JP5158547B2 - Printer network system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus network system including a stencil printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus network system in which a plurality of printing apparatuses and at least one image data transmission unit constitute a network so as to communicate with each other.

  Conventionally, a printing unit having a porous cylindrical plate cylinder that is rotated by being driven by a master made by making a plate, and a plate making unit that makes a master and wraps the pre-made master around the plate cylinder. A stencil printing apparatus network system comprising a stencil printing apparatus having a stencil discharging unit for discharging a master and a computer connected to the stencil printing apparatus in a communicable manner, wherein the stencil printing apparatus operates based on a signal from the computer. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the above stencil printing apparatus network system, when a printed matter is obtained by selecting one of a plurality of stencil printing apparatuses on the network according to a command from a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “PC”) as a computer. In this case, printing is performed by selecting one of a plurality of stencil printing apparatuses on the PC screen. In this case, product names of a plurality of stencil printing apparatuses are displayed on the PC screen, and the user's normal work is generally selected from among them.

JP 2005-35010 A

  However, only the product name is displayed on the PC screen, and the specifications of the stencil printing apparatus (especially, a printing drum (hereinafter also simply referred to as “drum”) having a printing cylinder on the outer periphery) Not all users know whether they have specifications such as size and printable size. This is particularly noticeable when an unspecified number of users use a plurality of PCs on the network.

For example, when obtaining a print of an A4 size image, in order not to know the specifications of the stencil printing apparatus, an A3 size image is displayed even though there is a stencil printing apparatus having an A4 size drum on the network. The resulting stencil printing device may be selected. In such a case, the pre-made master wound around the plate cylinder of an A3 size drum has a length that can obtain an A3 size image at the maximum, so only an image that is half that length can be obtained. If a non-A4 size image is output and plate-making is performed, there is a problem that a master to be consumed becomes very useless.
Further, when paying attention to the cost, when printing is performed on 100 printing sheets by the stencil printing apparatus, the cost of the printed matter (printing sheet) per sheet is calculated in parentheses as follows: [( Master cost for one plate + ink consumption cost when printing 100 sheets) / 100 + unit price of printing paper]. Usually, the cost of the ink used for printing is several yen to two or three yen per printed matter (printing paper) although it depends on the amount of image. Compared with this, the cost of a master wound around the drum cylinder of a drum is usually about 10 to 30 yen for an A3 size master wound around an A3 size drum as a drum size. For this reason, in order to obtain printed matter at low cost, it is most important to optimize the drum size closely related to the amount of master used.

  On the other hand, it is printing paper (hereinafter referred to as “paper”) that costs next to the master to obtain an inexpensive printed matter. When A4 size printed matter is finally obtained, it is the cheapest to use A4 size paper. For example, B4 size and A3 size papers are not economical because the margins are increased. In particular, among stencil printing machines, stencil printing machines are often used for printing thousands of sheets at a time, so the paper size installed in the stencil printing machine selected as the output destination is an appropriate size. If not, it will be very useless.

  Most stencil printing apparatuses are equipped with a so-called “cassette bank” capable of feeding a plurality of types of paper, and there are many stencil printing devices that can prepare only one type of paper. Therefore, as described above, when the user selects an output destination from a plurality of stencil printing apparatuses on the PC screen, it is necessary to check the installed paper size, which is also a troublesome operation.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances and problems, and allows a plurality of printing apparatuses including a stencil printing apparatus to communicate with at least one image data transmission means (for example, a computer such as a PC). Priority is given to the printing device with the least amount of master usage based on the drum size related information transmitted from each printing device and the image data size information output from a computer such as a PC. The main object is to realize and provide a printing apparatus network system that can select the desired one and obtain printed matter at the lowest cost.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to each claim employs the following characteristic means / invention specific items (hereinafter referred to as “configuration”).
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing drum provided with a plate cylinder on which an engraved master is wound around an outer peripheral surface, ink supply means for supplying ink to the plate-making master on the plate cylinder, and a drum of the printing drum Drum size storage means for storing size-related information, plate-feeding means for winding a pre-printed master around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder according to the drum size-related information stored in the drum size storage means, network A plurality of printing apparatuses having image data receiving means for receiving image data sent via the image data, control means for executing a printing operation based on the image data received by the image data receiving means, and image data to be transmitted An image data size storage means for storing the size, and at least one image data transmission means for transmitting the image data is communicated with the network In the printing apparatus network system to be configured, each drum size related information from each drum size storage means in each printing apparatus, and the image data size from the image data size storage means in the at least one image data transmission means. And preferentially selecting the printing apparatus having the smallest size of the printing drum required for printing according to the image data transmitted from the at least one image data transmission means. A first output destination control means is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus network system according to the first aspect, each of the printing apparatuses includes a sheet feeding unit including a sheet size detecting unit that detects a size of a sheet to be fed to the printing drum. Each drum size related information from each drum size storage means in each printing apparatus, each sheet size information from each sheet size detection means in each printing apparatus, and at least one image The smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from the at least one image data transmission unit based on the image data size information from the image data size storage unit in the data transmission unit Before having the printing drum and the sheet feeding section capable of feeding the smallest size sheet. Characterized by including a second output destination control means for selecting a printing device preferentially.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus network system according to the second aspect, the smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from the at least one image data transmitting unit. And a selection unit that preferentially selects one of the printing apparatus having a printing drum and the printing apparatus having the sheet feeding unit capable of feeding the smallest size sheet. And

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus network system according to any one of the first to third aspects, each of the drum size storage units includes a printable area in the plate cylinder as each of the drum size related information. It is characterized by memorizing the size.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus network system according to any one of the first to third aspects, each of the drum size storage means is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder as the respective drum size related information. It is characterized by memorizing a master size that has been prepressed to be wound.

According to the present invention, the above-described problems can be solved and a new printing apparatus network system can be realized and provided.
That is, according to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, an optimum printing device is given priority on the output destination based on the size information of the image data and the information from the printing device on the network for the most expensive master and paper. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a printed material at the lowest cost without a troublesome operation by the user.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a stencil printing apparatus network system showing a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the whole structure and operation | movement of a stencil printing apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the stencil printing apparatus in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure by the side of a personal computer. In the stencil printing apparatus network system in the first embodiment, it is a diagram for explaining an example of the information of the plate cylinder size by the drum size storage means. 6 is a diagram illustrating display contents (output destination setting and print execution) of an output destination setting screen displayed on an image display device on a personal computer side in the first embodiment and the like. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating display contents (output destination setting and print execution) on an output destination setting screen different from FIG. 6. (A) is a perspective view of a sheet feeding unit showing an installation location of a sheet size detecting means, and (b) is an enlarged plan view of a slider constituting the sheet size detecting means. It is a perspective view which shows arrangement | positioning of each sensor which comprises a sheet size detection means. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of paper size information by a sheet size detection unit in a stencil printing apparatus network system according to a second embodiment. In the stencil printing apparatus network system according to the third embodiment, a sheet size information example by a sheet size detection unit and a master size information example by a drum size storage unit are explained. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating display contents (output destination setting and print execution) of an output destination setting screen displayed on an image display device on a personal computer side in a third embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention including examples will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, components (members and components) having the same function and shape are denoted by the same reference numerals as long as there is no risk of confusion, and the description thereof will be omitted. In order to simplify the drawings and the description, even if the components are to be represented in the drawings, the components that do not need to be specifically described in the drawings may be omitted as appropriate. When quoting and explaining constituent elements such as published patent gazettes, the reference numerals are shown in parentheses to distinguish them from those of the embodiments.

