JP5794015B2 - Printing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system that executes printing by applying calibration data to image data.

  Many printing devices such as printers and MFPs have a calibration function for correcting changes in color reproducibility over time. For example, the following cited document 1 describes a print control apparatus that determines whether or not the printer calibration setting should be changed according to the cumulative value of the image formation amounts of CMYK colors.

  A printing system that stores RIP (rasterized) image data on a hard disk or the like after printing and reprints the same manuscript using the image data after printing has been improved in recent years has been proposed. Has been. According to this system, it is not necessary to repeat the RIP process at the time of reprinting, so that high speed printing can be realized. On the other hand, according to the system, if the calibration settings are changed between the first printing and reprinting, different calibration settings are applied at both times, so the color is the same even though the document is the same. Printed materials with different reproducibility are output. Thereby, for example, when the number of copies of the conference distribution material printed is insufficient and reprinted, there may be a problem that the print result desired by the user cannot be obtained.

  In relation to this, the following Patent Document 2 discloses an image processing apparatus that applies a calibration setting before change when a registered job exists in the printer even if a change condition for calibration setting is satisfied. Has been proposed. However, even when such an image forming apparatus is used, since the changed calibration setting is applied at the time of reprinting, there is a problem that printed matter having different color reproducibility is output due to a difference in printing time point. Still not resolved.

JP 2009-053832 A JP 2006-212894 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to achieve color reproducibility when reprinting a print job based on stored image data as compared with the first printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system that can effectively prevent the output of different printed materials.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) and a print unit that executes printing of the image data, by applying the calibration data stored in said printing means upon receipt of said image data to said image data, the calibration with respect to the printing means image processing means for printing the image data according to the data, and the image data storage means for storing the image data for re-printing of the image data by the printing means as a re-printing image data, the image data Calibration data storage means for storing the calibration data applied at the time of reception in association with the image data for reprinting as calibration data at the time of initial printing, and in the reprinting of the image data by the printing means, the reprinting applying said initial print calibration data to use the image data Printing system comprising a setting unit, a performing setting whether or not to.

(2) The setting unit performs setting that the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the reprint image data within a period designated by the user. Printing system.

  (3) The printing system according to (2), wherein the specified period is a period until a time specified by a user elapses after the image data is printed.

  (4) The printing system according to (2), wherein the designated period is a period until a designated time by a user arrives.

(5) The setting unit notifies the user at the end of the designated period, and relates to whether the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the reprint image data after the designated period ends. The printing system according to (3) or (4), wherein an instruction is acquired from a user.

(6) The setting unit obtains an instruction from the user regarding whether or not the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the image data for reprinting each time the image data is reprinted by the printing unit. The printing system according to (1), characterized in that it is characterized in that:

  According to the present invention, the calibration data applied at the time of the first printing of the print job (calibration data at the time of the first printing) is stored in association with the image data for reprinting, so that the reprinting can be performed in the reprinting of the print job. It is possible to set that the calibration data should be applied to the image data at the first printing. Therefore, according to the present invention, when reprinting a print job based on stored reprint image data, it is possible to effectively prevent a printed matter having a color reproducibility different from that at the first printing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows notionally the function of PC (control part) which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the job production | generation means which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing functions of a printer controller (control unit) according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing functions of a printer (control unit) according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of UI screen for a calibration setting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the other example of UI screen for calibration settings which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the calibration setting process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the management table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system S according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system S includes a PC 1 as a client device that generates a print job, a printer controller 2 as an image processing device that converts a print job received from the PC 1 into raster image data, and a printer controller 2. The printer 3 is provided as a printing apparatus that executes a printing process based on the image data received from the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 and the printer controller 2 are connected via the network N, and the printer controller 2 and the printer 3 are locally connected. Here, the network N is a LAN according to a standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. In FIG. 1, the printer controller 2 is an independent device from the printer 3, but the printer controller 2 may be built in the printer 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a colorimeter 4 for measuring a color chart used for calibration of the printer 3 is locally connected to the printer controller 2. The colorimeter 4 measures a color patch in a color chart with a colorimeter such as a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer, and the measurement result is a device-independent colorimetric value such as L * a * b * or XYZ. It has the function to convert to. The measurement result by the colorimeter 4 is transmitted to calibration data generation means 21b (described later) of the printer controller 2. The colorimeter 4 may be connected to the PC 1 or the printer 3 instead of the printer controller 2 or may be connected to the network N.

