The shape of the background pattern 411 is not limited to a rectangle, and an arbitrary shape can be set by setting a desired shape as the image shape information of the background pattern 411.

  The authentication code 41 printed in this way has a glossiness different from that of the background pattern 411 printed in black (K) and the code (original) 410 printed in black (process black). The code (original) 410 can be easily identified by recognizing the difference.

  However, since the copying machine does not have the ability to recognize and reproduce the difference in gloss between the code (original) 410 of the authentication code 41 and the background pattern 411, it is ideal when the printed material 4 is copied by the copying machine. In a typical embodiment, an area 51 of the copy 5 corresponding to the authentication code 41 of the print 4 is printed in black (K) as in the copy 5 as shown in FIG.

  In addition, in the case where there is a slight difference in color tone between process black and single color K, the code 410 and the background pattern 411 of the authentication code 41 can be distinguished even after copying, but even the difference in gloss cannot be reproduced. The difference from the copy becomes obvious.

  Accordingly, the difference between the original printed material 4 printed by the image forming apparatus 100 and the copied material 5 obtained by copying the printed material 4 can be easily determined by visually checking the authentication code 41 of the printed material 4 and the area 51 of the copied material 5. Can be distinguished.

  The content of the code 410 of the authentication code 41 is not limited to characters, and any code such as a number, a symbol, or an abstract figure can be set.

  Each color of the code 410 of the authentication code 41 and the background pattern 411 may be any color as long as the gloss can be compared. Therefore, it is not necessarily limited to the process black by combining the K toner single color and the C, M, and Y toners used in the above description. It is not limited.

  For example, when process black is made using all four color toners of CMYK, the gloss can be changed depending on the ratio of using K toner, so the code 410 has a relatively high content ratio of K toner. It is also possible to use process black and process pattern having a relatively low content of K toner for the background pattern 411.

  When using K single color toner and CMY process black, if the difference in color tone is a concern, combining the process black mixed with K toner can reduce the color tone difference. I can do it.

  As conventionally known, K toner generally absorbs infrared radiation, and CMY toner often does not absorb infrared radiation. Therefore, the CMYK process black and K toner content ratio is relatively low. When the process black is used together, the gloss is the same, but another characteristic that it can be recognized by an infrared camera can be added.

  The control operation for generating an authentication code for easily distinguishing the original from the copy and adding it to the print data for printing out can be realized mainly by the authentication code setting function provided in the printer driver 140.

  This authentication code setting function is a function provided as one of the print setting functions of the printer driver 140, and is configured so that the contents (characters, numbers, symbols, abstract graphics, etc.) of the code of the authentication code can be set. Has been.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the image forming apparatus 100 that outputs a printed matter created by the information processing apparatus 1 and having an authentication code added to the print data.

  When outputting a printed matter in which the original and the copy can be easily distinguished, it is necessary to set an authentication code for adding an authentication code to the print data created by the application software 141 of the information processing apparatus 1.

  This setting of the authentication code is a part of the functions incorporated in the printer driver 140 for realizing the present invention, and various printing for printing out the print data using various functions provided in the printing apparatus 2. This is configured as one function of print settings for setting conditions (for example, paper size to be printed, image resolution, enlargement, reduction, rotation, mirroring, etc.).

  As shown in FIG. 4, when print settings are instructed after creation or processing of print data by the application software 141 (step S <b> 301), the setting values of various functions (print conditions) provided in the printer 2 by the printer driver 140 are set. A print setting screen (not shown) to be set is displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus 1, and the setting value input on each setting screen is acquired as print condition information.

  When the authentication code setting is instructed on the print setting screen, the printer driver 140 displays an authentication code setting screen 500 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, on the display of the information processing apparatus 1 and is given to the printed matter. Are set by the user, and the set values are acquired (steps S302 and S303).

  The authentication code setting screen 500 is configured so that the code content of the authentication code (for example, an arbitrary character string, number, symbol, abstract figure, etc.), its color, and the background pattern color can be set. Based on the set values, the printer driver 140 generates image shape information, color information, and printing condition information of the authentication code.

  Specifically, the printer driver 140 determines the shape of the set authentication code (arbitrary character string, number, symbol, abstract graphic, etc.) and image shape information corresponding to a preset background pattern shape. And color information for the image shape information.

  It is appropriately selected depending on the characteristics of the printing apparatus used.

