JP7143695B2 - Information processing device, image forming device, printing system, program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an image forming device, a printing system, and a program.

An image forming apparatus receives various files such as PCL (Printer Control Language), PS (PostScript), or PDF (Portable Document Format) and executes print processing. For sequential access format files such as PCL and PS, the contents of each page are arranged in page order. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus receives a sequential access file, the image forming apparatus spools the data and reads and prints the contents of each page in the data order. On the other hand, for random access format data such as PDF files, the content of each page can be arranged regardless of the page order. By referring to the position information of the data (called an object in PDF) placed in the back, the data of each page is accessed and printed.

Due to such a PDF file structure, the image forming apparatus cannot start printing until the entire PDF file is received. Therefore, a technique for shortening the time until the start of printing has been devised (for example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a PDF is divided into a plurality of data blocks, the last data block is first transferred to an image forming apparatus, and a notification indicating that the image forming apparatus has received a cross-reference table is sent to the image forming apparatus. Send from the first data block after receiving from. As a result, conventionally, the image forming apparatus could not start printing until the end of the PDF was received in order to obtain the cross-reference table. Printing can be started in parallel with receiving data.

However, the conventional technology has a problem that speeding up of imposition files is not taken into consideration. Imposition means arranging a plurality of pages on one sheet (one side). For example, it is a process performed in aggregate printing, and in the case of 4-in-1 aggregate printing, the printing process cannot be started until data for four pages is received.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus capable of shortening the printing time of a file to be imposed.

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of a group of imposition target pages is arranged between page data, from a first document file. generation means for generating, transmission means for transmitting the second document file generated by the generation means to an image forming apparatus, sorting means for sorting the pages of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion; wherein the generating means arranges the data of the imposition target page group in the order of the predetermined standard and generates the second document file in which the boundary information is arranged between the data; The information processing apparatus is provided , wherein the sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size .

It is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of shortening the printing time of a file to be imposed.

It is an example of the figure which illustrates serialization typically. FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram illustrating print performance of a serialized PDF file; FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram illustrating a memory size required for printing; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for printing a PDF file that requires imposition for printing; 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an example of a printing system; FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a terminal; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus; FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus and a cloud service; FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the structure of a PDF file; FIG. FIG. 10 is an example of a simplified diagram showing what kind of logical structure an object that exists in the body has. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for generating a PDF file; 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the structure of a PDF file; FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for generating a PDF file; It is an example of a PDF file created by serialization processing as shown in FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print processing in the image forming apparatus; FIG. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of processing for generating split files; FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing an example of processing for printing a split file; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for printing an image (Embodiment 2); FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart illustrating page alignment processing of an imposition target page group; It is a figure which shows an example of the PDF file serialized. FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram illustrating print performance of a serialized PDF file; (Example 3) which is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the process which produces|generates a PDF file. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of serialization of a PDF file that requires imposition;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, it demonstrates, referring drawings for the form for implementing this invention.

<Regarding serialization of PDF files>
First, serialization of a PDF file (an example of a first document file) will be described as an example of a random access file. In a PDF file, a cross-reference table, which is address information for page data, is attached to the end of the PDF file rather than the page data called the body. failed to start.

Therefore, the applicant devised a technique for dividing a PDF file into pages and converting the PDF file into a PDF file in which objects (corresponding to page data in the PDF file) are arranged in order of pages. A cloud service, which will be described later, arranges PDF file objects in page order and sets boundary information at page breaks. Further, determination information indicating that the PDF file is a PDF file in which objects are arranged in order of pages is set at the beginning of the PDF file rather than the objects.

The cloud service normally transmits the PDF file in which the objects are arranged in page order from the beginning of the PDF file to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus can start printing from the beginning of the PDF file while receiving the PDF files in page order based on the page breaks without referring to the cross-reference table at the end of the PDF file. Hereinafter, conversion into a PDF file (an example of a second document file) in which objects are arranged in page order is called serialization.

FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram schematically explaining serialization. Description will be made on the assumption that a document of multiple pages (three pages) is scanned and printed by the image forming apparatus.
(1) The image forming apparatus generates a PDF file in which objects are laid out in the order of pages, and data delimiters such as "%Page1 Object" (boundary information) are set for each page. A cross-reference table, a trailer, and the like are attached to the end of the PDF file in the same manner as a normal PDF file. The cross-reference table has in-file address information of objects, and the trailer specifies the number of objects in the entire file, the top object (where to start processing), and position information of the cross-reference table.
(2) When the image forming apparatus that has received the serialized PDF file detects the determination information (“%Enable Page Split Mode” to be described later), each image forming apparatus starts from the top of the PDF file (in the order received) based on the boundary information. Identifies an object on the page. Therefore, it is possible to start printing each page without having to receive the entire PDF file.
(3) The image forming apparatus supplements the missing data and creates a PDF file for each page. In FIG. 1, each of P1 to P3 is supplemented with a cross-reference table and a trailer, and three PDF files are created.

Note that if the image forming apparatus does not detect the determination information, the image forming apparatus can print in the same manner as before by referring to the cross-reference table and the trailer.

In addition, since serialized PDF files meet ISO standards, even if the image forming apparatus does not support serialized PDF files, they can be printed in the same way as before by referring to the cross-reference table and trailer. Therefore, a cloud service that generates a serialized PDF file does not need to be aware of whether the destination image forming apparatus supports serialized PDF files. The memory size required for processing does not change.

FIG. 2 is an example of a diagram illustrating print performance of a serialized PDF file. FIG. 2(a) shows a time chart when a PDF file before serialization is printed, and FIG. 2(b) shows a time chart when a serialized PDF file is printed. Note that printing goes through the processes of spool, parse, render, and feed. Note that parsing means analyzing the structure of data and extracting information necessary for processing.

