JPH10315575A - Printing system, controlling method of printing and computer-readable recording medium wherein printing control program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system enabling appropriate alteration of print data already transmitted in printing of long-lengths of paper. SOLUTION: In a printing system wherein transfer of data to a printer engine is conducted for each raster, a start raster and an end raster are made settable for each printing job in parallel with a transfer processing. After the end raster as to one print output data is transferred, the transfer is conducted, beginning with the start raster of the subsequent print output data, and this processing is repeated sequentially. For instance, A1, B2 and C2 being data of different print output data are obtained as one consecutive print output, according to this constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a printing system for printing on continuous long paper such as roll paper, a printing control method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a printing control program. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a configuration for printing a long printed matter such as a banner or a hanging banner, an ink jet printer capable of printing on continuous long paper (long paper) such as roll paper, a character to be printed, 2. Description of the Related Art There has been known a configuration including a personal computer that operates a drawing application program to generate an image including a figure, a symbol, and the like, and a network that connects the personal computer and the like.

[0003] In such a configuration, an image to be printed is created by a drawing application program on a personal computer, and the image is rendered by a printer driver program on the personal computer into drawing instructions and data interpretable by an emulation program in the printer. Is converted to print job data composed of
Print job data is transferred to the printer via the network. The printer interprets drawing commands and data included in the received print job data, develops the data into bitmap data and run length, and prints out based on the developed result.

[0004]

However, printing on long paper requires a long printing time due to the large printing range. For example, it may take tens of minutes to print on a 1 meter long sheet.

Under these conditions, it is necessary to send print job data for printing an image edited by a drawing application program on a personal computer to a printer, correct the image to be printed, and print again. In this case, the print output of the print job data after transmission is forcibly terminated, the print job data for the corrected image is transmitted again to the printer by the drawing application program on the personal computer, and the print data received by the printer is received. Job data had to be newly developed and printed out. It is a great waste of time to forcibly terminate the print processing once started and to perform the print processing for the corrected image from the beginning.

[0006] In addition, long paper is expensive, unlike standardized paper such as A-plate and B-plate. Therefore, in the case where the above-described erroneous printing is performed, the cost is greatly wasted.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system, a printing control method, and a computer-readable recording medium on which a printing control program is recorded, which can appropriately change transmitted print data in printing on long paper.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system, comprising: a storage unit for storing data; and a storage unit for storing print data created for each predetermined management unit. Print data storage means for storing
A print data information display unit for displaying information about the print data; a division range designation unit for designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; A print order designating means for designating a print order; and a management means for managing print data divided between different management units as print data of a single management unit according to the designated order. I do.

According to the printing system of the first aspect,
The print data is stored in the storage unit for each predetermined management unit by the print data storage unit, and based on the information displayed by the print data information display unit, the setting of the division range of the print data by the division range designating unit and the printing The order designating means designates the printing order of the divided print data between the different management units. The management unit manages the divided print data among the different management units as print data of a single management unit in accordance with the designated order, and after the print data is already stored for each management unit. In this case, desired editing is performed.

A printing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the printing system according to the first aspect, wherein the print data information display means displays a print data image.

[0011] According to the printing system of the second aspect,
Since the print data information display means displays the print data image, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably.

A printing system according to a third aspect of the present invention is the printing system according to the second aspect, further comprising an enlarging means for enlarging a desired range of the displayed print data image.

According to the printing system of the third aspect,
Since the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged by the enlargement means, the designation of the division range can be more easily performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system, comprising: a storage unit for storing data; and a print data storage for storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in the storage unit. Means, printing means for printing the print data for each management unit, transfer means for transferring the print data from the storage means to the printing means in predetermined transfer units for each management unit, and the transfer means Print data information display means for displaying information about the print data in parallel with the transfer processing by the printer; division range designation means for designating the division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; A print order designating means for designating a print order of the divided print data in the management unit, and The print data is characterized in that a print control means for printing the print data of a single of the management unit.

According to the printing system of the fourth aspect,
The print data storage unit stores the print data in the storage unit for each predetermined management unit, and the transfer unit transfers the print data from the storage unit to the printing unit in the predetermined transfer unit for each management unit. Will be On the other hand, in parallel with such transfer processing, based on the information displayed by the print data information display means, the setting of the division range of the print data by the division range designation means and the different management units The print order of the divided print data is designated. Then, the print control unit prints the divided print data between the different management units as the print data of a single management unit according to the specified order. As a result, desired editing is performed even after the transfer of the print data has already been started for each management unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system of the fourth aspect, the print data information display means displays a print data image.

According to the printing system of the fifth aspect,
Since the print data information display means displays the print data image, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably.

A printing system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the printing system according to the fifth aspect, further comprising an enlarging means for enlarging and displaying a desired range of the displayed print data image. .

According to the printing system of the sixth aspect,
Since the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged by the enlargement means, the designation of the division range can be more easily performed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the data of the displayed print data which is being transferred by the transfer unit is displayed. And a transfer processing position indicating means for indicating the position of data corresponding to.