  Next, detailed configurations of the PC 1, the printer controller 2, and the printer 3 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PC 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, and a network interface 15, which are connected to each other via a bus 16 for exchanging signals. ing. These components will be described in order below.

  The control unit 11 is a CPU, and controls the operation of each unit according to a program and executes various arithmetic processes. FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions of the control unit 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 includes a document generation unit 11a and a job generation unit 11b. These will be described in order below.

  First, the document generation unit 11 a has a function of generating a document file for printing by the printer 3. The document generation unit 11 a is realized by various document creation applications stored in the storage unit 12. The job generation unit 11b has a function of generating a print job by converting the document file generated by the document generation unit 11a into a language (PDL such as PCL or PostScript) that can be read by the printer controller 2. . The job generation unit 11b is realized by a print setting program (generally called a printer driver) stored in the storage unit 12. The job generation unit 11b will be further described later (see FIG. 4).

  The storage unit 12 includes a ROM that stores programs and parameters for controlling basic operations of the PC 1, a RAM that temporarily stores various data as a work area of the CPU, and an HDD that stores various programs and data files. It is a storage area. The storage unit 12 stores the above-described document creation application, print setting program, and the like.

  The display unit 13 is a display device such as an LCD for displaying various information to the user. In particular, the display unit 13 displays various UI (user interface) screens by the job generation unit 11b (see FIGS. 9 and 10). The input unit 14 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for acquiring various operation instructions from the user. The network interface 15 is a communication device such as a NIC for connecting the PC 1 to the network N, and conforms to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI.

  Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the printer controller 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the printer controller 21 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a display unit 23, an input unit 24, a network interface 25, and a printer interface 26, which are buses 27 for exchanging signals. Are connected to each other. These components will be described in order below.

  The control unit 21 is a CPU, and controls the operation of each unit according to a program and executes various arithmetic processes. FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions of the control unit 21. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 21 includes RIP processing means 21a and calibration data generation means 21b. These will be described in order below.

  First, the RIP processing unit 21a has a function of generating raster format image data by executing RIP processing (rasterization) of a print job received from the PC 1. The image data generated by the RIP processing unit 21a is transmitted to an image processing unit 31a (described later) and a data management unit 31b (described later) of the printer 3. At this time, job attribute information (described later) and calibration setting information (described later) included in the print job are transmitted to the data management unit 31b.

  The calibration data generation unit 21 b has a function of generating calibration data of the printer 3 based on the measurement result of the color chart received from the colorimeter 4. The calibration data generation unit 21b may be provided not on the printer controller 2 but on the PC 1 or the printer 3 side. Here, “calibration data” according to the present embodiment converts the color values of individual pixels constituting the image data for printing into numerical values that match the state of the printer 3 at the time of printing the color chart. Refers to the lookup table for.

  For example, the calibration data is generated based on a comparison result between the actual value of the color chart measured by the colorimeter 4 and a reference value stored in advance in the storage unit 22 or the like. The generated calibration data is transmitted to the printer 3 and stored in the storage unit 32. Here, since the calibration data is generated every time the color chart 4 is measured by the colorimeter 4, a plurality of types of calibration data having different generation times are stored in the storage unit 32 of the printer 3. Note that the calibration color chart may be printed according to an individual print instruction from the user, or may be automatically printed at a predetermined cycle.

  The storage unit 22 includes a ROM that stores programs and parameters for controlling basic operations of the printer controller 2, a RAM that temporarily stores various data as a work area of the CPU, and an HDD that stores various programs and data files. This is a storage area consisting of The display unit 23 is a display device such as an LCD for displaying various information to the user. The input unit 24 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for acquiring various operation instructions from the user.

  The network interface 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device such as the PC 1 via the network N, and conforms to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI. The printer interface 26 is an interface for communicating with the printer 3 and is, for example, a parallel interface such as IEEE1394.

  Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the printer 3 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the printer 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an operation unit 33, a printing unit 34, and a controller interface 35, which are connected to each other via a bus 36 for exchanging signals. Has been. These components will be described in order below.

  Note that the printer 3 according to the present embodiment executes a printing process based on the image data received from the printer controller 2 and stores the image data in the storage unit 32, and stores the image data in the storage unit 32 after a predetermined time has elapsed. It has a function of executing reprint processing using image data. As a result, it is not necessary to repeat the RIP process when the printing process is executed again, so that high-speed printing can be realized.