  The color information can be selected from two options, high gloss and low gloss. Depending on the characteristics of the printing device used and the characteristics of the toner, the K ratio is high for K black and CMYK four-color process black. Any one of CMY 3-color process black or CMYK 4-color process black with a low K ratio is selected to correspond to either low gloss or high gloss, and C, M, Y, K Each set value is stored in advance as a reference table, and color information corresponding to each selected color is generated with reference to the reference table.

  When the printer driver 140 finishes setting various printing conditions including an authentication code and acquiring each set value, the printer driver 140 shifts to a print instruction screen of the application software 141.

  The print setting instruction from the application software 141 is configured as one of the selected function items on the print instruction screen displayed on the application software 141.

  When printing is instructed on the print instruction screen (step S304), the printer driver 140 acquires the print data instructed to print, and print data including various print condition information is converted into print information that can be interpreted by the output destination printing apparatus 2. A converted print job is created (step S305) and transmitted to the printing apparatus 2 to give a print instruction (step S306).

  Specifically, the print job creation by the printer driver 140 includes print data created by the application software 141, image shape information of the authentication code set by the authentication code setting function, and color information corresponding to each image shape. The printing information is created by converting various printing condition information and the like into commands and data described in PDL.

  The printing apparatus 2 that has received the print job analyzes the print information included in the print job, and prints out the print data on a sheet based on the print condition information (step S307).

  Specifically, the operation of analyzing the print information is performed by analyzing the print information input by the protocol analysis control unit 21 of the control unit 20 of the printing apparatus 2 and transferring the PDL command and data to the PDL command / data analysis unit 22. Then, the PDL command / data analysis unit 22 analyzes the PDL command and data to acquire image shape information and color information, and the image forming unit 30 forms an image by the image forming unit 30 using the image developing unit 24 and the character developing unit 23. The color determination unit 25 generates Y, M, C, and K color parameters based on the color information, and the information combining unit 26 outputs the color parameters output from the color determination unit 25 and the image expansion. Based on the image data output from the unit 24, the image data is converted into image data for each color of Y, M, C, and K, and the image data for each color is stored in the buffer memory 27.

  The operation of printing out print data on paper based on the print condition information is specifically performed by the output control unit 26 of the control unit 20 reading out the image data for each color from the buffer memory 27 to the image forming unit 30. Output, the exposure control unit 31 of the image forming unit 30 exposes the photosensitive members of the developing cartridges of the respective colors based on the image data of the respective colors to form latent images, and the latent images formed on the respective photosensitive members are developed. The toner image of each color included in the cartridge is developed and transferred onto the conveyed paper 10 in the order of an M toner image, a C toner image, a Y toner image, and a K toner image, and then fixed and printed out.

  When the output of all the print data of the print job is finished (YES in step S308), the printing apparatus 2 notifies the printer driver 140 of the information processing apparatus 1 that the print job is finished, and the print job is finished.

  Note that the operation of notifying the print end message indicating the end of the print job is not limited to the above-described operation, and when the data is transmitted from the printer driver 140 to the printing apparatus 2, the application software from the printer driver 140 is displayed. 141 may be notified, and it may be configured such that it is not notified whether or not printing of the print job has actually ended by the printing apparatus 2.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the authentication code setting screen 500.

  The authentication code setting screen 500 shown in FIG. 5 includes a background color setting 501 (area surrounded by a broken line), an authentication code 502 (area surrounded by a broken line), a font (N) 503, a size 504, and a file (F). Each item includes a confirmation screen area 506 and an instruction operation button 507 (area surrounded by a broken line).

  The item of background color setting 501 is an item for setting the background pattern color of the authentication code added to the printed matter, and is configured so that either “high gloss” or “low gloss” can be selected. The selected color is displayed in the rectangle of the “background color setting” item.

  For example, in the case where the authentication code 41 of the printed matter 4 (see FIG. 3) is printed and the gloss of K toner is lower than that of process black, the color of “low gloss” is selected and set.

  The item of the authentication code 502 is an item for setting the content of the code of the authentication code (inputting arbitrary characters, numbers, symbols, abstract figures, etc.) and its color, “high gloss”, “low” Any color of “glossy” can be selected.

  For example, in the case of the authentication code 41 of the printed matter 4, “original” is input in the item of the authentication code 502, and the color of “high gloss” is selected and set.