(First embodiment)
A stencil printing apparatus network system according to a first embodiment of the printing apparatus network system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the stencil printing apparatus network system according to the present embodiment uses a plurality (three in the present embodiment) of stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C as printing apparatuses, and a computer as image data transmission means. Using at least one PC (personal computer) 100A, 100B, 100C as an example (three PCs in this embodiment), these are configured to be able to communicate with each other via the network 101.
The type of the network 101 may be a wired LAN, or a wireless communication such as a wireless LAN or infrared communication.

The stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C will be described with reference to FIG. The three stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C have substantially the same configuration, and the stencil printing apparatus 1A will be described as a representative centering on this common configuration. Configurations and matters that differ between the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C will be described later in detail.
The stencil printing apparatus 1A is a well-known device mainly composed of a printing unit 2, a plate making plate feeding unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, a plate discharging unit 5, a paper discharging unit 6, and a scanner 32 as an image reading unit.
The printing section 2 is mainly composed of a printing drum (hereinafter also simply referred to as “drum”) 7 having an ink supply means 8 inside and a plate cylinder 7a on the outer peripheral portion, and a press roller 9 as pressing means. . The printing unit 2 presses a sheet 50 as a printing medium to be fed from the sheet feeding unit 4 while supplying ink from the ink supply means 8 to the master made on the plate cylinder 7a that is rotationally driven. It has a known function of printing by pressing with the roller 9.

  The plate cylinder 7a is formed in a cylindrical shape by etching a stainless steel plate or a nickel electroformed thin plate. The plate cylinder 7a has a printable area in which a large number of ink-permeable holes are formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a non-printable area to which the stage unit 10 is fixed. On the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a, about 1 to 3 mesh screens (not shown) woven with polyester or stainless fine wire are wound. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a, a stage portion 10 extending in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 7a, and a clamper 11 that holds the leading end of the master together with the stage portion 10 are disposed. The clamper 11 is swingably supported by the support shaft 11a, and is provided so as to be able to contact / separate / open / close with respect to the stage unit 10.

An ink supply unit 8 is disposed inside the plate cylinder 7 a of the drum 7. The ink supply means 8 is mainly composed of an ink supply pipe 13, an ink roller 14, and a doctor roller 15.
The ink supply pipe 13 also serves as a support shaft for the drum 7, and one end thereof is supported by a casing side plate (hereinafter simply referred to as “casing side plate”) of the stencil printing apparatus 1 </ b> A disposed on the stencil printing apparatus main body side. The surface is provided with a number of small holes for supplying ink to the inner peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. An ink roller 14 and a doctor roller 15 are arranged below the ink supply pipe 13. The ink roller 14 is rotatably supported by an ink side plate fixed to the ink supply pipe 13, and is configured to abut the outer peripheral surface thereof with the inner peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7 a. The supplied ink is supplied to the inner peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. A rotatable doctor roller 15 is disposed in the vicinity of the ink roller 14. The doctor roller 15 is arranged so that a slight gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the doctor roller 15 and the outer peripheral surface of the ink roller 14. In the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface with the ink roller 14, the ink reservoir 16 having a wedge-shaped cross section is formed. Form. The ink supplied from the ink supply pipe 13 to the ink reservoir 16 passes through the gap between the ink roller 14 and the doctor roller 15 to form a uniform layer and is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the ink roller 14.
The drum 7 is driven to rotate around the ink supply pipe 13 together with the plate cylinder 7a by a driving motor as drum driving means (not shown).

  Below the drum 7, there is disposed a rotatable press roller 9 that is supported by contact / separation means (not shown) and whose outer peripheral surface is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. The press roller 9 has the same printing position as that at which the paper 50 fed from the paper feeding unit 4 is pressed and pressed against the plate cylinder 7a to form a print image on the paper 50 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As shown by the solid line in the figure, it is arranged so as to be swingable between a non-printing position spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. Contact / separation means (not shown) for oscillating and displacing the press roller 9 between the printing position and the non-printing position in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 7a is provided on the housing side plate side near the press roller 9. It is arranged.

A scanner 32 for reading an image of a document is disposed on the upper part of the casing above the printing unit 2.
The scanner 32 automatically separates and conveys a plurality of documents placed on a document receiving tray (not shown) one by one and transports them onto a contact glass 41 as a reading unit, and then places it on a document discharge tray (not shown). An ADF (automatic document feeder) unit 40 having a known structure for discharging, a contact glass 41 on which a document transported by the ADF unit 40 or a document is manually placed, and transported on the contact glass 41 A fluorescent lamp 42 that illuminates the surface of the original to be placed or placed, a mirror group 43 that reflects and reflects the reflected light from the surface of the original, and the reflected light reflected by the mirror group 43 through the reduction lens 44. And an image reading sensor 45 such as a CCD (charge coupled device) for receiving light. The image reading sensor 45 performs photoelectric conversion in response to the received reflected light, and inputs an image signal obtained thereby to an analog / digital (hereinafter abbreviated as “A / D”) conversion unit (not shown).

  Below the scanner 32 and to the right of the printing unit 2, there is disposed a plate-making plate feeding unit 3 for making a master 34 and winding the pre-made master 34 around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. The plate making and feeding unit 3 is mainly composed of a master storing means 28, a plate making means 29, a cutting means 30, a conveying means 31 and the like.

The master storage means 28 is mainly composed of a master storage member 33 and the like fixed to the casing side plate of the stencil printing apparatus 1A. The master storage member 33 rotatably supports a core portion 35a of a master roll 35 in which the master 34 is wound in a roll shape.
A plate making means 29 is disposed on the left side of the master storage means 28. The plate making means 29 is mainly composed of a platen roller 36, a thermal head 37, and the like. The platen roller 36 is rotatably supported by the casing side plate and is driven to rotate by a stepping motor (not shown). The thermal head 37 includes a large number of heating elements, is attached to the casing side plate, and is urged in a direction in which it is pressed against the platen roller 36 by urging means (not shown). In the thermal head 37, the image signal photoelectrically converted by the image reading sensor 45 of the scanner 32 is input to the A / D conversion unit and converted into a digital image signal, which is further processed by the image processing unit 91 shown in FIG. Based on the digital image data signal that is sent out, a large number of heat generating elements are driven to generate heat so that the master 34 has a well-known function for selectively punching and making a plate.

On the downstream side of the plate making means 29 in the master conveying direction, a cutting means 30 comprising a fixed blade 30a attached to the casing side plate and a movable blade 30b that rotates relative to the fixed blade 30a is disposed. . On the downstream side of the cutting means 30 in the master conveyance direction, a conveyance roller composed of drive rollers 31a and 31c that are rotationally driven by a drive means (not shown) and driven rollers 31b and 31d that rotate with the drive rollers 31a and 31c. Equivalent conveying means 31 and guide plates 38 and 39 for guiding / assisting the conveying of the master are provided.
The driving roller 31c and the driven roller 31d of the conveying means 31 constitute plate feeding means for winding the master 34 that has been subjected to plate making around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. The plate feeding means is mainly composed of the driving roller 31c and the driven roller 31d, the clamper 11 and the driving motor (not shown) as the drum driving means.

