JP2006209389A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control method for attaching printing setting to a form and individual data to be inserted, for setting an output condition which is to have priority at the time of composition when a master document is to be outputted and for generating printing setting which is optimum for document output after composition in accordance with a precedence condition. <P>SOLUTION: The processor is provided with a transmitting means transmitting printing data to a printer, a document generating means generating a document which a user requires, a composition data generating means composing a plurality of documents generated in the document generating means and generating printing data, a composition comparison means having order information for generating composition data, a setting addition means attaching setting for printing to the document, a storing means storing document information becoming an object of document composition, a retrieval means retrieving arbitrary document information from document information stored by the storing means and a composition document instructing means instructing a plurality of documents to be composed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that performs print processing by superimposing predetermined form data, images, graphics, text data, and input print information.

  Conventionally, when ruled lines that are repeatedly printed for a job of a plurality of pages and image data portions are individually created (hereinafter referred to as form data) and printed in an overlapping manner (hereinafter referred to as overlay printing). There has been proposed a printer driver in a host computer that controls the function of superimposing and printing with a printer.

  Similarly, a technique called variable printing is known as a method for synthesizing and printing a document (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

This variable printing is so-called insertion printing, in which text or image data to be inserted into one master document is separately defined, and these data are inserted into the master document during printing. It is. Different print results can be obtained by sequentially changing the data to be inserted into one master document. A typical example is direct mail printing of product information. This defines the area (field) into which the name, address, and product image are to be inserted into the master document. If the address book DB file or product image DB file is specified as the data to be inserted, images are sequentially extracted from the DB file. The name and address defined in each record are read and the data is inserted into the designated field of the master document for printing. As a print result, one master document can obtain print documents for the number of people.
JP 2003-323289 A

  However, when an electrophotographic printer is used for such composite printing, the image formation by the halftone screen, which is a feature of the electrophotographic printer, is a high-frequency halftone screen that smoothly outputs the contours of figures and the edges of characters, natural images Since the characteristics of low-frequency halftone screens that output smooth gradations of computer graphics and computer graphics are in conflict, the optimum image formation is specified for all print data in the output that inserts multiple data. It was difficult.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention attaches print settings to forms and individual data to be inserted, and sets output conditions to be prioritized at the time of composition when outputting a master document.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control method capable of generating a print setting optimal for a document output after composition in accordance with this priority condition.

  In order to solve this problem, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is created by a transmission unit that transmits print data to a printing device, a document creation unit that creates a document required by a user, and the document creation unit. A combined data generating unit that combines a plurality of documents to generate print data, a combined comparison unit that has order information for generating the combined data, a setting attachment unit that attaches settings for printing to the document, Storage means for storing document information to be synthesized, search means for searching for arbitrary document information from the document information stored in the storage means, and composite document instruction means for instructing a plurality of documents to be combined And having.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to attach and save print settings to accumulated data used for document composition.

  As a result, it is possible to execute merge printing without grasping the desired output conditions when outputting accumulated data.

  Even if different print instructions are given, print instruction composition based on the priority conditions required for the print result is realized, so that it is possible to improve the print quality when combining multiple documents. Become.

  In particular, in variable printing in which various master data and merged documents are mass-combined based on the customer DB, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus system that improves the efficiency of printing work for improving image quality. .

  Hereinafter, a printing system including an information processing apparatus suitable for applying the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, as long as the functions of the present invention are executed, a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices can be connected via a network such as a LAN or WAN. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a system in which processing is performed.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a computer, which includes a CPU 101 that executes document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables, and the like are mixed based on a document processing program stored in a ROM 102. The CPU 101 performs overall control. Reference numeral 103 denotes a RAM which functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101. A keyboard controller (KBC) 105 controls key input from the keyboard 109. Reference numeral 106 denotes a CRT controller (CRTC), which controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 110. A disk controller (DKC) 107 controls access to a hard disk (HD) 111 and a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 112 that store a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, and the like. An interface controller (IFC) 108 executes communication control processing with the printing apparatus 300 via a predetermined bidirectional interface (interface) 200. Reference numerals 108 a and 305 a denote interface circuits that control various data communication processes between the printing apparatus 300 and the computer 100 via the interface 200. Note that the CPU 101 executes, for example, outline font development (rasterization) processing on the display information RAM set on the RAM 103 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 110. Further, the CPU 101 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 110, and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window relating to print settings, and can set the printer processing and print processing method settings for the printer driver including selection of the print mode, which are realized by the screens shown in FIGS.

