JPH034151B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a composite editing method for characters and images, and in particular, a method for arbitrarily proofreading, editing, and combining characters and images based on separately created character data and image data. The present invention relates to a synthetic editing method for text and images.

It goes without saying that newspapers, magazines, and the like are examples, but a considerable proportion of print media is occupied by printed matter that is a combination of characters and images.

However, in the production process of printed matter in which characters and images are combined, there are still many parts that require manual labor.

For example, if you cut out the text block and image block,
This is a case where the images are edited and synthesized through various manual processes called ``overlay'' and then sent to the next process.

Of course, these manual processes have been rapidly automated and
There is a trend toward digitization.

However, even so, it cannot be said that a sufficient degree of freedom has been secured in the proofreading and editing process, and the current situation is that it is not possible to immediately respond to changes such as adding or subtracting text, replacing images, or changing the printing position or printing range. be.

Therefore, in view of this, the present invention, when creating so-called body data mainly consisting of character data, inputs image printing space information in advance in addition to inputting character data and character composition information, and inputs these character data, character composition information, and The main text data is composed of image printing space information.

Also, separate from the creation of the text data, the original image is read by an image reading device such as a scanner, and the data is registered in an image file.

Then, based on the image data registered in these image files and the text data, desired images and characters are automatically edited and synthesized, and it is also possible to flexibly deal with proofreading of character data or image data. This technology provides character and image synthesis technology that has been developed using

Furthermore, the present invention provides for image data that matches the image print space information even when there is data that is not registered in the image file among a plurality of image data that corresponds to the image print space information in the text data. Editing and compositing processing is performed only on those images, and for those that do not match (not registered in the image file), provisional print command data is created while leaving the image print space information.

At the same time, information regarding the unregistered image is notified to the operator to request additional registration of the image file.

Furthermore, unnecessary interruption of work is avoided by performing the composition process again based on the image data added in response to the notification and the temporary printing command data, and finally creating complete printing command data. Also, it was possible to eliminate the waste of redundant work.

Of course, it is also possible to issue a print command based on the provisional print command data, but in this case, images that are not registered in the image file are treated as print spaces (blanks) specified in the body data, and the corresponding Print the name of the image in the space.

Before explaining the present invention in detail below, an outline of the invention and terminology will first be explained based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the layout of a printed matter output by implementing the present invention.

In the figure, area 1 shown in the shape of an "N" indicates the main text area where normal text etc. are printed, and A to C indicate the names of image spaces 2 secured on the printed matter as spaces for image output. There is.

Also, the point SOa at the upper left corner of each image printing space 2
SOc indicates the origin position of the image printing space on the printed matter, and ΔSXa, ΔSYa, etc. indicate the size of each printing space 2.

Furthermore, the area surrounded by a dashed line within each printing space 2 indicates the image printing area 3 where the image is actually printed, and the points POa to POc at the upper left corner of each image printing area 3 are the origin of the printing area. position, also
ΔPXa, ΔPYa, etc. indicate the size of each printing area.

The type and layout of the characters to be printed in the text area 1 and the image to be printed in the image printing space 2 are usually specified in detail in a separate document.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example in which the present invention is implemented.

In the figure, 21 is an original image of an image specified in advance by a document, 22 is a reading scanner for reading this original image, and 23 is an input interface.

Further, 24 is an image management information input means to be described later, which commands input data trimming information, printing area size information, relative position information of the actual printing area with respect to the image printing space, etc. to the interface 23 or the CPU 25. Reference numeral 26 denotes an image file for storing image data read by the reading scanner 22.

Further, 27 is an input/edit terminal, and a manuscript 28 for instructing printing contents as shown in FIG.
Based on character data, character typesetting information, and
Enter image printing space information, etc. The image printing space information includes the name of the image printing space provided in the text, that is, the name of the image to be printed in the space. As a result, the input/edit terminal 27 creates and outputs typesetting-processed text data 29 for image synthesis.

Furthermore, 30 is a text/image output means consisting of a phototypesetting machine or various printers, etc.
Based on print command data 31 output from 25, a composite printed matter 32 of characters and images is output.

An outline of the operation in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is as follows.

That is, first, by receiving the text data 29, image data corresponding to the name of the space defined in the text data is read from the image file 26. Then, the read image data and character data forming the main part of the text data are
A desired character/image composite printed matter 32 is created by combining the characters and images in the CPU 25 and driving the character/image output means in accordance with the print command data 31 obtained as a result.

Next, the creation of the text data 29 will be described.

[Creation of main text data 29] The main text data 29 includes character data, character composition information, image printing space information, etc., according to the manuscript 28 that specifies the text manuscript, its composition format, and image layout in detail. , is created by inputting from the input/edit terminal 27.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the format of the text data 29 according to the present invention, created in this way.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the text data 29 in which the present invention is implemented includes the text data section 33
It is roughly divided into an image printing space information section 34 following this.

