JPH0239985A - Color printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable multicolor printing on a character basis to be easily carried out through replacement of ribbon cassettes and enable instantaneous judgment of the kind of a ribbon cassette required at the time of the replacement by designating printing colors for printing characters, and serially printing the characters designated the same printing color, on a line basis. CONSTITUTION:For example, a black designated printing color is selected as an expanding color, and a color column table region 31 is examined on a column basis. Only characters at the columns designated the printing color conforming to the expanding color of black, namely, only the characters A, B, G, H in the first line are subjected to pattern expansion through access to a character pattern region 14 in a RAM 12, and the other characters are expanded as spaces into a line buffer. In this case, spaces are expanded into the line buffer, for each column at which a color control code is present and each column assigned a color other than the selected color. Upon receiving information that mounting of a ribbon cassette conforming to the black designated printing color is finished, a CPU 10 outputs the content of the line buffer to a printer 23 so as to perform printing of the characters A, B, G, H retrieved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a color printing method suitable for multicolor printing.

(Prior Art) Ribbon cassettes used in document creation devices to print created documents include, for example, "black", "red", "blue", "green", "gold", "silver", etc. There are several different colored ribbon cassettes, which can optionally be used to print in color.

By the way, conventionally, when performing multicolor printing using such a plurality of ribbon cassettes, a "print designation" function of line modification has been used. This is a function that stops printing after printing a specified line, and by using this function, it is possible to perform multicolor printing by replacing the ribbon cassette when printing is stopped.

However, although this method is effective for multi-color printing on a line-by-line basis, it has the disadvantage that ribbon replacement frequency increases and is difficult in multi-color printing on a character-by-character basis. Furthermore, since the ribbon cassette must be replaced under the operator's own control when replacing the ribbon, there is a drawback that the type of ribbon cassette required cannot be immediately determined.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventionally, printing is stopped every time a print color is to be changed, and the ribbon cassette is replaced under the operator's own control to print in multiple colors. Therefore, as the frequency of changing printing colors increases, such as specifying color for each character, it becomes difficult to print in multiple colors, and there is also the drawback that it is not possible to immediately determine the type of ribbon cassette needed when replacing ribbon. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a color printing method that allows multi-color printing on a character-by-character basis with ease, and also allows immediate determination of the type of ribbon cassette required when replacing the ribbon. With the goal.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) In other words, the color printing method according to the present invention optionally prints character strings each having a designated printing color through a plurality of ribbon cassettes of different colors. In the color printing method where color printing is performed line by line using Develop it into a character pattern and print it all at once using the ribbon cassette that corresponds to the print color selected above.After that, change the print color sequentially and print the line using the ribbon cassette that corresponds to the print color. Repeat and print each character specified in the same color for one line at once,
The configuration was such that the line in question was printed in color. In this case, each time the selected print color changes, a notification is sent to load the corresponding ribbon cassette.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily perform multicolor printing on a character by character basis while replacing the ribbon cassette.

Furthermore, when replacing the ribbon, an instruction is given to load the ribbon cassette that is needed at that time, so the type of ribbon cassette that is needed can be immediately determined.

Further, the present invention provides a color printing method in which character strings each having a designated printing color are printed in color line by line using ribbon cassettes of a plurality of different colors. Select printing colors one by one, develop only the characters specified by the selected printing color in the line to be printed into a character pattern, and use the ribbon cassette corresponding to the selected printing color. Print at once, then change the printing color sequentially, repeat printing of the line using the corresponding ribbon cassette, and perform a line feed after recognizing that all characters in one line have been printed. At the same time, it is determined whether or not the selected printing color also exists in the next line at the same time, and when the printing color is present, printing of characters specified with this printing color is executed first.

According to this configuration, if the designated print color at the end of printing is present in the next line, printing is continued. Therefore, when printing in multiple colors over multiple lines, the number of ribbon replacements can be reduced.

Furthermore, the present invention enables character strings each having a designated printing color to be
In a color printing method in which a plurality of ribbon cassettes of different colors are optionally used for color printing line by line, one printing color is selected from a plurality of printing colors, and this selected printing color is specified. Print only the selected characters across multiple lines to be printed at once, and when the last line to be printed for this print color has finished printing, go back to the first line and select a different print color. The configuration is such that printing up to the last line is repeated.

According to this configuration, characters of the same specified printing color on a page are printed at once. Therefore, when performing multicolor printing on a page-by-page basis, the number of ribbon replacements can be significantly reduced.

(First Example) Hereinafter, a first example according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a document creation device.

In Figure 1, IO is a microprocessor (CPU)
, 11 is a RAM accessed by the microprocessor 10, and 12 is a ROM.

The microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as CPU) IO controls the entire device, and the RAM 11 and RO
By accessing M12 and starting a program according to input instructions, document creation processing, external character creation processing, color printing control processing, etc., which will be described later, are executed. RAMII has a document area, line image area (print buffer), external character registration area,
It consists of a word registration area, an area for storing various control information such as a cursor position register for storing the cursor position on the document display screen, color digits, a table area 31, and a color line table area 32. ROM12 is CPUl
Including a program area 13 that stores a program for determining the operation of the 0, a color print control processing program, etc.
A character pattern area 14 for storing display or print character patterns, etc., and a dictionary area 1 for storing various dictionaries for converting readings input in kana or romaji into kanji.
It has a rank of 5.

Also, 16 is a keyboard (KB), 18 is a display, 21
23 is a floppy disk device (FDD) and a printer (PRT). The keyboard (KB) 10 uses a keyboard interface (KB) to input information necessary for document creation, etc.
The data is input to the CPU 10 via the KB-IF) 17. In addition to character keys and cursor keys, this keyboard 16 includes a half-width specification key for switching the cursor range from full-width to half-width, and a key for switching the cursor range from half-width to full-width.
"Hiragana" shift key "Katakana" shift key "
Various function keys are provided, including a ``kanji'' shift key, and a ``print color designation'' key. The display 18 is
For example, it consists of a liquid crystal display device that displays IO rows. The display controller (display-CNT) 19 controls the display of the display 18 using the display dot memory 20 under the control of the CPU10. The floppy disk device 21 stores created documents and stores external characters, second level characters, etc. under the control of the CPU 10 via a disk interface (FDD-IF) 22.

The printer 23 has a printer interface (PRT-
IF) 24 under the control of the CPU to, the created document or the floppy disk device 21
Prints the character information read into the main body.

Next, the color printing operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, before performing color printing, the printing color of printed characters is specified using, for example, a color control code.

The color control code is treated as one of the characters (control character) and is stored in the document string in RAMII, and the character string following this color control code is printed in the specified color. shows. When displaying a document, a mark indicating the color corresponding to the color control code is displayed in the ROM12.
and displayed along with the document string.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of how a document is displayed when the print color is specified using a color control code. Black printing is specified by the control code.

In addition, rCJ and rDJ on the first line are printed in red, rE
Blue printing is specified for J and rFJ by color control codes, respectively. Similarly in other lines,
The printing color is specified for each character by the color control code.

Here, for ease of understanding, the explanation will be based on the assumption that the first line is printed in color.

In other words, when color printing of the first line is instructed, the CPU
According to the flowchart shown in Figure 2, l0 first checks the color control code in the first line to be printed, confirms what color is specified for each digit (each character), and prints it. is stored in the color digit table area 31 of RAMII as shown in FIG. 6 (step AI).

Next, the CPU10 stores the memorized ``black,''``red,'' ``
One specified printing color from among the specified printing colors of ``Blue'', for example, ``Blue''.
In step A2), the color digit table area 31 is inspected for each digit to select the specified print color of "black" as the development color, and the character of the digit of the specified print color that matches the development color of "black" is selected, that is, one line. rAJ, rBJ, rGJ, r in the eye
Each character of HJ only, character pattern area 1 in RAM 12
4 to perform pattern expansion, and other characters are expanded into the line buffer as spaces (step A).
3-A13). Among these, spaces are expanded into the line buffer for the digit where the color control code exists and the digit where a color other than the selected color is specified (step A7,
A10). Note that in this case, since it is the same as not writing anything, the write address of the line buffer may be advanced by one digit.

Then, if the expansion flag is set, CPUl0
In step A14), the user is instructed to load the ribbon cassette corresponding to the specified printing color of "black" by displaying a message such as "Please set the ribbon (black) and press the select/execute key." When receiving a notification of completion of loading by operating the "Select/Execute" key, the contents of the line buffer are output to the printer 23 in order to print each of the characters rAJ, rBJ, rGJ, and rHJ found above (step A15). Thereafter, by repeating the same operation as above for each of the specified printing colors "red" and "blue", printing of that line is completed (step A16,
A17).

In this way, characters of the same specified printing color are printed at once on a line-by-line basis. That is, first, rA specified for dot printing
The letters J, rBJ, rGJ, rHJ are printed, then
Characters of the same designated printing color are sequentially printed, such as the characters rCJ and rDJ designated for red printing, and finally the characters rEJ and rFJ designated for blue printing.

Therefore, it is possible to easily perform multicolor printing on a character by character basis while replacing the ribbon cassette. Further, when replacing the ribbon, a message is displayed to instruct loading of the ribbon cassette required at that time, so the type of ribbon cassette required can be immediately determined.

