JP6500501B2 - Image formation output control device, image processing system, image processing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image formation output control device , an image processing system , and an image processing program .

  According to an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format), a method of defining and controlling all processes related to the generation of a printed matter is used. According to this method, it is possible to collectively control different types of printers such as offset printers and digital printers. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system, and a server that controls such a system is called an HWF server.

  In such an HWF system, when the offset printer and the digital printer execute output based on the same print data, the same result can be obtained with no difference in font, color tone, layout, etc. Desired. Therefore, a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine that generates raster data, which is data ultimately referred to in print output, based on the print data is shared between the offset printer and the digital printer.

  Such RIP engine is installed in the above-mentioned HWF server. Then, in the case of the output by the offset printer, the CTP that creates the version for the offset printer after the raster engine data generation process (hereinafter referred to as “RIP process”) is performed on the HWF server by the RIP engine. Data is transferred to Computer To Plate).

  Therefore, even when a digital printer is used, it is possible to execute print output by transferring raster data subjected to RIP processing by the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server to the digital printer. On the other hand, in the case of a digital printer, a system called DFE (Digital Front End) generally receives print data, performs RIP processing, and causes a printer engine to execute print output.

  That is, when a digital printer is used in the HWF system, a method is employed in which the DFE receives data from the HWF server, and the printer engine of the digital printer is controlled by the DFE to execute print output. Therefore, as described above, the DFE is equipped with the RIP engine shared with the offset printer.

  In such an HWF system, information for executing print output (hereinafter referred to as “job data”) is a page based on the operation of the operator of the HWF server or the comparison of the contents of the job data and the characteristics of the printer. It may be divided for each printing part such as a unit. Each divided job data is executed as individual data, and each print result is output to different output destinations such as an offset printer and a digital printer.

  For the purpose of managing job data in which print results are output to different output destinations, a method has been proposed in which each print result is tracked on the HWF server side based on each job data (see, for example, Patent Document 1) ).

  If the print results of the divided job data are output to different output destinations, the operator on the printer side is difficult to grasp to which printer and in what order the print results are output. It is difficult to integrate in the correct content and order. Further, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operator on the printer side can not manage the divided job data.

  Moreover, such problems are not limited to the output destination of each of the divided job data being an offset printer and a digital printer as in the above-mentioned HWF system, and a plurality of different output destinations such as a plurality of different digital printers. Even devices can occur as well.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to facilitate integration of print results output to a plurality of different devices according to divided job data in the correct content and order. I assume.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is to form an image forming output on a recording medium based on a plurality of partial output target image information obtained by dividing output target image information which is information of an image forming output target image. An image formation output control device for controlling execution, the division information acquisition unit acquiring division information indicating the contents of the division, and the first partial output target to be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the division information The partial output target image information determined to be the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus by the top execution image information determination unit that determines image information and the top execution image information determination unit shown, based on the division information, each of the output destination of the image forming output based on the split configuration and the plurality of partial output target image data of the plurality of partial output target image data against Division configuration information adding unit for adding the divided configuration information is one of the parameters, based on the division information, on the basis of the partial output target image data in the entire portion to be imaged output based on the output target image data A position grasping information adding unit for adding partial position grasping information , which is a second parameter for grasping the position of the portion to be subjected to image formation output, to the plurality of partial output target image information, and the partial output target image information When the first parameter is included, the division information generating unit generates drawing information which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus that executes the image formation output based on the output target image information. If the drawing information for presenting information is generated, and the partial output target image information includes the second parameter, the drawing information is generated. A drawing information generation control unit for the partial locating information to the generating unit generates the drawing information to the image forming output onto said recording medium, characterized in that it comprises a.

  According to the present invention, each print result output to a plurality of different devices in accordance with each divided job data can be easily integrated in the correct content and order.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the JDF information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the functional composition of the HWF server concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the workflow information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing functional composition of DFE concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the conversion table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the RIP parameter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole operation | movement of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information of the division | segmentation request | requirement which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flow chart which shows RIP processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates JDF information contained in a division job concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing relating to RIP parameter generation by the job control unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the RIP parameter generated by processing by the job control part concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the RIP parameter generated by processing by the job control part concerning an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view exemplifying a print output result by a digital engine based on RIP parameters according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the details of the composition information sheet concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the information of another division | segmentation request | requirement based on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a view exemplifying a print output result processed by the digital engine according to the divided job according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the details of the composition information sheet concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates RIP parameters including mark image information concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the printing output result by the digital engine based on the RIP parameter in which the mark image information which concerns on embodiment of this invention is included. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the details of a sheet on which page position detection information is printed according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view exemplifying another print output result by the digital engine based on the RIP parameter including the mark image information according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the details of another sheet on which page position detection information is printed according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates JDF information including information which shows a presentation method of a page position concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates JDF information including information which shows a presentation method of a page position concerning an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an image processing system capable of controlling both printers via the same server in a system in which offset printers and digital printers are mixed will be described. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation mode of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to this embodiment includes a digital printer 1, an offset printer 2, a post-processing apparatus 3, HWF servers 4a and 4b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "HWF server 4"), client terminals 5a, 5b (hereinafter generally referred to as "client terminal 5") are connected via a network.

  The digital printer 1 is a printer that performs image formation output without using a plate, such as an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and includes a DFE 100 and a digital engine 150. The DFE 100 functions as an image formation output control device that is a control unit for causing the digital engine 150 to execute print output. Also, the digital engine 150 functions as an image forming apparatus. Therefore, the DFE 100 includes a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine for generating raster data, which is image data to be referred to when the digital engine 150 executes print output. Raster data is drawing information.

  The offset printer 2 is a printer that performs image formation output using a plate, and includes a CTP (Computer To Plate) 200 and an offset engine 250. The CTP 200 is a device that generates a plate based on raster data. Generation of a plate by the CTP 200 enables offset printing by the offset engine 250.

  The post-processing device 3 is a device that performs post-processing such as punching, stapling, and bookbinding on a sheet printed and output by the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. The HWF server 4 is a server on which HWF software is installed to manage everything from input (input) of job data including image data to be printed and output, to print output and post processing. The HWF server 4 manages the various processes described above according to information generated in an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format) (hereinafter referred to as “JDF information”). That is, the HWF server 4 functions as a process execution control device.

  When performing print output by offset printing using the offset printer 2, the HWF server 4 generates raster data by the RIP engine mounted inside, and transmits the raster data to the CTP 200. Therefore, the HWF server 4 is equipped with a RIP engine.

  On the other hand, when print output is performed by the digital printer 1, data is transmitted to the DFE 100. As described above, since the RIP engine is installed in the DFE 100, the HWF server 4 can cause the digital printer 1 to execute print output by transmitting the print data before RIP processing to the DFE 100.

  Here, print output based on the same print data may be executed in each of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. In such a case, if the results of the two print outputs are different, the user who receives the output will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is preferable that the print output results of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 are the same.

  In the case of print output by different devices, it is mainly generated by RIP processing. Therefore, by using the RIP engine in which the processing is shared between the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, it is possible to minimize the difference between the output results of the two.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4 corresponds to both the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, and is a RIP engine in which common processing is possible. Also, the DFE 100 is equipped with a RIP engine common to the RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4.

  With such a configuration, the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 are equipped with a common RIP engine. Therefore, when print output is performed by the digital printer 1, it is possible to combine the RIP process by the HWF server 4 and the RIP process by the DFE 100.

  The client terminal 5 is an information processing terminal for an operator using the system to operate the HWF server 4, and is realized by a general PC (Personal Computer) or the like. The operator displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for operating the HWF server 4 by operating the client terminal 5, and performs data input, setting of the above-described JDF information, and the like.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus such as the DFE 100, the HWF server 4 and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the same configuration as a general server, a PC (Personal Computer), and the like. That is, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10, a random access memory (RAM) 20, a read only memory (ROM) 30, a hard disk drive (HDD) 40 and an I / F 50 as a bus 80. Connected through. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is an arithmetic unit and controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of high-speed reading and writing of information, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read only non-volatile storage medium, and stores programs such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information, and stores an operating system (OS), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 with various hardware, networks, and the like. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to confirm the status of the information processing apparatus. The operation unit 70 is a user interface, such as a keyboard or a mouse, for the user to input information to the information processing apparatus. In addition, since the HWF server 4 is operated as a server, user interfaces such as the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 can be omitted.

  In such a hardware configuration, the software control unit is configured by the CPU 10 performing an operation according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program loaded into the RAM 20 from a storage medium such as the HDD 40 or an optical disk (not shown). The combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware configures a functional block that implements the functions of the DFE 100, the HWF server 4, and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment.

  Next, the above-described JDF information will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of JDF information. As shown in FIG. 3, the JDF information includes "job information" on job execution, "edit information" on raster data, and "finishing information" on post processing. Also, it includes information of “RIP status”, “RIP device designation” and “device designation”.

  The “job information” includes information such as “number of copies”, “number of pages”, and “RIP control mode” as shown in FIG. The “number of copies” is information for specifying the number of copies of the printed matter to be output. The “number of pages” is information for specifying the number of pages of the printed matter. “RIP control mode” indicates a control mode of RIP processing, and “page mode”, “sheet mode” and the like are designated.

  "Edit information" includes "direction information", "print surface information", "rotation", "enlargement / reduction", "image position", "layout information", "margin information", and "crop mark information" . The “direction information” is information for specifying the printing direction, such as “vertical” or “horizontal”. "Printing surface information" is information for specifying a printing surface such as "both sides" and "one side".

