JP2018062156A - Image formation system and image formation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation system and an image formation method capable of suppressing the generation of the unused area of a foil roll in foil stamping to a minimum and suppressing the useless consumption of the foil roll expensive compared with a general roll paper.SOLUTION: Provided is an image formation system having: an image formation device and a foil stamping device, in which, on the side of the image formation device, the distance X from the tip in the carrying direction of a printed paper to a foil image is obtained and is notified to the foil stamping device. Then, in the foil stamping device, the carrying distance (rewinding quantity) of a foil sheet added with the distance X notified from the image formation device is obtained, the foil sheet is rewound by the carrying distance, and thereafter, foil stamping is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system and an image forming method, and more particularly to an image forming system including a foil stamping apparatus and an image forming method in the image forming system.

  In an image forming system, in order to realize high value-added printing, a foil stamping technique is known in which a gold-colored foil is partially overlapped with a printed material to improve the appearance. This foil stamping is an image forming apparatus in which an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied to a region where the foil on the printed material is to be overlapped, and the printed material is coated with the adhesive in the foil stamping apparatus disposed at the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus. And press-bonding the foil sheet to the printed material while transporting the foil sheet.

  The foil sheet is a continuous paper wound in a roll shape as a foil roll. In the case of continuous paper, it is inevitable that an unused area is mechanically generated, and the unused area is wasted. The foil roll is a sheet made of a metal foil such as gold, silver, copper, or tin, and therefore is more expensive than a general roll paper. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the generation of unused areas that are wasted and suppress the wasteful consumption of foil rolls.

  In an image forming apparatus that handles continuous paper, in order to solve the problem that an excessive blank area is generated on the continuous paper, there is a technique for forming an image after reversely feeding the print start page of the continuous paper to a position where image formation is possible. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3317908

  However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, in order to minimize a useless area that becomes a blank paper, the object to be rewound by reverse feeding is a continuous paper that is printed, and the generation of unused areas of the foil roll in foil pressing is generated. Is not considered.

  Therefore, the present invention minimizes the generation of unused areas of a foil roll in foil stamping, and can suppress wasteful consumption of expensive foil rolls compared to general roll paper and image formation. It aims to provide a method.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming system of the present invention includes:
An image forming apparatus for applying an adhesive for transferring the foil image to the recording medium based on the foil data for foil pressing to transfer the foil image to the recording medium;
A foil stamping device that transfers the foil image to the coated part of the adhesive by applying pressure to the printed medium while conveying the foil sheet at the same speed as the printed medium that is output from the image forming apparatus after the adhesive is applied. When,
An image forming system comprising:
The image forming apparatus calculates the distance from the tip in the transport direction of the printed medium of the foil image to be transferred to the printed medium, and notifies the foil pressing apparatus,
The foil stamping device is characterized in that, before the foil stamping operation, a transport distance including a distance notified from the image forming apparatus is obtained, and the foil sheet is rewound by the transport distance.

The image forming method of the present invention includes
An image forming apparatus for applying an adhesive for transferring the foil image to the recording medium based on the foil data for foil pressing to transfer the foil image to the recording medium;
A foil stamping device that transfers the foil image to the coated part of the adhesive by applying pressure to the printed medium while transporting the foil sheet at the same speed as the printed medium output from the image forming apparatus after the adhesive is applied. When,
In an image forming system comprising:
Calculate the distance from the tip of the foil image transferred to the printed medium in the transport direction of the printed medium,
Before the foil pressing operation, a transport distance including the calculated distance is obtained, and the foil sheet is rewound by the transport distance.