According to the printing system of the seventh aspect,
Since the position of the data corresponding to the data being transferred by the transfer unit is indicated by the transfer processing position index unit by the transfer processing position index unit, the editing operation of the print data during the transfer process as described above can be performed. Done properly.

According to a printing system of the present invention, in the printing system of the present invention, a continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of print data in which a printing order is specified is set as:
When the position is already indexed by the indexing means, a printing order monitoring means not permitting the printing order specification by the printing order specifying means is further provided.

According to the printing system of the eighth aspect,
If the continuous position between the respective divided ranges in the plurality of print data in which the print order is specified is the indexed position by the index unit, the print order designation by the print order designation unit is permitted by the print order monitoring unit. Not done. Therefore, a desired image is printed without erroneous designation of the division range.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to any one of the fourth to eighth aspects, the position at which the transfer processing by the transfer means is temporarily stopped on the displayed print data. And a transfer control means for temporarily stopping the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the position indicated by the pause position index means.

According to the printing system of the ninth aspect,
When the position at which the transfer processing is temporarily stopped by the pause position indexing means is indicated by the displayed print data, the transfer of the data corresponding to the position after the indexed position is temporarily performed by the transfer control means. Stopped. Therefore, operations such as designation of the division range and the printing order of the displayed print data can be performed with sufficient time.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method, wherein: a print data storage step of storing the print data for each of the management units; and a print data information displaying information on the print data. A display step, a division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit, a print order designation step of designating a print order of divided print data between different management units, A management step of managing print data divided between different management units as print data of a single management unit in accordance with a designated order.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the setting of the print data division range and the print order of the divided print data between different management units are performed based on the displayed information on the print data. Is specified, the stored print data is divided into print data of different management units according to the specified order, and is managed as print data of a single management unit. The desired editing will be performed even after the print data is stored in the.

A print control method according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the print control method according to the tenth aspect, wherein a print data image is displayed in the print data information display step.

According to the print control method of the present invention, since the print data image is displayed, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably.

A print control method according to a twelfth aspect is the print control method according to the eleventh aspect, further comprising an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the print data image.

According to the printing control method of the twelfth aspect, the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, so that the designation of the division range can be performed more easily.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method comprising: a print data creating step of creating print data in a predetermined management unit; and a printing method of storing the print data in the management unit. A data storage step, a printing step of printing the print data for each of the management units, a transfer step of transferring the print data in a predetermined transfer unit for each of the management units for the printing step, and A print data information display step of displaying information about the print data in parallel with the transfer processing; a division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; A print order designation step of designating a print order of the divided print data, and division between the different management units according to the designated order. The print data is characterized in that a print control step of printing the print data of a single of the management unit.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the print data is stored for each predetermined management unit, and the print data is transferred for the printing process in the predetermined transfer unit for each management unit. . On the other hand, in parallel with such transfer processing, setting of the print data division range and designation of the print order of the divided print data between different management units are performed based on the displayed information on the print data. Will be Then, according to the specified order, the print data divided between the different management units is printed as print data of a single management unit. As a result, desired editing is performed even after the transfer of the print data has already been started for each management unit.

A print control method according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the print control method according to the twelfth aspect, wherein the print data information display means displays a print data image.

According to the print control method system of the present invention, since the print data image is displayed, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably.

A print control method according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is the print control method according to the fourteenth aspect, further comprising an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the displayed print data image. I do.

According to the printing control method of the present invention, the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, so that the designation of the division range can be performed more easily.

A print control method according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is the print control method according to any one of the thirteenth to thirteenth aspects, wherein the print data being transferred during the transfer process in the transfer step is included in the print data. It is characterized by further comprising a transfer processing position indexing step for indexing the position of the corresponding data.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the position of data corresponding to the data being transferred among the displayed print data is indexed. The print data is edited appropriately.

A printing control method according to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention is the printing control method according to the sixteenth aspect, wherein a continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of print data items in which a printing order is specified is determined by the indexing step. If the position is a completed position, a printing order monitoring step of not permitting the printing order designation in the printing order designation step is further provided.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when a continuous position between each of the divided ranges in a plurality of print data in which a print order is designated is the indexed position, the print order designation is performed. Is not allowed. Therefore, a desired image is printed without erroneous designation of the division range.

A printing control method according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the printing control method according to any one of the thirteenth to thirteenth aspects, wherein the transfer of the print data by the transfer step is temporarily stopped. And a transfer control step of temporarily stopping the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the position indicated by the pause position index step.

According to the print control method of the present invention, when the position at which the transfer process is temporarily stopped is indicated by the displayed print data, the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the indicated position is performed. Paused. Therefore, operations such as designation of the division range and the printing order of the displayed print data can be performed with sufficient time.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program comprises:
A computer, a print data storage step of storing print data created for each predetermined management unit, a print data information display step of displaying information about the print data,
A division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit, a print order designation step of designating a print order of divided print data between different management units, and a designated order And a management step of managing divided print data between different management units as print data of a single management unit.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 19 is recorded, setting a division range of the print data based on the displayed information on the print data; When the print order of the divided print data between the different management units is specified, the stored print data is divided into the single print data between the different management units according to the specified order. The print data is managed as print data of a management unit, and desired editing is performed even after print data is already stored for each management unit.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 20 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the print control program displays a print data image on a computer. The method is characterized in that the step is further executed.

