RU2820425C1 - Printing control method, printer driver device and computer-readable data medium - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: printing equipment.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed group of inventions relates to methods and devices for controlling printing. Disclosed method includes the following steps: obtaining an intermediate file sent by a print control device through a printer driver; converting the intermediate file into image format data by calling the image format conversion program through a printer driver; converting the intermediate file into image format data into the first page description language through a printer driver, wherein said first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. In addition, disclosed is a device for implementing the disclosed printing method, as well as a machine-readable data medium for controlling the device in order to implement the disclosed printing method.

EFFECT: higher quality of printing.

12 cl, 6 dwg

Description

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of image processing technology and, in particular, to a printing control method, a printer driver device, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Prerequisites for creating the invention

Because open source systems (such as the Linux operating system) rely on incremental environmental improvements, more users and developers are using open source systems; for example, NeoKylin, NFS-China and others have begun to use the Linux operating system architecture. Such an operating system is usually developed on the basis of the UNIX Universal Printing System (abbreviated CUPS); in a CUPS printing embodiment, it is often necessary to convert print files into PDF or other formats, and then send these intermediate files to the printer driver device; then the printer driver device converts the intermediate files into a page description language recognized by the image processing device, and then sends them to the image processing device for printing; The printer driver device's process of converting intermediate files to page description language requires a call to Ghostscript (a set of software compiled from Adobe's page description language, PostScript, and Portable Document Format).

However, in the process of implementing the above technical solution, the inventor discovered that the way the intermediate file is converted and processed by the printer driver device may cause the final printing performance to not meet the user's printing requests. For example, if the intermediate file contains objects with special attributes (such as masked images, transparent images, large or bold images, etc.), this will cause the image processing engine to take an excessively long time to parse and render page description language, which will complicate the workflow and reduce print quality.

For example, when using objects in bold, the page description language is converted to a vector graphics description language. Unlike a raster graphics description language, a vector graphics description is obtained by combining many vector graphics segments and each vector graphics segment requires a print command. Therefore, the simple process of making an object bold must comply with a variety of print commands; Directly converting image objects containing special attributes to a page description language may cause the image processing device to take an excessively long processing time and affect print quality.

The essence of the invention

Based on this, the present application provides a printing control method, a printer driver device and a computer-readable storage medium, in order to solve the problems of the prior art that the method of converting and processing intermediate files by an image processing apparatus may cause the final printing performance will not match user print requests.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a printing control method that is executed in a printer driver device, said printer driver device with the printer driver installed, including:

receiving the intermediate file sent by the print management device via the printer driver; an intermediate file is generated by said print control device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing;

converting said intermediate file into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver;

converting said image format data into a first page description language through a printer driver, and sending the data converted into said first page description language to an image processing device to perform image processing operations; said first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, when converting said intermediate file into image format data, the following is included:

assessing whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

if said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted to image format data.

Preferably, if said intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted into a second page description language and, after conversion into the second page description language, is sent to said image processing device to perform image processing operations; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, if said pre-attributed object includes a font of a given format, an image of a given format and/or an image of a given size, said font of a given format includes a bold font; said predetermined image includes a mask image and/or a transparent image; said predetermined size image includes an image whose size is greater than or equal to a predetermined image threshold.

Preferably, when converting said intermediate file into image format data, the following is included:

judging the performance of receiving an image mode command input by the user;

upon receiving an image mode command input by the user, said intermediate file is converted into image format data.

preferably, said method also includes:

if the image mode command input by the user is not received, evaluating whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

if said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted into image format data;

if said intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted to a second page description language and, after conversion to the second page description language, is sent to the image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, after converting said intermediate file to the second page description language, the following is also included:

judging whether the complexity of said second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold;

if the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold, then said intermediate file is converted into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver, and then said image format data is converted into the first page description language through the printer driver.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a printer driver device, said printer driver device with the printer driver installed, including:

receiving the intermediate file sent by the print management device via the printer driver; said intermediate file is generated by the print management device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing;

a first conversion module that is used to convert said intermediate file into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver;

a second conversion unit that is used to convert said image format data into a first page description language through the printer driver, and send the data after conversion to the first page description language to an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; said first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, the printer driver device also includes a first evaluation module, said first conversion module, which includes a first conversion sub-module and a second conversion sub-module;

said first evaluation module is used to evaluate whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

said first conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into image format data, provided that said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

said second conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into a second page description language, provided that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, and to send the data converted into the second page description language to an image processing device to perform processing operations images; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, the printer driver device also includes a second evaluation module that is used to evaluate whether the image mode command input by the user is received;

said first conversion module is also used when receiving an image mode command input by the user to convert said intermediate file into image format data.