  In the following description, the initial printing process based on the image data received from the printer controller 2 is referred to as “initial printing”, and the re-printing process based on the image data stored in the storage unit 32 is referred to as “reprinting”. I will decide. The image data for reprinting stored in the storage unit 32 is particularly referred to as “image data for reprinting”.

  Referring to FIG. 7, the control unit 31 is a CPU, and controls operations of each unit according to a program and performs various arithmetic processes. FIG. 8 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions of the control unit 31. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 31 includes an image processing unit 31a and a data management unit 31b. These will be described in order below.

  First, the image processing unit 31a applies the latest calibration data at the same time to the image data received from the printer controller 2 (RIP processing unit 21a) at the time of the first printing of the print job, thereby obtaining the calibrated image data. It has a function to generate. The calibrated image data generated by the image processing unit 31a is transmitted to the printing unit 34 for printing processing. In the following, the calibration data applied to the image data at the time of the first printing of the print job (that is, the latest calibration data at the time of the first printing) will be referred to as “calibration data at the time of first printing” in particular. To.

  Further, the image processing unit 31a applies either the latest calibration data at the same time or the calibration data at the first printing to the reprint image data in the storage unit 32 when the print job is reprinted. It has a function of generating calibrated image data. At this time, the image processing unit 31a determines calibration data to be applied to the reprint image data with reference to a data management table T (described later) created by the data management unit 31b.

  Subsequently, the data management unit 31b has a function of saving the image data received from the printer controller 2 (RIP processing unit 21a) in the storage unit 32 as image data for reprinting. At this time, the data management unit 31b determines whether or not each image data should be stored as reprint image data based on the job attribute information received from the RIP processing unit 21a.

  The data management unit 31 b has a function of storing the calibration data at the time of initial printing in association with the reprint image data in the storage unit 32. At this time, the data management unit 31b determines whether or not the calibration data at the first printing should be stored in association with the reprint image data with reference to the calibration setting information received from the RIP processing unit 21a.

  Further, the data management unit 31b has a function of creating a management table T indicating management information of image data and calibration data stored in the storage unit 32. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the management table T created by the data management unit 31b. As shown in FIG. 12, in the management table T, the name of the image data for reprinting corresponding to each print job (“image data for reprinting” field) and the initial printing stored in association with the image data for reprinting are stored. This includes the name of the hour calibration data (“Calibration Data” field) and information (“Calibration Settings” field) relating to the calibration settings applied to each print job. Here, the calibration setting refers to a setting relating to calibration data applied to reprint image data in reprinting of individual print jobs.

  The storage unit 32 includes a ROM that stores programs and parameters for controlling basic operations of the PC 1, a RAM that temporarily stores various data as a work area of the CPU, and an HDD that stores various programs and data files. It is a storage area. As described above, reprint image data is stored in the storage unit 32 by the data management unit 31b, and calibration data at the time of initial printing is stored in association with the reprint image data.

  The operation unit 33 is an operation panel that displays various information to the user and obtains various operation instructions from the user. The printing unit 34 will be described later. The controller interface 35 is an interface for communicating with the printer controller 2 and is, for example, a parallel interface such as IEEE1394.

  The printing unit 34 is a print engine that executes a printing process based on the calibrated image data received from the image processing unit 31a. More specifically, the printing unit 34 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, a charging process for charging the photosensitive drum, an exposure process for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum with laser light. An electronic process comprising a developing step for forming a toner image, a transfer step for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum to a recording paper by a transfer belt, and a fixing step for heating and fixing the toner image transferred to the recording paper by a fixing roller. Executes photo printing. Note that the printing method employed by the printing unit 34 may be an impact method, a thermal transfer method, an inkjet method, or the like.

  Subsequently, the print setting unit 11b of the PC 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the print setting unit 11b includes a job attribute setting unit 11b1 and a calibration setting unit 11b2. First, the job attribute setting unit 11b1 has a function of setting whether or not image data based on a print job should be saved in the printer 3 (storage unit 32) as reprint image data.

  More specifically, the job attribute setting unit 11b1 displays a predetermined UI screen on the display unit 13 to acquire a user instruction regarding whether or not image data should be stored in the printer 3. The user instruction acquired in this way is included in the print job as “job attribute information” and transmitted to the data management means 31 b of the printer 3 via the printer controller 2. Then, the data management unit 31b determines whether or not image data based on each print job should be stored as reprint image data in accordance with the job attribute information.