In FIG. 2, a print job including three pages is taken as an example. For non-serialized PDF files, the imaging device cannot begin parsing, rendering, and printing the first page until the entire three-page print job has been spooled.
・Starting printing of page 1 = completion of spooling of print job + completion of rendering of page 1 On the other hand, in a serialized PDF file, when spooling of page 1 ends, parsing, rendering, and output of page 1 begin. can do.
- Start of printing of page 1 = Completion of spooling of page 1 + Completion of rendering of page 1 Therefore, the serialized PDF file can shorten the time until the printing of page 1 is started.

FIG. 3 is an example of a diagram for explaining the memory size required for printing. FIG. 3(a) shows the memory size required for printing a PDF file before serialization, and FIG. 3(b) shows the memory size required for printing a serialized PDF file. A PDF file before serialization requires a memory for storing the data size of the entire job.
Memory Required for Printing=Data Size of Print Job On the other hand, a serialized PDF file only needs a memory for storing the data size of one page.
・Memory required for printing = data size for one page In this way, a serialized PDF file shortens the time to start printing the first page, reduces the required memory, and complies with ISO standards. It has many advantages of being

In addition, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the sender divides the PDF file, sends it from the end, and sends the PDF file in a unique flow in which the rest is sent after receiving the reception notification of the cross-reference table. Therefore, a PDF file can only be transmitted to an image forming apparatus that supports this transmission method using this flow. Therefore, the transmission source needs to divide transmission processing between image forming apparatuses that support this transmission method and image forming apparatuses that do not support this transmission method.

In addition, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200012, the objects in the body of the PDF file are not necessarily arranged in order of pages. If they are placed close to each other, the start of printing will be delayed. The image forming apparatus of this embodiment can solve these problems of the prior art.

<When imposition is required to print a serialized PDF file>
However, even a serialized PDF file has not been considered for speeding up printing when imposition is performed for printing. Description will be made with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the procedure for printing a PDF file that requires imposition for printing. FIG. 4(a) shows the flow of spooling, drawing, and ejecting a PDF file of 4 pages imposed in 4in1. Since 4in1 is 1 physical page (one side of 1 paper that is ejected), a break is set every 4 pages. For this reason, the image forming apparatus cannot detect a break until the object on the fourth page is read, and when imposition is required, even a serialized PDF file cannot start drawing until the spool for four pages is completed. rice field.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when a PDF file for which aggregate printing is instructed is printed, the cloud service described later divides each page of the imposition setting page group (pages 1 to 4 in the case of 4in1). set. Also, the cloud service sorts the pages of the imposition setting page group by page size, and arranges them in the PDF file in ascending order of page size.

FIG. 4B shows the flow of spooling, drawing, and discharging a PDF file for which aggregate printing has been instructed. As shown in FIG. 4B, a break is set for each page of the imposition setting page group. If there is a break, you can start drawing the objects that were spooled before the break.

In FIG. 4B, the objects on the page are sorted in ascending order of data size (in the order of P4, P2, P3, and P1). The image forming apparatus can start drawing P4 when the spooling of P4 ends. A page with a small data size takes a short time to be spooled, so the time to start printing the first page can be shortened compared to simply setting a break for each page.

The same is true for P2, P3, and P1, and the image forming apparatus can immediately start printing at the timing when the spooling of the current page and the drawing of the previous page are completed.

Comparing FIGS. 4A and 4B, it can be seen that the time required to start printing each page can be shortened by the amount that spooling and drawing can be executed in parallel. Even if the PDF files are not necessarily arranged in ascending order of page size, the time until printing can be started can be shortened by setting a separator for each page.

<Terms>
Imposition refers to arranging a plurality of objects to be drawn on one sheet (one side). A drawing object is, for example, one page. For example, imposition is required in aggregate printing of files. A PDF file does not have information about aggregate printing and imposition settings, and the aggregate printing and imposition settings are indicated by print settings (PJL: Printer Job Language) or the like.

In this embodiment, one page refers to one page of a document file to be printed, and one physical page refers to one sheet (one side). Combining printing refers to printing a plurality of pages on one physical page.

An imposition target page group refers to a plurality of pages to be printed on one physical page.

Boundary information refers to some kind of information indicating the boundary position of an object on each page.

<Printing system>
FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of the printing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the communication terminal will simply be referred to as a terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 has terminals 10A and 10B, image forming apparatuses 20A and 20B, and a cloud service 50. FIG. An arbitrary one of the terminals 10A and 10B is represented as a terminal 10. FIG. An arbitrary one of the image forming apparatuses 20A and 20B is referred to as an image forming apparatus 20. FIG. In the printing system 1, the numbers of terminals 10, image forming apparatuses 20, and cloud services 50 are not particularly limited.

The terminal 10 is an information processing device having a communication function, and is, for example, a tablet, a smart device such as a smartphone, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a video conference terminal, an electronic blackboard, or a camera. In FIG. 5, terminal 10A is, for example, a notebook PC, and terminal 10B is, for example, a smart device.

The image forming apparatus 20 is an information processing apparatus having an image processing function and a communication function, such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral/Printer/Product), a facsimile, a scanner, or a printer. In FIG. 5, image forming apparatus 20A is, for example, an MFP having facsimile, scanner, and printer functions, and image forming apparatus 20B is, for example, a printer.

The cloud service 50 is an information processing device having a communication function (an example of an information processing device in claims). The cloud service 50 functions as a print server that manages document files such as PDF (Portable Document Format) files based on requests from the terminal 10 or the image forming apparatus 20 and transmits them to the image forming apparatus 20 . The cloud service 50 also has a conversion function for serializing document files.

The terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are connected to a LAN 2L (Local Area Network) directly or via a wireless LAN router 2R. The terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 connect to the Internet 2I from the LAN 2L, and connect to the cloud service 50 on the Internet 2I. Any one of the LAN 2L and the Internet 2I will be referred to as a communication network 2. FIG. All or part of the communication network 2 may include locations where wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is performed.

The terminal 10 and the cloud service 50 use any application or printer driver to generate a random access document file such as a PDF file. The terminal 10 and cloud service 50 transmit a print request including the document file to the image forming apparatus 20 . The image forming apparatus 20 receives a document file transmitted from the terminal 10 or the cloud service 50 and executes print processing.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of a terminal according to one embodiment. Using FIG. 6, the terminal 10
hardware configuration will be described.

The terminal 10 includes a CPU 101 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 102 (Read Only Memory), a RAM 103 (Random Access Memory), an SSD 104 (Solid State Drive), a media I/F 105 (Interface), and a network I/F 107. , a user I/F 108 and a bus line 110 .

The CPU 101 controls operations of the terminal 10 as a whole. The ROM 102 stores various programs and applications that operate on the terminal 10 . An application is hereinafter simply referred to as an application. A RAM 103 is used as a work area for the CPU 101 . The SSD 104 stores data used by various programs or applications. A media I/F 105 is an interface for reading information stored in a recording medium 106 such as an external memory and writing information to the recording medium 106 . A network I/F 107 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the communication network 2 . The user I/F 108 is an interface for receiving operation input by the user. The user I/F 108 is, for example, a liquid crystal display device equipped with a touch panel function, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, or a keyboard and mouse. Bus line 110 is an address or data bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG.

The hardware configuration of the cloud service 50 is the same as the hardware configuration of the terminal 10, so description thereof will be omitted. However, the SSD 104 can be replaced with any non-volatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 20 according to one embodiment. A hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

Controller 200 of image forming apparatus 20 includes CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, NVRAM 204 (Non-volatile RAM), HDD 205, network I/F 206, engine I/F 207, panel I/F 208, scanner I /F 209 , media I/F 215 and bus line 210 . The image forming apparatus 20 also has a plotter engine 211 , an operation panel 212 and a scanner engine 213 .

The CPU 201 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 20 as a whole. The ROM 202 stores various programs and applications that operate on the image forming apparatus 20 . A RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201 . The NVRAM 204 and HDD 205 store data used by various programs or applications. A network I/F 206 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the communication network 2 . An engine I/F 207 is an interface for connecting with the plotter engine 211 . A panel I/F 208 is an interface for connecting with the operation panel 212 . A scanner I/F 209 is an interface for connecting with the scanner engine 213 . A media I/F 215 is an interface for reading information stored in a recording medium 216 such as an external memory and writing information to the recording medium 216 . Bus line 210 is an address or data bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG.

The plotter engine 211 controls the operation of the plotter of the image forming apparatus 20 in printing an image on a recording medium. The plotter is an arbitrary printing device, for example, an inkjet head in the case of an inkjet system, and a photoreceptor, a laser irradiation device, or a transfer device in the case of a laser printer system. The operation panel 212 is a panel for accepting inputs such as settings, conditions, and instructions from the user, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device equipped with a touch panel function, or a keyboard and mouse. A scanner engine 213 controls the operation of the scanner in the image forming apparatus 20 . Although the scanner is not particularly limited, for example, a known one having a pressure plate, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), and an imaging device is exemplified.

<Functional configuration>
Next, functional configurations of the image forming apparatus 20 and the cloud service 50 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 20 and cloud service 50 according to one embodiment.

<<Image forming apparatus>>
The image forming apparatus 20 has a communication section 2100 , a page data generation section 2210 , a print data processing section 2220 and a printing section 2230 . Each of these units is realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. function. The image forming apparatus 20 also has a storage unit 2000 configured by the ROM 202 , RAM 203 , NVRAM 204 or HDD 205 .

The communication unit 2100 controls communication with other devices via the communication network 2 according to commands from the CPU 201 and processing of the network I/F 206 .

A page data generation unit 2210 generates a PDF file divided into pages from a PDF file (serialized) having multiple pages based on an instruction from the CPU 201 . However, for a PDF file for which aggregate printing is instructed, a PDF file is generated for each imposition target page group. A PDF file divided into one page or a group of imposition target pages is called a divided file.

A print data processing unit 2220 performs data processing such as parsing of divided files (PDL files) and drawing (rendering) based on commands from the CPU 201 . A PDF file for which aggregate printing is instructed is imposed based on the page number.

The printing unit 2230 performs print processing for forming the image drawn by the print data processing unit 2220 on a sheet material such as paper by the operation of the plotter engine 211 based on the command from the CPU 201 .

<<Cloud Service>>
The cloud service 50 has a communication section 5100 and a file generation section 5200 . Each of these units is realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. It is a function. In addition, the cloud service 50 has a storage unit 5000 constructed from the ROM 102, the RAM 103, or the SSD 104.

The communication unit 5100 controls communication with other devices via the communication network 2 according to commands from the CPU 101 and processing of the network I/F 107 .

A file generation unit 5200 serializes a PDF file based on a command from the CPU 101 and generates a PDF file that can be divided into PDF files for each page or each group of imposition target pages. Also, in a PDF file that requires imposition for printing, a break is set for each page.

The file generation section 5200 has a page sort section 5300 . The page sorting unit 5300 sorts the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion. The predetermined criterion is, for example, the order from the smallest page size. They may be sorted in ascending order of drawing time. They may be sorted in descending order of page size or drawing time.

<File structure>
FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the structure of a PDF file. A PDF file conforms to open standards managed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has, from the top, a header PH, a body PB, a cross-reference table PR, and a trailer PT. In FIG. 9, the information included in the header PH, body PB, cross-reference table PR, and trailer PT are examples.

The header PH includes PDF version information and the like.

In the body PB, a document catalog, a page tree object, object information of each page, etc. are defined for each object number. An object number is an identifier of an object, and is composed of a reference number (x), a generation number (y), and "obj" arranged in order from the left, such as "1 0 obj". The Document Catalog is the root (top level) of the object hierarchy. The page tree object includes references to object information of each page. The object information of each page includes data (page data) for drawing each page.