  In the printing apparatus 300, a CPU 301 is connected to the system bus 304 based on a control program stored in the program ROM 303b of the ROM 303 or a control program stored in the hard disk (HD) 311 which is an external memory. The access to the various devices is comprehensively controlled, and an image signal as print data is output to the printing unit (printing device engine) 307 connected via the printing unit interface 306.

  The printing unit 307 can acquire the life information of the photosensitive drum of the mounted process cartridge and the remaining amount information of the developer (toner), and are reported to the control program via the printing unit interface 306. The

  The font ROM 303a of the ROM 303 stores font data used when generating the output data, and the data ROM 303c of the ROM 303 has a hard disk (HD) 311 as an external memory. Stores information to be used. The CPU 301 can communicate with the computer 100 via the input / output unit 305 and is configured to notify the computer 100 of information in the printer. A RAM 302 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 301, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 302 is used as a reception buffer, a page buffer, a work buffer, and the like, and can hold a part of information even when the printing apparatus 300 is powered off by a dedicated battery. The clock generation unit 308 is a clock generation unit that generates an internal clock that is referred to in time processing among internal processing of the printing apparatus. The operation panel 309 includes operation buttons that operate the printing apparatus 300 and a display unit that displays an operation status. From this operation panel 309, printing settings of the printing apparatus 300 can be input, and a paper feed cassette can be selected. A disk controller (DKC) 310 controls access to a hard disk (HD) 311 that stores font data, user files, received data, and the like. Various data to be inserted such as forms, graphics, and image images in the present invention can be stored in the hard disk (HD) 311.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of typical print processing in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is directly connected or connected via a network.

  The application 21, the graphic engine 22, the printer driver 23, and the system spooler 24 exist as files stored in the hard disk (HD) 111, and are loaded into the RAM 103 and executed by the OS and modules using the modules when executed. Program module.

  The application 21 and the printer driver 23 can be added to the hard disk 111 via the FD 112, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown). The application 21 stored in the hard disk (HD) 111 is loaded into the RAM 103 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 21 to the printing apparatus 300, the application 21 is similarly loaded into the RAM 103 and can be executed. The graphic engine 22 is used to output (draw). The data that the application launches to the graphic engine varies depending on the type of OS. For example, when Windows (registered trademark) (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) is used, a GDI function is output to the GDI, which is a graphic engine, as a rendering command. .

  Similarly, the graphic engine 22 loads the printer driver 23 prepared for each printing apparatus from the hard disk (HD) 111 to the RAM 103, and converts the GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function, which is the output of the application 21, into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function. And output to the printer driver 23.

  Based on the DDI function received from the GDI, the printer driver 23 converts the printer control command into a PDL (Page Description Language) that can be interpreted by the printer 300 or low-level image data. The converted printer control command is output to the printer 300 via the interface 200 via the system spooler 24 loaded into the RAM 103 by the OS.

  FIG. 3 shows a print dialog according to this embodiment, which is a screen displayed when print designation is made from an application. In the printer selection list 31 on this screen, a printer driver installed in the host computer can be selected. When performing various print settings of the printer driver, the property button 32 is clicked. Work such as form registration and overlay printing is also performed on the screen displayed by clicking this button. When all settings relating to printing are completed and printing or form registration is performed, an OK button 33 is clicked. When the cancel button 34 is clicked, various changes set in the print dialog are discarded and printing is not performed.

  FIG. 4 is a printer property screen for performing various settings for printing in this embodiment. Main settings related to print quality can be made on the screen displayed by clicking the print quality tab 41. In order to specify form registration and overlay printing, an instruction is given in the screen displayed by clicking the page option button 42. When all the settings related to printing are completed, the OK button 43 is clicked. When the cancel button 44 is clicked, various changes set in the printer properties are discarded.

