JP6536703B2 - Image forming apparatus, control method thereof and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that displays stored print data, and a control method and program thereof.

  In recent years, due to increased security awareness in the market and suppression of erroneous printing, print data that has been output as it was when printing was instructed from a client terminal in the past was temporarily stored in the HDD or server in the multifunction machine, and the user's final printing instruction There is a need for a printing system that implements printing.

  In order to respond to such a request, when the user gives a print instruction at the client terminal, it is stored in the server, the multifunction device is equipped with an authentication function, and after authentication is performed, the information of the print data of the user is stored A mechanism is disclosed that displays and then receives an output instruction from the final user and prints it.

Further, in addition to the technology as described in Patent Document 1, there is also a mechanism for storing print data in the HDD of the multifunction peripheral and displaying information of the print data stored in the multifunction peripheral on the UI of the multifunction peripheral.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a mechanism for forcibly printing monochrome print data according to the color authority of the logged-in user is disclosed.

JP, 2010-152726, A JP, 2010-108470, A

  With the conventional mechanism, when the user designates print data with the MFP and the print data is color data, monochrome printing can be forcibly performed by the authority, leading to a reduction in printing cost. .

However, in general, if an employee is authorized to perform color printing, the color setting of the printer driver should be set to monochrome and color printing is required in operation to reduce the printing cost. In many cases, the setting is changed and printing is performed.
In this case, color printing can be performed if the normal setting of the printer driver is used in color, so the reduction effect of the printing cost is reduced.

  Therefore, although it is conceivable to force monochrome printing on the MFP side, if the user executes printing without recognizing the MFP to be subjected to forced monochrome printing, the user outputs the output result (printed matter) You will notice that it has been printed in black and white even though you have instructed color printing in the settings of the printer driver. That is, the user sees the output result (output thing) and notices that the output destination is wrong. Therefore, there is a case where reprint is performed by a multifunction machine which is not forcibly output in monochrome, which does not lead to a reduction in printing cost.

Further, when the thumbnail image is displayed in a preview on the multifunction device in order to confirm the print data, the function of the main body of the multifunction device generates the thumbnail image based on the received print data. Therefore, when color print data is transmitted from the client PC to the multi-functional peripheral, the application installed in the multi-functional peripheral acquires the thumbnail image generated by the function of the main body of the multi-functional peripheral and displays it as a preview. In some cases, previews may be made in color, even when forced to print in monochrome. That is, the user sees the preview and mistakenly recognizes that color printing can be performed, and printing is performed, which does not lead to a reduction in printing cost.
Therefore, it is necessary for the user to confirm the color of the print data before printing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of confirming to the user that the color page of print data is color print suppression.

According to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a setting means for setting color printing suppression of print setting of an image forming apparatus, a specifying means for specifying a color page in received print data, and a color printing suppression setting by the setting means And displaying means for identifiably displaying a page on which color printing of the color page specified by the specifying means is inhibited.

According to the present invention, a color page of print data can Rukoto to confirm to the user that it is color printing suppression.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a print system (print system). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to a client PC 100 and an authentication server 200. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a multifunction peripheral 300. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a multifunction peripheral 300. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for saving print data in the multifunction peripheral 300. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for displaying a print data list on the multifunction peripheral 300. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of preview display processing in the multifunction peripheral 300. FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of color page preview display processing in the MFP 300. FIG. It is an image figure showing an example of a bibliographic information list at the time of cost saving mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the bibliographic information of printing data. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a setting file to which a print application refers. It is an image figure which shows an example of the bibliographic information list at the time of normal mode. It is an image figure showing an example of a bibliographic information list at the time of cost saving mode. FIG. 18 is an image view showing an example of a preview screen in the cost saving mode. FIG. 7 is an image view showing an example of a color preview screen. FIG. 16 is an image view showing an example of a preview screen in the normal mode. FIG. 8 is a system configuration diagram of a print system according to another embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing outline in this embodiment.

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

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a print system (printing system) in which the client PC 100 (client terminal), the multifunction peripheral 300 (image forming apparatus), and the authentication server 200 according to the present invention can communicate via a network (LAN). It is.

  A printer driver is installed in the client PC 100. The printer driver receives document and image data generated by an application program from the OS, creates print data based on the received data, and the print data Are sent to the multifunction device 300. In the printer driver, the number of the print box that is the storage area of the MFP 300 is specified, and the print data is stored in the MFP 300 so as to be stored in the storage area (logical area) corresponding to the specified box. Will be sent.

  The MFP 300 that has received the print data converts the print data into image data with a drawing engine of its own and stores the image data in a predetermined box. At this time, bibliographic information as management information of print data stored in the header of the print data is acquired. The print application installed in the multifunction device 300 displays a list of print data on the display unit of the multifunction device 300 using the acquired bibliographic information. The color attribute 1001 included in the bibliographic information analyzes the data when the MFP 300 converts the image data, and if the print data includes color, the color is set, and the print data does not include color. , Set to monochrome.

  When displaying a list of print data, if the MFP 300 itself is in the cost-saving mode (color print suppression mode), even if the color attribute 1001 is color, it may be monochrome print data , Change the display and display. When the color attribute 1001 is monochrome, it is displayed as usual.

  Further, when the color attribute 1001 is color and the multifunction device 300 itself is in the cost-saving mode (color print suppression mode), the multifunction device 300 performs print preview of a color page.

  The authentication server 200 is a server that authenticates a card held by the MFP 300 and a user ID and password input by the MFP 300. The authentication server 200 stores an authentication table (not shown) for searching for a card ID, a user ID, and a password. If there is matching data in the authentication table, it is assumed that the authentication result is returned to the MFP as authentication success. If the authentication result is an authentication success, the user can log in to the multifunction device 300 and the function becomes available.

