JP5682195B2 - Print data output device, print data output method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data output apparatus, a print data output method, and a program, and more particularly to a technique for outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer.

  When performing print output based on document data in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed, if all pages are regarded as color pages and print output is performed, the printing cost increases for the user. Conventionally, in order to prevent this, whether a color page or a monochrome page is automatically determined for each page. For a color page, for example, four colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) are used. Is used for color printing, and in the case of a monochrome page, monochrome printing is sometimes performed using only one color of K (black). However, if this method is applied to a single color printing machine, it is necessary to switch between two processes of color printing processing and monochrome printing processing for each page at the time of printing output. Then, productivity is significantly reduced.

  Therefore, conventionally, in order to improve the productivity of print output based on original data in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed, multiple printers of color printers and monochrome printers are used. After determining whether the page is a color page or a monochrome page, the color page is output to a color printer, and the monochrome page is output to a monochrome printer. A function to be called has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  If such a color split function is used, a plurality of printing machines, that is, a color printing machine and a monochrome printing machine can be operated in parallel, so that productivity is improved. Further, since the printing cost required for monochrome printing is generally lower for a monochrome printing machine than for a color printing machine, there is an advantage that the printing cost as a whole can be suppressed by using the color split function.

JP-A-8-9170 JP 2006-50298 A

  However, if color pages and monochrome pages contained in the same document data are printed on different printing machines, the halftone patterns formed by the respective printing machines are different, so the reproducibility differs in the gray grayscale. There is a problem that it becomes a thing.

  As an example, data in which R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are 256 gradations and gray is 50% (R = B = G = 128) are used for a color printer and a monochrome printer. The case of printing each will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, when printing 50% gray data with a monochrome printer, the density of the K plate is 40%, for example, and printing is performed with a halftone pattern of only K. On the other hand, when printing the same data with a color printing machine, gray 50% is reproduced with the 4th edition of CMYK. For example, the density of the C plate is 13%, the density of the M plate is 11%, and Y The density of the plate is 9% and 20% of the K plate. Then, printing output is performed with a halftone pattern of the four CMYK plates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, when 50% gray data is printed out by the color printing machine and the monochrome printing machine, the finishing is different.

  However, with the conventional color split function, even if each page of the original data includes a gray color of intermediate gradation, if the color component is included in other parts of the page, On the other hand, if the page is determined to be a page and the color component is not included in other parts of the page, it is determined as a monochrome page. For this reason, when document data including a gray color of intermediate gradation is printed out by the color split function, the reproducibility of the gray color may be different for each page.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example thereof. For example, it is assumed that similar tables are included in pages P10 and P11 having different document data, and a gray portion 101 having the same gradation is included in specific items of the tables. The ruled lines and characters included in the table of page P10 shown in FIG. 14A are black and do not include color components. Therefore, in the case of the conventional color split function, the page P10 is determined as a monochrome page and is output to the monochrome printing machine. On the other hand, the page P11 shown in FIG. 14B includes a color character 102 such as red in one item in the table. Therefore, in the case of the conventional color split function, the page P11 is determined as a color page and is output to the color printer. In such a case, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the tables printed out by the monochrome printing machine and the color printing machine are finished even though the gray portion 101 is the same data. There is a problem that will be in a different state.

  By the way, conventionally, there is also known a technique of applying density correction at the time of output to the problem that the same gray color has different output density characteristics between monochrome printing and color printing (for example, patents). Reference 2). However, this technique performs density correction as an internal process in order to match the output density characteristics between monochrome printing and color printing on a single printing press. Thus, the reproducibility when output by different printing presses is not matched.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and in the case where print output is performed using a plurality of printers by the color split function as described above, a gray color that is a monochrome intermediate tone is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a print data output device, a print data output method, and a program that improve the reproducibility of the image.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a print data output apparatus capable of outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer, and a plurality of color pages and monochrome pages are mixed. An acquisition unit that acquires document data including pages, an object analysis unit that extracts an object included in each page of the document data and determines color information and attribute information associated with each object, and the object analysis unit. Group generating means for classifying objects determined to have the same color information and attribute information into the same group, and a group for determining whether each group generated by the group generating means is color data or monochrome data Of the multiple pages included in the document data, And outputting a color page containing the object belonging to the group determined to be a color data by the group determination unit to a color printing machine, comprising an output control means for outputting the other page to a monochrome printer, the said group determination means When a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, if at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, all of the plurality of groups are color data. And all pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data are set as color pages .

