JP6540338B2 - IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM, PROCESSING EXECUTION CONTROL DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND CONTROL PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, a processing execution control device, an image processing method, and a control 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 configuration 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.

  Printing (variable printing) in which the contents of personal information and the like are changed for each sheet may be performed using such a workflow system. When variable printing is performed, first, fixed information such as a photograph is printed by offset printing, and then variable information such as personal information is printed by digital printing to create a printed matter (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, a coating agent is applied to an area where digital printing is to be performed after offset printing in variable printing, and digital printing is performed on the coating agent. However, in this method, the unevenness of the printing surface is noticeable due to the overlapping of the coating agent.

  Moreover, the coating agent is not applied after offset printing in variable printing, but a coating agent may be applied to the entire printing surface at the final stage of printing to make the unevenness on the printing surface inconspicuous. However, when such a coating agent is applied, a large amount of the coating agent provided in the digital printer is consumed. In general, the coating process performed by a digital printer has a high unit price per unit area as compared to the coating process performed by a post-processing apparatus after offset printing, and the cost increases if the digital printer consumes a large amount of coating agent. It becomes a factor.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and printing is performed while suppressing consumption of a coating agent when printing a fixed part and a variable part in an image to be printed by different image forming apparatuses. The purpose is to reduce surface irregularities.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image of a fixed part in a target image of an image forming output and another image for forming an image of a variable part in an image of a printing target An image processing system that includes a forming apparatus and sequentially executes a plurality of processes defined in the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the process execution control apparatus controlling the execution of the plurality of processes, and the process execution control apparatus wherein said image forming apparatus, each of which perform different types of image forming output based on instruction information of the image forming output received, the coating processing apparatus for performing coating processing for the image formed by the image forming output, from The process execution control device controls the execution of the plurality of processes, and performs a plurality of image formation outputs having the same content among the instruction information to one image forming apparatus. The same output command information to be executed is transmitted to execute the image formation output, and the variable output command information to execute the image formation output of different contents for each set of the command information to the other image forming apparatus is transmitted. coat machining and processing execution control unit, coat processing equipment information coat processing area is information to be referred to in the coating process, to produce on the basis of information in the form of the output target image data pair Zoga image of the image forming output It includes an information generation unit, a respective said image forming apparatus is, the output target of the image forming apparatus drawing information is information referred to in the image forming output, according to the same output instruction information or the variable output instruction information image type to each image forming section based on the drawing information generation unit for generating on the basis of image information, drawing information generated by said drawing information generation unit Together to execute the output includes an execution control unit for controlling the execution of the coating process for the recording medium on which image formation output is performed by the image forming section, the coating processing information generation unit, by the variable output instruction information Information on a region where image formation output is to be performed is referred to, and information on a coat processing region on which a coating process is performed on a recording medium on which image formation output has been performed is generated according to the same output command information excluding the region The control unit performs control so as to perform coating processing on an area where image formation output is performed according to the variable output instruction information.

  According to the present invention, in the case where the fixed portion and the variable portion in the image to be printed are printed by different image forming apparatuses, it is possible to reduce the unevenness of the printing surface while suppressing the consumption of the coating agent.

The figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the JDF information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram showing the functional composition of the HWF server concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the example of the workflow information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a DFE according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the example of the conversion table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of RIP parameters according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The sequence diagram which shows the whole operation | movement of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the information of the division | segmentation request | requirement which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing coat processing control after offset printing according to the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the process in DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing RIP processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view exemplifying a configuration of print data according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrated the cross section of the printed matter concerning the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view exemplifying a configuration of print data according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrated the cross section of the printed matter concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The example of execution of the process which determines the largest area | region of the variable area | region which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The example of execution of the process which determines the largest area | region of the variable area | region which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrated the coating process area at the time of excluding the variable area | region which concerns on embodiment of this 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. When operating a digital printer in such a system, the feature according to the present embodiment is that a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine common to a DFE (Digital Front End) for controlling the digital printer and the server is installed. It is one of the

  Further, in the present embodiment, the fixed portion printed fixedly is printed by the offset printer like a frame line in the chart, and then different contents are printed for each copy like characters and numbers in the chart. Print the variable part with the digital printer. Under such premise, it is one of the gist of the present embodiment to optimize the coating process after offset printing, digital printing, and each printing.

