JPH07256975A - Printing processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correspond even to either binding method of a four page longitudinal folding method or a turning folding method, by a method wherein in a printing processing device in which a document is converted into a page description language form and transmitted to a designated printing device, when a plurality of pages are printed on a piece of printing paper, arrangement of the page on both the surfaces of the paper or directions of the pages each are made settable. CONSTITUTION:A printing starting position table preparing device 14 prepares a printing starting position table based on a printing paper size, N upvalue, paper surface value which are obtained by each obtaining devices 11-13. A page arrangement table preparing device 17 prepares a page arrangement table possessing pieces of information relating to arrangement, directions and printing starting positions of the pages each based on a page arrangement value, page turning value and printing starting position table obtained by obtaining devices 15, 16 each. An N upconversion device 5 converts a page description language form while referring to the page arrangement table so that a plurality of pages are printed on a piece of printing paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus for converting a created document into a format described in a page description language and transmitting the converted document to a designated printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique for converting a document created by a document editing device such as a workstation into a format suitable for bookbinding, for example, there is a page recording control device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-12851. In this page recording control device, since printing is performed in order of pages on both front and back sides of each printing sheet, it is possible to perform bookbinding in the double-sided spread method after the recording. Also, the printing paper is up N (divided into N)
However, in a print processing apparatus (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-340557) having a function of arranging pages in each area, a plurality of pages can be arranged on one printing sheet.

[0003]

However, the page recording control device of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-12851 is capable of bookbinding by the double-sided spread method, but one page is divided into left and right areas of each printing sheet, for a total of four pages. Since it divides and records the minutes, it was not possible to deal with the bookbinding of the turning folding method. In addition, in a print processing apparatus having an N-up function, a plurality of pages can be arranged on a print sheet, but since it is not possible to set page arrangement suitable for bookbinding, a 4-page vertical folding method and a rotating method are used. We couldn't handle any of the folding methods.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of pages are printed on one sheet of printing paper, it is possible to set the page arrangement on both sides of the paper and the direction of each page, so that the four-page vertical folding method and the swirling folding method can be set. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print processing apparatus capable of coping with any type of bookbinding.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, a print processing apparatus according to the present invention has a printing paper size obtaining means for obtaining a printing paper size designated by a user and an N up value designated similarly. Based on the printing paper size, the N-up value and the paper surface value acquired by the respective means, and the N-up value acquiring means for acquiring the specified paper surface value. A print start position table creating unit that calculates a print start position of each page on a sheet and creates a print start position table having information about the print start position, and a page layout value acquisition that acquires a page layout value designated by the user Means, a page rotation value acquisition means for acquiring a designated page rotation value, and a print start position created by the print start position table creation means. And a page layout table creating means for creating a page layout table having information on layout and rotation of each page and print start position from the page layout value and page rotation value acquired by each means. A page layout device is provided.

[0006]

In the above-described print processing apparatus, the specified print paper size, N-up value, and paper surface value are acquired, the print start position of each page on the print paper is calculated from these values, and printing is started. Create a position table. In the same way, obtain the specified page layout value and page rotation value, refer to these values and the print start position table created earlier,
Create a page layout table that has information about the layout and rotation of each page, and the print start position. After that, referring to the created page layout table, the page description language format is converted so that a plurality of pages can be printed on one printing sheet, and the page description language format is transmitted to the designated printing apparatus.

According to this, when a plurality of pages are printed on one sheet of printing paper, the designation of the printing surface (sheet surface value), the designation of the page layout (page layout value), and the orientation of the arranged page are designated. Since (page rotation value) and the like can be performed, it is possible to support bookbinding such as the 4-page vertical folding method and the turning folding method.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the print processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of a print processing apparatus according to the present invention applied to a print system. First, the overall operation of the system will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user creates a document to be printed with the document editing apparatus 1. The created electronic document is passed from the document editing device 1 to the print processing device 2. The print processing apparatus 2 creates a page description language format (document file) described using the page description language from the delivered electronic document. At this time, if you want to print multiple pages on one sheet of paper in consideration of bookbinding in the 4-page vertical folding method or the turning folding method, print on the option sheet (4 pages vertical folding, turning Fold), print paper size, N-up value, paper surface value, etc. are designated. The system creates a table regarding the print start position of each page on the print paper from the specified print paper size, N-up value, and paper surface value, and further, this print start position table and the page previously specified in the option sheet. Create a page layout table with information about the layout and orientation of each page from the layout values and page rotation values. The N-up conversion device 5 converts the page description language format so that a plurality of pages can be printed on one sheet of printing paper while referring to the page layout table, and transmits the page description language format to the designated printing device 3.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the page layout device 4 shown in FIG. Here, each functional unit will be described together with the printing method determination device 6 (not shown in FIG. 1).

The printing method determining device 6 accepts the designation of the printing method from the user, and passes the basic page layout pattern in the specified printing method to the page layout device 4. In the printing method determination device 6 of this embodiment, the 4-page vertical folding method and the 8-page turning folding method can be designated. When you create a document using a workstation that has a multi-window function, you can specify the printing method through the option sheet displayed on the window, and you can also use this option for the page layout corresponding to the specified printing method. You can check it on the sheet.

FIG. 3 shows a display example of the option sheet when the 4-page vertical folding method is designated, and FIG. 4 shows a display example of the option sheet when the 8-page turning folding method is designated. On these option sheets, the page layout corresponding to the specified printing method and the default pattern of the page direction are displayed. The page layout indicates a basic layout when the document is divided into a predetermined number of pages. For example, in the 4-page vertical folding method, the page layout when the document is divided into four pages (2 → 3 → 4) → 1) is shown.
When the number of pages exceeds 4, the pages are arranged at positions corresponding to 1 to 4 pages. For example,
The fifth page is arranged at the same position as the first page, and the sixth page is arranged at the same position as the second page. If there is a diagonal line below the page number, the page is 1
It shows that it is rotated 80 degrees (it is upright on the option sheet).

When the printing method is specified by the user, the printing method determining device 6 presents a page layout and a default pattern in the page direction which are optimum for the printing method on the option sheet. Normally, a good print result can be obtained with this default pattern as it is, but the user can also specify a desired page layout, page direction, etc. through the option sheet. Further, the option sheet is provided with items (not shown) for designating a print paper size, N-up value, paper surface value, etc., which will be described later, and the user designates these values through the option sheet. .

The page layout device 4 is composed of the following functional means.

The printing paper size acquisition means 11 acquires the printing paper size specified by the user and transfers it to the printing start position table creation means 14.

The N-up value obtaining means 12 obtains the N-up value designated by the user and transfers it to the print start position table creating means 14. The N-up value represents the number of pages that can be printed on one sheet of printing paper, and is the specified value (N).
The printing paper is divided into N according to the above. For example, if it is 2 up, it will be divided into 2 and if it is 4 up, it will be divided into 4. FIG. 5 shows an example of page division when 2-up, 4-up, and 8-up are designated. In the 4-page vertical folding method, only 2-up can be designated. In the rotating fold method, 4 up and 8 up can be designated (operations of 16 up or more are theoretically possible).

The paper surface value acquisition means 13 acquires the paper surface value designated by the user and transfers it to the print start position table creation means 14. The sheet surface value is a value that indicates whether to print on one side or two sides, and this value determines whether single-sided printing or double-sided printing is designated.

The print start position table creating means 14 obtains the acquired print paper size for the specified print method,
The print start position of each page on the print paper is calculated from the N-up value and the paper surface value, and a print start position table having information on the print start position is created. For example,
The print start position of each page in the case of 4-up is the position of the black circle in FIG. In the print start position table, the print start position of each page is a coordinate value (x,
y) holds. Therefore, in case of 4 up, 4
It will hold the coordinate value of the place. If the printing method is predetermined, a printing start position table is created from the specified printing paper size, N-up value, and paper surface value for that printing method.

The page rotation value acquisition means 15 acquires the page rotation value designated by the user (or a predetermined value) and transfers it to the page layout table generation means 17. The page rotation value is information (value) indicating whether to rotate the direction (orientation) of the page by 180 degrees.

The page layout value acquisition means 16 acquires a page layout value designated by the user (or a default) and passes it to the page layout table creation means 17. The page layout value is a value indicating the layout state of each page on the printing paper.

When the default pattern presented on the option sheet is used as it is, the page rotation value and page layout value set therein are passed to the page layout table creating means 17. Further, when the user changes the page rotation value or the page layout value, the value set at that time is passed to the page layout table creating means 17.

The page layout table creating means 17 uses the print start position table created by the print start position table creating means, the acquired page layout value, and page rotation value,
A page layout table is created which has information on the layout and rotation of each page and the print start position for each page.

The page layout table created by the page layout table creating means 17 is passed from the page layout device 4 to the N-up conversion device 5. In the N-up converter 5,
While referring to the page layout table, the page description language format is converted so that a plurality of pages can be printed on one printing sheet, and the page description language format is transmitted to the designated printing apparatus.