  In the image forming system or the image forming method configured as described above, on the image forming apparatus side, the distance from the leading edge in the conveyance direction of the printed paper to the foil image is obtained and notified to the foil pressing apparatus. The conveyance distance (rewinding amount) of the foil sheet, taking into account the notified distance, is obtained, and the foil sheet is rewound by the conveyance distance. That is, the foil sheet rewinding operation is performed in consideration of the position of the foil image.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of unused areas of the foil roll in foil pressing by performing the foil sheet rewinding operation while also considering the position of the foil image. Wasteful consumption of expensive foil rolls compared to paper can be suppressed.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a foil stamping apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of client PC, an image forming apparatus, and a foil stamping apparatus in the image forming system which concerns on this embodiment of the said structure. It is a figure which shows typically the basic processing operation | movement of the rewinding function of a foil sheet. It is a figure explaining the rewinding function of a foil sheet. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the image forming apparatus that realizes a foil sheet rewinding function according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the foil pressing apparatus which implement | achieves the rewinding function of the foil sheet which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination of the arrangement | positioning pattern of foil object (foil image) on a crimping | compression-bonding operation area | region, and the amount of rewinding of a foil sheet. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the image forming apparatus 20 that realizes a foil sheet rewinding function according to the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the foil pressing apparatus which implement | achieves the rewinding function of the foil sheet which concerns on Example 2. FIG. It is a figure explaining the image rotation of the foil object of Example 2. FIG.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various numerical values in the embodiment are examples. In the following description and each drawing, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements or elements having the same functions, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

<Image forming system>
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system according to the present embodiment is an image forming system capable of performing stamping to partially transfer a gold foil or the like onto a printed material in order to realize high value-added printing. In realizing the foil pressing, an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied to a region where the foil on the printed material is to be overlapped.

[System configuration]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a client PC (personal computer) 10, an image forming apparatus 20, a paper feeding apparatus 30, and a foil stamping apparatus 40, and these apparatuses are connected to a network 50. The system configuration is mutually connected via (see FIG. 3). Here, the connection form of the client PC 10, the image forming apparatus 20, the paper feeding apparatus 30, and the foil stamping apparatus 40 to the network 50 is not particularly limited, and may be wired connection or wireless connection. Good.

  The client PC 10 is composed of, for example, a general personal computer, and is controlled by an operating system (OS) to control the use of the image forming apparatus 20 as a printing machine, or to input document data to be input to the image forming system 1. Or create it. Software that controls the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in the client PC 10.

  The image forming apparatus 20 performs at least RIP (Raster Image Processor) processing on foil pressing data (hereinafter referred to as “foil data”) for transferring a foil image onto a recording medium such as paper, and prints a printed medium ( Hereinafter, it has a function of applying an adhesive such as glue or varnish to an area on which a foil on a printed sheet is described. The image forming apparatus 20 includes a document transport unit 201, an operation display unit 202, a paper storage unit 203, and the like.

  The image forming apparatus 20 may have a configuration in which an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied to printed paper on which an image is formed, or forms an image on a blank paper and also forms glue or varnish. It may be configured to apply an adhesive such as Further, the image forming apparatus 20 may be an apparatus having only a printing function, or may be an apparatus having a copying function or a facsimile function (so-called multifunction machine).

  The paper feeding device 30 is provided upstream of the image forming device 20 in the paper conveyance direction, separately from the paper storage unit 203 built in the image forming device 20, and various types of recording media are stored in the image forming device 20. This is a large capacity sheet feeding device to be supplied. The foil stamping device 40 is provided downstream of the image forming device 20 in the paper conveyance direction, and an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied to a printed matter (printed paper) output from the image forming device 20. This is a foil transfer device that performs transfer (foil pressing) of a foil (foil image) to the region.

[Foil stamping device]
An example of the configuration of the foil stamping device 40 is shown in FIG. The foil stamping device 40 includes at least a control unit 41, a first transport unit 42, a second transport unit 43, and a transfer unit 44. The control unit 41 controls the entire foil stamping device 40, that is, the first transport unit 42, the second transport unit 43, the transfer unit 44, and the like.

  The first transport unit 42 includes a transport path 421, transport rollers 422, 423, and the like, and a printed material 61 (printed paper) 61 to be pressed with foil supplied from the image forming apparatus 20 via the inlet unit 47 is not illustrated. This is a paper transport unit that transports the paper to the outlet 48 through the transfer unit 44 under the drive of the drive motor.

