JP2005246683A - Image forming apparatus and printing control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which can easily set an arbitrary layout at the time of printing images of a plurality of pages to one sheet of paper. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus which has the Nup printing function of printing a plurality of images to one sheet of paper by reducing the images is equipped with a display means for displaying a layout preview of each page in the case of carrying out Nup printing, and an input means for changing a printing layout by designating releasing/setting of the Nup printing for every page displayed by the display means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a print control program for printing an image of a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper.

A multi-function machine having a plurality of functions such as copying, FAX transmission / reception, and a printer has a Nup printing function for printing images of a plurality of pages on one sheet. Nup printing is to print N original pages on one sheet. For example, when there are two pages of A4 size original data, the original data of each page is reduced to A5 size, and the original data for two pages is printed on one A4 sheet. In Nup printing, printing two pages on one sheet is called 2up printing, and printing four pages on one sheet is called 4up printing.
As conventional technologies, a cover is printed without Nup, the second and subsequent pages are Nup-printed (for example, see Patent Document 1), a mixed original is Nup-printed (for example, see Patent Document 2), and a specified page and later are printed. What performs Nup printing (see, for example, Patent Document 3) is known.
JP 2003-274147 A JP 2001-189843 A JP 2003-101695 A

  However, in the apparatuses shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3, it takes a lot of time to set and print an arbitrary layout in Nup printing. To print with a desired layout, printing is performed a plurality of times. There is a problem that troublesome work that must be performed separately may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an image forming apparatus and a print control program capable of easily setting an arbitrary layout when printing an image of a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper. The purpose is to provide.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus having a Nup printing function for reducing a plurality of images and printing on one sheet, and displaying means for displaying a layout preview of each page when Nup printing is performed. And input means for designating cancellation / setting of Nup printing for each page displayed on the display means and changing the print layout.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the layout is such that a margin can be created by printing with the Nup printing setting designated by the input means, a predetermined image is printed in the margin.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, if the layout allows a margin to be printed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input means, an arbitrary page is Nup printed in the margin.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that an image to be printed is displayed on each page of the layout preview.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control program for performing Nup printing in which a plurality of images are reduced and printed on one sheet, and display processing for displaying a layout preview of each page when Nup printing is performed. The Nup printing cancellation / setting is designated for each page displayed in the display process, and the computer is caused to perform an input process for changing the print layout.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when the layout is such that a margin can be created by printing with the Nup printing setting designated by the input process, a predetermined image is printed in the margin.

  The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that if a layout has a margin when printing is performed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input processing, an arbitrary page is Nup printed in the margin.

  The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that an image to be printed is displayed on each page of the layout preview.

  According to the present invention, a layout preview screen is displayed in Nup printing in which an image of a plurality of pages is printed on a single sheet, so that cancellation and setting of Nup printing can be easily performed for each page. Therefore, it is possible to easily set and print an arbitrary layout.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. In this figure, the symbol PR is an image forming apparatus, which is a multifunction device having functions such as copying, FAX transmission / reception, and a printer. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus PR. Reference numeral 2 denotes an image reading unit that reads an image in color or monochrome and converts it into digital image data. Reference numeral 3 denotes an image memory for storing image data read by the image reading unit 2 or print data transmitted from the personal computer PC. Reference numeral 4 denotes a print processing unit that prints data stored in the image memory 3 and controls operations of paper feed, printing, and paper discharge. Reference numeral 5 denotes an input unit including a numeric keypad, function keys, a touch panel, and the like. Reference numeral 6 denotes a display unit including a liquid crystal display. Reference numeral 7 denotes a print data receiving unit that receives print data transmitted from the personal computer PC. Reference numeral 8 denotes a computer network in which the image forming apparatus PR and the personal computer PC are connected to perform information communication with each other. Reference numeral 9 denotes a print data transmission unit provided in the personal computer PC, which generates print data for performing operation control for printing an image created by application software on the personal computer PC in the image forming apparatus PR. To the image forming apparatus PR.

  Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Here, an operation of printing document data created using an application (for example, word processing software) on a personal computer PC by an image forming apparatus will be described as an example. First, the user creates document data using an application on the personal computer PC. Here, a description will be given assuming that 10 pages of document data are created on an A4 paper size.

  Next, when the user operates the personal computer PC to designate “Nup printing” and designates the paper size to be used as “A4”, the application on the personal computer PC sends a print data transmission unit 9 to the print data transmission unit 9. Print instruction for Nup printing. In response to this, the print data transmission unit 9 displays a setting screen for Nup printing on the screen on the personal computer PC. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for Nup printing. Here, the user selects “2, 4, 8,...” As the “number of pages of one sheet”. Here, it is assumed that “2” is selected as the number of pages of one sheet.