The print data image is displayed by causing the computer to read the computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 20 is recorded, so that the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed. It will be easier and more reliable.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 21 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to claim 20, wherein the print control program causes the computer to display the print data displayed on the computer. An enlargement step of enlarging a desired range of the image is further performed.

A desired range of the displayed print data image is expanded by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 21 is recorded. Is more easily performed.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program is configured to:
A print data storing step of storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in a computer; a transfer step of transferring the print data for each management unit in a predetermined transfer unit for printing; and the transfer step A print data information display step of displaying information about the print data in parallel with the transfer processing by; a division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit;
A print order designating step of designating the print order of the divided print data between different management units, and printing the divided print data between the different management units in a single management unit in accordance with the designated order And a print control step of printing as data.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 22 is recorded, print data is stored for each predetermined management unit, and a predetermined transfer is performed for each management unit. The print data is transferred for the printing process in units. On the other hand, in parallel with such transfer processing, setting of the print data division range and designation of the print order of the divided print data between different management units are performed based on the displayed information on the print data. Will be Then, according to the specified order, the print data divided between the different management units is printed as print data of a single management unit. As a result, desired editing is performed even after the transfer of the print data has already been started for each management unit.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 23 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to claim 22, wherein the print control program causes a computer to execute the print data information display step. Wherein the step of displaying a print data image is further executed.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 23 is recorded, a print data image is displayed. It will be easier and more reliable.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 24 is recorded, wherein the print control program causes the computer to execute the print data display on the computer. An enlargement step of enlarging a desired range of the image is further performed.

A desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 24 is recorded. Is more easily performed.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 25 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein: The method further includes causing the computer to further execute a transfer processing position indicating step of indicating a position of data corresponding to data being transferred in the transfer step in the displayed print data.

A position of data corresponding to the data being transferred among the displayed print data by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 25 is recorded. , The editing operation of the print data during the transfer process as described above is appropriately performed.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 26 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to claim 25, wherein the print control program causes a computer to specify a print order. If the continuous position between the divided ranges in the print data is an indexed position in the indexing step, a printing order monitoring step of not permitting the printing order designation in the printing order designation step is further executed. And

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program according to the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention is recorded, a continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of pieces of print data in which a print order is specified is determined. If the position is an indexed position, the printing order designation is not permitted. Therefore, a desired image is printed without erroneous designation of the division range.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 27 is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein: The computer performs a pause position indexing step of indicating a position at which the transfer process is temporarily stopped in the displayed print data, and a transfer of data corresponding to a position after the position indexed by the pause position indexing step. It is characterized in that a transfer control step of temporarily stopping is further executed.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 27 is recorded, the position at which the transfer process is temporarily stopped is indicated by the displayed print data. Then, the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the indexed position is temporarily stopped. Therefore, operations such as designation of the division range and the printing order of the displayed print data can be performed with sufficient time.

[0062]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the printing system of the present embodiment, a printer engine 13 is connected to the printer controller 1, and the printer controller 1 is further connected to a computer (not shown) via a network 2.

The printer controller 1 includes an input / output interface 3 for realizing connection with the computer, an emulation program for interpreting print job data and developing the print job data, a control program for controlling the entire printer, and A ROM (recording medium) 4 for storing font data such as characters, and an R which functions as a reception buffer or page memory for storing print job data and stores various parameters used in an emulation program or a control program.
AM5, an emulation program stored in the ROM 4, and a CPU for executing the control program
6 are provided. In this embodiment, the print output data corresponds to the print data of the present invention.

In the printer controller 1, an input / output interface 7, a CRT interface 8, a printer engine interface 9, and a hard disk interface 10 are connected to the above-mentioned components via a bus, and perform predetermined inputs. For displaying keyboard and mouse 11, print output data, etc.
An RT 12, a printer engine 13 for executing print processing based on print output data, and a hard disk 14 as a spool area for storing print job data are connected.

The communication interface 3, RO
The M4, the RAM 5, the CPU 6, the input / output interface 7, the CRT interface 8, the printer engine interface 9, and the hard disk interface 10 are mutually connected via a bus 15.

In this embodiment, the emulation program, the control program for controlling the entire printer, and the font data such as characters are recorded in the ROM 4.
It is also possible to configure to read on M5. In this embodiment, the ROM 4 is equivalent to a recording medium. In addition to this mode, an emulation program and a control program are stored on a floppy disk or CD.
-Record them in the ROM, connect these read drive devices to the printer controller, and store the floppy disk or CD-RO in the ROM of the printer controller.
It is also possible to record an M reading program and read a control program or the like from a floppy disk or CD-ROM to control the controller. In this case, a floppy disk or CD-RO
M corresponds to a recording medium. Further, a control program can be installed and operated from another printer or a host computer. In this case, a memory in which a control program of another printer or a host computer is recorded corresponds to the recording medium of the present invention.