  "Rotation" is information specifying the rotation angle of the image to be output. “Zooming in / out” is information for specifying the scaling factor of the image to be output. The “offset” of “image position” is information for specifying the offset of the image to be output. “Position adjustment information” is information for specifying a value of position adjustment of an image to be output.

  The “custom in-position arrangement” of “layout information” is information for specifying the arrangement of the custom surface. The “number of pages” is information for specifying the number of pages of one sheet of paper, and, for example, “2 in 1” or the like is designated when two pages are consolidated on one sheet of paper. “Page order information” is information specifying information on the order of pages to be printed. “Creep position adjustment” is information specifying a value related to the adjustment of the creep position.

  “Margin information” is information that specifies a value related to a margin such as a fit box or a gutter. The "center crop mark information" of the "crop mark information" is information specifying a value related to the center crop mark. “Corner crop mark information” is information specifying a value related to a corner crop mark.

  “Finishing information” includes “Collate information”, “staple / bind information”, “punch information”, “folding information”, “trim”, “output tray information”, “input tray information”, and “cover / sheet information” including. “Collate information” is information that specifies whether to print in page units or in document units when a document is printed in multiple copies.

  “Staple / bind information” is information specifying processing related to staple / bind. “Punch information” is information that designates a process related to a punch. "Folding information" is information for specifying a process related to folding. “Trim” is information that specifies processing related to trimming.

  “Output tray information” is information for specifying an output tray. “Input tray” is information for specifying an input tray. "Cover sheet information" is information for specifying a process related to a cover sheet.

  The “RIP status” is execution state information indicating whether or not each of the RIP internal processes that are processes included in the RIP process has been executed. In FIG. 3, processing items such as “preflight”, “normalize”, “font”, “layout”, “mark”, “CMM”, “Trapping”, “Calibration”, and “Screening” as RIP internal processing items Is described. Then, the status of the processing state for each item is described. In FIG. 3, "NotYet" indicating that the processing is not performed is set, and is updated to "Done" when each processing is executed.

  The “RIP device designation” is information for specifying whether each of the RIP internal processes is to be executed on the HWF server 4 side or the DFE 100 side. For each item of RIP internal processing similar to "RIP status", either "HWF server" or "DFE" is set. In addition, when “DFE” is set, information specifying one of a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 is included, as in “DFE (Engine A)”.

  “Device designation” is information for designating a device for executing a print job, and in the example of FIG. 3, “digital printer” is designated. That is, the JDF information is process setting information including information for setting process contents for executing image formation output. The JDF information includes various information in addition to the information shown in FIG. Such information will be described in detail in the following description.

  The JDF information shown in FIG. 3 is generated by the operator displaying the GUI of the HWF server 4 via the client terminal 5 and setting various items in the GUI. Then, the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 or the DFE 100 performs RIP processing based on such JDF information. The post-processing device 3 also executes post-processing based on such JDF information.

  Next, the functional configuration of the HWF server 4 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the HWF server 4 includes an HWF controller 400 and a network I / F 401. A network I / F 401 is an interface for the HWF server 4 to exchange information with other devices via the network.

  The HWF controller 400 manages acquisition of print target data, creation of a print job, management of a workflow, distribution of jobs to the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, and the like. The process in which job data to be printed is input to the HWF server 4 and acquired by the HWF controller 400 is submission processing in the present system. The HWF controller 400 is configured by installing dedicated software in the information processing apparatus. This software is HWF software.

  In the HWF controller 400, a system control unit 410 controls the entire HWF controller 400. Therefore, when realizing each function of the HWF controller 400 described above, the system control unit 410 gives an instruction to each part of the HWF controller 400 to execute processing. The data reception unit 411 receives print job data from another system or receives job data submitted by an operator's operation.

  A UI (User Interface) control unit 412 controls an operation by the operator via the client terminal 5. A GUI for operating the HWF server 4 is displayed on the client terminal 5, and the UI control unit 412 acquires information of an operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The UI control unit 412 notifies the system control unit 410 of the information of the operation thus acquired via the network. The display of the GUI in the client terminal 5 is realized by software installed in advance in the client terminal 5 or information provided from the UI control unit 412 to the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The operator operates the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 to select job data to be submitted. Thereby, the client terminal 5 transmits job data to the HWF server 4, and the data reception unit 411 acquires the job data. The system control unit 410 registers the job data acquired by the data reception unit 411 in the job data storage unit 414.

  When transmitting job data from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4, job data is generated in the client terminal 5 based on the document data and image data selected in the client terminal 5, and then transmitted to the HWF server 4. . The job data is, for example, data in a PDL (Page Description Language) format such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or PostScript.

  In addition, data to be printed may be transmitted from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4 in the data format dedicated to the application or the general image data format. In that case, the system control unit 410 causes the job control unit 413 to generate job data based on the acquired data. The job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to generate job data based on print target data.

  Although the print target data registered in the job data storage unit 414 is PDL information as described above, this PDL information is not only primary data generated based on the print target data, but is halfway through There may also be intermediate data for which processing has been performed. These pieces of information are used as output target image information. In the case where intermediate data is stored in the job data storage unit 414, the job data is registered in the HWF server 4 in the state of intermediate data other than the state in the middle of the process in which the process has already been started in the HWF server 4 There is a possibility. In the following, “PDL information” indicates primary data not subjected to RIP processing, and “intermediate data” indicates data in the middle of processing in which RIP processing has been performed halfway. Show.

  Further, as described above, the information of JDF described in FIG. 3 is set and generated by the operation of the operator on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. The JDF information generated as such is received by the data receiving unit 411 together with PDL information as job data. The system control unit 410 associates the JDF information thus acquired and the PDL information and registers them in the job data storage unit 414.

  In the present embodiment, the case where JDF information is used as attribute information indicating the content of a job has been described as an example. However, this is only an example, and other formats, for example, PPF (Print Production Format) information may be used.

  In addition, the system control unit 410 can divide the received job data into each print portion such as page unit based on the operation of the operator displayed on the client terminal 5. The respective job data thus divided are registered in the job data storage unit 414 as the divided individual job data.

  In addition, when a device at the output destination is selected by the operation of the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 for each job for which division has been specified, the selection result is associated with job data and stored in the job data storage unit 414. Is saved. As the selection mode of the output destination, for example, there can be a selection mode such as the digital printer 1 for the cover part and the offset printer 2 for the text.

  The device information management unit 416 manages information by acquiring information of other devices included in the system, such as the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing apparatus 3, and storing the information in the device information storage unit 417. The information of other devices is the address of the network assigned when the device is connected to the network, and the information of the function of the device. The information on the function of the device is, for example, the printing speed, the usable post-processing function, the operation state, and the like.

  The device information communication unit 415 periodically acquires information of other devices included in the system via the network I / F 401. As a result, the device information management unit 416 periodically updates the information of the other devices stored in the device information storage unit 417, even if the information of the other devices changes dynamically. The information stored in 417 is kept accurate.

  The workflow control unit 418 determines the execution order of each process when processing job data registered in the job data storage unit 414 on the system, and stores the information in the workflow information storage unit 419. The execution order of each process defined in the workflow is determined in advance, and in order to maintain the order, control is made to proceed to the next process when the previous process is completed.

  That is, what is stored in the workflow information storage unit 419 is workflow information in which respective processes that can be executed in the HWF system are combined in the specified order. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of workflow information. On the other hand, parameters at the time when each process is executed are specified in the JDF information as described above. In the workflow information storage unit 419, workflow information set based on an operation of the operator displayed on the client terminal 5 is registered in advance.

  An execution instruction for job data registered in the HWF server 4 is notified to the system control unit 410 via the UI control unit 412 based on the operation of the operator on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Thus, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device described above.

  As described above, in the case of selecting the output destination device on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device according to the content of the specification. Besides this, it is also possible to automatically select based on the comparison between the contents of the job and the characteristics of the device.

  When the output destination device is automatically selected based on the comparison between the contents of the job and the characteristics of the device, the system control unit 410 acquires information of available devices from the device information management unit 416. Thus, when the output destination device is determined, the system control unit 410 adds information indicating the determined output destination device to the JDF information.

  After determining the output destination device, the system control unit 410 instructs the workflow control unit 418 to execute a job. At this time, workflow information registered in advance in the workflow information storage unit 419 may be used based on the operator's operation, or new workflow information may be generated based on the content set according to the operator's operation. .

  When the workflow control unit 418 receives an execution instruction from the system control unit 410, the workflow control unit 418 instructs the job control unit 413 to execute each process according to the designated execution order in accordance with the designated workflow information or newly generated workflow information. That is, the workflow control unit 418 functions as a process execution control unit.

  In response to the execution instruction, the job control unit 413 inputs the above-described PDL information and JDF information to the RIP engine 420 to execute the RIP process. The JDF information includes information indicating which of the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 the multiple RIP internal processes performed by the RIP engine are to be executed.

  The job control unit 413 refers to the information on the distribution of the RIP process among the information included in the JDF information, and if the process instructed by the workflow control unit 418 is to be executed by the HWF server 4, the RIP engine 420 Run the specified process on. The RIP engine 420 executes the RIP process based on the parameters specified in the JDF information in accordance with the instruction from the job control unit 413.

  The RIP engine 420 that has performed the RIP process in this way updates the RIP status of the RIP process that has performed the process. As a result, the status of the RIP internal processing executed in the HWF server 4 among the plurality of RIP internal processing is changed to "Done". The RIP engine 420 functions as a control-side drawing information generation unit.