  A sheet feeding unit 4 is disposed below the plate-making plate feeding unit 3. The sheet feeding unit 4 is mainly composed of a sheet feeding tray 46 as a sheet feeding table, a sheet feeding roller 47, a separating unit 48, a registration roller pair 49, and the like.

  The paper feed tray 46 is loaded with paper 50 on its upper surface, and is supported by the casing side plate so as to be movable up and down in conjunction with the increase and decrease of the paper 50. The paper feed tray 46 is provided with a pair of left and right side fences 51 that are movable in the sheet width direction. The pair of side fences 51 can be adjusted to the width of the sheet 50 on the basis of the sheet center by a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown).

The paper feed roller 47 is provided so as to come into contact with the uppermost paper 50 on the paper feed tray 46, and is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown). The separation roller 48a is rotationally driven by the drive means for rotationally driving the paper feed roller 47, and is connected to the paper feed roller 47 via driving force transmission means comprising a toothed pulley and a timing belt (not shown).
The separation means 48 separates the separation roller 48a, a separation pad 48b as a friction separation member movably guided to the casing side plate in a direction in which the separation roller 48a is in pressure contact with and away from the separation roller 48a, and the separation pad 48b. It consists of a compression spring (not shown) that urges the roller 48a in the direction of pressure contact. When a plurality of sheets 50 are pulled out by the sheet feeding roller 47, only the uppermost sheet is separated by the cooperative action of the separating unit 48. The registration roller pair 49 abuts the leading end of the sheet 50 fed by the separating unit 48 to form a predetermined deflection at the leading end of the sheet 50, and rotates the plate cylinder 7 a and swings the press roller 9. In synchronization, the paper 50 is fed between the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a and the press roller 9 at a predetermined timing.

  Disposed on the left side of the printing unit 2 is a plate discharging unit 5 for discharging the used master 34 from the plate cylinder 7a. The plate discharging unit 5 is mainly composed of an upper plate discharging member 53, a lower plate discharging member 54, a plate discharging box 55, a compression plate 56, and the like.

  The upper plate discharging member 53 includes a driving roller 57 and a driven roller 58 that are rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), and an oil-resistant rubber belt 59 that is stretched between the rollers 57 and 58. The lower plate discharging member 54 is composed of a driving roller 60 and a driven roller 61 which are connected to a driving roller 57 by a gear train (not shown) and driven to rotate, and a rubber belt 62 having oil resistance stretched between the rollers 60 and 61. ing. The lower plate discharging member 54 is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction by a moving means (not shown) around a support shaft (not shown) of the driving roller 57. It is configured so that it can be freely contacted and separated. The plate removal box 55 has a function / configuration for storing the used master 34 peeled and conveyed therein, and is detachably attached to the casing side plate. In the vicinity of the upper portion of the discharge box 55, there is disposed a compression plate 56 that is movable up and down and can be moved selectively between a solid line position and a broken line position in the figure by a lifting means (not shown).

  Disposed below the plate discharge unit 5 is a paper discharge unit 6 that peels the paper 50 printed by the printing unit 2 from the plate cylinder 7a and discharges the paper 50 to a paper discharge tray 68 serving as a paper discharge table. The paper discharge unit 6 mainly includes a peeling claw 63, a driven roller 64, a driving roller 65, an endless belt 66, a suction fan 67, a paper discharge tray 68, and the like.

  The peeling claw 63 is for peeling off the printed paper 50 to which ink has been transferred from the master plate 34 on the plate cylinder 7a, and its base end is supported on the casing side plate so as to be rotatable by a predetermined angle. A separation position for separating and separating the printed paper 50 by bringing its tip close to the master made on the plate cylinder 7a, and an obstacle such as the clamper 11 by moving the tip away from the separation position. It is disposed so as to be able to swing and displace between a non-separation position that does not interfere with the tip. On the side of the casing side plate near the base end of the peeling claw 63, the tip of the peeling claw 63 is oscillated and displaced between the separation position and the non-separation position in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 7a (not shown). Oscillating means is provided.

  The driven roller 64 and the driving roller 65 are rotatably supported by the casing side plate, and an oil-resistant endless belt 66 having a plurality of openings on the surface is spanned between the rollers 64 and 65. Has been. The driving roller 65 is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), and this rotational force is transmitted to the driven roller 64 via the endless belt 66. Below the driven roller 64 and the driving roller 65, a suction fan 67 for sucking the printed paper 50 on which the printed image is formed on the surface of the endless belt 66 is disposed. On the downstream side of the drive roller 65 in the printing paper conveyance direction, a paper discharge tray 68 for stacking the printed and conveyed paper 50 is disposed. The paper discharge tray 68 is detachably attached to the housing side plate side.

Control for controlling the operations of the above-described units and apparatuses of the stencil printing apparatus 1A to execute the printing operation inside the casing (hereinafter simply referred to as “casing”) of the stencil printing apparatus 1A as the main body of the stencil printing apparatus. Means 90 are provided.
An operation panel 69 shown only in FIG. 2 for giving a predetermined operation instruction to each unit and each device of the stencil printing apparatus 1A and confirming the operation state is arranged on the upper part of the casing. The detailed configuration of the operation panel 69 is the same as that shown in FIG.

A control configuration on the stencil printing apparatus 1A side will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the figure, the control means 90 includes a main control unit 85 and a storage device 87. The main control unit 85 mainly includes a CPU (central processing unit) 86 and a timer.
The storage device 87 is mainly composed of a RAM 88 backed up by a battery or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as “RAM 88”) and a drum size storage means 89A constituted by a ROM 89. In FIG. 3, an image data receiving unit 20 is provided in the casing of the stencil printing apparatus 1A and receives image data output from the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C via the network 101 shown in FIGS. For example, it comprises an interface device and a controller.
The image processing unit 91 binarizes and develops image data output from the scanner 32 and image data output from the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C via the image data receiving unit 20 and the main control unit 85 from the network 101. Have the same function. In the figure, a thick solid line arrow represents the flow of the image data signal, and a thin solid line arrow represents the flow of the control data signal.

An image signal read and photoelectrically converted by the image reading sensor 45 of the scanner 32 is input to the A / D converter, converted into a digital image signal, and further subjected to image processing by the image processor 91 and sent to the CPU 86. Digital image data signals, drum size related information (data signals) appropriately called from the drum size storage means 89A in the storage device 87, output signals from various keys (not shown) of the operation panel 69, and sheet size detection means 52. The output signal related to the sheet size information (data) from and the output signal related to the image data for digital printing from the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C are transmitted / input.
Note that the sheet size detection means 52 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 is not used in the first embodiment, but is used in the second and third embodiments, and for the sake of simplicity of explanation. Note that what is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 92 denotes a scanner drive that is electrically connected to and drives an actuator (control target means) such as the motor and image reading sensor 45 constituting the scanner 32 shown in parentheses in FIG. The circuit is shown. 93 is electrically connected to actuators (control target means) such as motors and fans constituting the printing unit 2, the paper feeding unit 4 and the paper discharging unit 6 shown in parentheses in FIG. The main drive circuit to drive is shown. Reference numeral 94 denotes a plate-making plate which is electrically connected to and drives the motors and actuators (control target means) such as the thermal head 37 constituting the plate-making plate-feeding unit 3 shown in parentheses in the figure. A drive circuit is shown. Reference numeral 95 denotes a plate discharging drive circuit that is electrically connected to and drives actuators (control target means) such as motors constituting the plate discharging unit 5 shown in parentheses in FIG.
The scanner driving circuit 92, the main driving circuit 93, the plate making / feeding driving circuit 94, and the plate discharging driving circuit 95 are electrically connected to the CPU 86 of the main control unit 85.