  The authentication result includes user information such as user ID and authority. When the user ID of the user information and the user name of the print data match, it is determined as print data of the logged-in user, and bibliographic information is displayed on the display unit of the multifunction device 300 as a print data list.

Although one client PC 100 and one multifunction peripheral 300 are provided in this embodiment, a plurality of client PCs may be provided. A print management server for storing print data or the multifunction machine 300 as a print management server is provided between the client PC 100 and the multifunction device 300, and bibliographic information is acquired from the print management server when displaying a print data list. It may be configured to be displayed.
The hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus applicable to the client PC 100 and the authentication server 200 shown in FIG. 1 will be described below using FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the client PC 100 and the authentication server 200 shown in FIG. The client PC 100 will be described below.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU, which centrally controls devices and controllers connected to the system bus 204. Further, the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 needs to have a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), which is a control program of the CPU 201, an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS), and the necessity for realizing functions executed by each PC. Various programs are stored.

  A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 201. The CPU 201 loads a program and the like necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 to the RAM 203, and implements the various operations by executing the loaded program.

  An input controller 205 controls input from a keyboard (KB) 209 and a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown). A video controller 206 controls display on a display such as a CRT display (CRT) 210 or the like. Although FIG. 2 describes the CRT 210, the display may be not only a CRT but also another display such as a liquid crystal display. These are used by the administrator as needed.

  Reference numeral 207 denotes a main controller, which is connected to a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various files such as a hard disk (HDD), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA card slot via an adapter Control access to the external memory 211 such as Compact Flash (registered trademark) memory.

  A communication I / F controller 208 connects and communicates with an external device via a network, and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, communication using TCP / IP is possible.

  The CPU 201 enables display on the CRT 210, for example, by executing outline font development (rasterization) processing on a display information area in the RAM 203. Further, the CPU 201 enables user's instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 210 or the like.

  Various programs to be described later for realizing the present invention are stored in the external memory 211, and are executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used at the time of execution of the program are also stored in the external memory 211, and a detailed description of these will be described later.

Next, the hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 300 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 300 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 316 denotes a controller unit, which is connected to a scanner unit 314 functioning as an image input device and a printer unit 312 functioning as an image output device, while a LAN or public line (WAN) (for example, PSTN or ISDN etc.) And image data and device information are input and output.

  In the controller unit 316, a CPU 301 is a processor that controls the entire system. A RAM 302 is a system network memory for operating the CPU 301, and is also a program memory for recording a program, and an image memory for temporarily recording image data.

  A ROM 303 stores a system boot program and various control programs. A hard disk drive (HDD) 304 stores various programs for controlling the system, image data, and the like.

  An operation unit interface (operation unit I / F) 307 is an interface unit with the operation unit (UI) 308, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 308 to the operation unit 308. The operation unit I / F 307 also serves to transmit information (for example, user information and the like) input by the user of the present system from the operation unit 308 to the CPU 301. Note that the operation unit 308 includes a display unit having a touch panel, and the user can issue various instructions by pressing (touching with a finger or the like) a button displayed on the display unit.

  A network interface (Network I / F) 305 is connected to the network (LAN) to input and output data. A modem (MODEM) 306 is connected to a public line to input and output data such as FAX transmission / reception.

  An external interface (external I / F) 318 is an I / F unit that accepts external inputs such as USB, IEEE 1394, printer port, RS-232C, etc. In this embodiment, it is for reading an IC card required for authentication. Card reader 319 is connected to the external I / F unit 318. Then, the CPU 301 controls reading of information from the IC card by the card reader 319 via the external I / F 318, and can acquire information read from the IC card. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 309.

An image bus interface (IMAGE BUS I / F) 320 is a bus bridge that connects the system bus 309 and an image bus 315 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts data structures.
The image bus 315 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE 1394. The following devices are disposed on the image bus 315.

  A raster image processor (RIP) 310 develops, for example, vector data such as a PDL code into a bitmap image. A printer interface (printer I / F) 311 connects the printer unit 312 and the controller unit 316, and performs synchronous system / asynchronous system conversion of image data. A scanner interface (scanner I / F) 313 connects the scanner unit 314 and the controller unit 316 to perform synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  An image processing unit 317 performs correction, processing, and editing on input image data, and performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. In addition to this, the image processing unit 317 performs rotation of image data, and compression and expansion processing such as JPEG for multilevel image data and JBIG, MMR, MH, and the like for binary image data.

  The scanner unit 314 illuminates an image on a sheet of paper serving as an original and scans it with a CCD line sensor to convert it into an electrical signal as raster image data. The document sheet is set on the tray of the document feeder, and when the apparatus user instructs reading and activation from the operation unit 308, the CPU 301 gives an instruction to the scanner unit 314, and the feeder feeds the document sheet one by one to read the document image Do the action.

  The printer unit 312 is a unit for converting raster image data into an image on a sheet, and the method is an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or photosensitive belt, discharges ink from a minute nozzle array, and directly on the sheet Although there is an inkjet method or the like for printing an image, any method may be used. The start of the print operation is started by an instruction from the CPU 301. The printer unit 312 has a plurality of sheet feeding stages so that different sheet sizes or different sheet orientations can be selected, and there is a sheet cassette corresponding thereto.

  The operation unit 308 has an LCD display unit, a touch panel sheet is attached on the LCD, displays the operation screen of the system, and when the displayed key is pressed, its position information is displayed as the operation unit I / F 307 Through to the CPU 301. The operation unit 308 also includes, for example, a start key, a stop key, an ID key, and a reset key as various operation keys.

  Here, the start key of the operation unit 308 is used, for example, when starting the document image reading operation. In the center of the start key is a green and red two-color LED that indicates whether the start key is ready to use. Further, the stop key of the operation unit 308 functions to stop the operation in operation. Also, the ID key of the operation unit 308 is used when inputting the user ID of the user. The reset key is used to initialize settings from the operation unit.

