JP2003066778A - Printing system, printing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a printing system that considers the natural environment, improves the recyclability of printed output paper, and ensures the confidentiality of information. SOLUTION: According to a print mode set by a user, a first pigment set 1 is set by a pigment switching mechanism 110.
00 and the second pigment set 101, and when toner is supplied from the switched pigment set, the latent image of the potential drawn by the printing unit 111 is developed as the toner adhesion amount. The developed pigment image is transferred to output paper conveyed by the transfer unit 113, and is heated and pressed by the fixing unit 114 and fixed to the output paper. The charging coefficient when the first pigment set 100 is used is M1, and the charging coefficient when the second pigment set 101, which is a color material having lower durability than the first pigment set, is M2. (M1> M2), and charging for printing is performed based on the charging coefficients M1 and M2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing method and a program in consideration of recyclability of resources.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of computerization of information, the demand for outputting information on paper has increased more and more, and depletion of forest resources has been pointed out as an environmental problem. This is because the display device of electronic information equipment is not as good as a paper medium on which necessary information is printed in many aspects such as performance, price, storability, compatibility, portability, and visibility. This is because the method of outputting and checking the information is preferred.

A lot of miscellaneous information is output on paper,
Most of the information is needed only in the short term, and the output paper is discarded when the information is no longer needed. For example, commemorative photographs and contract documents need to be stored for a long period of time, but most of advertisement information, leaflets, e-mails, newspaper articles, etc. are worthless after a certain period of time.

That is, of the information actually printed on the paper, only a small portion of the information needs to be stored, and most of the paper output information does not need to be stored for a long time. The actual printed paper or most of the printed paper is discarded as unnecessary. Some of the discarded paper is recycled and some is treated as garbage.

[0005]

However, in the recycling of paper resources, many problems in terms of technical and cost are the means for removing the coloring material such as the printed pigments and dyes. The information written on the paper by the color material is an obstacle to reuse.

[0006] Further, there is a demand for removing the color material on the paper which has become unnecessary and erased the information because it becomes unnecessary from the viewpoint of privacy of individuals and confidentiality of companies and the like.

Therefore, the present invention improves the recyclability of printed output paper in consideration of the natural environment, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system, a printing method, and a program that can secure the confidentiality of information.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a printing system of the present invention comprises a setting means for setting a printing mode and a printing sheet having different storability according to the set printing mode. And a printing means for performing the same.

Further, the printing system of the present invention comprises a charging means for charging according to the prints having different storability.

Further, the printing means has a plurality of pigments having different storability and is provided with a pigment selecting means for selecting and using one of the plurality of pigments.

Further, it is applied to a printing system for performing color printing, and the printing means has a plurality of pigments having different storability for at least one color used for the color printing. A pigment selecting means for selecting and using one is provided.

Further, it is applied to an electrophotographic printing system for printing by fixing the pigment transferred onto the sheet, and the printing means controls the fixing property of the pigment transferred onto the sheet. And a fixing unit for changing the fixing property of the pigment according to the print mode.

Further, the fixing control means adjusts the fixing temperature to change the fixing property.

Further, the fixing control means adjusts the fixing pressure to change the fixing property.

Further, the printing means includes a sorting means for sorting and collecting print jobs waiting to be printed according to the print modes, and continuously printing the print jobs sorted and sorted according to the print modes. And

The printing method of the present invention includes a setting step of setting a printing mode and a printing step of performing printing with different storability on a sheet according to the set printing mode.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a printing system, a printing method and a program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] At least two stages are required for the storability of a pigment. In this embodiment, the number of stages is two, but even if there are a plurality of intermediate stages in addition to the two stages. Of course good things. For such multi-stage storability, weighted billing information is given according to each durability. In the first embodiment, a procedure for switching a plurality of pigments and charging processing in a single-color electrophotographic printing mechanism will be described.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the arrangement of an electrophotographic printing apparatus to which the printing system of the first embodiment is applied. In the figure, 200 is an image generation unit. 210 is a CPU. Reference numeral 211 is a main storage unit in which the image is expanded. 212 is an R that stores data and programs
OM. An interface 213 receives print data from a panel for controlling the print mechanism or another machine. Reference numeral 214 is a non-volatile storage device. The non-volatile storage device 214 may be composed of a semiconductor device or a magnetic storage device, and may not exist depending on the device configuration. Further, in the case of a device configuration in which the capacity of the main storage unit 211 is large, the ROM 212 may be shared by the storage device 214.