The cross-reference table PR contains address information of objects of each object number defined in the body PB. The address information is offset information indicating how many bytes the object is from the beginning of the header PH. Therefore, the address information provides the location of the object. The image forming apparatus 20 locates and accesses the object based on the cross-reference table PR.

The trailer PT includes position information (startxref) indicating the position of the cross-reference table PR, an object number (Root) of the document catalog, and a reference (Info) to the creation date and time of the PDF file.

Due to such a PDF file structure, the image forming apparatus 20 accesses the document catalog by specifying the object number of the document catalog from the trailer PT and specifying the address information corresponding to this object number from the cross-reference table PR. do. That is, in the normal operation of the image forming apparatus 20, after reading up to the trailer PT of the PDF file, the image processing related to the PDF file is started.

Due to such PDF language specifications, the object information does not have to be arranged in page order, and the object numbers do not have to be consecutive. For example, in FIG. 9, "5 0 obj, 18 0 obj, 7 0 obj" may be object information for rendering the 5th, 1st, or 3rd pages of the document, respectively. Since the object information is not aligned, the image forming apparatus 20 cannot determine what page ends in the object information without the cross-reference table PR.

FIG. 10 is an example of a simplified diagram showing what kind of logical structure an object existing in the body has. For convenience of explanation, one page tree object is described as an example, but as a language specification, the page tree object can also have a hierarchical structure.

There is a trailer dictionary (only the trailer dictionary, defined in the trailer part of FIG. 9) indicating the position of the object number (Root) of the document catalog at the top, and the object called the document catalog that becomes the root of the logical structure. is specified. Since the document catalog specifies a page tree object, the page tree object points to a page object that indicates information for each page.

A page object has an object that defines resources such as fonts and images, and a content stream that describes drawing information.

Due to such a configuration, it is impossible to specify what object information each page has without the page tree object.

<Operation procedure>
Next, processing in the printing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for generating a PDF file.

<<If there is no combined printing setting>>
For comparison, first, a case in which a print request without aggregate print setting is transmitted from the terminal 10 will be described. An example of processing for transmitting a document file managed by the cloud service 50 to the image forming apparatus 20 and printing it in the image forming apparatus 20 based on a request from the terminal 10 will be described below.

However, if the terminal 10 has functions similar to those of the cloud service 50 , the print request can be sent directly from the terminal 10 to the image forming apparatus 20 . In this case, the processing of the cloud service 50 in FIG. 11 is replaced with the processing of the terminal 10. FIG. Further, based on a print request from the image forming apparatus 20, the document file may be transmitted from the cloud service 50 to the image forming apparatus 20, and the image forming apparatus 20 may execute print processing. In this case, the processing of the terminal 10 in FIG. 11 is replaced with the processing of the image forming apparatus 20. FIG.

The terminal 10 transmits a print request to the cloud service 50 via the communication network 2 in response to the print request input by the user (step S1). The print request contains the filename of the file to be printed. A case where the file to be printed is a PDF file will be described below.

A communication unit 5100 of the cloud service 50 receives the print request transmitted by the terminal 10 . The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 reads the PDF file with the file name included in the print request from the storage unit 5000 (step S11).

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 inserts a predetermined comment into the header of the read PDF file as determination information for specifying that the file can be divided into a plurality of PDF files (step S12).

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the structure of a PDF file. FIG. 12A shows a header PHi in which determination information (%Enable Page Split Mode) is inserted. However, the determination information in FIG. 12A is merely an example, and it is sufficient if the image forming apparatus can detect that the file is divisible.

Returning to FIG. 11, description will be made. Subsequently, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 repeats the following loop processing for data of each page included in the PDF file read in step S11.

First, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 searches the PDF file read in step S11 and reads object information for drawing the first page of the document (step S21). At this time, even if the retrieved object information is compressed, the file generation unit 5200 does not decompress the object information and reads it in a compressed state.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 moves the object for drawing the first page read in step S21 to the head side of the body PB in the PDF file so that the description of the body PB is in page order. (step S22).

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 adds boundary information indicating the boundary position of the object on the first page (also called page break information indicating the break position) to the body PB in the PDF file (step S23). Two examples of methods for adding boundary information are described.

A first method of adding boundary information uses predetermined object information as boundary information. FIG. 12B-1 is a conceptual diagram showing the body PB of the PDF file. FIG. 12B-2 is a conceptual diagram showing an object group on the n-th page of the PDF file.

In the examples of FIGS. 12B-1 and 12B-2, "/Page object" is used as boundary information. That is, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 extracts the "/Page object" for the nth page from the "/Pages object" in the body PB of FIG. By inserting it at the rear end of PBn (see FIG. 12(B-2)), "/Page object" is used as boundary information. Note that the file generation unit 5200 may use the "/Page object" as the boundary information by inserting the "/Page object" for the n page at the top of the n-th page object group PBn. The "/Page object" is defined by the PDF language specification. The file generation unit 5200 may insert other object information such as "/Contents object" other than "/Page object" at the leading end or trailing end of the object group as boundary information.

In the second method of adding boundary information, comments indicating page breaks are used as boundary information. A comment indicating a page break is a comment that does not directly affect the drawing content of a page in the PDF language. FIGS. 12C-1 and 12C-2 are conceptual diagrams of the body of a PDF file to which comments indicating page breaks are added.

In the example of FIG. 12C-1, a comment "%End Page" indicating a page break is added to the end of the object group on each page. In the example of FIG. 12(C-2), a comment “%Start Page” indicating a page break is added to the top of the object group on each page. When reading the PDF file, the image forming apparatus 20 can determine the page break position based on this determination information. A split file can be created from the first page of a PDF file.