In this embodiment, the printing colors are prioritized in the order of black, red, and blue, and each character is sequentially printed, but this order is not limited.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Note that the circuit configuration is the same as in Figure 1, so
The explanation thereof will be omitted. Further, as in the first embodiment, the document shown in FIG. 5 is taken as an example, and for ease of understanding, a case will be described assuming that the first and second lines are printed in color.

That is, when color printing of the first and second lines is instructed, CPU10 first checks the color control codes in the first and second lines to be printed, according to the flowchart shown in FIG. , "black", "red", "
RAM II recognizes the presence or absence of the specified printing color of "blue" and prints it.
(Step B)
l). In this example, the data is stored as shown in FIG. 7 by setting flags in bits corresponding to each color.

Then, CPU10 designates the first line as the expansion line (step B2). Next, the CPU 10 refers to the color digit table 32 and recognizes whether there is a color specification corresponding to that row, and if there is a color specification, for example, in the order of "black", "red", "blue", A character with a specified color is selected as a developed color (Step B3), and the developed color processing for this line is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (Step B4).

In this case, the character expansion flag is set when the character pattern is expanded to the line buffer in step B4, so the CPU 1O checks the state of this character expansion flag (step B5), and if it is set, the line At this point, it is checked whether the set ribbon cassette matches the developed color or not (step B6). If they match, printing is executed as is, and if they do not match, a ribbon replacement message is displayed. Then, printing is executed after the "select/execute" key is pressed (steps 87 to B8). Here, when the "Select/Execute" key is pressed, the CPU
0 is assumed to mean that a ribbon cassette that matches the developed color is loaded; in fact, a different ribbon cassette may have been loaded according to the operator's intention), but the current developed color is set. Save it as the ribbon color.

Thereby, the stored ribbon set color and developed color are compared in step B6. 1 of this development color
When printing for a row is completed, it is checked whether the next selected color exists in the color row table 32 (step BI).
O) If the selected color exists, character development is performed in this selected color, and if it does not exist, the process moves to printing the next line (steps 89 to B11).

Therefore, when all the characters in the first line have been printed, the color of the ribbon cassette loaded last will be stored as the ribbon set color. In this example,
At the end of printing the first line, "blue" is stored as the ribbon set color. Therefore, when printing the next line, it is checked in step B3 whether or not this "blue" is specified in the color line table 32, and if it is, "blue" is given top priority. The developed color is specified, and thereafter, the developed color is shifted in order.

In this way, if the specified print color at the end of printing of the previous line also exists in the next line, printing is continued. In other words, when the characters rEJ and rFJ, which are specified to be printed in blue, are printed in the end on the first line, the same characters (rMJ and ``N'', which are specified to be printed in blue) are printed in succession on the second line, and thereafter,
The specified printing color shifts sequentially, and as the ribbon is replaced by the message display, rIJ and rJJ specified for black printing
, "0", rPJ characters, rKJ specified for red printing, r
The characters LJ will be printed. Therefore, when printing in multiple colors over multiple lines, the number of ribbon replacements can be reduced.

Note that if the specified print color at the time of printing completion does not exist in the next line, each character is printed one after another according to the preset order of print color invasion.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

Note that the circuit configuration is the same as in Figure 1, so
The explanation thereof will be omitted. Further, as in the first embodiment, the document shown in FIG. 5 will be taken as an example, and in order to facilitate understanding, the explanation will be made assuming that one page of this document is printed in color.

In other words, when one page of color printing is instructed, the CPU
First, l0 follows the flowchart shown in Figure T54.
The color control code of the entire page to be printed is checked, and the designated printing colors of "black", "red", and "blue" are recognized for each line, and these are stored in the RAM 11 as shown in Figure 7. It is stored in the color row table area 32 (step CI).

Next, the CPU 10 selects one specified print color, for example, "black" from among the colors set in the color digit table corresponding to the first row (step C2), and selects this selected "black". Loading of a ribbon cassette corresponding to the designated print color is instructed by displaying a message such as, for example, "Please set ribbon (black) and press the select/execute key" (step C3).

Then, upon receiving the notification of completion of loading by operating the "select/execute" key, the CPU 10 checks whether or not the selected print color "black" is specified in the color row table 32 to be printed. If specified, printing of the specified print color for that line is executed in the order shown in FIG. 2 (step 04).
~C5). However, in this case, step A in FIG.
The developed color of step A1 is fixed to the printing color.
6 is omitted, and a line feed is executed when printing of this line in the printing color is completed.