Next, the flow of processing in the case where a plurality of pages are printed on one printing sheet in the page layout device 4 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The page layout device 4 includes a printing method determination device 6
The printing method specified in step S101 is acquired (step 101), the printing paper size (hereinafter, PS) specified by the printing paper size acquisition unit 11 and the N-up value (hereinafter, NV) specified by the N-up value acquisition device 12 are acquired. ), And the paper surface value (hereinafter, SV) designated by the paper surface value acquisition means 13 is acquired (steps 102 to 104). Next, the print start position table creating means 14 calculates the print start position of each page from the PS, NV and SV, and the print start position table (hereinafter referred to as S
P) is created (step 105). Further, in the page layout device 4, the page rotation value specified by the page rotation value acquisition unit 15 (or default) (hereinafter, PV) and the page layout value specified by the page layout value acquisition unit 16 (or default). (Hereinafter, RV) is acquired (step 106, step 107). Next, the page layout table creating means 17 creates a page layout table having information on the page layout and the presence / absence of rotation and the print start position for each page from the PV, RV and SP (step 108), and this page The arrangement table is output to the N-up converter 5 (step 109).

Next, a specific example of a case where page layout corresponding to the 4-page vertical folding method or the 8-page turning folding method is performed using the page layout device 4 described above will be described.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a sheet printed by the 4-page vertical folding method is folded in, and P1 to P4 indicate page positions. 4 using the conventional N-up function
When the page layout corresponding to the page longitudinal folding method is performed, the page layout is as shown in FIG. 9A (the back surface is reversed by double-sided printing). Therefore, when folded as shown in FIG. 8, the page order is as shown in FIG. 9B, and the pages are not continuous. On the other hand, when printing is performed according to the default pattern presented on the option sheet of FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 10A, the front and back page arrangement and the 180 ° rotation of the back page are set. . Therefore, when folded as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the pages are arranged in a continuous order.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which a sheet printed by the eight-page swivel folding method is folded in. P1 to P8
Indicates the page position. When the page layout corresponding to the turning folding method is performed using the conventional N-up function, the page layout is as shown in FIG. Therefore, when folded as shown in FIG.
The page order is as shown in (b), and the pages are no longer continuous. On the other hand, when printing is performed according to the default pattern presented on the option sheet of FIG. 4, FIG.
As shown in, the page arrangement on the front and back sides and the 180-degree rotation of the lower page of the front and back sides are set. Therefore, when folded as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the pages are arranged in a continuous order.

[0030]

As described above, in the print processing apparatus according to the present invention, the specified print paper size,
The print start position of each page on the printing paper is calculated from the N-up value and the paper surface value, and the layout and direction of each page from the specified page layout value, page rotation value, and the print start position, and A page layout table having information about the print start position for each page was created, and the page description language format was converted so that multiple pages could be printed on one print sheet while referring to this page layout table. , When printing multiple pages on one sheet of printing paper, set the page layout and page orientation on both sides of the printing paper to desired values, and then bind the pages such as the 4-page vertical folding method or the turning folding method. It becomes possible to correspond to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a page layout device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print system to which the print processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of an option sheet (4-page vertical folding method).

[Figure 4] Option sheet (8-page rotating folding method)
Figure showing a display example of

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of page division by N-up.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a print start position in the case of 4-up.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the page layout device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a basic page layout when printing is performed by the 4-page vertical folding method.

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a page layout according to a conventional method,
(B) is a diagram showing a page order according to the same page layout

10A is a diagram showing a page layout by the print processing apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a page order by the page layout.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a basic page layout when printing is performed by the 8-page turning and folding method.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a page layout according to a conventional method, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a page order according to the page layout.

13A is a diagram showing a page layout by the print processing apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a page order by the page layout.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Print processing device, 4 ... Page arrangement device, 5 ... N-up conversion device, 6 ... Printing method determination device, 11 ... Printing paper size acquisition means, 12 ... N-up value acquisition means, 13 ... Paper surface value acquisition means, 14 ... Printing start position table creating means, 1
5 ... Page rotation value acquisition means, 16 ... Page layout value acquisition means, 17 ... Page layout table creation means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A print paper size acquisition means for acquiring a specified print paper size in a print processing device for converting a document created according to a predetermined format into a page description language format and transmitting the page description language format. From the acquired print paper size, N up value and paper surface value, N up value acquisition means for acquiring a specified N up value, paper surface value acquisition means for acquiring a specified paper surface value, A print start position table creating unit that calculates a print start position of each page on the printing paper and creates a print start position table having information about the print start position, and a page layout value acquisition unit that acquires a specified page layout value. A page rotation value acquisition unit that acquires a specified page rotation value, the created print start position table, and the acquired page layout value. A page layout table creating means for creating a page layout table having information on the layout and rotation of each page and the print start position from the value and the page rotation value, and a page layout device configured by: And a print processing device.