When the process of step S23 is completed, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 determines whether there is unprocessed data in the PDF file read in step S11. If there is unprocessed data, file generation section 5200 repeats loop processing for the unprocessed data. At this time, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 inserts the object group of the n-th page read in step S21 after the object group of the (n-1)th page of the body PB in the PDF file, thereby creating the body PB. are arranged in page order (step S22). That is, serialize.

After the loop processing is completed, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 updates the PDF file to which the boundary information is added by adding the file structure information (step S31). The file structure information includes a page tree, document catalog, cross-reference table PR, trailer PT, etc. defined in the PDF language. A file to which file structure information has been added satisfies the PDF language specification.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 generates and adds a page tree required for the print job. In this case, a predetermined value is assigned to the object number of the page tree. A page tree contains a page number and a reference to an object to render the page.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 generates a document catalog as job information necessary for the print job and adds it to the PDF file being generated. A predetermined value is assigned to the object number of the document catalog. Job information required for a print job includes references to objects in the page tree. As described above, the object number of the page tree object is predetermined, so the reference to the page tree is a predetermined value.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 generates a cross-reference table PR and adds it after the body PB in the PDF file in the process of generation to which the boundary information is added. The cross-reference table PR is address information representing the position of each object in the body PB as offset information. The page data generator 2210 retrieves each object from the previously generated body PB and describes address information indicating the position of each retrieved object as offset information to generate a cross-reference table PR.

The communication unit 5100 of the cloud service 50 transmits to the image forming apparatus 20 a print request including the PDF format file to which the file structure information has been added (step S41). A PDF format file to which file structure information has been added is referred to as a conversion file.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 stores the conversion file in the storage unit 5000 (step S42). Since the conversion file complies with the PDF language specification, the viewer can read the conversion file stored in the storage unit 5000 to view the entire document.

<<If you have combined printing settings>>
Next, the PDF file generated by the cloud service when the print request includes the aggregate print setting will be described.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for generating a PDF file. Note that in the explanation of FIG. 13, differences from FIG. 11 are mainly explained.

The terminal 10 transmits a print request to the cloud service 50 via the communication network 2 in response to the print request input by the user (step S1). This print request includes settings for aggregate printing such as 4in1.

The subsequent processing of steps S11 and S12 may be the same as in FIG. However, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 also reads the setting of aggregate printing when reading the PDF file.

Next, the file generation unit 5200 puts information (/pages) indicating which object is on which page in the output buffer (S13). Such information is contained in the page tree object. This identifies the correspondence between each page and the objects included in this page. In this embodiment, even if serialized, the objects are not necessarily arranged in page order, so a page tree object is required at the beginning of the PDF file rather than the body. If the page tree object is on the tail side of the body, printing cannot be started until the image forming apparatus 20 receives the entire PDF file.

Information about which object is on which page is called a page tree, and is described in the page tree object of the PDF file. A page tree object has the description "/pages". An output buffer is a memory that temporarily stores objects of a file in object order to generate a PDF file.

Subsequently, steps S21 to S23 are repeatedly executed for the imposition target page group. For example, in the case of 4-in-1 aggregate printing, it is executed for four pages of objects such as pages 1 to 4, pages 5 to 8, and so on.

First, the file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 searches the PDF file read in step S11, and reads object information for drawing imposition target pages (for example, pages 1 to 4) (step S21). ).

Next, the page sorting unit 5300 of the cloud service calculates each page size of the imposition target page group (for example, pages 1 to 4) (step S21-2). Since each page size is the number of bytes of objects that each page contains, it can be determined by byte offsets in the cross-reference table. Since the cross-reference table describes what byte the object starts from, the difference between the byte offsets is the number of bytes of each page (page size).

The subsequent steps S22 and S23 are the same processes as in FIG. 11, but S22 and S23 are repeatedly executed for each page included in the imposition target page group.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 moves the object for drawing this page in ascending order of each page size calculated in step S21-2 to the head side of the body PB in the PDF file. The descriptions are arranged in order of page size (step S22). That is, if the imposition target page group is 4 pages, the objects on pages 1 to 4 are focused on, and the objects on pages 1 to 4 are arranged in ascending order of page size. Therefore, two processes are included: a process of arranging the entire objects of the PDF file in order of pages, and a process of arranging the objects within the page group to be imposed in ascending order of page size.

The file generation unit 5200 of the cloud service 50 adds boundary information indicating boundary positions of objects on each page to the body PB in the PDF file (step S23). That is, the boundary of each page is set within the imposition target page group. Boundary information may be the same as in FIG.

Subsequent steps S31, S41, and S42 may be the same as those in FIG. Since the page tree object has already been set, it need not be added in step S31, but it may be added.

<Example of serialization of a PDF file that requires imposition>
FIG. 14 is an example of a PDF file created by serialization processing as shown in FIG. In the description of FIG. 14, it is assumed that the 4th page, the 2nd page, the 3rd page, and the 1st page of the 4-in-1 imposition target page group have smaller page sizes in this order.

The PDF file in FIG. 14 shows the structure of the file in order from the beginning.
PDF header: Header PH in FIG. 12(A).
High Speed PDF Identifier: Corresponds to judgment information, which is “%Enable Page Split Mode” in FIG. 12(A).
Page Tree: A page tree object.
4th page object group: The object group of the 4th page with the smallest page size.
Page break: Boundary information indicating the boundary between the object group on the fourth page and the object group on the second page. The boundary information is, for example, "%End Page" and "%Start Page" in FIG. 12 (C-1) or (C-2), but is not limited to these.

The configurations of the third page, the second page, and the first page are the same, and page breaks (boundary information) are set at the boundaries between pages (between data).

In FIG. 14, there are up to the n-th page, but for every four pages of the imposition target page group, the objects of each page sorted by page size are separated by page breaks and set in the PDF file. As shown, the PDF file does not include settings related to aggregate printing (for example, 4in1). The image forming apparatus 20 determines whether it is aggregate printing based on PJL or the like rather than based on the PDF file.

