JPH0962468A - Print controller and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform sorting operation by controlling a printer so that a delimited page is printed when a delimiter is decided on the basis of the decision results of a 1st and a 2nd decision means. SOLUTION: A control part 1 is equipped with a CPU 10, a ROM 11 which stores a control program, and a RAM 12 which stores various data. Then the CPU is equipped with functions as the 1st decision means which decides whether or not the page number of a printed page is the page number of a print end page and the 2nd decision means which decides whether or not the number of printed pages reaches a print end number and also equipped with a function as a control means which controls the printer so that the pages are printed in specific order and the delimiter page is printed when the delimiter is decided on the basis of the decision results of the 1st and 2nd decision means. Consequently, when plural sets are printed, delimiter pages are automatically inserted to make their delimiter distinctive, so that the sorting operation is easily and accurately performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control device and a printing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a form of printing method, there is printing with a plurality of copies.

According to this conventional method of printing a plurality of copies,
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when printing 5 copies of data having 2 pages, the first page of the first copy, the second page of the first copy, the first page of the second copy, the second page of the second copy, ..., the first page of the fifth copy, the second page of the fifth copy, and so on are printed continuously. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, when printing five copies of data having two pages, the first page of the first copy and the first page of the second copy are printed.
The third page, the first page of the third copy, the first page of the fourth copy, the first page of the fifth copy, the second page of the first copy, ...

[0004]

In the above conventional method,
Since data is printed continuously without separation, there is a problem that it takes a great deal of time to sort each copy, and because the separation is not clear, it is easy to make an error in sorting.

As a method of solving such a problem, there is a method of attaching a header page to the beginning of the data and separating the header page.

However, this method has a problem that it is necessary to create a header page in the data, which is complicated. Even if there is a header page, if the middle part of the data is printed (for example, 5 copies of the 3rd to 7th pages out of the data of 10 pages), this header page is not printed. Therefore, there is a drawback in that it is impossible to prevent sorting errors.

As another method, there is a method in which a page number is added to data and the page is used as a delimiter.

However, in this method as well, it is necessary to create pages in the data in advance as in the case of the above, and it is not easy to distinguish only the pages when collating and printing non-continuous pages.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to facilitate sorting work without changing the original data when printing a plurality of copies. It is a thing.

[0010]

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object will be described.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control device for controlling the printing device to print a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages, and whether or not the page number of the printed page is a print end page number. First determining means for determining whether the number of printed copies is the number of printed copies, and second determining means for determining whether or not the number of printed copies is the number of copies to be printed, printing pages in a predetermined order, and performing the first and second determinations. When it is determined that the page is a delimiter based on the determination result by the unit, the control unit controls the printing device to print the delimiter page.

A print control apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a print control apparatus for controlling a print apparatus to print a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages, and whether or not the page number of a printed page is a print end page number. And a printing unit for controlling the printing apparatus to print a delimiter page when it is determined that there is a division of the set based on the determination result by the determination unit. It has a control means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control device which controls a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages, and determines whether or not the number of printed copies is a print end number. And a control means for controlling the printing device so as to print a delimiter page when it is determined that the page is a page break based on the determination result by the determination means, in addition to printing all numbers for each page number. It is characterized by having.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control device for controlling a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages, storing a print start page number, a print end page number, and a print end number. Storage means, first determining means for determining whether or not the page number of the printed page is the print end page number, and second for determining whether or not the number of printed copies is the print end number
And the printing start page number, the pages are printed in a predetermined order, and when it is determined that there is a break based on the judgment results by the first and second judgment means, the break page is printed. And a control means for controlling the printing apparatus.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first step of determining whether or not the page number of the printed page is a print end page number in the printing method of printing a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages. A second step of determining whether or not the number of printed copies is a print end number, printing pages in a predetermined order, and separating the pages based on the determination results in the first and second steps. If the determination is made, a third step of printing a separator page is included.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first step of determining whether or not the page number of the printed page is a print end page number in the printing method of printing a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages. And printing all pages for each set, and further including a second step of printing a delimiter page when it is determined that the set is a set of sections based on the determination result in the first step. To do.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printing method of printing a plurality of copies of data including a plurality of pages, a first step of determining whether the number of printed copies is the print end number, and each page number. And a second step of printing a page break when it is determined that the page breaks based on the determination result in the first step. is there.

