JPH0948158A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of color printing by automatically suitably setting printing colors. SOLUTION: The printer comprises a key input unit 11, a cartridge discriminator 12, a data memory 13, a display controller 14, a display unit 15, a print controller 16, a printer 17, and a controller 18. A user inputs characters which are not set with printing colors from the unit 11 when a monochromatic printing medium is set to the printer 17. The input characters are stored in the memory 13. When such input characters are printed in the state that a color printing medium is set to the printer 17, the controller 18 automatically sets the colors of the printing pattern of the characters in response to the character style. The printer 17 color prints the characters according to the colors set by the controller 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device capable of color printing, and more particularly to a printing device capable of performing appropriate color printing with a simple operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A label printing apparatus is known in which data to be printed such as characters, symbols and figures is input and printed on a tape-shaped printing medium to create a label. A conventional label printing apparatus mounts a tape cartridge containing a label tape and an ink tape, and creates a label by transferring the ink of the ink tape to the label tape. Therefore, the color that can be printed on the label tape is limited to the color of the ink tape stored in the tape cartridge. Therefore, characters, character decorations, and the like are all printed in the same color, and the expressiveness may be insufficient. In addition, since the combination of label tape color and ink tape color is fixed for each tape cartridge, prepare a tape cartridge for each combination of label color and print character color.
It was necessary to replace it if necessary, and the operation was complicated.

As a method for solving such a problem, it can be considered to use a tape cartridge for color printing in which the ink tape is an ink tape for multicolor printing. In this case, it is desirable that characters or the like can be appropriately printed regardless of whether the tape cartridge for monochrome printing or the tape cartridge for color printing is mounted.

When a tape cartridge for monochromatic printing is mounted, it is not preferable to specify a printing color when inputting print target data such as characters, since the mounted tape cartridge can perform only monochromatic printing. .
Further, there is a problem when printing the print target data that does not have the color information input while the tape cartridge for monochromatic printing is mounted in the state where the tape cartridge for color printing is mounted.

In such a case, there are two possible processing methods for the label printing apparatus: a method of displaying an error message and stopping printing, and a method of printing all in black.

However, in the method of stopping printing, it is necessary for the user to specify the print color again or to replace the tape cartridge with a conventional tape cartridge, which is troublesome for the user. Further, in the method of printing all in black, it is meaningless to use a tape cartridge for color printing, and only the same printing result as the conventional one can be obtained.

Further, in view of its character, the label printing apparatus is desired to be small and lightweight so as to be easy to carry and not expensive. Therefore, unlike a normal word processor or the like, it is difficult to configure the display unit with a large-screen color display device. Under such circumstances, if the user finely specifies the print color, it is difficult to confirm the setting on the display screen, and the color specifying operation is complicated and difficult to understand. For this reason, it is difficult to create a label with a desired color scheme, and in some cases, the characters and the background are designated in the same color, which may lead to a failure such as creating a label in which the characters cannot be read.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and it is possible to perform color printing with an appropriate color without specifying a print color when inputting print target data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing device that can perform It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing device that can easily perform a variety of color expressive colors.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, in a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, a printing medium for multicolor printing and a printing medium for monochromatic printing are selectively mounted. Mounting means, input means for inputting print target data to be printed on the print medium, and determining means for determining whether the print medium mounted on the mounting means is for multicolor printing or single color printing, When the determination unit determines that the print medium for monochromatic printing is attached to the attachment unit, the print target data input by the input unit is printed on the print medium in a single color, and the other When the determination unit determines that a print medium for multicolor printing is mounted in the mounting unit, at least one of the print target data input by the input unit and the print medium is Foresight And printing means for printing the print color defined, characterized in that it comprises a.

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, when a print medium (tape cartridge or the like) for monochromatic printing is mounted, print target data (characters or the like) or print medium (base) is printed. , Background, etc.) is printed in a predetermined color. Therefore, color printing can be easily performed without specifying all the colors.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is provided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing device, wherein data input means for inputting print target data for which a print color is not designated, storage means for storing print target data input by the data input means, and storage means for storing the print target data It is characterized by further comprising: setting means for setting the print color of the print target data; and printing means for printing the print target data on a print medium in the color set by the setting means.

According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, since the print color is set to the print target data for which the print color is not specified and the color printing is performed, the user specifies the print color one by one. Color printing can be performed without it.

In the printing apparatus according to the first and second aspects, the user specifies the print color of the print medium and the print color of a part of the print target data such as characters, and the other part is printed in accordance with this designation. The color may be determined. Further, the color of the print medium may be determined, and the print color may be set according to the determination result. The data to be printed includes data of characters including symbols, pictograms, external characters, etc., data of decoration patterns such as hatching and underlining, and the like.

In a printing apparatus that performs printing using a cartridge that contains a print medium, it is determined for each cartridge whether it is for monochrome printing or color printing. According to the present invention, print target data for which a print color is not designated can be printed using a cartridge for color printing, and a complicated operation such as replacement of the cartridge is unnecessary.

[0015] To achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention is provided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing device, an input unit for inputting print target data, a color designation unit for designating a color of print target data input by the input unit, and a color of a print medium on which the print target data is printed. When the color of the print target data designated by the color designating unit and the color of the print medium match, a changing unit that changes and sets at least one color, and according to the color setting by the changing unit, A printing unit for printing the print target data and the print medium input by the input unit.

According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, when the print target data and the print medium have the same color and cannot be distinguished, for example, at least one color is changed and printing is performed. The data to be printed can be clarified.

In order to achieve the above object, a fourth aspect of the present invention is provided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing device, wherein character data inputting means for inputting character data, character style setting means for setting a character style of a character input by the character data inputting means, and different printing colors for a plurality of character styles. And a printing means for printing the character data input by the character data input means in a printing color set by the setting means in correspondence with the character style set by the character style setting means. , Are provided.

According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the print color is set in the print pattern for a standard character, a hollow character, a shaded character, etc., according to the character pattern. The characters of each font can be printed in the appropriate color.