<Print serialized PDF file>
Next, processing of the image forming apparatus 20 that has received a print request will be described with reference to FIG. 15 . FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print processing in the image forming apparatus 20. As shown in FIG.

When the communication unit 2100 of the image forming apparatus 20 starts receiving a print request from the cloud service 50 transmitted from the terminal 10, the PDF file included in the print request is sequentially stored (buffered) in the RAM 203 as a buffer. The image forming apparatus 20 continues the following print processing without waiting for completion of buffering.

The communication unit 2100 transmits a print start notification for starting printing to the page data generation unit 2210 (step S52).

Upon receiving the print start notification, the page data generation unit 2210 determines whether a PDF file (divided file) in which the data of each page to be printed is divided can be generated from the PDF file included in the print request (step S53). ). For example, when the number of pages of the PDF file included in the print request is 10 and all pages are to be printed, the page data generation unit 2210 determines whether divided files can be generated for every 10 pages.

If the page data generation unit 2210 detects the determination information when reading the header PHi portion in the reception buffer, it determines that the split file can be generated.

If it is determined in step S53 that the split files cannot be generated, the page data generating section 2210 transmits the entire PDF file to the print data processing section 2220 (step S54).

The print data processing unit 2220 reads from the end of the PDF file, analyzes (parses) the structure of the PDF file, and instructs the plotter engine 211 to print (step S55). As described above, if the image forming apparatus 20 does not have determination information in the header, the image forming apparatus 20 can refer to the cross-reference table and perform printing after receiving all the data until the end. There is no need to be aware of whether the image forming apparatus is compatible with the PDF file that has been generated.

In step S53, if it is determined that the split files can be generated, the page data generation unit 2210 of the image forming apparatus 20 generates split files for each physical page each time an object of each page in the PDF file is received. is generated (step S61). The processing of step S61 will be described in detail using FIG.

When the divided files for one physical page are completed, the page data generating section 2210 transmits the generated divided files to the print data processing section 2220 (step S62).

The print data processing unit 2220 analyzes the received split file and draws an image of one page in the frame memory while accessing the data to generate a print image. The print data processing unit 2220 transmits a print instruction including the print image to the print unit 2230 to execute print processing (step S63). When the printing unit 2230 receives a print processing instruction, it controls the plotter engine to transfer a print image of one page onto a sheet of paper, and discharges the sheet of paper. The processing of step S63 will be described in detail using FIG.

The page data generation unit 2210 determines whether or not the buffer contains unprocessed page data for which the division file generation has not been completed among the data of the page to be printed. If it is determined that unprocessed page data is included, the image forming apparatus 20 repeats the processes of steps S61 to S63. In this way, a split file corresponding to the image content of each page to be printed is generated, and print processing is executed one physical page at a time.

After the print processing for all pages to be printed is completed, the page data generator 2210 deletes the information remaining in the buffer (step S64). As a result, the buffer is cleared and the next data reception waiting state is entered, so that the buffer capacity is sufficient for one page of received data.

<<Generation of split files>>
The processing of step S61 in FIG. 15 will be described in detail using FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for generating split files. Note that the process of step S61 is executed without waiting for the completion of reception of the PDF file sent from the cloud service 50. FIG.

The page data generation unit 2210 reads the transmitted PDF file and print settings, and confirms the settings for aggregate printing (S61-1).

The page data generator 2210 saves the PDF header, high-speed PDF identifier (judgment information), and page tree object from the PDF file (S61-2). This is to add them for each imposition target page group.

Step S61-3 is executed for each imposition target page group. The page data generator 2210 sets the PDF header, high-speed PDF identifier, and page tree object at the top of the PDF file of one physical page (S61-3). The PDF header and fast PDF identifier may be the same as those saved. Since the page tree object specifies a group of imposition target pages, the content differs for each physical page, such as pages 1 to 4 and pages 5 to 8.

A part of the PDF file received by the communication unit 2100 is sequentially stored in the RAM 203 as a buffer. The page data generator 2210 reads the buffer for each record (object) (step S61-4).

The page data generator 2210 determines whether the read record corresponds to the cross-reference table PR, document catalog, or trailer PT (step S61-5).

In step S61-2, if it is determined that the record corresponds to any of the cross-reference table PR, document catalog, or trailer PT (Yes), the page data generation unit 2210 deletes the read record (step S61-6). This is because each record of the cross-reference table PR, the document catalog, and the trailer PT is newly generated when creating the split files in the process described later.

In step S61-5, if it is determined that this does not apply (No), the page data generation unit 2210 stores the read record in the storage unit 2000 (step S61-7).

The page data generation unit 2210 repeats the processing of steps S61-4 to S61-7 until one page of records, ie, objects, has been read. By reading the boundary information in the body PB, the page data generation unit 2210 can determine whether or not one page of records has been read.

In addition, the page data generation unit 2210 repeats the processing of steps S61-4 to S61-7 until the reading of the objects of the imposition target page group is completed. In the case of 4in1, it repeats until the object for 4 pages is read.

When the above loop processing is completed, among the records of the imposition target page group extracted from the PDF file, each record excluding the cross-reference table PR, the document catalog, or the trailer PT is stored in the storage unit 2000. An object containing each data for drawing one page is stored. The page data generation unit 2210 uses the record stored in the storage unit 2000 as the body of the split file.

This body does not include the cross-reference table PR, document catalog, trailer PT, etc., which are discarded in the process of step S61-6. Even if this body is transmitted to the print data processing unit 2220 as a split file, the print data processing unit 2220 cannot execute print processing because it does not conform to the PDF language. Therefore, the page data generation unit 2210 adds necessary information to the body to complete the PDF file based on the PDF language specifications.

The page data generator 2210 adds the generated document catalog to the rear end of the body (step S61-8). The document catalog specifies the page tree object, but in this embodiment the page tree object is placed before the body, so the document catalog may not be referenced.