  Each of the signals input to the CPU 86 is calculated and controlled based on an operation program stored in the ROM 89, and is stored in the RAM 88 as needed. The display device (not shown) of the operation panel 69, an image processing unit 91, a scanner The drive circuit 92, the main drive circuit 93, the plate-making plate drive circuit 94, and the plate discharge drive circuit 95 are each output as various command / data signals.

  The drum size storage means 89 </ b> A in the ROM 89 has a function of storing drum size related information of the drum 7. The drum size related information that is preset in each of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C and stored in the drum size storage means 89A includes firstly the plate cylinder size as the size of the plate cylinder 7a itself, and secondly. A printable area size in the plate cylinder 7a, and thirdly, a master size that has been subjected to plate making wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the control configuration on the PC 100A, 100B, 100C side as image data transmission means will be described. Since the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C have substantially the same configuration, the PC 100A will be described as a representative.
The hardware of the PC 100A includes a main control unit 102 and a storage device 103 as an arithmetic device and a control device built in the PC main body, an external input device 104, and a device that outputs information processed by the PC main body. And an image display device 105 as an output device.

The main control unit 102 includes a CPU or the like having an arithmetic function and a control function. Since both of the functions of the main control unit 102 are mainly performed by the CPU, the “main control unit 102” is also referred to as “CPU 102” for the sake of simplifying the description to be described later.
The storage device 103 includes an internal storage device (main memory) including, for example, a cache and a register, and an external storage device including, for example, an HDD (hard disk drive). The storage device 103 is prestored with an operation program on the PC 100A side, and is provided with image data size storage means 103A for storing the size (two-dimensional size) of image data created on the PC 100A side as needed.

  The input device 104 is a device that gives an instruction to the main control unit 102 or inputs data. In the present embodiment, the input device 104 includes a keyboard and a mouse having a well-known configuration. The image display device 105 includes a CRT (cathode ray tube / display device), but an LCD (liquid crystal display device) is also used instead of the CRT. In addition, an image scanner, a digital camera, or a digital video is used as an input device, and a printer or the like is used as an output device as needed.

The software configuration of the PC 100A is mainly configured by an OS (operating system) 110 as basic software, an application 112 as application software, and a print management utility 113 as a utility software or a utility program called a utility program. And they are related to each other.
In the OS 110, for example, Windows (registered trademark) is used as software for providing an environment in which a user can use the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C, and an API (application that can commonly use application software) is used. A printing device driver 111 is provided for selecting a stencil printing apparatus 1A, 1B, 1C for providing a programming interface and giving an instruction to execute printing or giving an instruction to control the operation. .

  The image display device 105 can display an output destination setting screen 114 shown in FIG. 6 in order to operate the printer driver 111. The output destination setting screen 114 is called from, for example, a Windows (registered trademark) desktop screen or a Word (word: product name) menu screen file by a cursor movement operation using a mouse or a shortcut key operation using a combination of various keyboard keys. Can do.

  As will be described later, the priority order of the priority output destination stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C is automatically displayed on the output destination setting screen 114 shown in FIG. “Print execution” can be selected and set by various key or shortcut key operations (hereinafter simply referred to as “mouse or keyboard operation”).

The CPUs 102 of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C according to the present embodiment each drum size related information (data) from each drum size storage unit 89A in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C shown in FIG. 3 and the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C. Necessary for printing according to the image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, 100C based on the image data size information (data) from the image data size storage means 103A in any one of It functions as a first output destination control means that preferentially selects any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the smallest size drum 7.
More specifically, the CPU 102 as the first output destination control means has the smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C. When any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the drum 7 is preferentially selected, the output destination setting screen 114 is displayed on one of the image display apparatuses 105 of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C that transmitted the image data. It also has a function of raising and displaying / notifying.

Next, in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C and the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C, different configurations and operations will be mainly described. As described above, the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C have the drum size storage means 89A for storing the size of the plate cylinder 7a in the drum 7, as shown in FIG. The drum size information (data) is stored in the drum size storage means 89A. Here, the “plate cylinder size” specifically refers to the circumferential length of the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a wound in a cylindrical shape in FIG. For example, the circumferential length of a plate cylinder 7a having a plate cylinder size A4 size is 450 mm, the circumferential length of a plate cylinder 7a having a plate cylinder size B4 size is 500 mm, and the plate cylinder size is an A3 size plate. The circumferential length of the body 7a is 560 mm. In general, the drum 7 is configured so that the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a varies depending on the printable paper size.
Of course, it is possible to print an A4 size image on A4 size paper with the A3 size drum 7, but a master of A3 size or larger is always wound around the A3 size drum 7. Therefore, masters other than the image portion are wasted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the stencil printing apparatus 1A has an A4 size, the stencil printing apparatus 1B has a B4 size, and the stencil printing apparatus 1C has stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C each having a drum 7 having a plate cylinder size different from the A3 size. Connected and installed on the network 101.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in each stencil printing apparatus 1A, 1B, 1C, image data is written in the master 34 based on the transmitted image data, and the master 34 that has been made by punching is made. Is provided on the plate cylinder 7a and includes a control unit 90 that executes a series of printing operations for printing on the paper 50.

The PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C as image data transmitting means for transmitting image data are connected to the network 101 as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, when any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C is represented, it is abbreviated as “PC100”.
When image data to be output is prepared in the PC 100, the printing apparatus driver 111 shown in FIG. Here, the print image data created by the operation of the input device 104 (keyboard or mouse) by the user is generated, and at the same time, the output size of the image data is set. At this time, the output size information (data) of the set image data is stored in the image data size storage means 103A.

  Next, the output destination is set on the PC 100. At this time, information (data signal) from the drum size storage unit 89A set in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 and an image from the PC 100 (any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C). Based on the information (data signal) from the data size storage means 103A, the CPU 102 (see FIG. 4) as the first output destination control means on the PC 100 can output image data, and the drum 7 The stencil printing apparatus having a small plate cylinder size is discriminated, and as shown in FIG. 6, the priority order of the stencil printing apparatuses capable of printing at low cost is displayed, and the situation is notified to the PC user.

  At this time, the CPU 102 (first output destination control means) makes the following determination. The image data is A4 size. As described above, the plurality of stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 have a plate cylinder size of A4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, B4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1B, and A3 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1C. It has a drum 7. For the A4 size of the image data, the A4 size drum 7 of the stencil printing apparatus 1A has the same image data size as the plate cylinder size, and there is no wasted part. On the other hand, since the stencil printing apparatus 1B and the stencil printing apparatus 1C have B4 and A3 size plate cylinders, respectively, the image data size is smaller than the image data size that can be originally output, and in order of the B4 size and the A3 size. Waste will occur. Therefore, priority 1: stencil printing apparatus 1A, priority 2: stencil printing apparatus 1B, priority 3: stencil printing apparatus 1C. In FIG. 6, the stencil printing apparatus 1A is displayed as the highest priority (first priority), the stencil printing apparatus 1B as the second priority, and the stencil printing apparatus 1C as the third priority.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the output of the stencil printing apparatus 1A is acceptable, the PC user sets “execute printing” from the output destination setting screen 114 by a mouse or keyboard operation, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do.
Thereafter, in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, in FIG. 3, the image data receiving means 20 receives the image data sent via the network 101, and executes a printing operation based on the image data. This printing operation is executed under the command of the control means 90.