  Note that an object is an element (content) included in each page of document data, such as a character, a photo, or a graphic. The graphic includes a table, a graph, a diagram, a pattern, and the like.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print data output apparatus according to the first aspect, the group determination unit sets a color flag for a page including an object belonging to a group determined as color data. If there is a group included in a page with a color flag among the groups determined to be monochrome data, the color flag is set for a page including an object belonging to the group. The output control means outputs the color page in which the color flag is set by the group determination means to the color printer and outputs the other pages to the monochrome printer.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print data output apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the color information includes information on any one of an object gray value, RGB value, and CMYK value. The object analyzing means is configured to determine whether each object is color or monochrome based on the color information.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print data output apparatus according to the third aspect, the attribute information includes information indicating whether the object is a character, a graphic, or a photograph, and the object analysis The means is configured to determine whether each object is a character, a graphic or a photograph based on the attribute information.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print data output apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the group generation unit classifies color objects into one of a color group of characters, graphics, and photographs, and converts monochrome objects into characters. And a monochrome group of either graphic or photograph.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data output method for outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer, and (a) document data comprising a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed. (B) extracting an object included in each page of the document data and determining color information and attribute information associated with each object, and (c) the same in step (b) Classifying objects determined as color information and attribute information into the same group, and (d) determining whether each group generated in step (c) is color data or monochrome data And (e) a plurality of pages included in the document data belong to a group determined as color data by the step (d). And outputting a color page containing the object to a color printing machine, comprising the steps of outputting the other page to a monochrome printer, wherein the step (d) is classified into a plurality of different groups within the same page If at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, all of the plurality of groups are determined as color data and belong to the group determined as color data. In this configuration, all pages including objects are set as color pages .

The invention according to claim 7 is a program executed by a computer capable of outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer, and the computer includes a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed. An acquisition means for acquiring original data comprising: an object analysis means for extracting objects included in each page of the original data and determining color information and attribute information associated with each object; and the same color by the object analysis means Group generation means for classifying objects determined to be information and attribute information into the same group, group determination means for determining whether each group generated by the group generation means is color data or monochrome data, and , Duplicates included in the original data Among the pages, the output color page containing the object belonging to the group determined to be a color data by the group determination unit to a color printer, output control means for outputting the other page to a monochrome printer, to function as, In the case where a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, the group determination unit is configured so that if at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, the plurality of groups Are determined as color data, and all pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data are set as color pages .