  The calibration setting unit 11b2 has a function of setting whether or not to apply calibration data at the time of initial printing stored in association with reprint image data in reprinting a print job. More specifically, the calibration setting unit 11b2 acquires a user instruction related to calibration setting by displaying a predetermined calibration setting UI screen. The user instruction acquired in this way is included in the print job as “calibration setting information” and transmitted to the data management means 31 b of the printer 3 via the printer controller 2. Then, the data management unit 31b refers to the calibration setting information and determines whether or not the calibration data at the first printing should be stored in association with the reprint image data.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a calibration setting UI screen displayed by the calibration setting unit 11b2. The UI screen u1 illustrated in FIG. 9 selects “always apply the latest calibration data”, “always apply the calibration data at the first printing”, and “calibration data to apply every time printing is performed”. Radio button b1 having an option “Yes”. These options will be described in turn below.

  First, when “always apply the latest calibration data” is selected, the latest calibration data at the same point in reprinting is applied to the image data for reprinting. When “Always apply calibration data at initial printing” is selected, calibration data at initial printing is applied to reprint image data. When “select calibration data to be applied every time printing” is selected, which calibration data should be applied is selected by the user every time reprinting is performed.

  Next, FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the calibration setting UI screen. The UI screen u2 illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a radio button b2 including options of “set by elapsed time” and “set by time”. These options will be described in turn below.

  First, when “Set by elapsed time” is selected, the calibration data at the first printing is applied to the reprint image data until the user-specified time elapses after the initial printing. The latest calibration data at the time of reprinting is applied to the image data for reprinting. The user specified time is specified by the spin button b3 adjacent to the radio button b2.

  On the other hand, when “Set by time” is selected, the calibration data at the first printing is applied to the image data for reprinting until the user specified time is reached, and at the time of reprinting after reaching the user specified time. The latest calibration data is applied to the reprint image data. The user designated time is designated by a spin button b4 adjacent to the radio button b2.

  The user instruction received on the UI screen as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is included in the print job as “calibration setting information” and transmitted to the data management unit 31 b via the printer controller 2. Then, the information is added to the “calibration setting” column of the management table T by the data management means 31b (see FIG. 12). Thereafter, the image processing unit 31a determines whether or not to apply calibration data at the time of initial printing in reprinting a print job with reference to the “calibration setting” column of the management table T.

  Next, an outline of the operation of the printing system S according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the calibration setting process by the calibration data setting unit 11b2 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “setting unit 11b2”) according to the present embodiment. The algorithm shown by the flowchart of FIG. 11 is stored as a control program in the ROM of the storage unit 12.

  First, the setting unit 11b2 waits until the print setting of the document file generated by the document generation unit 11a is started (NO in S101). When the print setting is started (YES in S101), the setting unit 11b2 waits for the time. It is determined whether or not the calibration setting should be changed (S102). More specifically, the setting unit 11b2 displays a predetermined UI screen (not shown) and acquires a user instruction regarding whether or not to change the calibration setting according to time.

  If it is determined that the calibration setting should be changed according to the time (YES in S102), the UI screen u2 as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, and the elapsed time (spin button b3) or time after the first printing is displayed. User instructions relating to (spin button b4) are acquired (S104). Thereafter, the setting unit 11b2 ends the calibration setting process (end). As described above, the user instruction received on the UI screen u2 is transmitted to the data management unit 31b as calibration setting information, and is added to the management table T by the data management unit 31b.

  More specifically, when “n hours m minutes” is designated by the spin button b 3, the data management unit 31 b displays “initial printing until n hours m minutes have elapsed since the first printing” in the “calibration setting” column of the management table T. Enter "Apply calibration data". In this case, the calibration data at the first printing is applied until the user specified time (n hours m minutes) elapses after the first printing, and the latest calibration data at the time of reprinting is applied after the user specified time elapses. Is done. Then, the calibration data at the first printing in the storage unit 32 is held until the user specified time elapses after the first printing (see “No. 4” in FIG. 12).

