JP2011242967A - Printing control program, information processing device, computer readable recording medium, printing system, and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve convenience when performing printing setting suitable to a printing purpose, such as paper saving during printing.SOLUTION: A print purpose inquiry display control part 13 refers to a print purpose table stored in a table storage part 12, and displays a print purpose selection screen on a display part. A print purpose-sorted recommended printing setting display control part 14 searches a print purpose-sorted recommended printing setting table stored in the table storage part 12, and displays a recommended printing setting selection screen on the display part when detecting that any one item is selected from the print purpose selection screen. A recommended printing setting-sorted merit/demerit information display control part 15 searches a recommended printing setting-sorted merit/demerit table stored in the table storage part 12, and displays a merit/demerit reflection confirmation screen on the display part when detecting that any one item is selected from the recommended printing settings displayed on the recommended printing setting selection screen.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control program, an information processing apparatus, a computer-readable recording medium, a printing system, and a printing apparatus.

Conventionally, a graphical user interface (GUI) has been provided for a user to perform print settings related to printing on the printing apparatus, so that frequently used print settings can be registered, easily read, and set. Techniques such as presets are already known.
For example, a setting screen for setting an instruction relating to the printing condition of the document is displayed, a printing condition for printing the document is created in accordance with the instruction set on the setting screen, and the document is changed based on the printing condition. There is an apparatus for instructing an external apparatus to perform printing so as to change the display form of the setting screen according to the printing purpose of the document set by the purpose setting means (see, for example, Patent Document 1). It was.

However, it is difficult to understand what kind of effect can be obtained by combining print settings, what kind of results will differ, and the advantages and disadvantages of printing, and the user cannot easily set the print settings for the desired printing purpose. There was a problem.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to improve convenience at the time of making a print setting suitable for a printing purpose such as saving paper during printing.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention associates a computer with a print purpose, print settings recommended for achieving the print purpose, and demerits when printing with the print settings. When the storage procedure to be stored, the print purpose display procedure for displaying the print purpose information, and the displayed print purpose information are selected, the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose is displayed. Provided is a print control display program for executing a print setting display procedure to be displayed and a demerit display procedure for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting when the displayed print setting is selected. To do.
In addition, when the displayed print setting is selected in the print control program as described above, the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the selected print setting and the data to be printed with the selected print setting are displayed. Based on the information, a determination procedure for determining whether or not to display the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the selected print setting, and the determination procedure determines whether or not the stored disadvantage information is displayed. In such a case, a non-demerit display procedure for preventing display by the demerit display procedure may be included.

In addition, the storage means for storing the print purpose and the print settings recommended for achieving the print purpose and the demerits of printing with the print settings in association with each other, and the print purpose information Print purpose display means for displaying, and when the displayed print purpose information is selected, the print setting display means for displaying the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose, and the displayed print When a setting is selected, an information processing apparatus provided with a demerit display means for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting is provided.
In addition, when the displayed print setting is selected in the information processing apparatus as described above, the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the selected print setting and the data to be printed with the selected print setting are stored. Based on the information, determination means for determining whether or not to display the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the selected print setting, and determining whether or not the stored disadvantage information is displayed by the determination means In such a case, it is preferable to provide non-demerit display means for preventing display by the demerit display means.

  Furthermore, a printing system comprising a computer-readable recording medium on which the above printing control program is recorded, a printing control program as described above, and a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the printing control program; Also provided are printing apparatuses each having means for storing the print control program as described above and means for transmitting the print control program to the information processing apparatus.