  The second transport unit 43 includes auxiliary rollers 431 and 432 that form a transport path for the foil sheet 62, a supply unit 433 that supplies the foil sheet 62, and a winding unit 434 that winds up the foil sheet 62. A sheet conveying unit. The foil sheet 62 is wound into a roll shape to form a foil roll, and is set on the supply roller 435. The winding unit 434 winds the foil sheet 62 when the winding roller 436 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by a drive motor (not shown).

  The transfer unit 44 is configured to include, for example, a pressing member 441 and a thermal head 442, and a printed material is obtained by pressure-bonding a foil sheet 62 to a printed material 61 to be pressed, which is conveyed by the first conveying unit 42. For 61, the foil is transferred (foil-pressed) to a region where an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied.

  In the transfer unit 44, the pressing member 441 has a configuration capable of pressing / releasing operation with respect to the thermal head 442, and presses the foil sheet 62 against the printed material 61 to be pressed with the foil in the pressed state. That is, by the pressing / releasing operation of the pressing member 441 with respect to the thermal head 442, the pressure bonding operation of the foil sheet 62 with respect to the printed material 61 to be foil pressed (crimp release → crimp start, crimp start → crimp release) is performed.

  In the foil pressing device 40 having the above-described configuration, when the foil sheet 62 is wound by the winding roller 436, the supply roller 435 is in a state where reverse tension is applied in order to prevent the foil sheet 62 from being loosened. In other words, the supply roller 435 prevents the foil sheet 62 from being loosened by applying reverse tension. Further, the supply roller 435 is configured to be able to rewind the foil sheet 62 by being rotationally driven in a direction opposite to the arrow direction in the figure by a drive motor (not shown).

  Here, the rotation speed of the winding roller 436 is such that the conveyance speed of the foil sheet 62 at the pressure contact portion between the pressing member 441 and the thermal head 442 is the same as the conveyance speed of the printed material 61 to be foil pressed at the pressure contact portion. Is set as follows. As a result, the printed material 61 and the foil sheet 62 to be foil-pressed are conveyed at the same speed, and the foil pressing is performed by the paper length of the printed material 61 to be foil-pressed.

[Hardware configuration]
Next, the hardware configuration (including some software) of the client PC 10, the image forming apparatus 20, and the foil stamping apparatus 40 in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the client PC 10, the image forming apparatus 20, and the foil stamping apparatus 40.

(Client PC)
The client PC 10 has a known personal computer configuration including a communication unit 11, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, an OS (Operating System) 13, and the like. The client PC 10 is preinstalled with a printer driver 14 for issuing a print instruction for the image forming apparatus 20 connected via the network 50 and a foil pressing instruction application 15 for executing a foil pressing instruction for the foil pressing apparatus 40.

  The communication unit 11 is an interface for connecting the client PC 10 to the network 50. A CPU 12, OS 13, OS 14, printer driver 14, and foil pressing instruction application 15 are connected to the communication unit 11 via a bus line 16. The CPU 12 controls the image forming apparatus 20 and processes data. The OS 13 is software that manages the entire system.

(Image forming device)
The image forming apparatus 20 includes a control unit 21, an operation display unit 22, an image processing unit 23, an analysis processing unit 24, a print processing unit 25, a storage unit 26, and a communication unit 27, and these components are connected via a bus line 28. Are connected to each other.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU 211, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 212 for storing a program executed by the CPU 211, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 213 used as a work area of the CPU 211. The control unit 21 controls the entire image forming apparatus 20 under the control of the CPU 211.

  The operation display unit 22 corresponds to the operation display unit 202 in FIG. 1, and includes a display unit made up of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a touch panel provided to cover the display unit, various switches and buttons, numeric keys, and operation keys. It consists of groups. The operation display unit 22 receives an instruction from an operator (user) and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 21. Further, according to the display signal input from the control unit 21, various setting screens for inputting various operation instructions and setting information, and operation screens for displaying various processing results are displayed on the display.