The printing method according to claim 8 is a printing method for printing a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, the first step of storing a print start page number, a print end page number, and a print end number, and printing. A second step of determining whether the page number of the page is the print end page number, a third step of determining whether the number of printed copies is the print end page number, and the print start page Printing pages in a predetermined order from the numbers, and, if it is determined that the page is a break based on the determination results in the second and third steps, a fourth step of printing the break page. It is a feature.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a printing system showing an application example of the present invention.

In this system, a host computer (hereinafter abbreviated as "host") 3 as a print control device and a printing device 4 are connected.

The host 3 comprises a control unit 1 and a storage device 2.

The control unit 1 includes a CPU 10 and the CPU shown in FIGS.
ROM 11 storing a control program as shown in
And a RAM 12 for storing various data.

The CPU 10 controls the entire printing system according to the control program stored in the ROM 11.

Further, the CPU 10 determines whether the page number of the printed page is the print end page number or not, and determines whether the number of printed pages is the print end number. It has a function as a second judging means, prints pages in a predetermined order, and
And a function as a control means for controlling the printing device 4 so as to print the delimiter page when the delimiter is determined based on the determination result by the second determination means.

That is, when the collation printing mode with separator pages is selected, the CPU 10 controls collation printing with separator pages as shown in FIG. 4 to print all pages for each set and If it is determined that there is a page break based on the result of the determination made by the determination unit 1, the printing device 4 is controlled to print the page breaks. Further, when the multiple page print mode with a separator page is selected, the multiple page print with separator page is controlled as shown in FIG. 6 to print all copies for each page number, and the second determination means is used. If it is determined that the page is a page break based on the determination result, the printing device 4 is controlled to print the page break.

The storage device 2 stores print data as shown in FIG. 2, for example. This print data includes a plurality of pages, and specifies a print start page number, a print end page number, and a print end copy number. The print data is called by the print data name. For example, the print data name "Document 1" consists of data of all 2 pages,
It indicates that five copies of the data from the first page to the second page are printed. The storage device 2 is also adapted to store a variable “copy number i” used to calculate the number of print copies currently being printed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment when the collated print mode with separator pages is selected will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram of collated printing with separator pages.
When 5 pages from the second page to the second page are collated and printed by the method of this embodiment, the first page of the first copy, the second page of the first copy, etc.
It is shown that a page, a break page, a first page of the second copy, ..., A break page, a first page of the fifth copy, and a second page of the fifth copy are output. Note that the printing process is performed by the control unit 1 outputting data to the printing device 4.

First, the CPU 10 initializes the number of copies i by setting a numerical value of 1 (S1). Then CPU10
Prepares for printing the data of the print start page (one page in "Document 1") (S2). Here, “print preparation” means that data of a page to be printed now can be output to the printing apparatus 4.

Next, the CPU 10 controls the printing device 4 to print the page prepared in step S2 or S6 (S3). Next, it is determined whether or not the currently printed page is equal to the data print end page (two pages in "Document 1") (S4).

If they are not equal in the determination in step S4, it is considered that there is a page to be printed, the print of the next page at present is prepared (S6), and the process returns to step S3 (S6).

If they are equal in the determination in step S4, it is determined whether or not the number of copies i is equal to the number of print completion copies of the data (5 in "Document 1") (S5). In this determination, if they are equal, the process is terminated, and if they are not equal, it is considered that the page is a page separation, and the printing device 4 is controlled to print the page of the page separation (S7). By this processing, a delimiting page is inserted between the copies.

Next, 1 is added to the number of copies i (S8), and the process returns to step S2. As a result, collated print data with separator pages as shown in FIG. 3 is generated.

Next, the operation of this embodiment in the case where the multi-copy printing mode with separator pages is selected will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and according to the flow chart of FIG. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of multiple-copy printing with a separator page. When the first to second pages of data are printed by the method of the present embodiment, the first page of the first copy and the second page of the second copy are printed. 1st page, 3rd page, 1st page, 4th page, 1st page, 1st page
It is shown that a page, a break page, a second page of the first copy, ... And a second page of the fifth copy are output. The print processing is performed by the control unit 1 outputting data to the print processing 4.

First, the CPU 10 prepares to print the data of the print start page (one page in "Document 1") (S11).

Subsequently, the CPU 10 initializes the number of copies i by setting a numerical value of 1 (S12).

Next, the page prepared in step S11 or S18 is printed (S13).

Next, it is judged whether or not the number of copies i is equal to the number of copies for printing the data (5 in the case of "Document 1") (S).
14).

If the determinations in step S14 are not equal, it is considered that there are more copies to be printed, 1 is added to the number of copies i, and the process returns to step S13 (S1).
6).

