JPH06278325A - Printing control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printing control device performing printing at a high speed using a small capacity memory. CONSTITUTION:The CPU 11 of a printing control device reads a processing program from a program ROM 12 to control the whole. An RAM 14 stores the printing state transmitted from a host computer 19 in one page unit as it is. A video transmission circuit 16 transmits the present page data developed on an image memory 13 to a printer engine 18 in linear sequence to inform the count value on a transmission line to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 successively reads next page data from the RAM 14 to immediately develop the next page data to be positioned in the video transmitted area of the image memory 13 and adds an attribute only to the next page data to be positioned in the video non-transmitted area of the image memory 13 to store the attribute in a parameter buffer and reads the attribute from the parameter buffer as soon as the non-transmitted area shown by the coordinates of the attribute of the next page data becomes the transmitted area to develop the same to continuously perform page printing at a high speed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print control device, and more particularly to a print control device for printing at high speed using a small capacity memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a print control device which causes a printing section to print based on print information received from a host device such as a personal computer. Generally, in a print control device, a bit image for one page is developed in an image memory based on print information received from a host device, and then this is video-transferred to a print unit for print control.

Normally, the print information transmitted from the host device has codes "41" and "B" indicating "A" when printing "AB" as shown in FIG. 7A, for example. Code "42", command "1" to print Kanji
"B, 4B", a code "30, 21" indicating "A" and a command "0C" for instructing printing are transmitted in this order.

On the other hand, on the printer side, if the print format of the paper is the normal horizontal and vertical writing (portrait), the transmitted print information is expanded in the image memory in the order of transmission.
As shown in (b) in the figure, in the horizontal landscape (landscape) print format, where the beginning of the printed text is the lower left corner of the paper, the font of the bit image developed in the image memory is rotated 90 degrees to the left and From top to bottom along the vertical scan line
At the coordinates (0, n) to (0, 0) shown in (b), "A",
"B" and "A" are sequentially assigned and expanded. Then, when the video transfer of the expanded print information is completed, the bit image generated from the print information of the next page is sequentially expanded from the first line again from the bottom to the top as described above along the vertical scanning line.

However, this method has a problem that the printing speed is slow because the bit image development and the video transfer are temporally separated as described above. As a solution to this problem, it is known that the video transfer of the bit image data of the current page and the bit image development of the next page are overlapped in the same time.

This is to newly provide a page buffer for converting the print information received from the host device into an internal code and accumulating it, and printing the sequence of the print information received from the host device in the image memory according to the print format. Sort them in order and store them temporarily. For example, FIG. 7 (b) described above.
For horizontal landscape (landscape) print format of
The print order of the internally coded print information is the print order in the image memory (video transfer order, that is, horizontal scanning lines from left to right).
Along the line, from the coordinate (0,0) to the coordinate (m, 0) and several lines below, there is "blank", then "sub" (third line from the bottom), and then "B" (from the bottom The data is stored in the page buffer after being rearranged in advance in the order of the second line) and then "A" (the first lower line).
And print information of this page buffer (internal code)
Based on the above, the bit image is sequentially drawn (developed) from the first row of the image memory.

After expanding the data of the current page into the image memory,
If the data of the next page is rearranged as described above and stored in the page buffer, the data of the next page is sequentially transferred from the page buffer as the contents (bit image) of the image memory are sequentially transferred from the beginning. The bit image can be read and sequentially drawn from the beginning in the transferred area of the image memory.

Thus, the video transfer of the current page to the printing section and the development of the bit image of the next page can be performed in parallel in time, and the development of the bit image for one page is completed. By eliminating the waste of time waiting until the start of video transfer, it is possible to continuously output bit images of a plurality of pages to the printing unit.

[0009]

Generally, the print information is
It is composed of attributes, character codes, X coordinates, Y coordinates, and the like. The attribute is a parameter indicating the attribute of the character such as AN font or KJ font, font type, character size, character direction (rotation angle), and has an extremely large amount of information. However, normally, as described above, since the print information transmitted from the host device is in the print order, it is not necessary to show the coordinate data only at the beginning position of the sentence for each character. In addition, since the character string to be printed is a word or a sentence, characters with the same attribute are often contiguous. Therefore, when the attribute changes, the attribute is added only to the first character of the character string and the amount of information is increased. (Data amount) is compressed.