Preferably, the printer driver device also includes a third evaluation module, said first conversion module, which includes a first conversion sub-module and a second conversion sub-module;

said third evaluation module is also used to evaluate whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes under the condition that an image mode command input by the user is not received;

said first conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into image format data, provided that said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

said second conversion module is used to convert said intermediate file into a second page description language, provided that said intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

Preferably, the printer driver device also includes a fourth evaluation module that is used to evaluate whether the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold;

said second conversion sub-module is also used under the condition that the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold and the intermediate file is converted to image format data by calling the image format conversion program through the printer driver, and the image format data is converted to the first page description language via the printer driver.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a printer driver device that includes:

CPU;

Memory device;

one or more computer programs, among which one or more computer programs are stored in a storage device; one or more computer programs include instructions; when commands are executed by the printer driver device, the printer driver device executes the method presented in any one of the paragraphs of the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image processing apparatus that includes said printer driver apparatus provided in any one of the claims of the second aspect.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium that is equipped with a function for storing programs in which, when executed, the equipment controlled by the computer-readable storage medium performs the method presented in any of the claims of the first aspect.

The use of technical solutions provided for by the embodiments of this application has the following advantages:

1) The printer driver calls the image format conversion program to convert the intermediate file into image format data, then the printer driver converts the image format data into page description language. Since the number of page description languages obtained by converting image format data is basically fixed, the number of generated page description languages will be reduced (only tens or hundreds), which effectively improves printing performance;

2) The printer driver automatically evaluates whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; If, after evaluation is completed, it is found that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where first the printer driver, by calling the image format conversion program, converts the intermediate file to image format data, and then converts the image format data to the language descriptions of the page used for printing; If, after evaluation is completed, it is determined that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where the printer driver converts the intermediate file to the page description language used for printing. Processing an intermediate file in image mode containing a pre-attributed object reduces the number of print commands generated by converting the corresponding pre-attributed object, and also reduces the load on the image processing device firmware during parsing and rendering;

3) The process of selecting intermediate file processing modes can be performed by the user, the process of selecting printing modes is more flexible;

4) If the page description language generated in normal mode is excessively complex, you need to make a direct transition to image mode for processing, thereby improving print quality.

Brief description of graphic materials

In order to more precisely explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a description will be given below of the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments. It is clear that the accompanying drawings represent only some embodiments and those skilled in the art can obtain other accompanying drawings from these accompanying drawings without the use of creative labor.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art printing system;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the printing system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a printing control method presented in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an alternative print control method presented in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an alternative print control method presented in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a printer driver device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

For a better understanding of the technical solutions of the present invention, a detailed description of the embodiments of the present application is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that this description presents only a portion of the embodiments of the present application and not the entire scope. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of this application.

The terms used in the embodiments of this application are applicable only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. In the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying claims, the singular forms “one kind,” “mentioned,” and “given” are also intended to be plural forms unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein describes the associated relationships of objects, indicating that there can be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B can express the following situations: A separately exists, simultaneously exists A and B, B exists separately. The "/" symbol usually indicates that the objects before and after the symbol have an "or" relationship.

In order for those skilled in the art to easily understand the technical solutions of the present application, the following is an explanation of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application.

CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System): A printing system supported in Fedora Core3 that primarily uses IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) to manage print operations and print queues, as well as communication protocols such as "LPD" ( Line Printer Daemon), "SMB" (Server Message Block), AppSocket, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, The printer driver in CUPS system includes three printer drivers, namely PDF to PDF filter, PDF to PS filter, PS to PDF filter.

Intermediate file: The application software (such as WPS) in response to the user's print command sends a source file to be printed to the printing system, after the file is generated by the printing system, the printer driver processes the intermediate file and then converts it to the page description language used by the imaging device to print. That is, an intermediate file is a document created by converting a source file for printing into a document that will be used by an image processing device for printing. WPS, Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, etc. can be used as application software. Based on the three printer drivers built into the CUPS system, the intermediate file format can include PDF or PS.