  The image processing unit 23 performs RIP processing on the document data received via the communication unit 27 to generate raster image data, rotate the foil image, and the like. The analysis processing unit 24 calculates the object position of the image data and performs various analyses. The print processing unit 25 performs processing for printing the raster image data generated by the image processing unit 23. This printing includes printing (application) of an adhesive material such as varnish that plays a role of gluing. The storage unit 26 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like.

  The communication unit 27 is an interface for receiving a page description language (PDL) from the client PC 10 via the network 50 and communicating with an external device such as the foil stamping device 40. A control unit 21, an operation display unit 22, an image processing unit 23, an analysis processing unit 24, a print processing unit 25, and a storage unit 26 are connected to the communication unit 27 via a bus line 28.

(Foil stamping device)
The foil stamping device 40 includes a control unit 41, a first transport unit 42, a second transport unit 43, a transfer unit 44, and a communication unit 45. The control unit 41 includes a CPU 411, a ROM 412 for storing a program executed by the CPU 411, and a RAM 413 used as a work area for the CPU 411. The control unit 41 controls the first conveyance unit 42, the second conveyance unit 43, the transfer unit 44, and the like under the control of the CPU 411.

  The functions of the first transport unit 42, the second transport unit 43, and the transfer unit 44 are as described in FIG. That is, the first transport unit 42 is a paper transport unit that transports the printed material 61 (printed paper) to be pressed. The second transport unit 43 is a foil sheet transport unit that transports and rewinds the foil sheet 62. The transfer unit 44 is a pressure-bonding unit that presses the foil sheet 62 against the printed material 61 to be pressed, and presses the foil image onto the transfer paper and presses the foil.

  The communication unit 45 is an interface for communicating with the external device of the client PC 10 or the image forming apparatus 20 such as position information of a foil object (foil image), information on presence / absence of image rotation, and the like. A controller 41, a first transport unit 42, a second transport unit 43, and a transfer unit 44 are connected to the communication unit 45 via a bus line 46.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, first, in the image forming apparatus 20, an adhesive such as glue or varnish is applied to a region where the foil on the printed material is to be overlapped. Then, in the foil stamping device 40 arranged at the subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus 20, the foil sheet 62 is pressure-bonded to the printed material together with the printed material (printed paper) 61 coated with the adhesive at the same speed. Foil stamping is performed.

[Rewinding function of foil sheet]
By the way, in the image forming system 1 having the foil pressing function, regarding the foil sheet (foil roll) 62, for example, an unused area is mechanically associated with the pressing / releasing operation of the pressing member 441 (see FIG. 2) of the transfer unit 44. It is inevitable that it will occur. And since foil rolls are more expensive than general roll paper, it is desirable to minimize the generation of unused areas that are wasted and suppress wasteful consumption of foil rolls.

  From such a point of view, the image forming system 1 having a foil pressing function can take advantage of the fact that the unused area has progressed mechanically when performing the crimping operation (crimp release → crimp start, crimp start → crimp release). In order not to be wasted, a rewind function (rewind function) for rewinding the foil sheet 62 is provided at the start of the next job (before the start of foil pressing).

  A basic processing operation of the rewinding function of the foil sheet 62 is schematically shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an image in which the current job is executed from the left to the center of the dashed line in the figure, and the next job is executed from the center of the dashed line to the right. As an example, it is assumed that an unused area of 10 cm is mechanically generated by the operation of releasing the crimping of the current job, and an unused area of 10 cm is mechanically generated by the operation of starting the crimping of the next job. In this case, an unused area of 20 cm (= 10 cm + 10 cm) is generated between the crimping portion of the current job and the crimping portion of the next job.