  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 which is a control unit for causing the digital engine 150 to execute digital image formation output. The digital engine 150 also includes an image forming unit such as an ink head and a transport mechanism, and 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. In the present embodiment, the digital printer 1 executes print output based on variable output instruction information in which different content images are printed for each set, such as characters and numbers.

  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. Thus, the CTP 200 and offset engine 250 control the offset imaging output. In the present embodiment, the offset printer executes print output based on the same output command information on which an image of the same content is printed, such as a frame line in a chart.

  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. When the post-processing device 3 performs coating processing, the post-processing device 3 functions as a coating processing device. The sheet on which the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 print out may be coated.

  The HWF server 4 is a server on which HWF software is installed to manage everything from input of job data including image data to be printed out, 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 processing execution control apparatus by managing instruction information (here, JDF information) of the image formation output.

  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.

  Differences in print output by different devices are mainly caused 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. Such a configuration is one of the gist of the present embodiment.

  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. JDF information is processing setting information.

  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. The “variable area” is information indicating an area where different contents are printed for each set in variable printing, and is designated by coordinates as shown in FIG. This information is one of the gist of the present embodiment. Details will be described later. 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. When a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, it may be submitted with JDF information attached.

  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. Alternatively, when a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, it is assigned in advance. The JDF information acquired in such a manner 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.

  The post-printing area determination unit 422 is an area in which digital print output is performed after offset printing based on the font, font size, longest character string, print position information, and the like included in the PDL information among the print data included in the PDL information. Determine Then, the determination result is transmitted to the job control unit 413.

  Next, the functional configuration of the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the DFE 100 includes a DFE controller 110, a network I / F 101, and a display 102. The network I / F 101 is an interface for the DFE 100 to exchange information with other devices via the network. The DFE controller 110 also executes acquisition of data to be digitally printed and output, execution of a print job, and the like. The DFE controller 110 is configured by installing dedicated software in the information processing apparatus.

  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 processing is control for causing the RIP engine to execute the RIP processing based on the information generated by the analysis of the JDF information and the PDL 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 and the PDL information.

  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 the processing is performed as a continuation of the processing in the HWF server 4. 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. Further, when the “pass-through mode” is designated by the individual job receiving unit 112, the designation of “page mode” and “sheet mode” is also described according to the designated RIP engine 120.

  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. Here, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment has a function to cope with the possibility that the system according to the present embodiment receives a print job from a plurality of different HWF servers 4.

  In the HWF server 4 of different types, the method of handling data in the print job may be different. For example, the difference is the "RIP control mode" such as the "page mode" or the "sheet mode" described above. In the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “page mode”, data of the original page corresponding to the number of consolidations are designated in order at the time of consolidation printing.

  On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “sheet mode”, all data of the original page before aggregation is designated and the RIP process is executed. That is, the method of specifying parameters for the RIP engine 120 is different. Such a difference is not limited to the "RIP control mode". For example, it occurs due to the difference in the format and the handling method of the original data, such as the handling of the margin of the original data.

  In order to cope with such a difference, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment performs conversion processing of parameters designated to the RIP engine 120 according to the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP processing. For example, when data corresponding to the "page mode" is input to the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the "sheet mode", a process of converting a parameter described in the "page mode" into the "sheet mode" is performed. 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. Further, control for finishing processing is performed by acquiring from the job control unit 116 the finishing information included in the in-DFE job attribute. When the digital printer 1 is configured to perform coating processing, the printer control unit 122 controls the execution of the coating processing. Therefore, the printer control unit 122 functions as a digital print output execution control unit.