Among these, the main text that constitutes the text data section 33 ~
The main text is composed of typesetting information that corresponds to the main text in the printed matter shown in Figure 1, for example, and includes typesetting information such as character size, font, paragraph information, etc. in addition to character information. Contains accordingly.

Further, each of the plurality of sets of image printing space information 35 constituting the latter image printing space information section 34 is information for specifying the image printing space designated by the document 28, and for example, as shown in FIG. It is composed of the name of the image printing space such as A, B, and C of the illustrated image printing space 2, the printing space origin position information (SOX, SOY), the printing space size information (ΔSX, ΔSY), etc. .

Next, the basics of creating the image file 26 will be described.

[Creation of image file 26] To create the image file 26, the original image 21 of the image specified in advance in the document 28 is set on the scanner 22 and read, and the finger that was read is input to the input interface 23. Image file 2 via
6, image data is created.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the basics of reading the original image 21 by the scanner 22. As shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, 41 and 42 are scanner 2
2, and the original image 21 is set in accordance with this reference position.

The operator operates the image management information input means 24 according to the specifications of the document 28, and inputs image reading start point information (ROX, ROY), size information (ΔDX, ΔDY) of image data to be registered in the file 26, and image name. , as well as image management information, which will be described in detail later, such as size information (ΔBX, ΔBY) of the image block scheduled to be allocated on the printed material for output printing of the image, to the interface 23 and the CPU 25 as necessary. command.

Furthermore, the size information of the image block (ΔBX,
ΔBY) is the print data size information (ΔSX, ΔSY) supplied by the text data 29 viewed from the image data side, and both are indicated by the same document 28. Therefore, unless there is a special reason, it is normal to set both to be equal.

The input interface 23 selects a finger corresponding to the image data area 43 shown in FIG. 4 from among the output image data of the scanner 22 based on the various information input from the image management information input means 24. This is extracted and registered in the image file 26 via the CPU 25.

Furthermore, the image file 26 stores the image name and image block size information (ΔBX, ΔBX,
ΔBY) and image data size information (ΔDX,
Register image management information such as ΔDY).

[Composition of Text Data and Image Data] Next, a process of synthesizing text data and image data based on the text data 29 and image file 26 created as described above will be described below.

The CPU 25 outputs the contents of the text data section 33 out of the information supplied from the text data 29 as is as print command data 31.

In addition, each image print space information 35 that constitutes the image print space information section 34 in the body data 29 is
When read by the CPU 25, the CPU 25 searches the image file 26 based on the print space name defined in the read image print space information 35, and searches for image data with the same name.

Next, the image management information related to the searched image data is read out, and the size information (ΔBX, ΔBY) of the image block is changed to the print space size information (ΔSX, ΔSX, ΔBY) given by the body data 29.
ΔSY).

If both of these size information conditions are met,
This means that the print space planned at the time of creating the image data is secured in the text data.

Therefore, after confirming that the above conditions are met, the image data is read out from the image file 26.

In the above explanation, name and size information have been described as comparison items, but these are just examples, and other conditions such as the arrangement direction of image data can be added as comparison items. is optional.

The image data read out from the image file 26 in this way is stored in the image data section 36 that is set subsequent to the text data section 33 output to the print command data 31, as shown in the output format in FIG. Output as bit information that specifies the image. The image data section 36 stores each pair of image data 37 read from the image file 26.
and the image management information 38.

And print command data 3 obtained in this way
1 to the character/image output means 30, and driving and controlling the output means 30 based on this,
You can obtain a composite print of text and images as specified in the original.

[Processing when conditions do not match] The above-described combination of text data and image data is performed using the name and size information of the print space specified in the text data 29 and the name and size information of the image data stored in the original image file 26. This is based on the assumption that the desired image data is registered, that is, the desired image data is registered.

Next, the processing to be performed when the desired image data that meets the conditions specified by the body data 29 is not registered in the image file will be described below.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the output format of the print command data 31 output in this case.

First, for the image data that meets the comparison conditions such as the name and size described in the previous section, editing and compositing processing is performed in the same manner as in the previous section, and the image data section 36 is formed on the print command data 31.

Conversely, if the desired image data is not registered in the file 26, the text data 2
The printing space information 35 of the image in 9
is output as is to the print command data 31.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, after the text data section 33, the image data section 36 and the print space information 35
Temporary printing command data 31 is formed in which the following information is mixed.

Furthermore, apart from forming such temporary print command data 31, additional registration of image data is requested by notifying the operator of the occurrence of the unregistered image and its related name information.

Based on the image data added in response to this notification and the provisionally formed print command data 31, character/image composition processing is repeatedly performed to finally create complete print command data 31. That is, the text data section 33 and the image data 36
is copied as is, and for the remaining print space information 35, enter the same characters and characters as described in the previous section.
Performs image composition processing.

As a result, processing can be performed sequentially, without being limited by the storage capacity of the image file 26.
It has become possible to perform image compositing.

Furthermore, all the original images 21 necessary for printing are prepared,
There is no need to wait for it to be registered in the image file.
Work efficiency can be improved by starting the work before that and partially preempting post-processes such as proofreading work.

Of course, it is also possible to issue an instruction to print intermediate processing results based on the provisional printing instruction data 31. At this time, images that are not registered in the image file are treated as a printing space (blank) specified in the body data, and the name of the image is printed on the space for the operator's reference. It's summery.

[Proofreading of image printing position and content] The above-described combination of character data and image data is performed by outputting all of the individual image data registered in the image file 26 to the print command data 31, and printing the same size as the registered image. This is a case where an image of the same size is printed within a predetermined printing space on a printed matter. However, in this case, since there is naturally a one-to-one positional relationship between the image printed based on the image data and the image block, there is no room for modification in changing the printing position and printing range. Therefore, there is no other option than to set the original on the scanner 22 again, change the reading conditions, and read the original again.

Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to having the size information of the print image block described above in the image management information of the image file 26, the image data area and
By having the size and position information of the print area, you can set the extraction range when importing registered image data from the original image reading signal, and set the print position and position of the image to be printed based on the image data once registered in the image file 26. It allows for flexibility in changing the printing range, etc., and is flexible for various types of proofreading.

The relationship between data reading of the original image 21 by the scanner 22 and the above-described print image block, image data block, and print area will be explained below using FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, 71 and 72 are mechanical reading reference positions specific to the scanner 22, similar to the reference positions 41 and 42 shown in FIG. 4, and the original image 21 is set to match these reference positions. be done.

Also, the point DO (ROX, ROY) indicates the origin of data reading by the scanner 22, and (ROX, ROY)
are the coordinates of the reading origin on the scanner 22,
ΔDX and ΔDY are the data sizes of read data.

By setting and commanding these origin information and size information using the image management information input means 24, the image data corresponding to the data area D indicated by the dotted line frame among the signals read by the scanner 22 is transferred to the interface 23. extracted by
It is registered in the image file 26 via the CPU 25.

Also as shown, sizes ΔBX and ΔBY
The printing block B consisting of is an area corresponding to the image output space prepared on the printed material, and is
The image block 2 shown in the figure is placed from the image data side.

Furthermore, the printing area P consisting of the sizes ΔPX and ΔPY indicates the area of the desired image that is actually printed on the printed material, and corresponds to printing area 3 on the printed material shown in FIG. 1, for example. ing.

Also, in the figure, points BO and PO indicate the origins of the printing block B and printing area P, respectively, and the displacement amounts (DOX, DOY) and (POX, POY) are
Each of these is origin information that defines the positional relationship between the respective origins.

Therefore, in FIG. 7, given manuscript 2
1, image data corresponding to data area D is registered in the file 26.

When printing, data corresponding to the print area P out of the data in the data area D read from the image file 26 is selected as a valid image signal, and based on this, the character/image output means 3
0, the image corresponding to the printing area P is printed in the printing block B with the positional relationship as shown in FIG.

The size information and origin information mentioned above are commanded from the image management information input means 24 when the scanner 22 reads the image data, or at any time after the image data is registered in the file, and are input as image management information. It is registered in the image file along with the image data.

Therefore, in the present invention, by defining the origin information that defines the mutual positional relationship among the data area D, print block B, and print area P adopted in the present invention, for example, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
As shown in Figure 8, printing area origin information (POX,
By changing the settings of POY), the content of the printed image can be arbitrarily selected.

Furthermore, by changing the settings of print data origin information (DOX, DOY) for the image appropriately selected or determined in this way, as shown in FIG.
The image can be moved to any position within the print block B while keeping the contents of the print image selected in FIG. 8 the same.

As described above, among the data read by the scanner 22, the data area D is actually registered in the image file 26, the print block B corresponding to the image output space prepared on the printed material, and the printed material. A printing area P corresponding to the area of the desired image to be actually printed is set on the top, and the size of each of these areas in the x direction and y direction and the mutual positional relationship between the origins of each area are used as image management information input means. By allowing commands to be issued at any time from 24, the range of the image to be printed and the printing position can be easily set and changed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the layout of a printed matter output by implementing the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration in which the present invention is implemented, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the basics of reading the original image 21 in the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are output print data 31 in the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between data reading, print image block B, image data block D, and print area P.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining the proofreading of the printing position and content of an image. 22...Sukiyana, 26...Image file, 2
9...Text data, 30...Character/image output means, 31...Print command data, B...Print block, D...Data area, P...Print area, S
...Print space.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Create text data consisting of text data and image print space information, and create an image file containing a plurality of image data to which names are added, and set the space name in the image print space information to If image data with a matching name exists in the image file, read the image data from the image file, combine the text data and the read image data to create print command data, and print the image print space information. If image data with a name that matches the space name in the image file does not exist, the print space information for the image in the text data is output as is to the print command data, so the text data and image file data can be combined. A composite editing method for characters and images that combines them to create edited print command data.