  In view of this, the foil sheet 62 rewinding function rewinds the foil sheet 62 by 20 cm at the start of the next job, thereby suppressing the generation of unused areas and eliminating the waste of the foil sheet 62. However, the rewind function is a rewind control that does not waste an unused area in accordance with the leading edge of the printed paper. However, a foil image (object) that is actually subjected to foil pressing, that is, an object to be pressed ( Hereinafter, the position of “foil object” may be described. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, depending on the position of the foil object (marked with ● in the figure), an unused area of length X is generated separately from the unused area that is mechanically generated along with the crimping operation. Therefore, the waste of the foil sheet 62 is not completely eliminated.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the foil sheet 62 is rewound in consideration of the position of the foil object as well as the mechanically necessary rewinding accompanying the crimping operation. More specifically, in addition to the mechanically necessary amount accompanying the crimping operation, as shown in FIG. 5B, the distance from the front end of the printed paper in the transport direction to the front end of the foil object (in the example of FIG. 5A, After the rewinding of the unused area length X), the pressing operation for the next job is started. Thereby, since the foil sheet 62 can be rewound also about the length X of an unused area | region, the waste of a foil roll can be excluded and the consumption of a foil roll can be suppressed efficiently.

  Hereinafter, a specific example in which the foil sheet 62 is rewound while taking into consideration not only the rewinding of the mechanically necessary accompanying the crimping operation but also the position of the foil object (foil image) will be described.

Example 1
First, processing on the image forming apparatus 20 side will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the image forming apparatus 20 that realizes the foil sheet rewinding function according to the first embodiment. This series of processing is executed under the control of the CPU 211 of the control unit 21 in the image forming apparatus 20.

  The CPU 211 performs RIP processing (rasterization processing) of the foil data (step S11), and then the distance X from the leading edge in the transport direction of the printed paper to the leading edge of the image of the foil object subjected to RIP processing (in the example of FIG. 5A, Length X) is calculated (step S12). As a matter of course, the foil data includes position information of a location (pixel) where the foil is pressed on the printed paper, and the distance X can be calculated based on the position information.

  Next, the CPU 211 notifies the distance X calculated in step S12 to the foil stamping device 40 via the network 50 or the like (step S13). Next, based on the foil data, the CPU 211 performs a gluing (varnish printing) process on the portion to be pressed (step S14), and then notifies the foil pressing device 40 of the position information (distance X) of the foil object. The series of processes is terminated.

  Then, the process by the foil stamping apparatus 40 side is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the foil pressing device 40 that realizes the foil sheet rewinding function according to the first embodiment. This series of processing is executed under the control of the CPU 411 of the control unit 41 in the foil stamping device 40.

  In addition, the foil pushing apparatus 40 is provided with the foil consumption suppression mode which can suppress the consumption of a foil roll by the rewinding function of the foil sheet 62 mentioned above. And a user can select foil consumption mode, for example from client PC10, when suppressing the consumption of a foil roll.

  The CPU 411 determines whether or not the foil consumption suppression mode is selected (step S21). If the foil consumption suppression mode is selected (YES in S21), the foil by the rewind function of the foil sheet 62 described above is used. Processing for calculating the conveyance distance (rewinding amount) of the sheet 62 is performed (step S22).

  In this processing for calculating the transport distance, the distance X from the front end of the sheet notified from the image forming apparatus 20 to the front end of the image of the foil object is set in advance to perform foil pressing from the front end of the unused area as necessary. A process for determining the transport distance for rewinding is performed. Here, if necessary, the distance to be added to the distance X is set in advance by the user in the operation display unit 202 (see FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus 20, for example.

  Next, the CPU 411 performs control to rewind the foil sheet 62 by the conveyance distance calculated in step S22 (step S23). The foil sheet 62 is rewound by, for example, rotating the supply roller 435 in the direction opposite to the arrow direction in the figure under the drive of a drive motor (not shown) in the foil pressing device 40 having the configuration shown in FIG. Can do. By rewinding the foil sheet 62, the foil can be pressed from the tip of the unused area of the foil sheet 62.

  Then, the CPU 411 starts the printed material to be pressed (printed paper), the conveyance of the foil sheet 62, and the pressure bonding operation of the foil, and performs the pressing on the portion glued to the printed material to be pressed (step S24). Then, a series of processes for unwinding and foil stamping is completed. If the CPU 411 determines in step S21 that the foil consumption suppression mode has not been selected (MO in S21), the CPU 411 proceeds directly to step S24 without controlling the rewinding of the foil sheet 62, and performs the foil pressing process. Run.

  As described above, in the first exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 performs a process of obtaining the distance X from the leading edge in the conveyance direction of the printed paper to the image of the foil object and notifying the foil pressing apparatus 40. Then, in the foil stamping device 40, the transport distance (rewinding amount) of the foil sheet 62 is obtained in consideration of the distance X notified from the image forming device 20, and the foil sheet 62 is rewound by the transport distance. The post foil pressing process is performed.

  In this way, by performing the rewinding operation in consideration of the position of the foil object without changing the crimping operation (the operation of performing the crimping for the length of the printed sheet to be foil stamped) in the foil stamping device 40. Since the generation of unused areas of the foil roll in foil pressing can be minimized, wasteful consumption of the foil roll can be suppressed.

  By the way, in Example 1, although the position (distance) from the front-end | tip in the conveyance direction of the printed paper of the foil object (foil image) which actually presses foil is reflected in the rewinding amount of the foil sheet 62, The arrangement pattern of the foil object on the crimping operation area where the crimping operation is performed is not considered.

  An example of the arrangement pattern of the foil objects on the crimping operation area is shown in FIG. 8A. In this arrangement pattern example, two black circular foil objects are arranged side by side near the front end in the conveyance direction of the crimping operation area, and a black rectangular foil object is arranged behind them. In this example, the foil objects are concentrated and arranged in the region on the tip side of the crimping operation region.

  In the case of this example of the arrangement pattern of the foil object, in Example 1, as shown in FIG. 8B, the distance X1 from the front end in the transport direction of the printed paper to the front end of the foil object is set as the rewind amount of the foil sheet 62. It will be reflected. In this case, the crimping operation is also performed in the region of the distance Y1 from the trailing edge of the printed paper to the trailing edge of the foil object. And since the part of the foil sheet | seat 62 crimped | bonded at the time of foil pressing will be wrinkled by the heat | fever at the time of pressure bonding, it cannot be used as foil at the time of foil pressing after the following job. That is, although foil stamping is not performed in the area of the distance Y1, the foil in this area cannot be used for foil stamping after the next job and is wasted.

(Example 2)
Therefore, in Example 2, the amount of rewinding of the foil sheet 62 is determined in consideration of the arrangement pattern of the foil objects on the crimping operation area. More specifically, the foil object (foil image) is rotated (for example, rotated 180 degrees) as necessary based on the arrangement pattern of the foil object on the crimping operation area, and the arrangement of the foil object after the rotation is performed. The rewinding amount of the foil sheet 62 is determined based on the pattern.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the image forming apparatus 20 that realizes the foil sheet rewinding function according to the second embodiment. This series of processing is executed under the control of the CPU 211 of the control unit 21 in the image forming apparatus 20.

  The CPU 211 performs RIP processing (rasterization processing) on the foil data (step S31). Next, for example, in the arrangement pattern of the foil object shown in FIG. 8A, the CPU 211 determines the distance (first distance) X1 from the leading edge to the leading edge of the foil object in the conveyance direction of the printed paper, and the foil from the trailing edge of the printed paper. A distance (second distance) Y1 to the rear end of the object is calculated (step S32). The distance X1 and the distance Y1 can be calculated based on position information of a location (pixel) where foil pressing is performed, which is included in the foil data.

  Next, the CPU 211 compares the distance X1 from the leading edge of the printed sheet in the conveyance direction to the leading edge of the foil object with the distance Y1 from the trailing edge of the printed sheet to the trailing edge of the foil object, and X1 <Y1. It is determined whether or not there is (step S33). If X1 <Y1 (YES in S33), a process of rotating the foil image by 180 degrees is performed on the foil data subjected to the RIP process (step S34).