  When the output destination setting screen 114 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, if the PC user does not set “print execution” within a predetermined time, a command from the CPU 102 (first output destination control means) “ Display / notification of performing an operation for setting “print execution”, or the CPU 102 may automatically set “print execution”.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a priority output destination: stencil printing apparatus selection display that can be printed at low cost. In the output destination setting screen 114A shown in the figure, not all of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C connected to the network 101 are displayed, but only the stencil printing apparatus 1A selected with the highest priority is displayed. Here, if the output from the stencil printing apparatus 1A shown in the figure is acceptable, the PC user sets “print execution” with a mouse or a keyboard operation from the screen, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do. When selecting other stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C instead of the stencil printing apparatus 1A, select and set “▽” on the screen with a mouse or a keyboard, and display other stencils displayed in priority order. It is also possible to select from the printing apparatuses 1B and 1C.

The output destination setting screen 114A and the input device 104 (such as a mouse and a keyboard) in FIG. 7 are the smallest necessary for printing according to image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C. One of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the size drum 7 and the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the paper feeding unit 4 capable of feeding the smallest size paper is preferentially selected. The selection means which enables is comprised.
If the output destination setting screen 114A shown in FIG. 7 can be displayed and set, any one of the above stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C can be preferentially selected by the PC user's free intention. If printing is performed on a single sheet of paper, it is cheaper to comprehensively take into account that printing is performed by preferentially selecting the stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C loaded with the smallest size paper over the cost of the master. Then, it becomes possible for the PC user to judge. Further, for example, in various states in which printing with the stencil printing apparatus 1A is substantially impossible, for example, when the master remaining amount is low and plate making is impossible, or when paper replenishment is required without paper replenishment. This is also effective when the PC user wants to obtain a printed matter earlier than anything else without considering the cost.

Next, the overall operation executed under the command of the CPU 86 when printing a plurality of sheets with the stencil printing apparatus 1A based on the image data output from the PC 100 will be described.
First, in the plate removal unit 5, a plate removal operation for peeling the used master 34 from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a is performed.
The drum 7 having the plate cylinder 7a around which the used master 34 is wound on the outer peripheral surface is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown), and starts to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. Based on a signal from a sensor (not shown), the CPU 86 determines that the rear end of the used master 34 wound around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 7a has reached a predetermined plate discharge position corresponding to the drive roller 60. Then, a moving means and a driving means (not shown) are actuated by a command from the CPU 86, and the driving rollers 57 and 60 are rotated and the lower plate discharging member 54 is moved to the plate cylinder 7a side. When the outer peripheral surface of the driving roller 60 comes into contact with the used master 34 on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a, the plate cylinder 7a continues to rotate counterclockwise and comes into contact with the driving roller 60. The used master 34 that has been scooped up is conveyed while being sandwiched between the lower plate discharging member 54 and the upper plate discharging member 53, and is sequentially peeled off from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a. The peeled used master 34 is transported by the lower plate discharging member 54 and the upper plate discharging member 53 and discarded in the plate discharging box 55, and then compressed by the compression plate 56.

  When all the used masters 34 are peeled off from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a, the plate cylinder 7a further continues to rotate. When the clamper 11 reaches the home position which is the plate feeding position shown in FIG. 2 and is detected by a home position sensor (not shown), the plate cylinder 7a stops the rotation of a drive motor (not shown). When the plate cylinder 7a stops at the home position due to the stop of the drive motor (not shown), the clamper 11 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the plate cylinder 7a enters the plate feeding standby state shown in FIG. 2 to complete the plate discharging operation.

  When the plate removal operation is completed, the plate making / plate feeding operation is performed subsequently or partially in parallel. When the plate cylinder 7a enters the plate feeding standby state, a stepping motor (not shown) is operated to rotate and drive the platen roller 36 and the drive rollers 31a and 31c, and the master 34 is pulled out from the master roll 35. When the CPU 86 determines that the image forming area of the master 34 has reached a position corresponding to the heating element of the thermal head 37 based on the number of steps of the stepping motor, a command signal from the CPU 86 is binary from the image processor 91. When the converted image data signals are respectively sent, the heat generating elements of the thermal head 37 generate heat selectively in accordance with the image data signals sent from the PC 100A, and a punched / prepressed image is formed on the master 34. .

  The master 34 on which the perforated plate-making image is formed is conveyed to the clamper 11 by the conveying means 31 while being guided by the guide plates 38 and 39, and the plate feeding operation is started. That is, when the CPU 86 determines that the tip of the master 34 has reached a predetermined position between the clamper 11 and the stage unit 10 based on the number of steps of the stepping motor, a command signal is sent to an opening / closing means (not shown) and the clamper 11 Swings and opens and closes in the counterclockwise direction, and the stage portion 10 and the clamper 11 sandwich the tip of the master 34. Thereafter, a command signal is sent from the CPU 86 to a drive motor (not shown), and the plate cylinder 7a is rotated in the clockwise direction at the same peripheral speed as the conveyance speed of the master 34 or a slightly higher peripheral speed, to the plate cylinder 7a of the master 34. The winding operation is performed. When the CPU 86 determines that the plate making for one plate is completed from the number of steps of the stepping motor, the rotation of the platen roller 36 and the drive rollers 31a and 31c is stopped and the movable blade 30b is rotated. The master 34 is disconnected. The rear end of the cut master 34 is pulled out by the rotation operation of the plate cylinder 7a. When the plate cylinder 7a reaches the home position again, a drive motor (not shown) is stopped by a command from the CPU 86, and the winding / plate supply operation is performed. Complete.

  Subsequent to the plate feeding operation, the printing operation is performed. That is, when the plate cylinder 7a is stopped at the home position, a drive motor (not shown) is started again, so that the plate cylinder 7a is rotated at a low speed and the paper feed roller 47, separation roller 48a, drive roller 65, and suction fan 67 are driven. Are driven to rotate. Due to the rotation of the paper feed roller 47 and the separation roller 48a, only the topmost paper 50 out of the plurality of print papers stacked on the paper feed tray 46 is separated and pulled out. It is abutted against the nip portion of the sheet and a predetermined bending is formed, and the state is temporarily maintained. When the front end in the rotational direction of the plate cylinder 7a reaches the vicinity of the position facing the press roller 9 in the plate-making image area of the master 34 that has been pre-rolled around the plate cylinder 7a, the registration roller pair 49 rotates, The paper 50 is fed between the plate cylinder 7a and the press roller 9 at the timing when the position of the master 34 that has been made is aligned with the tip of the plate making image area. Subsequently, as the press roller 9 is swung and raised as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the sheet 50 fed from the pair of registration rollers 49 is made by the press roller 9 on the plate cylinder 7a. Is pressed against the master 34. By this pressing operation, the press roller 9, the paper 50, the master 34 having been subjected to plate making, and the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7 a are pressed against each other, and the ink supplied by the ink roller 14 to the inner peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7 a After exuding from the perforated portion of the outer peripheral surface and the mesh screen, the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7 a and the master 34 that has been made is transferred to the paper 50 from the perforated portion of the master 34. The paper 50 to which the ink has been transferred is peeled off from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7 a at the tip of the peeling claw 63 and falls downward, and is pulled leftward while being attracted to the upper surface of the endless belt 66 by the suction force of the suction fan 67. And is discharged onto the discharge tray 68. The plate making operation is completed by this series of steps, and the stencil printing apparatus 1A enters a print standby state.