  According to the present invention, the objects determined as the same color information and attribute information included in the document data are classified into the same group. Then, it is determined whether each group is color data or monochrome data, and a page including objects belonging to the group determined to be color data is output to the color printing machine from among a plurality of pages included in the original data. Pages other than are output to the monochrome printer. When determining whether each group is color data, when a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, at least one of the plurality of groups is included. If one group is color data, all of the plurality of groups are determined as color data. According to such a configuration, when a plurality of objects classified into the same group are included in different pages, if any page is determined to be color data to be output to a color printing machine, it is included in that page. Similarly, other pages including the same object as the object to be printed are determined as color data output to the color printer. Therefore, even if an object containing a gray color that is a monochrome halftone is included in a different page, if any page is output to a color printer, the other pages are also output to the color printer. As a result, the reproducibility of the gray color, which is a monochrome halftone, can be improved.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system including a print data output device. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a print data output apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration when a CPU executes a program in a print data output apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plurality of pages included in document data. FIG. It is a figure which shows the result of having analyzed the object contained in each page based on original data. It is a figure which shows the concept of the group produced | generated by the group production | generation part. It is a figure which shows an example of group information. It is a figure which shows an example of page information. It is a figure which shows the page output to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer from a print data output device based on page information. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a main processing procedure performed by the print data output apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of a group determination process. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed processing procedure of print data output processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the halftone pattern in the case of printing the same gray color with each of a color printer and a monochrome printer. It is a figure which shows the example from which the reproducibility of a gray color differs when printing output by the conventional color split function.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, members that are common to each other are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system including a print data output apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. This printing system performs color printing using a print data output device 1 composed of a computer, a document data storage device 2 for storing document data to be printed, and, for example, four-color toners of CMYK. And a monochrome printer 4 capable of performing monochrome printing using only K-color toner. The document data storage device 2 stores document data including a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed. The print data output device 1 acquires document data from the document data storage device 2 and outputs print data for each page to the color printer 3 and the monochrome printer 4 based on the document data. The print data output apparatus 1 has a color split function, determines whether each page included in the original page is a color page or a monochrome page, and determines that the page is a color page to the color printer 3. The other pages are output to the monochrome printer 4.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the print data output apparatus 1. The print data output device 1 includes a CPU 10, a memory 11, an external interface 12, a display device 13, an operation input device 14, and a storage device 15, which mutually input / output data via a data bus. It is the structure which can perform. The CPU 10 executes various programs. The memory 11 stores temporary data when the CPU 10 executes a program. The external interface 12 is connected to the document data storage device 2, the color printer 3, and the monochrome printer 4, and inputs document data from the document data storage device 2, or print data for each page from the color printer 3 or For outputting to the monochrome printer 4. The display device 13 displays various types of information for a user who operates the print data output device 1. The operation input device 14 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and accepts an input operation by a user. The storage device 15 is a nonvolatile storage unit such as a hard disk device, and stores various data, programs, and the like.

  In the print data output apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a program 16 for realizing a color split function is installed in the storage device 15 in advance. The program 16 is a printer driver for outputting print data to, for example, the color printer 3 or the monochrome printer 4. The CPU 10 reads out and executes the program 16 to determine each page included in the document data, and outputs the print data of each page to either the color printer 3 or the monochrome printer 4. Hereinafter, the print data output apparatus 1 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration when the CPU 10 executes the program 16 in the print data output apparatus 1. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the CPU 10 of the print data output apparatus 1 executes a program 16 to execute a document data acquisition unit 21, an object analysis unit 22, a group generation unit 23, a group determination unit 24, and an output control unit. 26 functions. As the program 16 is executed, the CPU 10 creates a document data storage unit 15a, a group information storage unit 15b, and a page information storage unit 15c as temporary storage areas for the storage device 15, and stores them. Store data and information in the area.

  The document data acquisition unit 21 is a processing unit that acquires document data D1 to be printed. For example, the document data acquisition unit 21 acquires document data D1 in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed from the document data storage device 2. When the document data acquisition unit 21 acquires the document data D1, the document data acquisition unit 21 stores the acquired document data D1 in the document data storage unit 15a.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plurality of pages P1 to P8 included in the document data D1. In the example of FIG. 4, the document data D1 is composed of 8 pages, but the number of pages is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the pages P <b> 1 to P <b> 8 is arranged with any object (content) of characters, photographs, and graphics. In the illustrated example, the page P1 includes a black character G1 and a color photograph G2. The page P2 includes a black character G1 and a graphic G3 that is a table. The page P3 includes only the black character G1. The page P4 includes a black character G1 and a color character G4 such as red. The page P5 is composed only of the black character G1. The page P6 includes black characters G1 and color characters G4, and further includes a graphic G3 that is a table. The page P7 includes a black character G1 and a graphic G5 which is a color pie chart. Further, the page P8 includes only the black character G1. Here, the table which is the graphic G3 included in the pages P2 and P6 includes a gray portion which is a monochrome intermediate gradation in a part thereof. Each of the black character G1 and the color character G4 may be a character string that is a set of a plurality of characters handled as an object.