In step C4, if the designated color flag is not set for the line to be printed, line feed is immediately executed. In this way, printing is executed in the specified print color up to the last line of the corresponding page (steps C7 and C701).Hereinafter, for each of the specified print colors "red" and "blue",
By repeating the same operations as above, printing of that page is completed (step C8).

In this case, each time one printing session (printing one page in a specified printing color) is completed, it is possible to align the paper heads and reset the paper, or to reverse the paper feed motor (stepping motor). If there is, it is necessary to reverse the paper by the number of pitches by which the paper was fed and return it to the printing start position (step C9).

In this way, characters of the same designated printing color are printed at once on a page-by-page basis. In other words, r specified for black printing in the first line
AJ, rBJ, rGJ, [HJ, rlJ with black printing specified on the second line, rJJ, "0", rPJ... rWJ, rXJ with black printing specified on the last line, etc. Pages with black printing specified All the characters in the page will be printed one after another, and then as the ribbon is replaced by message display, the paper is reset, or the paper is fed backwards to the printing start position, all the characters in the page specified for optical printing will be printed. All characters on the page designated for blue printing will be printed. Therefore, when performing multicolor printing on a page-by-page basis, the number of ribbon replacements can be significantly reduced.

In this embodiment, the printing colors are prioritized in the order of black, red, and blue, and each character is printed in each color, but this order is not limited.

In addition, in the first to third embodiments, the color specification for characters is performed using a control code, but this color specification method is not limited to the control code. For example, each character has an attribution pit. You may also specify a color.

Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to color printing in which basic colors are overprinted to form a plurality of colors.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the printing color of the printed characters is specified and the characters of the same specified printing color are sequentially printed on a line by line basis, so it is easy to replace the ribbon cassette. It becomes possible to print each character in multiple colors. Furthermore, since the system is configured to instruct loading of the ribbon cassette required at that time when replacing the ribbon, it is possible to immediately determine the type of ribbon cassette required.

Furthermore, if the designated print color at the end of printing is present in the next line, by continuing to print, the number of ribbon replacements can be reduced when printing in multiple colors over a plurality of lines.

Furthermore, by printing characters in the same designated printing color on a page-by-page basis, the number of ribbon replacements can be significantly reduced when printing in multiple colors on a page-by-page basis.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document creation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment, and FIG. Second
Flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment, No. 4
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the display of a document in which print colors are specified, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a color digit table, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the color row table. IO...Microprocessor (CPU) 11...
・RAM, 12...ROM, 13...Program area, 14...Character pattern area, 15...Dictionary area, 16...Keyboard (KB), 17...Keyboard interface (KB-I) F), 18... Display device, 19... Display controller (Display-CNT),
20...Display dot memory, 21...Floppy disk device (FDD), 22...Disk interface (FDD-IF), 23...Printer (PR)
T), 24...Printer interface (PRT-
IF), 31...Color digit table area, 32.
...Color row table area. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Nibuta Suzue 2nd figure 3rd figure 3rd figure

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a color printing method in which character strings, each with a specified print color, are printed in color line by line using ribbon cassettes of different colors, each line is printed in color, one by one from among the plurality of print colors. Select a printing color, develop only the characters specified by the selected printing color in the line to be printed into a character pattern, and print at once using the ribbon cassette corresponding to the selected printing color. Then, from then on,
To perform color printing of a line by sequentially changing the printing color and repeating printing of the line using the corresponding ribbon cassette, printing each character specified in the same color for one line at a time. A color printing method featuring (2) Claim (1) characterized in that each time the selected printing color changes, the loading of the corresponding ribbon cassette is notified.
) Color printing method described. (3) In a color printing method in which character strings, each with a specified print color, are printed in color line by line using ribbon cassettes of different colors, each line is printed in color, one by one from among the plurality of print colors. Select a printing color, develop only the characters specified by the selected printing color in the line to be printed into a character pattern, and print at once using the ribbon cassette corresponding to the selected printing color. Then, from then on,
The printing color is changed sequentially and printing of the line is repeated using the corresponding ribbon cassette, and when it recognizes that all the characters in one line have been printed, a line feed is performed, and when the printing is finished, the selected A color printing method characterized in that it is determined whether or not the specified printing color also exists in the next line, and when the printing color is present, printing of characters specified with this printing color is executed first. (4) In a color printing method in which character strings each with a specified printing color are printed in color line by line using ribbon cassettes of different colors, one printing color is selected from among the plurality of printing colors. Select a color, print only the characters specified by this selected print color across multiple lines to be printed at once, and when printing has finished up to the last line to be printed for this print color. , a color printing method characterized by returning to the first line, selecting another printing color, and repeating printing up to the last line.