  FIG. 5 is a screen of a print quality tab for mainly setting print quality in printer properties for performing various settings for printing in this embodiment. In this screen, a printing purpose list 51 to be selected according to the purpose of printing and a detailed setting button 52 for performing more detailed settings are prepared. When a setting such as “general”, “photograph”, “CAD” or the like described in the print purpose list 51 is selected, a print process most suitable for the print job indicated by the name is set. When all the settings relating to print quality are completed, an OK button 53 is clicked. When the cancel button 54 is clicked, various changes set in the printer properties are discarded.

  FIG. 6 is a detailed setting screen for performing more detailed setting of print quality in printer properties for performing various settings for printing in this embodiment. In this screen, a resolution selection list 61 for specifying an output resolution and a halftone selection list 62 for specifying a type of halftone are prepared. When all the settings related to the detailed settings are completed, the OK button 63 is clicked. When the cancel button 64 is clicked, various changes set on the detailed setting screen are discarded. The setting of resolution and halftone is a setting item having a large influence on the print quality.

  FIG. 7 is a page option setting screen for performing settings for form registration and overlay printing in this embodiment. On this screen, there are various buttons and input boxes related to overlay. As buttons for designating processing methods, a normal print designation button 71, an overlay print designation button 72, a form creation designation button 74, and a priority designation list 73 are arranged. The priority designation list 73 is disabled when the overlay print designation button 72 is not selected. The page option setting screen of FIG. 7 is in a state where the form creation designation button 74 is selected. When creating the form, the location and file name to be saved are designated on the file saving location designation screen shown in FIG. 8 displayed by clicking the reference button 76. The file name designated at this time is displayed in the file designation list 75. When creating a form, the title of the form to be created is input to the title input BOX 77, and explanations and remarks are input to the subtitle input BOX 78. The setting details display area 79 displays print settings stored in the form to be created. When all the settings related to form creation are completed, the OK button 7a is clicked. When the cancel button 7b is clicked, various changes set on the page setting screen are discarded.

  FIG. 8 is a screen that is displayed when the reference button 76 is clicked when the form creation designation button 74 is selected on the page option setting screen of FIG. On this screen, specify where to save the form. The user can select a folder for creating a form by clicking an icon or the like in the directory display area 81. The file name of the form to be created is input to the file name input box 82. When all the settings related to file creation are completed, the save button 83 is clicked. When the cancel button 84 is clicked, the contents set on the file storage location designation screen are discarded.

  FIG. 9 is an overlay print designation screen in a state where the overlay print designation button 91 is selected on the page option setting screen in this embodiment. At the time of overlay printing, an overlay print designation button 91 is clicked to enter an overlay print instruction state, and a form to be used is designated on the overlay file selection screen shown in FIG. The file name designated at this time is displayed in the file designation list 93. The titles stored in the form are displayed in the title display BOX 95, the subtitles are displayed in the subtitle display BOX 96, and the print settings are displayed in the setting details display area 97. At the time of overlay printing, as a priority condition for combining the current print setting and the print setting stored in the form file, “Priority is given to gradation by comparing print settings” in the priority designation list 92; From priority conditions such as “Compare print settings to prioritize resolution”, “Compare print settings to prioritize speed”, “Use current print settings”, “Use form print settings” Select one. When all the settings relating to overlay printing are completed, an OK button 98 is clicked. When the cancel button 99 is clicked, various changes set on the overlay print designation screen are discarded.

  FIG. 10 is a screen that is displayed when the reference button 94 is clicked on the overlay print designation screen of FIG. On this screen, specify the form to be used for overlay printing. The user can select a form file to be used for overlay printing by clicking an icon or the like in the directory display area 101. The file name of the selected form is displayed in the file name BOX102. When all the settings related to form designation are completed, an open button 103 is clicked. When the cancel button 104 is clicked, the contents set on the file storage location designation screen are discarded.