PDF: Short for Portable Document Format, a portable document format developed by Adobe Systems for exchanging files in a way that is independent of applications, operating systems, and hardware.

PS (PostScript): A programming language that is as readable as program code, can represent a description of vector graphics that can be scaled up or down at will.

Page description language: a language that is focused on the output result; If your imaging device supports PDL printing, you must convert the print file to a PDL recognized by the imaging device before printing. Standard page description languages include PCL, PS (PostScript).

PCL Imaging Device: An imaging device that uses and recognizes the PCL language.

Ghostscript: A set of software compiled using Adobe's Page Description Language, PostScript, and Portable Document Format.

raster data: Image format data or raster data (raster type), which includes bitmap (raster image), TIFF (tagged image file format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), etc. d. For example, in the case of adding digital camera data (photo) to document data, the document data is recognized as image format data.

PPD (Postscript Printer Description): Printer driver configuration file used to configure parameters, functions, interfaces and other information such as image processing device name, 1284 data, supported paper type, special functions.

Imaging Device: Includes, but is not limited to, printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction devices that combine printing, copying, faxing, scanning, etc. These functions consist of printing an image or text on an image medium.

Imaging device operations: Includes printing operations.

See FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art printing system. In FIG. Figure 1 shows the application layer, printing system, printer driver, Ghostscript, and image processing engine. Application layer, printing system, printer driver, Ghostscript are software programs that are installed on the imaging device, as well as on other electronic devices connected to the imaging device. Embodiments of the present application are not limited to specific types of devices.

Printing an application layer file from an imaging device requires several steps:

1) CUPS printing system receives print data sent from the application layer (eg WPS, etc.);

2) After receiving the print data, the CUPS system calls different filter filters according to different image processing devices, each filter filter is a print driver that converts the print data into an intermediate file, the intermediate files include an intermediate PDF file or an intermediate file PS format file, for example in FIG. 1 shows three types of printer driver, namely PDF to PDF filter, PDF to PS filter and PS to PDF filter;

3) Due to the fact that the image processing device in the embodiments of the present application is a PCL image processing device, it is required to select a printer driver with a filter PDF/PS to PCL filter, the printer driver makes a call to Ghostscript and converts the intermediate file into PDF or PS format to a page description language in PCL format, this page description language must be supported by the printer driver;

4) The printer driver sends the file converted to page description language in PCL format to the image processing device to perform image processing operations, the image processing device recognizes the page description language and, after rendering, prints the image or text on the image media (such as paper and etc.).

In this case, the process of converting the mentioned intermediate file into the page description language by the printer driver requires a call to Ghostscript. However, if the intermediate file contains an object with special attributes (for example, masking images, transparent images, large images, bold objects, etc.), this may cause the imaging device software to take an excessively long time to complete. parsing and rendering of the page description language, which will complicate the workflow and affect print quality.

To resolve this problem, refer to the embodiments of the present application for information on changing the structure of the printing system. See FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printing system presented in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, The printer driver has two modes: standard mode and image mode. Among them, the standard mode corresponds to the processing method of the printing system structure shown in FIG. 1. The printer driver makes a Ghostscript call to convert the intermediate PDF or PS file to PCL and the page description language must be supported by the printer driver. In image mode, the image processing module in the printer driver makes a Ghostscript call to convert the intermediate file into raster data (image format data), then the image processing module converts the raster data into PCL Image data, the PCL Image data is a portion of the image converted to page description language in PCL format. The printer driver then sends the PCL data converted to Page Description Language to the image processing device, which recognizes the file's Page Description Language and, after rendering, prints the image or text onto the image medium (such as paper, etc.). Information about the structure and functions of other modules of the printing system is presented in Fig. 2 is similar to the information presented in FIG. 1. In this regard, this information will not be repeated.

See FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a printing control method presented in an embodiment of the present application. This method is carried out in a printer driver device, the above printer driver device contains a printer driver, that is, a printer driver shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, this method mainly includes the following steps.

S301: Receive the intermediate file sent by the print management device via the printer driver; the above intermediate file is generated by the print control device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing.

The print manager may include an application layer and a printing system shown in FIG. 2. Specific types of the above device may include PC, laptop, mobile phone, PAD and other end devices. Of course, the above device can be included in an image processing device, which is not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

The print control device, in response to the print command, converts and processes the print file into an intermediate file, and then sends the intermediate file to the printer driver device, the print driver in the printer driver device receives the intermediate file.

