JPH11232064A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize printing information on a picture to be printed with a simple operation by collectively displaying printing information which is read from a storage means on a display screen. SOLUTION: Information (printing information) based on a complication consent is collectively displayed on the display part of a display screen 81. The function is called as a property display function. For executing the property display function, the prescribed function key 320 of a keyboard 3 is depressed. Then, an operation mode is shifted to a printing information display mode from an input mode and the screen of a display part is switched. Then, printing information is displayed on the display part. In the property display function, printing information by a nuclear compilation, which is stored in RAM 240, is read by CPU 210 and it is displayed on the display part through a liquid crystal driving circuit 283 so that it can be scrolled. Thus, it is not necessary to switch the display part to a compilation screen for many times for recognizing printing information by collectively displaying printing information on the display part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for displaying print information of an image to be printed, such as a tape printer or a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printing apparatus, when various kinds of editing are performed on an image to be printed displayed on a display screen, for example, the background of the image (character image) is changed to a desired image or color. When setting or setting the character color to a desired color, from the viewpoint of necessity to display a plurality of options and operability, etc., the display screen is changed to a screen for editing each (edit screen). Switching and editing. That is, the setting of the background of the image is performed on the editing screen for setting the background, and the setting of the character color is performed on the editing screen for setting the character color.

[0003]

When the above-mentioned image editing is diversified, the user may forget what setting is made for some of the various types of editing. Based on your edits,
The user may want to confirm the print information of the image.
In such a case, the display screen is switched to the edit screen for the desired edit and the print information is checked on the edit screen in the same manner as in the above-described image edit, so that the check operation is extremely complicated. That is, after confirming one print information, in order to confirm other print information, the display screen must be once switched from the edit screen to the edit screen for another edit. Further, in the case of editing an image, if editing (lower level editing) of a lower hierarchy is provided, the print information of the lower level edit is checked, and then the print information of the lower level edit of the other edit is checked. In order to perform this, the display screen must be switched again in two steps, and then switched to another lower-level editing screen in two steps, and the display screen must be switched in a total of four steps. Is more complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of easily confirming print information of an image to be printed by a simple operation. With the goal.

[0005]

A printing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a plurality of image display means for displaying an image to be printed on a display screen and a plurality of display screens of the image display means for editing the image to be printed. Screen switching means capable of switching to the editing screen of the user, storage means for storing print information of an image to be printed based on the editing content set on each editing screen, and print information read from the storage means, collectively displaying the display screen. And print information display means for displaying the print information.

According to this configuration, even when the display screen is switched to a plurality of editing screens and the settings are made for each editing screen to edit the image to be printed, the print information based on the editing contents is not changed. Since the information is collectively displayed on the display screen, it is not necessary to repeatedly switch the display screen to the edit screen when confirming the print information as in the related art. Therefore, all of the print information can be easily confirmed by a simple operation such as pressing a key for displaying the print information.

[0007] Here, "editing" means, for example, a background (a background image having a pattern or a background color) such as a character image.
And edits relating to the image itself such as text color, and edits relating to printing conditions such as the size of the print medium and the margin length, which will be described later.

In this case, it is preferable that the plurality of editing screens include a printing condition editing screen on which printing conditions of an image to be printed can be set.

According to this configuration, the printing conditions of the image, for example, the settings relating to the size of the printing medium and the margin length are also displayed as the printing information, so that the user can be made clearer and more detailed before printing. Images to be printed can be imagined.

[0010] In the printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, it is preferable that the print information display means is configured to be capable of scrolling the print information on a display screen.

With this configuration, even if all the print information cannot be displayed on the display screen at once, all the print information can be displayed on the display screen by sequentially scrolling the print information.

In the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when all of the print information cannot be displayed on the display screen, the print information display means displays other print information that cannot be displayed on the display screen. It is preferable to be configured to be capable of switching display.

According to this configuration, the other print information that cannot be displayed on the information display screen is switched and displayed on the display screen, whereby the other print information can be sequentially displayed on a display screen basis. Therefore, all of the print information can be quickly confirmed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a case where a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a tape printing apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1 performs color printing of a desired character or the like input by a key on a tape T by an ink jet method, and cuts a printed portion of the tape T to create a label.