  When the above-described stencil printing apparatus 1A completes the operations of evacuation, plate making / plate feeding, and stencil printing and enters a print standby state, the screen of the image display device 105 of the PC 100 performs a normal printing operation from a trial printing. The screen automatically switches to the printing operation instruction screen display for instructing. Here, when a trial printing (not shown) is set by the operation of the input device 104 (keyboard, mouse, etc.) by the PC user, the topmost sheet on the paper feed tray 46 is printed, as in the printing operation. The paper is separated and pulled out by the paper feed roller 47 and the separating means 48, is abutted against the nip portion of the registration roller pair 49, is formed with a predetermined deflection, and the state is temporarily maintained. When a drive motor (not shown) is driven to rotate at a printing speed corresponding to the set value of the printing speed, the plate cylinder 7a is driven to rotate at a set printing speed that is higher than that at the time of the plate making operation. The registration roller pair 49 rotates at the same timing as the printing operation and at a speed corresponding to the set printing speed, so that the sheet 50 is placed between the plate cylinder 7a and the press roller 9 rotating at high speed. To feed. The fed paper 50 is pressed by the press-rolled master 34 on the plate cylinder 7a by the press roller 9 to transfer the ink, and a printed image is formed on the upper surface thereof. It is peeled off from the outer peripheral surface, conveyed to the left by the endless belt 66, and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 68. The plate cylinder 7a returns to the home position again, and the trial printing operation is completed.

  After confirming the density and position of the print image by this test printing, and performing the test printing again by operating the printing operation instruction screen, the above-mentioned printing operation is performed by operating the input device 104 (keyboard, mouse, etc.) by the PC user. By setting the number of prints on the instruction screen, setting the print speed, and setting the print start, the paper 50 is continuously fed from the paper supply unit 4 and a normal regular printing operation is performed. Even after the printing operation is completed, the plate cylinder 7a returns to the home position again.

(Modification 1 of the first embodiment)
Modification 1 of the first embodiment will be described.
The modification 1 is different from the first embodiment only in that the drum size related information stored in the drum size storage unit 89A set in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C is different. In the first modification, the drum size related information is not simply the plate cylinder size, but more strictly the “printable area size” at the opening of the plate cylinder 7a. In the first embodiment, the plate cylinder size is set to the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a. However, by making the main body of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C common, the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a is left as it is. In some cases, parts are shared and the series is developed at a low cost. In this case, the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a remains unchanged, and only the opening of the plate cylinder 7a, that is, the printable area size is changed. In such a form, the information about storing the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a in the first embodiment in the drum size storage means 89A includes the actual printable area size and the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a. Cause a contradiction that does not match. For example, for stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C designed for the B4 size, A4 size stencil printing can be performed simply by changing the width of the master 34 and the opening in the plate cylinder 7a of the drum 7. Assume that the devices 1A, 1B, and 1C. At this time, the circumferential length of the plate cylinder 7a is 500 mm in both the B4 size specification and the A4 size specification, but the opening of the plate cylinder 7a is 267 mm × 394 mm in the B4 specification, whereas in the A4 specification, 220 mm × 327 mm. Incidentally, as an example of A3 size, it is 307 mm × 450 mm.
Therefore, the information stored in the drum size storage means 89A is the opening of the plate cylinder 7a, that is, the “printable area size”, so that the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C that can print more finely and most inexpensively are used. Either one can be selected.
Since the operations and controls of Modification 1 other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted. It goes without saying that the first modification can be applied to second and third embodiments to be described later and achieve the effect.

(Modification 2 of the first embodiment)
Modification 2 of the first embodiment will be described.
The modification 2 is different from the first embodiment and the modification 1 only in that the drum size related information stored in the drum size storage unit 89A set in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C is different. .
The modification 2 is different in that the drum size related information is a master size that has been pre-printed to be wound around the plate cylinder 7a. In the first modification, the size of the printable area at the opening of the plate cylinder 7a is used. However, there is no problem with the size of the master plate 34 that is wound around the plate cylinder 7a. This is because the master size after plate making has a correlation with the printable area size in the opening of the plate cylinder 7a because it is set slightly larger in the width direction and the length direction. .
Needless to say, the second modification can be applied to second and third embodiments described later and the like to achieve the effect.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 8 to 10.
Compared to the first embodiment, the second embodiment does not employ the drum size storage unit 89A and instead detects the size of the sheet (sheet) used in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, 1C. The sheet size detecting means 52 (see FIGS. 3, 8 and 9) for automatically selecting and setting the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C that can obtain printed matter at the lowest cost; The main difference is that the CPU 102 is used as output destination control means.
The sheet size detection means 52 is a known one, and detects the size of the paper in the two directions of the sheet conveyance direction and the sheet width direction orthogonal thereto. The sheet (sheet) stacking unit may be either a so-called straight path sheet feeding table or a sheet feeding tray mechanism having a plurality of sheet stacking units in a tray shape.

An example of the sheet size detection unit 52 will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the pair of side fences 51 of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C can be adjusted to the width of the sheet with reference to the sheet center by a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown).
As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 8B, the sheet size detection means 52 is provided integrally with the right side fence 51 in the drawing, and has a plurality of sliders 560 having different lengths in the sheet width direction. The sheet absence detection sensor 570S as a sheet presence / absence detection unit shown in FIG. 9 and a plurality of sheet length sensors 580S1, 580S2, and 580S3 are configured.

Each slider 560 is made of an electrical conductor. On the sheet feed tray 46 side, contacts corresponding to the sliders 560 and fixed at different positions in the sheet width direction are arranged. And make up a pair. When the contact point and the slider come into contact with each other, an on-state electric signal is obtained.
With such a configuration, an ON / OFF signal is input to the control means 90 shown in FIG. 3 for each contact point, and the position in the width direction of the side fence 51, that is, the width size of the sheet is detected by a combination of the above-described signals. Can do.

  Further, a paper absence detection sensor 570S is provided on the paper feed tray 46 corresponding to the position where the paper is placed on the paper feed tray 46, and a plurality of papers for detecting the rear end side of the paper. By providing the length sensors 580S1, 580S2, and 580S3, the length of the paper can be automatically detected. The no-paper detection sensor 570S and the paper length sensors 580S1, 580S2, and 580S3 are formed of reflective photosensors.

As shown in FIG. 10, the stencil printing apparatus 1A is set to A4 size paper, the stencil printing apparatus 1B is set to B4 size paper, and the stencil printing apparatus 1C is set to different size paper from the A3 size paper. 1A, 1B, and 1C are installed and connected on the network 101.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in each stencil printing apparatus 1A, 1B, 1C, image data is written in the master 34 based on the transmitted image data, and the master 34 that has been made by punching is made. Is provided on the plate cylinder 7a and includes a control unit 90 that executes a series of printing operations for printing on the paper 50.

PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C as image data transmitting means for transmitting image data are connected to a network 101 shown in FIG.
When image data to be output is prepared in the PC 100 (any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C), the printing apparatus driver 111 in FIG. Here, the print image data created by the operation of the input device 104 (keyboard or mouse) by the user is generated, and at the same time, the output size of the image data is set. At this time, the output size information (data) of the set image data is stored in the image data size storage means 103A.

  Next, the output destination is set on the PC 100. At this time, information (data signal) from the sheet size detection means 52 in the paper feed tray 46 of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 and an image of the PC 100 (any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C). Based on the information (data signal) from the data size storage means 103A, the CPU 102 as the third output destination control means on the PC 100 can output image data and the stencil printing apparatus having the smallest paper size. As shown in FIG. 6, the priority order of stencil printing apparatuses that can be printed at low cost is displayed, and the situation is notified to the PC user.

  At this time, the CPU 102 (third output destination control means) makes the following determination. The image data is A4 size. As described above, the paper sizes (sheet sizes) of the plurality of stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 are A4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1A and B4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1B. In the stencil printing apparatus 1C, sheets of A3 size are stacked. With respect to the A4 size of the image data, the A4 size paper of the stencil printing apparatus 1A has the same image data size and paper size, and there is no wasted part. On the other hand, since the stencil printing apparatus 1B and the stencil printing apparatus 1C are B4 size and A3 size paper, respectively, the image data is smaller than the image size that can be output originally, and waste occurs in the order of the B4 size and the A3 size. Resulting in. Therefore, priority 1: stencil printing apparatus 1A, priority 2: stencil printing apparatus 1B, priority 3: stencil printing apparatus 1C. In FIG. 6, the stencil printing apparatus 1A is displayed as the highest priority (first priority), the stencil printing apparatus 1B as the second priority, and the stencil printing apparatus 1C as the third priority.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the output of the stencil printing apparatus 1A is acceptable, the PC user sets “execute printing” from the output destination setting screen 114 by a mouse or keyboard operation, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do.
Thereafter, in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, the image data sent through the network 101 in FIG. 3 is received by the image data receiving means 20, and based on the image data, under the instruction of the control means 90, the above-described A printing operation similar to that of the first embodiment is executed.

  When the output destination setting screen 114 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, if the PC user does not set “print execution” within a predetermined time, a command from the CPU 102 (third output destination control means) “ Display / notification of performing an operation for setting “print execution”, or the CPU 102 may automatically set “print execution”.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C connected to the network 101 are not displayed as in the output destination setting screen 114A shown in FIG. Only the stencil printing apparatus 1A selected in (1) is displayed. Here, if the output from the stencil printing apparatus 1A shown in the figure is acceptable, the PC user sets “print execution” with a mouse or a keyboard operation from the screen, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do. When selecting other stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C instead of the stencil printing apparatus 1A, select and set “▽” on the screen with a mouse or a keyboard, and display other stencils displayed in priority order. It is also possible to select from the printing apparatuses 1B and 1C.

  As in the first embodiment, any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C can be preferentially selected with the free intention of the PC user, and printing is performed on a large number of sheets such as thousands of sheets. In this case, if the stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C loaded with the smallest size of paper are preferentially printed rather than the cost of the master, the PC user considers that the printing is cheaper in total. Judgment is also possible. Further, for example, in various states in which printing with the stencil printing apparatus 1A is substantially impossible, for example, when the master remaining amount is low and plate making is impossible, or when paper replenishment is required without paper replenishment. This is also effective when the PC user wants to obtain a printed matter earlier than anything else without considering the cost.

As described above, the CPUs 102 (third output destination control means) of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C in the present embodiment each paper size information (data) from each sheet size detection means 52 in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C. And image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, 100C based on the image data size information (data) from the image data size storage means 103A in any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, 100C. Accordingly, it has a function of preferentially selecting any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the smallest size paper required for printing.
More specifically, the CPU 102 as the third output destination control means has the smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C. When any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the paper 50 is preferentially selected, the output destination setting screen 114 is displayed on one of the image display apparatuses 105 of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C that transmitted the image data. It also has a function of raising and displaying / notifying.

(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.
In the third embodiment, the drum size related information from the drum size storage unit 89A in the first embodiment and the first and second modifications is combined with the information from the sheet size detection unit 52 in the second embodiment. The main difference is that the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C that can be used to obtain printed matter at the lowest cost are automatically selected and set, and the CPU 102 is used as the second output destination control means.
The information stored in the drum size storage unit 89A in the present embodiment is the master size that has been pre-printed and wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a as the drum size related information in the second modification. The size of the plate cylinder in the first embodiment (the circumferential length of the plate cylinder) or the printable area size in the plate cylinder in the first modification may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 11, A4 size paper is set in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, and A4 size paper is set in the stencil printing apparatus 1B. The stencil printing apparatus 1C has two first and second paper feed trays 46. The first paper feed tray 46 has A4 size paper and the second paper feed tray 46 has A3 size paper. Each is loaded and set. Each sheet size detection means 52 provided in each paper feed tray 46 of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, 1C detects the paper size set in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, 1C.

In addition, regarding the master size that has been made on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a, “260 mm × 377 mm” is used for the stencil printing apparatus 1A, “280 mm × 444 mm” is used for the stencil printing apparatus 1B, and “320 mm” is used for the stencil printing apparatus 1C. “× 500 mm” is stored in the drum size storage means 89A as master-size information of the plate making to be wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a.
The stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C as described above are installed and connected on the network 101 shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in each stencil printing apparatus 1A, 1B, 1C, image data is written in the master 34 based on the transmitted image data, and the master 34 that has been made by punching is made. Is provided on the plate cylinder 7a and includes a control unit 90 that executes a series of printing operations for printing on the paper 50.

The PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C as image data transmitting means for transmitting image data are connected to the network 101 shown in FIG.
When image data to be output is prepared in the PC 100 (any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C), the printing apparatus driver 111 in FIG. Here, the print image data created by the operation of the input device 104 (keyboard or mouse) by the user is generated, and at the same time, the output size of the image data is set. At this time, the output size information (data) of the set image data is stored in the image data size storage means 103A.

  Next, the output destination is set on the PC 100. At this time, information (data signal) from the sheet size detection means 52 in the paper feed tray 46 of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 and an image of the PC 100 (any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C). Based on the information (data signal) from the data size storage means 103A, the CPU 102 as the second output destination control means on the PC 100 can output image data and the stencil printing apparatus having the smallest paper size. As shown in FIG. 12, the priority order of the stencil printing apparatus that can be printed at low cost is displayed (the stencil printing apparatus 1A is given the highest priority in FIG. 12), and the situation is notified to the PC user.

  At this time, the CPU 102 (second output destination control means) makes the following determination. The image data is A4 size. As described above, the paper sizes (sheet sizes) of the plurality of stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C on the network 101 are A4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1A and A4 size in the stencil printing apparatus 1B. In the stencil printing apparatus 1C, sheets of A4 size and A3 size are loaded. Since the A4 size paper is loaded on each of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C with respect to the A4 size of the image data, which stencil printing apparatus 1A, 1B, and 1C is used under this paper size condition. It is a good condition.