S302: Converts the intermediate file into image format data by calling the image format conversion program through the printer driver.

In embodiments of the present application, the printer driver includes an image mode. In image mode, after the printer driver accepts the intermediate file sent by the print management device, the internal image processing module makes a Ghostscript call to convert the intermediate file into image format data, specifically raster data.

Ghostscript is used as the image format conversion program called by the above internal image processing module. Other programs may also be used to convert the data format of the intermediate file and are not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

S303: converting the above image format data into the first page description language through the printer driver, and sending the data converted into the first page description language to the image processing device to perform image processing operations; the above first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

After converting the intermediate file to print format data, Ghostscript sends the image format data to the image processing module; The image processing module converts the image format data into a page description language, which is then used by the image processing engine for recognition and rendering.

To differentiate between subsequent page description languages generated in standard mode, the page description language in this document is defined as the first page description language. Since the first page description language is generated based on the image format data, this first page description language is equivalent to the image part in the page description language. The page description language in PCL format is used as an example. This first page description language is PCL Image data, which is equivalent to a portion of the image in the page description language in PCL format. Of course, the first page description language may be in PS format and other formats, which is not limited to embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that the above steps are implemented based on the printer driver, the printer driver calls the image format conversion program and converts the intermediate file into image format data, then the printer driver converts the image format data into page description language. Due to the relatively high controllability of this technical solution, the conversion of the intermediate file into image format data is carried out depending on the user's requirements or in accordance with predefined requirements. Below is a detailed description.

In addition, although the above steps are implemented by the printer driver, the difference is that step S302 is implemented by the internal image processing module of the printer driver used to call Ghostscript; and step S303 is implemented by a built-in function of the image processing unit of the printer driver.

In particular, to the above technical solution, through PPD, the options of the image mode function and the standard mode function are added, which the user can select for printing.

In embodiments of the present application, the printer driver first calls an image format conversion program to convert the intermediate file into image format data, and then the printer driver converts the image format data into a page description language. Since the number of page description languages obtained by converting image format data is basically fixed, the number of generated page description languages will be reduced (only tens or hundreds), which effectively improves the printing quality.

In contrast, if the printer driver directly calls Ghostscript to convert the intermediate file to page description language, then the program converts the intermediate file into a variety of graphics commands. Particularly if the intermediate file contains objects with special attributes (bold objects, masking images, large images, transparent images), the page description language resulting from the conversion is particularly complex. If a single file with a small size translates tens of thousands or even several tens of thousands of commands, this will result in the final amount of data sent to the image processing device being excessively large, which will increase the load on the image processing device's firmware during the parsing process and rendering and will also reduce the performance of the imaging device. Therefore, if the print data contains an object with special attributes, applying the technical solution presented in the embodiments of the present application will have a more advantageous result.

See FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an alternative print control method presented in an embodiment of the present application. This method can be applied to the printing system shown in FIG. 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 this printing system includes the following steps.

S401: This step evaluates whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes.

In embodiments, the printer driver is set to two intermediate file processing modes: standard mode and image mode. The intermediate file processing mode is selected based on the characteristics of the print data.

In particular, the choice of processing mode for the intermediate file is based on whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes. The above predefined object includes a font of a given format, an image of a given format and/or an image of a given size, etc. The above font of a given format includes bold font, etc.; the above predetermined format image includes a masking image and/or a transparent image, etc.; the above predetermined size image includes an image whose size is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. Among them, a masking image is an image with a masking level. A masking level can cover an image in a graphic associated with the masking level, and multiple levels can be combined into one masking level to create different effects.

If, after evaluation is completed, it is found that the intermediate file contains an object with preset attributes, it is required to proceed to S402; otherwise you need to go to S404.

S402: This step converts the intermediate file into image format data.

Please understand that if the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes (for example, a bold object, masking images, large images or transparent images, etc.), then when using standard mode, calling Ghostscript through the printer driver to convert the intermediate file into a page description language may cause the intermediate file to be converted into multiple print commands, which will increase the load on the imaging device firmware during parsing and rendering, and reduce the performance of the imaging device.

Therefore, in embodiments of the present application, if the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, then the internal image processing module of the printer driver makes a Ghostscript call to convert the intermediate file into image format data.