The print control program according to the present invention can cause a computer to realize a function for improving convenience when performing print settings for printing purposes such as saving paper during printing. .
In addition, the information processing apparatus and the printing system according to the present invention can improve convenience when performing print settings for printing purposes such as saving paper during printing.
Furthermore, the computer-readable recording medium and the printing apparatus of the present invention can easily introduce the print control program into a computer.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer driver of a control unit of the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of contents of each table stored in a table storage unit of the printer driver illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing in the printer driver shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen displayed by processing in the printer driver illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print purpose selection screen displayed by processing in the printer driver illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a recommended print setting selection screen displayed by processing in the printer driver illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a merit / demerit / reflection confirmation screen displayed by processing in the printer driver illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating another functional configuration example of a printer driver in the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing in the printer driver shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a merit / reflection confirmation screen displayed by processing in the printer driver shown in FIG. 9.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of a printer driver of the control unit of the information processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of each table stored in the table storage unit 12 of the printer driver 11 shown in FIG.
The printing system of this embodiment is a system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses 1 and a plurality of printing apparatuses 2 are connected so as to be able to exchange data with each other via a network 3, as shown in FIG. is there.
The network 3 is a communication network including a local area network or the Internet. The network 3 can also include a facsimile communication network.

In the figure, one information processing device 1 and one printing device 2 are shown, and other information processing devices and printing devices or other devices including a server on the network 3 are not shown. .
The information processing apparatus 1 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), and includes the control unit 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, an input unit, a display unit, a storage unit, and a communication control unit that are not illustrated.
The input unit is an input device including a keyboard, a touch panel, and a pointing device for a user to input operation information in various operations including an input operation when executing an application and an input operation for various screens during printing.
The display unit is a display device including a CRT and an LCD that display a work screen including various screens as described above to the user.

The storage unit is a storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD) that stores various data including applications, various programs including the printer driver 11, document data, and image data, and is a computer-readable recording medium. .
The communication control unit controls data transmission / reception with the printing apparatus 2 and other various apparatuses via the network 3, and sends various print setting information at the time of printing to the printing apparatus 2 together with a print request. 2 receives various information related to printing.

  The control unit 10 is realized by a CPU and a microcomputer (corresponding to a “computer” that executes a program) including a ROM and a RAM that are computer-readable recording media, and the CPU is stored in the ROM using the RAM as a work area. The application program (abbreviated as “application”) stored in the storage unit and the print control program for controlling the printing apparatus 2 by executing the control program. Various processes including the execution of the printer driver program (“printer driver”) 11 are executed.

  The printer driver 11 stores a print procedure, a print procedure recommended for achieving the print purpose, and a storage procedure for associating and storing each piece of information of disadvantages when printing is performed with the print setting. A print purpose display procedure for displaying target information; and a print setting display procedure for displaying the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose when the displayed print purpose information is selected; When the displayed print setting is selected, a demerit display procedure for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting is included, and the table storage unit 12 and the print purpose are displayed by executing each procedure. Inquiry display control unit 13, recommended print setting display control unit 14 for each print purpose, merit / demerit information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting, GUI display system Part 16, to realize the functions of the print data generation unit 17, and the print data transmission unit 18.

The table storage unit 12 is a memory that stores in advance a print purpose table, a recommended print setting table for each print purpose, and a merit / demerit table for each recommended print setting.
In other words, the table storage unit 12 is a storage unit that stores the print purpose, the print settings recommended for achieving the print purpose, and the demerits of printing with the print settings in association with each other. Equivalent to.
In the printing purpose table, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of types of purposes that the user wants to achieve at the time of printing are registered in advance.
For example, "saving paper" that uses as little paper as possible for printing, "high-speed output" that shortens printing time by printing faster, "high image quality" that improves the quality of images printed on paper, A plurality of types of printing purposes including “toner saving” for saving use of toner used for printing are registered in advance. Different numerical values are assigned to the respective printing purposes as the identification information ID_A. For example, identification information ID_A: 1 is assigned to save paper.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the recommended print setting table for each print purpose includes print settings recommended for achieving the print purpose for each print purpose registered in the print purpose table. The contents are registered.
For example, as the content of the print settings recommended for achieving the printing purpose of paper saving, the integrated printing (Layout) for printing the images for four pages on one page of paper together: 4 in 1, and both sides of the paper A combination of enabling duplex printing (Duplex) for printing (indicated by “ON” in the figure) and aggregate printing for printing two pages of images on one page of paper: 2 in 1 and on both sides of the paper The contents of a plurality of types of recommended print settings including a combination of enabling double-sided printing to be printed are registered.
In addition, there are print setting items such as resolution, color printing and monochrome printing, paper change, and A4 size original printing on A4 size paper (Fit in A4). In addition, other print setting items not shown may be included.