  When a color (high gloss or low gloss) is selected in each item of the background color setting 501 and the authentication code 502, a circle placed on each color (high gloss or low gloss) Is selected by clicking with a mouse, and a dot (●) is displayed in the circle.

  Also, when either the background color setting 501 or the authentication code 502 is selected, the other color is the opposite color.

  For each item of font (N) 503 and size 504, the font type (item of font (N) 503) and size (item of size 504) of the code entered in the item of authentication code 502 can be selected and set. It is configured.

  The item of the file (F) 505 is an item for setting a file name for storing and holding each setting value of the authentication code set on the authentication code setting screen 500. The confirmation screen area 506 has a background color setting 501 and A preview of the authentication code corresponding to each setting value of the authentication code 502, font (N) 503, and size 504 is displayed, and information on each setting value of the authentication code is selected by selecting the “OK” button with the instruction operation button 507. Is stored and held with the file name set in the item of the file (F) 505.

  Actually, the colors specified for high gloss and low gloss are both black. However, when the specified color is displayed in the confirmation screen area 506, the color specified by the user is set in advance. For example, the user can easily confirm the color by replacing the color with a color such as gray for high gloss and black for low gloss.

  Another usage of the authentication code is shown in FIG.

  In this example, the background color is fixed to process black of a single color K or four colors of CMYK containing a relatively large amount of K.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the authentication code 512 on the authentication code setting screen 510 is determined by a more complicated procedure than the above example.

  That is, the authentication code input unit 5121 is determined by the input determination button 5123 while selecting the attribute A or B character by character by the attribute determination unit 5122.

  When A is selected, CMYK process black slightly including K is used. When B is selected, CMY three-color process black is used.

  The determined characters and the like are sequentially displayed on the display unit 516.

  When the attribute is A, the color is displayed in a predetermined color such as black, and when the attribute is B, the color is gray.

  In this example, the numbers “2” and “3” are attribute A and the number “5” is determined by attribute B. In this state, the number “6” is added by attribute A by pressing the input button. Is done.

  The authentication code used in this example is the seat number in the contents of the document written on the ticket face of a sporting spectator ticket created by the application software 141 (for convenience of explanation, referred to as “ticket faced matter”). This means that the last two digits “23” and the number “2356” corresponding to the last two digits “56” of the ticketing number are entered, and this code can be read due to the difference in gloss.

  Also, only the second digit from the bottom of the ticketing number has an attribute different from other numbers by the camera that detects infrared rays.

  In this way, only a person who knows the handling rule in advance can issue this code, and the contents of the code can be easily verified by a person who knows the handling rule.

  FIG. 6B shows the printing result of this example.

  In the explanation so far, the background pattern and the authentication code have almost the same brightness and can be distinguished by the difference in gloss.Then, the background pattern and the authentication code are given a difference in brightness, and the gloss of the authentication code is increased. A description will be given of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus 110 configured to have two types, one equivalent to the background pattern and one different from the background pattern.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 110 according to the present invention. In FIG. 7, each apparatus of the image forming apparatus 110 configured in the same manner as the image forming apparatus 100 and the functional of each apparatus are shown. Each block is given the same reference numeral as that of the image forming apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an image forming apparatus 110 includes an information processing apparatus 1 and a printing apparatus 2 connected via a network such as a LAN (= Local Area Network) 9 and an external interface 150 that enables each apparatus to connect to the network. (Information processing apparatus 1) and external interface unit 390 (printing apparatus 2), respectively, except that the printer driver 143 is installed in the storage unit 14 of the information processing apparatus 1 by replacing the printer driver 140 with the image forming apparatus 100. It is constituted similarly.

  Therefore, for the detailed description of the configuration of the image forming apparatus 110, refer to the above description (see FIG. 1). Here, the description is omitted for the sake of convenience, and the printer driver 143 that is a main part of the image forming apparatus 110. The control operation will be mainly described.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the printed material 7 and the copied material 8 in which the original and the printed material printed out by the image forming apparatus 110 can be easily distinguished, and FIG. 8A is an overall view of the printed material 7. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printing state of the authentication code 71 added to the printed material 7, and FIG. 8C is an overall view of the copied material 8 obtained by copying the printed material 7.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the printed matter 7 includes, in addition to the print data created by the application software 141 of the information processing apparatus 1, for example, a ticket entry item 70 (portion surrounded by a broken line) of a sports watching ticket. An authentication code (portion surrounded by a solid line) 71 for identifying whether or not the printed material 7 is an original is printed based on a part of information (for example, a ticket issuing number) of the ticket description item 70.
It should be noted that the solid and dashed frames of the authentication code 71 and the underline attached to the numbers are given for convenience of explanation and are not formed in the actual authentication code 71.

