JPH11136496A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure a print area for one page which is as close as possible to the size of an original document page and to perform condensed printing by means of an image forming device which condenses a document on plural pages into it on one sheet of paper and prints it. SOLUTION: This device defines the number of pages to undergo condensed printing on one sheet of paper in accordance with the paper size and the number of pages to be printed, decides a print area format so that an print area per page of the document may be the largest at the time and performs condensed printing by reducing or turning each page of the document to be within the print area. Also, when the condensed printing of one document is printed out on plural sheets of paper, it forms print images which secure the entire balance and are easy to be seen so that the direction of seeing as a printed result of one document and the size per page may be constant by printing on a second and succeeding sheets in the format that is the same as a 1st paper regardless of the number of residual pages of the document.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a digital copier, a printer, or a digital multifunction peripheral having functions of a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and the like. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can collectively print on a sheet of paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a printer has a normal printing function of printing a document of one page on one sheet of paper, and a document of a plurality of pages having a size of a plurality of pages. Some have a function of printing on a single sheet of paper, and a function of reducing a document of a plurality of pages and storing the document on one sheet of paper. These functions are integrated printing, 2in1 (two-
It is known by names such as “in-one” printing and 4 in 1 (for in one) printing. Aggregate printing is a function used for the purpose of reducing the number of prints, and plays a role in resource saving. An image forming apparatus having such a function of aggregate printing stores a plurality of types of print format data for aggregate printing corresponding to the number of stored pages in a memory for each sheet size, and allows a user to perform aggregate printing in the case of aggregate printing. The printing is performed by calling the data of the print format specified by the.

[0003]

However, the above-described conventional image forming apparatus simply performs printing in accordance with the divided format data registered in the memory in advance.
For example, when the print format "4 pages into one page" is specified, if the original document has only one page, only the upper left area is displayed. However, there is a problem that unnatural printing in which the printing area is biased, such as when printing is performed only on the printing area. Therefore,
A first object of the present invention is to provide an image capable of forming a print image which is easy to view by performing printing while securing a print area per page as close as possible to the original print size when performing aggregate printing. An object of the present invention is to provide a forming apparatus. Further, a second problem of the present invention is that when aggregate printing of one document is output over a plurality of sheets,
By printing in the same print format as the first page regardless of the number of remaining pages of the document, the overall balance is secured so that the viewing direction and the size per page are constant as the printing result of one document An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming a print image.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of printing a plurality of pages of a document on a single sheet. According to the size and the number of pages of the document to be printed, the number of pages to be printed collectively on one sheet is defined within a predetermined number of pages, and at that time, the printing area per page of the document is maximized. Thus, the print area configuration is determined, and each page of the document is reduced or rotated so as to fit in the print area. Also,
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when determining the print area configuration, the print area configuration on the paper is determined according to the paper size and the form of each page to be collectively printed on the paper. It is characterized in that it has a function of changing the arrangement, printing direction, and printing order of each page to determine a print area configuration with consistency. Here, the form of each page refers to the frame shape and size of each page, the state of character strings such as vertical writing and horizontal writing, and the like. Further, the print area configuration with consistency is a print area configuration in which the page order and arrangement of documents to be collectively printed are arranged in order without being dispersed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect,
If the number of pages constituting one document exceeds the upper limit of the predetermined number of pages to be collectively printed on one sheet, the second and subsequent pages are also determined based on the print area configuration determined for the first sheet. It is characterized by having a function to perform aggregate printing. With the above-described configuration, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to perform aggregate printing while securing a print area per page as close as possible to the original document print size. Therefore, when the number of pages of the document is small, an easy-to-read print result using paper effectively can be obtained. Claim 3
According to the invention described in (1), when a single document is printed on a plurality of sheets, the second and subsequent sheets are printed in the same print area configuration (print format) as the first sheet regardless of the number of remaining pages. As a result, the overall balance can be secured so that the viewing direction and the size per page are constant as a result of printing one document.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. Here, an example of an image forming apparatus capable of storing a maximum of eight pages on one sheet will be described as aggregate printing. Also, the print engine of the image forming apparatus of this example is capable of printing up to 1200 dpi. FIG. 1 is a main block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. A print data receiving unit 1, a print data expanding unit 2, a developed data holding unit 3, and a developed data frame re-forming unit 4 are shown. , A system control unit 5 and a print operation control unit 6 schematically showing the configuration of an image processing system and a control system. The print data receiving unit 1 receives print data from a host device such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus via a signal line or the like, interprets the data, print conditions, job division, and print development. This is a functional element that recognizes data and the like. The print data developing unit 2 is a functional element that performs a process of developing the data for print development received from the print data receiving unit 1 in page units. The expanded data holding unit 3 is a functional element for storing the expanded data for each page created by the print data expanding unit 2 and also holds the page frame expanded data created by the expanded data frame reforming unit 4. It is a functional element to keep. The decompressed data frame re-forming unit 4 processes the decompressed data sent from the decompressed data holding unit 3 in accordance with the page frame instruction data such as the resolution and the aggregation given by the system control unit 5, and processes each page. Is a functional element that is re-formed into page frame data and supplied to the print operation control unit 6. The system control unit 5 is a functional element that determines the printing conditions for each print job, gives instructions to the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 and the printing operation control unit 6, and controls the entire image forming apparatus. is there. The printing operation control unit 6 performs an operation for outputting page frame data for one page of paper as an image, that is, an operation of forming a toner image corresponding to the page frame data, an operation of transporting the paper, and an operation of transferring to the paper. Transfer operation of toner image,
This is a functional element that outputs print control data to the print engine to cause the print engine to perform a fixing operation and the like.

FIG. 2 conceptually shows an example of a printing result by the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. (1) Normal printing, (2) is 2 in 1 printing, (3) and (4) are 4i.
n1 printing and (5) to (10) show the printing results of 8-in-1 printing, respectively. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the print result example shown in FIG. 2 and the processing flow shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a processing flow in the aggregate print mode of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
When the print data expanding unit 2 generates expanded data for one page (S1), the system control unit 5 checks which page is the expanded data (S1).
2). As a result, if the data is the expanded data of the first page, after the expanded data frame reforming unit 4 creates a page frame for normal printing (S3), the acquired expanded data is expanded according to the created page frame. It is stored in the section 2 (S4). If there is no data to be printed other than the expanded data of the first page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), the print data stored in the print data expanding unit 2 is read, and transmitted to the print operation control unit 6. Then, printing is performed in the same page frame as in normal printing (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG. If the result of determination in step S2 is that the expanded data is the second page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S3 (S7), 2in1
After re-forming the page frame for printing (S8), the acquired expanded data (including the expanded data of the first page in this case)
Is stored in the print data developing unit 2 in accordance with the re-formed page frame (S9). In this case, the data of each page is 1
/ 2 and rotated by 90 ° to fit in the page frame. If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the second page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), the print data stored in the print data expanding unit 2 is read, and transmitted to the print operation control unit 6. To print (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG.

[0007] As a result of the determination in step S2,
If the data is the expanded data of the third page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S7), and re-creates the page frame for 4-in-1 printing (S8). The data (in this case, including the expanded data of the first and second pages) is stored in the print data expanding unit 2 in accordance with the re-formed page frame (S
9). In this case, a process of reducing the data of each page to 1/4 and storing the data in a page frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the rasterized data of the third page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), and the print data rasterizing unit 2
The print data stored in the printing operation control unit 6 is read out.
To be printed (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG. If the result of determination in step S2 is that the expanded data is the fourth page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S12), and matches the fourth page with the page frame. Is stored in the print data developing unit 2 (S13). That is, in this case, since the page frame for 4-in-1 printing created in step S8 can be used as it is, the page frame re-forming process is not performed, and
Only the process of reducing the data of the page to １ ／ and putting it in the page frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the fourth page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), the print data stored in the print data expanding unit 2 is read, and transmitted to the print operation control unit 6. To print (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG.

Further, as a result of the determination in step S2,
If the data is the expanded data of the fifth page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S7), and then re-creates the page frame for 8-in-1 printing (S8). The developed data (including the developed data of the first to fifth pages in this case) is stored in the print data developing unit 2 in accordance with the re-formed page frame (S9). In this case, a process of reducing the data of each page by 1/8 and rotating it by 90 ° to fit it in a page frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the development data of the fifth page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5).
s), read out the print data stored in the print data developing unit 2 and send it to the print operation control unit 6 to print (S1).
4). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG.
If the result of determination in step S2 is that the expanded data is the sixth page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S1).
2) The developed data of the sixth page is stored in the print data developing unit 2 in accordance with the page frame (S13). That is, in this case, since the page frame for 8in1 printing created in step S8 can be used as it is, the page frame re-forming process is not performed, and the data of the sixth page is reduced to 1/8 and rotated by 90 ° to rotate the page. Only the processing to fit in the frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the sixth page, it is determined that the print job has ended (S
Then, the print data stored in the print data developing unit 2 is read out, transmitted to the print operation control unit 6, and printed (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG.

Further, as a result of the determination in step S2,
If the data is the expanded data of the seventh page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S12), and expands the expanded data of the seventh page in accordance with the page frame. (S1
3). That is, in this case, similarly to the sixth page, step S8
Since the page frame for 8in1 printing created in the above can be used as it is, the page frame re-forming process is not performed.
Only the process of reducing the data of the seventh page to １ ／ and rotating it by 90 ° to fit in the page frame is performed. And
If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the seventh page, it is determined that the print job is completed (Yes in S5), the print data stored in the print data expanding unit 2 is read, and transmitted to the print operation control unit 6 for printing. (S14). The print result at this time is as shown in FIG.

Further, as a result of the judgment in step S2,
If the data is the expanded data of the eighth page, the expanded data frame reforming unit 4 acquires the page frame created in step S8 (S12), and expands the expanded data of the eighth page in accordance with the page frame. (S1
3). That is, also in this case, similarly to the sixth and seventh pages, the page frame for 8in1 printing created in step S8 can be used as it is, so that the page frame re-forming process is not performed and the data of the eighth page is reduced to 1/8. And 90
Only the process of rotating and fitting it into the page frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the seventh page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), and
The print data stored in the print data development unit 2 is read out, transmitted to the print operation control unit 6, and printed (S1).
4). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG.

Also, as a result of the determination in step S2,
If the expanded data is the ninth page, the expanded data frame re-forming unit 4 creates a page frame for 8-in-1 printing (S10), and then sends the acquired expanded data to the print data expanding unit 2 in accordance with the created page frame. Store (S
11). That is, in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, since up to eight pages can be collectively printed on one sheet, the development data of the ninth page has the same print area configuration as the first sheet and the second sheet. Is stored in the first area. At this time, a process of reducing the data of the ninth page to １ ／ and rotating it by 90 ° to fit it in a page frame is performed. If there is no data to be printed after the expanded data of the ninth page, it is determined that the print job has ended (Yes in S5), the print data stored in the print data expanding unit 2 is read, and transmitted to the print operation control unit 6. To print (S14). The printing result at this time is as shown in FIG. Also, as a result of the determination in step S2, the same processing as described above is performed when it is determined that the data is the expanded data of the tenth and subsequent pages. FIG. 2 (10) shows a print result when the expanded data is the tenth page.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram when the expanded data is stored in a page frame. Note that this example is for a case where a page frame is handled as 600 dpi. FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram of storing data obtained by expanding print data at 300 dpi in a page frame, and FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram of storing data obtained by expanding print data of 600 dpi into a page frame. It is. In the above-described embodiment, the print data is developed one page at a time from the first page of the document, and the print page frame is re-formed whenever necessary. For example, it is also effective to create a print page frame in accordance with the number of pages to be aggregated when, for example, the expansion of the first page is completed up to the fifth page, or when the completion of the print job is detected by that time.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to perform the aggregate printing while securing a print area per page as close as possible to the original document print size. When the number is small, it is possible to obtain an easy-to-read print result using paper effectively. According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the aggregate printing of one document is performed on a plurality of sheets, the second and subsequent sheets have the same print area configuration (print format) as the first sheet regardless of the number of remaining pages. By performing printing, the overall balance can be ensured so that the viewing direction and the size per page are constant as the printing result of one document.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2 (1) to (10) are explanatory diagrams conceptually showing examples of printing results by the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing in an integrated printing mode of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams conceptually showing a state in which expanded data is stored in a page frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 print data receiving section, 2 print data expanding section, 3 expanded data holding section, 4 expanded data frame re-forming section, 5
System control unit, 6 printing operation control unit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus capable of printing a document of a plurality of pages on a single sheet of paper according to the size of the sheet and the number of pages of the document to be printed.
The number of pages to be collectively printed on one sheet is defined within a predetermined number of pages, and at that time, the print area configuration is determined so that the print area per page of the document is maximized, and the print area is set within the print area. An image forming apparatus having a function of reducing or rotating each page of a document to perform aggregate printing. 2. The printing area configuration is determined by changing the arrangement, printing direction, and printing order of each page on the paper according to the paper size and the form of each page to be collectively printed on the paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of determining a print area configuration having good characteristics. 3. When the number of pages constituting one document exceeds the predetermined upper limit of the number of pages to be collectively printed on one sheet,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of performing collective printing on the second and subsequent sheets in accordance with the print area configuration determined for the first sheet.