  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 and the like.

  In the post-processing apparatus 3, the printed material after the offset printing has been performed by the offset printer 2 is subjected to a coating process with a coating agent. It is one of the gist of the present invention to perform post-processing so that the area where digital printing is to be performed is not coated when performing the coating process.

  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.

  The rendering processing unit 218 performs rendering processing to generate raster data based on input data. Among the processing units shown in FIG. 9, the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 may be simultaneously executed by the rendering processing unit 218.

  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.

  The rendering processing unit 218 illustrated in FIG. 10 also performs rendering processing for generating raster data based on input data as in FIG. 9. In addition to the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 among the processing units shown in FIG. 10, the processing by the layout processing unit 217 may be simultaneously executed by the rendering processing unit 218.

  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.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, the RIP engine 120 common to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE 100. Here, the common RIP engine is at least a part related to generation of raster data.

  Therefore, in the RIP engine 420 and the RIP engine 120, all of the processing units shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are not common. At least the processing units related to the generation of raster data, such as the mark processing unit 206, the font processing unit 207, the layout processing unit 217, and the rendering processing unit 218, may be shared. It is a minimum configuration that the processing units related to the generation of raster data are common, and other processing units may be common.

  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 a device that executes print output is 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 an operation for generating a workflow is performed by an 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.

  Also, in step S1113 in the present embodiment, the job control unit 413 performs control for offset printing under the control of the workflow control unit 418. In the control for this offset printing, transmission processing of raster data to the CTP 200 and transmission processing of a post-processing job to the post-processing device 3 are executed. Then, in the post-processing apparatus 3, a coating process is performed on the sheet on which the fixed portion has been printed by the offset printer 2. At this time, it is one of the points according to the present embodiment that the coating is performed excluding the variable portion based on the information of the “variable region” described above.

  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). At this time, the sheet on which the image is printed in the digital printer 1 is a sheet on which the fixed portion is printed by the above-described offset printing. The setting of the paper for this is performed by, for example, the manual operation of the operator. 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, control of the coating process after the offset printing performed in the in-server process in S1113 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the system control unit 410 controls the job control unit 413 to convert the format of job data into a PDF format (S1301, acquisition of PDF information). The PDF information that can be acquired at this time is registered in the job data storage unit 414.

  When the PDF information is acquired, the job control unit 413 causes the post-printing area determination unit 422 to extract variable area information (S1302). The variable area is an area of the image included in the PDF information and processed by the DFE 100 and printed out by the digital printer 1. The variable area at this time is determined based on print position information of variable area information included in the PDF information, and information such as font, font size, and longest character string.

  When variable area information is extracted, the job control unit 413 updates the JDF information by adding a parameter indicating the variable area to the JDF information (S1303). As a result, as described in FIG. 3, the description of the "variable area" information is added to the JDF information.

  Next, the system control unit 410 transmits the JDF information and the PDF information to which the parameter indicating the variable area is added to the post-processing apparatus 3 (S1304, job data transmission). The JDF information and the PDF information transmitted at this time are referred to when the post-processing apparatus 3 executes the coating process after the offset printing. Further, the JDF information and the PDF information to which the parameter indicating the variable area is added may be transmitted to the DFE 100 in S1114 to be information for defining a coat processing area after digital printing performed by the digital printer 1.

  Even when transmission is performed to the post-processing apparatus 3 by the job control unit 413 and transmission to the DFE 100, updating is performed so that execution of the coat processing is turned ON / OFF by a parameter indicating a variable area included in JDF information. Good. When updating the JDF information is performed so that the execution of the coating process is turned ON / OFF, the job control unit 413 describes the information indicating whether or not the coating process can be performed in the JDF information in the process of S1303. Then, the execution of the coat process by the parameter indicating the variable area is designated as "OFF", and the update of the JDF information is executed. On the other hand, when transmitting the JDF information and the PDF information to which the parameter indicating the variable area is added to the DFE 100, the execution of the coat processing is designated as "ON", and the JDF information is updated. Details of the update of the JDF information will be described later.