  RIP execution result data generated by executing the RIP process is any of PDL information, intermediate data, and raster data. Although these differ in the contents of RIP internal processing, intermediate data is generated based on data which was originally PDL information as the processing proceeds, and raster data is finally generated. The RIP execution result data is stored in the job data storage unit 414 in association with the job being executed.

  When one RIP internal process is completed, the RIP engine 420 notifies the job control unit 413 of the completion, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418. Thereby, the workflow control unit 418 starts control of the next process according to the workflow information.

  If the content of the job received from the workflow control unit 418 is a request to another system, the job control unit 413 inputs job data to the job transmission / reception unit 421 in a form according to the other system, and transmits the job data Send it. In the case of transmission of job data to the offset printer 2, data to be printed is converted into raster data and transmitted as job data.

  On the other hand, in the case of transmission of job data to the digital printer 1, the job control unit 413 designates the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 among the plurality of RIP engines included in the DFE 100 to the job transmission / reception unit 421. Enter job data. Thus, the job transmitting / receiving unit 421 transmits the job data to the DFE 100 by designating the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420.

  The job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits, to the DFE 100, job data in which PDL information or intermediate data and JDF information are packaged. As a transmission mode of job data, PDL information or intermediate data may be used as external resource data, and a URL indicating a storage destination of PDL information or intermediate data may be described in JDF information. In this case, the side receiving the JDF information accesses the URL to acquire PDL information or intermediate data.

  Next, the functional configuration of the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The DFE 100 receives job data from the HWF server 4 and performs control of the received job, execution control of RIP processing, and control of the digital engine 150. The HWF server 4 causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output by transmitting job data to the DFE 100. That is, the DFE 100 functions as a server for providing the HWF server 4 with the digital print function.

  The job control function provided by the DFE 100 is a control function of a series of operations such as acceptance of job data, analysis of JDF information, creation of raster data, and print output by the digital engine 150. The execution control of the RIP process is a control that causes the RIP engine to execute the RIP process based on the information generated by the analysis of the JDF information.

  Information generated by analysis of JDF information is information obtained by extracting information used for RIP processing from the JDF information described in FIG. 3 and converting it into a format that can be deciphered by the DFE 100. It is called an attribute. Intermediate data and raster data are created by executing the RIP process with reference to the in-DFE job attribute.

  The control function of the digital engine 150 is a function that causes the digital engine 150 to transmit raster data and part of the above-described DFE job attributes to execute print output. These functions are realized by the blocks shown in FIG. Each block shown in FIG. 6 is realized by the CPU 10 performing arithmetic processing according to the program loaded into the RAM 20 or the program stored in the ROM 30 as described in FIG. 2 and operating other hardware.

  The DFE 100 incorporates a plurality of RIP engines inside. This is installed corresponding to RIP engines of other devices which may transmit a job to the DFE 100 in the HWF system. In the present embodiment, since the plurality of HWF servers 4a and 4b include different RIP engines, the DFE 100 is equipped with a plurality of RIP engines corresponding to the respective RIP engines.

  The job receiving unit 111 internally includes a plurality of individual job receiving units 112. The individual job receiving unit 112 receives job data from the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101. The plurality of individual job reception units 112 correspond to the plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100, respectively. The individual job receiving unit 112 functions as an individual receiving unit.

  As described above, upon transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100, the corresponding RIP engine is designated and transmitted. Therefore, in the job receiving unit 111, the individual job receiving unit 112 corresponding to the designated RIP engine receives the job data.

  In addition to the input via the network from the HWF server 4, the input of the job data to the DFE 100 can also be performed via a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. In the present embodiment, a case where JDF information is included in job data will be described as an example, but if JDF is not included, the job receiving unit 111 creates a dummy JDF and adds JDF information to job data. .

  The individual job reception unit 112 also functions as a virtual printer in which the contents of the job are set in advance, in addition to the case where the individual job reception unit 112 is provided corresponding to each of the RIP engines described above. That is, the RIP engine installed in the DFE 100 and the individual job reception unit 112 in which the contents of the job are set are provided, and the job is executed with the contents set in advance by designating one of the plural individual job reception units 112. It becomes possible.

  One possible setting in the individual job receiving unit 112 according to the present embodiment is a “pass-through mode”. In this "pass-through mode", analysis processing of JDF information is not performed by the JDF analysis unit 117 which is an analysis function of JDF information provided separately from the RIP engine in the DFE 100, and analysis of JDF information is performed in the RIP engine. It is a mode.

  With such a function, it is possible to use in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 a RIP engine in which it is difficult to use a format of JDF information that the JDF analysis unit 117 does not support or to provide a JDF analysis function outside the RIP engine. It becomes. In the present embodiment, when the processing is shared by the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 and the RIP engine 120 installed in the DFE 100, the “pass-through mode” described above is used. The same RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 is used as an output-side drawing information generation unit.

  When distributing the RIP processing to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is preferable that the division between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is performed as a series of processing without being conscious of the division between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 as much as possible. Therefore, when data processed halfway up in the HWF server 4 is input to the DFE 100, the same JDF analysis processing as in the case where unprocessed job data is input is omitted, and processing continues as processing in the HWF server It is preferred to be implemented.

  In the present embodiment, since the same RIP engine corresponding to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is mounted, it is possible to preferably realize control of such RIP processing. Also, in such a case, it is preferable that the data processed by one RIP engine is passed as it is to the other RIP engine, so that such control is preferably realized by the above-mentioned "pass-through mode". Can do.

  The system control unit 113 stores the job data received by the individual job receiving unit 112 in the job data storage unit 114 or delivers the job data to the job control unit 116. When the DFE 100 is set to store job data, the system control unit 113 stores job data in the job data storage unit 114. In addition, when it is described in the JDF information whether or not the job data storage unit 114 stores the information, the system control unit 113 follows the description.

  When job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, for example, the print content is previewed in the DFE 100. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires print target data included in job data, that is, PDL information and intermediate data from the job data storage unit 114, generates preview data, and passes it to the UI control unit 115. Thereby, the UI control unit 115 causes the display 102 to display a preview of the print content.

  When generating preview data, the system control unit 113 transfers data to be printed to the job control unit 116 to request generation of preview data. The job control unit 116 passes data to be printed to the RIP unit 118 to generate preview data, and passes the generated preview data to the system control unit 113.

  Also, when the operator changes the JDF information in the DFE 100, job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires JDF information from the job data storage unit 114 and passes it to the UI control unit 115. As a result, the JDF information of the job data is displayed on the display 102, and the operator can change it by the operation.

  When the operator operates the DFE 100 to change the JDF information, the UI control unit 115 receives the change content and notifies the system control unit 113 of the change content. The system control unit 113 reflects and updates the received change content in the target JDF information, and causes the job data storage unit 114 to store the updated JDF information.

  Then, upon receiving a job execution instruction, the system control unit 113 delivers the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 to the job control unit 116. The job execution instruction is input from the HWF server 4 via the network, or by the operation of the operator on the DFE 100. Also, for example, when the job execution time is set in the JDF information, the system control unit 113 passes the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 to the job control unit 116 when the set time is reached.

  The job data storage unit 114 is a storage area for storing job data as described above, and is realized by the HDD 40 or the like described in FIG. Other than this, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a network may be used.

  The UI control unit 115 receives the display of information on the display 102 and the operator's operation on the DFE 100 as described above. In the editing operation of the JDF information described above, the UI control unit 115 interprets the JDF information and displays the content of the print job on the display 102.

  The job control unit 116 performs control relating to job execution based on a job execution instruction from the system control unit 113. Specifically, the control performed by the job control unit 116 is JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117, RIP processing by the RIP unit 118, and control processing of the digital engine 150 by the printer control unit 122.

  When receiving an instruction to execute a job from the system control unit 113, the job control unit 116 inputs JDF information contained in job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 and makes a JDF conversion request. The JDF conversion request is a request for processing of converting JDF information described in a format of a generation source of JDF information into a format that can be recognized by the RIP unit 118. That is, the JDF analysis unit 117 functions as a process setting information conversion unit.

  On the other hand, when the “pass-through mode” is specified as described above, the job control unit 116 inputs the JDF information included in the job data acquired from the system control unit 113 to the RIP unit 118 as it is. The designation of the “pass-through mode” is described in the JDF information by the individual job receiving unit 112, for example.

  The JDF analysis unit 117 converts the JDF information described in the format of the generation source as described above into a format that can be recognized by the RIP unit 118. The JDF analysis unit 117 internally holds a conversion table, extracts necessary information in the RIP unit 118 out of the information contained in the JDF information according to the conversion table, and converts the description format. Thus, the in-DFE job attribute described above is generated.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the conversion table held by the JDF analysis unit 117 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the conversion table according to the present embodiment is information in which a description form in JDF information and a description form in a job attribute in DFE are associated. For example, the “number of copies” information described in FIG. 3 is described as “A · Amount” in the actual JDF information, and is converted to “number of copies” when generating the job attribute in DFE.

  By the processing of the JDF analysis unit 117 using the conversion table as shown in FIG. 7, a job attribute in DFE is generated. The information described in the job attribute in the DFE is, for example, “job information”, “edit information”, “finishing information” or the like shown in FIG.

  Further, the JDF analysis unit 117 sets “RIP control mode” in the job attribute in DFE when generating the job attribute in DFE. In the "RIP control mode", a "page mode", a "sheet mode" and the like are set. The JDF analysis unit 117 assigns the “RIP control mode” according to the type of the individual job reception unit 112 that has received the job data, the contents of the job, the HWF software that configures the HWF server 4 that is the transmission source of the job data, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the setting of consolidated printing in a print job is handled in the “page mode”. Details of the “RIP control mode” will be described later.