Reference numeral 215 is a drive circuit of an image signal which reads out data from the main memory 211 and sends out the data at the timing of the printing mechanism. 300 is the printing mechanism 12
0 is an image transmission bus connecting the image generation unit 200,
Transmit the print image. In the printing mechanism 120, 1
00 is the first pigment set. First pigment set 10
For 0, a coloring material having high durability is used. 101 is the second
It is a pigment set of. A coloring material having lower durability than the first pigment set 100 is used for the second pigment set.

Reference numeral 110 is a pigment switching mechanism. Reference numeral 111 is a printing unit. As a drawing method in the printing unit 111,
There are a method of drawing with an array head composed of LEDs and a method of scanning with a laser beam. Reference numeral 112 is a photoconductor. Reference numeral 113 is a transfer unit. 1
Reference numeral 14 is a fixing unit. 301 is a paper conveyance path.

In the printing apparatus having the above structure, the printing section 111 is arranged on the rotating photoconductor 112 based on the image information which is expanded in the main memory section 211 and is sent from the drive circuit 215 at the timing of the printing mechanism. Draw a latent image on.

Toner is supplied from one of the first pigment set 100 and the second pigment set 101 switched by the pigment switching mechanism 110, and the latent image of the potential drawn by the printing unit 111 is developed as the toner adhesion amount. To be done. The developed pigment image is transferred to the output sheet conveyed by the transfer section 113, and is fixed to the output sheet by being heated and pressed by the fixing section 114.

Next, a billing process at the time of printing will be described. Here, the charging coefficient when the first pigment set 100 is used is M1, and the charging coefficient when the second pigment set 101 is used is M2. Here, M1> M2. The charging factors M1 and M2 are registered in the variable M.

There are several patterns in the concrete bill settlement method. When the administrator of the printing mechanism and the user are completely different from each other, it is a general method that a sufficient charge is presented in advance, the actual use amount is deducted from the charge, and the balance is refunded.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the charging processing procedure in the prepaid system. This processing program is RO
It is stored in M212 and is executed by the CPU 210. The printing system starts to operate when the billing value is input (step S1), and the default setting values such as the paper size, the number of prints, and the print mode are prepared (step S1).
2) The system waits for input and waits for correction of various settings (step S3). In this embodiment, the second pigment set 101 having low durability is set as a color material as a default value.

When there is an input in the input waiting state of step S3, it is determined whether or not it is data input (step S4). In the case of data input, various setting data (charge value addition, print mode change, print number setting, paper size, etc.) are received and various set values are changed (step S5). Then, the process returns to step S3. If the selection of the pigment is changed, the printing mechanism is set and the charging coefficient is changed. For example, when the first pigment set 100, which is a coloring material with high durability, is selected as the pigment, M = M1 is set, and the second pigment set 101, which is a coloring material with low durability, is selected. If M = M2
Set.

Thereafter, when the print request is generated, that is, when the data is not input in step S4, the charge is calculated (step S6), and it is confirmed that the charge for the print request is not insufficient (step S7). That is, it is determined whether or not the charge value is equal to or larger than the charge calculation value in step S6. If the charge is insufficient, a charge addition request is issued (step S8). Then, the process returns to step S3. On the other hand, when the print cancel is selected in step S3, the remaining charge value is returned (step S13), and this process ends. In this way, when the charge is insufficient, the process enters the waiting state of step S3 again and waits for additional charge or whether to cancel printing.

On the other hand, if the charge is sufficient in step S7, the print output is performed (step S9), and it is confirmed whether the print output is normally performed by the print mechanism (step S1).
0) If printing is normally performed, the charge amount corresponding to the print amount and print mode is subtracted from the charge (step S11). After this, the process returns to the waiting state of step S3.
On the other hand, when the print output is not normally performed in step S10, it is determined whether or not retry is possible (reprint is possible) (step S12), and if retry is possible, the process returns to step S9 and is again performed. Print. On the other hand, if reprinting is not possible due to a trouble in the printing mechanism, the charge value is refunded, and if there is a charge refund request, the balance is returned (step S13), and this processing ends.