  The card reader 319 reads information stored in an IC card (for example, Sony's FeliCa (registered trademark)) under the control of the CPU 301, and reads the read information via the external I / F 318. It notifies CPU 301.

  With the above-described configuration, the MFP 300 can transmit the image data read from the scanner unit 314 onto the LAN, and can print out the print data received from the LAN by the printer unit 312.

  Further, the image data read from the scanner unit 314 can be faxed to the public line by the modem 306, or the image data faxed from the public line can be output by the printer unit 312.

  The MFP 300 can install an application in addition to the main body function (including the operating system of the MFP 300) provided in advance by the main body. The multifunction peripheral 300 is configured to be able to use an extended function (which may be a function using a main body function) by adding an application. In the present embodiment, the print application and the authentication application are installed, and the print extension function and the authentication extension function are realized.

  Next, a functional block diagram of the multifunction peripheral 300 (image forming apparatus) in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, basic functions will be described, and detailed control to be processed by each functional unit will be described in a flowchart to be described later. In addition, each functional unit is assumed to be executed by the CPU 301.

A multifunction peripheral 300 as an image forming apparatus that displays a list of print data using bibliographic information of print data that has been stored includes the following functional units.
The mode determination unit 401 is a functional unit that determines whether printing in the image forming apparatus is a suppression mode for suppressing color printing.

  When the mode determination unit 401 determines that the display mode is the suppression mode, the display unit 402 displays the display of print data whose color attribute is color as a monochrome display image, and the mode determination unit 401 determines that the display mode is not the suppression mode. It is a functional unit that displays the display of print data whose color attribute is color in the form of a color display image. The color attribute is included in bibliographic information of print data.

The display unit 402 is a functional unit that displays the monochrome display image or the color display image according to the determination of the color attribute by the color attribute determination unit 403 described later.
A monochrome display image is a preview image, and the display unit 402 previews the print data in color using the monochrome preview image when a preview instruction is given by the instruction unit 404 described later. The preview image executed in the unit 405 is previewed. Furthermore, a preview is performed using a preview image that has been monochrome-converted by the monochrome converter 412 described later.
Further, the display unit 402 displays a list of print data in response to login by the login unit 407 described later, and it can be identified in the list of the print data that the print data is converted from color to monochrome in the suppression mode. It is a functional unit to display.

The color attribute determination unit 403 is a functional unit that determines a color attribute included in the bibliographic information.
The instruction unit 404 is a functional unit that instructs a preview of designated print data.

In an image forming apparatus which is not in the suppression mode different from the above image forming apparatus, when the user logs in to the image forming apparatus, color print data is not displayed using a display image of monochrome data, respectively. The color or monochrome display image is displayed corresponding to the color attribute of the print data of
The print data selection unit 408 is a functional unit that selects print data to be previewed.

The preview unit 405 is a functional unit that previews the preview of the print data in color using the preview image that can be identified as monochrome by the instruction unit 404.
The preview unit 405 is a functional unit that previews a color page identified by the color page identification unit 409 described later.

  In addition, when the mode determination unit 401 determines that the suppression mode is set, the preview unit 405 displays a monochrome image of a page that is a color of print data whose color attribute is color included in bibliographic information of the print data. It is a functional unit to preview at. Furthermore, it is a functional unit that performs preview using an image of each page of the print data generated in advance when it is determined by the mode determination unit that the suppression mode is not set.

Further, the preview unit 405 previews, as monochrome data, print data whose color attribute is included in the bibliographic information as color, and when the preview of the color page is designated by the preview acceptance unit 410 described later, the bibliographic information is displayed. It is a functional unit that previews a color page of print data whose color attribute is color. In other words, it is a functional unit that previews an image corresponding to the page identified by the color page identification unit 409.
The preview unit 405 is a functional unit that previews an image corresponding to the page identified by the color page identification unit 409 when a preview instruction of a color page is received.
Further, the preview unit 405 is a functional unit that performs color display or monochrome display of an image corresponding to the page specified by the color page specification unit 409 according to switching by the switching unit 411 described later.

A printing unit 406 is a functional unit that performs monochrome printing of print data whose color attribute is color when the mode determination unit 401 determines that the suppression mode is set.
The login unit 407 is a functional unit that logs in to the image forming apparatus by user authentication.

The color page specification unit 409 is a functional unit that specifies a color page of the selected print data, and in the case of a color page preview mode for previewing a color page among the print data, an instruction for previewing is accepted. It is a functional unit that specifies a color page in accordance with color information of each page of print data.
The preview receiving unit 410 is a functional unit that receives a preview instruction of a color page.
The switching unit 411 is a functional unit that switches display of a color page to be previewed by the preview unit 405 in color display or monochrome display. In other words, it is a functional unit that switches color display or monochrome display of an image corresponding to the page specified by the color page specification unit 409.
A monochrome conversion unit 412 is a functional unit that performs monochrome conversion of a preview image of print data in color when the mode determination unit 401 determines that the suppression mode is set.

Next, the processing outline of the present embodiment will be described using FIG.
(1) Output the print data generated by the printer driver of the client PC 100 to the multi-function device 300. The print data generated by the printer driver is composed of header information and data to be drawn. In the header information, information corresponding to the bibliographic information in FIG. 10 is stored. The header information is generated by the printer driver, and for example, a login user name logged in to the client PC 100 is stored in the user name of the header information. The document name stores the file name of the print source file. The number of copies, the number of pages, etc. store information set or analyzed by the printer driver.

  (2) When the print data is received at the port, (3) The main body function of the multi-function device 300 stores the print data in a box which is a print data storage area. When the print data is stored, the image processing unit 317 acquires data to be drawn, and the printer unit 312 generates image data to be drawn. Also, the multifunction peripheral 300 function generates bibliographic information based on the header information. Further, the main body function of the multifunction device 300 generates a thumbnail image based on the image data. The image data, the bibliographic information, and the thumbnail image are stored in correspondence with the document identification information generated by the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300. Therefore, when document identification information is designated from the print application, it is possible to acquire image data, thumbnail images, and bibliographic information. When the bibliographic information is generated, the print application acquires the bibliographic information and stores the bibliographic information in a memory managed by the print application.