  When the post-processing device 3 does not have the function of determining the area to be coated and the area not to be coated based on the parameters described above, raster data generated as an area to be coated by the HWF server 4 is used. It may be configured to transmit to the post-processing device 3. In such a case, the job control unit 413 inputs the JDF information and the PDF information to which the parameter indicating the variable area is added to the RIP engine 420 to execute the RIP process and generate raster data. The generated raster data is transmitted to the post-processing apparatus 3 by the system control unit 410 together with the JDF information, and is referred to in the coating process after offset printing.

  Also when RIP processing of JDF information and PDF information to which parameters are added and raster data is transmitted to the post-processing apparatus 3, execution of the coat processing is ON by the job control unit 413 using the parameter indicating the variable area included in the JDF information. It may be updated to be turned off.

  By the processing described above, the coat processing area to be performed after the offset printing is determined with reference to the parameter indicating the variable area. That is, the coat processing area after offset printing is determined so as to exclude the area designated by the parameter indicating the variable area. On the other hand, the coat processing area performed after digital printing corresponds to the area designated by the parameter indicating the variable area.

  Next, the process in DFE in S1115 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, first, the individual job receiving unit 112 designated upon transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 receives job data (S1401). 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 (S1402).

  The setting of the "pass-through mode" described above is also reflected in S1402. 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 (S1403). As a result, when it is not in the pass-through mode (S1403 / NO), the job control unit 116 inputs job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 to generate an in-DFE job attribute (S1404).

  As a result of confirmation in S1403, if the pass-through mode is selected (S1404 / YES), or if JDF conversion is completed and a job attribute in DFE is generated, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters (S1405). If it is not the pass-through mode, in S1405, 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. Thus, first, the RIP control unit 119 performs the above-described parameter conversion (S1406). Then, the RIP control unit 119 designates the converted parameter and causes the RIP engine 120 to execute the RIP process (S1407). Thus, raster data is created by the RIP engine 120.

  In S1405, 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 S1407, 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 (S1408). Such processing completes the processing in DFE.

  Next, the RIP process in S1406 of FIG. 14 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, first, the control unit 201 executes initialization processing based on the initialization request for the input unit 202 (S1501). In S1501, in the case of the example of FIG. 9, the RIP parameter analysis unit 203 receives and analyzes the RIP parameters, 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 (S1502). Then, if the status is "Done" (S1503 / YES), the corresponding extension is excluded from the extension to be executed determined in the process of S1501 (S1504). On the other hand, if "NotYet" (S1503 / NO), no particular processing is performed.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 repeats the process until the process from S1502 is completed for all items of the RIP internal process (S1505 / NO). After the RIP status analysis unit 215 completes the processing from S1502 for all items of the RIP internal processing (S1505 / YES), if the input unit 202 acquires a request to execute the RIP processing (S1506 / YES), the control unit 201 Causes the respective extension units to execute processing in order (S1507).

  In S1507, the process is requested only for the expansion units determined in the process of S1501 and not excluded by the process of S1504. Further, processing is requested in accordance with the processing order determined in S1501. Thus, when the processing is executed by the extension unit and raster data is generated, the output unit 213 outputs the processing result (S1508). The processing by the RIP unit 118 is completed by such processing.

  In this embodiment, the processing of S1502 to S1505, that is, the status analysis processing is executed only in the case of the example of FIG. 10, that is, 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, the information of the print output target image input from the client terminal 5 is analyzed or RIP processed. By performing analysis or RIP processing, data respectively indicating an area to be offset printed out, an area to be coated after offset printing, an area to be digitally printed out, and an area to be coated after digital printing is generated.