  FIG. 11 is an example of priority comparison TBL for print setting composition in the present embodiment. In the embodiment, the TBL is referred to when the print settings are combined, and a TBL is prepared for each print setting item. This TBL is an item that ranks the item values based on the conditions that should be prioritized in the printing operation. For example, in the figure, in the halftone setting item, four values of “stable”, “color stability”, “high line number”, “super high line number” are set as the dither setting, and “binary” is set as the gradation setting. There are two values, “multivalue”. Since the setting of halftone is an item configured by a combination of dither setting and gradation setting, there are 8 types of selection values of 4 × 2. This TBL is a condition that should be prioritized in printing operations for these eight settings, such as “priority of resolution that emphasizes sharpness and dot reproduction performance”, “tone priority that emphasizes graininess, color stability, and banding resistance”, and A priority is assigned for each priority condition such as “speed priority with emphasis on image processing speed”. This order is preferably determined based on the output characteristics of the printing apparatus to be used, and is usually created by the printing apparatus manufacturer and provided with the printer driver.

  FIG. 12 is a composition example of print settings in this embodiment. In the present invention, an example of overlay printing for overlaying and outputting two or more documents and insertion print setting for inserting and inserting component figures and images will be described. In the present invention, a print setting is attached to a form or a part graphic in advance, and the print setting is combined with the print setting at the time of overlay printing or insertion printing and output. For example, referring to the figure, as output settings of the printer driver when executing merge printing, “halftone = high number of lines / binary”, “priority designation = gradation”, output setting attached to image 1 to be merged. Assuming that “halftone = stable / multi-value” and output setting attached to image 2 to be inserted are “halftone = number of extra high lines / binary”. In order to output these three documents, not only text and figures are superimposed, but also print settings are combined. The combining method is executed in light of the print setting composition priority comparison TBL in FIG. In comparison with the case of FIG. 12, the order of setting when gradation is prioritized is “high line number / binary” is 6th, “stable / multi-value” is 2nd, and “high line number / binary”. "Is ranked 8th, and the 2nd place of" Stable / Multi-valued "is the highest rank. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 12, the output setting attached to the image 1 is applied. Similarly, when other setting items such as resolution and low toner are set, the print settings are compared and combined with reference to the print setting combination priority comparison TBL of FIG.

  Now, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail using the flowcharts of FIGS. 13 to 17 and the work flow of FIG.

  A flowchart 1 in FIG. 13 is a process executed when a print instruction is issued from an application. In step S101, initial settings of the printer driver are read, and in step S102, a print dialog shown in FIG. 3 is displayed. In step S103, it is determined whether or not the property button 31 has been clicked. If the property button 31 has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S104, and the property process is executed. If not, the process proceeds to step S105. The property processing executes property processing of the printer driver specified in the printer selection list 31. In step S105, the OK button 33 and the cancel button 34 on the print dialog are monitored. If the cancel button 34 is clicked, the process proceeds to step S106, and the print dialog process is terminated after the print process is stopped. If the OK button 33 is clicked, the process proceeds to step S107. If any other button or the like is clicked, processing corresponding to the function of the button is executed, but is omitted in the description of the present invention and the process proceeds to step S103. In step S107, it is determined what is selected as the processing method in the page option setting screen of FIG. 7. If the normal print designation button 71 is selected, the process proceeds to step S108, and after performing normal print processing, printing is performed. End dialog processing. If the form creation designation button 74 has been selected, the process proceeds to step S109, where the current print settings are attached to the print data, the form data is recorded in a file, and the print dialog process is terminated. The file storage location and name are specified on the page option setting screen of FIG. If the overlay print designation button 72 is selected, the process proceeds to step S110 to synthesize print settings. The print setting composition is processed according to the print setting composition example of FIG. 12 using the print setting composition priority comparison TBL of FIG. At this time, the images are synthesized based on the priority conditions specified in the priority specification list 92. After the print settings are combined, the process proceeds to step S111, overlay printing is executed based on the print settings combined in step S110, and the print dialog process is terminated.

  Flowchart 2 in FIG. 14 is property processing called and executed from the print dialog processing in FIG. In step S201, the printer properties shown in FIG. 4 are displayed. In step S202, various settings relating to printing are executed on the print quality setting screen of FIG. 5, the detailed print quality setting screen of FIG. In step S203, it is determined whether or not the page option button 42 has been clicked. If it has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S204, and page option processing is executed. If not, the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, the OK button 43 and the cancel button 44 on the printer property are monitored, and if the OK button 43 is clicked, the process proceeds to step S206, and the setting process in the printer property process is applied, and the property process ends. To do. If the cancel button 44 is clicked, the process proceeds to step S207, the setting contents in the printer property process are discarded, and the property process ends. If any other button or the like is clicked, processing corresponding to the function of the button is executed, but is omitted in the description of the present invention and the process proceeds to step S202.

  The flowchart 3 of FIG. 15 is a page option process that is called and executed from the property process of FIG. In step S301, the page option setting screen shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. In step S302, it is determined whether or not the normal printing designation button 71 is selected in the determination as to what is selected as the processing method, and the process advances to step S303 to invalidate the display of the priority designation list 73. If the form creation designation button 74 is selected, the process proceeds to step S304, the display of the priority designation list 73 is invalidated, and form registration processing is executed in step S305. If the overlay print designation button 72 is selected, the process proceeds to step S306 to enable the display of the priority designation list 73. The priority designation list 73 includes “comparison of print settings to prioritize gradation”, “compare print settings to prioritize resolution”, “compare print settings to prioritize speed”, “current There are options such as “Use print setting of” and “Use print setting of form”, and the user designates a condition to be prioritized in the printing operation. In step S307, overlay setting processing is executed. In step S308, the OK button 7a and the cancel button 7b on the page option setting screen are monitored. If the OK button 7a is clicked, the process proceeds to step S309, and the setting contents in the page option setting screen are applied, and then the page End option processing. If the cancel button 7b is clicked, the process proceeds to step S310, after the setting contents in the page option setting screen are discarded, the page option processing is ended. If any other button or the like is clicked, processing corresponding to the function of the button is executed, but is omitted in the description of the present invention and the process proceeds to step S302.

  16 is a form registration process that is called and executed from the page option process of FIG. In step S401, the setting details displayed on the setting details display area 79 of the page option setting screen shown in FIG. 7 are displayed on the setting details set on the printing quality setting screen shown in FIG. 5, the printing quality details setting screen shown in FIG. In step S402, it is determined whether a file name is set in the file specification list 75. If the file name is set, the process proceeds to step S403. If not, the process proceeds to step S406. In step S403, it is determined whether a title is input to the title input BOX 77. If a title has been input, the process proceeds to step S404. If not, the process proceeds to step S406. In step S404, it is determined whether a subtitle is input to the subtitle input BOX 78. If a subtitle is input, the process proceeds to step S405, the OK button 7a is validated, and the form registration process is terminated. If not, the process proceeds to step S406. In step S406, if any one of the file designation list 75, title input BOX 77, and subtitle input BOX 78 has not been input, the OK button 7a is displayed as invalid and the form registration process is terminated.

  A flowchart 5 in FIG. 17 is an overlay setting process called and executed from the page option process in FIG. In step S501, the contents of the file designation list 93, title display BOX 95, subtitle display BOX 96, and setting details display area 97 of the overlay print designation screen shown in FIG. In step S502, it is determined whether a file name is set in the file designation list 93. If the file name is set, the process proceeds to step S503. If not, the process proceeds to step S505. In step S503, the title value saved in the form file whose file name is set in the file designation list 93 is displayed in the title display BOX 95, the subtitle value is displayed in the subtitle display BOX 96, and the print setting value is set. It is displayed in the detail display area 97. In step S504, the OK button 98 is validated and the overlay setting process is terminated. In step S505, the OK button 98 is disabled and the overlay setting process is terminated.

  The above is the description of the processing procedure using the flowchart. The above description is supplemented by using the work flow of FIG.