  As described above, each page P1 to P8 constituting the document data D1 includes at least one object of characters, photographs, and graphics. Color information and attribute information are associated with each of the objects arranged on each page P1 to P8. That is, the original data D1 includes color information and attributes for the black character G1, the color photograph G2, the graphic G3 including the monochrome intermediate gradation, the color character G4, and the color graphic G5 arranged on each page P1 to P8. Contains information.

  The color information includes, for each object, any one of gray value, RGB value, and CMYK value indicating the color of the object. For example, when the information included in the color information is a gray value, the object is monochrome data. When the information included in the color information is an RGB value or a CMYK value, the object is color data. The gray value is information indicating the density of black, for example, in 256 gradations. When the gray value is “255”, it is “black”, and when it is “0”, it is white. When the gray value is 1 to 254, the gray color is a monochrome intermediate gradation. However, such a gray color can also be expressed by an RGB value or a CMYK value.

  In addition, the attribute information includes information indicating one of characters, photographs, and graphics as information indicating the type of object for each object.

  In the following, a case where such document data D1 is stored in the document data storage unit 15a will be described as an example.

  The object analysis unit 22 reads the document data D1 stored in the document data storage unit 15a by the document data acquisition unit 21, extracts all the objects included in the pages P1 to P8 of the document data D1, and associates them with each object. It is a processing unit for discriminating the received color information and attribute information. Specifically, for each page included in the document data D1, all objects arranged on the page are extracted. Then, for each page, the color information and attribute information of the objects included in the page are determined, and what kind of objects are included in each of the pages P1 to P8 is analyzed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a result of analyzing the objects included in the pages P1 to P8 based on the document data D1 shown in FIG. The object analysis unit 22 determines whether the color of the object is black, gray, or color by determining color information for each object included in each page P1 to P8. Further, by determining the attribute information for each object, it is specified whether the type of the object is a character, a photograph, or a graphic. As a result, the object analysis unit 22 can specify what objects are included in the pages P1 to P8 as shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 5 shows that the objects marked with “◯” are included in the pages P1 to P8.

  When the object analysis unit 22 finishes analyzing the objects included in the pages P1 to P8, the group generation unit 23 functions next. The group generation unit 23 is a processing unit that classifies objects that have been identified as the same color information and attribute information by the object analysis unit 22 into the same group. That is, a plurality of objects included in the plurality of pages P1 to P8 are classified and grouped according to the same color information and attribute information.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the concept of groups generated by the group generation unit 23. FIG. 6 corresponds to the object determination result of FIG. The group generation unit 23 collects objects having the same color information and the same attribute information into one group based on the discrimination result between the object color information and the attribute information by the object analysis unit 22. As a result, the group generation unit 23 generates five groups, group 1 to group 5, from a plurality of objects included in the plurality of pages P1 to P8 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, group 1 is a group of black characters included in pages P1 to P8. Group 2 is a group of color characters included in pages P4 and P6. Group 3 is a group of color photographs included in page P1. Group 4 is a group of gray graphics included in pages P2 and P6. Group 5 is a group of color graphics included in page P7. By such grouping, each group 1 to 5 includes at least one object. In addition, all objects included in the document data D1 are classified into any group.

  When grouping is performed as described above, the group generation unit 23 generates group information D2, and stores the group information D2 in the group information storage unit 15b. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the group information D2. The group information D2 is information in which color information, attribute information, and a page number including an object classified in the group are recorded for each group. Therefore, by referring to the group information D2, it is possible to grasp what objects are included in each of the plurality of groups 1 to 5, and the objects belonging to the groups 1 to 5 are the original data D1. It is possible to grasp which page is included.