In the above-described system, print job data transmitted from the computer, which is a higher-level device (not shown), in print job units via the network 2 and the communication interface 3 is transmitted to the printer controller 1 under the control of the CPU 6. Received and as shown in FIG.
The print data is stored in the print data spool area of the hard disk 14.

Then, after storing the print job data, the CPU 6 in the printer controller 1 executes an emulation program stored in the ROM 4 in advance, so that the print job data stored in the print data spool area of the hard disk 14 is printed. The job data is read, the print job data is analyzed, and the data is expanded in the page memory. The result expanded in this page memory is
The data is temporarily stored in the print output data spool area in the hard disk 14, sent to the printer engine 13 via the printer engine interface 9, printed by the printer engine 13, and output.

The printer engine 1 of this embodiment
Reference numeral 3 denotes a printer capable of printing on a long sheet of paper as shown in FIG.

Although such a configuration has been provided similarly in the past, conventionally, it has not been possible to edit print job data for each print job once transmitted from a higher-level device. Therefore, even if the user notices that there is an error in the previously transmitted print job data, it is necessary to wait until the printing of the previous printing job data is completed or to forcefully end the printing.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an arbitrary portion of the unprinted portion of the print output data can be replaced with another print output data.

For example, print output data (1) as shown in FIG. 3A is created by expanding the output data into bitmap data in the printer controller 1, and is sequentially transferred from the printer controller 1 to the printer engine 13. When printing is performed and the printing process is completed up to the portion A shown in FIG.
If the user notices that the circle graphic of the portion is the donut graphic shown in FIG. 3B, the replacement is performed as follows.

First, the user performs correction and editing work on the computer of the host device, and sends print job data to the printer controller. Printer controller 1
Creates print output data (2) as shown in FIG. 3 (B), and the user performs a predetermined operation using the keyboard or mouse 11 of the printer controller 1 to obtain a B portion of the print output data (1). Is to be replaced with the portion B 'of the print output data (2).

Next, based on this designation, when the print output data (1) to be transferred to the printer engine 13 reaches the portion B, the printer controller 1 reads out the portion B 'of the print output data 2 and prints it. The output data (1) is transferred to the printer engine 13 instead of the portion B. When the transfer of the portion B 'of the print output data (2) is completed, the print output is switched to the transfer of the portion C of the print output data (1). As a result, even if the printing of the print output data (2) is not started after the printing of the print output data (1) is completed, the print output data (1) can be used.
The same print result as the print output data (2) can be obtained in the processing time required for printing.

Hereinafter, a specific print control method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process for editing the replacement schedule while the print output data is being transferred to the printer engine 13. In this embodiment, when the transfer of predetermined print output data to the printer engine 13 is started, the replacement schedule editing program is started, and the CRT 12 of the printer controller 1 shown in FIG. Such a replacement schedule editing screen is displayed.

In FIG. 8, in the print output data display area (1), the print output data to be transferred after being bit-mapped is displayed in this area.

In this area, a start raster indicator (2) of the replacement process and a replacement end raster indicator (3) are displayed, and the data in the range designated by these indicators can be replaced with other data.

A mouse cursor (4) is displayed in the area. When the mouse cursor is moved to a portion to be enlarged and clicked, a rectangular frame (5) indicating an enlarged display range is displayed. The portion surrounded by the rectangular frame (5) is enlarged and displayed in the display area (6). As a result, the user can accurately specify the range of the data to be replaced.

Then, respective information as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in the display column (7) of the replacement schedule data. Details will be described later.

Further, an indicator (8) indicating the raster being transferred to the printer engine 13 is displayed. By referring to this indicator, it is possible to recognize to which raster the raster has been transferred.

After displaying the replacement schedule editing screen as described above, the printer controller 1 starts the process of transferring the print output data to the printer engine 13, and
The number of all rasters to be printed is counted. Then, at the time of transfer to the printer engine 13, the number of all rasters to be printed is assigned to a variable TotalRas, and 0 is assigned to a counter variable TetalReadTRas for counting the number of rasters transferred to the printer engine 13 ( Step S1).

Next, the name of the print output data to be transferred is assigned to the variable ReadFile (step S2). For example, when printing the print output data (1) shown in FIG. 3A, the file name of the print output data (1) is assigned to a variable ReadFile.

Then, the read start raster number in the print output data assigned to the variable ReadFile is sent to the read raster counter ReadRas, and the read end raster is read to the read end raster counter EndR.
Assigned to as (step S3). For example, in the example of FIG. 3A, as is substituted for ReadRas and ce is substituted for EndRas.

Further, -1 is assigned as an initial value to StopRas, which is a variable for storing a raster number for temporarily stopping the transfer to the printer engine 13 (step S3). Details of this variable StopRas will be described later.