S403: converting the image format data into the first page description language and sending the data converted into the first page description language to the image processing device to perform image processing operations; the above first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

After converting the intermediate file to print format data, Ghostscript sends the image format data to the image processing module; The image processing module converts the image format data into a page description language, which is then used by the image processing engine for recognition and rendering. The detailed content is the same as S303, therefore this information will not be repeated.

S404: At this stage, the intermediate file is converted to the second page description language.

Please understand that unless the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes (for example, a bold object, masking images, large images, or transparent images, etc.), then when using standard mode, calling Ghostscript through the printer driver to converting an intermediate file to a page description language can result in the generation of many print commands. Thus, in this case, you can use the standard mode to directly convert the intermediate file to the page description language. To distinguish between subsequent page description languages generated in image mode, the page description language in this document is defined as the second page description language.

S405: In this step, it is judged whether the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold.

To increase the performance of the image processing apparatus, in embodiments of the present application, a complexity threshold is preset. This complexity threshold represents the number of print commands in the page description language. If the complexity of the description language of the second page is greater than or equal to the predetermined complexity threshold, it is required to return to S402; if the complexity of the second page description language is less than a predetermined complexity threshold, it is required to proceed to S406.

S406: sending data converted into the second page description language to the image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; the above second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

In embodiments of the present application, an automatic assessment is performed via the printer driver whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; If, after evaluation is completed, it is found that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where first the printer driver, by calling the image format conversion program, converts the intermediate file to image format data, and then converts the specified image format to the language descriptions of the page used for printing; If, after evaluation is completed, it is determined that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where the printer driver converts the intermediate file to the page description language used for printing. Processing an intermediate file in image mode that contains a pre-attributed object reduces the number of print commands generated by converting the corresponding pre-attributed object, and also reduces the load on the image processing device firmware during parsing and rendering.

It should be noted that although the image mode has more conversion steps (converting the intermediate file into image format data) compared to the standard mode, the number of languages received by the image processing device in the image mode is much less than in the standard mode. All things considered, Image mode can increase the printing speed of the imaging device. In particular, when using files containing scanned images or large images, you can significantly increase print speed; when using PDF files containing bold text, you can significantly increase printing speed; When using files containing masking images, there is also a fairly high percentage increase in print speed.

In an alternative embodiment, the process of selecting intermediate file processing modes may be performed by the user. See FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an alternative print control method presented in an embodiment of the present application. This method can be applied to the printing system shown in FIG. 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 this method includes the following steps.

S501: Evaluation of the execution of receiving the image mode command input by the user.

In embodiments of the present application, the process of selecting intermediate file processing modes is performed by the user. Intermediate file processing modes include standard mode and image mode.

When receiving the image mode command input by the user, it is required to move to S502; if the picture mode command entered by the user is not accepted, it is required to proceed to S504.

S502: This step converts the intermediate file into image format data.

Receiving an image mode command entered by the user means that the user wants to process the intermediate file in image mode. When the operation is performed, the printer driver's internal image processing module makes a Ghostscript call to convert the intermediate file into image format data.

S503: converting the image format data into the first page description language and sending the data converted into the first page description language to the image processing device to perform image processing operations; the above first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

After converting the intermediate file to print format data, Ghostscript sends the image format data to the image processing module; The image processing module converts the image format data into a page description language, which is then used by the image processing engine for recognition and rendering. The detailed content is the same as S303, therefore this information will not be repeated.

S504: This step evaluates whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes.

In embodiments of the present application, if it is detected that the image mode command entered by the user is not accepted, an evaluation is made as to whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes. The intermediate file processing mode is selected based on the characteristics of the print data.

Moreover, if after completion of the evaluation it is discovered that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, you need to go to S502; otherwise you need to switch to S505.

S505: At this stage, the intermediate file is converted to the second page description language.

Please understand that unless the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes (for example, a bold object, masking images, large images, or transparent images, etc.), then when using standard mode, calling Ghostscript through the printer driver to converting an intermediate file to a page description language can result in the generation of many print commands. Thus, in this case, you can use the standard mode to directly convert the intermediate file to the page description language.

S506: This step evaluates whether the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold.

To increase the performance of the image processing apparatus, in embodiments of the present application, a complexity threshold is preset. This complexity threshold represents the number of print commands in the page description language. If the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to the predetermined complexity threshold, it is required to return to S502; if the complexity of the second page description language is less than a predetermined complexity threshold, it is required to proceed to S507.