If they are equal in the determination in step S14, it is determined whether the currently printed page is equal to the print end page of data (two pages in "Document 1") (S15). In this determination, if they are equal, the process is terminated, and if they are not equal, it is regarded as a page break and the page of the break is printed (S17). By this processing, a delimited page is inserted.

Next, print preparation for the current next page (S1)
8) and returns to step S12. As a result, a multi-copy printing with separator pages as shown in FIG. 5 is generated.

According to the present embodiment as described above, when collated printing with a separator page is performed, the separator page is automatically inserted between the parts, so that the boundary between the parts becomes clear. The sorting work can be easily performed without changing the original data.

When printing a plurality of copies with a break page, a break page is automatically inserted between a page group having a certain page number and a page group having the next page number. This makes it easier to perform sorting work without changing the original data.

Further, by providing the storage device 2 for storing the print data including the print start page number, the print end page number, the print end number, etc., desired print data can be arbitrarily created, It is possible to print the middle part.

The host 3 may be a personal computer, a workstation or the like. The printing device 4 may be a printer or a copying machine. Further, although the start page and the end page to be printed are designated in the present embodiment, all pages may be designated, or pages that are not continuous may be designated. Further, in the present embodiment, the print control corresponding to the selected mode is performed, but it may be a dedicated machine that executes only one of collation printing with a separator page and multiple copy printing with a separator page. .

[0046]

According to the present invention described in detail above, a separator page is automatically inserted when printing a plurality of copies.
Since each division becomes clear, the sorting work can be performed easily and accurately, the time of the sorting work can be shortened, and the sorting error can be prevented. In addition, separator pages are automatically inserted when printing, so
The time and effort to change the original data can be saved, and there is no need to be aware when creating or printing data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining print data used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of collated printing with a separator page according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation in a collation print mode with a separator page according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of printing multiple copies with a separator page according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation in a multiple copy printing mode with a separator page according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of conventional collated printing.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of conventional multi-copy printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Unit 2 Storage Device 3 Host 4 Printing Device 10 CPU

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A printing control device for controlling a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, wherein a first determining means for determining whether or not the page number of a printed page is a print end page number. A second determining means for determining whether or not the number of printed copies is the number of printed copies; printing pages in a predetermined order; and separating the pages based on the determination results by the first and second determining means. And a control unit that controls the printing apparatus to print a separator page when it is determined that the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 2. A printing control device for controlling a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, and a judgment means for judging whether or not the page number of the printed page is a print end page number. Printing all pages every time, and when it is determined that the page is a page break based on the determination result by the determination section, a control section that controls the printing device to print the page separation is provided. Characteristic print control device. 3. A printing control device for controlling a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, a judgment means for judging whether or not the number of printed copies is the number of copies to be printed, and all of them for each page number. And a control means for controlling the printing device so as to print a page break when it is determined to be a page break based on the determination result by the determination means. Print control device. 4. A printing control device for controlling a printing device to print a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, a storage means for storing a print start page number, a print end page number, and a print end number, and First determining means for determining whether or not a page number is the print end page number, second determining means for determining whether or not the number of printed copies is the print end number, and the print start page Control for printing the pages in a predetermined order from the numbers, and controlling the printing device to print the delimiter page when it is determined that the page is a delimiter based on the determination results by the first and second determination means. A printing control device comprising: 5. A printing method for printing a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, the first step of determining whether or not the page number of the printed page is the print end page number, and the number of printed copies is the print end. The second step of determining whether or not the number of copies, the pages are printed in a predetermined order, and when it is determined that the page is a partition based on the determination results in the first and second steps, A third step of printing a page, and a printing method comprising: 6. A printing method for printing a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, the first step of determining whether or not the page number of the printed page is the print end page number, and all pages for each copy. A printing method comprising: printing, and a second step of printing a delimiter page when it is determined that the page is a page delimiter based on the determination result in the first step. 7. A printing method for printing a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, the first step of determining whether or not the number of printed copies is the print end number, and printing all the copies for each page number. A second step of printing a page break when it is determined that the page breaks based on the result of the determination in the first step. 8. In a printing method for printing a plurality of copies of data consisting of a plurality of pages, a first step of storing a print start page number, a print end page number, and a print end number, and a page number of a printed page is the print number. A second step of determining whether it is an end page number, a third step of determining whether the number of printed copies is the print end number, and a page in a predetermined order from the print start page number. And a fourth step of printing a delimiter page when it is determined to be a delimiter based on the determination results in the second and third steps, and a printing method.