In order to achieve the above object, the fifth aspect of the present invention
In the printing apparatus according to the above aspect, a color designation unit that designates an arbitrary color from a plurality of colors, a data input unit that inputs data that controls the arrangement of the designated color, and a color designation unit that is designated by the color designation unit. When the colors are arranged according to the data inputted by the data inputting means, the judging means judges whether or not the same colors are adjacent to each other, and when the judging means judges that the same colors are adjacent to each other, the colors are adjacent to each other. It is characterized by comprising a color changing unit for changing at least a part of the color, and a printing unit for printing the image changed by the color changing unit.

According to the printing apparatus of the fifth aspect, when the same color is arranged adjacently and the boundary becomes unknown, the color of the boundary is changed or the color of one area is changed. By changing it, the area can be clarified.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing device, wherein one of a plurality of color arrangements stored in the color arrangement storing means and a plurality of color arrangements stored in the color arrangement storing means is stored. It is characterized by further comprising: a selection unit for selecting, a data input unit for inputting print target data, and a printing unit for printing the data input by the data input unit in the color arrangement selected by the selection unit.

With such a configuration, the print target data can be printed with an appropriate color scheme by selecting one from a plurality of predetermined color schemes.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus, wherein data input means for inputting print target data, decoration setting means for setting decoration data for decorating the print target data, and print target data are set. A printing unit that prints in a color corresponding to the decoration.

With such a configuration, printing is performed in a color according to the decoration of the print target data. Therefore, it is possible to print in an appropriate color without specifying the print color individually.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus, which has input means for inputting print target data and decoration data for designating color print decoration or monochrome print decoration of the print target data, and color input means. The associating means for associating the decoration for printing with the decoration for monochrome printing, the mounting means for selectively mounting the printing medium for multicolor printing and the printing medium for monochromatic printing, and the mounting means mounted on the mounting means. Determining means for determining whether the print medium is for multi-color printing or for single-color printing, and when the determining means determines that the print medium is for single-color printing, for the color printing of the print target data Each portion instructed by the decoration data is printed according to the corresponding decoration data for monochrome printing according to the content of the associating means, and the determining means determines that the print medium is for multicolor printing. It can be characterized by and a printing means for printing in accordance decoration data for color printing corresponding decorative portion indicated by the decoration data for the monochrome printing.

With such a configuration, the decoration for monochrome printing and the decoration for color printing are associated with each other, and when it is determined that the print medium is for monochromatic printing, the decoration for color printing is decorated for monochrome printing. When the print medium is determined to be for multicolor printing, the decoration for monochrome printing is converted to the decoration for color printing and is printed. Therefore, compatibility between print target data for color printing and print target data for monochrome printing can be ensured.

A printing apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention comprises an input means for inputting print target data and decoration data for designating color print decoration or monochrome print decoration of the print target data; The associating means for associating the decoration for printing with the decoration for monochrome printing, the mounting means for selectively mounting the printing medium for multicolor printing and the printing medium for monochromatic printing, and the mounting means mounted on the mounting means. Discriminating means for discriminating whether the print medium is for multicolor printing or monochromatic printing, a color arrangement storage means for storing a plurality of sets of color arrangements preset for each decoration for color printing, and the color arrangement storage means. Selection means for selecting one from a plurality of sets of color schemes stored in, and when the determination means determines that the print medium is for monochromatic printing, the decoration data for color printing of the print target data finger The respective portions to be printed are printed according to the corresponding decoration data for monochrome printing according to the content of the associating means, and when the determining means determines that the print medium is for multicolor printing, the decoration for monochrome printing is performed. It is characterized in that it is provided with a printing means for printing the decoration data designated by the data in accordance with the corresponding decoration data for color printing and the color arrangement selected by the selecting means.

According to this structure, the decoration for monochrome printing and the decoration for color printing are associated with each other, and when it is determined that the print medium is for monochrome printing, the decoration for color printing is decorated for monochrome printing. To convert and print. When it is determined that the print medium is for multicolor printing, the decoration for monochrome printing is converted into the decoration for color printing, and printing is performed according to the color arrangement selected by the color arrangement selecting unit. Therefore, compatibility between the print target data for color printing and the print target data for monochrome printing can be ensured, and moreover, printing can be performed with an appropriate color arrangement.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings by taking a label printer for printing arbitrary characters, symbols, etc. on a label-shaped print medium as an example. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a label printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The label printing apparatus of this embodiment includes a key input unit 11, a cartridge determination unit 12, a data storage unit 13, a display control unit 14, a display unit 15, a print control unit 16, a printing unit 17, and a control unit 18. .

The key input unit 11 is for inputting information such as characters and symbols to be printed, and the character keys 11a,
A character designating key 11b, a printing key 11c, a printing color designating key 11d, etc. are provided. The character key 11a is a hiragana key,
Including letters, numeric keys, etc., letters, symbols,
It is a key for inputting print target data such as numbers.
The character designating key 11b is a key for designating a format for printing an input character, that is, a character. In this embodiment, the characters are standard characters as shown in FIG. 2 (A), hollow characters with the center of the character as shown in FIG. 2 (B), and FIG. 2 (C). As shown, it is possible to specify a shaded character or the like in which a character is shaded. The print key 11c is a key for instructing to start printing. Also,
The print color designation key 11d is a key for designating a color at the time of printing.

The cartridge discriminating section 12 discriminates the kind of the tape cartridge mounted in the label printing apparatus and supplies a signal indicating the discrimination result to the control section 18. As shown in FIG. 3A, the tape cartridge accommodates a label tape 32 and an ink tape 33, which are print media,
The ink of the ink tape 33 is transferred to the label tape 32 for printing. An adhesive is applied to the back surface of the label tape 32, and the adhesive is protected by release paper.
In this embodiment, as the tape cartridge 31, a monochrome printing tape cartridge accommodating an ink tape 33 for monochromatic printing and an ink tape 33 for color printing are used.
There is a tape cartridge for color printing that contains the. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish between monochrome and color, the tape cartridge 31 is used, and when it is necessary to distinguish, the reference numeral 31M or 31C is attached.