  The job control unit 116 generates a “RIP parameter” based on the job attribute in DFE generated by the JDF analysis unit 117, and passes the RIP parameter to the RIP control unit 119 of the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing. Run it. Thus, the RIP unit 118 executes the RIP process based on the RIP parameters.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of RIP parameters according to the present embodiment. The RIP parameters according to the present embodiment include “input / output data type”, “data read information”, and “RIP control mode” as the information at the beginning. “Input / output data type” designates the type of input / output data such as “JDF” or “PDL”. The designation format is, in addition to “JDF”, “PDL”, etc., text format, extension of image data, intermediate data, etc.

  The “data read information” is information on the input / output data read position, the method of specifying the write position, and the specified position. The “RIP control mode” is information of “page mode” and “sheet mode”. In addition, the information at the beginning includes information of a unit used in RIP parameters and information of a data compression method.

  The “input / output image information” includes “information on output image”, “information on input image”, and “information on image handling”. The "information on output image" includes information such as the format, resolution, size, color separation, color shift, page orientation, etc. of output image data. Also, “information on input image” includes information such as the format, resolution, page range, and color setting of input image data. The "information regarding image handling" includes information such as an offset of the scaling algorithm, an object area, and an offset of halftone.

  The “PDL related information” is information related to PDL information targeted by the RIP parameter, and includes information of “data area”, “size information”, and “data arrangement method”. The PDL information referred to here is data to be printed in a job, and includes the case of intermediate data. “Data area” designates area information in which PDL information is stored. “Size information” specifies the data size of PDL information. “Data arrangement method” designates a data arrangement method in the memory of PDL information, such as “little endian” and “big endian”.

  On the other hand, in the case of the “pass-through mode”, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters based on the JDF information and the PDL information or the intermediate data. In this case, in each item constituting the RIP parameter, information for referring to the item of the corresponding JDF information is set.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the RIP parameters include "RIP control mode". The RIP control unit 119 controls the RIP engine 120 according to the “RIP control mode”. Therefore, the sequence is determined according to the "RIP control mode". As described above, the "page mode" and the "sheet mode" are set in the "RIP control mode".

  The “page mode” is a process of executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pre-aggregated pages collected on one sheet of paper to generate raster data. The “sheet mode” is a process of executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pages collected on one sheet of paper to generate raster data collected on one sheet.

  Further, in the case of the "pass-through mode", the "pass-through mode" is designated as the "RIP control mode". However, this is an example, and the "pass-through mode" may be described in items other than the "RIP control mode".

  Also, the job control unit 116 sets “RIP engine identification information” in the RIP parameter. “RIP engine identification information” is information for identifying a plurality of RIP engines 120 included in the RIP unit 118. In the present embodiment, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 is used in the DFE 100.

  Therefore, as described above, the JDF information includes the information for specifying the individual job receiving unit 112, and the job data is received by the individual job receiving unit 112 specified as such. The individual job receiving unit 112 corresponds to one of the RIP engines 120, and adds identification information of the corresponding RIP engine 120 to the received JDF information. The job control unit 116 adds the “RIP engine identification information” described above to the RIP parameter based on the identification information of the RIP engine 120 added to the JDF information as described above.

  In the RIP unit 118, the RIP control unit 119 controls the plurality of RIP engines 120, and executes RIP internal processing based on the input RIP parameters to generate raster data. The functions of the RIP engine 120 will be described in detail later.

  The image storage unit 121 is a storage unit that stores raster data generated by the RIP engine 120. The image storage unit 121 is realized by the HDD 40 or the like described in FIG. Other than this, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a network may be used.

  The printer control unit 122 is connected to the digital engine 150, reads out raster data stored in the image storage unit 121, and transmits the raster data to the digital engine 150 to execute print output. Also, the printer control unit 122 performs control for finishing processing by acquiring the finishing information included in the in-DFE job attribute from the job control unit 116.

  The printer control unit 122 can obtain information of the digital engine 150 itself by exchanging information with the digital engine 150. For example, in the case of the CIP4 standard, a standard called DevCaps for transmitting and receiving device specification information to and from a printer is defined as a JDF information standard. Also known is a method of collecting printer information using a communication protocol called Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and a database called Management Information Base (MIB).

  The device information management unit 123 manages device information which is information of the DFE 100 itself or the digital engine 150. The device information includes information of the RIP engine 120 included in the RIP unit 118 and information of the individual job reception unit 112 configured in the job reception unit 111. Then, the information of the “pass-through mode” described above is also included as the information of the individual job receiving unit 112.

  The device information communication unit 124 exchanges device information with the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101 in accordance with specifications such as MIB and JMF (Job Messaging Format). Thus, the device information communication unit 415 of the HWF server 4 acquires device information from the DFE 100. As a result, in the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the information of the RIP engine 120 included in the DFE 100 and the information of the individual job reception unit 112 are reflected.

  When the digital engine 150 is controlled by the printer control unit 122 in the DFE 100 and print output is completed, the system control unit 113 recognizes this via the job control unit 116. Then, the system control unit 113 notifies the HWF server 4 of the completion notification of the print job via the job reception unit 111. As a result, the job transmission / reception unit 421 of the HWF server 4 receives a job completion notification.

  In the HWF server 4, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transfers a job completion notice to the job control unit 413, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of the job completion. The transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100 is originally performed by the workflow control unit 418 according to the workflow information.

  When recognizing the completion of the job by the DFE 100, the workflow control unit 418 controls the execution of the next process according to the workflow information. The processing to be set next to the print output by the DFE 100 includes, for example, post-processing by the post-processing device 3.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 in the case where the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is accompanied. As described above, the RIP engine 120 is a software module that executes RIP internal processing based on the RIP parameters described in FIG. 8 to generate raster data. As a RIP engine, for example, APPE which is a PDF printing engine provided by Adobe Systems is used as a base.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the RIP engine 120 is configured by the control unit 201 and other parts. Parts other than the control unit 201 are extensions which can be expanded by the vendor. The control unit 201 executes the RIP process by using various functions included as an extension unit.

  The input unit 202 receives an initialization request and an execution request for RIP processing, and notifies the control unit 201 of the request. At the time of initialization request, the above-described RIP parameters are also input to the control unit 201. The control unit 201 having received the initialization request inputs the RIP parameters received at the same time to the RIP parameter analysis unit 203. Then, the analysis result of the RIP parameter is acquired by the function of the RIP parameter analysis unit 203, and the order of operating the respective expansion units included in the RIP engine 120 is determined in the RIP process. Also, the format of data generated as a result of those processes determines any one of raster image, preview image, PDF, intermediate data, etc.

  When the control unit 201 receives an execution request for RIP processing from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 causes the respective units of the extension unit to operate according to the processing order determined when the initialization request is received. The preflight processing unit 204 confirms the validity of the content of the input PDL data. When an invalid PDL attribute is found, the control unit 201 is notified. The control unit 201 having received this notification notifies the external modules such as the RIP control unit 119 and the job control unit 116 via the output unit 213.

  As information on attributes confirmed by the preflight processing, for example, information that may cause processing by other modules included in the RIP engine 120 to be impossible, such as whether or not a non-compliant font is specified. It is.

  The normalization processing unit 205 converts the input PDL data into PDF when the input PDL data is not PDF but PostScript. The mark processing unit 206 develops graphic information of the designated mark, and superimposes the graphic information of the image to be printed on the designated position.

  The font processing unit 207 takes out font data and performs embedded font conversion and outlining of the font into PDL. A CMM (Color Management Module) processing unit 209 converts the color space of the input image into CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK) based on a color conversion table or the like described in an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile. The ICC profile is color ICC information and device ICC information.

  The Trapping processing unit 210 performs trapping processing. In the trapping process, each color area is expanded to fill the space to prevent gaps from being generated at the boundary when misregistration occurs for areas of different colors adjacent to each other at the border. Processing.

  The calibration processing unit 211 performs adjustment work of the variation of the color development balance due to the temporal change of the output device and the individual difference in order to enhance the accuracy of the color conversion by the CMM processing unit 209. The processing by the calibration processing unit 211 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120.

  The screening processing unit 212 executes halftone dot generation processing in consideration of the final output. The processing by the screening processing unit 212 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120 as in the processing by the calibration processing unit 211. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside. The RIP result is either a raster image, a preview image, a PDF, or intermediate data determined at initialization.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 when the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not performed will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the case where the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not accompanied is the case where the RIP internal processing is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, it also includes the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 in the same configuration as the RIP engine 120 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 without JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is mostly the same as the configuration described in FIG. Hereinafter, only differences from FIG. 9 will be described. It is also the same as FIG. 9 that parts other than the control part 201 are expansion parts.

  When the control unit 201 in the example of FIG. 10 receives an initialization request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 acquires JDF information together with the initialization request. Then, the control unit 201 analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information using the function of the job attribute analysis unit 214, and as in the case of FIG. 9, the processing order of each extension unit and the format of data generated as a result of processing Decide.

  In particular, in the case of the RIP engine 120 mounted on the DFE 100, the data format of the processing result is often raster data to be input to the printer control unit 122. On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4, the data format of the processing result differs depending on the distribution mode of the processing of the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, the control unit 201 in the RIP engine 420 determines the data format of the processing result such as PDL information and intermediate data based on the analysis result by the job attribute analysis unit 214.