However, in the case of the horizontal landscape (landscape) print format, if the internal codes for one page are rearranged in the print output order for temporary storage in the page buffer as described above, they are adjacent in the print order. Since the characters that are lined up are the upper and lower relations of the format lines, character strings that have little correlation with each other and are not related to each other are lined up. For example, the printing is switched from alphabet (AN font) to kanji (KJ font), or vice versa.
Switching to an N font frequently occurs.
Therefore, for each character, AN font, KJ
It is necessary to use an internal code that is composed of complete printing information including attribute information such as font, type, font, orientation, and size, and coordinate information.

As described above, in order to rearrange the internal codes in the print output order and store them in the page buffer, it is necessary to make each character an internal code composed of complete print information. However, the page buffer requires a large amount of memory, which increases the cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print control device for performing high-speed printing using a small capacity memory.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, image information of continuous pages generated based on print information of a plurality of pages input from a higher-level device is successively expanded in an image memory for one page. It is premised on a print control device that causes a print section to perform a print operation based on the developed image information.

In the print control apparatus of the present invention, the page buffer stores print information input from the host device for a plurality of pages on a page-by-page basis. The page buffer is, for example, R
It is composed of an AM (Random Access Memory) and the like.

The expanding means sequentially reads the print information stored in the page buffer page by page, converts the read print information into corresponding image information, and expands it in the image memory. The means comprises, for example, a CG and a font drawing routine.

The transfer means transfers the image information expanded in the image memory by the expansion means to the printing section. The means comprises, for example, a video transfer circuit or the like. The identification means is
The extent to which the transfer of the image information previously expanded in the image memory by the transfer means is performed is identified. The means is, for example, an interrupt of a video transfer circuit, a CPU
(Central Processing Unit) etc.

The control means, when the identification means identifies the untransferred image information developed last time, without converting the print information to be converted into the image information into the untransferred area and converted into the image information. Print information to be converted into image information in this transferred area and expanded when the transfer of the previously expanded image information is identified by the identification means by storing the attribute added and stored in the temporary save buffer memory (parameter buffer) Is read out from the page buffer or the temporary save buffer memory. The means comprises, for example, a CPU or the like.

[0018]

In the print control device of the present invention, the print information input from the higher-level device, which stores a plurality of pages for each page in the page buffer, is sequentially read page by page by the expansion means and image information is obtained. Is converted to and expanded in the image memory. The expanded image information is transferred to the printing unit by the transfer means. Then, the identification means identifies how far this transfer is performed. When the untransferred image information developed last time is identified by this identification, the print information to be converted into image information and expanded in this untransferred area is added to the temporary information without adding the attribute to the temporary save buffer. On the other hand, when the transfer of the image information expanded last time is stored in the memory (parameter buffer), the print information to be converted into the image information and expanded in this transferred area is printed in the page buffer or the temporary save buffer. The expansion means is controlled by the control means so as to read from the memory.

Thus, it is possible to perform printing at high speed using a small capacity memory.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a print control device 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 11 including a microprocessor, a program ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, an image memory 13, a RAM (Random Access Memory) connected to the CPU 11. ) 14, RAM1
5, video transfer circuit 16, Centronics I / F (I / F
F: interface) 17 and the like. The video transfer circuit 16 is an external circuit printer engine 1.
8 and the Centronics I / F 17 is connected to the host computer 19.

The program ROM 12 stores a program for operating the print control apparatus 10 in cooperation with the host computer, and the CPU 11 uses the program read from the program ROM 12 as a basis.
The print processing is controlled based on the print information transmitted from the host computer.

The Centronics I / F 17 is an interface configured to comply with the specifications of Centronics, Inc. capable of transmitting and receiving parallel data, and inputs print information transmitted from the host computer 19.

The image memory 13 is a frame memory having a capacity capable of developing a bit image for one sheet of paper. RA
M14 is the Centronics I / from the host computer.
A page buffer area for temporarily storing and storing page-by-page print information input via F17, bit image data (that is, a character pattern) corresponding to a character code included in print information input from the host computer. It is composed of a CG memory area for storing data, that is, font data, a work area used as a work area, and the like.