Next, the page data generation unit 2210 generates a cross-reference table and adds it after the body in the split file in the process of generation (step S61-9).

The page data generation unit 2210 generates a trailer for the split file and adds it after the cross-reference table PR for the split file in the process of creation, thereby completing the split file according to the PDF language (step S61-10).

The processing of steps S61-8 to S61-10 is the same as the processing of adding the file structure information in step S31 of FIG.

The page data generating unit 2210 determines whether or not the PDF file has been processed to the end (step S61-11).

Through the above processing, a PDF file of one physical page is created for each imposition target page group. The image forming apparatus 20 prints one physical page at a time.

<<Print Instructions>>
The processing of step S63 in FIG. 15 will be described in detail using FIG. FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing an example of processing for printing a split file.

First, the print data processing unit 2220 of the image forming apparatus 20 parses information (page tree object) indicating which object is on which page (step S63-1).

Next, the PDF file is parsed from the beginning to page (object) delimiters (%PageEnd, etc.) (step S63-2). At this point, you know what page this page is.

Next, the print data processing unit 2220 determines what page the parsed page is based on the page tree object (step S63-3). This is to arrange the parsed pages on one physical page in the page order of the original document.

The print data processing unit 2220 draws the parsed page at an appropriate position of one physical page (in the case of 4-in-1, somewhere in the upper left/upper right/lower left/lower right) (step S63-4). For example, 1, 5, 9, . , 12 . By doing so, each page can be arranged in the order of pages in the original document regardless of the arrangement order in the PDF file.

The print data processing unit 2220 determines whether or not the imposition target page group is finished (step S63-5), and if not finished, repeats the processes from step S63-2 onward. When finished, the printing unit 2230 discharges one physical page (S63-6).

In this way, the print data processing unit 2220 draws the PDF file in which the pages to be imposed are arranged in ascending order of data size from the beginning based on the page breaks. Drawing can be started when spooling for one page is completed without waiting for spooling, and the time until one physical page is discharged can be shortened.

Note that the image forming apparatus 20 may have a function of receiving print settings including aggregate printing. In this case, printing is performed with the setting of aggregate printing newly set by the user.

<Summary>
As described above, the printing system 1 of this embodiment sets a page break between pages in a group of imposition target pages and sorts them in ascending order of data size. It can shorten the time to start.

In the present embodiment, a printing system 1 that considers the drawing time of each page in addition to the page size, allows the printer to divide efficiently, and generates a PDF file in which pages are serialized will be described.

In this embodiment, the hardware configuration diagrams of FIGS. 6 and 7 and the functional block diagram of FIG. 8 described in the above embodiment can be used.

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing for printing an image. Note that in the description of FIG. 18, differences from FIG. 13 will be mainly described.

The processes of steps S1, S11 to S13, S21, and S21-2 are the same as in FIG. When each page size of the imposition target page group is calculated in step S21-2, the page sorting unit 5300 of the cloud service 50 calculates the number of common objects and the rendering time of each page in the imposition target page group in step S21-3. (step S21-3). A common object on a page is an object that is drawn in common even on different pages (for example, a logo mark, a common image, a header, etc.). The drawing time is calculated from the types of objects and the number of each object. For example, the time required to draw one character, an image per unit area, and one figure is determined, and the drawing time for each object is calculated from the number of characters, the size of the image, and the number of figures.

Next, the file generation section 5200 arranges the objects, and the details of this process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is an example of a flowchart for explaining page alignment processing of a group of imposition target pages.

First, the file generation unit 5200 determines whether each page is the top of the imposition target page group (step S21-31). This is because the drawing time is not considered for the first page of the imposition target page group. The first page of the imposition target page group is, for example, the first page based on the data size of every four pages in the case of 4in1.

If the page is not the top page of the imposition target page group (Yes in step S21-31), the file generation unit 5200 puts the smallest size page into the output buffer (step S21-32).

In the case of the first page of the imposition target page group (No in step S21-31), the file generation unit 5200 puts the pages in which the drawing time of the common object is long into the output buffer so that they are adjacent to each other (step S21-33).

For example, in the case where the drawing object used on the 2nd page is also used on the 4th page, placing the 4th page after the 2nd page allows the objects drawn on the 2nd page to be reused on the 4th page. Therefore, the drawing time can be shortened. Also, if the rendering time for objects common to the second and fourth pages is 10 milliseconds and the rendering time for common objects between the first and third pages is 20 milliseconds, then the first and third pages priority is given to adjacent Since the top page is determined by the page size, a page having objects in common with the top page may be prioritized.

Thereafter, as in FIG. 13, boundary information is added for each page, file structure information is added, and a serialized PDF file is generated.

Note that the processing on the image forming apparatus 20 side is the same as in the first embodiment.

<Serialized PDF file>
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a serialized PDF file. 20 mainly describes the difference from FIG. From the PDF header to the page tree, the same as in FIG. 14 may be used.

In FIG. 20, the page size increases in the order of 4<2<3<1. The first page is the page with the smallest page size (page 4 in this example) in order to speed up the time until the start of printing of the first page (1st print) most effectively.

From the second page onwards, the drawing time is shortened. In FIG. 20, the 4th page and the 1st page have many common objects, and the drawing time can be shortened by printing the 1st page after the 4th page, so the 1st page is arranged after the 4th page. . After the first page, the third page and the second page, whichever has a common object, are laid out first. If there are no common objects, they are laid out in order of page size.

<Print performance of serialized PDF files>
FIG. 21 is an example of a diagram illustrating print performance of a serialized PDF file in this embodiment. FIG. 21(a) shows a time chart for printing a PDF file serialized by the method of the first embodiment, and FIG. 21(b) shows a time chart for the PDF file serialized by the method of this embodiment. .