S507: sending data converted into the second page description language to the image processing device to perform image processing operations; the above second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

In embodiments of the present application, the process of selecting intermediate file processing modes is performed by the user, and if there is an object with predefined attributes in the print data or the page description language generated in the standard mode is excessively complex, it is necessary to directly switch to the image mode for processing, thereby improving print quality.

According to embodiments of the above method, an embodiment of the present application is also provided with a printer driver device. See FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a printer driver device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, The printer driver device includes the following modules.

Receiver module 601, which is used to receive the intermediate file sent by the print management device through the printer driver; an intermediate file is generated by the print management device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing;

a first conversion unit 602 that is used to convert the intermediate file into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver;

a second conversion unit 603, which is used to convert the image format data into the first page description language through the printer driver and send the data converted into the first page description language to the image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; the above first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

In an alternative embodiment, the above printer driver device also includes a first evaluation module, the above first conversion module, which includes a first conversion sub-module and a second conversion sub-module;

the above first evaluation module is used to evaluate whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

the above first conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into image format data provided that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

the above second conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into the second page description language provided that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, and to send the data converted into the second page description language to the image processing device to perform processing operations images; the above second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

In an alternative embodiment, the above printer driver device also includes a second evaluation unit that is used for judging whether the image mode command input by the user has been received;

the above first conversion unit is also used when receiving an image mode command input by the user to convert the intermediate file into image format data.

In an alternative embodiment, the above printer driver device also includes a third evaluation module, the above first conversion module, which includes a first conversion sub-module and a second conversion sub-module;

the above third evaluation module is also used to evaluate whether the intermediate file contains an object with preset attributes under the condition that the image mode command input by the user is not received;

the above first conversion sub-module is used to convert the intermediate file into image format data provided that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes;

a second conversion submodule is used to convert the intermediate file into the second page description language, provided that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes; the above second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering.

In an alternative embodiment, the above printer driver device also includes a fourth evaluation module that is used to evaluate whether the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold;

the above second conversion sub-module is also used if the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to the specified complexity threshold and the intermediate file is converted to image format data by calling the image format conversion program through the printer driver, and the image format data is converted to the first page description language through the printer driver .

The use of technical solutions provided for by the embodiments of this application has the following advantages:

1) The printer driver calls the image format conversion program to convert the intermediate file into image format data, then the printer driver converts the image format data into page description language. Since the number of page description languages obtained by converting image format data is basically fixed, the number of generated page description languages will be reduced (only tens or hundreds), which effectively improves printing performance;

2) The printer driver automatically evaluates whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; If, after evaluation is completed, it is found that the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where first the printer driver, by calling the image format conversion program, converts the intermediate file to image format data, and then converts the image format data to the language descriptions of the page used for printing; If, after evaluation is completed, it is determined that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, the image mode is used, where the printer driver converts the intermediate file to the page description language used for printing. Processing an intermediate file in image mode containing a pre-attributed object reduces the number of print commands generated by converting the corresponding pre-attributed object, and also reduces the load on the image processing device firmware during parsing and rendering;

3) The process of selecting intermediate file processing modes can be performed by the user, the process of selecting printing modes is more flexible;

4) If the page description language generated in normal mode is excessively complex, you need to make a direct transition to image mode for processing, thereby improving print quality.

In accordance with the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application also provide a printer driver device that includes a processor, a storage device, and one or more computer programs, among which one or more computer programs are stored in the storage device; one or more computer programs include instructions; when commands are executed by the printer driver device, the printer driver device partially or completely performs the steps presented in the embodiments of the above method.

According to the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application also provide an image processing apparatus; the image processing apparatus partially or completely includes the printer driver device modules presented in the above embodiments. It should be understood that this image device is equivalent to the above built-in printer driver device.

In a specific embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided that is equipped with a function for storing programs that perform part or all of the steps presented in each embodiment of the present application. The above-mentioned machine-readable storage medium can be a magnetic disk, a CD, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (random access memory). name: RAM), etc.

In a specific embodiment of the present application, there is also provided a computer program product that contains executable instructions; When executing instructions on a computer, the computer partially or completely performs the steps presented in the above embodiments of the present invention.