  Further, the control unit 201 analyzes the information of the RIP status contained in the JDF information using the function of the RIP status analysis unit 215, and confirms the presence or absence of the RIP internal processing already executed. If there is an already executed RIP internal processing unit, the corresponding extension unit is excluded from the processing target.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 can analyze PDL information and execute the same processing as well as when analyzing the RIP status included in the JDF information. In the case of PDL information, since the attribute information such as the parameter has disappeared for the RIP internal processing that has already been executed, it is possible to determine the RIP internal processing that has not been executed based on the remaining attribute information.

  The layout processing unit 217 executes imposition processing. Under control of the control unit 201, the RIP status management unit 216 rewrites the RIP status corresponding to the RIP internal processing executed by each of the extension units into "Done". The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside of the engine. The RIP result is data of a data format determined at initialization.

  Also, as described above, depending on the information of "RIP device specification" included in the JDF information, a plurality of RIPs installed inside the DFE 100, such as "DFE (Engine A)" and "DFE (Engine B)". The engine 120 may be used separately. The control unit 201 can not delegate the process to the extension unit of another RIP engine, and therefore, is processed by the job control unit 116.

  As described above, the job control unit 116 adds “RIP engine identification information” to the RIP parameter. At this time, different RIP parameters are generated for each of the specified RIP internal processes by different RIP engines. In the case of the example of FIG. 3, RIP parameters for "engine A" for which execution of "font" and "layout" is specified, and RIP parameters for "engine B" for which execution of "mark" is specified, and Generate RIP parameters for “engine A” for which execution of the subsequent processing is specified.

  Then, the job control unit 116 sequentially requests the RIP unit 118 for RIP processing for each of the generated RIP parameters in accordance with the order of processing in the RIP. As a result, "Engine A" and "Engine B" are properly used to execute RIP internal processing.

  At this time, it is possible to refer to the information of "RIP status" as a method of executing only the designated process in each engine. That is, by setting the status to "NotYet" only for the item of the processing to be executed and "Done" for the other processing, it is possible to execute only the designated processing.

  Next, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows an example where print output is executed by the digital printer 1. As shown in FIG. 11, in the HWF server 4, the device information communication unit 415 acquires device information from the DFE 100 or CTP 200 via the network, and the device information management unit 416 registers the information in the device information storage unit 417 ( S1101). The process of S1101 is performed periodically.

  On the other hand, the client terminal 5 transmits a job registration request to the HWF server 4 when the registration operation of the job data is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system (S1102). In the HWF server 4, the UI control unit 412 acquires a job registration request. Accordingly, the data reception unit 411 acquires job data according to the control of the system control unit 410 (S1103).

  When job data is acquired by the data reception unit 411, the system control unit 410 controls the job control unit 413, and converts the format of the acquired job data into a PDL format (S1104). The job data converted in this manner is registered in the job data storage unit 414. In GUI in which job registration operation is performed in S1102, an input unit for specifying items of information included in the JDF described in FIG. 3 as well as an interface for specifying data to be registered by a file path or the like. Is displayed.

  Further, in the HWF server 4, information on the type of RIP engine installed in the DFE 100 is acquired by the process of S1101. Therefore, in the input field for specifying the information of "RIP device designation" shown in FIG. 3 in the GUI of the client terminal 5, it is possible to select which RIP engine is to be executed when the DFE is to be executed. It becomes possible.

  In addition, when the job data division operation is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a job division request to the HWF server 4 (S1105). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of information included in the job division request transmitted in S1105. As shown in FIG. 12, in addition to the information indicating the job to be divided, information in which the contents of division are designated is transmitted in the job division request. The information indicating the contents of division is information in which the device for executing print output and the name of the divided portion for executing print output are designated in page units.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the job division request, the system control unit 410 divides the job in page units according to the division contents for the division target job specified in the information shown in FIG. 12 and generates separate jobs. (S1106). At this time, a device designated for each divided range is used as information of “device designation” shown in FIG. 3 in the JDF information. The jobs generated by being divided in this manner are stored in the job data storage unit 414 as individual jobs.

  In addition, when the creation operation of the workflow is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a workflow generation request to the HWF server 4 (S1107). In the workflow generation request, information specifying the content of the workflow as shown in FIG. 5 and information specifying the job to be processed according to the workflow are transmitted.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the workflow generation request, the system control unit 410 inputs the information received together with the request to the workflow control unit 418. Accordingly, the workflow control unit 418 generates new workflow information based on the received information and stores the new workflow information in the workflow information storage unit 419, and associates the workflow with the job specified in the request (S1108). The association of a workflow with a job is performed, for example, by adding an identifier for identifying the workflow to the JDF information.

  After such processing, when the job execution operation is performed in the client terminal 5 by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a job execution request to the HWF server 4. The operations of S1102 to S1109 may be executed according to different operations, or a job registration request, a job division request, a workflow generation request, or a job execution request may be performed by one operation.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the job execution request, the system control unit 410 acquires the designated job data from the job data storage unit 414 based on the information for specifying the job data received along with the request (S1110) . Also, the system control unit acquires the latest information of the device specified in the acquired job data from the device information management unit 416, and sets the device information for the job (S1111).

  After that, the system control unit 410 delivers job data to the workflow control unit 418, and starts execution of the workflow (S1112). The workflow control unit 418 acquires workflow information associated with the acquired job data from the workflow information storage unit 419, and executes processing in accordance with the workflow information.

  In the workflow processing, first, the in-server processing to be executed is executed by the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 (S1113). In step S1113, the job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to execute processing as described above according to the control of the workflow control unit 418.

  Thereafter, when the process of the workflow reaches the process in the DFE 100, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 to transmit job data to the DFE 100 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418 (S1114). In step S1114, the job control unit 413 designates the individual job reception unit 112 according to the information specified in the JDF information from the plurality of individual job reception units 112.

  By specifying one of the plurality of individual job receiving units 112 when transmitting job data to the DFE 100, an appropriate individual job receiving unit 112 in the DFE 100 receives job data. By inputting job data to the DFE 100, as described above, the DFE 100 executes RIP processing and output processing by the digital engine 150 (S1115).

  In the DFE 100, when the designated processing is completed, the job reception unit 111 sends a completion notification to the HWF server 4 (S1116). When the job control unit 413 receives the completion notification from the DFE 100 via the job transmission / reception unit 421, the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of the completion. Thus, the workflow control unit 418 sends a post-processing request to the post-processing apparatus 3 to execute post-processing specified in the workflow next to the control in the DFE 100 (S1117).

  In step S1117, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418, and issues a post-processing request to the post-processing apparatus 3. By such processing, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment is completed.

  Next, the process in DFE in S1115 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, first, the individual job receiving unit 112 designated upon transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 receives job data (S1301). When receiving the job data, the individual job receiving unit 112 updates the JDF information so as to reflect the individual setting set for itself in the job data (S1302).

  The setting of the "pass-through mode" described above is also reflected in S1302. The job data to which the individual setting is reflected is input to the system control unit 113. The system control unit 113 stores the input job data in the job data storage unit 114 according to the setting, and performs preview processing and the like via the UI control unit 115 according to the operation of the operator.

  The system control unit 113 inputs job data to the job control unit 116 when an execution timing of a job in the DFE 100 is reached, such as an operator's operation or arrival at a set execution time. The job control unit 116 refers to the input job data and confirms whether or not it is in the pass-through mode (S1303). As a result, if it is not in the pass-through mode (S1303 / NO), the job control unit 116 inputs job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 to generate an in-DFE job attribute (S1304).

  As a result of confirmation in S1303, if the pass-through mode is selected (S1304 / YES), or if JDF conversion is completed and a job attribute in DFE is generated, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters (S1305). If it is not the pass-through mode, in S1305, RIP parameters as described in FIG. 8 are generated. On the other hand, in the case of the pass-through mode, of the information shown in FIG. 8, RIP parameters including information other than "input / output image information" are generated, and JDF information is referred to in other parts.

  After generating the RIP parameters, the job control unit 116 inputs necessary information to the RIP unit 118 to execute the RIP process (S1306). Thus, raster data is created by the RIP engine 120.

  In S1305, as described above, RIP parameters are generated for each RIP engine based on the information of “RIP device designation” shown in FIG. Then, in step S1306, RIP processing is sequentially performed for each of the generated RIP parameters to generate raster data.

  When raster data is generated and raster data is acquired from the RIP unit 118, the job control unit 116 inputs the raster data to the printer control unit 122 and causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output (S1307). Such processing completes the processing in DFE.

  Next, the RIP process in S1306 of FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, first, the control unit 201 executes an initialization process based on an initialization request for the input unit 202 (S1401). In S1401, in the case of the example of FIG. 9, the RIP parameter analysis unit 203 receives and analyzes the RIP parameter, and as described above, the expansion unit that executes the processing among the respective expansion units included in the RIP engine 120, Determine the order. Also, the type of data generated as a result of processing is determined.

  Further, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the job attribute analysis unit 214 receives and analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information, and determines the extension unit that executes the process and the order thereof. Also, the type of data generated as a result of processing is determined. Subsequently, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the control unit 201 causes the RIP status analysis unit 215 to execute status analysis.

  In status analysis, the RIP status analysis unit 215 selects one item of RIP internal processing with reference to “RIP status” shown in FIG. 3 (S1402). Then, if the status is "Done" (S1403 / YES), the corresponding extension is excluded from the extension to be executed determined in the process of S1401 (S1404). On the other hand, if "NotYet" (S1403 / NO), no particular processing is performed.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 repeats the process until the process from S1402 is completed for all items of the RIP internal process (S1405 / NO). After the RIP status analysis unit 215 completes the processing from S1402 for all items of RIP internal processing (S1405 / YES), if the input unit 202 acquires a request to execute RIP processing (S1406 / YES), the control unit 201 Makes the respective extensions execute the processing in order (S1407).