  Next, the group determination unit 24 reads the group information D2 stored in the group information storage unit 15b, and determines whether each of the groups 1 to 5 generated by the group generation unit 23 is color data or monochrome data. It is a processing unit. That is, the group determination unit 24 determines a group whose color information is “color” in the group information D2 as color data. In addition, a group whose color information is “black” or “gray” in the group information D2 is determined as monochrome data.

  The group determination unit 24 includes a color flag setting unit 25. The color flag setting unit 25 sets a color flag for each page P1 to P8 included in the document data D1 based on the determination result of whether each of the groups 1 to 5 is color data or monochrome data. It is. Hereinafter, this process will be described in detail.

  First, as a first process, the color flag setting unit 25 sets a color flag for a page including an object belonging to a group determined to be color data. For example, in the case of the group information D2 as shown in FIG. 7, four pages P1, P4, P6, and P7 including objects belonging to the groups 2, 3, and 5 whose color information is “color” are included. To set the color flag. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, since the page P1 includes the color photograph G2, the color flag is set. Since each of pages P4 and P6 includes color character G4, a color flag is set. Further, since the page P7 includes the color graphic G5, a color flag is set. Thus, in the first process, if a color component is included in a part of the page included in the document data D1, the color flag is set for the page.

  Next, as the second process, the color flag setting unit 25 determines whether the group determined to be monochrome data is included in the page set with the color flag in the first process. As a result, if there is a group included in the page for which the color flag is set in the first processing among the groups determined to be monochrome data, the determination result of the group is corrected to the color group, and the group Set a color flag for pages that contain objects belonging to. For example, in the case of the group information D2 as shown in FIG. 7, since the color information of the group 4 is “gray”, it is determined as monochrome data in the initial determination. However, the objects belonging to the group 4 are also included in the page P6 in which the color flag is set in the first process. Therefore, in this second process, it is determined that group 4 is color data, and color flags are set for all pages P2 and P6 including objects belonging to group 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the same graphic G3 of monochrome intermediate gradation included in each of the pages P2 and P6 is not divided into a color page and a monochrome page, and those pages P2 , P6 are unified and handled as color pages.

  However, such second processing excludes a group of black characters (that is, group 1) from processing even if the group is determined to be monochrome data. That is, since the halftone pattern is not used for black characters, the reproducibility does not differ even when printed by either the color printer 3 or the monochrome printer 4. Therefore, it is excluded from the target of the second process. As a result, it is possible to prevent the color flag from being set for a page including only black characters.

  When the first and second processing by the color flag setting unit 25 is completed, the group determination unit 24 creates page information D3 based on the color flag set by the color flag setting unit 25, and the page information D3 is generated. Stored in the page information storage unit 15c. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the page information D3. In this page information D3, ON / OFF of a color flag is set for each page included in the document data D1. That is, the page for which the color flag is set by the color flag setting unit 25 is turned ON. On the other hand, pages for which no color flag is set are turned off. In other words, a page whose color flag is OFF is a page including only black or monochrome intermediate gradation objects, and the same object is included in pages where other color flags are set to ON. A page that contains only unlisted objects.

  In the first process and the second process described above, when a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, at least one of the plurality of groups is colored. For data, this is equivalent to determining all of a plurality of groups in the same page as color data.

  Next, the output control unit 26 reads the page information D3 stored in the page information storage unit 15c, and prints the pages P1 to P8 included in the document data D1 based on the color flag set by the color flag setting unit 25. It is a processing unit that outputs data while distributing the data to each of the color printer 3 and the monochrome printer 4. The output control unit 26 outputs, to the color printing machine 3, pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data by the group determination unit 24 among the plurality of pages included in the document data D1, and outputs other pages. Output to the monochrome printer 4. More specifically, in the page information D3, a page in which the color flag is set to ON is output to the color printer 3, and an OFF page in which the color flag is not set to ON is output to the monochrome printer 4.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing pages output from the print data output device 1 to the color printer 3 and the monochrome printer 4 based on the page information D3. The output control unit 26 performs output control of the pages P1 to P8 included in the document data D1 based on the page information D3, and as shown in FIG. 9, the pages P1, P2, in which the color flags are set. The print data of P4, P6, and P7 are output to the color printer 3, and the print data of pages P3, P5, and P8 for which no color flag is set are output to the monochrome printer 4. As a result, the color printer 3 prints out pages P1, P2, P4, P6, and P7 of the plurality of pages included in the document data D1, and the monochrome printer 4 includes the document data D1. Printing output of pages P3, P5, and P8 among the plurality of pages is performed.

