JPH0667822A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printing system capable of allowing plural devices connected to a LAN to take the partial charge of a job for developing an image described by printing description language to bit map images and executing a rapid processing. CONSTITUTION:The printing system is provided with a page separating means 14 for dividing an image consisting of plural pages expressed by the printing description language in each page, a built-in developing means 15 for executing a job for developing the image divided in each page into a control code matched with the sort of a printer to be used for printing and a bit map image, a development allotment managing means 10 for allowing respective job executing means 3, 4 to take partial charge of image processing by connecting the means 3, 4 to the LAN 1, a built-in printing means 13 for executing printing, a storage means 10 for storing data, and a control means 9 for managing these means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for printing out a large amount of documents at high speed in an environment in which a plurality of devices such as a computer, a printer device, a file device, etc. are connected to a LAN.

[0002]

[Prior Art] Documents created by companies are
The character-centered form has changed to a more understandable form that includes images. A document including a complicated image is created on a computer and expressed by a high-level print description language represented by "Postscript" of Adobe Inc. When a document is printed in a system connected by a LAN, data expressed in a print description language is sent from a computer to a print server device connected via the LAN, and a print description language is developed by a developing means in the device. To a bitmap image and printed by the printer in the device.

As another method for printing a document, there is also an example in which data expressed in a print description language is developed into a bitmap image by a computer, sent to a printer device connected to a LAN, and printed. In this case, since there is no need to have means for expanding the data expressed in the print description language into a bitmap image in the printer device, there is an advantage that the cost of the printer device becomes low.

When printing a large amount of documents created by computer word processing software at high speed, it is important to speed up the printer that prints the bitmap image, but the data in the print description language can be efficiently bitmapped.・ It will be even more important to develop it into an image.

[0005]

However, when it is required to print a large amount of documents in a short time, a means for rapidly developing data in a print description language into a bitmap image and the bitmap image.
There is a disadvantage that it is essential to connect a high-performance print server device having means for outputting an image to a printer at high speed to a LAN.

Further, it is often the case that a plurality of computers having means for developing data in a print description language into a bitmap image are connected to the LAN. Further, although it is often possible to use a plurality of printers for printing on paper, there is a drawback that such a plurality of resources cannot be fully utilized.

The present invention has been conceived in order to solve such a problem. An object of the present invention is to develop a job for developing an image in a print description language into a bitmap image in a group of devices connected to a LAN. It is to realize the speeding up of processing by sharing the work.

[0008]

In order to solve such a problem, the printing system of the present invention has a page separating means for dividing an image composed of a plurality of pages expressed in a print description language into page units, and a page separating means. By connecting the control code corresponding to the type of printer used for printing and a job for expanding the image separated into units into a bitmap image, and a plurality of the job executing means by connecting to the LAN, It has a development sharing management means for sharing and executing images in page units, a printing means for printing, a storage means for storing data, and a control means for managing these.

[0009]

First Embodiment A first embodiment is an example in which a page separation means, a development sharing management means, a development means, a printing means, a storage means, and a control means are built in a print server.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a LAN for connecting devices such as computers, printers and file servers, and 3 is a means for creating a document expressed in a print description language and a means for expanding a document image in the print description language into a bitmap image. The first computer 4 is a second computer 4 which has a means for creating a document expressed in a print description language and expanding an image in the print description language into a bitmap image, and 8 is a printout job. A print server for integrated management, 9 is a control means for integrally controlling the print server, and 10 is a development sharing for causing a plurality of devices connected to the LAN to share a job for developing an image expressed in a print description language into a bitmap image. Management means, 12 is a print description Storage means for storing the data and the developed bitmap image in the print server, 13 is an internal printer incorporated in the print server for printing the expanded bitmap image on paper, and 14 is a print description language. A page separating means for dividing the expressed image into page units, and 15 is a built-in developing means which is built in the print server and expands the image in the print description language into a bitmap image.

The user uses the first computer 3 to
It is assumed that a 250-page document is created on the 4th edition paper by the page description language "Postscript" of Adobe Inc., as shown in FIG. This document is set and described on a page-by-page basis, and it is specified that the output operator for instructing printing on paper is limited to "showpage" only. The data in FIG. 2 passes through the LAN 1, the control means 9 of the print server 8, and the page separation means 1.
Sent to 4. The page separating means 14 outputs the output operator "s.
By detecting the boundary of the page from the "howpage", the page is divided into page units, different addresses are added, the data is sent to the storage unit 12 via the control unit 9, and is recorded.