The prepaid system as shown in FIG. 2 is generally used when the user operates a large number of unspecified copy machines.
On the other hand, if there is some kind of credit relationship between the administrator of the printing mechanism and the user, and post-payment of billing is possible, the post-payment method of accumulating billing information for each user and billing later can be applied. . In this case, it is necessary to secure a storage area for each user in the printing system and manage the accounting information of the user.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a billing processing procedure in the post-payment method. This processing program is RO
It is stored in M212 and is executed by the CPU 210. First, the printing system is activated in response to a print request (step S21), and based on the print request, a search is performed to confirm who the user to be charged is (step S22).

As a result of the search, it is determined whether or not the user is a registered user (step S23), and if the user registration cannot be confirmed, the print request is canceled (step S24). Then, this process ends. On the other hand, if the user registration is confirmed in step S23, after the print mechanism is initialized (step S25), various setting information (charge value addition, print mode change, print number setting, paper size, etc.) is sent from the print request. The set value is taken out and the set value is changed in the same manner as the process of step S5 of FIG. 2 (step S26).
After calculating the corresponding billing value, the billing information is accumulated and printed (step S27).

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the output is normally performed (step S28), and if the output is not normally performed, it is determined whether or not the reprinting is possible (step S).
29). If reprinting is possible, the process returns to step S27. On the other hand, if reprinting is not possible, this process ends. On the other hand, when the output is normally performed in step S28, the charge is settled (step S30), and this process is ended.

Such a post-payment method is generally used for accounting management of shared printers, copiers, etc. within an organization.
The printing system may only store the billing information of the user, and the settlement and management of the billing information may be processed outside this printing system.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 4 is a view showing the arrangement of a printing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The second embodiment shows switching in a multicolor printing mechanism in which two systems of pigment sets are provided. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the drawing, in the printing mechanism 130, 102 is black toner of the first pigment set. Reference numeral 103 is a magenta toner of the first pigment set. 104 is a cyan toner of the first pigment set. Reference numeral 105 is a yellow toner of the first pigment set. Reference numeral 106 is black toner of the second pigment set. Reference numeral 107 is a magenta toner of the second pigment set. Reference numeral 108 is a cyan toner of the second pigment set. Reference numeral 109 is a yellow toner of the second pigment set.

Reference numeral 121 is a black image drawing section. Reference numeral 122 denotes a magenta image drawing unit. A cyan image drawing unit 123 is provided. Reference numeral 124 is a drawing unit for a yellow image. 131
Is a black image photoreceptor. Reference numeral 132 denotes a magenta image photoreceptor. 133 is a photosensitive member for a cyan image. 134
Is a photoreceptor for a yellow image. Reference numeral 141 is a black image transfer portion. Reference numeral 142 is a magenta image transfer portion. Reference numeral 143 is a cyan image transfer portion. 144 is a yellow image transfer portion. 145 is a transfer belt.

When performing color printing, an image is composed of four primary colors and four black colors. Black, which is not included in the three primary colors, is used due to various factors such as a reduction in the total amount of toner used, poor color development of black in the three primary color combination, easy misregistration, and high frequency of use.

Further, in comparison with monochrome printing, in the image generation unit 200, the amount of processing such as color separation and color processing increases, but with regard to software in other printing mechanisms, the color materials are switched as a set and the first There is no great difference from the embodiment of.

The image information for four colors of the image image developed in the main storage unit 211 is output from the drive circuit 215 to the drawing unit 1 for each color.
21 to 124, the drawing units 121 to 1 of the respective colors are transmitted.
24 draws each color and forms a latent image of each color on the photoconductors 131 to 134. The formed latent image is
The first color toners 102 to 10 of the pigment set selected by the pigment switching mechanism 110 according to the setting of the print mode.
The toner image is developed as a toner image of any one of the fifth color toner 106 and the second color toner 106 to 109, and is transferred / fixed on a sheet to be printed out.