  Next, an example of the configuration of print data in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present invention, the processing is performed in the order shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, when digital printing is performed after offset printing, in the present invention, the coating process after offset printing is not performed on the area where digital printing is performed. In this way, as shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to obtain high-quality printed matter in which the unevenness of the printing surface of the printing paper is reduced while suppressing the consumption of the coating agent in the digital printer.

  Print data in the present invention includes print data relating to offset print content of B, offset print coat of C, digital print content of D, and digital print coat of E, as shown in FIG. The coating process performed based on the information on the offset print coat of C may be performed by the post-processing apparatus 3, or when the offset printer 2 has a function of performing the coating process, the process may be performed by the offset printer 2. Good. The printing of the offset printing content shown in B of FIG. 16 and the coating process of the offset printing coating agent shown in C of FIG. 16 are performed based on the offset printing control described in S1113 of FIG.

  The coat processing area in the offset printing as shown in C of FIG. 16 is determined with reference to the information of the digital print content of D, as described in FIG. At this time, the post-printing area determination unit 422 excludes the area where digital printing is performed as a coat processing area in offset printing. At S1113 in FIG. 11, the coat processing information is transmitted to the post-processing device 3 based on the coat processing area determined in this manner. The post-processing device 3 performs the coating process after the offset printing as shown in C of FIG. 16 according to the coating process information. Thereafter, the digital print content of D is printed in the digital printer 1 and the coating process of the digital print portion is performed as in E, and the print F can be obtained. In this series of processing, the post-printing area determination unit 422 functions as a coat processing information generation unit.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a cross section of the printed matter F in FIG. 16 in the sub-scanning direction. The symbols in FIG. 17 correspond to the symbols shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the coating process after the offset printing is performed excluding the area where digital printing is to be performed by hollowing out the area. Furthermore, after digital printing is performed, the coating process is performed in the area corresponding to the digitally printed area, so consumption of the coating agent provided in the digital printer 1 is suppressed, and unevenness on the printing surface is reduced. It is possible to obtain a printed matter of excellent quality.

  As described above, the present invention is a system that performs print output by combining offset printing and digital printing, and executes the coat processing after offset printing excluding the range corresponding to the area where digital printing is to be performed. Do. Thereafter, digital printing is performed, and the coating process is performed on the area where the digital printing of the recording medium is performed. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to perform high-quality print output in which the unevenness of the printing surface is reduced while suppressing the consumption of the coating agent in the coating process after digital printing.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the present invention can be applied to perform coating processing after offset printing. According to the aspect shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, in the area where digital printing is performed, the coating process is not performed even if the offset printing is performed. In this way, even when offset printing and digital printing are redundantly printed out, the consumption of the coating agent in the digital printer 1 is suppressed, and the unevenness of the printing surface is reduced, and the quality is high. It is possible to print out.

  In variable printing, a plurality of fixed information such as a frame line may be printed in advance, and then digital printing of variable information such as personal information may be performed thereon. In such a printing method, as shown in FIG. 20, the variable area changes depending on the difference in the name of the address and the font. In the present invention, with respect to a plurality of files included in one job and having different contents of variable portions, data indicating variable areas is referenced, and coat processing after offset printing is performed based on the maximum value of variable areas. Control can also be made to determine the area.

  FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 are diagrams showing an example of execution when determining a variable region. In FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, as in D of FIG. 16, data printed by offset printing is omitted in order to make the digital printing area clear.

  First, an execution example in FIG. 20 will be described. In the execution example shown in FIG. 20, the additional printing area determination unit 422 acquires information of variable areas to be printed by the digital printer 1 from a plurality of print target files, and determines the maximum area from the information of each variable area. . Then, the application region of the coating agent is determined so that the coating process is not performed in the range corresponding to the maximum area in the coating process after the offset printing. As described above, the variable area information at this time is determined by the font, font size, longest character string, print position information, and the like included in the PDL information.