However, regarding the master size information that has been made on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 7a stored in the drum size storage means 89A, “260 mm × 377 mm” is used in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, and “ “280 mm × 444 mm” and “320 mm × 500 mm” in the stencil printing apparatus 1 </ b> C are stored in the drum size storage unit 89 </ b> A as information on the master size that has been made around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 7 a.
The stencil printing apparatus 1A is a stencil printing apparatus in which A4, which is the image data size, matches the master size that has been made, and no master is wasted. Therefore, priority 1: stencil printing apparatus 1A, priority 2: stencil printing apparatus 1B, priority 3: stencil printing apparatus 1C. In the output destination setting screen 114B shown in FIG. 12, the stencil printing apparatus 1A is displayed as the highest priority (first priority), the stencil printing apparatus 1B as the second priority, and the stencil printing apparatus 1C as the third priority.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the output of the stencil printing apparatus 1A is acceptable, the PC user sets “print execution” from the output destination setting screen 114B by a mouse or keyboard operation, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do.
Thereafter, in the stencil printing apparatus 1A, the image data sent through the network 101 in FIG. 3 is received by the image data receiving means 20, and based on the image data, under the instruction of the control means 90, the above-described A printing operation similar to that of the first embodiment is executed.

  When the output destination setting screen 114 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, if the PC user does not set “print execution” within a predetermined time, a command from the CPU 102 (third output destination control means) “ Display / notification of performing an operation for setting “print execution”, or the CPU 102 may automatically set “print execution”.

  Similarly to the first and second embodiments, the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C connected to the network 101 are not displayed as in the output destination setting screen 114A shown in FIG. Only the stencil printing apparatus 1A selected with the highest priority is displayed. Here, if the output from the stencil printing apparatus 1A shown in the figure is acceptable, the PC user sets “print execution” with a mouse or a keyboard operation from the screen, and transmits the image data to the stencil printing apparatus 1A. To do. When selecting other stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C instead of the stencil printing apparatus 1A, select and set “▽” on the screen with a mouse or a keyboard, and display other stencils displayed in priority order. It is also possible to select from the printing apparatuses 1B and 1C.

  As in the first and second embodiments, when the output destination setting screen 114A of FIG. 7 can be displayed and set, any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C can be preferentially selected by the PC user's free will. Therefore, for example, when printing on a large number of sheets such as thousands of sheets, the stencil printing apparatuses 1B and 1C loaded with the smallest size sheets are selected with priority over the cost of the master. Thus, it is possible for the PC user to determine that printing is cheaper considering the total. Further, for example, in various states in which printing with the stencil printing apparatus 1A is substantially impossible, for example, when the master remaining amount is low and plate making is impossible, or when paper replenishment is required without paper replenishment. This is also effective when the PC user wants to obtain a printed matter earlier than anything else without considering the cost.

As described above, the CPUs 102 (second output destination control means) of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C in the present embodiment are plates as drum size related information from the drum size storage means 89A in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C. Master size information (data) that has been pre-made to be wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 7a, paper size information (data) from each sheet size detection means 52 in the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C, and PCs 100A, 100B, Based on the image data size information (data) from the image data size storage means 103A in any one of 100C, printing is performed according to the image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, 100C. The master size corresponding to the smallest drum required and the smallest support required. A stencil printing device 1A and a deliverable paper feeding section 4 of paper's, 1B, a function of selecting preferentially one of 1C.
More specifically, the CPU 102 as the second output destination control means has the smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C. When any one of the stencil printing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C having the master size corresponding to the drum and the smallest size paper 50 is preferentially selected, any one of the PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C that transmitted the image data is selected. The image display device 105 also has a function of starting up and displaying / notifying the output destination setting screen 114B.

  As described above, the minimum necessary for printing according to image data transmitted from a computer (PC) as at least one image data transmission unit from a stencil printing apparatus as a plurality of printing apparatuses on the network. By making it possible to preferentially select a stencil printing apparatus having a master and a sheet (sheet), it becomes possible for the user to obtain a printed material at the lowest cost even without special knowledge.

The printing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the stencil printing apparatus of the above-described embodiment, and for example, supplies ink from the outside of the printing drum as disclosed in JP-A-7-17013 (Japanese Patent No. 2790963). The present invention can be applied mutatis mutandis to a printing apparatus having a structure that can be called an intaglio printing apparatus that supplies ink to a master on a printing drum to form a printed image on a sheet.
As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to embodiments including specific examples. However, the technical scope disclosed by the present invention is not limited to those exemplified in the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art can configure various embodiments, modifications, and examples in accordance with the necessity, purpose, application, and the like within the scope of the present invention. it is obvious.

1A, 1B, 1C Stencil printing device (printing device)
2 Printing unit 3 Plate making plate feeding unit 4 Paper feeding unit 5 Plate discharging unit 6 Paper discharge unit 7 Printing drum 7a Plate cylinder 8 Ink supply means 11 Clamper (constituting plate feeding means)
20 Image data receiving means 52 Sheet size detecting means 89A Drum size storing means 90 Control means 100A, 100B, 100C Personal computer (PC: image data transmitting means)
101 Network 102 CPU (first to third output destination control means)
114, 114A, 114B Output destination setting screen

Claims (5)

Printing drum provided with a plate cylinder for winding a plate-making master around the outer peripheral surface, ink supply means for supplying ink to the plate-making master on the plate cylinder, and drum size for storing drum size related information of the printing drum Storage means, plate-feeding means for winding a pre-made master around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder in accordance with the drum size-related information stored in the drum size storage means, images sent via a network A plurality of printing apparatuses having image data receiving means for receiving data and control means for executing a printing operation based on the image data received by the image data receiving means;
Image data size storage means for storing the size of image data to be transmitted, and at least one image data transmission means for transmitting the image data;
In a printing apparatus network system that configures a network so that communication is possible,
Based on each drum size related information from each drum size storage means in each printing apparatus and the image data size information from the image data size storage means in the at least one image data transmission means, the at least First output destination control means for preferentially selecting the printing apparatus having the smallest size printing drum, which is required for printing according to image data transmitted from one image data transmission means. A printing apparatus network system comprising: The printing apparatus network system according to claim 1,
Each of the printing apparatuses includes a sheet feeding unit including a sheet size detecting unit that detects a size of a sheet to be fed to the printing drum.
Each drum size related information from each drum size storage means in each printing apparatus, each sheet size information from each sheet size detection means in each printing apparatus, and in at least one image data transmission means The printing drum having the smallest size required for printing according to the image data transmitted from the at least one image data transmission unit based on the image data size information from the image data size storage unit And a second output destination control means for preferentially selecting the printing apparatus having the sheet feeding unit capable of feeding the smallest size sheet. The printing apparatus network system according to claim 2,
The printing apparatus having the smallest size of the printing drum and the smallest size sheet that are required for printing according to the image data transmitted from the at least one image data transmission unit can be fed. A printing apparatus network system comprising selection means for preferentially selecting any one of the printing apparatuses having the sheet feeding unit. The printing apparatus network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Each drum size storage means stores a printable area size in the plate cylinder as each drum size related information. The printing apparatus network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Each drum size storage means stores a master size that has been made on the outer periphery of the plate cylinder as the drum size-related information, and stores a master size that has been pre-made.

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