In this embodiment, the pigment switching mechanism 110 is
Although it is simplified as one unit, in a model that performs high-speed printing, it is necessary to prepare a unit for each color and switch the printing timing of each color according to the paper interval. Even so, the switching of the pigment supply path does not occur at high speed. Therefore, in order to reduce the frequency of switching the pigment, the print jobs are rearranged when the printing mechanism permits. When the image generating unit 200 includes the storage device 214 and has a sufficient capacity like a magnetic storage device, the print jobs are collectively output for each print mode to some extent to reduce the frequency of switching the pigment.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are views showing a processing procedure for collecting print jobs for each print mode. There are several methods for collecting print jobs for each printing method (mode), but here, waiting jobs on the storage device 214 are divided by the number of jobs K, and the printing method management is performed in that. To do. When a print job is received, the job is given an increasing waiting number. In FIGS. 5 and 6, each waiting job is indicated by a square frame. The upper symbol in the frame (here, the charging factors M1 and M2 are used) indicates the print mode of each job, and the lower numerical values (N, N + 1, ...) Show the waiting numbers.

First, it is confirmed whether or not there is a print waiting job in the storage device 214. When there is a job waiting to be printed, the print output process is performed as it is (see FIG. 5A), while the waiting number is divided into blocks for each number of jobs K (see FIG. 5B). Here, K = 8 is set.

After the jobs waiting to be printed are divided into blocks, the jobs are further divided according to the printing modes (see FIG. 5C), and the printing jobs are rearranged so that the printing jobs in the same printing mode are continuously processed ( See FIG. 5D). And for the print job of the same print mode in the block,
The print output operation is continuously performed (see FIG. 6E). When all the print output operations of the job of one print mode in the block are completed, the print output operation of the next print mode in the block is started (see FIG. 6F). Then, the print output operation in the next print mode in the block is continuously performed, and the print output process in the block is finished (see FIG. 6G).

Here, the reason why the print jobs are divided by the number of jobs K is to prevent the print jobs of different print modes from being delayed by the number of jobs K or more. The print jobs are grouped by the print mode by rearranging, but since the division processing is performed in blocks for each job number K, the print job processing is not performed after the job number K or more. In this way, high-speed printing is possible even in color printing by collectively performing print processing for print jobs for each print mode.

[Third Embodiment] As in the first and second embodiments, the configuration in which the entire pigment set is switched and used is not suitable for a small-sized printing mechanism and a low-priced printing mechanism. However, it may be difficult to adopt in terms of cost and device space.

Therefore, the third embodiment shows an electrophotographic printing mechanism having only one pigment set and a plurality of fixing modes. That is, in this embodiment, instead of switching the pigment set, a plurality of print outputs having different durability are provided by adjusting the fixing parameters of the electrophotographic method.

It is known that in the case of a color material such as a toner used in an electrophotographic system, the releasability of the toner greatly varies depending on the appropriate fixing process. Previously, we simply selected only the most durable parameter,
By positively using this as a means for making a difference in the durability of color materials, it is possible to provide a printing mechanism that considers recyclability even in a printing mechanism that does not have a switching mechanism for a plurality of pigment sets. .

FIG. 7 is a view showing the arrangement of the printing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the drawing, in the printing mechanism 140, 150 is a fixing temperature control mechanism. 151 is a temperature sensor.
304 is the output of the temperature sensor 151. Reference numeral 305 is a control input to the fixing temperature control mechanism 150. Temperature sensor 1
Adjustment to the target temperature is made by controlling the input value to the control input 305 while monitoring the output 304 of 51.

Numeral 152 is an actuator for setting the fixing pressure. Reference numeral 306 is a control input of the actuator 152. Depending on the configuration, only one of the fixing temperature control mechanism 150 and the fixing pressure setting actuator 152 may be present, but it is assumed that either control mechanism is always present.

The toner fixability also changes depending on external conditions such as paper quality and humidity. Since the control of the fixing device is often used also for the correction of these external factors, the correction series according to the environmental condition has a form having two parameter series for each durability. Although not shown in FIG. 7, a numerical table as a parameter table used for the control program of the fixing device is stored in the ROM 212.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments, and the functions shown in the claims or the configurations of the embodiments are not limited thereto. Any structure can be applied as long as it can achieve the function it has.