  In the execution example of FIG. 20, the largest variable region is the file c. In such a case, at the time of the coat processing after offset printing of the document file shown in FIG. 20, the area to be subjected to the coat processing is defined so that the part corresponding to the variable area of the file c is not subjected to the coat processing. Then, digital printing is performed, and the coating process is performed on the variable area after the digital printing, so that it is possible to obtain a high quality printed matter as shown in FIG. That is, in the mode of FIG. 20, in the coating process after the offset printing, control is performed so that the coating process is not performed in the range corresponding to the largest area among the plurality of variable areas.

  Next, an execution example in FIG. 21 will be described. Also in the execution example shown in FIG. 21, information of variable areas to be printed by the digital printer 1 is acquired from a plurality of print target files, and the maximum area is determined from the information of each variable area. In the variable area in the example of FIG. 21, the maximum value in the X axis direction (recording medium sub scanning direction) is file c, and the maximum value in the Y axis direction (recording medium main scanning direction) is file h. In the execution example shown in FIG. 21, the application region of the coating agent in the coating process after offset printing is determined based on the X coordinate of the variable region of the file c and the Y coordinate of the variable region of the file h (see FIG. 22, P1). . In this way, excellent printed quality as shown in FIG. 17 can be obtained without being digitally printed on the coating agent. Further, the range in which the variable areas of the file c and the file h are merged can be used as the application area of the coating agent after the offset printing (see FIG. 22, P2).

  Furthermore, the execution examples of FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 may be applied similarly even when a plurality of variable areas are included in one print target file. By controlling in this way, even when printing a file having a complicated layout, high quality print output with reduced unevenness on the printing surface is performed while suppressing consumption of the coating agent. Is possible.

1 digital printer 2 offset printer 3 post-processing device 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 110 DFE controller 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 218 Rendering 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 Transmission / reception unit 422 reprint area determination unit

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-113854

Claims (7)