  Next, a processing procedure of the print data output apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a main processing procedure performed by the print data output apparatus 1. This process is performed by the CPU 10 executing the program 16. When this process is started, the print data output device 1 acquires the document data D1 (step S1), and stores and stores the document data D1 in the storage device 15 (step S2). Then, the print data output apparatus 1 extracts an object included in the document data D1 (step S3), and analyzes color information and attribute information associated with the object (step S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the analysis of all the objects included in the document data D1 is completed (step S5), and the processes of steps S3 to S5 are repeated until the analysis of all the objects is completed.

  When the analysis of all the objects is completed (YES in step S5), the print data output apparatus 1 selects one object as a processing target object from among the plurality of already extracted objects (step S6), and Color information and attribute information are read (step S7). Then, it is determined whether or not the same color information and attribute information group as the color information and attribute information of the processing target object has already been created (step S8). Here, when the same group of color information and attribute information as the processing target object has already been created (YES in step S8), the print data output apparatus 1 classifies the processing target object into the existing group (step S9). ). On the other hand, when the same group of color information and attribute information as the processing target object has not yet been created (NO in step S8), the print data output apparatus 1 creates a new group and assigns the processing target object to the created group. Classify (step S10). Then, it is determined whether or not the classification of all the objects included in the document data D1 is completed (step S11), and the processes of steps S6 to S11 are repeated until the classification of all the objects is completed.

  When all the object classification processes are completed (YES in step S11), the print data output apparatus 1 executes a group determination process for setting a color flag (step S12). FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed processing procedure of the group determination processing. When the group determination process is started, the print data output apparatus 1 first selects one process target group from a plurality of groups (step S21). Then, it is determined whether or not the selected group is color data (step S22). If it is color data, all page numbers including objects belonging to the group are specified (step S23). Then, it is determined whether or not a color flag has already been set for each specified page (step S24). If there is a page for which no color flag is set, the color flag is set for all of those pages. (Step S25). If the color flag has already been set for all the pages specified in step S23, the process in step S25 is not performed. If it is determined in step S22 that the processing target group is monochrome data, the processes in steps S23 to S25 are not performed. Then, the print data output apparatus 1 determines whether or not the processing for all the groups is finished (step S26), and repeats the processing of steps S21 to S25 until the processing for all the groups is finished. The first process described above is performed by repeatedly executing the processes in steps S21 to S25.

  When the processes in steps S21 to S25 are completed for all groups, the process proceeds to step S27, and the print data output apparatus 1 selects one process target group again (step S27). Then, it is determined whether or not the selected group is monochrome data (step S28). If it is monochrome data, it is determined whether or not the group is a group other than black characters (step S29). As a result, if the group which is monochrome data is a group other than black characters, all page numbers including objects belonging to the group are specified (step S30). Then, it is determined whether or not a color flag is set for any of the specified pages (step S31). If there is at least one page for which the color flag is set, all of the pages included in the group are included. A color flag is set for the page (step S32). If no color flag is set for any of the pages specified in step S30, the process in step S32 is not performed. If it is determined in step S28 that the processing target group is color data, or if it is determined in step S29 that the processing target group is a black character group, the processing in steps S30 to S32 is not performed. . Then, the print data output apparatus 1 determines whether or not the processing for all groups has been completed (step S33), and repeats the processing of steps S27 to S32 until the processing for all groups is completed. The above-described second process is performed by repeatedly executing the processes of steps S27 to S32. When the processes in steps S27 to S32 are finished for all the groups, the group determination process is finished.