Although it takes 25 seconds to draw the second page in FIG. 21(a), it takes only 15 seconds to draw the second page in FIG. 21(b). This is because many common objects are used on the 4th page and the 1st page, and drawing time can be shortened by printing them continuously.

In this way, since the drawing of the first page starts early, by arranging the page of the smallest page size and determining the subsequent pages by the drawing time, it is possible to print the first page more quickly than in the first embodiment. (1st print) can be shortened.

<Summary>
As described above, the printing system 1 of this embodiment arranges the first page in the imposition target page group on the page with the smallest data size, and the subsequent pages are arranged so that the pages with the longest drawing time of the common object are adjacent to each other. , the drawing time can be shortened, and the time until printing can be started can be shortened.

In the first embodiment, the information (page tree object) indicating which object is on which page is arranged at the top of the PDF file, but in this embodiment, a printing system that arranges the page tree object for each imposition will be described. .

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing for generating a PDF file. 22 mainly describes the difference from FIG.

In the process of FIG. 22, the step S13 of "entering the information (/pages) which object is on which page into the output buffer" is executed within the loop of the imposition target page group. Therefore, page tree objects are arranged for each imposition. Subsequent processing may be the same as in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of serialization of a PDF file that requires imposition. In FIG. 23, differences from FIG. 14 will be mainly described. In the PDF file shown in FIG. 23, the first page tree object is followed by the fourth to first page objects, and then the second page tree object is arranged. That is, a page tree object is arranged for each imposition target page group.

The top page tree object is a root page tree object, and the second and subsequent page tree objects are page trees that are child nodes of the root page tree object. As a specification of the PDF file, other page tree objects can be designated as child nodes of the page tree object.

By arranging the page tree objects in this way, the size of the top page tree object can be reduced, and the time required to receive the PDF file for one physical page can be shortened.

Note that when the page tree object is arranged in the PDF file for each imposition as in this embodiment, the page tree object need not be set in the process of step S61-3 in the process of generating the PDF file in FIG. . Since the page tree object is not discarded in steps S61-5 and S61-6, it is set to the PDF file.

<Summary>
According to this embodiment, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the time required to receive a PDF file for one physical page can be shortened.

<Other application examples>
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is by no means limited to such examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. and substitutions can be added.

For example, although the PDF file has been described as an example in the present embodiment, any random access file can be suitably applied. For example, it may be an XPS file.

Further, the configuration example of FIG. 8 and the like is divided according to main functions in order to facilitate understanding of the processing by the cloud service 50 and the image forming apparatus 20 . The present invention is not limited by the division method or name of the unit of processing. The processing of the cloud service 50 and the image forming apparatus 20 can also be divided into more processing units according to the content of the processing. Also, one processing unit can be divided to include more processing.

Note that the printing system 1 may have a plurality of cloud services 50, and the functions of the cloud services 50 may be distributed and installed in a plurality of servers.

Note that the file generation unit 5200 is an example of generation means, the communication unit 5100 is an example of transmission means, the page sorting unit 5300 is an example of sorting means, the communication unit 2100 is an example of reception means, and the print data The processing unit 2220 is an example of processing means.

1 printing system 2 communication network 10 terminal 20 image forming apparatus 50 cloud service

JP-A-2004-348423

Claims (10)

generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
The information processing apparatus , wherein the sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size . generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
The sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size, and arranges the data of the page with the smallest data size at the top of the imposition target page group;
An information processing apparatus , wherein data of remaining pages of the imposition target page group are arranged such that common data is adjacent to each page of the imposition target page group . 3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said generating means adds information indicating which page the data of each page belongs to to the head side of the data of the page in the second document file. Information processing equipment. 3. The generating means adds determination information indicating that the document file is the second document file arranged in the order of pages in the first document file to the head side of page data. 4. The information processing device according to any one of 1 to 3 . The generating means adds address information of data of each page in the second document file and position information of the address information to the tail side of the data of the page in the second document file. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein: receiving means for receiving, from the information processing apparatus, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying a boundary of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between page data;
processing means for starting drawing of pages detected based on the boundary information from the beginning of the second document file received by the receiving means in order of detection;
In the second document file, the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in an order based on a predetermined standard,
The processing means starts drawing the pages detected from the data of the imposition target page group based on the boundary information in the order of detection;
The second document file has information indicating which page the data of each page belongs to on the head side of the data of each page,
The processing means draws the page detected from the data of the imposition target page group based on the boundary information at a predetermined position of one physical page based on information as to which page it belongs to. image forming apparatus. generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
The sorting means is an information processing device that sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size ;
receiving means for receiving the second document file from an information processing device;
processing means for starting drawing of pages detected based on the boundary information from the beginning of the second document file received by the receiving means in order of detection;
and an image forming apparatus having a printing system. generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
The sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size, and arranges the data of the page with the smallest data size at the top of the imposition target page group;
an information processing device that arranges data of the remaining pages of the imposition target page group such that common data is adjacent to each page of the imposition target page group ;
receiving means for receiving the second document file from an information processing device;
processing means for starting drawing of pages detected based on the boundary information from the beginning of the second document file received by the receiving means in order of detection;
and an image forming apparatus having a printing system. information processing equipment,
generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
functioning as sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion ;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
A program, wherein the sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size . information processing equipment,
generating means for generating, from the first document file, a second document file in which boundary information for identifying boundaries of data of each page of the imposition target page group is arranged between data of the pages;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the second document file generated by the generation unit to an image forming apparatus;
functioning as sorting means for sorting each page of the imposition target page group according to a predetermined criterion ;
The generation means generates the second document file in which the data of the imposition target page group are arranged in the order of the predetermined reference and the boundary information is arranged between the data,
The sorting means sorts the pages of the imposition target page group in ascending order of data size, and arranges the data of the page with the smallest data size at the top of the imposition target page group;
A program for arranging data of remaining pages of the imposition target page group such that common data is adjacent to each page of the imposition target page group .

Images