The RAM 15 is a very small capacity memory of, for example, about 10 Kbytes, and temporarily stores an intermediate code converted from print information described later. The video transfer circuit 16 transfers the bit image data expanded in the image memory 13 line-sequentially to the printer engine 18, and outputs an interrupt signal to the CPU 11 for each line transfer. As a result, the CPU 11 recognizes the transferred area of the image memory 13.

The CPU 11 sequentially reads the print information from the page buffer area of the RAM 14 for each processing unit, and if the bit image based on the print information can be expanded in the image memory 13, analyzes the read print information. Then, based on the obtained result, the character pattern data is read from the CG memory area of the RAM 14 to generate a bit image, and the bit image data is sequentially written in a predetermined area of the image memory 13 and expanded.

When the area of the image memory 13 where the bit image data is to be expanded is not in the expandable state, the CPU 11 analyzes the read print information to generate an intermediate code, and the intermediate code is stored in the RAM 15.
Stored in the parameter buffer of, and when the relevant area of the image memory 13 can be expanded into bit image data,
The intermediate code is read from the parameter buffer of the RAM 15 and converted into bit image data and expanded.

The printer engine 18 sets the L image according to the bit image data transferred from the video transfer circuit 16.
Drive a print head such as an ED print head or a laser print head to generate optical writing information,
The photowriting exposes the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor, develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image, transfers the toner image to paper, and heat-fixes the toner image on the paper. It is configured by an electrophotographic print processing unit that performs printing by performing printing.

Next, the print processing operation in the embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. Note that this processing is performed by the CPU 11 shown in FIG. 1 controlling each part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 based on the processing program read from the program ROM 12.

FIG. 2 is a main flow chart. In the flowchart shown in the figure, first, step M1
Initialize with. This process is performed by the image memory 13,
This is processing such as clearing the data in the RAMs 14 and 15 and putting the Centronics I / F in a transmitting / receiving state.

Next, in step M2, a page buffer is created. This process is a process of storing (storing) the print information transmitted from the host computer 19 page by page in the page buffer area of the RAM 14 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a page buffer). This allows the RAM
In the page buffer 14 shown in FIG. 5, for example, the print information of a plurality of pages transmitted from the host computer 19 is sequentially stored page by page as it is, as shown in FIG. The figure
(a) shows only the print information of the second page,
The print information on the third and fourth pages is omitted in the figure. In the example of the print information on the second page, the "Landscape" command indicating the print format of this page is added at the beginning, followed by the "A" code of the first character, and "B", "C", ...
., "X", "Y", "Z" followed by alphabetic character codes, "Line feed" command at the end of the line, the first character of the second line is the numerical "1" code, and "2" , "3",
.., "21", "22", "23", "24" are followed by numerical codes.

As described above, the print information transmitted from the host computer 19 does not have complete attribute information including font information, coordinate information, etc. for each character, and characters of the same attribute are consecutive. Since the attribute information is added only to the first character of the character string, the amount of data stored in the memory is not so large. Therefore, the page buffer can be composed of an extremely small capacity memory.

Following the above, the printing process is started in step M3. In this process, the printer engine 18 is activated via the video transfer circuit 16, the motors of the printer are driven, the paper feeding is started, and the dot image data transferred from the image memory 13 is printed. Is.

Next, in step M4, the dot image data, which will be described later, is developed based on the print information stored in the above-mentioned page buffer in accordance with the progress of the printing process.

Until the host computer 19 notifies the end of transmission of the print information, the above steps M2 to
Repeat M4. The present invention is characterized in that the print information of the page buffer in step M4 is expanded in the image memory 13 as dot image data. The process of expanding the print information in step M4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the print information of the first page shown in FIG. 5 (a) is changed to the image memory 1 shown in FIG. 5 (b).
3 has already been developed, and the above-described print processing of step M3 is the print processing of the dot image data of the first page developed in the image memory 13. Therefore, in this processing, the print information of the second page is expanded in the image memory 13.

In the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, in step S40, the page-by-page initial processing is performed. As a result, the work area of the RAM 14 is cleared and the print pointer indicating the expanded position of the dot image data is initialized.