  Next, the CPU 211 notifies the foil stamping device 40 of the distance information calculated in step S32 (step S35). At this time, since the foil image is rotated in step S34, the distance Y1 from the rear end of the printed paper before the rotation to the rear end of the foil object is notified to the foil pressing device 40 as distance information. Further, since the printed material (printed paper) that is the object of foil pressing needs to be rotated 180 degrees by the rotation of the foil image, the foil pressing device 40 is notified of the information that the target printed material needs to be rotated.

  If the CPU 211 determines in step S33 that the distance X1 ≧ distance Y1 (NO in S33), the CPU 211 does not perform the rotation processing of the RIP-processed foil image, and directly proceeds to step S35 to calculate the distance information calculated in step S32. Is notified to the foil stamping device 40. In this case, since the foil image is not rotated, the distance X1 from the front end of the printed paper to the front end of the foil object is notified to the foil pressing device 40 as distance information. Further, information indicating that there is no need to rotate the printed material to be foil stamped is notified to the foil stamping device 40.

  Finally, the CPU 211 performs gluing (printing of varnish) processing on the portion to be pressed (step S36) based on the foil data RIP processed in step S31 or the foil data rotated in step S34 (step S36). The series of processes for notifying the foil stamping device 40 of the position information (distance X1 or distance Y1) of the foil object is terminated.

  Then, the process by the foil stamping apparatus 40 side is demonstrated. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the foil pressing device 40 that realizes the foil sheet rewinding function according to the second embodiment. This series of processing is executed under the control of the CPU 411 of the control unit 41 in the foil stamping device 40.

  The CPU 411 determines whether or not the foil consumption suppression mode is selected (step S41). If the foil consumption suppression mode is selected (YES in S41), the foil by the rewind function of the foil sheet 62 described above is used. Processing for calculating the conveyance distance (rewinding amount) of the sheet 62 is performed (step S42). In this transport distance calculation processing, the position information (distance Y1 or distance X1) of the foil object notified from the image forming apparatus 20 and, if necessary, preset for performing foil pressing from the tip of the unused area. A process for determining the transport distance for rewinding is performed.

  Next, the CPU 411 performs control to rewind the foil sheet 62 by the conveyance distance calculated in step S22 (step S43). Thereby, foil pressing is possible from the tip of the unused area of the foil sheet 62. In step S43, when the image forming apparatus 20 notifies that the printed material (printed paper) to be foil pressed needs to be rotated, the target printed material is also rotated 180 degrees and set.

  Then, the CPU 411 starts the printed material to be pressed (printed paper), the conveyance of the foil sheet 62, and the pressure bonding operation of the foil, and performs the pressing on the portion glued to the printed material to be pressed (step S44). Then, a series of processes for unwinding and foil stamping is completed. If the CPU 411 determines in step S41 that the foil consumption suppression mode has not been selected (MO in S41), the CPU 411 proceeds directly to step S44 without controlling the rewinding of the foil sheet 62, and performs the foil pressing process. Run.

  As described above, in the second exemplary embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 20, the distance X1 from the leading edge in the transport direction of the printed paper to the leading edge of the foil object and the distance from the trailing edge of the printed paper to the trailing edge of the foil object. Based on the comparison result with Y1, processing for rotating the foil image is performed as necessary. In the foil stamping device 40, the conveyance distance (rewinding amount) of the foil sheet 62 is obtained from the information on the presence / absence of rotation of the foil image notified from the image forming device 20 and the information on the distance X1 and the distance Y1. Rewinding and then foil pressing are performed.

  Thus, based on the arrangement pattern of the foil pressing object on the crimping operation area, the foil object is rotated as necessary, and the unwinding amount of the foil sheet 62 is determined based on the arrangement pattern of the foil object after the rotation. By doing so, the following actions and effects can be obtained. That is, even if foil pressing is not performed, it is possible to suppress the area that is wrinkled and wasted due to heat at the time of pressure bonding, and thus the consumption of the foil roll can be further suppressed.