In embodiments of the present application, “at least one” indicates one or more, and “several” indicates two or more. “And/or” describes the associated relationships of objects, indicating that there can be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B can express the following situations: A exists separately, A and B exist simultaneously, B exists separately. Among them, A and B can be either singular or plural. The "/" symbol usually indicates that the objects before and after the symbol have an "or" relationship. “At least one of the elements” and similar expressions may refer to any combination of these elements, including a combination of elements in the singular or plural. For example, at least one of a, b, and c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c may be either singular or plural.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each block and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using electronic hardware, as well as a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. How hardware or software performs these functions depends on the specific application and design limitations of the solution. Professional technicians, depending on the specific application of the technical solution, may use different methods to implement the described functions, however, these methods of implementation should not be considered as beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific operating process of the system, device, and unit described above may refer to the corresponding process in embodiments of the above method. Therefore, this information will not be repeated.

The above description represents only specific embodiments of the present application. Changes or substitutions may readily be contemplated by one skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed herein, which are intended to be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be determined by the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims (41)

1. The printing control method is carried out in a printer driver device, said printer driver device with the printer driver installed is characterized in that it includes: receiving the intermediate file sent by the print management device via the printer driver; an intermediate file is generated by said print control device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing; converting said intermediate file into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver; converting said image format data into a first page description language through a printer driver, and sending the data converted into said first page description language to an image processing device to perform image processing operations; said first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it converts the intermediate file into image format data, includes: assessing whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; if said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted to image format data. 3. The method according to claim 2 is characterized in that the object with predefined attributes includes a font of a given format, an image of a given format and/or an image of a given size, and the font of a given format includes a bold font; the specified image includes a mask image and/or a transparent image; a given size image includes an image whose size is greater than or equal to a given threshold. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it converts the intermediate file into image format data, includes: judging the performance of receiving an image mode command input by the user; upon receiving an image mode command input by the user, said intermediate file is converted into image format data. 5. The method according to claim 4 is characterized by the fact that it also includes: if the image mode command input by the user is not received, evaluating whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; if said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted into image format data; if said intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, then the intermediate file is converted to a second page description language and, after conversion to the second page description language, is sent to the image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. 6. The method according to claim 5 is characterized by the fact that after converting the intermediate file into the description language of the second page, it also includes: judging whether the complexity of said second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold; if the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold, then said intermediate file is converted into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver, and then said image format data is converted into the first page description language through the printer driver. 7. The printer driver device with the printer driver installed is characterized by the fact that it includes: CPU; Memory device; one or more computer programs, among which one or more computer programs are stored in a storage device; one or more computer programs include instructions; when the printer driver device executes commands, The configuration of the mentioned processor includes: receiving the intermediate file sent by the print management device via the printer driver; said intermediate file is generated by the print management device in response to a print command to convert and process the file for printing; converting said intermediate file into image format data by calling an image format conversion program through the printer driver; converting said image format data into a first page description language through the printer driver, and sending the data after converting to the first page description language to an image processing apparatus to perform image processing operations; said first page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. 8. The device according to claim 7 is characterized in that the configuration of said processor additionally includes: assessing whether the intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; converting the intermediate file into image format data, provided that said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; converting the intermediate file into a second page description language, provided that the intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes, and sending the data converted into the second page description language to an image processing device to perform image processing operations; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. 9. The device according to claim 7 is characterized in that the configuration of said processor additionally includes: evaluating whether the image mode command entered by the user is accepted: converting said intermediate file into image format data upon receiving an image mode command input by the user. 10. The device according to claim 9 is characterized in that the configuration of said processor additionally includes: judging whether said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes, provided that the image mode command entered by the user is not received; converting the intermediate file into image format data, provided that said intermediate file contains an object with predefined attributes; converting said intermediate file into a second page description language, provided that said intermediate file does not contain an object with predefined attributes; said second page description language is used by the image processing device for recognition and rendering. 11. The device according to claim 8 or 10 is characterized in that the configuration of said processor additionally includes: assessing whether the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a predetermined complexity threshold; the intermediate file is converted to image format data by calling the image format conversion program through the printer driver, and the image format data is converted to the first page description language through the printer driver if the complexity of the second page description language is greater than or equal to a specified complexity threshold. 12. A computer-readable storage medium is characterized in that it is equipped with a function for storing programs, during the execution of which, a device controlled by a computer-readable storage medium performs the method according to any one of claims. 1-6.