Next, in step S41, the data is retrieved from the page buffer. In this process, the print information is sequentially set to 1 from the second page of the page buffer of the RAM 14 from the top.
This is a process of reading one by one. For example, in the example of FIG. 5A, the "landscape" instruction is read first.

Subsequently, in step S42, it is determined whether or not the read data is a character code or a control code (command). If the read data is no (No), steps S49, S54 and S55 described later are performed. Are sequentially determined, the "landscape" format is set in step S56, and the process returns to step S41. If the next data retrieved from the page buffer in step S41 is "A" as shown in the example of FIG. 5 (a), it is determined in step S42 that it is a character code (Y). S43
Then, it is determined whether or not the data of the previous page at the position on the image memory 13 where the character is to be expanded has been video-transferred.

This process determines whether or not the Y coordinate of the expanded position indicated by the print pointer is smaller than the Y coordinate of the transferred area of the image memory 13 recognized by the interrupt signal output from the video transfer circuit 16. Is. As shown in FIG. 5B, the image memory 13 at this point
In the case where the dot image data of the first page is transferred line-sequentially from above to the printer engine 18 and the area 13a has already been transferred, the Y coordinates from "A" to "X" are still the print pointer. It is larger than the Y coordinate shown, that is, the writing position of these print information corresponds to the areas 13b and 13c that have not been transferred at this time, that is, the image memory area at the position where the read "A" should be developed has been video-transferred. Not (No).

Therefore, in this case, step S51
Then, by referring to the contents of the parameter buffer area of RAM 15 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a parameter buffer), it is determined whether or not it is in a full state (the intermediate code is fully stored and there is no empty area). If there is), the read print information is converted into an intermediate code and stored in the empty area in step S53. As a result,
As shown in (c), the intermediate code “A” is stored at the head of the parameter buffer of the RAM 15. At this time, the intermediate code converted from the print information and stored in the parameter buffer is composed of complete print information including an attribute, a character code, an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, etc. for each character as shown in FIG. It The attribute is an attribute parameter such as an AN font or a KJ font, a font type, a character size, and a character direction.

Following the above, in step S46, RAM1
It is determined whether or not the page buffer of No. 4 is empty (all the print information of the second page currently being read has been read), and if it is confirmed that it is not empty (No), the process returns to step S41, and step S41, S42, S43, S51, S5
3. Repeat S46. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the intermediate codes “A”, “B”, “C”, ...
"X" is sequentially stored in the parameter buffer.

As described above, when the previous page data at the position where the print information (character code) read from the page buffer is to be expanded is the video untransferred, the read character code is as shown in FIG. Is converted into the intermediate code shown in and stored in the parameter buffer of the RAM 15.

When the print information "Y" is read in step S41, the previous page data has been video-transferred by the determination in step S43 (Yes).
In this case, in step S44, the character code of the print information read from the page buffer is drawn (developed) in the image memory 13. As a result, for example, FIG.
As shown in, the video transferred area 1 at this point
"Y" is developed on 3a.

Succeedingly, in a step S46, the value of the printing point is incremented by "1". As a result, the expansion position of the next print information is designated. Next, step S46.
According to the determination of, steps S41 to S46 are performed again. As a result, the intermediate code "Z" shown in FIG. 7C is expanded in the video transferred area 13a.

Then, if it is determined in step S46 again that the page buffer is not empty (No), steps S41, S42, S43, S51, S53 and S4 are again executed.
Repeat 6 As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (c),
In the parameter buffer, “X” is followed by “1”, “2”, “3”, ... Of the print information of the second line this time.
Up to “21” is converted into an intermediate code and stored.

Then, if it is determined in the above step S43 that the video transfer of the image memory 13 has proceeded to the area 13a and then to the area 13b as shown in FIG. 5B, steps S44 and S45. , S46, S41, S4
By repeating 2 and S43, the print information "22", "23" and "24" read from the page buffer are sequentially expanded in the image memory 13. As a result, all the print information of the second page and the first page of the page buffer is read.

If it is determined in step S51 that the parameter buffer is full (Yes), the parameter buffer is expanded in step S52 to provide an empty area in the parameter buffer, and then the process proceeds to step S53.