The tape printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 2, a keyboard 3 for inputting and editing characters, a tape cartridge 4 containing a tape T as a print medium,
An ink cartridge 5 (see FIG. 2) filled with color ink is provided. The tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2.

The apparatus main body 2 has an outer shell formed by an apparatus case 6, and an opening / closing lid 7 for attaching and detaching the tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 is widely provided at an upper portion of the apparatus case 6. A small window 9 corresponding to the image display unit 8 built in the apparatus main body 2 is formed in the upper right part on the front side (keyboard 3 side) of the opening / closing lid 7.
A transparent panel 9a is attached to the small window 9. Further, a slit-shaped tape discharge port 10 for discharging the tape T to the outside is formed on a side surface of the device case 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, a tape cartridge 4 in which a tape T is wound and accommodated, a tape feeding unit 11 for feeding the tape T to the outside of the apparatus main body 2, and a print image are printed in the apparatus case 6. A printing unit 12, a cutting unit 13 for cutting the tape T, a circuit board 14 for controlling each unit of the tape printing apparatus 1, and the like are mounted.

The tape cartridge 4 includes a printing tape T1 on which a print image is printed, and a laminating tape T2 which is attached to a printed portion of the printing tape T1 from above. These printing tape T1 and laminating tape T
2 is wound and accommodated in a print tape accommodating portion 4a and a laminating tape accommodating portion 4b provided on both left and right sides of the printing portion 12, respectively. The printing tape T1 includes a base tape, an adhesive layer applied to the back surface of the base tape,
And a release paper tape attached to the adhesive layer. On the other hand, the laminate tape T2 includes a base tape made of a transparent film, and an adhesive layer applied to the back surface of the base tape. The base tape of the laminate tape T2 is formed to have substantially the same width as the printing tape T1, and is attached to the printing tape T1 so that both ends in the width direction are aligned at the time of printing.

The printing unit 12 includes a print head 121 having a large number of ink nozzles (not shown) arranged at an end thereof, and a cartridge holder 2 provided above the print head 121.
1 and the print head 12 via the cartridge holder 21.
1 includes an ink cartridge 5 detachably mounted on the printer 1 and a carriage 22 on which the print head 121 and the ink cartridge 5 are mounted. Ink cartridge 5
Has an ink tank 5a filled with inks of four colors, yellow, cyan, magenta and black.
When the ink cartridge 5 is mounted on the print head 121, the ink tank 5a of each color of the ink cartridge 5 is mounted.
Communicates with the print head 121, and ink can be supplied.

The carriage 22 is slidably mounted on a carriage guide shaft 23 extending in the width direction of the printing tape T1, and a carriage motor (CR motor) 1 is provided.
22 (refer to FIG. 5), through a timing belt (not shown), in the left-right direction (the width direction of the printing tape T1).
Reciprocating. Also, the carriage 22
Is provided with a light-shielding plate (not shown), and when the light-shielding plate faces a position detection sensor 98 (see FIG. 5) formed of a photo interrupter or the like, the print head 121 is at a home position (not shown). Then, position correction such as zero point correction is performed. In other words, the home position is a standby position of the print head 121 and a reference position for printing. Therefore, by rotating the CR motor 122 by a predetermined number of steps from the reference position, the carriage 22 is moved to the printing tape. A desired color printing is performed on the surface of the printing tape T1 by moving the printing head 121 to each position in the width direction of the printing range of T1 with high accuracy and driving the printing head 121 in synchronization with this.

The tape cartridge 4 is provided with an identification plate (not shown) indicating identification information based on a bit pattern or the like. An identification sensor 99 (see FIG. 5) mounted on the carriage 22 faces the identification plate. Thus, the type of the tape T, the printing start position of the tape T on the printing tape T1, and the like are detected.

The tape feeding section 11 has a printing tape side feeding mechanism 11a and a laminating tape side feeding mechanism 11b provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the feeding direction with the print head 121 interposed therebetween. The print tape side feed mechanism 11a includes a feed roller 41 having a feed driven roller 42 and a feed drive roller 43 arranged vertically, and a tape feed motor (PF) for rotating the feed drive roller 43.
Motor) 111 (see FIG. 5).