For example, as in the case of the second embodiment, it goes without saying that the processing procedure of rearranging print jobs for each printing method (mode) and collecting them may be applied to the first and third embodiments. Thus, high speed printing is possible as well.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or may be applied to an apparatus composed of one device. .

Further, the present invention is also applicable to a case where the program is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus using a recording medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments. Needless to say. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the program itself and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the program code shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 2 and 3 is the storage medium ROM.
It is stored in. The storage medium for supplying the program code is not limited to ROM, but may be, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a DV.
D, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, etc. can be used.

[0058]

According to the present invention, in consideration of the natural environment and improving the recyclability of printed output paper,
The confidentiality of information can be secured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrophotographic printing apparatus to which a printing system according to a first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a charging processing procedure in a prepaid system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a charging processing procedure in a post-payment method.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure for collecting print jobs for each print mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of collecting print jobs for each print mode following FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing device according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 First Pigment Set 101 Second pigment set 102 First pigment set black 103 Magenta of the first pigment set 104 Cyan in the first pigment set 105 First pigment set yellow 106 Black of the second pigment set 107 magenta of the second pigment set 108 Cyan of the second pigment set 109 second pigment set yellow 110 Pigment switching mechanism 114 fixing unit 120, 130, 140 printing mechanism 150 Fixing temperature control mechanism 152 Fixing pressure setting actuator 200 Image generator 210 CPU 212 ROM

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification Code FI Theme Coat (Reference) G03G 15/01 113 G03G 15/01 113Z 15/20 107 15/20 107 109 109 109 21/02 21/00 392 21/14 372 F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AQ06 AR01 HH00 HJ01 HM00 HN20 2H027 DA12 ED08 ED25 EE07 EJ06 FA30 FB06 2H030 AA02 AB02 AD01 AD04 AD07 AD17 BB23 BB28 BB33 BB63 2H033 CABB20 BA30 BA04 CA04 BA02 BA04

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A printing system comprising: a setting unit for setting a printing mode; and a printing unit for performing printing with different storability on a sheet according to the set printing mode. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a charging unit that charges a fee according to the prints having different storability. 3. The printing means comprises a plurality of pigments having different storability, and a pigment selecting means for selecting and using one of the plurality of pigments. Or the printing system according to 2. 4. A printing system for performing color printing, wherein the printing means has a plurality of pigments having different storability with respect to at least one color used for the color printing. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising a pigment selection unit that selects and uses one of them. 5. The present invention is applied to an electrophotographic printing system that performs printing by fixing the pigment transferred onto the sheet, and the printing means controls the fixing property of the pigment transferred onto the sheet. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing the fixing property of the pigment according to the printing mode. 6. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein the fixing control unit changes a fixing temperature by adjusting a fixing temperature. 7. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein the fixing control unit changes the fixing property by adjusting a fixing pressure. 8. The printing unit includes a sorting unit that sorts and collects print jobs waiting to be printed according to the print modes, and continuously prints the print jobs sorted and sorted according to the print modes. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9. A printing method comprising: a setting step of setting a printing mode; and a printing step of performing printing with different storability on a sheet according to the set printing mode. 10. The printing method according to claim 9, further comprising a billing step of billing according to the prints having different storability. 11. The printing method according to claim 9, wherein the printing step includes a pigment selection step of selecting and using one of a plurality of pigments having different storability. 12. The present invention is applied to a printing system for performing color printing, and in the printing step, one of a plurality of pigments having different storability is selected and used for at least one color used for the color printing. The printing method according to claim 9, further comprising a pigment selection step. 13. The invention is applied to an electrophotographic printing system that performs printing by fixing the pigment transferred to the sheet, and the printing step controls the fixing property of the pigment transferred to the sheet. The printing method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of changing the fixing property of the pigment according to the printing mode. 14. The printing method according to claim 13, wherein in the fixing control step, the fixing temperature is adjusted to change the fixing property. 15. The printing method according to claim 13, wherein in the fixing control step, the fixing pressure is adjusted to change the fixing property. 16. The printing step includes a sorting step of sorting and grouping print jobs waiting to be printed according to the print mode, and continuously printing the print jobs sorted and sorted according to the print mode. Claim 9 characterized by
16. The printing method according to any one of 1 to 15. 17. A program having a program code for realizing the printing method according to claim 9. Description: