JPH0844509A - Print control method and print system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a print control method and a print system which can ensure an effective printing job. CONSTITUTION:A host computer 101 decides through a data transmission deciding part 104 to transmit the data which are written in a printer language and stored in a queue 102 or a bit map image which is expanded by an emulator 103. Meanwhile a printing device 105 expands the data written in the printer language if received into a bit map image by an emulator 107 through a received data deciding part 106. Then a print data control part 108 controls the printing order of the bit map image to be printed. Thus the printing is effectively carried out by an engine 109.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control method and a printing system for a printing apparatus which develops data described in a printer language into a bitmap image and prints it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing apparatus, it is a general method to receive data described in a printer language, develop it into a bitmap image inside the printing apparatus, and print it.

[0003]

However, if it takes time to develop the print data described in the printer language into a bit map image when printing is performed using the printing device according to the above conventional example, The engine will have to wait until the bitmap image is generated,
The problem occurs that the printing capacity of the engine is not fully utilized.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing control method and a printing system that enable efficient printing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the print control method of the present invention has the following steps.

[0006] A print control method for a printing apparatus for expanding data described in a printer language into a bitmap image and performing printing, wherein the transmission side transmits the data described in the printer language or the data is bit-coded. When the receiving side receives the data described in the printer language, the data is expanded into a bitmap image and the print order of the bitmap image to be printed is controlled. Each step to do.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the printing system according to the present invention has the following configuration.

In a printing system including an external device and a printing device, a storage unit for storing data described in a printer language in the external device, and the data stored in the storage unit are expanded into a bitmap image. The printing device includes a developing unit and a determining unit that determines whether to transmit the bitmap image developed by the developing unit or to transmit the data stored in the storage unit,
Judgment means for judging whether the received data is a bitmap image or data described in a printer language, and if the judgment result of the judgment means is data described in a printer language, the data is expanded into a bitmap image. A bitmap image developing unit and a control unit for controlling the printing order of the bitmap image to be printed are provided.

[0009]

With this configuration, the external device stores the data described in the printer language, determines whether to transmit the stored data or expands it into a bitmap image and transmits it, and the printing device receives the data. Determine whether the data is a bitmap image or data written in a printer language,
In the case of data described in the printer language, it operates so as to expand the data into a bitmap image and control the printing order of the bitmap image to be printed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configurations of a host computer and a printing apparatus according to the embodiment. In the figure, 101 is a host computer, and 105 is a printing apparatus. A queue 102 stores data described in a printer language. An emulator 103 develops the data accumulated in the queue 102 into a bitmap image. 104 is a data transmission determination unit,
It is determined whether the data stored in the queue 102 is transmitted to the printing device 105 or the bitmap image developed by the emulator 103 is transmitted to the printing device 105.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a received data determination unit that receives data from the host computer 101 and determines whether the data is a bitmap image or data described in a printer language. Reference numeral 107 is an emulator, which develops data described in a printer language into a bitmap image. A print data control unit 108 controls the order of print data. An engine 109 prints based on the developed bitmap image.

The operation of the host computer 101 and the printer 105 in the embodiment having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the user operates the host computer 101.
When printing is performed using an application or the like above, print data is accumulated in the queue 102 (step S10).
1). Next, the data transmission determination unit 104 determines whether or not to expand the data into a bitmap image on the host computer 101 (step S102). Details of this determination will be described later. Here, when the data is expanded into a bitmap image on the host computer 101 (step S103), the data is transmitted to the emulator 103 and expanded into a bitmap image (step S10).
4), and transmits to the printing device 105 (step S10)
5). In addition, the data is printed in the printer language in the printing device 10.
5 (step S103), the data is directly transmitted to the printing apparatus 105 (step S105).

On the other hand, in the printing apparatus 105, the received data determination unit 106 receives the data and determines whether the received data is a bitmap image or data described in a printer language (step S106). If the data is written in the printer language (step S107), the emulator 107 develops the data into a bitmap image (step S108) and sends it to the print data control unit 108 (step S109). If the received data is a bitmap image (step S10)
7) Then, the data is directly transmitted to the print data control unit 108 (step S109). Then, the print data control unit 108 monitors the order of the print data, and when there is data that is not to be printed next, spools the print data and waits until the correct data arrives, Is received, it is transmitted to the engine 109 first (step S110).

Next, the concrete judgment of the above-mentioned data transmission judging unit 104 will be described below with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

First, data is received from the queue 102 (step S201), and it is determined whether the received data is an odd page (step S202). If the received data is an odd page, the received data is transmitted to the printing device 105 (step S203). However, if the received data is an even number page, the received data is
(Step S204). Then, it is determined whether or not there is data (step S205), and if there is data, the process returns to step S201, and the above-described determination process is repeated, but if not, the process ends.

<Modification> In step S202 shown in FIG. 3, even pages are sent to the emulator 103 and then to the printing device 105, and odd pages are sent directly to the printing device 105. Conversely, odd pages are sent to the emulator 103. Needless to say, the even number of pages may be directly transmitted to the printing apparatus 105 after the transmission.

Further, in the embodiment, the printing data is transmitted to the emulator 103 in the page order, and then the printing device 105.
It is divided into the case of sending to the printer 105 and the case of sending to the printing device 105 directly.
It is also possible to predict the time required to develop a bitmap image in 7 and the time required to develop a bitmap image in the emulator 103, and determine the data transmission destination, transmission order, etc. Needless to say. For example, it takes 15 seconds for the first page and the second page to be expanded into a bitmap image by the emulator 103 and printed by the engine 109, and 30 seconds for the third page to be expanded into a bitmap image by the emulator 107. When printing is expected, the third page is sent to the emulator 107 first, and then the first page and the second page
The object of the present invention can be achieved by implementing the data transmission determination unit 104 having the function of transmitting the page page to the emulator 103.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the host computer also has means for expanding the data described in the printer language into a bitmap image, and the bitmap image expanding means on the printing apparatus is used. When used together, the engine can be fully utilized.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.

Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the transmitting side determines whether to transmit the data described in the printer language or expands the data into a bitmap image and transmits the data, and when the receiving side receives the data described in the printer language, By expanding the data into a bit map image and controlling the printing order of the bit map image to be printed, it is possible to print efficiently.

[0024]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a host computer and a printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a determination process of a data transmission determination unit according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Host Computer 102 Queue 103 Emulator 104 Data Transmission Judgment Unit 105 Printing Device 106 Received Data Judgment Unit 107 Emulator 108 Print Data Control Unit 109 Engine

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A print control method for a printing device, which expands data described in a printer language into a bitmap image and prints the data, wherein the transmission side transmits the data described in the printer language or the data. Is expanded into a bitmap image and transmitted, and when the receiving side receives the data described in the printer language, the data is expanded into a bitmap image,
A print control method, comprising: each step of controlling a print order of a bitmap image to be printed. 2. The print control method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step determines whether the page to be transmitted is an odd number or an even number. 3. The print control method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step determines based on a time for developing the data into a bitmap image. 4. A printing system comprising an external device and a printing device, wherein the external device stores data described in a printer language, and the data stored in the storage device is converted into a bitmap image. A rasterizing means for rasterizing and transmitting the bitmap image rasterized by the rasterizing means, or
A determining unit that determines whether to transmit the data accumulated in the accumulating unit, and a determining unit that determines whether the received data is a bitmap image or data described in a printer language in the printing device; When the judgment result of the judgment means is data described in a printer language, it is provided with a bitmap image expansion means for expanding the data into a bitmap image and a control means for controlling the printing order of the bitmap images to be printed. A printing system characterized by.