The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus for forming an image of a fixed part in a target image of an image forming output, and another image forming apparatus for forming an image of a variable part in an image to be printed . An image processing system that executes a plurality of processes in order
A processing execution control unit for controlling execution of said plurality of processing, and the image forming apparatus, each of which perform different types of image forming output based on instruction information of the image forming output received from the processing execution control unit, each anda coating processing apparatus for performing coating processing for the image formed by the image forming output,
The process execution control device
Controlling the execution of the plurality of processes, and transmitting the same output instruction information to execute one or more copies of the image formation output of the same content among the instruction information to the one image forming apparatus to execute the image formation output; A processing execution control unit transmitting variable output instruction information to execute image formation output of different contents for each set of the instruction information to the other image forming apparatus;
Information coat processing area is information coat processing apparatus is referred to in the coating process, the coating processing information generation unit which generates, based on the image forming output target image information is information of pairs Zoga image output, the Including
Each of the image forming apparatuses is
Drawing information the image forming apparatus is information referred to in the image forming output, the rendering information generation unit for generating, based on the output target image data according to the same output instruction information or the variable output instruction information,
Together to execute the image forming output to each of the image forming part based on the drawing information generated by said drawing information generation unit, to control the execution of the coating process for the recording medium on which image formation output is performed by the image forming section And an execution control unit,
The coat processing information generation unit refers to the information of the area where the image formation output is performed according to the variable output instruction information, excludes the area and coats the recording medium on which the image formation output is performed according to the same output instruction information. Generate information on the coated area to be processed,
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the execution control unit performs coating processing on an area where image formation output is performed according to the variable output instruction information. The coat processing information generation unit refers to the areas having different contents for each unit in the variable output instruction information for each unit, determines the largest area among the plurality of the areas, and excludes the determined largest area. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the information on the coat processing area is generated. The process execution control unit, according to claim 1, wherein said information for executing the coating process for each of the coating processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus, and transmitting the additional information of the coating treatment region Or the image processing system as described in 2. The coat processing information generation unit
When the area where the image formation output is performed by the variable output command information to the output target image data contains multiple, recording medium on which an image has been formed by the same output instruction information to exclude all areas of multiple The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein information of a coated area to be subjected to a coating process is generated. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus for forming an image of a fixed part in a target image of an image forming output, and another image forming apparatus for forming an image of a variable part in an image to be printed . an image processing system for executing a plurality of processes in sequence, the controls the execution of multiple processes, to execute the image forming output to the image forming apparatus, each of which perform different types of image forming output, the image forming output a processing execution control unit to execute the coating process to coat processing apparatus for performing coating processing for the formed image by,
The controls the execution of multiple processes, to execute the transmission to the image forming outputs the same output instruction information to a plurality unit executes the image formation output of the same contents to one of the image forming apparatus, other the image a processing execution control unit for transmitting a variable output instruction information for executing a different content image forming output of each hand unit with respect to forming apparatus,
Information coat processing area is information coat processing apparatus is referred to in the coating process, the coating processing information generation unit which generates, based on the image forming output target image information is information of pairs Zoga image output, the Including
The coat processing information generation unit
Information of a coat processing area for performing a coating process on a recording medium on which an image formation output is performed according to the same output instruction information with reference to information of an area where an image formation output is performed according to the variable output instruction information A processing execution control apparatus characterized by generating The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus for forming an image of a fixed part in a target image of an image forming output, and another image forming apparatus for forming an image of a variable part in an image to be printed . a processing execution control unit for controlling execution of a plurality of processes, and the image forming apparatus, each of which perform different types of image forming output based on instruction information of the image forming output received from the processing execution control apparatus, each image a coating processing apparatus for performing coating processing for the image formed by forming the output by an image processing method of performing to an image forming output executed sequentially said plurality of processing,
The process execution control device
Controlling the execution of the plurality of processes, and transmitting the same output instruction information to execute one or more copies of the image formation output of the same content among the instruction information to the one image forming apparatus to execute the image formation output; Transmitting variable output instruction information for executing image formation output of different contents for each set of the instruction information to the other image forming apparatus;
Information coat processing area is information coat processing apparatus is referred to in the coating process, generated based on the image forming output target image information is information of pairs Zoga image output, where the variable output instruction Information on an area where image formation output is to be performed is referred to by information, and information on a coat processing area on which a coating process is performed on a recording medium on which image formation output has been performed is generated according to the same output command information excluding the area.
Each of the image forming apparatuses is
The drawing information, which is information referred to by the image forming apparatus at the time of image formation output, is generated based on the output target image information according to the same output instruction information or the variable output instruction information,
Together to execute the image forming output to the image forming unit based on the drawing information generated and controls the execution of coating work on the recording medium on which the image formation output is performed by the image forming unit, in which, the variable An image processing method comprising controlling to perform coating processing on an area where image formation output is performed according to output command information. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus for forming an image of a fixed part in a target image of an image forming output, and another image forming apparatus for forming an image of a variable part in an image to be printed . an image processing system for executing a plurality of processes in order to control the execution of the plurality of processes in the image forming apparatus, each of which perform different types of image forming output based on instruction information related to the image forming output A control program for a process execution control device that causes a coating processing apparatus to execute image formation and perform coating processing on an image formed by each image formation output,
Controlling the execution of the plurality of processes, and transmitting the same output instruction information to execute one or more copies of the image formation output of the same content among the instruction information to the one image forming apparatus to execute the image formation output; A processing execution control unit transmitting variable output instruction information to execute image formation output of different contents for each set of the instruction information to the other image forming apparatus;
Information coat processing area is information coat processing apparatus is referred to in the coating process, the coating processing information generation unit which generates, based on the image forming output target image information is information of pairs Zoga image output, the Realized by an information processing device,
The coat processing information generation unit refers to the information of the area where the image formation output is performed according to the variable output instruction information, excludes the area and coats the recording medium on which the image formation output is performed according to the same output instruction information. A control program for a process execution control apparatus, which generates information on a coating process area to be processed.