Tape cartridge 31 for monochrome printing
The label tape 32 stored in M is white or red,
The label tape 32 stored in the color printing tape cartridge 31C is white. The ink tape 33 for color printing is, as shown in FIG. 3B, Y (yellow),
M (magenta) and C (cyan) ink regions are sequentially arranged, and multi-color printing is possible by combining these three color inks.

The data storage unit 13 stores the data input by the key input unit 11 and the data set by the control unit 18. The display unit 15 includes a liquid crystal display device or the like, and displays print target data and the like. The display control unit 14
The display unit 15 is controlled under the control of the control unit 18 to display the data.

The printing section 17 includes a cartridge mounting section 41 (see FIG. 4 which will be described later) for mounting the above-mentioned tape cartridge 31.
), A thermal head for melting and transferring the ink on the ink tape 33 to the label tape 32, a tape transport mechanism for transporting the ink tape 33 and the label tape 32, and the like, and according to the control of the print controller 16. , Print the print target data. The print control unit 16 includes a printing unit 17
To print the print target data supplied from the control unit 18, and includes a print pattern memory 16a for developing a print pattern (dot pattern). The control unit 18 is composed of a microprocessor or the like and controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus, for example, a character input operation, a character style designating operation, a printing operation, a display operation, and the like.

Next, a method of discriminating the type of the tape cartridge 31 by the cartridge discriminating section 12 will be concretely described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 4A and 4B, with the tape cartridge 31 mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 41 arranged in the label printing apparatus and the lid 42 closed.
As shown in, the tape cartridge 31 is biased by the spring 43, and the switch SW1 is pushed to be turned on. In the case of a tape cartridge for monochrome printing, the switch SW2 is also pressed and turned on as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the tape cartridge for color printing has
As shown in (B), the recess 34 that avoids the switch SW2
Are formed, and the switch SW2 maintains the off state. Therefore, by decoding the on / off states of the switches SW1 and SW2, as shown in FIG. 5, whether the tape cartridge 31 is mounted or not, and whether the mounted tape cartridge 31 is for monochrome printing or for color printing is selected. It is possible to determine whether there is.

Next, the printing colors of the color printing of the label printing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the printing colors for color printing are white, orange, red, and
There are eight colors of purple, black, blue, green, and yellow, that is, the three primary colors and their intermediate colors, and white and black. FIG. 6 is a diagram in which these colors are arranged such that adjacent colors other than white and black have similar colors. In FIG. 6, opposite colors have a relationship of opposite colors. These colors are numbered from 0 to 7 as shown in FIG. 7, the colors with the numbers of ± 1 are similar colors, and the colors with the numbers of ± 4 are opposite colors. Becomes
Needless to say, the number of colors is not limited to 8 and 9 or more colors can be used. Also, the color number can be changed.

Next, the operation of the label printing apparatus having the above structure will be described. In the label printing apparatus having the above configuration, the tape cartridge 31 can be replaced, and when the printing color is not set for the print target data such as characters, the tape cartridge is replaced for monochrome and printing is performed or printing is performed. It is also possible to print the target data in one color. However, as described in the section of the prior art, such a method is inefficient and makes it difficult to create an impressive label with various colors.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the print target data for which the print color is not designated is color printed, an appropriate color is set and printed according to a predetermined standard, and it is possible to efficiently perform multicolor printing. Create an impressive label.

Next, a method of inputting characters to be printed and the like will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the user operates the character keys 11a of the key input unit 11 to input characters (including symbols, pictograms, external characters, etc.) to be printed as print target data (step S1). The input print target data is transferred to the data storage unit 1 via the control unit 18.
Sequentially stored in 3.

Next, the user operates the character style designating key 11b of the key input unit 11 to designate the character style of the input character (step S2). Character data indicating the designated character is stored in the data storage unit 13 via the control unit 18.

Subsequently, the control unit 18 determines whether the mounted tape cartridge 31 is for monochrome printing or color printing according to a signal from the cartridge determination unit 12 (step S3). When the color printing tape cartridge 31C is installed, the control unit 1
8 displays a print color setting screen for designating the print color of each part of the print pattern. According to this screen display, the user operates the printing color designation key 11d to designate the printing color of each character.

For example, the user can determine the background color (the color of the label tape 32 (denoted as "label color" in the figure)), and
When the standard character is set as the font of the print target data, the color of the character portion is specified, and when the hollow character is specified, the color of the contour portion of the character (indicated as "contour color" in the figure). ), The color of the hollow part (represented as "outlined color" in the figure), and in the case of shaded characters, the color of the character part and the color of the shadow part (represented as "shaded color" in the figure) etc. Designate (step S4). The control unit 18 stores the print color data indicating the designated print color in the data storage unit 13.

On the other hand, the mounted tape cartridge 31
If is for monochrome printing, processing such as designation of printing color is not performed.

Next, it is judged whether or not the input process is completed (step S5). If it is judged that the input process is not completed, the process returns to step S1 to continue the input process.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The printing operation will be described. When the character input is completed and the input character is printed, the user presses the print key 11c of the key input unit 11.

In response to this key operation, the control unit 18 starts the printing process shown in FIG. First, the control unit 18 determines from the signal from the cartridge determination unit 12 whether or not the tape cartridge 31 is mounted (step S11). When the tape cartridge is not mounted, a message indicating that the tape cartridge 31 should be mounted is displayed on the display unit 15 via the display control unit 14 (step S12), and the printing process is ended.

When the tape cartridge 31 is installed, the control unit 18 controls the character data to be the data storage unit 13.
It is determined whether or not it is stored in (step S13).

When the character data is not stored in the data storage unit 13, the control unit 18 performs a print invalidation process (step S14) and ends the printing operation.

When the character data is stored in the data storage unit 13, the control unit 18 causes the cartridge discrimination unit 12 to operate.
According to the signal from, it is determined whether the mounted tape cartridge 31 is for monochrome printing or for color printing (step S15).