(4) The print application searches bibliographic information stored in the memory and displays a list of print data according to the user name who has logged in to the multifunction device 300 by authentication. In the case of the cost saving mode in the setting of the print application (FIG. 11), when the user designates the preview display by the user, the print application requests the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 to obtain thumbnails including document identification information. Send and get thumbnail images. The print application converts the acquired thumbnail image into a monochrome thumbnail image, and executes display on the display unit of the operation unit 308. In the preview display, a color page is extracted according to the user's designation, and a thumbnail image of the color page is displayed.
As a result, when the cost-saving mode is set in the print application that operates separately from the main body function, control can be performed so that the color thumbnail image is not displayed in the preview. In addition, it is possible to reduce the possibility of false recognition that the user can print in color. Furthermore, since the user can recognize a color page, it is possible to reduce printing errors due to forced monochrome printing.

Next, the detailed processing of the present embodiment will be described using FIGS. 5 to 8.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for storing print data in the multifunction peripheral 300 according to the present embodiment.

  In step S501, the CPU 201 generates print data that can be printed by the multifunction peripheral 300 to be output. Specifically, a document or the like is generated by the user using various applications on the client PC 100, and the printer driver installed in the client PC 100 generates print data (PDL data or the like) in accordance with the print instruction of the user.

In step S502, the CPU 201 executes RAW printing on the designated multifunction peripheral 300. Specifically, the generated print data is transmitted to the RAW port (number 9100) of the multifunction peripheral. At this time, it is assumed that the box number of the storage area of the multifunction peripheral 300 is designated.
In step S 503, the CPU 301 monitors the RAW port (No. 9100) and receives print data transmitted from the client PC 100.

In step S504, the print data (for example, PDL) received by the main body function of the MFP 300 is used to generate image data used for printing in the MFP 300. The generated image data is stored in the area (storage area) of the box number designated by the printer driver of the client PC 100. The image data is image data expressed in CMYK and is image data for printing. The image data to be stored is, for example, image data of JPEG format. It may be a unique file format for printing of the multifunction peripheral 300.
When generating image data, the main body function of the multifunction device 300 analyzes header information of print data, generates bibliographic information as management information of print data, and stores the bibliographic information in the storage area. Further, the main body function of the MFP 300 generates thumbnail images (thumbnail images of respective pages) for preview display using the image data, and stores them in the storage area. The thumbnail image is an image whose size is reduced for each page based on the image data (CMYK) stored in the storage area, and is image data for display expressed in RGB. The thumbnail image is, for example, image data in TIFF format. It may be a unique file format for display of the multifunction device 300.
When generating a thumbnail image, the main body function of the multifunction device 300 analyzes whether each page is data including color, and stores color information (color / monochrome) for each page as bibliographic information. Instead of storing as bibliographic information, color information for identifying color or monochrome may be held as property information of a thumbnail image. If the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 is a model that can not analyze whether each page is data that includes color, the print application analyzes pixels of the thumbnail image to analyze whether it is data that includes color.
The analysis as to whether the data includes color may be analysis of the thumbnail image or analysis of original image data (data for printing) of the thumbnail image. When a thumbnail image is analyzed, if the RGB values are values representing gray (for example, the RGB values are the same value), it is determined as data (monochrome data) not including color. When analyzing the original image data (data for printing) of the thumbnail image, data that does not include color (monochrome data) if the CMYK values are values representing gray (for example, color is represented by the value of K) It is determined that In other words, when analyzing a thumbnail image, if the RGB value is a value representing color, it is determined as data including color, and the CMYK value is represented by a value representing color (for example, color is expressed by CMY values) If it is), it is judged as data including color.
The thumbnail image, the bibliographic information, and the image data are stored in correspondence with the document identification number. When the bibliographic information is selected, the image data or thumbnail image corresponding to the document identification number of the bibliographic information is determined. You can get it. Although the image data and the print data have been separately described, the image data is also print data, and thus can be print data.
In step S505, the print application installed in the multifunction peripheral 300 acquires bibliographic information stored and managed by the main body function.
In step S506, the bibliographic information is stored in the storage area managed by the print application. FIG. 10 shows an example of this bibliographic information.
Here, the bibliographic information shown in FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 10 is a data diagram showing an example of bibliographic information managed by the MFP 300.

  The user name attribute of the bibliographic information stores the name (user ID) of the user who printed the print data. The document name attribute stores the file name (document name) of the file that is the source of the print data. The number of copies attribute stores the number of copies designated by the printer driver. The page number attribute stores the total number of pages of print data. The printing method attribute stores setting information such as duplex setting. The paper size attribute stores the size of the paper to be printed.

  The color attribute 1001 stores color when print data includes color information, and stores monochrome when print data does not include color. The color attribute 1001 is stored as a value by determining whether color data is present when generating image data by the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300. The color attribute 1001 may be stored for each page. An example of the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment is realized using this color attribute.

  The page layout attribute stores a value indicating a page layout (eg, 2 in 1) at the time of printing. As the storage date and time, the date and time (time stamp) at which the print data was stored in the MFP 300 is stored. The document identification number stores image data, bibliographic information, and an identification number for identifying a thumbnail image. The storage date and time and the document identification number are generated and stored by the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300. Other information is acquired from header information of print data and stored.

  Next, processing for displaying a print data list stored in the MFP 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for displaying a print data list on the multifunction peripheral 300.