  The authentication code 71 includes a code 710 (a portion surrounded by a broken line) composed of a plurality of numbers arranged in 3 rows and 5 columns, and a rectangular shape printed in a color different in brightness from the code on the background of the code 710. The background pattern 713 (portion surrounded by a solid line) is printed and formed.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, each number constituting the code 710 includes a plurality of numbers 711 printed with a gloss level different from the background, and a plurality of numbers 712 printed with the same level gloss as the background. In addition, the background pattern 713 is printed so that the adjacent portions of the numbers constituting the code 710 and the background pattern 713 overlap each number by, for example, about one dot.

  The background pattern 713 is gray made up of three colors of CMY, the number 711 constituting the code is black using a single color toner, and the number 712 is black made up of three colors of CMY.

  The authentication code 71 printed in this way can easily recognize the difference in gloss when the surface of the printed material 7 is viewed from an oblique direction, and has a plurality of numbers 711 having a gloss level different from the background in the background pattern 713. A plurality of numbers 712 having the same level of gloss as the background can be easily distinguished.

  That is, rather than vaguely judging whether or not there is a difference in gloss between two images, it is possible to easily discriminate by arranging those having a difference in gloss with respect to the background.

  However, since the copying machine does not have the ability to recognize and reproduce these differences in gloss, when the printed material 7 is copied by the copying machine, it looks like a copied material 8 as shown in FIG. In addition, each number and background pattern of the code in the area 81 (the portion surrounded by the broken line) of the copy 8 corresponding to the authentication code 71 of the printed matter 7 are output with the same gloss.

  Therefore, the difference between the glosses of the original printed matter 7 printed by the image forming apparatus 110 and the copied matter 8 obtained by copying the printed matter 7 is obtained by visually checking the authentication code 71 of the printed matter 7 and the area 81 of the copied matter 8. Can be easily identified.

  Further, the code 710 of the authentication code 71 (each number of 3 rows and 5 columns) is visually scanned sequentially for each column from left to right, for example, and is equivalent to the background just below the number 711 printed with gloss different from the background. By printing the glossy printed number 712 in order so that the three-digit number that is recognized in sequence matches the last three digits of the ticketing number, a part of the information 70 on the printed sheet 7 and the authentication code 71 It is difficult for a person who does not know the correspondence with each code 710 (in this case, each number) to forge the printed material 7, and the printed material 7 with improved security can be output.

  In the case of the authentication code 71, the background is directly below the number 711 (for example, underlined 6) which is arranged in the leftmost column of the code 710 (3 rows and 5 columns) and printed with a gloss different from the background. The number 712 printed with the same glossiness (for example, underlined 4) matches the number in the last three digits of the ticketing number of the ticket entry 70, and then, from the leftmost column of the code 710, the second digit to the right A number 712 (for example, underlined 5) printed with a gloss equivalent to that of the background immediately below a number 711 (for example, underlined 7) arranged in the moved column and printed with a gloss different from the background Coincides with the last two digits of the ticketing number of the ticket entry item 70, and then the number 711 is printed in a gloss different from the background, arranged in a row shifted three columns from the leftmost column of the code 710 to the right. (For example, underlined 8) with the same gloss as the background Numerals 712 (e.g., underlined 6) which is printed is printed to match the lower first digit ticketing number Kenmen Matters 70.

  Note that the code 710 of the authentication code 71 is not limited to numbers, and can be set to characters, symbols, abstract figures, and the like. The correspondence relationship can be arbitrarily set.

  For example, in the case of the above example, a value obtained by performing a certain operation on a number at a specific position of a specific color of the code 710 is an example of the correspondence relationship between a part of the information on the ticket description item 70 and the authentication code 71. It may be configured to match a part of the information on the description item 70, or may be configured such that the interval between numbers having different glossiness indicates a part of the information on the ticket description item 70.