  When the group determination process (step S12) as described above is completed (YES in step S11), the print data output apparatus 1 next executes the print data output process (step S13 in FIG. 10). FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed processing procedure of the print data output processing. When this print data output process is started, the print data output device 1 first reads page information D3 (step S41). Then, print data for one page is extracted from the document data D1 (step S42), and it is determined whether or not a color flag is set for the page of the extracted print data (step S43). As a result, when the color flag is set (YES in step S43), the print data output device 1 outputs the print data of the page to the color printer 3 (step S44). On the other hand, when the color flag is not set (NO in step S43), the print data output apparatus 1 outputs the print data of the page to the monochrome printer 4 (step S45). Then, it is determined whether or not the output of all pages is completed (step S46), and the processes of steps S42 to S46 are repeatedly executed until the output of all pages is completed. When the output of all pages is completed, the print data output process ends.

  The print data output apparatus 1 performs the above-described process, and when a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, the print data output device 1 includes a plurality of objects in the same page. If there is a group determined to be color data, all of the plurality of groups can be handled as color data. As a result, even if a plurality of objects classified into the same group as monochrome data are included in different pages, as long as there is another group determined as color data on any of these different pages. The group which is monochrome data is handled as color data. In this case, since a plurality of objects included in different pages classified as the same group as monochrome data are all output by the same color printing machine 3, the reproducibility of monochrome halftones matches each other. become.

  As described above, the print data output apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to output print data to each of the color printer 3 and the monochrome printer 4, and a plurality of color pages and monochrome pages are mixed. When document data D1 composed of pages is acquired, objects included in each page of the document data D1 are extracted, and color information and attribute information associated with each object are determined. Then, the objects determined to be the same color information and attribute information are classified into the same group, and it is determined whether each group is color data or monochrome data. At this time, if the print data output apparatus 1 includes a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups in the same page by performing the above-described processing, at least one of the plurality of groups is included. If one group is determined to be color data, all of the plurality of groups are determined as color data. A configuration in which a page including an object belonging to a group finally determined as color data among a plurality of pages included in the document data D1 is output to the color printing machine 3 and the other pages are output to the monochrome printing machine 4 is configured. It has become.

  According to such a configuration, if a monochrome page that forms the original data D1 includes a gray color of intermediate gradation, if the same object as that gray color is also included in the other color pages. These pages are all output by the color printer 3. On the other hand, even if a monochrome page contains a gray color of intermediate gradation, if the same object as that gray color is not contained in another color page, the monochrome page is printed in monochrome. It is output by the machine 4. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the same gray-colored object that is a monochrome intermediate gradation from being output by different printers. Color reproducibility can be improved.

  In this embodiment, when determining whether each of a plurality of groups is color data or monochrome data, a color flag is set for a page including an object belonging to the group determined to be color data. If a group determined to be monochrome data includes a group included in a page with a color flag set, the color flag is set for a page including an object belonging to the group. At this time, if the group determined to be monochrome data is a black character, the color flag is not set. When printing data is output, the page with the color flag set is output to the color printer 3, and the other pages are output to the monochrome printer 4. With such a configuration, when the same object having a monochrome halftone is included in both the color page and the monochrome page, the color flag is set in both the color page and the monochrome page. Those pages are output to the color printer 3. Therefore, the reproducibility of the monochrome halftone of the same object can be matched.

  In this embodiment, the color information associated with each object includes any one of the gray value, the RGB value, and the CMYK value of the object. It is determined which one is. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform grouping according to whether the object included in the document data D1 is color or monochrome.

  In the present embodiment, the attribute information associated with each object includes information indicating whether the object is a character, a graphic, or a photograph. Based on the attribute information, each object is a character, Determine whether it is a graphic or a photo. Therefore, grouping can be performed accurately according to the type of object included in the document data D1.