The feed drive roller 43 is provided on the apparatus main body 2, and the feed driven roller 42 is provided on the tape cartridge 4. When the tape cartridge 4 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the feed driven roller 42 presses the print tape T1 so as to sandwich the print tape T1 between the feed drive roller 43 and the feed driven roller 42. By rotating the tape feed motor 111 in this state, the print tape T1 sandwiched between the feed driven roller 42 and the feed drive roller 43 is sent to the front.

On the other hand, the laminating tape side feeding mechanism 11b
Includes a laminating roller 44 in which a lami driven roller 45 and a lami driving roller 46 are vertically arranged, and a laminating motor (not shown) for driving the lami driving roller 46 to rotate. The laminating motor and the tape feed motor are the same (PF motor 111), and the power is branched via a reduction gear train (not shown) to operate the feed roller 41 and the laminating roller 44, respectively. ing.

The lami drive roller 46 and the lami driven roller 45 are provided on the apparatus main body 2 and the tape cartridge 4, respectively, similarly to the feed drive roller 43 and the feed driven roller 42 described above. When the tape cartridge 4 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the lami driven roller 45 presses the print tape T <b> 1 and the laminate tape T <b> 2 so as to sandwich the print tape T <b> 1 and the laminate tape T <b> 2 between them. And. When the laminating motor rotates in this state, the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 sandwiched between the lami driven roller 45 and the lami driving roller 46 are sent to the front while being adhered.

The cutting section 13 comprises a cutter 51 and a cutter motor 131 (see FIG. 5) for cutting the cutter. After the printing is completed, the tape T is
After step-feeding by 11 for a predetermined distance, the operation stops. Immediately thereafter, the cutter motor 131 is driven to cut the printed portion of the tape T.

The keyboard 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 2 so that the keyboard 3 can be turned upside down. For this reason, the tape printer 1
Is used, the keyboard 3 is pulled down (see FIG. 1), the tape printer 1 is carried,
Alternatively, when the keyboard 3 is to be stored, the keyboard 3 is raised. Thus, the tape printer 1
When the device is carried or stored, the whole device becomes compact, so that the portability and the storage property are excellent.

FIG. 3 is a key layout diagram of the keyboard 3. As shown in the figure, the keyboard 3 has a large number of character keys 310 for inputting characters such as characters and symbols, and a plurality of function keys 320, 320 sandwiching these character keys 310, respectively. Is provided. Each key of the character key 310 is formed in a circular convex shape, and a hiragana, an alphabet, a number, or a symbol is described on the surface or the upper side (FIG. 3).
Then, a part is described). On the other hand, the upper and lower function keys 320,
Most keys of 320 are formed in a rectangular convex shape,
The function of each key and the like are described on the surface and the upper side (a part is shown in FIG. 3).

The upper function key 320 mainly has a key for shifting the operation mode of the tape printer 1 to various editing modes. Accordingly, by pressing these keys, the operation mode is changed to, for example, a background editing mode for setting the background of the image of the input character or a character color editing mode for setting the character color of the character image. Can be done. A print key 321 for instructing a print operation is provided at the left end.

On the other hand, the lower function key 320 has a key for converting a kanji character when the operation mode is the input mode, and for specifying a desired one from options when the operation mode is the edit mode. I have. Therefore, for example, when converting an input character to kanji, the conversion key 326, the cursor key 327, and the selection key 328 are appropriately operated. Note that the shift key 324 is the character key 31
By simultaneously pressing 0 and other function keys 320,
This is for inputting characters and the like described above the character keys 310 and for performing the functions described above the function keys 320. Reference numeral 325 denotes a power key of the tape printer 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the image display section 8. The image display unit 8 includes a display screen 81 that displays an image of the input character and the like. This display screen 8
Reference numeral 1 denotes a monochrome liquid crystal display. A liquid crystal display 82 for displaying the image and the like and a plurality of indicators 85 to be described later is provided on the liquid crystal display 82, and the meaning of each indicator 85 is defined in advance. It is composed of the described mode description section 83. In the liquid crystal display unit 82, an image image (print image) when the image is printed, menus and options for image editing, and the like are displayed on the display unit 84, which occupies most of the image, in addition to the character image. When displaying a print image, the liquid crystal display unit 82 displays the image in four gradations (4
(Gradation display).