Next, the image in the print description language separated into page units is converted into a control code and a bitmap.
The job to be expanded to the image is performed by the procedure shown below. (1) The expansion sharing management means 10 includes the control means 9 and the LAN 1.
Through the available expansion means, and the built-in expansion means 1
5 and the second computer 4 are registered as means used for development by providing tags indicating the respective execution states.

(2) It means that the expansion sharing management means 10 has not executed the job for expanding the tags indicating the states of the two expansion means registered in (1) into the control code and the bitmap image. Idol ”

(3) The expansion sharing management means 10 stores the first page not expanded from the storage means 12 into the internal expansion means 1
5 to start a job for developing control code and bitmap image.

(4) "Expansion" means that the expansion sharing management means 10 is executing a job to expand the tag indicating the status of the built-in expansion means 15 from "idle" to a control code and a bitmap image. Switch to.

(5) The expansion sharing management means 10 sends the contents of the next one page from the storage means 12 to the second computer 4, and activates the job for expanding the control code and the bitmap image.

(6) The expansion sharing management means 10 changes the tag indicating the state of the second computer from "idle" to "expansion".
Switch to.

(7) The two registered decompression means attach a number indicating the page of the document to the control code and the data representing the bitmap image formed after the decompression is completed, and transfer the data to different addresses for each page of the storage means 12. .

(8) The expansion means, which has finished transferring to the storage means 12, switches the tag indicating the status of the expansion means provided in the expansion sharing management means 10 from "expansion" to "idle".

(9) The expansion sharing management means 10 sends unregistered pages one after another to any of the registered expansion means which confirms that the status tag is "idle",
Job to be expanded until the end of the last page and storage means 1
Repeat the transfer to 2. The control means 9 is the storage means 12
Each time the page-by-page control code and the bitmap image are recorded, the storage means 12 and the built-in printer 13 are
The control code and the bit map image which are directly linked by the MA are sent from the storage means 12 to the built-in printer, and the document shown in FIG. 3 is printed on the paper. It should be noted that the control unit 9 can change the printing order for each page and print the pages in the order desired by the user.

The second embodiment is an example in which the page separating means and the expansion sharing managing means are built in the computer.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a computer, a printer,
A LAN connecting device groups such as a file server, 3 is a first computer having a means for creating a document expressed in a print description language and a means for expanding an image of the document in the print description language into a bitmap image, 4 is a print Creating a document expressed in a description language and printing A second computer having a means for expanding an image in a description language into a bitmap image, 8 is a print server for integrally managing printout jobs, and 9 is a print server. Control means for integrated control of the print description language, 10 is a development sharing management means for allowing a plurality of devices connected to the LAN to share a job for developing an image expressed in the print description language into a bitmap image, and 12 is data in the print description language. And the expanded bitmap image Memory means incorporated in the print server storing over di, 13 is contained in the print server,
A built-in printer that prints the expanded bitmap image on paper, 14 is a page separating unit that divides the image expressed in the print description language into page units, and 15 is built in the print server, and the image in the print description language is bitmapped.・ Built-in deployment means to deploy the image,
Reference numeral 16 is a built-in computer in the second computer 4, second built-in developing means for developing an image in a print description language into a bitmap image, 17 is second controlling means for integrally controlling the second computer, and 18 is a print. A second storage means built in a second computer for storing the data in the description language and the expanded bitmap image;
In a document 19, a general document described in the print description language is set and described so that it is completed on a page-by-page basis, and an output operator for instructing printing on paper is “showpag”.
It is a conversion means for converting a document limited to only e ".