  Further, in the authentication code 71 of the above example, the code 710 is printed in black with three colors of black and CMY using a single color K toner, and the background pattern 713 is overlaid with three colors of CMY having higher brightness. Although the example is gray, the code 710 may not be black but may be gray with low brightness.

  Further, an example in which the background pattern 713 is black or gray having a low brightness and the code 710 is gray having a higher brightness is also conceivable.

  Similarly to the example of FIG. 3, various combinations of K and CMY process blacks and CMYK process blacks having high and low K content ratios are possible.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication code setting screen 520 for setting the authentication code of the image forming apparatus 110.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the authentication code setting screen 520 includes a background color setting 521 (area surrounded by a broken line), an authentication code 522 (area surrounded by a broken line), a font (N) 523, a size 524, a file (F) Each item of 525 includes a confirmation screen area 526 and an instruction operation button 527 (area surrounded by a broken line).

  The background color setting item 521 is an item for setting the color of the background pattern of the authentication code to be added to the printed matter, and any one of the colors “high gloss”, “low gloss”, “high brightness”, and “low brightness” is set. The selected color is displayed in the rectangle of the “background color setting” item.

  For example, when printing the authentication code 71 of the printed matter 7 (see FIG. 8), the colors of “high gloss” and “low brightness” are selected and set.

  The item of the authentication code 522 is an item for setting the content of the code of the authentication code (a plurality of codes arranged in 3 rows and 5 columns) and its color, and any color of “high gloss” or “low gloss” Is configured to be selectable.

  That is, when one of the arrangements of 3 rows and 5 columns is selected, the location is highlighted, and “high gloss” and “low gloss” can be selected as the code of the location. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the number “6” in the upper left of the arrangement of 3 rows and 5 columns indicates “high gloss”.

  The plurality of codes arranged in 3 rows and 5 columns are configured to allow input of arbitrary characters, numbers, symbols, abstract figures, and the like.

  For example, in the case of the authentication code 71 of the printed matter 7, in the item of the authentication code 522, for example, three from the left to the right of the numbers printed with high gloss below the numbers printed with low gloss for each column from left to right. An arbitrary single digit number and the color of each number are set so as to match the last three digits of the ticketing number.

  Specifically, “6”, “5”, “9”, “8”, “7”, “6”, “5”, “9”, “7” “4”, “3”, “7”, “8”, “9” in order from the left in the second row, “8”, “9”, “5”, “6”, in order from the left in the third row, Enter each number of “7”, “6”, “8”, “7” in the first row, “7”, “8” in the second row, “8”, “8” in the third row 9 ”is selected and set to low gloss,“ 5 ”,“ 9 ”in the first row,“ 4 ”,“ 3 ”,“ 9 ”in the second row,“ 5 ”,“ 6 ”in the third row. "," 7 "is selected and set to high gloss.

  For each item of font (N) 523 and size 524, the font type (item of font (N) 523) and size (item of size 524) of the code entered in the item of authentication code 522 can be selected and set. It is configured.

  The item of the file (F) 525 is an item for setting a file name for storing and holding each setting value set on the authentication code setting screen 520. The confirmation screen area 526 includes a background color setting 521 and an authentication code 522. , A preview of an authentication code corresponding to each setting value of font (N) 523 and size 524 is displayed, and information on each setting value of the authentication code is saved in a file (“OK” button by selecting the “OK” button with the instruction operation button 527. F) The file name set in the item 525 is stored and held.

  This authentication code setting screen 520 is configured so that an authentication code of a combination of a high gloss, low gloss, high brightness, and low brightness background pattern and a high gloss, low gloss color code can be set. The image forming apparatus 110 generates an authentication code corresponding to each setting value set on the authentication code setting screen 520, and a printed matter in which the generated authentication code is added to the print data (in this case, the ticket description item 70). Is output.

  Corresponding to the configuration of the authentication code setting screen 520, the printer driver 143 includes image content information (a plurality of codes arranged in 3 rows and 5 columns) of the authentication code, image shape information corresponding to each shape of the background pattern, The color information of each code of the authentication code and the color of the background pattern is generated.

  The color information corresponds to the cases where the background is higher in brightness than the code number, low, high gloss, and low gloss, and each setting of C, M, Y, and K according to the characteristics of the printing apparatus. Values are stored in advance as a reference table, and color information corresponding to each selected color is generated with reference to the reference table.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the printer driver 140 mainly includes a control operation for generating an authentication code for easily distinguishing an original printed material from a printed material, and adding it to print data for printing. Although the configuration has been described as an example, a configuration in which the information processing apparatus or the printing apparatus mainly includes these control operations may be employed.