When the mounted tape cartridge 31 is for monochrome printing, the control unit 18 controls the printing unit 17 via the printing control unit 16 regardless of whether the printing color is set or not, and the character data Is printed in a single color (the color of the ink tape 33 in the mounted tape cartridge 31) (step S16).

When the mounted tape cartridge 31 is for color printing, the control unit 18 determines from the print color data stored in the data storage unit 13 whether or not the print color of character data is designated (step). S17). When the print color is designated, the character data is printed according to the designated color (step S18).

When the print color is not designated, the control unit 1
In order to set the printing color, the character number n is set to 1, and the nth character form data is read from the data storage unit 13 (step S19), and the character form corresponding to the read character form data is displayed. It is determined whether the character is a standard character (step S20).

When the character data indicates a standard character, the control unit 18 determines the printing color of the character as follows.

First, the color of the base portion of the label tape 32 is set to the color C (0 to 7) and the color of the character portion is set to the color (C + 4) (step S21). As described above, the color of the base portion of the label tape 32 for color printing is white (0
No.), the color of the character portion is set to black (No. 4) as shown in FIG. When the color number is 8 or more, the color with the number obtained by subtracting 8 is set. The control unit 18 stores print color data indicating the set print color in the data storage unit 13.

When the character data indicates a character other than the standard character, the control unit 18 determines whether the character is a hollow character (step S24).

When the character is a hollow character, the control unit 18 sets the print color as follows. The hollow character is divided into a hollow portion and a contour portion due to its structure. Control unit 1
8 is the color of the base portion of the label tape 32 is C (0 to 7)
If the color is the th color, the color of the hollow portion is set to the (C + 2) th color, and the color of the contour portion is set to the (C + 4) th color (step S25). In this embodiment, since the color of the base portion of the color printing label tape 32 is white (No. 0), the color of the hollow portion is red (No. 2), as shown in FIG. The color of the contour portion is set to black (No. 4).
The control unit 18 stores print color data indicating the set print color in the data storage unit 13.

When it is determined in step S24 that the character body is not a hollow character, the control unit 18 determines whether the character body is a shaded character (step S26).

When the font is a shaded character, the control unit 18
Sets the print color as follows. The shaded character is divided into a character portion and a shadow portion due to its structure. If the base color of the label tape 32 is C (0 to 7), the character color is set to (C + 2) and the shaded color is set to (C + 4). (Step S2
7). In this embodiment, the color of the base portion of the color printing label tape 32 is white (No. 0).
As shown in (C), the color of the character portion is set to red (No. 2) and the color of the shadow portion is set to black (No. 4). The control unit 18 stores print color data indicating the set print color in the data storage unit 13.

If it is determined in step S26 that the character body is not a shaded character, the control unit 18 performs other processing (step S28).

Steps S21, S25, S27, S28
When the process of (1) is completed, the control unit 18 determines whether or not the character number n matches the last character number N, that is, whether or not the print color setting is completed for all the character data (step S22). ). If the processing is not completed, the character number is updated and the character style data is read (step S2).
3) and returns to the determination process of step S20.

When it is determined in step S22 that the setting of the print color has been completed for all the character data, the control unit 18 reads the character data to be printed, the character style data, etc. from the data storage unit 13 and reads them. The data is supplied to the print control unit 16. The print control unit 16 develops a Y (yellow) print dot pattern in the print pattern memory 16a according to the supplied data, and prints the Y pattern on the label tape 32 using the Y ink of the ink tape 33. Subsequently, the print control unit 16 develops the print dot pattern for M (magenta) in the print pattern memory 16a, rewinds the label tape 32, and uses the M ink of the ink tape 33 to print the Y pattern on the label tape 32. And print the pattern of M. Print control unit 1
In the case of 6, C (cyan) is similarly overprinted. With the above, the printing operation (step S29) ends.

As described above, according to the label printing apparatus of the first embodiment, the user inputs characters or the like without specifying the printing color, and the tape cartridge 31C for color printing is mounted. When the printing is instructed in, the printing device determines the printing color and performs the color printing. Therefore, it is possible to create a color label without specifying the printing color one by one. Further, it is possible to perform printing efficiently without having to replace the tape cartridge. Further, if the user designates a printing color, printing can be performed in the designated color, and a label that suits the taste of the user can be created.

In the above description, the color of the label tape 32 housed in the color printing tape cartridge 31C is fixed to white, but color printing in which a plurality of colors, for example, white, yellow and red label tapes 32 are housed. The tape cartridge 31C for use may be prepared so that it can be arbitrarily selected.

For example, when the yellow label tape 32 is used and hollow characters are set as the font, the outline color is purple ((7 + 4-8) th color), and the hollow color is It becomes orange ((7 + 2-8) th color). In this case, the label tape 3 loaded in the tape cartridge 31
Although it is necessary to determine the color of the background portion of No. 2, this can be realized by a mechanism similar to the cartridge determination mechanism shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Further, in the above description, an example in which the print color of each part of the print pattern is automatically set is shown, but the print color of the decorative pattern of characters other than characters, for example, hatching, underline, and frame, is set as the base of the label tape. You may make it set based on the color of a part, or the color of a character part. For example, when the label color or the character color is C, the print color of the decorative portion is set to the (C + 6) th color.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which input processing is performed in the order of inputting characters, designating a character style, and designating a print color. For example, the color of each part of the print pattern is preset for each character style. Alternatively, the input process may be performed only by inputting characters. When printing characters with no specified print color using a tape cartridge for color printing, either replace the tape cartridge with a tape cartridge for single color printing, print all black, or set the print color automatically. Alternatively, a screen for inquiring about may be displayed on the display unit 15, and the process may be selected and executed according to the selection by the user.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the color of the character portion is automatically set according to the color of the base portion of the label tape. The color or the color of the character portion may be designated, and the printing apparatus may set the color of the other printing portion in accordance with the color and perform the color printing. Second to perform such operation
The label printing apparatus according to the embodiment will be described below.