The contents of each recommended print setting are registered in association with the corresponding print purpose identification information ID_A among the print purposes.
Further, for each content of the recommended print setting, a different numerical value (a numerical value different from the numerical value of the identification information ID_A in this embodiment) is assigned as the identification information ID_B. For example, identification information ID_B: 1-1 is assigned to the content of the recommended print setting for the combination of aggregate printing: 4in1 and double-sided printing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the recommended print setting merit / demerit table is printed with the recommended print setting for each recommended print setting registered in the recommended print setting table for each print purpose. The information of the advantages and disadvantages of is registered.
For example, the combined printing: 4-in-1 and double-sided printing have the advantage of “N2 pages can be reduced because the number of manuscript pages is N1” and “printed characters are about 1/4. It becomes size and may be difficult to read. " The above N1 and N2 are numerical values determined according to the data to be printed, and are set by the recommended print setting merit / disadvantage information display control unit 15 when displaying the advantages and disadvantages.

  In the information on the merits and demerits of each recommended print setting, identification information ID_B of the content of the corresponding recommended print setting is registered, for example, “N2 pages are reduced because the number of original pages is N1 pages. The information on the advantages of “can” and the disadvantage of “printed characters may be about 1/4 size and may be difficult to read” include the combination of 4in1 and double-sided printing. The identification information ID_B1 is registered so as to correspond the content of the recommended print setting.

  As described above, based on the identification information ID_A and ID_B from the print purpose table, the recommended print setting table for each print purpose, and the merit / disadvantage table for each recommended print setting, the content of the recommended print setting and the recommended print setting corresponding to the print purpose. You can search for information on each merit and demerit.

Returning to FIG. 1, the print purpose inquiry display control unit 13 refers to the print purpose table stored in the table storage unit 12 when detecting the press of the property button on the print setting screen, and displays the print purpose table to the user. A print purpose selection screen for selecting a print purpose at the time of printing from among the respective print purposes registered in is displayed on the display unit. With this print purpose selection screen, the user is inquired about the type of print purpose.
That is, the print purpose inquiry display control unit 13 functions as a print purpose display means for displaying the print purpose information.
When it is detected that one of the print purposes displayed on the print purpose selection screen is selected, the recommended print setting display control unit 14 for each print purpose is based on the numerical value of the identification information ID_A of the selected print purpose. The recommended print setting table for each print purpose stored in the table storage unit 12 is retrieved, the content of the recommended print setting corresponding to the selected print purpose is read, and the recommended print setting selection screen for selecting the recommended print setting is displayed. Display on the screen.

That is, the recommended print setting display control unit 14 for each print purpose displays the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose when the displayed print purpose information is selected. Serves as a means.
When the recommended print setting merit / demerit information display control unit 15 detects that one of the recommended print settings displayed on the recommended print setting selection screen displayed above is selected, the selected recommended print setting is selected. Based on the numerical value of the identification information ID_B, the merit / disadvantage table for each recommended print setting stored in the table storage unit 12 is retrieved, and each information of merit and demerit corresponding to the selected recommended print setting is read. Along with the information, a merit / demerit / reflection confirmation screen for selecting whether to reflect the selected recommended print setting at the time of printing is displayed on the display unit.

In other words, the merit / disadvantage information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting, when the displayed print setting is selected, the demerit display means for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting. Fulfills the function.
When the GUI display control unit 16 detects that an instruction to reflect the selected recommended print setting is input, the GUI display control unit 16 displays a detailed print setting screen on the display unit.
The print data generation unit 17 generates print data from the print target data based on the contents of the print settings set for the print target data.
The print data transmission unit 18 transmits the print data generated by the print data generation unit 17 and the print setting information to the printing apparatus 2.

On the other hand, the printing apparatus 2 is an image forming apparatus (also referred to as an “image processing apparatus”) having a printing function including, for example, a facsimile machine, a printer, a copier, and a multifunction machine.
For example, in the case of a multifunction device, a scanner function (image reading function) that reads an image of a document and inputs the image data, a copy function (copy function) that reads an image of the document and prints it on paper, and a print function (printing) Function), and a facsimile communication function (FAX function) for transmitting and receiving image data read from an original or image data converted from data such as a document or a graphic.
The printing apparatus 2 includes a control unit, an operation display unit, a printing unit, a storage unit, and a communication control unit (not shown).

The control unit is realized by a CPU and a microcomputer including a ROM and a RAM, which are computer-readable recording media, and the CPU executes a control program installed in the ROM using the RAM as a work area, thereby It controls the entire process and executes various processes including a print process based on a print request from the information processing apparatus 1.
The operation display unit includes a touch panel, an input unit including keys, and a display unit. The operation display unit displays various work screens and messages to the user and inputs operation information in various operations.
The printing unit prints the print data on a sheet with the print setting content received from the information processing apparatus 1.
The storage unit is a storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD) that stores various data including print data and a printer driver, and is a computer-readable recording medium.

The communication control unit controls transmission / reception of data via the network 3, receives data including print data at the time of a print request from the information processing apparatus 1, and a printer driver installer to the information processing apparatus 1 via the network 3. Send and receive including sending.
The printing apparatus 2 performs print processing using print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus 1 (print data transmitted from the printer driver 11) and print settings.
In addition, the printer driver stored in the storage unit can be downloaded to the information processing apparatus 1 and executed in the information processing apparatus 1 to function as the printer driver 11 described above.
That is, the printing apparatus 2 corresponds to a printing apparatus that includes a unit that stores a print control program and a unit that transmits the print control program to the information processing apparatus.
The printing system corresponds to a printing system including a printing control program and a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the printing control program.

Next, processing in the printer driver 11 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing in the printer driver 11 shown in FIG.
5 to 8 are diagrams showing examples of display screens displayed by the processing in the printer driver 11 shown in FIG.
In this process, as shown in FIG. 4, in step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 1, the print purpose inquiry display control unit 13 determines whether or not the print setting property button of the printer driver 11 has been pressed. If it is determined that the button has been pressed (in the case of “Y”), the process proceeds to Step 2 and it is determined that the button has not been pressed (in the case of “N”). If it is detected, the process proceeds to Step 10.

In the determination process, as shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the print setting property button 20 of the printer driver 11 has been pressed.
Returning to FIG. 4, in step 2, the print purpose inquiry display control unit 13 displays a print purpose selection screen on the display unit with reference to the print purpose table, and proceeds to step 3.
As shown in FIG. 6, the print purpose selection screen is a screen for selecting the type of purpose to be realized at the time of printing. For example, “I want to save paper”, “I want to output fast”, “I want to output as cleanly as possible” Each “Other” printing purpose is displayed.
The printing purpose of “I want to save paper” is equivalent to the above paper saving, the printing purpose of “I want to output fast” is equivalent to the above high-speed output, and the printing purpose of “I want to output as cleanly as possible” is the above-mentioned high image quality. Equivalent to. The “other” printing purpose corresponds to, for example, the toner save.

The user selects an item for a desired print purpose from the check columns (portions indicated by circles in the figure) displayed at the top of each print item on the print purpose selection screen, and then presses an OK button. Select a desired printing purpose.
Returning to FIG. 4, in step 3, the recommended print setting display control unit 14 for each print purpose determines whether or not the print purpose is selected. If it is determined that the print purpose is not selected (in the case of “N”), this determination processing is performed. Is repeated (if “Y”), the process proceeds to step 4.
In step 4, the recommended print setting display control unit 14 for each print purpose searches the recommended setting information table for each print purpose, and displays a recommended print setting selection screen for selecting a recommended print setting corresponding to the selected print purpose. Display, and go to step 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, the recommended print setting selection screen is a screen for selecting recommended print settings corresponding to the selected print purpose. For example, “I want to save paper” is selected for the print purpose. The recommended print setting for “Combined printing: 4in1, double-sided printing” as recommended 1 and the recommended print setting for the combination of “Integrated printing: 2in1, double-sided printing” as recommended 2 are displayed. ing.
In the same manner as the selection on the print purpose selection screen, the user desires from the check column (the part indicated by a circle in the figure) displayed at the top of recommendation 1 or recommendation 2 on the recommended print setting selection screen. The user selects the desired recommended print setting content by pressing the OK button after selecting the desired one.

Returning to FIG. 4, in step 5, the merit / disadvantage information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting determines whether the recommended setting item is selected, and if it is determined that the recommended setting item is not selected (in the case of “N”), This determination process is repeated, and if it is determined that it is selected (in the case of “Y”), the process proceeds to Step 6.
In step 6, the advantage / disadvantage information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting searches the merit / disadvantage table for each recommended print setting, and displays a merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen corresponding to the selected recommended print setting. And go to step 7.

As shown in FIG. 8, the merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen notifies the information on the merit and demerit when printing with the content of the selected recommended print setting and the content of the selected recommended print setting. Is a screen for selecting whether or not to be reflected in printing, for example, a display example when the above recommendation 1 is selected. As a merit, how much printing paper is reduced when printing with recommendation 1 is performed It is indicated by specific numerical values, and as a demerit, it indicates that the contents are difficult to read due to the aggregate printing.
The user presses the “Yes” button when reflecting the content of recommendation 1 on the print, and the “No” button when not reflecting the content. When the “Cancel” button is pressed, the display returns to the recommended print setting selection screen.
Returning to FIG. 4, in step 7, the GUI display control unit 16 determines whether or not a reflection instruction has been issued. If it is determined that a reflection instruction has been issued (in the case of “Y”), the process proceeds to step 8 where the reflection instruction is issued. If it is determined that it has not been performed (in the case of “N”), the process proceeds to Step 9.

When it is determined that the reflection instruction has been made, it is when the “Yes” button is pressed on the merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen, and when it is determined that the reflection instruction has not been made, the merit / disadvantage / This is when the “No” button is pressed on the reflection confirmation screen, and is not shown. However, when the “Cancel” button is pressed on the above-mentioned merit / demerit / reflection confirmation screen, the processing returns to Step 6. .
In step 8, the GUI display control unit 16 causes the display unit to display a detailed setting screen reflecting the content of the selected recommended print setting, and the process proceeds to step 10.
This detailed setting screen is a screen for setting the details of the detailed print settings displayed when the property button 20 is pressed. In step 8, the details of the selected recommended print settings are set. Displayed with content.

On the other hand, in step 9, the GUI display control unit 16 displays an initial setting detail setting screen that does not reflect the content of the selected recommended print setting on the display unit, and proceeds to step 10.
This detailed initial setting screen is a default setting screen that is displayed when the property button 20 is pressed.
Although not shown in the figure after step 8 or step 9, when the OK button is pressed on the detailed setting screen, the display is returned to the print setting screen, and when the OK button is pressed on the print setting screen, Proceed to 10.
In step 10, the print data generation unit 17 sets the print target with the setting contents of the detailed setting screen displayed in step 8 or 9 (including the contents when the print setting is further changed in the detailed setting screen). Print data generation processing for generating print data from the data is executed, and the process proceeds to step 11.

In step 11, the print data transmission unit 18 transmits the generated print data to the printing apparatus 2, and the process ends.
In this way, when the user selects a desired print purpose, the contents of the recommended print settings for achieving the print purpose are automatically displayed in a list, so that all of the various print settings are known in detail. Even if it is not, it is possible to easily select a print setting suitable for the purpose.
In addition, when the recommended print settings are selected, the merits and demerits of printing with those print settings are displayed, so it is possible to execute printing after fully recognizing the merits and demerits of the print settings you have selected. This can improve the convenience of print settings.

Next, there are various contents of data to be printed with the recommended print settings. For example, in the case of document data, the above demerits may be caused depending on the number of lines, the number of characters, the size of characters, and the like of the document data to be printed. It may not be the case.
In such a case, if the disadvantage information is not displayed, more useful information can be provided to the user.

Next, a description will be given of an embodiment in which demerit information is not displayed according to the selected print setting and the content of data to be printed.
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing another functional configuration example of the printer driver in the information processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Portions common to FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
In the printer driver 11 ′ of this embodiment, when the displayed print setting is selected by the printer driver 11, the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting and the selected print setting are selected. A determination procedure for determining whether or not to display the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the selected print setting based on the data information to be printed in the setting, and the disadvantage information stored by the determination procedure; When it is determined that the display is not, a non-disadvantage display procedure for preventing display according to the disadvantage display procedure is included.

The printer driver 11 'is provided with a setting item analysis unit 19 for a new function unit.
When the recommended print setting is selected on the recommended print setting selection screen, the setting item analysis unit 19 recommends printing to the print target data based on the content of the recommended print setting and the content of the print target data. After printing with the settings reflected, analyze whether the memorized information on the merit / disadvantage table of the recommended print settings stored above is applicable, and if it is determined to be applicable, it is determined that the disadvantage is displayed. If it is determined that there are no disadvantages, it is determined that the disadvantages are not displayed, and the merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen is displayed on the merit / disadvantage information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting or the disadvantages are displayed. Control whether to display the merit / reflect confirmation screen.

As for the above analysis, in the case of data to be printed in advance, for example, in the case of document data, the analysis result determined from the print result when printing with the above recommended print settings for each type of information including paper size, number of lines, number of characters, and character size Are stored in advance in the printer driver 11 ′, for example, in the table storage unit 12.
Then, the setting item analysis unit 19 acquires various types of information including the paper size, the number of lines, the number of characters, and the character size from the data to be printed, searches for an analysis result corresponding to the information, and the searched analysis result The merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen is displayed or the merit / reflection confirmation screen that does not display the demerit is determined.
Moreover, you may make it perform the said analysis using another well-known technique (it abbreviate | omits description).

  That is, when the displayed print setting is selected, the setting item analysis unit 19 stores the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting and the data to be printed with the selected print setting. Based on the above, it is determined whether to display the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting, and the determination unit determines that the stored demerit information is not displayed. In this case, the function of the non-demerit display means for preventing display by the demerit display means is achieved.

Next, processing in the printer driver 11 ′ shown in FIG. 9 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing in the printer driver 11 ′ shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a merit / reflection confirmation screen displayed by the processing in the printer driver 11 ′ shown in FIG.
The processing in this case is the same as steps 1 to 4 shown in FIG.
In step 25 of FIG. 10, the setting item analysis unit 19 determines whether or not a recommended setting item has been selected. If it is determined that it has not been selected (in the case of “N”), this determination process is repeated to indicate that it has been selected. If it is determined (in the case of “Y”), the process proceeds to Step 26.

In step 26, the setting item analysis unit 19 searches the merit / demerit table for each recommended print setting, and based on the merit / demerit information corresponding to the selected recommended print setting and the content of the data to be printed, the demerit And the process proceeds to step 27.
In the analysis processing in step 26, if the recommended print setting contents are reflected in the print target data based on the recommended print setting contents and the print target data contents, the stored recommendation is stored. Analyzes whether or not the demerit information in the merit / demerit table for each print setting is applicable, and determines that the demerit is displayed if it is determined to be true.
In step 27, the setting item analysis unit 19 controls the merit / demerit information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting, and the merit / demerit information display control unit 15 for each recommended print setting displays a merit / demerit / reflection confirmation screen or The merit / reflection confirmation screen is displayed, and the process proceeds to step 28.

In step 27, if the setting item analysis unit 19 determines that it does not apply in step 26, the setting item analysis unit 19 determines that no demerit is displayed, and the recommended print setting merit / demerit information display control unit 15 determines based on each determination result. On the other hand, it controls whether to display a merit / disadvantage / reflection confirmation screen or a merit / reflection confirmation screen that does not display demerits.
As shown in FIG. 11, the merit / reflection confirmation screen notifies only the merit of printing with the contents of the selected recommended print settings, and prints the contents of the selected recommended print settings. This is a screen for selecting whether to reflect or not, for example, a display example when the above recommendation 1 is selected. When printing with recommendation 1, a specific example of how much print paper is reduced as a merit is shown. Only the numerical information is shown.

The user presses the “Yes” button when reflecting the content of recommendation 1 on the print, and the “No” button when not reflecting the content. When the “Cancel” button is pressed, the display returns to the recommended print setting selection screen.
Returning to FIG. 10, steps 28 to 32 are the same as steps 7 to 11 shown in FIG.
In this way, when the recommended print settings are selected, if printing with the print settings does not apply to the pre-registered disadvantages, only the advantages are displayed and the disadvantages are not displayed. Can be provided.
It should be noted that the above-mentioned printing purpose, the contents of recommended print settings, information on merits and demerits, and analysis results can be additionally registered and arbitrary items can be changed or deleted.

According to this embodiment, even if the user does not fully understand the contents of all print settings for the printing apparatus, what kind of effect can be obtained at the time of printing with the combination of print settings, and what results can be obtained. Whether differences occur or the advantages and disadvantages can be easily grasped, the print setting suitable for the desired printing purpose can be facilitated, and printing that achieves the desired printing purpose can be easily executed.
In addition, when determining whether or not to make detailed settings for the printer driver, the user can easily know not only the merits but also the disadvantages for each print setting, so that a wide variety of print settings can be used. Become.

The print control program, computer-readable recording medium, and information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to computers including desktop personal computers and notebook personal computers.
The printing system according to the present invention is applicable to all systems capable of communicating between the information processing apparatus as described above and a printing apparatus that prints print data from the information processing apparatus via a local area network or a network including the Internet. can do.
Furthermore, the printing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to all apparatuses having a printing function including a facsimile machine, a printer, a copying machine, and a multifunction machine.

1: Information processing device 2: Printing device 3: Network 10: Control unit 11, 11 ': Printer driver 12: Table storage unit 13: Print purpose inquiry display control unit 14: Recommended print setting display control unit for each print purpose 15: Advantage / Disadvantage Information Display Control Unit 16 for each Recommended Print Setting 16: GUI Display Control Unit 17: Print Data Generation Unit 18: Print Data Transmission Unit 19: Setting Item Analysis Unit 20: Property Button

JP 2000-235466 A

Claims (7)

A storage procedure for storing, in a computer, the print purpose and the print settings recommended for achieving the print purpose in association with each information of the disadvantages when printing with the print settings;
A printing purpose display procedure for displaying the printing purpose information;
A print setting display procedure for displaying the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose when the displayed print purpose information is selected;
A print control program for executing a demerit display procedure for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting when the displayed print setting is selected.   When the displayed print setting is selected, the selected print is based on the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting and the data information to be printed with the selected print setting. A determination procedure for determining whether or not to display the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the setting; and when the determination procedure determines that the stored disadvantage information is not displayed, display according to the disadvantage display procedure The printing control program according to claim 1, further comprising a non-demerit display procedure for preventing the printing from being performed. A storage unit that stores a print purpose, a print setting recommended for achieving the print purpose, and information on disadvantages of printing with the print setting in association with each other;
Printing purpose display means for displaying the printing purpose information;
Print setting display means for displaying the stored print setting information corresponding to the selected print purpose when the displayed print purpose information is selected;
An information processing apparatus comprising demerit display means for displaying the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting when the displayed print setting is selected.   When the displayed print setting is selected, the selected print is based on the stored demerit information corresponding to the selected print setting and the data information to be printed with the selected print setting. A determination means for determining whether or not to display the stored disadvantage information corresponding to the setting; and when the determination means determines that the stored disadvantage information is not displayed, the display by the disadvantage display means is displayed. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising non-demerit display means for preventing the demerit.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the print control program according to claim 1 is recorded.   3. A printing system comprising: the printing control program according to claim 1; and a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the printing control program.   3. A printing apparatus comprising: means for storing the print control program according to claim 1; and means for transmitting the print control program to an information processing apparatus.

Images