  In S1407, the process is requested only for the expansion units determined in the process of S1401 and not excluded by the process of S1404. Further, processing is requested in accordance with the processing order determined in S1401. Thus, when the processing is executed by the extension unit and raster data is generated, the output unit 213 outputs the processing result (S1408). The processing by the RIP unit 118 is completed by such processing.

  In the present embodiment, the processing of S1402 to S1405, that is, the status analysis processing is executed only in the case of the example of FIG. 10, that is, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the pass-through mode. There is. This is based on the fact that the status analysis process is required when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP process as described above.

  In such a case, utilizing the fact that the same RIP engine is installed in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, RIP processing is executed as a series of processing without being aware of the boundary between the two. Therefore, it is preferable to input the data processed by the RIP engine 420 in the HWF server 4 as it is to the RIP engine 120 in the DFE 100, and a pass-through mode which does not pass through the JDF analysis unit 117 provided outside the RIP engine is suitable.

  However, this is only an example, and even in the case where the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing even when the pass-through mode is not used, it is necessary to perform the status analysis. That is, when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing, it is necessary to exclude the RIP processing already executed in the HWF server 4 on the DFE 100 side.

  Therefore, even if the RIP engine 120 does not support the pass-through mode, the RIP status analysis unit 215 may be provided in order to share the RIP processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. In other words, even when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing, the DFE 100 side performs JDF analysis by the JDF analysis unit 117, and then performs status analysis by the RIP status analysis unit 215 and is necessary. RIP internal processing may be determined.

  As described above, when job data is divided and individual jobs are generated by an operation or the like of the operator on the HWF server 4 side, paper etc. formed and output by either the offset printer or the digital printer according to each job The recording medium of is output. As a result, the sheet on which the image is formed, which is the printing result, is output to different printers. Therefore, it is difficult for the operator on the printer side to know in which printer the sheets on which images are formed and output in accordance with individual jobs are output and in which order, and it is difficult to correctly integrate the output sheets.

  One of the gist of the present embodiment is to properly integrate sheets formed and output on a plurality of different printers in accordance with individual jobs generated by dividing job data (hereinafter referred to as “divided jobs”). It is to do. Hereinafter, a process for facilitating correct integration of the sheet subjected to image formation output to a plurality of different printers will be described. As the recording medium, in addition to the above-described paper, a sheet-like material such as a film or a plastic can be adopted as long as it is an object of image formation output, but in the present embodiment, the paper is used. It will be described as an example of a recording medium.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 11, in the HWF server 4 that has received the job division request, the system control unit 410 executes the job in page units according to the division content for the division target job specified in the information illustrated in FIG. Divide and generate divided jobs. At this time, the system control unit 410 generates JDF information included in each of the divided jobs. That is, the division job is information instructing execution of image formation output on a recording medium based on a plurality of partial output target image information obtained by dividing output target image information which is information of an image formation output target image.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram exemplifying JDF information included in a divided job. The JDF information shown in FIG. 15 is included in the divided job in which the first page (P1) is specified among the divided contents shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the JDF information includes “print region information” and “job configuration information” in addition to the information described with reference to FIG. 3. “Printing part information” indicates the name of a divided part for which print output is executed according to the individual job including the JDF information. As shown in FIG. 12, since the name of the first page is "cover", "print portion information" is "cover".

  “Job configuration information” indicates the configuration of a divided job, and as shown in FIG. 15, includes information such as “job ID” and “division jobs” for the number of divisions. Also, “division job” includes “division job number”, “print part name”, “page range” and “output destination”. “Job ID” is identification information for identifying a division target job specified in the information shown in FIG. The “division job number” is a number for identifying a division job. For example, it is assumed that the smaller the number of pages indicated by “page range”, the smaller the number.

  "Print part name" indicates the name of the divided part printed out according to the divided job, "page range" is the page range of the divided part printed out according to the divided job, and "output destination" is the divided job This is the device (printer) name that executes print output according to. For example, in the information shown in FIG. 12, since the job data whose "job ID" is "J001" is divided into three jobs, "job configuration information" includes information of three "divided jobs". Further, a device name for executing print output according to the divided job is used as the information of “device designation”.

  The system control unit 410 generates JDF information including “print portion information” and “job configuration information” shown in FIG. 15 for each divided job. That is, the system control unit 410 functions as a division information generation unit that generates division information indicating the contents of division such as “print portion information” and “job configuration information”. Then, the job control unit 116 of the DFE 100 acquires the divided job transmitted from the HWF server 4. That is, the job control unit 116 functions as a division information acquisition unit that acquires division information of JDF information included in a division job. Also, the job control unit 116 functions as an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information (job ID) for identifying job data that is information instructing to execute an image formation output based on output target image information.

  Next, a process related to RIP parameter generation when the job control unit 116 of the DFE 100 acquires a divided job transmitted from the HWF server 4 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating processing relating to RIP parameter generation by the job control unit 116. The “digital designation” included in the JDF information of the divided job acquired by the job control unit 116 of the DFE 100 is the “digital printer”.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, the job control unit 116 determines whether or not “print portion information” is included in the JDF information with reference to the in-DFE job attribute generated by the JDF analysis unit 117 (S 1601). ).

  If the JDF information does not include “printing part information” (S1501 / NO), the job control unit 116 ends the processing shown in FIG. 16 and performs processing when normal job data not divided is acquired I do. On the other hand, when the “print part information” is included in the JDF information (S1501 / YES), the job control unit 116 acquires the information indicated by the “print part information” (S1602).

  The job control unit 116 that has acquired the information indicated by the “printing part information” acquires the divided job number of the acquired divided job (S1603). Specifically, the job control unit 116 matches the information indicated by the “printed part information” acquired in the process of S1602 among the information indicated by the “printed part name” of the “division job” included in the JDF information. The value indicated by "divided job number" of the "divided job" is acquired.

  The job control unit 116 that has acquired the divided job number determines whether or not the acquired divided job number is the smallest among the divided job numbers of “division jobs” whose “output destination” is “digital printer” (see FIG. S1604). If the acquired divided job number is the smallest among the digital printers (S1604 / YES), the job control unit 116 adds information based on “job configuration information” included in the JDF information to the RIP parameter (S1605). Details of the information added to the RIP parameter will be described later.

  The job control unit 116 to which the “job configuration information” is added adds page insertion information to the RIP parameter based on the information included in the JDF information (S1606). The page insertion information indicates page information inserted for grasping the position of the sheet on which the image formation output is performed on the basis of the division job in the entire sheet on which the image formation output is performed on the basis of the division target job data. On the other hand, if the acquired divided job number is not the smallest among the digital printers (S1604 / NO), the job control unit 116 adds page insertion information without adding job configuration information to the RIP parameter (S1606).

  FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrams illustrating RIP parameters generated by the process shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating RIP parameters to which job configuration information and page insertion information are added, and FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating RIP parameters to which page insertion information is added.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the job configuration information included in the RIP parameters includes “job ID”, “print part name”, “page range” and “output destination” of “job configuration information” included in the JDF information. Information is included in the page range order. Also, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in the page insertion information included in the RIP parameter, information of “job ID” included in JDF information, “print part name” and “page range” of the acquired divided job It is included.

  When the job configuration information is included in the RIP parameter, the sheet on which the job configuration information is printed is output at the top of the sheet on which the image of the page designated in the divided job is printed. If the page insertion information is included in the RIP parameter, the page is inserted after the sheet on which the job configuration information is printed is output and at the beginning of the sheet on which the image of the page designated in the divided job is printed. The paper on which the information is printed is output.

  For example, in the divided job in which the first page (P1) shown in FIG. 12 is specified, the digital printer is specified as the output destination, and the divided job is the smallest, so the RIP parameters generated for this divided job are This is the configuration shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the divided job designated P2 to P50 shown in FIG. 12, since the offset printer is designated as the output destination, the job control unit 116 of the DFE 100 does not acquire this divided job. In addition, although a digital printer is specified as the output destination in the divided job for which P51 shown in FIG. 12 is specified, since the divided job number is not the minimum, the RIP parameter generated for this divided job is , And the configuration shown in FIG.

  The job control unit 116 causes the RIP control unit 119 to execute the RIP process by passing the RIP parameters shown in FIG. 17 or 18. Then, the job control unit 116 inputs raster data acquired from the RIP unit 118 to the printer control unit 122 and causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the print output result by the digital engine 150 based on the RIP parameters shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In FIG. 19, it is assumed that the sheets printed by the digital engine 150 are output in order from the left according to the division job in the information shown in FIG. 12.

  As shown in FIG. 19, a sheet on which job configuration information is printed as the first page (hereinafter referred to as “configuration information sheet”) is output. The configuration information sheet is printed out based on the RIP parameters including the job configuration information shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the details of the configuration information sheet. The configuration information sheet has printed information for grasping which job data has been divided and how.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 20, a title “job (J001) configuration list” including a job ID is printed on the configuration information sheet. Also, as shown in FIG. 20, P1 is output by the digital printer for the cover, P2 to P50 is output by the offset printer for the text, and P51 is output by the digital printer for the back cover, as shown in FIG. Information that can be grasped is printed.