The basic structure of the circuit configuration, input processing, and printing processing of the label printing apparatus of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the characteristic part will be mainly described. When it is determined in step S17 of FIG. 9 of the first embodiment that the print target data does not specify the print color, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The display unit 8 displays a screen for inquiring whether to specify the color of the base portion or the character portion of the label tape on the display unit 15 via the display control unit 14 (step S3).
1). According to this display, when the user specifies any one from the key input unit 11, the control unit 18 determines the specified content (step S32).

When designating the color of the base portion of the label tape 32, the user inputs the print color designation key 1 from the key input section 11.
Input an arbitrary color (number C) by 1d (step S
33). The control unit 18 stores the print color data indicating the designated print color in the data storage unit 13 and resets the print color setting flag F (F = 0).

Also when designating the color of the character portion, the user inputs the desired color (number C) from the key input unit 11 using the print color designating key 11d (step S34). The control unit 18 stores the print color data indicating the designated print color in the data storage unit 13 and sets the flag F.

When the processes of steps S33 and S34 are completed, the control unit 18 reads the first character from the data storage unit 13 (step S35), and determines whether the character style designated for the character is a standard character. It is determined (step S36).

When the character style is a standard character, the control unit 18 uses F
It is determined whether or not = 0 (step S37). If F = 0, the control unit 18 reads the color number C of the base portion of the label tape 32 stored in the data storage unit 13 and sets the color of the character portion to the color (C + 4) (step S3).
8). On the other hand, if F = 1, the control unit 18 reads the color number C of the standard character stored in the data storage unit 13 and sets the color of the base portion of the label tape 32 to the (C + 4) th color (step). S39). When the processes of steps S38 and S39 are completed, the control unit 18 determines whether or not the processes are completed for all the characters (step S40). If the process is not completed, the character number n is updated (step S41), and the process returns to the determination process of step S36.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S36 that the character style is other than the standard character, the control unit 18 determines whether the character style is a hollow character (step S42).

When the character style is a hollow character, the control unit 18 determines whether or not F = 0 (step S44). When F = 0, the control unit 18 reads out the color number C of the base portion of the label tape 32 stored in the data storage unit 13, and sets the hollow portion of the character to the color (C + 2) and the outline portion of the character. (C
The color is set to +4) (step S45). On the other hand, F
When = 1, the control unit 18 reads the color number C of the character stored in the data storage unit 13, and determines the color of the hollow portion by (C +
For color 2), add the color of the base of the label tape to (C +
The color of No. 4) is set (step S46).

When the processes of steps S45 and S46 are completed, the process proceeds to the determination process of step S40.

Although omitted in FIG. 11, the above-mentioned processing is also performed when it is determined that the character body is a shaded character (step S4).
Similar to 2), the color is set according to the value of the flag F (step S43).

As described above, in the second embodiment, the color of the base portion or the character portion of the label tape 32 can be designated at the time of printing, so that the first embodiment can be selected according to the preference of the user. You can create labels in a wider variety of colors.
12A to 12C, the standard character, the hollow character, and the shaded character are designated respectively, and the color designation of the base portion of the label tape 32 is selected in step S32 of FIG.
An example of a label created when its color is set to red (color 2) in 33 is shown.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, FIG.
As shown in 0 (B) and (C), a combination of substantially the same color was used for the hollow character and the shaded character,
Different color combinations may be used. For example, the designation of the print color in step S25 of FIG. 9 of the first embodiment is left unchanged, and in the process of step S27, the character portion is colored (C + 3) and the shadow portion is colored (C + 5). You may set it to color. In this case, for example, when the color of the label is white, the outline of the hollow character is black and the hollow portion is red, while the character portion of the shaded character is purple and the shadow portion is blue. In this way, different fonts can be expressed in various colors by setting different colors for each part of the print pattern for each font.

The present invention can also be applied to the case where the user specifies an incorrect combination of printing colors. For example, when a standard character is specified as the character style,
If the color of the character portion and the color of the label (background color) are both designated as red in step S4, the character cannot be recognized. Therefore, in such a case, the character may be recognized by printing the character with a black outline.

Similarly, when outline characters are specified as the font, the color of the outline and the color of the label (background color)
If both are specified in red, the contour cannot be recognized. The same applies when the color of the character part of the shaded character or the color of the shadow part and the color of the label are designated as the same color.
Therefore, in such a case, at least one of the color of the character part or the color of the outline part of the character and the color of the label is made different from the color specified by the user to clearly print the character etc. May be.

To perform such processing, for example,
As shown in FIG. 13, the print target data is read at the time of printing (step T1), and the font is checked (step T1).
2) If it is a standard character, it is determined whether or not the character color and the label color are the same (step T3). If they are the same, the control unit 18 changes the character body to a hollow character, sets the contour portion as a color having a value obtained by adding 4 to the designated color number, and sets the blank portion as the designated color ( Step T
4). If the character is a hollow character, it is determined whether or not the color of the outline portion and the color of the base portion of the label tape are the same (step T5). If they are the same, the control unit 18
Changes the printing color by adding, for example, 4 to the color of the outline of the character or the color of the label tape (step T6).
If the character is a shaded character, it is determined whether at least two of the color of the character portion, the color of the shadow portion, and the color of the label tape are the same (step T7). If they are the same,
The control unit 18 changes the print color so that these colors are different from each other (step T8).

After changing the font and / or printing color in this way, printing is performed in accordance with the designated printing color, whereby a label tape having an appropriate color arrangement can be prepared. The same process can be applied to the case where the user specifies the same color for the outline of the hollow character and the hollow portion. Also, when drawing an arbitrary graph, figure, etc., if areas of the same color are adjacent and the areas cannot be identified, draw a border line at the boundary part or change the color of one area. It can also be applied to clarify areas.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a printing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the print color is automatically set for each character type to be printed has been described, but it is also possible to automatically set the print color of the entire label and its color arrangement. . A label printing apparatus according to the third embodiment that performs such an operation will be described below.