  Although all the above explanations have been made in the case of a black or gray achromatic color, in the case of a low-lightness color, depending on whether the black component uses K toner or CMY three-color toner, Since the difference between high gloss and low gloss can be made, the present invention does not limit its application to only achromatic colors.

1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention. Functional detailed configuration diagram of main parts of the control unit 20 and the image forming unit 30 of the printing apparatus 2 The figure which shows an example of the printed matter 4 and the copy 5 Flowchart of operation of main part of image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the authentication code setting screen 500 The figure which shows an example of the printed matter 6 printed according to the authentication code setting screen 510 and its setting value 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 110 according to the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the printed matter 7 and the copy 8 The figure which shows an example of the authentication code setting screen 520

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing apparatus 2 Printing apparatus 3 USB (= Universal Serial Bus) cable 4, 6, 7 Printed material 5, 8 Copy 9 LAN (= Local Area Network)
10 paper 11 input unit 12 control unit (information processing apparatus 1)
13 output unit 14 storage unit (information processing apparatus 1)
15, 150 External interface unit (information processing apparatus 1)
20 Control unit (printing device 2)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Protocol analysis control part 22 PDL analysis command / data analysis part 23 Character expansion part 24 Image expansion part 25 Color determination part 26 Information coupling part 27 Buffer memory 28 Output control part 29 Storage part (printing apparatus 2)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Image formation part 31 Exposure control part 32 K developing cartridge 33 Y developing cartridge 34 C developing cartridge 35 M developing cartridge 36 Paper conveyance belt 37, 38 Paper conveyance roller 39, 390 External interface part (printing apparatus 2)
40, 50 Document contents 41, 61, 71 Authentication code 44 Transfer roll 410, 610, 710 Code 411, 611, 713 Background pattern 60, 70, 80 Ticket surface description 100, 110 Image forming device 140, 143 Printer driver 141 Application Software 142 OS (= Operating System)
310 Laser Transmitter 311 Laser Beam 312 Lens 313 Reflector 320 Charging Roll 321 Photoconductor 322 Development Roll 323 Black (K) Color Toner Box 324 K Toner Image 325 Wiper Blade 326 Waste Toner Box 500, 510, 520 Authentication Code Setting Screen 501 521 Setting item for background color 502, 512, 522 Setting item for authentication code 5121 Authentication code input unit
5122 Attribute determination part 5123 Input determination button 503, 513, 523 Font (N) setting item 504, 514, 524 Size setting item 505, 515, 525 File (F) name setting item 506, 526 Confirmation screen area 516 Display 507, 517, 527 Instruction operation buttons

Claims (4)

A first image printed in a color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material based on a designated color, glossiness, and brightness; and adjacent to the first image, the first image When the color of one image is an achromatic color, the color is achromatic. When the color of the first image is a chromatic color, the color is the same as that of the first image and includes a black color material. A second image and a third image printed in a color created by mixing a plurality of color materials at a lower ratio of the black color material than the first image;
Have
The first to third images are
The first image and the second to third images have different brightness, the surface gloss of the first image is the same as the surface gloss of the second image, and the first image Black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toner color materials are selected so that the surface gloss of the third image differs from the surface gloss of the third image, and the first to third color materials are selected by the selected color material. Printed material with images printed. A first image printed with an achromatic color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material based on a designated color, glossiness, and brightness; and adjacent to the first image. A second image printed with an achromatic color created by mixing a plurality of color materials including a black color material, and a third image printed with a black color created only with a black color material Images and
Have
The first to third images are
The first image and the second to third images have different brightness, the surface gloss of the first image is the same as the surface gloss of the second image, and the first image Black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toner color materials are selected so that the surface gloss of the third image differs from the surface gloss of the third image, and the first to third color materials are selected by the selected color material. Printed material with images printed. The first to third images are
The at least one dot is overlapped in each of the adjacent portions of the first image and the second image and the adjacent portions of the first image and the third image. The printed matter described. The first image is
Background image,
The second to third images are
The printed matter according to claim 3, wherein the printed matter is an image of a graphic or a character drawn on the background image.

Images