  As mentioned above, although several embodiment regarding this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the content mentioned above, A various modification is applicable.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a group of black characters is excluded from the target of the second processing is exemplified. Similarly, a black-only photograph or a black-only graphic may be excluded from the target of the second processing. . In addition, in the case of a photograph, it is rare to be expressed in black and white binary, and generally includes a gray color that is a monochrome intermediate gradation. Therefore, when grouping, black and gray are the same group. You may make it classify | categorize into.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print data output device 3 Color printer 4 Monochrome printer 15 Memory | storage device 16 Program 21 Original data acquisition part (acquisition means)
22 Object analysis part (object analysis means)
23 Group generator (group generator)
24 group determination unit (group determination means)
25 Color flag setting unit 26 Output control unit (output control means)

Claims (7)

A print data output device capable of outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer,
Acquisition means for acquiring document data composed of a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed;
Object analysis means for extracting an object included in each page of the document data and determining color information and attribute information associated with each object;
Group generation means for classifying the objects determined as the same color information and attribute information by the object analysis means into the same group;
Group determination means for determining whether each group generated by the group generation means is color data or monochrome data;
Output control for outputting a color page including an object belonging to a group determined to be color data by the group determination unit to a color printing machine and outputting other pages to a monochrome printing machine among a plurality of pages included in the document data Means,
With
In the case where a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, the group determination unit is configured so that if at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, the plurality of groups A print data output apparatus characterized in that all pages are determined as color data, and all pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data are set as color pages . The group determination unit sets a color flag for a page including an object belonging to a group determined to be color data, and is included in a page for which the color flag is set in a group determined to be monochrome data. Configured to set a color flag for pages that contain objects belonging to that group,
2. The output control unit according to claim 1, wherein the output control unit outputs a color page in which a color flag is set by the group determination unit to a color printing machine, and outputs the other pages to a monochrome printing machine. Print data output device. The color information includes any one of the gray value, RGB value, and CMYK value of the object,
The print data output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object analysis unit determines whether each object is color or monochrome based on the color information. The attribute information includes information indicating whether the object is a character, a graphic, or a photo,
The print data output apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the object analysis unit determines whether each object is a character, a graphic, or a photograph based on the attribute information.   The group generation means classifies color objects into a color group of any one of characters, graphics, and photographs, and classifies monochrome objects into any one of the monochrome groups of characters, graphics, and photographs. 5. The print data output device according to 4. A print data output method for outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer,
(a) obtaining original data comprising a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed;
(b) extracting an object included in each page of the document data and determining color information and attribute information associated with each object;
(c) classifying the objects determined as the same color information and attribute information in the step (b) into the same group;
(d) determining whether each group generated in step (c) is color data or monochrome data;
(e) Out of a plurality of pages included in the document data, a color page including an object belonging to the group determined to be color data in step (d) is output to a color printer, and the other pages are output to a monochrome printer. Output step;
Have
In the step (d), when a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, if at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, the plurality of these A print data output method, wherein all groups are determined as color data, and all pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data are set as color pages . A program executed by a computer capable of outputting print data to each of a color printer and a monochrome printer, the computer being
Acquisition means for acquiring original data composed of a plurality of pages in which color pages and monochrome pages are mixed;
Object analysis means for extracting an object included in each page of the document data and determining color information and attribute information associated with each object;
Group generating means for classifying the objects identified as the same color information and attribute information by the object analyzing means into the same group;
Group determination means for determining whether each group generated by the group generation means is color data or monochrome data; and
Output control for outputting a color page including an object belonging to a group determined to be color data by the group determination unit to a color printing machine and outputting other pages to a monochrome printing machine among a plurality of pages included in the document data means,
Function as
In the case where a plurality of objects classified into a plurality of different groups are included in the same page, the group determination unit is configured so that if at least one of the plurality of groups is color data, the plurality of groups Is determined as color data, and all pages including objects belonging to the group determined as color data are set as color pages .

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