The circuit configuration of the label printing apparatus of this embodiment, and the basic parts of input processing and printing processing are the same as those in the first and second embodiments. However, the data storage unit 13 stores text data and decoration data to be printed, and a color arrangement table described later. The key input unit 11 also includes a decoration designation key for setting an overall background color, a partial background color, a character color 2, and a framed color, which will be described later, a cursor key for selecting a set of printing colors, and the like.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a color arrangement table stored in the data storage unit 13, which stores in advance a well-balanced combination of print colors for each label decoration.

In FIG. 14, the entire background color is as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the color of the base of the label tape 32 is meant. The partial background color is a decoration that emphasizes or distinguishes the background portion (base portion) of a character string designated in advance on the character input screen by making it a color different from the entire background color.

"With frame" is a decoration that attaches a colored outer frame to a character string designated on the character input screen to emphasize or distinguish it. The character color 1 is the color of characters for which no decoration or the like is specified. The character color 2 is a decoration that makes the character string specified on the character input screen different from the character color 1 and emphasizes or distinguishes it.

The entire background color excluding the character color 1, the partial background color, the character color 2, and the framed color are
When inputting the characters to be printed, specify and set the character range. These settings are stored in the data storage unit 13 together with the character data.

When the print key 11c of the key input unit 11 is operated after the print target data (text data) and each decorative color are specified, the control unit 18 prints according to the specification, so that the control unit 18 shows the flowchart of FIG. Start the printing process. First, the control unit 18 determines whether or not the tape cartridge 31 is loaded, whether the loaded tape cartridge is for color printing or monochrome printing, according to the determination of the cartridge determination unit 12 ( Step U1). When it is determined that the tape cartridge 31 has not been mounted, a message indicating that the tape cartridge should be mounted is displayed (step U2), and the process ends. If it is determined that the tape cartridge 31M for monochrome printing is installed, the flow carries out a normal monochrome printing process.

Tape cartridge 31C for color printing
If it is determined that the text data (print target data) is present, it is determined from the contents of the data storage unit 13 (step U3). When it is determined that the text data to be printed does not exist, a message indicating that the text data to be printed does not exist is displayed (step U4), and the process ends.

When it is determined that the text data exists, the control unit 18 causes the display control unit 14 to select one from the color combinations set in the color arrangement table shown in FIG. 17 to display a screen for selecting the color combination shown in FIG. The contents of yellow 1, yellow 2, ..., Blue 2, etc., which are the names of color combinations, will be described in an instruction manual or the like.

Here, the user operates the cursor keys of the key input section 11 to select an arbitrary combination, and finally,
Operate the Enter key to select any combination. The selected color is discriminated in step U5. Here, assuming that "yellow 1" is selected, the flow advances to step U6 to set "light yellow" as the overall background color according to the contents of the color arrangement table of FIG.

Next, it is judged whether or not the partial background color is designated (step U7). If it is determined that the partial background color is specified, the partial background is processed (step U
8) The partial background color is set to light blue according to the contents of the color arrangement table (step U9). If it is determined in step U7 that the partial background color is not specified, step U8,
Pass U9.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a frame designation (step U10). If it is determined that the frame is designated, the frame is processed (step U11), and then,
The frame color is set to green (step U12). If it is determined in step U10 that there is no designation with a frame, steps U11 and U12 are passed.

Next, the character color 1 is set to green according to the color arrangement table (step U13).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the character color 2 is designated (step U14). If it is determined that the character color 2 is designated, the character color 2 is set to light red according to the color arrangement table (step U15). Step U14
If it is determined that the frame is not specified, step U15 is passed. Finally, the color printing is executed by printing the text data in each color set by the above procedure (step U16).

As shown in FIG. 15, the text data and its decoration are set, and in step U5, the color combinations of yellow 1 to
18A to 18C and 19A to 19C show examples of printing when blue 2 is selected.

By performing such processing, it is possible to create a color label in which colors are arranged in good balance without setting complicated colors. Moreover, since an arbitrary color is selected and printed from a predetermined appropriate color scheme, the character and the background are designated as the same color or similar colors, and the character on the printed label becomes unreadable. It is possible to prevent such failures.

In order to specify the decoration such as the partial background color, the framed, and the character color 2, the information indicating the target range of the decoration and the color information indicating the color of the decorative portion to be printed are necessary. . It is also possible to set the information for designating the color as information (attribute flag) dependent on the character. However, in this case, the number of characters that can be written in the data storage unit 13 is reduced, and further, the time required for processing is increased.

In this printing apparatus, since the color arrangement (color combination) is designated at the time of printing, it is possible to set an appropriate printing color without having information depending on each character or each sentence.

Further, the information indicating the decoration target range can also be set as information (attribute flag) dependent on the character. However, also in this case, the number of characters that can be written in the data storage unit 13 decreases and the processing time also increases. In addition, the text that has been input, edited, and specified for monochrome printing and the text that has been input, edited, and specified for color printing have different information, and compatibility is lost. .

In order to solve these problems, the decoration for monochrome printing and the decoration for color printing may correspond to each other as shown in Table 1, and the information designating the range may be shared (shared). .

[0102]

[Table 1]

The operation of the printing apparatus with such settings will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 16 and 21 again. When the print key 11c of the key input unit 11 is operated,
The control unit 18 starts the printing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the controller 18 controls the tape cartridge 3
It is determined whether or not No. 1 is mounted, and whether the mounted tape cartridge is for color printing or monochrome printing (step U1).

Tape cartridge 31C for color printing
If it is determined that the text data is attached, it is determined whether or not text data exists (step U3). When it is determined that the text data to be printed does not exist, a message indicating that the text data to be printed does not exist is displayed (step U4), and the process ends.

When it is determined that the text data exists, the screen for selecting the color combination shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. The overall background color is selected according to the user's selection of the color scheme.

Then, it is judged whether or not the partial background color is designated (step U7). At this time, when the decoration data is for monochrome printing, the control unit 18 causes the data storage unit 13 to
It is determined from the contents of Table 1 stored in No. 1 whether there is a hatching designation. If there is a partial background color designation or a shaded designation, the partial background is processed (step U
8) The partial background color is set according to the contents of the color arrangement table (step U9). If it is determined in step U7 that neither the partial background color is specified nor the shaded area is specified, steps U8 and U9 are passed.