  That is, the configuration information sheet is inserted at the beginning of the sheet on which the first portion to be output to the digital printer in the entire portion to be printed out according to the job data is printed. By referring to the configuration information sheet printed out first by the operator on the printer side, it is possible to easily grasp where the sheet composed of what page is output.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, next to the configuration information sheet, a sheet for grasping the page position of the sheet printed out according to the divided job designated by P1 (hereinafter referred to as “page position grasping sheet” Is output. The page position grasping sheet is printed out based on the RIP parameters including the page insertion information shown in FIGS. 17 and 18.

  On the page position grasping sheet, information is printed which can grasp which part of which job data is printed on the sheet printed on the next page. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the page position grasping sheet is printed with information capable of grasping that the sheet on which the cover of the first page of the job data of “J001” is printed next is output. .

  As shown in FIG. 19, next to the second output page positioning sheet, the sheet on which the image of P1 is printed according to the division job for which P1 is specified (hereinafter referred to as “P1 sheet”) is output Be done. Next to the P1 sheet, the page position grasping sheet printed out according to the divided job designated by P51 is output, and then the P51 sheet is output.

  That is, the sheets hatched with oblique lines in FIG. 19 are sheets inserted in order to facilitate proper integration of sheets output to different printers according to divided jobs (hereinafter referred to as “inserted sheets”). In the case shown in FIG. 19, the sheet is hatched with oblique lines for the sake of clarity of the explanation, but this does not mean that such a printing mode is used in an actual sheet. The same applies to the subsequent similar drawings and description.

  That is, the job configuration information is divided configuration information indicating the output destination of the image formation output based on the division configuration of the plurality of partial output target image information to be the image formation output target in each divided job and the plurality of partial output target image information. It is. The job control unit 116 also functions as a divided configuration information presentation unit that presents such divided configuration information.

  Further, the page insertion information is partial position grasping information which is information for grasping the position of the portion to be image-formed and output based on the partial output-target image information in the entire portion to be image-formed and output based on the output target image information. It is. Further, the job control unit 116 functions as a position information output control unit that controls execution of image formation output on the recording medium of such partial position grasping information.

  The operator at the printer side refers to the insertion sheet and collects the sheets output to the paper discharge tray of the printer, and then integrates the sheets from which the insertion sheet has been removed and prints out according to the job data to be divided. Final printed matter can be obtained.

  In addition, a plurality of job data may be input to the HWF server 4 and print output may be continuously performed according to the plurality of job data. FIG. 21 is a diagram exemplifying information included in a job division request for job data different from that in FIG. As shown in FIG. 21, for example, the job ID of job data to be divided is “J002” and is divided into five divided jobs.

  FIG. 22 is a view exemplifying the print output result processed by the digital engine 150 according to the divided job in the information shown in FIG. In FIG. 22, it is assumed that the sheets printed by the digital engine 150 are sequentially output from the left of the upper row and are output from the left of the lower row next to the upper right of the upper row according to the division job.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the configuration information sheet is printed as the first page. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the details of the configuration information sheet. For example, as shown in FIG. 23, a title “job (J002) configuration list” including a job ID is printed on the configuration information sheet, as in the case shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 23, the configuration information sheet is printed with information that enables P1 to P13 to be output by the offset printer in one common part of the catalog and P14 to P15 to be output by the digital printer in a questionnaire. ing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the page position grasping sheet is inserted at the head of the page range to be output according to the divided job for which the digital printer is designated as the output destination. That is, the sheet hatched with oblique lines in FIG. 22 is the insertion sheet.

  As described above, even if the sheets printed according to the divided jobs of the plurality of job data are mixed in the discharge tray of the printer, another job data can be obtained by referring to the insertion sheet including the job ID. It becomes easy to distinguish from the paper printed out according to. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operator at the printer side from erroneously collecting the sheet printed out according to another job data.

  As described above, in the HWF system according to the present embodiment, it is easy to understand how the job data is divided and output to which printer, and which sheet is output. Insert the paper on which the information is printed. As a result, the operator on the printer side can easily grasp which job data and in what order the job data is output. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily integrate the print results output to a plurality of different devices based on each of the divided job data in the correct content and order.

  In the above embodiment, the page position grasping sheet which is a sheet different from the sheet on which the image of each page is printed in order to grasp the page position of the sheet printed out according to the division job is the first page in the division job The case where it is inserted is described as an example. In addition, information for grasping the page position (hereinafter referred to as “page position grasping information”) may be output to a sheet on which an image of the page is printed.

  In this case, for example, the job control unit 116 adds mark image information to the RIP parameter so as to print the page position grasping information as the mark image on the margin of the sheet printed out. The margin of the sheet is a predetermined portion other than the printing area of the sheet, and is removed when being cut by the trimmer and is not included in the final printed matter.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating RIP parameters including mark image information. As shown in FIG. 24, the mark image information includes the “job ID” included in the JDF information and the “print part name” and “page range” information of the acquired divided job, as in the page insertion information. ing.

  The job control unit 116 causes the RIP control unit 119 to execute the RIP process by passing the RIP parameters shown in FIG. When the mark processing unit 206 performs mark processing according to the mark image information included in the RIP parameter, page position grasping information is printed outside the margin of the sheet on which the image of the first page is printed among the pages designated in the divided job. Ru.

  FIG. 25 is a view exemplifying the print output result by the digital engine 150 based on the RIP parameter including the mark image information. In FIG. 25, it is assumed that the sheets printed by the digital engine 150 are output in order from the left according to the division job in the information shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 25, as in the case shown in FIG. 19, the configuration information sheet is output as the first page. Further, as shown in FIG. 25, next to the configuration information sheet, hatching (hatching in FIG. 25) is made of extra sheets of paper (hereinafter referred to as “P1 sheet”) printed out according to the divided job for which P1 is designated. Page positioning information is printed on the Further, as shown in FIG. 25, next to the P1 sheet, page position grasping information is printed outside the margin of the sheet printed according to the divided job designated by P51.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating the details of a P1 sheet on which page position determination information is printed outside the margin. The key marks shown by thick lines in Fig. 26 are called dragonflies, and when creating printed matter, the position under which to cut to the finished size and the registration of multicolor printing, the underside of the plate, the left and right center, the four corners, etc. It is a mark to be attached. In the case shown in FIG. 26, the border with the margin is shown by a dotted line for clarity of explanation, but this does not mean that such a printing mode is used in an actual sheet. The same applies to the subsequent similar drawings and description.

  As shown in FIG. 26A, in the margin of the P1 sheet, there is printed information that can be grasped that it is a "J001" divided job and a "cover" having a page range of "P1". When the margin is cut by the trimmer, as shown in FIG. 26B, the print portion of the page position grasping information is removed.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating another print output result by the digital engine 150 based on the RIP parameter including the mark image information. 27, in accordance with the divided job in the information shown in FIG. 21, the sheets printed by digital engine 150 are output in order from the left of the upper row, and are output in order from the left of the lower row next to the upper row right It shall be done.

  As shown in FIG. 27, as in the case shown in FIG. 22, the configuration information sheet is printed as the first page. Further, as shown in FIG. 27, next to the configuration information sheet, the first page of the sheet printed out according to the divided job designated P14 to P15, that is, the sheet on which the image of P14 is printed (hereinafter referred to as “P14 Page position grasping information is printed in the margin of “paper”.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating the details of the P14 sheet on which the page position grasping information is printed outside the margin. As shown in FIG. 28, information which can be grasped to be a "questionnaire" which is a divided job of "J002" and which has a page range of "P14 to P15" is printed outside the margin of the P14 sheet.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 27, page position grasping information is printed outside the margin of the sheet on which the image of the first page (P16 and P45 in FIG. 27) of each page range output according to each divided job is printed. Be done. The page position grasping information may be printed on a sheet printed out by the offset printer 2 in the same manner as the margin.

  As described above, by printing the page position grasping information outside the margin of the sheet, the number of sheets to be output can be reduced and the printed sheet can be collected as compared with the case where the page position grasping sheet is inserted. It is possible to reduce the time and effort of removing the page position detection paper. On the other hand, when the margin of the sheet is not set and the page position grasping information can not be printed on the margin, the page position can be grasped by inserting the page position grasping sheet. Also, when inserting the page position grasping sheet, the page position grasping information is not printed on the sheet to be the final printed matter, so the final is compared with the case where the page position grasping information is printed outside the margin There is little burden of checking whether page position detection information remains in the printed matter.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the job control unit 116 is set in advance as to whether to insert a page position grasping sheet or to print page position grasping information outside the margin of the sheet. Besides, it may be specified in JDF information. 29 and 30 illustrate JDF information including information indicating a page position presentation method.

  As shown in FIGS. 29 and 20, the JDF information includes information of “presentation method” indicating a presentation method for grasping the page position. For example, when inserting a page position grasping sheet, as shown in FIG. 29, when “page insertion” is designated as “presentation method” and the page position grasping information is printed outside the margin of the sheet, as shown in FIG. , “Mark image” is designated as “presentation method”. Furthermore, when the "presentation method" is "mark image", it includes information of "presentation position" specifying the position where the mark image is to be printed, and "upper center" is designated as "presentation position", for example.

  Further, the settings of “presentation method” and “presentation position” included in the JDF information may be changed by the operator of the HWF server 4 via the GUI of the client terminal 5, or may be changed according to the print output setting. You may For example, when the extra setting of the sheet is not set in the print output setting, “page insertion” is set in the “presentation method”. Further, the setting of the “presentation method” and the “presentation position” may be changed by the operator on the printer side.