In step S601, the CPU 301 acquires authentication information including a user ID and a password input by a user operation. The card ID (card serial number etc.) of the card read by the card reader 319 may be acquired as authentication information.
In step S602, the CPU 301 transmits authentication information to the authentication server 200.
In step S603, the CPU 201 receives the authentication information.

  In step S604, the CPU 201 refers to the authentication table provided in the authentication server, and searches for user information that matches the received authentication information. If there is matching user information, the user information is acquired. In the search of user information, search is performed using a user ID and a password included in authentication information, or search is performed using a card ID. The user information obtained as a result of the search includes various information such as a user name, a card ID, a printing authority, and a department ID.

In step S605, the CPU 201 transmits the user information obtained as a result of the search to the MFP 300. When there is no matching user information as a result of the search, authentication error information is transmitted.
In step S606, the CPU 301 receives the user information returned from the authentication server 200.

  In step S 607, the CPU 301 stores the received user information in the login information area (login context) managed by the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300. The main body function notifies the various applications that the authentication has been obtained and that the multifunction peripheral 300 is in the login state. As a result, the functions of the MFP 300 and various applications become available.

In step S608, the CPU 301 acquires the user name of the user information logged in in step S607 and holds the user name in the memory. The bibliographic information matching the user name is retrieved to generate a bibliographic information list, which is stored in the memory.
In steps S609 to S614, the CPU 301 repeatedly executes the number of pieces of bibliographic information held in step S608.

  In step S610, the CPU 301 refers to the color attribute included in the bibliographic information, and determines whether color data (also referred to as a color page) is included in the print data. If a color value is stored in the color attribute, the process proceeds to step S611 as print data including color data. If a monochrome value is stored in the color attribute, the process proceeds to step S 612 as print data not including color data.

  If no value is stored in the color attribute, the image data stored in the MFP 300 may be analyzed to determine whether color data is present.

  In step S611, the CPU 301 refers to the setting file shown in FIG. 11 of the print application, and determines whether the MFP 300 is in the cost saving mode (also referred to as a suppression mode). Needless to say, the configuration of the setting file may be read and stored in the memory. If it is determined that the mode is the cost saving mode, the process proceeds to step S613. If it is determined that the mode is not the cost saving mode, the process proceeds to step S612. The setting of the cost saving mode can be set by the administrator, and is set individually for the multifunction peripheral 300. Therefore, when there are a plurality of MFPs 300, the MFP 300 is configured of the MFP in the cost-saving mode and the MFP in the normal mode. The normal mode is a mode in which printing is performed according to the value of the color attribute without forcibly performing monochrome printing in the device.

  In step S612, the CPU 301 acquires an icon indicating color information of data according to the value (color / monochrome) of color attribute of bibliographic information. More specifically, the print application stores three types of icons as "an icon indicating color data", "an icon indicating monochrome data", and "an icon indicating that color data is to be printed as monochrome". There is.

  Here, if the color attribute is color, the "icon indicating color data" is acquired, and if the color attribute is monochrome, the "icon indicating monochrome data" is acquired. Then, using the bibliographic information and the icon, the bibliographic information list is displayed on the display unit of the multifunction device 300 as shown in FIG. The “icon indicating color data” is displayed as 1201 and the “icon indicating monochrome data” is displayed as 1202.

In step S613, if the CPU 301 includes color data (also referred to as a color page) in the print data and is in the cost saving mode, the CPU 301 forcibly forces "color data without using the color attribute included in the bibliographic information. Obtains an icon indicating that the image is printed as monochrome. Then, the bibliographic information list is displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral 300 as shown in FIG. 13 using the bibliographic information and the acquired “icon indicating that it is color data but printed as monochrome”. The “icon representing color data but printed as monochrome” is displayed as 1301. In other words, a list of print data is displayed, and in the list of the print data, it is identifiably displayed that the print data is to be converted from color to monochrome in the cost saving mode (suppression mode). Note that, even in the cost saving mode, a “icon indicating monochrome data” may be displayed as in 1302 for bibliographic information whose color attribute is monochrome. This is displayed 1301 or 1302 depending on the setting of the print application.
More specifically, in the case of 1302, in the bibliographic information list in the cost-saving mode of FIG. 9, the actual print data is color but it is displayed as if it is print data of monochrome data as in 901. . By displaying as shown in FIG. 9, since all the print data is displayed in monochrome so that the color can not be identified, it is possible to make the user recognize the awareness of cost saving in printing.

  In the present embodiment, the procedure of determining step S611 after step S610 may be a procedure of performing the determination of step S610 after step S611. That is, the procedure is not limited.

  In step S615, the CPU 301 determines whether bibliographic information is selected and the print start button is pressed according to the user's operation. If it is determined that the print start button has been pressed, the process advances to step S616 to print print data corresponding to the selected bibliographic information. If it is determined that the print start button has not been pressed, various processes and functions corresponding to the user's operation are executed.

  In step S616, it is determined whether the print data corresponding to the selected bibliographic information is to be forcibly monochrome printed. Print data to be subjected to forced monochrome printing is print data corresponding to bibliographic information displayed with an icon 1301. In other words, when the bibliographic information that is color in the color attribute is selected in the cost saving mode, the MFP 300 is determined to be forced monochrome printing. The print data which is not subjected to forced monochrome printing is print data corresponding to bibliographic information displayed with an icon 1302. In other words, when bibliographic information that is monochrome in color attribute is selected, it is determined that forced monochrome printing is not performed.

  If it is determined that forced monochrome printing is to be performed, the process proceeds to step S617. If it is determined that forced monochrome printing is not to be performed, the process proceeds to step S618.

  In step S617, the print application issues a print command to the main body function of the MFP 300 so as to print the print data corresponding to the bibliographic information in monochrome. The print command is, for example, a print command including document identification information (which may be a handle) specifying image data included in bibliographic information and monochrome print designation information. By issuing this print command, the main body function of the multifunction device 300 acquires predetermined image data, and draws the image data so as to be a monochrome image. When the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 renders in monochrome, for example, it is possible to render a monochrome image by replacing the CMY values of CMYK with K.