In the tape printer 1, the input state from the keyboard 3 (Roman character input, kana input, etc.), the font of the character image at the time of printing (Mincho, Gothic, etc.), the printing style (vertical writing, fixed length printing) ) And the background (solid color, decoration, etc.) of the character image (hereinafter referred to as “mode style”), the indicator 85 is lit to indicate what mode style is set at the time of use. Display. Therefore, for example, when the input state is a Roman character input, the indicator 85 located immediately below “Roman character” is turned on, and when the font of the character image is designated as Gothic, the “Gothic” is displayed. The indicator 85 located immediately below lights up.

Next, referring to FIG.
The basic configuration of the control system in will be described. As shown in the figure, the control of the tape printer 1 is performed by the control unit 200 mounted on the circuit board 14 based on input signals from the keyboard 3, the position detection sensor 98, and the identification sensor 99, by the drive circuit unit 280. , The printing unit 12, the tape feeding unit 11, the cutting unit 13, and the image display unit 8 are controlled.

The control unit 200 includes a CPU 210, a ROM 2
20, character generator ROM (CG-ROM)
230, a RAM 240, an input interface 250, and an output interface 260, which are mutually connected by a bus 270.

The ROM 220 stores a color conversion table 221 and a character modification table 222 in addition to a control program and the like processed by the CPU 210. CG-ROM2
Numeral 30 stores font data of characters such as characters, symbols, and graphics prepared in the tape printer 1, and outputs corresponding font data when code data specifying the character is given.

The RAM 240 has various register groups 241,
A text memory 242 for storing text data of a character input from the keyboard 3, a display image data memory 243 for storing display image data of the display screen 81,
Print image data memory 244 for storing print image data
Etc. and is used as a work area for control processing. Note that the RAM 240 is supplied with power by a backup circuit (not shown) so as to retain the stored data even when the power is turned off.

The input interface 250 is connected to the keyboard 3, the position detection sensor 98, the identification sensor 99, etc., and receives various commands and input data from the keyboard 3, a position detection signal from the position detection sensor 98, and an identification from the identification sensor 99. This is a circuit for taking an information signal or the like into the bus 270. Also, the output interface 260
This is a circuit for outputting data and control signals output from the PU 210 and the like to the bus 270 to the drive circuit unit 280.

The position detection sensor 98 includes a print head 121
Has reached the home position, the identification sensor 99
Detects the type of the tape cartridge 4 and the tape T and the print start position, and outputs the respective detection signals to the control unit 200.
Is entered.

The drive circuit section 280 includes a head drive circuit 281, a motor drive circuit 282, and a liquid crystal drive circuit 2
83. The head drive circuit 281
The print head 121 of the printing unit 12 is driven according to a control signal output from the control unit 200. Similarly, the motor drive circuit 282 drives the CR motor 122 of the printing unit 12, the PF motor 111 of the tape feeding unit 11, and the cutter motor 131 of the cutting unit 13 according to the instruction of the control unit 200. Similarly, the liquid crystal driving circuit 283 includes the control unit 200
The image display unit 8 is controlled according to the instruction.

In the control system configured as described above, the CPU 210 of the control unit 200 controls various commands and various data from the keyboard 3 via the input interface 250 and the position from the position detection sensor 98 in accordance with the control program in the ROM 220. A detection signal, an identification information signal from the identification sensor 99, and the like are input, font data from the CG-ROM 230, various data in the RAM 240, and the like are processed, and the drive circuit unit 2 is output via the output interface 260.
The control signal is output to 80. In this way, printing control, display control of the display screen 81, and the like are performed, and the entire tape printing apparatus 1 is controlled, such as controlling the print head 121 to perform color printing on the tape T under predetermined printing conditions.

In the case of the tape printing apparatus 1, the printing apparatus of the present invention is mainly realized by the image display unit 8, the control unit 200 and the keyboard 3, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. The operation which is a characteristic of the operation will be described while showing an operation procedure until a label is created.