  Next, the user clicks a “layout preview” button on the setting screen for Nup printing. In response to this, the print data transmission unit 9 displays a layout preview screen on the personal computer PC. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout preview screen. As shown in FIG. 4, the layout preview screen displays how each page is laid out. In FIG. 4, (1) to (10) represent each page of the document data. In this example, since “2” is selected as the number of pages of one sheet, two pages are arranged on each sheet. A layout result indicating that printing is performed on A4 sheets is displayed.

  Next, the user looks at this screen, and if the user wants to print in this layout, click the “OK” button. If there is a page to cancel Nup printing, click the “Cancel” button for the page to cancel Nup printing. To do. Here, it is assumed that the “cancel” button B1 for the first page is clicked to cancel Nup printing for the first page.

  In response to this, the print data transmission unit 9 displays on the personal computer PC a layout preview screen in a state in which Nup printing of the first page is cancelled. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout preview screen in a state where Nup printing of the first page is cancelled. A “set” button for setting Nup printing again is arranged on the page for which Nup printing has been canceled. When this setting button is clicked, the layout state shown in FIG. 4 is restored. Further, when it is desired to cancel Nup printing of the 10th page, when the “cancel” button B2 of the 10th page on the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5A is clicked, the layout preview shown in FIG. 5B is displayed. Is displayed on the personal computer PC. Similarly, when the “setting” button on the 10th page is clicked on the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5B, the layout state is shown in FIG.

  The user looks at the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5B and clicks an “OK” button B3 if he / she wants to print with this layout. When the “OK” button is clicked on the layout preview screen, the print data transmission unit 9 displays the Nup print setting screen (FIG. 3) on the personal computer again. Here, if there is no problem with the set contents, the user clicks an “OK” button on the Nup print setting screen. At this time, the print data transmission unit 9 holds information on the number of pages per sheet indicating how many pages are printed on one sheet, and an Nup print flag indicating whether or not to perform Nup printing for each page. Will be.

  Next, the print data transmission unit 9 issues a document data output instruction to the application that has issued the print instruction. On the other hand, the application sequentially outputs the document data to the print data transmission unit 9 for each page. This document data includes information on the paper size to be used and the page size used in the document data. In response to this, the print data transmission unit 9 generates print data for each sheet to be used for printing from the document data, the information on the number of pages per sheet, and the Nup print flag for each page. Then, the print data transmission unit 9 sequentially outputs the obtained print data for each sheet and the used sheet size to the image forming apparatus PR.

  This print data is received by the print data receiving unit 7 via the computer network 8. Then, the print data receiving unit 7 outputs the received information on the used paper size to the control unit 1 and stores the print data in the image memory 3. In response to this, the control unit 1 issues an instruction to the print processing unit 4 to print the print data stored in the image memory 3 on the paper of the used paper size. In response to this, the print processing unit 4 prints the print data stored in the image memory 3. As a result, the pages other than the first page and the tenth page are Nup printed.

  Next, another state transition in the case of Nup printing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating state transitions during Nup printing. First, a page to be subjected to Nup printing is designated (step S1). Here, 2up printing is assumed. Then, based on the designated target page, it is determined whether or not there is a surplus page when Nup printing is performed. For example, if only the first page of the 10 pages of document data is excluded from Nup printing, a margin is formed on half of the paper on which the 10th page is printed. It is called a page. If there are no extra pages (step S3), printing is performed as specified (step S9).

  On the other hand, if there is a surplus page (step S2), whether the designation of the target page for Nup printing is corrected (step S4), whether printing is performed with a margin (steps S5 and S9), or is the margin used? The user can arbitrarily select from among the three (step S6). Furthermore, in the case of using margins, it is possible to select whether an arbitrary page is specified and embedded in the margin part (steps S7 and S9) or an automatic layout is printed (step S8). . The automatic layout here is to print a predetermined content in a margin part. For example, the number of printed sheets is printed in a format of “number of printed sheets: 5”, a predetermined logo or the like is printed. Print. Further, for example, when the first to third pages are character data, the fourth page is a drawing, and the fifth page is character data, if Nup printing is canceled for only the fourth page, 1 is displayed on the first sheet. The second page, the second half, the third page, the third page, the fourth page drawing, and the fourth half, the fifth page will be printed. The designation of printing the fifth page in the portion is the arbitrary page designation in step S7. In this way, it is possible to realize the layout of the first page, the first page, the second page, the second page, the third page, the fifth page, the third page, and the fourth page. It also saves money.

Next, an operation when the copy (copying) function is used in the image forming apparatus alone will be described.
Here, it is assumed that only the first and tenth pages of ten A4 size originals are not subject to Nup printing and are copied. First, the user places all the ten originals on the image reading unit 2 in order and reads the image. As a result, 10 sheets of image reading data are stored in the image memory 3.

  Next, the user designates “Nup printing” from the input unit 5 and designates the paper size to be used as “A4”. In response to this, the control unit 1 displays a Nup printing setting screen (FIG. 3) on the display unit 6.

  Next, the user touches a “layout preview” button on the setting screen for Nup printing. In response to this, the control unit 1 displays a layout preview screen (FIG. 4) on the display unit 6. In this layout preview screen, how each page is laid out is displayed. In FIG. 4, (1) to (10) represent each page of the document data. In this example, since “2” is selected as the number of pages of one sheet, two pages are arranged on each sheet. A layout result indicating that printing is performed on one A4 sheet is displayed.

  Next, the user looks at this screen, and if the user wants to print in this layout, click the “OK” button. If there is a page to cancel Nup printing, click the “Cancel” button for the page to cancel Nup printing. To do. Here, in order to cancel Nup printing of the first page, it is assumed that the “cancel” button B1 of the first page is touched.

  In response to this, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit 6 a layout preview screen (FIG. 5A) in a state in which Nup printing for the first page is cancelled. A “set” button for setting Nup printing again is arranged on the page for which Nup printing has been canceled. When this setting button is touched, the layout state shown in FIG. 4 is restored. Further, when it is desired to cancel Nup printing of the 10th page, if the “cancel” button B2 of the 10th page on the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5A is touched, the layout preview shown in FIG. 5B is displayed. Is displayed on the display unit 6. Similarly, when the “setting” button on the 10th page is touched on the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5B, the layout state is shown in FIG.

  The user looks at the layout preview screen shown in FIG. 5B and touches an “OK” button B3 if he / she wants to print with this layout. When the “OK” button is touched on the layout preview screen, the control unit 1 displays the Nup printing setting screen (FIG. 3) on the display unit 6 again. If there is no problem with the set contents, the user touches the “OK” button on the Nup print setting screen. At this point, the control unit 1 holds information on the number of pages per sheet indicating how many pages are to be printed on one sheet, and a Nup printing flag indicating whether Nup printing is performed for each page. It will be.

  Next, the control unit 1 generates print data for each sheet to be used for printing from the image data in the image memory 2, the information on the number of pages per sheet, and the Nup print flag for each page. Store in memory 2. Then, the control unit 1 issues an instruction to the print processing unit 4 to print the print data stored in the image memory 3 on a sheet of the used paper size. In response to this, the print processing unit 4 prints the print data stored in the image memory 3. As a result, the pages other than the first page and the tenth page are Nup printed.

In the layout preview screens shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, actual image data may be displayed together with the page number indicating each page. In this way, it is possible to set / cancel Nup printing while viewing the image itself displayed on the preview screen. When there is a lot of data to be printed, it is necessary to remember in advance how many pages to cancel, but you can specify settings and cancellations while looking at the image, so you can eliminate the specification mistakes. It becomes possible.
If the number of printed sheets is large and the layout result does not fit within the layout preview screen of the display unit 6 or the display of the personal computer PC, the layout result may be scrolled up, down, left and right on the screen.

  As described above, the layout preview screen is displayed in Nup printing in which an image of a plurality of pages is printed on one sheet of paper, so that cancellation and setting of Nup printing can be easily performed for each page. Any layout can be easily set.

  The program for realizing the functions of the control unit 1 and the print data transmission unit 9 in FIG. 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. Thus, the print control process may be performed. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state transition of the designation | designated operation | movement of Nup printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a screen display at the time of designation | designated of Nup printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a screen display at the time of designation | designated of Nup printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a screen display at the time of designation | designated of Nup printing.

Explanation of symbols

PR: Image forming apparatus,
PC ... PC
1 ... control part,
2 ... image reading unit,
3 ... Image memory,
4 ... print processing unit,
5 ... Input section,
6 ... display part,
7: Print data receiving unit 8: Computer network,
9: Print data transmission unit

Claims (8)

An image forming apparatus having a Nup printing function for reducing a plurality of images and printing them on one sheet of paper,
Display means for displaying a layout preview of each page when Nup printing is performed;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an input unit that designates cancellation / setting of Nup printing for each page displayed on the display unit and changes a print layout.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined image is printed in a margin when the layout forms a margin when printing is performed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input unit.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the layout has a margin when printing is performed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input unit, an arbitrary page is Nup printed in the margin.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image to be printed is displayed on each page of the layout preview. A print control program for performing Nup printing for reducing a plurality of images and printing on one sheet of paper,
Display processing for displaying a layout preview of each page when Nup printing is performed;
A print control program for causing a computer to perform an input process for changing a print layout by designating cancellation / setting of Nup printing for each page displayed in the display process.   6. The print control program according to claim 5, wherein when a layout has a margin when printing is performed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input processing, a predetermined image is printed in the margin.   6. The print control program according to claim 5, wherein if a layout has a margin when printing is performed with the Nup printing setting designated by the input processing, an arbitrary page is Nup printed in the margin. 6. The print control program according to claim 5, wherein an image to be printed is displayed on each page of the layout preview.

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