In step S618, a normal print instruction is issued to the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 so that the print application does not print the print data corresponding to the bibliographic information in monochrome. In accordance with the print command, the main body function of the MFP 300 acquires predetermined image data, and renders the image data as follows.
In step S619, the data drawn in step S617 or step S618 is printed on a paper medium and output.

  In this embodiment, although it was expressed as a cost saving mode, since it is not necessary to print using full color printing, it may be a name of a mode such as monochrome printing mode or eco printing mode. That is, the embodiment is not limited by the mode name. For example, a suppression mode that suppresses color printing.

  By step S611, it is possible to identify that the image is printed in monochrome, and erroneous printing can be prevented. In addition, it becomes possible to identify whether color is forcibly converted print data to monochrome, to prevent erroneous printing, and in the case where forced monochrome printing is performed, identification power is enhanced for the user and usability is improved.

  Next, processing for displaying a preview will be described using FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for displaying a preview on the multifunction peripheral 300.

  The process of FIG. 7 is a process when the preview button of 1203 of FIG. 12 or 1303 of FIG. 13 is pressed. The description of the preview button in FIG. 9 is omitted. That is, this is processing after the list of print data is displayed in steps S612 and S613.

When the CPU 301 detects that the bibliographic information of the print data to be printed is selected by the user in the bibliographic information list of FIG. 12 or FIG. 13 and the preview button 1203 or 1303 is pressed, processing is performed for the number of pages of the selected bibliographic information The processes of steps S701 to S707 are repeated until the process is completed. The preview display can be executed when one piece of bibliographic information is selected.
In step S701, the CPU 301 acquires, for each page, a thumbnail image corresponding to the bibliographic information selected by the user. More specifically, the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 corresponds to the document identification number by issuing a thumbnail image acquisition request including the document identification number of the selected bibliographic information to the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 by the print application. Get a thumbnail image and pass it to the print application. At this time, color information of the thumbnail image is also delivered.

  In step S702, the CPU 301 analyzes the color information of the acquired thumbnail image or the pixel information of the thumbnail image to determine whether the page includes color data. It goes without saying that color analysis can be realized by using known techniques. If it is determined that the page includes color data, the process proceeds to step S703. If it is determined that the page does not include color data, the process proceeds to step S704.

  The determination as to whether or not the page includes color data is analyzed not when generating a thumbnail image but when generating image data by the main body function of the multifunction device 300, and specifies a page including color data. Then, the specified page may be stored in the bibliographic information, and a match with the page may be confirmed to determine whether the page includes color data.

  In step S703, the print application refers to the setting file in FIG. 11 by the CPU 301, and determines whether the MFP 300 (print application) is in the cost saving mode. Needless to say, the configuration of the setting file may be read and stored in the memory. If it is determined that the mode is the cost saving mode, the process proceeds to step S 705. If it is determined that the mode is not the cost saving mode (if the mode is the normal mode), the process proceeds to step S704.

  In the present embodiment, the procedure for determining step S703 after step S702 may be a procedure for performing the determination of step S702 after step S703. That is, the procedure is not limited.

  In step S704, the CPU 301 uses the thumbnail image acquired in step S701 to create a thumbnail image changed by the size stored in advance by the print application so that the size can be previewed by the print application. . The change in size may either enlarge or reduce the thumbnail image. When the thumbnail image created here is color image data, a thumbnail that is a color image is created, and when it is monochrome image data, a thumbnail that is monochrome image is created. Description of thumbnail creation is omitted because it uses known techniques.

In step S 705, the print application performs monochrome conversion processing such as gray scale using the color thumbnail image acquired in step S 701 by the CPU 301 to create a monochrome thumbnail image. At this time, as described in step S704, a monochrome thumbnail image of the size stored in advance by the print application is created so as to be the size to be previewed by the print application. The monochrome thumbnail image is created using a known technique. For example, the print application analyzes the pixels of the thumbnail image and converts places having color information other than white to black or gray pixel information Do.
If the MFP has a function to create monochrome thumbnail images, the print application issues a monochrome conversion request including document identification information to the main body function, so that monochrome thumbnail images can be displayed using the main body function. Generate Then, the print application may acquire a monochrome thumbnail image from the main body function.

  In step S706, the CPU 301 displays the thumbnail image created in step S704 or step S705. If the MFP 300 (print application) is in the cost saving mode and the bibliographic information selected by the user includes color data (for example, the manual of FIG. 13), the preview screen 1400 of FIG. 14 is displayed. In this case, a monochrome thumbnail image is displayed. That is, even a page including color data is displayed as a monochrome thumbnail image.

  In addition, even in the case of the cost saving mode, when bibliographic information (for example, the estimate in FIG. 13) of print data which is not forcibly printed in monochrome, that is, print data which originally does not include color data is selected, The preview screen 1410 of FIG. 14 is displayed.

  Further, when the print data including color data is selected instead of the cost saving mode (when the manual is selected in FIG. 12), according to the color / monochrome of each page as shown in 1600 of FIG. Thumbnails are displayed.

  In step S 708, the CPU 301 determines whether the bibliographic information selected on the screen of FIG. 13 includes a color in the color attribute. If the bibliographic information has a color in the color attribute, the process proceeds to step S709. If the bibliographic information has monochrome as the color attribute, the process ends.

In step S709, the CPU 301 determines whether the MFP 300 (print application) is in the cost saving mode. If it is determined that the cost saving mode is set, the process proceeds to step S710. If the mode is not the cost saving mode, the process ends.
Note that the processing procedures of step S709 and step S710 are not limited.
In step S710, the CPU 301 displays the color page preview button 1401 of FIG. 14 on the preview screen 1400.

  That is, in the case of the cost-saving mode, when bibliographic information of print data to be forcibly printed in monochrome is selected, the print application displays a preview screen including a color page preview button 1401 as shown in FIG. Display on the 300 display unit.

In addition, even in the case of the cost saving mode, when bibliographic information (for example, the estimate in FIG. 13) of print data which is not forcibly printed in monochrome, that is, print data which originally does not include color data is selected, The preview screen 1410 of FIG. 14 is displayed. Since there is no color page at this time, control is performed so that the color page preview button 1401 provided on the preview screen 1400 is not displayed.
The detail display button displayed in FIGS. 14 to 16 is a button for displaying an enlarged image of the selected thumbnail.

Next, processing for displaying a color page preview will be described using FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of color page preview display processing in the multifunction peripheral 300.
The process of FIG. 8 is a process when the color page preview button 1401 of FIG. 14 is pressed. FIG. 7 is a flowchart subsequent to FIG.

When the CPU 301 detects that the color page preview button 1401 in FIG. 14 is pressed, the processing in steps S801 to S807 is performed until processing is performed for the number of pages of bibliographic information selected in the bibliographic information list in FIG. repeat.
In step S801, the CPU 301 acquires, for each page, a thumbnail image corresponding to the bibliographical information selected by the user and the color page preview button pressed. More specifically, the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 corresponds to the document identification number by issuing a thumbnail image acquisition request including the document identification number of the selected bibliographic information to the main body function of the multifunction peripheral 300 by the print application. Get a thumbnail image and pass it to the print application. At this time, color information of the thumbnail image is also delivered.

  In step S802, the CPU 301 analyzes the color information of the acquired thumbnail image or the color (RGB) of the pixel of the thumbnail image to determine whether the page includes color data. For color analysis, if RGB is a value representing gray, it is judged as a page not containing color data, and if RGB is a value which is a color (not gray) it is judged as a page containing color data . The determination of color data may be determined using other known techniques. If it is determined that the page includes color data, the process proceeds to step S 803. If it is determined that the page does not include color data, the process proceeds to step S 807.

  It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the page includes color data is analyzed when generating image data in a box by the main body function of the multifunction device 300, not when generating a thumbnail image, and specifies the page including color data . Then, the specified page may be stored in the bibliographic information, and a match with the page may be confirmed to determine whether the page includes color data.

  In step S 803, the CPU 301 determines whether the display method is color display or monochrome display. The default is monochrome display, and thumbnail images of pages including color data are displayed. If the display method is monochrome display, the process proceeds to step S805. If the display method is color display, the process proceeds to step S804.

  In step S804, the CPU 301 uses the thumbnail image acquired in step S801 to create a thumbnail image changed by the size stored in advance by the print application so that the size can be previewed by the print application. . That is, color thumbnail images are created. Description of thumbnail creation is omitted because it uses known techniques.

In the case of creating a color thumbnail image in step S804, the color display switching button 1501 described later is pressed. As a result, the monochrome thumbnail image is displayed in place of the color thumbnail image.
In step S805, the print application performs monochrome conversion processing such as gray scale using the color thumbnail image acquired in step S801 by the CPU 301, and creates a monochrome thumbnail image.
In monochrome conversion processing, the print application acquires the color (RGB) of the pixel of the thumbnail image and converts it to gray gradation. For example, a value obtained from “(R value + G value + B value) / 3” of a pixel is set as an RGB value. As a result, it becomes a gray-scaled thumbnail image and becomes a thumbnail image seen as monochrome by the user.

  In the present embodiment, a monochrome thumbnail image is generated again. However, when there is a thumbnail image generated in step S705, it is also possible to obtain a thumbnail image from the memory and display it.

  In step S806, the CPU 301 displays the thumbnail image created in step S804 or step S805. More specifically, when the color display switching is monochrome setting, a monochrome thumbnail image is displayed on the color preview screen 1500 of FIG. When the color display switching is color setting, a color thumbnail image is displayed on the color preview screen 1510 of FIG.

  As a result, the thumbnail of the page including the color data is displayed, and the page of the color data can be easily confirmed. In addition, since a page including color data can be switched between monochrome and color display, and a page in color can be confirmed, it is possible to reduce erroneous printing.

  In step S808, the CPU 301 displays an all page preview button 1502 on the color preview screen 1500 of FIG. 15 or the color preview screen 1510 of FIG. When the all page preview button 1502 is pressed, the screen returns to the preview screen 1400 of FIG. When returning to the preview screen 1400 of FIG. 14, the thumbnail image that has already been generated is acquired from the memory and displayed again.

  In step S809, the CPU 301 displays a color display switching button 1501 on the color preview screen 1500 of FIG. 15 or the color preview screen 1510 of FIG. Note that when the color page preview button 1401 is pressed on the preview screen 1400 of FIG. 14, since the default value of the color display switching setting is monochrome, a character string indicating that a color page is displayed in monochrome. Display After that, when the color display switching button 1501 is pressed by the user, the setting of the color display switching becomes color, so a character string indicating that a color page is being displayed in color is displayed.

  When the color display switching button 1501 is pressed by the user, a color thumbnail image is generated in step S804 and displayed on the color preview screen 1510 of FIG.

  If the selected bibliographic information includes color data (for example, the manual shown in FIG. 13) in the cost saving mode, the preview screen 1400 shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. In this case, monochrome thumbnails are displayed. That is, even a page including color data is displayed as a monochrome thumbnail.

  Next, another embodiment will be described. FIG. 17 shows a system including the multifunction machine 300 in the cost-saving mode, the multifunction machine 300 in the normal mode, and the print management server 400 in addition to the system configuration of FIG. The hardware configuration of the print management server 400 is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The client PC 100 transmits print data to the print management server 400. The received print management application of the print management server stores print data and generates and manages bibliographic information.

When the user logs in, the multifunction device 300 requests the print management server to list the bibliographic information, receives the bibliographic information list corresponding to the logged-in user, and displays the bibliographic information list on the display unit of the multifunction device 300.
At this time, using the above-described flowchart, even if the same user is used, the display changes depending on the MFP 300 logged in (whether the MFP is in the cost saving mode or not).

Specifically, when the user logs in to the MFP 300 (print application) in the cost saving mode, the bibliographic information list screen of FIG. 13 is displayed on the display unit of the MFP 300. That is, even color image data is displayed as monochrome.
Further, when the user logs in to the MFP 300 in the normal mode, the bibliographic information list screen of FIG. 12 is displayed on the display unit of the MFP 300. That is, the display is switched depending on the mode of the MFP 300 that has logged in.
Further, at the time of previewing, the print data selected by the multifunction device 300 is output from the print management server to the box of the multifunction device 300, and image data, thumbnail images and bibliographic information are created. A preview is displayed using this created thumbnail image.
Although the monochrome conversion described above is intended to express gray shades, it also includes simple binarization represented by white and black. In the case of binarization, binarization using an error diffusion method or the like may be used.

  In the conventional printing system, for example, when the user logs in to a multifunction machine of the same model, if the print data is color data, it is displayed in color, and if the print data is monochrome data, it is displayed in monochrome. The same print data does not have different display forms depending on the login MFP. Therefore, only when the user outputs the printed matter, it is recognized that the printing has been performed by the wrong MFP, and many erroneous printings occur. According to the embodiment described above, it is discriminated on the MFP 300 whether print data printed by the client PC is forced to be monochrome or printed as usual, even for MFPs of the same model and the same group. Because it can, it is possible to reduce erroneous printing.

  In particular, there are cases in which a large number of MFPs of the same model are introduced in offices of companies etc. In this case, even if the MFP is a color output machine, there are cases where monochrome printing is desired to reduce costs. is there. Since the user is a multifunction device of the same model, he assumes that color printing can be performed and printing is performed from the client PC. Therefore, print data that can be originally output in color in the bibliographic information list or preview display as described above Identifying and displaying them as monochrome data is effective in preventing erroneous printing.

  Also, even if the user logs in to the multifunction machine in the cost-saving mode, if the bibliographic information list or preview display is identified and displayed as monochrome data, the user notices that the wrong MFP was logged in It will be. Therefore, the user can execute printing in color by logging in to the MFP in the normal mode again, and the convenience is also enhanced.

  As mentioned above, although this embodiment was described in detail, according to this embodiment, even if it is color print data, unnecessary output can be suppressed by displaying it as monochrome print data.

In addition, when previewing print data, by previewing a color page, print data can be confirmed and unnecessary output can be suppressed. By previewing the color page when previewing print data to be subjected to forced monochrome printing, unnecessary output can be suppressed.
In addition, since only color pages can be easily previewed, confirmation of print data is facilitated.

  The configuration of the various data described above and the contents thereof are not limited to this, and it is needless to say that they are configured in various configurations and contents depending on the application and purpose.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment was shown, this invention can take the embodiment as a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, a recording medium etc., for example, and, specifically, it is comprised from a some apparatus The present invention may be applied to a single system or to an apparatus comprising a single device.

  Further, the program in the present invention is a program capable of executing the processing method of the flowcharts shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 by a computer, and the storage medium of the present invention is a program capable of executing the processing method in FIG. Is stored. Note that the program in the present invention may be a program for each processing method of each device in FIGS.

  As described above, the recording medium recording the program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the program stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can be achieved also by reading and executing.

  In this case, the program itself read out from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, silicon Disks, solid state drives, etc. can be used.

  Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an operating system (OS) or the like running on the computer is actually executed based on the instructions of the program. It goes without saying that the processing is partially or entirely performed, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written to the memory provided to the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is read based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus comprising a single device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can receive the effects of the present invention.

Further, by downloading and reading out a program for achieving the present invention from a server on a network, a database or the like by a communication program, the system or apparatus can receive the effects of the present invention.
In addition, the structure which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification is also contained in this invention altogether.

100 client PC
200 authentication server 300 MFP 401 mode determination unit 402 display unit 403 color attribute determination unit 404 instruction unit 405 preview unit 406 print unit 407 login unit 408 print data selection unit 409 color page specification unit 410 preview reception unit 411 switching unit 412 monochrome conversion Department

Claims (7)

Setting means for setting color print suppression of print settings of the image forming apparatus;
Specifying means for specifying a color page in the received print data;
Display means for identifiably displaying a page on which color printing of the color page specified by the specifying means is suppressed based on the color print suppression setting made by the setting means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the page in which the color printing is inhibited by switching between an image showing color and an image showing that color printing is inhibited. .   The display unit switches and displays the display of the image of the page for which the color printing is inhibited and the display of the page for which the color printing is inhibited and the image of another page. The image forming apparatus according to 1 or 2. 4. The image display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display unit displays an image of a page according to color or monochrome of each page of print data when color printing suppression setting is not set by the setting unit. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Setting means for setting color print suppression of print settings of the image forming apparatus;
A determination unit that determines whether the page of the received print data is a page including color data;
Display means for identifiably displaying that color judgment of a page including color data is suppressed by the determination means based on the color print suppression setting by the setting means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus
A setting step of setting color print suppression of print settings of the image forming apparatus;
A specifying step of specifying a color page in the received print data;
A control step of executing a display step of identifiably displaying a page on which color printing of the color page specified in the specifying step is suppressed based on the color printing suppression setting in the setting step. Setting means for setting color printing suppression of print setting of the image forming apparatus as image forming apparatus as a computer;
Specifying means for specifying a color page in the received print data;
A program for functioning as display means for identifiably displaying a page in which color printing of the color page specified by the specifying means is suppressed based on the color printing suppression setting by the setting means.

Images