First, when the power is turned on and the tape printing apparatus 1 is started, an image in a state immediately before the power was turned off at the previous start is displayed on the display screen 81. That is, in this tape printer 1, the power supply is OF
F, in addition to the various settings registered by the user,
The data of the previous image is stored in the RAM 240 together with the edited data (including mode-style data), and the image based on the image data and the edited data is displayed on the display screen 81 immediately after startup. Is displayed. At the time of the previous start-up, if all the images of the input characters and the like have been erased and the power has been turned off, or if the tape printer 1 is used for the first time, as shown in FIG. Is displayed on the display section 84 of the display screen 81 only at the beginning of the line (a mark whose line number is surrounded by a square).

Here, when only the line start mark shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, a character string of "handling attention" is input,
Various editing operations for the character string and subsequent printing to create a label will be sequentially described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the display section 84 immediately after the character string of "handling attention" is input. As shown in the figure, when the character string of "Handling Caution" is input, the display unit 84 displays a print image of "Handling Caution" and its upper half in addition to the character string of "Handling Caution". The length of the label (hereinafter, referred to as “tape length”) is displayed.

In this print image, data of a character string of “handling care” is developed in the RAM 240 for the print image, and a control signal thereof is output to the liquid crystal drive circuit 283 so as to be displayed on the display section 84. I have. on the other hand,
The tape length is calculated based on the character size, the number of characters, and the inter-character distance of each character of “Handling Precautions”, and a value obtained by adding the front and rear margins to the value is displayed. In the tape printer 1, the user can set the length of the label by himself in order to create a label of a fixed length (constant length printing). In this case, the tape length is set as the tape length. Is displayed.

It is of course possible to create a label by inputting a character string of "handling care" as described above and then printing it as it is, but in the tape printing apparatus 1,
Various edits can be performed on the input character, thereby creating a label with rich expressive power. Therefore, a case where the background and the character color of the character are set will be described below as an example of editing.

The state in which the operation mode is the input mode (FIG. 7)
8), when the predetermined function key 320 for setting the background is appropriately operated, the operation mode is changed from the input mode to the background editing mode, the display unit 84 is switched to the background editing screen, and various types of operations shown in FIG. A background (hereinafter, a background having a pattern is referred to as a “decorative background”) is displayed. In other words, based on the background editing command from the keyboard 3, the CP
U210 reads various decorative backgrounds from the ROM 220,
These are displayed on the display unit 84 of the display screen 81 via the liquid crystal drive circuit 283. Therefore, the screen switching means includes the keyboard 3, the CPU 210, the ROM 220, the liquid crystal drive circuit 283, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 8, a title of background editing (in this case, "decorative background") is displayed at the upper part of the display unit 84, and a plurality of selectable items (one screen in this embodiment) are displayed below the title. 3) decorative backgrounds are displayed. Specifically, an image of the decorative background is displayed on the left half of the display unit 84, and its name (background name) is displayed on the right half of the display unit 84 together with a serial number assigned to each decorative background in advance. The serial number is for facilitating selection by the user based on a list of decorative backgrounds provided and printed in advance.

As shown in FIG. 8, on the background editing screen,
One of the background names is black-and-white inverted (“color box” in FIG. 8), indicating that the background was set at the time of the previous activation. Here, the cursor key 327 is appropriately operated to move the cursor (black / white inversion) to the background name of the desired decorative background, and then the selection key 328 is pressed. As a result, the desired decorative background is set as the background of the character string of “Handling Caution”. When the cursor key 327 of the down arrow (“↓”) is further pressed when the cursor is set to “flower garbage”, the decorative background and the background name are sequentially scrolled upward, and the decorative background and the background name outside the figure are displayed. Is displayed on the display unit 84.

In this background editing, it is assumed that a decorative background (background name: warning) shown in FIG. 9 has been set. When the decoration background of the “warning” is printed in color, the whole is printed in yellow, the leftmost triangular mark is printed in black, and the “!” Mark in the triangular mark is printed in white.

When the setting of the background is completed, the operation mode changes from the background editing mode to the input mode again, and the display unit 8
4 is switched to the screen shown in FIG. That is, in the upper half of the display section 84 on which the print image is displayed, a print image of the character string of “Handling Caution” and a print image of the decorative background of “Warning” set above are superimposed as the background. Is displayed. A background name is displayed together with the tape length at the left end of the upper half of the display unit 84. In this case, the indicator 85 (the second from the upper left in FIG. 4) indicating that the decorative background is set is turned on.