When it is confirmed in step S46 that the page buffer is empty (Yes), it is further determined in step S47 whether or not there is the contents of the parameter buffer, and the example of FIG. If it is not empty (No), as shown in FIG.
Similarly to 2, the parameter buffer expansion described later is performed. Then, the determination in step S47 is repeated, and it is confirmed in step S47 that the parameter buffer has become empty, and the process ends.

If the read print information is the control code in the determination in step S42, it is determined in step S49 whether or not the control code specifies the kanji and the control code specifying the kanji is used. If there is, the character code analysis process is switched to the Chinese character mode in step S50, and the process returns to step S41. As a result, until the control code that specifies a character type other than Kanji is read,
It is shown that the character code read from the page buffer is a kanji by the processing of step S41 repeated thereafter.

If it is determined in step S49 that the control code is not a control code designating a Chinese character, it is determined in step S54 whether or not the control code is an instruction to print. Then, if printing is instructed, the process is immediately terminated and the process returns to the process of the main flowchart shown in FIG.

If it is determined in step S54 that the control code is not the control code for instructing printing, in step S55 another control code, for example, a control code for instructing print format, halftone dot meshing, reversal, turning, etc. It is determined whether or not these are the control codes, and if they are these control codes, step S56
Then, a setting process such as print format, halftone dot meshing, inversion, or inversion corresponding to the instruction is performed, and the process returns to step S41.

As a result, the print information for the second page is successively developed in the image memory as the dot image data for the first page is transferred. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the parameter buffer expansion processing performed in steps S48 and S52. In addition, in this process, as shown in FIG.
The intermediate code is read from the parameter buffer shown in (c), converted into dot image data, and stored in the image memory 13.
After being expanded, the read intermediate code is erased from the parameter buffer. In addition, in order to perform this reading and erasing, 1 is added to the attribute information of the above intermediate code.
"Processed" information of bit "0" is added and "processed" information is added.
Only the intermediate code having information is retrieved and read, the "processed" information is set to "1" after reading, and the intermediate code having the "processed" information of "1" is erased at the processing timing described later. I am trying.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, first, in step SP1, one character is taken out from the parameter buffer. This process is a process of searching the parameter buffer of the RAM 15 for a character (intermediate code) whose "processed" information in the attribute information is "0", and sequentially reading the characters one by one from the beginning. As a result, in the example shown in FIG. 5 (c), the intermediate code "A" is first read from the parameter buffer.

Next, in step SP2, it is determined whether or not the previous page data in the area of the image memory 13 at the position where the read character is converted to bit image data and expanded is video-transferred. This processing refers to the coordinate information in the attribute information of the read character (intermediate code), and its Y coordinate is the transferred area of the image memory 13 where the interrupt signal output from the video transfer circuit 16 is recognized. This is a process of determining whether or not it is smaller than the Y coordinate of.

As in the video transferred area of the image memory 13 at the time of this determination, the print information "22", "23" and "24" are developed in the image memory 13 in step S44, as shown in FIG. When the area 13b shown in FIG. 3B has been reached, the area 13c in which "A" is to be expanded is an area that has not been transferred yet, so it is determined that it has not been transferred (No), and in this case, next step SP4. And returns the character "A" to the parameter buffer.

Then, in step SP6, it is determined whether or not all the intermediate codes in the parameter buffer have been checked, that is, whether or not the intermediate code has been read from the parameter buffer once. If not (No), the process returns to step SP1 and steps SP1 to SP6 are repeated. This allows
"B", "C", ... Are sequentially read from the parameter buffer and returned to the parameter buffer.

When the "X" is read out following the above, the area 13b of the image memory 13 at the position where these should be expanded has already been video transferred in step SP2 (Yes). In this case, the process proceeds to step SP3 and, as shown in FIG. 5 (b),
The characters of these intermediate codes are sequentially expanded in the video transferred area 13b.

When the intermediate code (character) is expanded in the image memory 13 as described above, the process proceeds to step SP5, and "1" is added to the "processed" information of the expanded (drawn) intermediate code (character). Set "" and return to the parameter buffer.

In this way, if the area of the image memory 13 in which the intermediate code of the parameter buffer is to be expanded has already been video-transferred, the intermediate code is expanded (drawn) in the image memory 13 and the area of the image memory 13 is expanded. If is not a video transfer, the intermediate code is returned to the parameter buffer repeatedly.

If it is determined in step SP6 that the intermediate code has been read once, then in step SP7
The empty area of the parameter buffer is arranged, and the processing ends. To sort out this empty area, search the parameter buffer, and the "processed" information in the attribute information is "1".
After clearing the intermediate code set to, "Processed"
This is a process for generating an empty area in the rear part of the parameter buffer by sequentially re-storing the intermediate code whose information is set to "0" from the beginning. As a result, Fig. 5 (c)
In the example shown in, "... X" in the parameter buffer
The intermediate code of is deleted and "A", "B", "C" ...
., "1", "2", "3" ... "21" are left, and the process returns to the page buffer expansion process shown in FIG.

The above-described processing is repeated at each processing timing of the parameter buffer expansion processing shown in FIG. 4, and as the area 13c of the image memory 13 eventually becomes a video transferred area, the area 13c is displayed. As shown in 5 (b), “A”, “B”, “C” ..., “1”,
Characters of "2", "3" ... "21" (intermediate code)
However, "...", ... "21", "C", "3",
"B", "2", "A", "1" are sequentially expanded in order, all the print information of the second page is expanded in the image memory 13, and the contents of the parameter buffer are all erased.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the next page data to be located in the current page data transferred area of the image memory is immediately expanded in the image memory and located in the current page data untransferred area of the image memory. Only the next page data that should be power is temporarily stored in the parameter buffer as an intermediate code with an attribute added, and as the current page data untransferred area becomes the transferred area, it is sequentially expanded on the image memory. When the data has been transferred, the data for the next page is almost completely developed, and therefore, the printing process for each page can be continuously performed at high speed. Also, the page buffer need only store the print information sent from the host device as it is. Therefore, the capacity of the page buffer is small, and only the print information to be put on standby to be expanded in the untransferred area is stored as an intermediate code. Therefore, the parameter buffer may have a small capacity, and high-speed printing can be realized with a small capacity memory as a whole.

[0062]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, while transferring the current page data of the image memory by video,
Since the next page data that can be expanded in the image memory is immediately expanded, the printing process for each page can be continuously performed at high speed. Further, since the print information of the host device is stored as it is without being rearranged and only the print information which cannot be immediately expanded is converted into an intermediate code and stored, the video transfer of the current page data and the expansion of the next page data are performed in parallel. Although the memory used as a whole can have a small capacity while performing the operation, the device cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a main flowchart illustrating a print processing operation.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of expanding print information in step M4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of expanding an intermediate code in a parameter buffer.

5A is a diagram showing a data configuration of a page buffer of a RAM, FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a data configuration of an image memory, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of a parameter buffer of RAM.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating parameters of an intermediate code stored in a parameter buffer.

FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating print information transmitted from a host device, and FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of print data in an image memory in a horizontal horizontal print format.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Print Control Device 11 CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12 Program ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 Image Memory 14 RAM (Random Access Memory) 15 RAM 16 Video Transfer Circuit 17 Centronics I / F (I / F: Interface) 18 Printer Engine 19 Host computer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Image information of continuous pages generated based on print information of a plurality of pages input from a higher-level device is successively and successively expanded in an image memory for one page, and based on the expanded image information. In a print control device that causes a printing unit to perform a printing operation, a page buffer that stores print information input from the host device for a plurality of pages in units of one sheet of paper, and print information stored in the page buffer Developing means for sequentially reading out each page, converting the read print information into image information corresponding to the read print information, and expanding the image information in an image memory, and transferring the image information expanded in the image memory by the expanding means to the printing section. Transfer means, a discriminating means for discriminating to what extent the image information previously developed in the image memory by the transferring means has been transferred, and a previous exhibition by the discriminating means. When the untransferred image information is identified, the temporary transfer buffer memory (parameter buffer) is added to the untransferred area by adding an attribute without converting the print information to be converted and developed into the image information. )
When the transfer of the previously expanded image information is identified by the identification means, the print information to be converted into the image information and expanded in the transferred area is read from the page buffer or the temporary save buffer memory. And a control means for controlling the developing means.