Next, it is judged whether or not there is a frame designation (step U10). If it is determined that the frame is designated, the frame is processed (step U11), and then,
The color of the frame is set (step U12). If it is determined that there is no designation with a frame, steps U11 and U12 are passed.

Next, the character color 1 or the standard character is set to green according to the color arrangement table (step U13).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the character color 2 or the bold character is designated (step U14). When the decoration data is for monochrome printing, the control unit 18 controls the data storage unit 1
It is determined from the contents of Table 1 stored in No. 3 whether or not the bold type is designated. When it is determined that the character color 2 or the bold character is designated, the character color 2 is set according to the color arrangement table (step U15). If it is determined in step U14 that neither the character color 2 nor the bold character is specified, step U15 is passed. Finally, the color printing is executed by printing the text data in each color set by the above procedure (step U16).

With such a configuration, the text data and the decoration data are appropriately printed in color regardless of whether they are data input for color printing or data input for monochrome printing. be able to.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step U1 that the mounted tape cartridge is for monochrome printing, then the flow advances to step U31 in FIG. In step U31, it is determined whether or not the text data to be printed exists. If it is determined that the text data to be printed does not exist, a message indicating that the text data to be printed does not exist is displayed (step U32), and the process ends.

Next, it is judged whether or not there is a hatching designation or a partial background color designation (step U33). When the decoration data is for color printing, the control unit 18 determines from the contents of Table 1 stored in the data storage unit 13 whether or not the partial background color is designated. If it is determined that the shaded portion or the partial background color is designated, the shaded portion is processed (step U34). If it is determined in step U33 that neither shaded area nor partial background color is specified, step U34 is passed.

It is determined whether or not the frame is designated (step U35). If it is determined that the frame is designated, the frame is processed (step U36). Step U
If it is determined in 35 that there is no designation with a frame, step U36 is passed.

Next, it is judged whether or not the bold type is designated (step U37). When the decoration data is for color printing, from the contents of Table 1 stored in the data storage unit 13,
It is determined whether or not the character color 2 is designated. When it is determined that the bold character or the character color 2 is designated, the bold character processing is performed (step U38). If it is determined in step U37 that neither bold font nor character color 2 has been designated,
Pass step U38. Finally, monochrome printing processing is executed using the monochrome ink tape 33 (step U39).

With such a configuration, printing is appropriately performed in a single color regardless of whether the text data and the decoration data are data input for color printing or data input for monochrome printing. be able to.

Therefore, FIG. 20 shows an example of a label when the text data for color printing shown in FIG. 15 is printed by using a monochrome tape cartridge. When the text data for monochrome printing shown in FIG. 20 is printed using a tape cartridge for color printing, FIGS. 18A to 19C are displayed according to the color arrangement selected on the color selection screen.
The label of the color scheme shown in is obtained.

Regarding the character decorations not mentioned here, the compatibility between the color printing and the monochrome printing can be maintained by similarly making correspondence between the color printing and the monochrome printing.

In the above example, the color combination is selected by the color name based on the entire background color as shown in FIG. 17, but for example, it is shown in FIG. 22 (A) or (B). As described above, a color image may be given a name and selected.

A label printer has been proposed in which a standard format is prepared in advance, an arbitrary standard format is selected, and input characters are inserted into this standard format for printing. In such a case, the color scheme may be preset for each standard frame.

In the above description, the color designation is selected from the prepared combinations by the name displayed by the characters on the display. However, until you actually print it, you do not know whether the actual color tone or color scheme is as you expected. So, so that you can check the name of the color scheme and the actual hue,
The names of all the color arrangement tables may be printed as shown in FIG. 23 according to a predetermined key operation in each actual color arrangement. In the example of FIG. 23, the background is printed in the entire background color, and the frame and the name are printed in the character color 1.

In the first to third embodiments, the example in which the present invention is applied to the label printing apparatus for producing a label has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and ink tapes for multicolor printing and single color printing,
The present invention can be widely applied to a printing device, a document creation device, and the like that can be used by appropriately replacing the ink cartridge and the like.

[0122]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the print color is not designated when inputting the print target data, the print target data and / or the print medium are color printed with an appropriate color. be able to. In addition, it is possible to easily perform a variety of color printing with rich expressiveness.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing a font used in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a diagram showing standard characters, FIG. 2B is a diagram showing hollow characters, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the character body which is hollow and has a shadow.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an internal structure of a tape cartridge mounted in the printing apparatus. (B) is a diagram showing a configuration of an ink tape for color printing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a tape cartridge is mounted in a cartridge mounting portion, and FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which a tape cartridge for monochrome printing is mounted;
(B) is a diagram showing a state in which a tape cartridge for color printing is mounted.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing a method of discriminating the type of a tape cartridge, where FIG. 5A shows a tape cartridge for monochrome printing, FIG. 5B shows a tape cartridge for color printing, and FIG. The case where it is not installed is shown.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating colors (printing colors) used for printing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of numbers given to respective print colors.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a character input operation according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a printing operation according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a label tape created by the label printing apparatus according to the first embodiment, where (A) is a standard character, (B) is a hollow character, and (C) is a shaded character. It is an example in which each is printed in color.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a printing operation according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a label tape created by the label printing apparatus according to the second embodiment, in which (A) shows standard characters, (B) shows hollow characters, and (C) shows shaded characters. These are examples of color printing.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of an application example of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a color arrangement table stored in a data storage unit of the printing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between text data and decoration.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining a color printing operation of the printing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a color scheme.

18 (A) to (C) are yellow 1, yellow 2, and
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a printing example when red 1 is selected.

19 (A) to (C) are red 2, blue 1, and
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a print example when Blue 2 is selected.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a monochrome-printed label tape.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining monochrome printing.