  In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the information of "print part information" is contained in JDF information was explained as an example. However, this is only an example, and any information that can identify which divided job in the job configuration information may be used, the “page range” may be used, or the “first page number” in this divided job may be used. It may be a divided job number.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where job configuration information is included in JDF information in all divided jobs has been described as an example. In addition, job configuration information may be included only in JDF information in the divided job of the youngest page range printed by the digital engine 150 among the divided jobs. In this case, the JDF information of the other divided job may include only information necessary for printing on the page position grasping sheet or the margin of the sheet. In this case, in the process illustrated in FIG. 16, the job control unit 116 adds job configuration information to the RIP parameter only when job configuration information is included in the JDF information.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the job configuration information is printed out on a sheet is described as an example. In addition, the UI control unit 115 may display job configuration information on the display 102 as a display unit under the control of the job control unit 116. In this case, the operator at the printer side grasps the job configuration information by checking the job configuration information displayed on the display 102 without collecting the configuration information sheet discharged to the paper discharge tray of the printer. can do. Further, since it is not necessary to output the configuration information sheet, the number of output sheets can be reduced.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where generation of image data to be printed on a page position grasping sheet and mark processing of page position grasping information are performed in the RIP engine 120 has been described as an example. In addition, the RIP control unit 119 may perform these processes.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the HWF system in which the RIP engine common to both the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is installed in the configuration shown in FIG. 1 has been described as an example. However, in the present embodiment, such a configuration of the HWF system is not essential, as long as the RIP processing is performed by the RIP engine installed in the DFE 100.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the output destination of each of the divided job data is the offset printer or the digital printer in the HWF system shown in FIG. 1 has been described as an example. However, the present embodiment is not limited to such a configuration, and is equally applicable to any system having an output destination including a plurality of different devices such as a plurality of different digital printers. For example, when print processing included in job data has different color settings depending on pages or image resolutions differ from page to page, the job data may be divided such that a digital printer according to these characteristics is used. is there. In some cases, job data may be divided for load distribution of print processing in a digital printer.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration information sheet is output as the first page of the job data output by the digital printer. On the other hand, in the case of a system provided with a plurality of digital printers, it is difficult for the operator on the printer side to know to which digital printer the configuration information sheet is output, so the configuration information sheet is output as the first page in all digital printers. You may do so. With such a configuration, the operator can easily refer to the configuration information sheet, and can quickly grasp to which printer and in what order the sheets are output.

  Further, when the above embodiment is realized in the above-described HWF system, RIP processing for print output according to divided jobs may be distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. As described above, in the RIP internal processing, intermediate data is generated from PDL information as processing proceeds, and raster data is finally generated. Since raster data is larger in size than PDL information and intermediate data, when raster data is generated in HWF server 4, the load of transmission processing when sending data to DFE 100 is larger than in the case of PDL information and intermediate data. May be

  Therefore, in the case of distributing the RIP process between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, the HWF server 4 executes the process up to the data size that can be transmitted with a load within the allowable range, considering the data size transmitted to the DFE 100, for example. Distributed settings may be made. Such a configuration makes it possible to distribute the load for RIP processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital printer 2 Offset printer 3a, 3b Post-processing apparatus 4, 4a, 4b HWF server 5, 5a, 5b Client terminal 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
40 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
70 Operation Unit 80 Bus 100 DFE
101 Network I / F
102 Display 111 Job Reception Unit 112 Individual Job Reception Unit 113 System Control Unit 114 Job Data Storage Unit 115 UI Control Unit 116 Job Control Unit 117 JDF Analysis Unit 118 RIP Unit 119 RIP Control Unit 120 RIP Engine 121 Image Storage Unit 122 Printer Control Unit 123 Device Information Management Unit 124 Device Information Communication Unit 150 Digital Engine 200 CTP
201 control unit 202 input unit 203 RIP parameter analysis unit 204 preflight processing unit 205 normalization processing unit 206 mark processing unit 207 font processing unit 209 CMM processing unit 210 trapping processing unit 211 calibration processing unit 212 screening processing unit 213 output unit 214 job attribute Analysis unit 215 RIP status analysis unit 216 RIP status management unit 217 Layout processing unit 400 HWF controller 401 Network I / F
410 system control unit 411 data reception unit 412 UI control unit 413 job control unit 414 job data storage unit 415 device information communication unit 416 device information management unit 417 device information storage unit 418 workflow control unit 419 workflow information storage unit 420 RIP engine 421 job Transmitter and receiver

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2004-164581

Claims (8)

An image forming output control device for controlling execution of image forming output on a recording medium based on a plurality of partial output target image information obtained by dividing output target image information which is information of an image forming output target image.
A division information acquisition unit that acquires division information indicating the contents of the division;
A top execution image information determination unit that determines the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the division information;
The plurality of partial output target image information determined to be the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus by the top execution image information determination unit is based on the division information. A division configuration information adding unit for adding division configuration information which is a first parameter indicating a division configuration of partial output target image information and an output destination of an image formation output based on the plurality of partial output target image information;
A second parameter for grasping the position of a portion to be subjected to image formation output based on the partial output object image information in the entire part to be subjected to image formation output based on the output object image information based on the division information A position grasping information adding unit that adds certain partial position grasping information to the plurality of partial output target image information ;
When the first parameter is included in the partial output target image information, drawing information is generated, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus that executes the image formation output based on the output target image information. When the drawing information for presenting the division configuration information is generated by the information generation unit, and the second parameter is included in the partial output target image information, the drawing position generation information is generated by the drawing information generation unit. A drawing information generation control unit for generating the drawing information for forming an image on the recording medium and outputting the same;
An image forming output control apparatus comprising: The drawing information generation control unit
The drawing information generation unit generates the drawing information so as to form and output the partial position grasping information on a recording medium other than the recording medium on which the image formation output is performed based on the partial output target image information ,
The recording medium that will be an image forming output based on the partial locating information, the said drawing information generating unit to be inserted to the beginning of the recording medium on which an image is formed output based on the partial output target image information The image formation output control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drawing information is generated . The drawing information generation control unit, in a predetermined area of the head of the recording medium of said recording medium on which an image is formed output based on the partial output target image information, wherein as said partial locating information is imaged output The image formation output control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the drawing information generation unit generates the drawing information . The drawing information generation control unit
On another recording medium and the recording medium on which an image is formed output based on the partial output target image data, the divided configuration information to generate the drawing data to the drawing data generating section to be imaged output ,
The divided structure the recording medium that will be an image forming output based on information, the first part of the entire portion to be imaged output based on the output target image data is inserted at the beginning of the recording medium to be imaged output the image forming output control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rendering information generation unit to generate the drawing information so that. Image forming output control apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a display control unit for displaying the previous SL split configuration information on the display unit. And an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information for identifying information for instructing execution of an image formation output based on the output target image information,
The drawing information generation control unit
When the partial output target image information includes the first parameter , the drawing information generation unit generates the drawing information so that the identification information and the division configuration information are formed and output .
When the partial output target image information includes the second parameter , the drawing information generation unit is configured to generate the drawing information so that the identification information and the partial position grasping information are formed and output. The image formation output control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: An image processing system including a processing execution control device that controls execution of processing for image formation output and an image formation output control device that controls execution of image formation output,
The process execution control device
The image formation output control device includes a division information generation unit that generates division information indicating the contents of the division for a plurality of partial output target image information obtained by dividing output target image information that is information of an image for image formation output. ,
A division information acquisition unit that acquires the generated division information;
A top execution image information determination unit that determines the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the division information;
The partial output target image information determined to be the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus by the top execution image information determination unit , based on the acquired division information. A division configuration information addition unit for adding division configuration information, which is a first parameter indicating a division configuration of the plurality of partial output target image information and an output destination of an image formation output based on the plurality of partial output target image information ,
A second parameter for grasping the position of a portion to be subjected to image formation output based on the partial output object image information in the entire part to be subjected to image formation output based on the output object image information based on the division information A position grasping information adding unit that adds certain partial position grasping information to the plurality of partial output target image information ;
When the first parameter is included in the partial output target image information, drawing information is generated, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus that executes the image formation output based on the output target image information. When the drawing information for presenting the division configuration information is generated by the information generation unit, and the second parameter is included in the partial output target image information, the drawing position generation information is generated by the drawing information generation unit. A drawing information generation control unit that generates the drawing information for forming an image on a recording medium and outputting the same;
An image processing system comprising: An image processing program in an image formation output control apparatus for controlling execution of image formation output on a recording medium based on a plurality of partial output target image information obtained by dividing output target image information which is information of an image formation output target image. ,
Acquiring division information indicating contents of the division;
Determining the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus based on the division information;
The partial output target image information determined based on the acquired division information with respect to the partial output target image information determined to be the top partial output target image information to be executed by the image forming apparatus Adding division configuration information , which is a first parameter indicating the output destination of each of the division configuration and the image formation output based on the plurality of partial output target image information;
A second parameter for grasping the position of a portion to be subjected to image formation output based on the partial output object image information in the entire part to be subjected to image formation output based on the output object image information based on the division information Adding each partial position grasping information to the plurality of partial output target image information ;
When the first parameter is included in the partial output target image information, drawing information is generated, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus that executes the image formation output based on the output target image information. When the drawing information for presenting the division configuration information is generated by the information generation unit, and the second parameter is included in the partial output target image information, the drawing position generation information is generated by the drawing information generation unit. Generating the drawing information for forming and outputting an image on the recording medium;
An image processing program that causes an image forming output control device to execute the image processing program.