  When “x month y day a hour b minute” is designated by the spin button b4 on the UI screen u2, the data management unit 31b displays “x month y day a a” in the “calibration setting” column of the management table T. “Apply calibration data for initial printing until time b” is entered. In this case, the calibration data at the time of the first printing is applied until the user specified time (x month y day a hour b minutes) arrives, and after the user specified time arrives, the latest calibration data at the time of reprinting is obtained. Applied. Then, the calibration data at the time of the first printing in the storage unit 32 is held until the user designated time is reached (see “No. 5” in FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S102 that the calibration setting should not be changed according to the time (NO in S102), the setting unit 11b2 displays the UI screen u1 as shown in FIG. 9 and issues a user instruction regarding the calibration setting. Accept (S103). Thereafter, the setting unit 11b2 ends the calibration setting process (end).

  As described above, the user instruction received on the UI screen u1 is transmitted to the data management unit 31b as calibration setting information, and is added to the “calibration setting” column of the management table T by the data management unit 31b. Then, the image processing unit 31a refers to the calibration setting information added to the “calibration setting” field to determine calibration data to be applied to the reprint image data in the reprinting.

  More specifically, when “always apply the latest calibration data” is selected for the radio button b1, the image processing unit 31a performs the latest calibration at the time of reprinting regardless of the elapsed time after the first printing. Always apply application data. When “Always apply calibration data at first printing” is selected, the image processing unit 31a always applies the calibration data at the first printing regardless of the elapsed time after the first printing. Then, the initial printing calibration data stored in association with the reprinting image data is retained until the reprinting image data is deleted (see “No. 1” in FIG. 12).

  If “select calibration data to be applied each time printing” is selected, the user selects which calibration data should be applied each time reprinting is performed, and the image processing unit 31a selects Applied calibration data. More specifically, each time reprinting is performed, a calibration data selection UI screen (not shown) is displayed on the display unit 13 or the operation unit 33, and any calibration data is selected on the UI screen. become. The initial printing calibration data stored in association with the reprint image data is retained until the reprint image data is deleted (see “No. 3” in FIG. 12).

  As described above, according to the printing system S according to the present embodiment, the calibration data applied at the first printing of the print job (calibration data at the first printing) is stored in association with the image data for reprinting. Thus, in the reprinting of the print job, it is possible to make a setting that the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the reprinting image data. Therefore, according to the printing system S according to the present embodiment, when reprinting a print job based on saved reprint image data, it is possible to effectively prevent a printed matter having a color reproducibility different from that at the first printing. can do.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the printer 3 is employed as a printing unit that executes printing of image data. However, the printing unit according to the present invention is a multifunction peripheral device (MFP) further provided with a scanning function, a copying function, and the like. May be.

  Each means of the printing system according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing each of the above procedures, or by a CPU executing a program describing each of the above procedures. When the present invention is realized by the latter, a program for operating each means may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or CD-ROM, or via a network such as the Internet. It may be provided online. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a ROM, hard disk or the like. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated in the apparatus as one function of the apparatus constituting the printing system.

1 PC,
11 Control unit,
11a Document generation means,
11b Job generation means,
11b1 job attribute setting means,
11b2 calibration setting means,
2 Printer controller,
21 control unit,
21a RIP processing means,
21b Calibration data generating means,
3 Printer,
31a image processing means,
31b Data management means,
32 storage unit,
4 Colorimeter,
S printing system,
T management table,
u1 Calibration setting UI screen,
u2 Calibration setting UI screen.

Claims (6)

A printing unit to perform the printing of the image data,
Image processing means for applying calibration data stored in the printing means to the image data at the time of receiving the image data, and causing the printing means to print the image data to which the calibration data is applied;
An image data storage means for storing the image data as a re-print image data for reprinting of the image data by the printing means,
Calibration data storage means for storing the calibration data applied at the time of reception of the image data in association with the reprint image data as calibration data at the time of initial printing;
And a setting unit configured to set whether to apply the calibration data at the time of initial printing to the image data for reprinting in the reprinting of the image data by the printing unit. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets that the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the reprint image data within a period designated by a user.   The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the specified period is a period until a specified time by a user elapses after the image data is printed.   The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the designated period is a period until a designated time by a user arrives. The setting means notifies the user of the fact at the end of the designated period and gives an instruction regarding whether or not the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the reprint image data after the designated period is over. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein the printing system is acquired from the above. The setting unit obtains an instruction from the user regarding whether or not the calibration data at the first printing should be applied to the image data for reprinting each time the image data is reprinted by the printing unit. The printing system according to claim 1.