  As an example of the work flow of the output work in which the present invention is utilized, a form design person first creates a bill form required for billing work or the like using the form creation software shown in FIG. The person in charge of form design sets the desired print settings for outputting the created form with the printer driver, creates a form file with the print settings attached in the format example shown in FIG. 18-2, and forms DB in FIG. 18-3 Register with etc. Attaching the print settings to the form file is to give the print setting requirements expected by the form designer, for example, the setting to output the thin lines without interruption and the setting to output the halftone uniformly and smoothly. It is.

  On the other hand, after the person in charge of invoicing inputs and calculates the amount of invoice in the data aggregation software shown in FIG. At this time, the invoice is printed using “form: invoice” registered in the form DB of FIG. 18-3 in advance. In overlay printing, if print settings necessary for outputting the data portion of an invoice, such as a customer name and a billing amount, and printing conditions to be prioritized during overlay printing are set and output in the priority specification list 92, FIG. 18-5 is created. Since the data in FIG. 18-5 is instructed to overlay printing, the bill form used in this data is called from the form DB in FIG. 18-3. Then, the form printing is performed with the output data shown in FIG. 18-5 and the invoice form data shown in FIG. 18-6. The print settings of both are compared as shown in the example of FIG. Apply high settings. As an effect of comparing and synthesizing print settings, if the person in charge of creating a form attaches the printer driver settings that are output without interruption to the thin line, the person in charge of the invoice will check whether the thin line is interrupted or uninterrupted. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the print settings of the printer driver in detail, and it is only necessary to select “Compare print settings and give priority to resolution” in the priority designation list 92. As a result, the output data of FIG. 18-7 is generated and transmitted to the printer of FIG. 18-8.

  By the processing described above, the print settings of the printer driver are attached and saved in the form file, and the print job configuration in which the form creator and the overlay print performer are different by the composition processing of the print setting attached to the form file at the time of overlay printing. Even so, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus system having a function of executing high-quality overlay printing without knowing the form data output conditions.

  Note that the initial selection value of the priority designation list 92 in the embodiment of the present invention is not particularly defined, and the default value may be determined according to the business environment in which the printing apparatus is used. For example, if it is desired to register the print settings for each form data and apply the print settings registered in the form data at the time of overlay printing, the initial setting of the priority specification list 92 is “form print settings”. Use "".

  Further, the value of the priority comparison TBL for print setting composition in FIG. 11 is preferably in a format in which compatibility between models is enhanced. In the example of FIG. 11, “color stability”, “stable”, “high line number” and “ultra high line number” are divided as dither types, but a dither screen of ˜150 line / inch is divided into “color stability”, 151 If the 200line / inch dither screen is defined by the range as "stable", even if the printer product is different and the dither setting name is changed, the dither screen is converted from the periodic density to the dither type and printed. It is possible to compare the order of setting.

  Further, the form data attached with the print settings created in step S109 of FIG. 13 or FIG. 18-2 remains the application data before conversion even after the application data is converted into the control command of the printer controller. It does not matter. However, in the case where the data has been converted to bitmap data that has been subjected to dither screen processing, the degree of freedom of composition of print settings is low.

  Further, in the embodiment, the present invention relates to image formation such as halftone, resolution, and low toner, but color reproduction, for example, printing such as “photo tone hue”, “match to monitor color”, “brilliant hue”, etc. It is also possible to save the setting and set the priority condition at the time of combining the print settings as “prioritize color near the monitor”. In this case, for example, the first place is “match to monitor color”, the second place is “photo tone hue”, and the third place is “brilliant hue”.

  The point of the present invention is to hold print settings desirable for printing a form and settings for printing an overlay document individually, and optimally output the form data without grasping the contents of a wide variety of form data. It is in the place of providing a printing device that can do things.

  The above is the embodiment of the present invention.

[Other Example 1]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied at the time of overlay printing has been described. However, as another method for synthesizing and printing a document, a technique called variable printing is known. This variable printing is so-called insertion printing, in which text or image data to be inserted into one master document is separately defined, and these data are inserted into the master document during printing. It is. Different print results can be obtained by sequentially changing the data to be inserted into one master document. A typical example is direct mail printing of product information. This defines the area (field) into which the name, address, and product image are to be inserted into the master document. If the address book DB file or product image DB file is specified as the data to be inserted, images are sequentially extracted from the DB file. The name and address defined in each record are read and the data is inserted into the designated field of the master document for printing. As a result of printing, one master document can obtain print documents for the number of people.

  The present invention can also be applied to such a printing business case. This method will be described with reference to the work flows of FIGS.

  As an example of a work flow of variable printing work in which the present invention is utilized, a layout designer first creates a layout for insertion printing using the layout creation software shown in FIG. This layout defines areas into which insertion data is to be inserted. The type, size, and arrangement of characters are set for each area in the layout, and layout data as shown in FIG. 19-2 is stored in the layout DB of FIG. 19-3. sign up.

  Subsequently, the person in charge of part image creation creates part data necessary for insertion printing using the part image creation software shown in FIG. 19-4 and registers it in the part image DB shown in FIG. 19-6. At this time, the person in charge of creating the component image sets print settings desirable for outputting the created component image using the printer driver, and creates an insertion image file with the print settings attached in the format example shown in FIG. 19-5. Attaching print settings to an inset image file is a requirement for the print settings expected by the component image creator, such as settings to output fine lines without interruption, settings to output halftones uniformly and smoothly, and company logos. This is for giving an output setting or the like with a specified color.

  Subsequently, a customer name list registration person inputs customer information as a direct mail destination using the customer name list registration software of FIG. 19-7, and registers it in the customer name list DB of FIG. 19-8. The layout DB in FIG. 19-3, the component image DB in FIG. 19-6, and the customer list DB in FIG. 19-8 are stored in the HD 311 of the printing apparatus 300 even if stored in the HD 111 of the computer 100. However, it may be connected by the network shown in FIG. 19-9 as shown in FIG.

  Now, assuming that data necessary for insertion printing has been registered in these DBs, the operation at the time of execution of insertion printing will be described using the work flow of FIG.

  In the layout DB in FIG. 20-1, the component image DB in FIG. 20-2, and the customer list DB in FIG. 20-3, data necessary for the merge printing is registered in the DB described in the work flow in FIG. It is assumed that the DB groups are connected by the network shown in FIG.

  The variable printing operator makes various settings necessary for execution of insertion printing using the variable printing software shown in FIG. As a setting procedure, a layout into which data used for insertion printing is inserted is selected from the layout DB in FIG. Next, a variable output list is created. This output list corresponds to the customer list DB of FIG. 20-3, and one customer is listed as one record. In the created output list, the customer name and customer address are poured into each record. In addition, a part image to be guided to each customer by direct mail is selected from the part image DB of FIG. 20-2 and registered. It is also possible to insert different guidance for each customer in the output list. Correspondence to which area in the layout the output list is to be specified is specified by the data allocation TBL.

  As described above, the variable printing software of FIG. 20-5 is set, and the variable printing operator executes the variable printing operation. The variable printing operator cannot determine what is the optimum print setting for each component image for the insertion printing in which an unspecified number of component images are designated. Even if it is understood, it is not practical to specify different print settings for the record because it is a laborious work.

  In this regard, in another embodiment 1 of the present invention, the person in charge of creating the component image has registered in advance the printing installation that optimally outputs each component image, so that the variable printing operator outputs the component image. For example, as shown in FIG. 20-6, the print setting can be set to the record by simply performing the interleave printing with the print setting of “comparing the print settings and giving priority to gradation” as shown in FIG. Insertion printing is executed with a print setting in which tone is given priority over comparison. Now, the comparison of print settings will be described with reference to FIG. 20-6. The variable print operator selects “priority of gradation”, “halftone = high line number / 2 value”, “resolution = 300 dpi”, “low toner” = Insertion was executed with “OFF” set. At this time, there are “Canon” and “LBP1000” as the component images used in the output of the record 001. The print settings attached to the component image are “halftone = color stability / multivalue”, “resolution = 300 dpi”, “low toner = OFF” for “Canon”, and “LBP1000”. , “Halftone = stable / multi-value”, “resolution = 600 dpi”, and “low toner = OFF” are registered.

  A method of combining these three print settings will be described with reference to FIG.

  In other variable printing shown in the first embodiment, as shown in the output FIG. 21-1, three print settings of variable print, print setting of the component image “Canon”, and print setting of the component image “LBP1000” are combined. Will be done. As a composition method, the print setting composition priority TBL of FIG. 11 is used and the composition of print settings of FIG. 12 is followed. As a result, the gradation order of the halftone when the gradation is prioritized is “high line number / binary = 6th place” for variable printing, “color stable / multivalue = 1st place” for part image “canon”, and part image “ LBP1000 ”is“ stable / multi-value = 2nd ”, and the setting of“ color stability / multi-value ”, which is the highest order, is applied, and the quality ranking of resolution is“ 300 dpi = third ”for variable printing, The component image “Canon” is “300 dpi = 3rd” and the component image “LBP1000” is “600 dpi = 2”, and the setting of “600 dpi”, which is the highest order, is applied. The common “OFF” is used, and the print setting of FIG. 21-2 is used at the time of variable printing. As a result, the customer information, the part image, and the guidance text as shown in FIG. It becomes possible. Since the above-described embodiment of the present invention was an application example of the present invention in form printing, the case where one type of frame data was overlaid on the print data of a plurality of pages was mainly used. In Example 1, insertion printing is performed by appropriately rearranging unspecified number of component data using variable software. In addition, by executing output for one record, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus system having a function for designating optimum print settings for each record.

Control configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention Print processing configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the print dialog used in the Example of this invention The figure which shows the printer property used in the Example of this invention The figure which shows the print quality setting screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the print quality detailed setting screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the page option setting screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the file storage location designation screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the overlay printing designation | designated screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the overlay file selection screen used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows priority comparison TBL of the print setting composition used in the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a synthesis | combination of the print setting used in the Example of this invention. Flowchart 1 used in the embodiment of the present invention Flowchart 2 used in the embodiment of the present invention Flowchart 3 used in the embodiment of the present invention Flowchart 4 used in the embodiment of the present invention Flowchart 5 used in the embodiment of the present invention Workflow used in an embodiment of the present invention Workflow 1 used in other embodiments of the present invention Workflow 2 used in other embodiments of the invention Workflow 3 used in other embodiments of the invention

Explanation of symbols

100 Computer 109 Keyboard 110 CRT
200 Bidirectional interface for connecting a printing device to an external device 300 Printing device 302 RAM used for various processes of the printing device
303 ROM for storing various programs of printing device
303a Font ROM in the ROM of the printing device
303b Program ROM in the ROM of the printing device
303c Data ROM in ROM of printing device
305 Interface 307 for receiving print data of printing device Printing unit 309 which is engine and hardware of printing device Operation panel 311 for operating setting menu of printing device Hard disk used as external storage device of printing device

Claims (8)

Transmission means for transmitting print data to the printing apparatus;
A document creation means for creating a document required by the user;
A synthesized data generating unit that generates a print data by combining a plurality of documents created by the document creating unit;
A combination comparison means having rank information for generating the combination data;
A setting attachment means for attaching a setting for printing to a document;
A storage means for storing document information to be synthesized;
Search means for searching for arbitrary document information from the document information stored in the storage means;
A composite document instruction means for instructing a plurality of documents to be combined;
Information processing device with   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combination comparison unit includes a plurality of print setting order information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combination comparison unit includes a plurality of pieces of rank information for one print setting item, and switches according to a situation.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combination comparison unit has a plurality of pieces of rank information for one print setting item, and switches according to a given priority condition.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is not limited to a data format.   The synthesized data generating means has a function of synthesizing a background common to each page with a document of a plurality of pages and a function of synthesizing a background consisting of a plurality of pages with a document of a plurality of pages. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Layout creation means for creating layout information for arranging documents in a page;
Layout storage means for storing layout information created by the layout creation means;
Layout search means for searching for arbitrary layout information from the layout information stored in the layout storage means;
An association means for associating a plurality of documents to be inserted into the layout information;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the synthesized data generating unit has a function of synthesizing a plurality of documents arranged by the layout creating unit.