In the display section 84, the print image of the character string of "Handling Caution" and the print image of the decorative background of "Warning" are both based on the gradation of the color data in the respective print data. Is displayed. That is, since the display unit 84 is configured by a monochrome liquid crystal display, the image of the print image is displayed in white or gray close to white when the gradation is a value expressing a light color, When the gradation is a value that expresses a dark color, it is displayed in black or gray close to black. Accordingly, if the gradation of the print data of the character string of "handling attention" and the decorative background of "warning" are the same, and both print images are displayed on the display unit 84 at the gradation, for example, Even if the color of the character string of "Handling Precautions" in color printing is different from the color of the decorative background (background color) of "Warning", both printed images are displayed in the same color (dark and light). .

Therefore, in the tape printing apparatus 1, the gradation of the print image of the character is set to the gradation representing the darkest color that can be displayed by the display unit 84, and the gradation of the print image of the decorative background is set to other values. The two print images are displayed on the display section 84 as the gradation of. Specifically, CPU 2
Reference numeral 10 controls the gradation of both print images stored in the RAM 240 as described above.

The display of the print image of the character and the print image of the decorative background on the display unit 84 will be described in further detail. As described above, the display unit 84 is configured to display the print image in four gradations of monochrome. ing. Therefore, the print image of the character is displayed at one gradation representing the darkest color, while the print image of the decorative background is displayed at the other three gradations.

By displaying the print image in four gradations, the print image of the character and the decorative background can be displayed in an extremely good state. In other words, when the print image is displayed with more than four gradations, the gradation of the print image of the character and the gradation expressing the darkest color among the print images of the decorative background are displayed in four gradations. And the print image of the character on the decorative background may be difficult to identify. Conversely, if a print image is displayed with less than four tones, for example, three tones, two tones can be used for the decorative background print image, and only a simple decorative background pattern is displayed. You will not be able to do it.

Therefore, as described above, the gradation of the print image of the character is expressed as the darkest color, and the print image of the character and the print image of the decorative background are displayed by displaying four gradations. Can be easily and unambiguously distinguished from each other, and a somewhat complicated decorative background can also be clearly identified. Also, by using a monochrome liquid crystal display of four gradations in the tape printing apparatus 1, it is possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus.

As for character background editing,
In addition to setting a decorative background such as the above "warning", it is also possible to select a desired color (background color) and set a plain background. In this case, a solid color indicator 85 indicating that a solid background is set
(The upper left end in FIG. 4) is lit. When the set background color is the same as the character color of a character set as described later, a warning notification as shown in FIG. 11 is temporarily displayed on the display portion of the print image, and Is to be aroused.

Next, the case of setting the character color of the character string of "handling attention" will be described. Also in this case, similarly to the above-described background editing, the function keys 320 are appropriately operated to
The operation mode is changed from the input mode to the character color editing mode. Then, the display unit 84 is switched to a text color editing screen, and various text colors shown in FIG. 12 are displayed. Then, by appropriately operating the cursor keys 327, the cursor is adjusted to a desired character color, and the selection key 328 is pressed. As a result, the character color of the character string of “Handling Caution” is set.

In this character color editing, it is assumed that red is set for the entire "handling care". In this case, "handling care"
As described above, even when the gradation of the character string and the gradation of the decorative background of the above “warning” become the same,
The print image of "handling caution" is displayed with the gradation expressing the darkest color, and the print image of the decorative background of "warning" is displayed with other gradations (see FIG. 10).

In the above description, as an example of editing, the case where the background and character color of a character are set has been described. However, the tape printer 1 can perform many other editing operations. Although detailed setting procedures are omitted, Table 1 below shows some other editing including the above editing.

[0061]

[Table 1]

It should be noted that, in the above Table 1, the editing in which "..." is described in the column of "specific examples of options" indicates that there are other than those in which the options are described. In addition, although a specific example of the outer frame describes “round frame, square frame,...”, Actually, the shape of the outer frame is displayed (FIG. 13).
(F), (g)).

As shown in Table 1 above, editing includes
Editing of the image itself ("Character color" to "Outer frame" in Table 1)
In addition, the length of the front and rear margins, which are printing conditions for printing an image on the printing tape T1, and the length of a label to be created (tape length) are also included. When these print conditions are set, the display unit 84 is switched to an edit screen (print condition edit screen) in the same manner as the above-described edit.