  The operation and effect of the second embodiment will be described more specifically by taking, for example, an arrangement pattern of foil objects on the crimping operation region shown in FIG. 8A. In the case of the example of this arrangement pattern, the distance X1 from the leading edge in the transport direction of the printed paper to the leading edge of the foil object is shorter than the distance Y1 from the trailing edge of the printed paper to the trailing edge of the foil object. Therefore, since the comparison result in step S33 is X1 <Y1, the process of rotating the foil image by 180 degrees is performed on the foil data subjected to the RIP process. The foil object (foil image) after this rotation processing is shown in FIG.

  In the case of the arrangement pattern of the foil object after the rotation processing, the conveyance distance (rewinding amount) of the foil sheet 62 is calculated in consideration of the distance X2 (= Y1) from the leading edge of the printed paper to the leading edge of the foil object. The foil sheet 62 is rewound by the conveyance distance. At this time, the distance Y2 (= X1) from the rear end of the printed paper to the rear end of the foil object after the rotation process is shorter than the distance Y1 in the case of the arrangement pattern of the foil object before the rotation process shown in FIG. 8B. Become. Thereby, on the pressure-bonding operation area of the foil sheet 62, although the foil pressing is not performed, the area (the area of the distance Y2 in FIG. 8B) that is crumpled due to heat during the pressure-bonding and is wasted is minimized. be able to.

[Modification]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. That is, various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment without departing from the gist of the present invention, and embodiments to which such changes or improvements are added are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in Example 2, the RIP-processed foil image is rotated 180 degrees, but the rotation angle of the foil image is not limited to 180 degrees, and the rotation angle depends on the arrangement state of the foil object on the crimping operation area. Can be set arbitrarily.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming system, 10 ... Client PC, 20 ... Image forming apparatus, 30 ... Paper feeding apparatus, 40 ... Foil stamping apparatus, 42 ... 1st conveyance part, 43 ... 2nd conveyance part, 44 ... Transfer part, 50 ... Network 61 ... Printed object (printed paper) for foil stamping, 62 ... Foil sheet

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus for applying an adhesive for transferring the foil image to the recording medium based on foil data for foil pressing to transfer the foil image to the recording medium;
While the foil sheet is conveyed at the same speed as the printed medium outputted from the image forming apparatus after the adhesive is applied, the foil image is pressed onto the printed medium and is applied to the adhesive application portion. A foil stamping device for transferring
An image forming system comprising:
The image forming apparatus calculates the distance from the tip in the transport direction of the printed medium of the foil image to be transferred to the printed medium, and notifies the foil pressing apparatus,
The foil stamping device obtains a transport distance including the distance notified from the image forming apparatus before the foil stamping operation, and rewinds the foil sheet by the transport distance. The image forming apparatus includes a first distance from a front end in the transport direction of the printed medium and a second distance from a rear end in the transport direction of the printed medium of the foil image to be transferred to the printed medium. A distance is calculated, and when the second distance is longer than the first distance, the foil image is rotated, and information about image rotation is notified to the foil pressing device. The image forming system according to claim 1. The foil stamping device obtains a transport distance including the second distance when the information indicating that the image is rotated is notified from the image forming apparatus, and rewinds the foil sheet by the transport distance. The image forming system according to claim 2. The foil pressing device rotates the printed medium by the same angle as the rotation angle of the foil image when the image forming device is notified of the image rotation presence information. Image forming system. An image forming apparatus for applying an adhesive for transferring the foil image to the recording medium based on foil data for foil pressing to transfer the foil image to the recording medium;
While the foil sheet is conveyed at the same speed as the printed medium outputted from the image forming apparatus after the adhesive is applied, the foil image is pressed onto the printed medium and is applied to the adhesive application portion. A foil stamping device for transferring
In an image forming system comprising:
Calculating the distance from the tip of the foil image to be transferred to the printed medium in the transport direction of the printed medium;
An image forming method, comprising: obtaining a conveyance distance including the calculated distance before the foil pressing operation, and rewinding the foil sheet by the conveyance distance.

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