When the setting process of each variable as described above is completed, the raster assigned to the read raster counter ReadRas of the print output data indicated by ReadFile is transferred to the printer engine 13 (step S4).

Next, the read raster counter ReadRas
And the raster counter transferred to the printer engine 13
Increment TotalReadTRas (step S
5).

The contents of ReadFile and ReadRas are transmitted to the replacement schedule editing program (step S6). This is because the replacement schedule editing program performs processing to prohibit replacement of rasters that have been transferred to the printer engine 13. Details will be described later.

Next, it is confirmed whether or not the transfer temporary stop information from the replacement schedule editing program has been received (step S7), and if it has not been received (step S7).
7; NO), and compares the read raster counter ReadRas with StopRas indicating the pause raster number (step S).
9). In the initial setting, StopRas is -1, so they do not match (step S9; NO).
It is determined whether replacement schedule data has been received from the replacement schedule editing program (step S11). As a result, if the data has not been received (step S11; NO), a counter TotalReadTRas of the number of rasters transferred and T indicating the number of all rasters to be printed are displayed.
The contents of otalRas are compared (step S13). If the number of transferred rasters does not reach the total number of rasters (step S13; NO), the contents of the read raster counter ReadRas and the contents of the read end raster counter EndRas are compared (step S13). S14). If they do not match (step S14; NO), the data of the raster indicated by the incremented read raster counter ReadRas is transferred (step S4), and thereafter, such processing is repeated.

Therefore, when the replacement editing process is not performed, the transfer is performed for all the rasters, and the printing is performed.

However, when the print output data is replaced in the middle, the display contents of the replacement schedule data display column (7) on the replacement schedule editing screen shown in FIG. 8 are rewritten.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. In this description, the print output data whose transfer processing has already been started is the print output data A shown in FIG. 5, and the data of the area A2 after the raster A1e of the print output data A is It is assumed that the data in the area B2 and the data in the area C2 of the print output data C are replaced.

First, since the print output data A is displayed in the print output data display area (1) on the edit screen in FIG. 8, the user sets the end raster indicator (3) to the raster A1e in FIG. Move to the corresponding position. In addition,
At this time, since the transfer process has already been started, the start raster indicator is fixed at the position of the raster A1s in FIG.

By moving the end raster indicator (3), the display of the replacement schedule data for the print output data A changes the end raster number to A1e as shown in FIG. Then, the content of the end raster counter EndRas described above is rewritten to the end raster number A1e by the change process (step S11; YES to step S12).

Next, by inputting the print output data B in the second column of the print output data name in the replacement schedule data display column (7), the display area (1) shown in FIG.
Will be displayed.

When the indicator of the print output data B is moved so that the start raster position is at B2s and the end raster position is at B2e, a display field (7) is displayed.
Is rewritten as shown in FIG.

The same operation is performed for the print output data C, and the replacement schedule data is rewritten.

When the replacement schedule data is rewritten in this manner, the rewritten data is transmitted to the transfer processing program (FIG. 9;
Step S11; YES), Tota indicating all raster numbers
The contents of lRas and the contents of the end raster counter EndRas are rewritten to the contents of the schedule data (step S
12). In the example of FIG. 5, since the content of the end raster counter EndRas of the print output data A is rewritten to the raster A1e, when the content of the read raster counter ReadRas becomes equal to the content of the end raster counter EndRas (step S14; YES). That is, when the transfer processing to the raster A1e is completed, the contents of the replacement schedule data are read, and the contents of the variable ReadFile indicating the name of the print output data to be transferred are rewritten (step S15). In the example of FIG. 5, the file name of the print output data B is substituted for the variable ReadFile. Further, the contents of the replacement schedule data are read, and the read raster counter ReadRas is read.
And the contents of the end raster counter EndRas are rewritten (step S16). In the example of FIG. 5, the raster B2s is assigned to the read raster counter ReadRas, and the raster B2e is assigned to the end raster counter EndRas.

Therefore, the raster A1e of the print output data A
After the transfer is performed, the raster B of the print output data B
The transfer from 2s to the raster B2e is performed, and the process of replacing the print output data is performed.

When the transfer to the raster B2e is completed, each variable is rewritten with reference to the replacement schedule data, and the transfer of the print output data C from the rasters C2s to C2e is performed. The transfer process ends.

By performing such processing, the print output result is printed in the order of A1, B2, and C2 as shown in FIG. 5, and the data is replaced.

However, during the above-described replacement schedule data rewriting operation, the transfer process may proceed, and replacement from a desired position may not be possible.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transfer of the data to the printer engine 13 can be temporarily stopped.

Specifically, when a pause indicator is displayed on the editing screen shown in FIG. 8 and a position is designated, the pause information is transmitted to the transfer processing side (step S7;
YES), the contents of the variable StopRas for storing the raster number for which the transfer is to be paused are rewritten to the raster number at the position of the pause indicator (step S8). Then, the contents of the read raster counter ReadRas are stored in the variable Sto.
If the contents match with the contents of pRas (step S9; YE
S), the transfer process is suspended until the suspension release information is transmitted (step S10). Therefore, during this time, the content of the replacement schedule data can be rewritten with sufficient time.