The user uses the first computer 3 and
It is assumed that a 250-page document is created on the 4th edition paper by the page description language "Postscript" of Adobe Inc., as shown in FIG. This document differs from the first embodiment in that the output operator for instructing printing on the paper is "showp".
In addition, unlike the first embodiment, this document is different from the first embodiment in that the font selection and the size designation are specified only at the beginning of the sentence, and the setting and description that are completed in page units are not made. 5 is sent to the conversion means 19 via the LAN 1 and the second control means 17 of the second computer 4. The conversion means 19 completes this document page by page as shown in FIG. After setting and description, the output operator for instructing printing on the paper is converted into a document limited to "showpage", and then sent to the page separating means 14.
The page separating means 14 outputs the output operator "showpage".
By detecting the page boundary from the page, the page is divided into page units, different addresses are attached, the data is sent to the second storage unit 18 via the second control unit 17, and is recorded.

Next, the image in the print description language separated into page units is converted into a control code and a bitmap.
The job to be expanded to the image is performed by the procedure shown below. (1) The expansion sharing management means 10 searches for available expansion means via the second control means 17 and the LAN 1, and tags the execution statuses of the internal expansion means 15 and the second internal expansion means 16 respectively. By registering, it is registered as a means used for development. (2) The expansion sharing management means 10 sets the tags indicating the states of the two expansion means registered in (1) to "idle", which means that the job for expanding the control code and the bitmap image is not executed. .

(3) The expansion sharing management means 10 sends the first unexpanded one page from the second storage means 18 to the second built-in expansion means 16 to execute a job for expanding the control code and the bitmap image. to start.

(4) Means that the expansion sharing management means 10 is executing a job for expanding the tag indicating the state of the second built-in expansion means 16 from "idle" to a control code and a bitmap image. " Switch to "Development".

(5) The expansion sharing management means 10 stores the contents of the next one page from the second storage means 12 to the second control means 1.
7, the LAN 1 and the control means 9 are sent to the built-in expansion means 15 to activate a job for expanding the control code and the bitmap image.

(6) The expansion sharing management means 10 switches the tag indicating the state of the built-in expansion means 15 from "idle" to "expansion".

(7) The two registered expansion means attach a number indicating the page of the document to the control code and the data representing the bitmap image formed after the expansion is completed, and transfer the data to different addresses for each page of the storage means 12. .

(8) The decompressing means, which has completed the transfer to the storage means 12, switches the tag indicating the state of the decompressing means provided in the decompression / sharing management means 10 from "expanded" to "idle".

(9) The expansion sharing management means 10 sends the unexpanded pages one after another to any of the registered expansion means which confirms that the status tag is "idle",
Job to be expanded until the end of the last page and storage means 1
Repeat the transfer to 2. The control means 9 is the storage means 12
Each time the page-by-page control code and the bitmap image are recorded, the storage means 12 and the built-in printer 13 are
The control code and the bit map image which are directly linked by the MA are sent from the storage means 12 to the built-in printer, and the document shown in FIG. 3 is printed on the paper. It should be noted that the control unit 9 can change the printing order for each page and print the pages in the order desired by the user.

The page separating means 14 in the first and second embodiments are set and described in a page unit, and the output operator for instructing the printing on the paper is "showpag".
Only the documents limited to "e" can be separated page by page.

However, it should be noted that the page separating means in the present invention naturally includes a case where a document having no particular limitation or a document having another limitation can be separated without the converting means 19.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, the image in the print description language is separated into page units and shared in page units, so that the separation means and the expansion sharing management are compared with the case where the image is separated into units smaller than page units. By simplifying the means, it is possible to develop an image in a print description language into a bitmap image, and effectively utilize all devices that can be used from a LAN with a simple mechanism.
Provide a printing system that prints a large amount of documents at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a document in which settings and descriptions are completed in page units by PostScript.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a document in which the description of FIG. 2 is expanded and expressed on a sheet.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a document described by PostScript.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1; LAN 3; first computer 4; second computer 8; print server 9; control means 10; development sharing management means 12; storage means 13; built-in printer 14; page separation means 15; built-in development means 16; Second built-in expansion means 17; second control means 18; second storage means 19; conversion means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A page separation means for dividing an image composed of a plurality of pages expressed in a print description language into page units, and a control code according to the type of printer used for printing the image separated into page units. And a developing means for executing a job for developing a bitmap image, a development sharing managing means for connecting the plurality of job executing means to a LAN and executing the images in page units, and printing. A printing system comprising: a printing unit that performs printing, a storage unit that stores data, and a control unit that manages these.