22A and 22B are diagrams showing a modification of the color arrangement table.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example in which a list of color arrangement tables is printed.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Key input section, 11a ... Character key, 11b ... Character style designation key, 11c ... Print key, 11d ... Print color designation key, 12 ... Cartridge discrimination section, 13 ... ..Data storage unit, 14 ... Display control unit, 15 ... Display unit, 16 ... Print control unit, 16a ... Print pattern memory, 17 ... Printing unit, 18 ... Control unit , 31 ... Tape cartridge, 31
M: Monochrome printing tape cartridge, 31C: Color printing tape cartridge, 32 ... Label tape, 33 ... Ink tape, 34 ... Recessed portion, 41 ... Cartridge mounting portion, 42 ... Lid, 43 ... Spring

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A mounting unit for selectively mounting a print medium for multicolor printing and a print medium for single color printing, an input unit for inputting print target data to be printed on the print medium, and the mounting unit. A determination unit that determines whether the mounted print medium is for multi-color printing or single-color printing, and the determination unit determines that the print medium for single-color printing is mounted in the mounting unit. In this case, the print target data input by the input unit may be printed on the print medium in a single color, while the determination unit may attach a print medium for multicolor printing to the attachment unit. If determined, at least one of the print target data and the print medium input by the input unit,
A printing device comprising: a printing unit that prints in a predetermined printing color. 2. The input means comprises a designation input means for designating and inputting a print color of print target data, and the printing means mounts a printing medium for multicolor printing on the mounting means by the discrimination means. If it is determined that the printing target data is printed, the printing apparatus includes a unit that prints the print target data according to the designation of the printing color by the designation input unit instead of the predetermined printing color. The printing device according to. 3. A data input unit for inputting print target data without specifying a print color, a storage unit for storing the print target data input by the data input unit, and print target data stored in the storage unit. 2. A printing apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to set a print color of the printing unit; and a printing unit configured to print the print target data on a print medium in a color set by the setting unit. 4. The setting means corresponds to a first color designating means for designating one of a color of the print medium and a print color of the print target data, and a color designated by the first color designating means. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a second color designating unit that designates the other color. 5. The print target data includes character data and character designating data indicating a character, and the setting unit sets a print color of the character data according to the character designating data. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus. 6. The print target data includes character data and decoration data that decorates the character data, and the setting unit sets a print color of the decoration data according to a print color of the character data. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus. 7. The setting means comprises a color discrimination means for discriminating the color of the print medium, and means for setting the printing color of the print target data in accordance with the discrimination by the color discrimination means. 7. The printing device according to any one of 3 to 6. 8. The printing means comprises means for removably mounting a cartridge containing ink and a print medium, and means for printing print target data on the print medium with the ink. The printing device according to any one of items 1 to 7. 9. Input means for inputting print target data; color designating means for designating a color of print target data input by the input means and a color of a print medium on which the print target data is printed. When the color of the print target data designated by the color designating means and the color of the print medium match, a changing means for changing and setting at least one color, and the input means according to the color setting by the changing means. A printing unit that prints the print target data and the print medium input by the printing apparatus. 10. A character data input means for inputting character data, a character style setting means for setting a character style of a character input by the character data input means, and a different print color for each of the plurality of character styles. Setting means, and a printing means for printing the character data input by the character data input means in the print color set by the setting means in correspondence with the character style set by the character style setting means. A printing apparatus comprising: 11. A color designation means for designating an arbitrary color from a plurality of colors, a data input means for inputting data for controlling the arrangement of the designated color, and a color designated by the color designating means. When arranged according to the data input by the data inputting means, a judging means for judging whether or not the same color is adjacent, and when the same color is judged to be adjacent by the judging means, at least the adjacent color A printing apparatus comprising: a color changing unit that partially changes the color; and a printing unit that prints an image that has been changed by the color changing unit. 12. A color arrangement storage unit for storing a plurality of preset color arrangements, and one of a plurality of sets of color arrangements stored in the color arrangement storage unit.
A selection means for selecting one of the data, a data input means for inputting print target data, and a printing means for printing the data input by the data input means in the color arrangement selected by the selection means. Printing device. 13. The data input means inputs print target data and decoration data for decorating the print target data, the color arrangement storage means stores a print color for each decoration, and the print means comprises: The printing device according to claim 12, wherein the print target data is printed in a color according to the color arrangement selected by the selection unit and the decoration data. 14. Data input means for inputting print target data, decoration setting means for setting decoration data for decorating the print target data, and printing means for printing the print target data in a color corresponding to the decoration. And a printing device. 15. Input means for inputting print target data and decoration data designating decoration for color printing or decoration for monochrome printing of the print target data; decoration for color printing and decoration for monochrome printing. An associating means for associating, a mounting means for selectively mounting a print medium for multicolor printing and a print medium for single color printing, and whether the print medium mounted in the mounting means is for multicolor printing A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not it is for printing, and when the discriminating means judges that the print medium is for monochromatic printing, the respective portions instructed by the decoration data for color printing of the print target data are According to the content of the associating means, printing is performed according to the corresponding decoration data for monochrome printing, and when the determining means determines that the print medium is for multicolor printing, the decoration data for monochrome printing. A printing unit that prints the decorative portion instructed according to the corresponding decorative data for color printing, and a printing device. 16. An input unit for inputting print target data and decoration data for designating a color print decoration or a monochrome print decoration of the print target data, and a color print decoration and a monochrome print decoration. An associating means for associating, a mounting means for selectively mounting a print medium for multicolor printing and a print medium for single color printing, and whether the print medium mounted in the mounting means is for multicolor printing A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not it is for printing, a color arrangement storing means for storing a plurality of sets of color arrangements preset for each decoration of color printing, and one of a plurality of color arrangements stored in the color arrangement storing means.
Selecting means for selecting one of the above, and when the determining means determines that the print medium is for single-color printing, each portion designated by the decoration data for color printing of the print target data According to the content, printing is performed in accordance with the corresponding decoration data for monochrome printing, and when the determination unit determines that the print medium is for multicolor printing, the decoration portion indicated by the decoration data for monochrome printing is colored in the corresponding color. A printing device, comprising: decoration data for printing; and printing means for printing in accordance with the color arrangement selected by the selection means. 17. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing means includes means for printing on a tape-shaped printing medium for label formation.