Then, by performing operations such as clearing or moving the pause indicator on the editing screen of FIG. 8, the suspension release information is transmitted to the transfer processing side (step S10; YES), and the transfer processing is performed. Will be resumed.

In this embodiment, in order to prohibit replacement editing of rasters that have already been transferred, the variable ReadFile storing the data name to be transferred and the contents of the read raster counter ReadRas are replaced and edited. The information is transmitted to the program side (step S6), and when this information is received, rewriting of the replacement schedule data is prohibited for rasters before the read raster counter ReadRas.

According to the present embodiment as described above, even after the transfer of the print output data has already been started, the data in the middle can be arbitrarily replaced. It is possible to execute a printing process using a long sheet of paper without waste in terms of time and cost.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, replacement of data during print processing has been described as a specific example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any part of a plurality of print processing data may be replaced. Is read out and can be printed continuously. That is, once the printer controller 1
After the print job data is transmitted to the printer controller 1 and the print job data is also developed into print output data in the controller 1, the print output data can be edited on the printer controller 1. The present embodiment shows such an example.

FIG. 10 shows the printer engine 1 of the print output data after editing the replacement schedule in advance.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for performing transfer to the C.3.

First, the replacement schedule data that has been edited is read as in the first embodiment (step S20). Next, the total number of rasters to be printed is stored in a variable TotalR.
is assigned to "as", and 0 is assigned to TotalReadRas, which is a counter variable of the number of rasters transferred to the printer engine 13 (step S21). Further, the name of the print output data is assigned to a variable ReadFile for storing the print output data to be transferred (step S22).

The read start raster number of the print output data of the variable ReadFile is set to the read raster counter ReadRas, and the end raster is set to the end raster counter E.
Substitute into ndRas (step S23). And the variable Rea
For the print output data indicated by dFile, the counter ReadRas
Is transferred to the printer engine 13 (step S24). Then, read raster counter ReadRas, transferred raster counter TotalReadRas
Is incremented by one (step S25).

Next, the transferred raster counter TotalRea
The dRas and the total number of rasters to be printed are compared with the variable TotalRas, and when the counter TotalReadRas becomes equal to the variable TotalRas (step S26; NO), the transfer of the print output data to the printer engine ends.

On the other hand, the counter TotalReadRas is a variable TotalR
If it is smaller than as (step S26; YES), the read raster counter ReadRas is compared with the end raster EndRas (step S27), and the transmission of the data in the set range is repeated.

However, when the transfer for the set range is completed (step S27; YES), the next print output data name is set to ReadFile from the replacement schedule data.
(Step S28), the start raster number is read into the raster counter ReadRas, and the end raster number is substituted into the end raster counter EndRas (Step S29), and the transfer process is repeated.

As described above, according to the present invention, aggressive editing work can be performed before the transfer processing, and appropriate print processing can be performed according to the situation.

[0120]

According to the printing system of the first aspect, the setting of the division range of the print data and the designation of the print order of the divided print data between the different management units are performed, and according to the designated order. Since print data divided between different management units is managed as print data of a single management unit, desired editing can be performed even after print data is already stored for each management unit. It can be carried out. Therefore, even when printing is performed using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

According to the printing system of the second aspect,
Since the print data image is displayed, designation of the division range and designation of the print order can be performed more easily and reliably, and appropriate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

According to the printing system of the third aspect,
Since the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, the division range can be specified more easily, and more accurate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

According to the printing system of the fourth aspect,
In parallel with the transfer process of the print data, the division of the print data is set, and the print order of the divided print data between the different management units is specified. According to the specified order, the print data is divided between the different management units. Since the divided print data is printed as print data of a single management unit, desired editing can be performed even after transfer of print data for each management unit has already started. Therefore, even when printing is performed using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

According to the printing system of the fifth aspect,
Since the print data image is displayed, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably, and appropriate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

According to the printing system of the sixth aspect,
Since the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, the division range can be specified more easily, and more accurate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

According to the printing system of the seventh aspect,
Since the position of the data corresponding to the data being transferred in the displayed print data is indexed, it is possible to appropriately perform the editing operation of the print data being transferred as described above, which is more appropriate. Printing can be performed.

According to the printing system of the eighth aspect,
If the continuous position between each of the divided ranges in the plurality of print data for which the print order is specified is the indexed position, the print order specification is not permitted, so that incorrect designation of the divided range is prevented. Thus, printing of a desired image can be appropriately performed.

According to the printing system of the ninth aspect,
The position at which the transfer process is temporarily stopped is indexed to the displayed print data, and the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the indexed position is temporarily stopped. Operations such as designation of the division range and the printing order can be performed with sufficient time, and a desired image can always be printed.

According to the print control method of the tenth aspect, the setting of the print data division range and the designation of the print order of the divided print data between different management units are performed, and according to the designated order, Since print data divided between different management units is managed as print data of a single management unit, desired editing is performed even after print data is already stored for each management unit. be able to. Therefore, even when printing is performed using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

According to the print control method of the present invention, since the print data image is displayed, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed even more easily and reliably. By appropriate editing, appropriate printing can be performed.

According to the print control method of the twelfth aspect, the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, so that the designation of the division range can be performed even more easily, By appropriate editing, more appropriate printing can be performed.

According to the print control method of the present invention, in parallel with the transfer processing of the print data, the setting of the division range of the print data and the printing order of the divided print data between different management units are performed. The print data divided between the different management units is printed as the print data of a single management unit according to the specified order according to the specified order. Even after the start, the desired editing can be performed. Therefore, even when printing is performed using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

According to the print control method system of the present invention, since the print data image is displayed, the designation of the division range and the designation of the printing order can be performed more easily and reliably, and the accurate By editing, appropriate printing can be performed.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, so that the designation of the division range can be performed more easily, and By appropriate editing, more appropriate printing can be performed.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the position of data corresponding to the data being transferred in the displayed print data is indexed. The editing work of the print data can be appropriately performed, and more appropriate printing can be performed.

According to the printing control method of the present invention, when a continuous position between each of the divided ranges in a plurality of print data specifying a printing order is the indexed position, the printing order specification is performed. Was not allowed,
An incorrect division range can be prevented from being specified, and a desired image can be printed appropriately.

According to the print control method of the present invention, the position at which the transfer processing is temporarily stopped is performed by transferring the data corresponding to the position after the indexed position with reference to the displayed print data. Because we paused,
Operations such as designation of a division range and a printing order for the displayed print data can be performed with sufficient time and a desired image can always be printed.

[0138] By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 19 is recorded, the setting of the division range of the print data and the division of the print data between different management units are performed. The printing order is specified, and according to the specified order, the print data divided between the different management units is managed as the print data of a single management unit. Even after the data is stored, desired editing can be performed. Therefore, even when printing is performed using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

A print data image is displayed by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 20 is recorded. The designation can be made even easier and more reliably,
Appropriate printing can be performed by accurate editing. The method is characterized by further executing an enlarging step.

A desired range of the displayed print data image is expanded by causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 21 is recorded. Can be more easily specified, and more accurate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

By causing the computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 22 is recorded, the setting of the print data division range differs from the setting of the print data division range in parallel with the print data transfer processing. The print order of the divided print data between the management units is specified, and the print data divided between the different management units is printed as the print data of a single management unit according to the specified order. Because
Desired editing can be performed even after transfer of print data for each management unit has already been started. Therefore,
Even when printing using long paper, appropriate printing can be performed without wasting time or cost.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 23 is recorded, a print data image is displayed. Printing can be performed more easily and reliably, and appropriate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 24 is recorded, a desired range of the displayed print data image is enlarged, so that the divided range is displayed. Can be more easily specified, and more accurate printing can be performed by accurate editing.

[0144] By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 25 is recorded, the position of data corresponding to the data being transferred in the displayed print data. Therefore, the editing operation of the print data during the transfer processing as described above can be appropriately performed, and more appropriate printing can be performed.

[0145] By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 26 is recorded, the continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of print data in which a print order is specified is determined. If the position is the indexed position, the designation of the printing order is not permitted, so that an incorrect designation of the division range can be prevented, and the desired image can be printed appropriately.

By causing a computer to read a computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 27 is recorded, the position at which the transfer processing is temporarily stopped is indicated by the displayed print data. Since the transfer of data corresponding to the position after the indexed position is temporarily stopped, it is possible to perform operations such as designation of a division range and a printing order for the displayed print data with a sufficient time margin. And a desired image can always be printed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of print data processing of a printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of print output data according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a print output data replacement process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of replacement schedule data according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of replacement schedule data according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a replacement schedule editing screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a print control process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a print control process according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer controller 2 ... Network 3 ... Communication interface 4 ... ROM 5 ... RAM 6 ... CPU 7 ... Input / output interface 8 ... CRT interface 9 ... Printer engine interface 10 ... Hard disk interface 11 ... Keyboard, mouse 12 ... CRT 13 ... Printer engine 14 ... Hard disk

Claims (27)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit for storing data, a print data storage unit for storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in the storage unit, and a print data information display unit for displaying information about the print data. A division range designating unit for designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; a print order designation unit for designating a print order of divided print data between different management units; And a management unit for managing print data divided between different management units as print data of a single management unit in accordance with the order. 2. The print data information display means,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system displays a print data image. 3. The printing system according to claim 2, further comprising an enlargement unit that enlarges a desired range of the displayed print data image. 4. A storage unit for storing data, a print data storage unit for storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in the storage unit, and a printing unit for printing the print data for each management unit. Transfer means for transferring the print data from the storage means to the print means in a predetermined transfer unit for each management unit; and printing for displaying information on the print data in parallel with the transfer processing by the transfer means. A data information display unit, a division range designation unit that designates a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit, and a print order designation unit that designates a print order of the divided print data between different management units. In accordance with the specified order, the print data divided between the different management units and the print data of the single management unit Printing system characterized by comprising a print control means for printing Te. 5. The print data information display means,
The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the printing system displays a print data image. 6. The printing system according to claim 5, further comprising an enlargement unit that enlarges a desired range of the displayed print data image. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a transfer processing position indicator for indicating a position of data corresponding to data being transferred by the transfer unit in the displayed print data. Item 7. A printing system according to Item 6. 8. When the continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of pieces of print data in which the print order is specified is a position that has been indexed by the index means, the print order specification by the print order specification means is not permitted. The printing system according to claim 7, further comprising a printing order monitoring unit. 9. A pause position indexing means for indicating a position at which the transfer processing by the transfer means is to be temporarily suspended in the displayed print data, and data of data corresponding to a position subsequent to the position indexed by the pause position indexing means. 9. The printing system according to claim 4, further comprising transfer control means for temporarily stopping transfer. 10. A print data storage step of storing the print data for each management unit; a print data information display step of displaying information about the print data; and a print data division range of the print data for each management unit. A division range designating step for each printing unit, a printing order designation step for designating a printing order of the divided printing data between different management units, and a printing data division between different management units according to the specified order. And a management step of managing as print data of a single management unit. 11. The print control method according to claim 10, wherein a print data image is displayed in the print data information display step. 12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the print data image.
2. The printing control method according to 1. 13. A print data creation step of creating print data in a predetermined management unit; a print data storage step of storing the print data for each of the management units; and a print for printing the print data for each of the management units. A transfer step of transferring the print data in a predetermined transfer unit for each of the management units for the printing step; and print data information for displaying information about the print data in parallel with the transfer processing by the transfer step. A display step; a division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; a print order designation step of designating a print order of divided print data between different management units; In accordance with the designated order, the print data divided between the different management units is regarded as the print data of the single management unit. Printing control method, characterized in that it and a printing control step of printed. 14. The print control method according to claim 12, wherein said print data information display means displays a print data image. 15. The print control method according to claim 14, further comprising an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the displayed print data image. 16. The print processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a transfer processing position indicating step of indicating a position of data corresponding to data being transferred in said transfer step in said print data. The print control method according to claim 1. 17. When the continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of print data specifying the print order is a position already indexed by the index step, the print order specification by the print order specification step is not permitted. 17. The print control method according to claim 16, further comprising a print order monitoring step. 18. A pause position indexing step for indicating a position at which transfer processing in the transfer step is temporarily stopped in the print data, and a transfer of data corresponding to a position after the position indicated by the pause position indexing step is temporarily performed. 18. The printing control method according to claim 13, further comprising a transfer control step of stopping the printing. 19. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, the print control program comprising: a print data storing step of storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in a computer; A print data information display step of displaying information relating to the print data; a division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; and print data divided between different management units. And a management step of managing divided print data between different management units as print data of a single management unit according to the designated order. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program as a feature is recorded. 20. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program causes a computer to further execute a step of displaying a print data image.
A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 9 is recorded. 21. A computer-readable recording medium having a print control program recorded thereon, wherein the print control program further causes a computer to perform an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the displayed print data image. A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 20 is recorded. 22. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, the print control program comprising: a print data storing step of storing print data created for each predetermined management unit in a computer; A transfer step of transferring the print data in a predetermined transfer unit for each of the management units for printing; a print data information display step of displaying information about the print data in parallel with the transfer processing by the transfer step; A division range designation step of designating a division range of the print data for each print data of each management unit; a print order designation step of designating a print order of divided print data between different management units; and a designated order. In accordance with, the print data divided between the different management units and the print data of a single management unit A computer-readable recording medium in which a print control program for causing a computer to execute a print control process. 23. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program causes a computer to further execute a step of displaying a print data image in the print data information displaying step. A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 22 is recorded. 24. A computer-readable recording medium having a print control program recorded thereon, wherein the print control program further causes a computer to perform an enlarging step of enlarging a desired range of the displayed print data image. A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 23 is recorded. 25. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program causes a computer to correspond to the displayed print data corresponding to data being transferred in the transfer step. 25. A computer-readable recording medium in which a print control program according to claim 22, further comprising a transfer processing position indicating step of indicating a position of data to be executed. 26. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program stores, in a computer, a continuous position between each divided range in a plurality of pieces of print data specifying a print order.
26. The print control program according to claim 25, further comprising executing a print order monitoring step in which the print order designation in the print order designation step is not permitted when the position is an indexed position in the index step. Computer-readable recording medium. 27. A computer-readable recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, wherein the print control program causes a computer to specify a position at which the displayed print data is to be temporarily stopped from being transferred by the transfer process. 27. The apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a pause position indexing step for indexing, and a transfer control step for temporarily suspending transfer of data corresponding to the position after the position indexed by the pause position indexing step. A computer-readable recording medium in which the print control program according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is recorded.