As described above, after editing the input character, printing may be performed immediately. However, in the tape printing apparatus 1, the editing contents set for each editing before printing can be easily edited. You can check it. That is, information (print information) based on the edited content can be displayed on the display unit 84 of the display screen 81 in a lump. In addition, this function,
Hereinafter, it is referred to as “property display function”.

When executing the property display function,
A predetermined function key 320 of the keyboard 3 is pressed. Then, the operation mode changes from the input mode to the print information display mode, the display unit 84 switches to the screen shown in FIG. 13A, and the print information is displayed on the display unit 84.

In the property display function, the RAM 24
0 is the print information by editing each of the above Table 1 stored in CP.
The data is read by U210 and displayed on the display unit 84 via the liquid crystal drive circuit 283 in a scrollable manner. Therefore,
Print information display means is constituted by the CPU 210, the liquid crystal drive circuit 283, and the like.

In practice, three items of each print information are displayed on the display section 84, and by appropriately operating the cursor key 327, the print information scrolls as shown in FIGS. Is displayed. At the right end of the display section 84, an upward or downward triangle mark is displayed.
By pressing the cursor key 327 in that direction,
This indicates that each print information can be scrolled to display other print information.

The display of the print information is not limited to the scroll display as described above, and is displayed on the display section 84 by appropriately operating a predetermined function key (cursor key or the like) 320. The print information may be switched and displayed for each print information to be performed. In such a case, the user only presses the predetermined function key once, and the print information is switched and displayed every number of display items of the print information (3 in the embodiment). Can be quickly confirmed.

Then, after confirming the print information, by pressing the print key 321 of the keyboard 3, a print image reflecting the editing set above is printed on the print tape T1, and the print portion of the laminate tape T2 Is affixed. After that, the printed portion of the tape T is
Is discharged to the outside, and cut by the cutting unit 13,
A label as shown in FIG. 14 is completed. It should be noted that the character of "handling caution" shown in the figure is a shadow character, and its character color and shadow color are printed in red and black, respectively. The entire background is yellow, the triangle mark and the outer frame are black, and the “!” Mark is printed in white.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, print information is collectively displayed on the display unit 84, so that the display unit 84 is used to confirm the print information as in the related art. No need to switch to the edit screen many times,
With a simple operation, all of the print information can be easily confirmed. Therefore, the work from input and editing of characters and the like to printing can be performed easily and quickly, and the printed image can be imaged in detail before printing.

In the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a tape printer is described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a word processor or the like.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the print information of the image to be printed is collectively displayed on the display screen, the print information can be easily and easily confirmed before printing. Therefore, the work from input and editing of characters and the like to printing can be performed easily and quickly, and the printed image can be imaged in detail before printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a tape printing apparatus to which a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional structural view showing the inside of the apparatus main body of the tape printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a key layout diagram of a keyboard.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing an image display unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the tape printing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial screen of a display unit in the tape printer.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display unit when a character is input.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an editing screen when setting a background.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a background (decorative background) of a background name “warning”.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display unit after a background is designated.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display unit when a warning is notified.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an editing screen when a character color is set.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a case where print information is scroll-displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a printed (color printed) label.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tape printer 2 apparatus main body 3 keyboard 4 tape cartridge 5 ink cartridge 8 image display unit 11 tape feed unit 12 printing unit 81 display screen 82 liquid crystal display unit 84 display unit 121 print head 200 control unit 210 CPU 220 ROM 240 RAM 280 drive Circuit part 283 Liquid crystal drive circuit T Tape T1 Printing tape T2 Laminating tape

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image display means for displaying an image to be printed on a display screen, and a screen switching means capable of switching a display screen of the image display means to a plurality of edit screens for editing the image to be printed. Storage means for storing print information of the image to be printed based on the editing content set on each of the edit screens; and print information for collectively displaying the print information read from the storage means on the display screen A printing apparatus comprising: a display unit. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of editing screens include a printing condition editing screen on which printing conditions of the image to be printed can be set. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print information display means is configured to be able to scroll-display the print information on the display screen. 4. The print information display means is configured to be able to switch and display other print information that cannot be displayed on the display screen when all of the print information cannot be displayed on the information display screen. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein