JP2007122621A - Information processor, information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology for performing proper print processing according to print setting when the print processing based on intermediate data which needs alpha blend processing is performed. <P>SOLUTION: Electronic data, and print setting information comprised of an object group including one or more objects including an object part for the alpha blend processing are acquired. The intermediate data of the electronic data is created by a format based on the print setting information (S707, S710). The print setting information is referred to and when preferential high speed printing is set, pseudo alpha blend processing is performed to the objects (S710). On the other hand, when quality of a print result is preferred, the alpha blend processing is performed to the objects (S709). The print processing is performed based on the intermediate data after the processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

    The present invention relates to a printing technique that handles intermediate data that requires alpha blend processing.

  As a technique for forming an image of an electronic document composed of a plurality of image objects (for example, characters, images, and graphics) and PDL data in a memory-saving manner, the image formation to the frame memory is performed in a halftone state. Is common. For example, when each of R, G, and B has a 2-bit gradation compared to an 8-bit gradation pixel, there is a four-fold difference in frame memory capacity.

  However, when such image formation is performed in a halftone state, alpha blend processing cannot be performed. In order to solve this problem, a drawing means for drawing an input drawing command on a bitmap image and a drawing method specifying means for specifying an alpha blend (transparency specification) when drawing an input object on a bitmap as a drawing command. In the data processing method of the print control apparatus and the image control apparatus, the alpha value replacement means for replacing the alpha blend designation with the area information corresponding to the alpha value, and the drawing command for performing processing according to the area information There is one that converts a drawing command into a command (see Patent Document 1).

  However, the above prior art is a pseudo-alpha blend process, and depending on the contents of the input data, the rendering result by the original alpha blend process may be different. In order to solve the above problems, the following methods have been devised.

  That is, a sufficient capacity of the frame memory is prepared, and image formation is performed with contone or intermediate data is generated. Intermediate data is searched at the time of generation or after generation, and alpha blending processing is performed for objects that require alpha blending, and there is no alpha blending processing (no alpha blending processing is required in the frame memory rendering process). To do. Then, drawing is performed in the frame memory.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating how an electronic document including a general alpha blend process is created. The user uses the application on the host computer to select a part of the graphic as shown at 101 or the entire graphic as shown at 102. In most cases, the user wants to create by overwriting (when the figure overlaps, only the above figure can be seen), so if the application simply creates a figure, 101, 102 An overwritten alpha blend value is set for the figure indicated by. For example, when the figure is a red square, RGBA = (255, 0, 0, 255) (A in RGBA is an alpha blend value). Here, the alpha blend value in the case of overwriting is 255 because the alpha blend process is performed based on the following equation.

R = (α / 255) × SrcR + (1− (α / 255)) × DestR
G = (α / 255) × SrcG + (1− (α / 255)) × DestG
B = (α / 255) × SrcB + (1− (α / 255)) × DestB
Src is a figure to be drawn, and Dest is the background.

  If the figure is Src, 255 may be substituted for α and calculated. When 255 is substituted, Src multiplied by (α / 255) becomes 1, and Dest multiplied by (1- (α / 255)) becomes 0, so the value of Src becomes the calculation result. That is, it is an overwrite process. Conversely, if you specify 0 as the alpha blend value. The value of Dest is the calculation result. That is, complete transmission.

  As described above, since the user uses mostly overwrite, alpha blend value = 255 is most frequently used.

  When a graphic is selected, a setting relating to transparency can be made by opening a transparency setting menu shown at 105. Although the method for opening the transparent setting menu differs depending on the application, it can be opened by operating a button on the application screen, a keyboard, or a mouse.

  When the transparency setting menu 105 is first opened, only the check button 106 for selecting whether to transmit or not is displayed. This is because it is important that the background appears to be transparent, and there are many users who do not consider how much the base is transparent. In this case, the transmittance is normally 50% (alpha blend value = 128). The transmission of 50% is easy for the user to understand, and there are some that cannot express a subtle transmittance depending on the ability of the image forming apparatus. By setting the transmission to 50%, a stable transmission effect can be obtained. The point is the reason. When the check button 106 is validated, as shown at 103, the background appears to be transparent. In 103, RGBA = (255, 0, 0, 128).

  A user who is not satisfied with the result displayed by the transmittance of 50% displays the menu bar 110 that allows the user to freely set the transmittance by enabling the check button 108 of the transparent detail setting on the transparency setting menu 105. It can be set. If it is set to 75% by the menu bar 110, it becomes (255, 0, 0, 192) as shown at 104. However, some applications do not have detailed settings such as the check buttons 108 and 110, and only the check button 106 is often provided.

As described above, as a feature of an electronic document including an alpha blend, most of the alpha blend values are increased to 255, which means overwriting. Next, even when transmission is intended, a fixed alpha blend value (mostly 128) is often used. Other detailed alpha blend values are rarely specified and may not be possible depending on the application.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-7102

  With the above-described pseudo-alpha blend processing technology, processing can be performed at high speed with less memory. However, depending on the content of the input data, drawing fraud may occur. A large amount of memory capacity is required for a technique for drawing a frame memory in a contone. The technique of performing the alpha blend process with the intermediate data can obtain a normal drawing result with a certain amount of memory saving. However, since it is necessary to determine the overlap between an object for which alpha blending is specified and all objects existing in the page, the processing takes time.

  Also, when print settings such as monochrome printing, trial printing (draft printing), and toner-saving printing are made, the user places more importance on printing speed than image quality, and when print settings such as color printing and high-quality printing are made. Users place more importance on image quality than printing speed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a technique for performing appropriate print processing according to print settings when performing print processing based on intermediate data that requires alpha blending processing. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, a first acquisition unit that acquires electronic data composed of an object group including one or more objects including a target portion of alpha blend processing;
Second acquisition means for acquiring print setting information indicating settings for printing the electronic data;
Creating means for creating intermediate data of the electronic data in a format based on the print setting information;
A first processing means for performing a pseudo-alpha blending process on the object when the print setting information is referred to and a setting for emphasizing high-speed printing is made;
A second processing means for performing alpha blending processing on the object when the print setting information is referred to and setting of emphasizing the quality of the print result is made;
And a printing unit that performs a printing process based on the intermediate data that has been processed by the first processing unit or the second processing unit.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an image forming method of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, a first acquisition step of acquiring electronic data composed of an object group including one or more objects including a target portion of alpha blend processing;
A second acquisition step of acquiring print setting information indicating a setting when printing the electronic data;
A creation step of creating intermediate data of the electronic data in a format based on the print setting information;
A first processing step of performing a pseudo-alpha blending process on the object when a setting for emphasizing high-speed printing is made with reference to the print setting information;
A second processing step of performing an alpha blending process on the object when the print setting information is referred to and the setting of emphasizing the quality of the print result is made;
And a printing step of performing a printing process based on the intermediate data after the processing by the first processing step or the second processing step.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, determination means for determining whether the set alpha blend value is a predetermined value,
When the determining unit determines that the alpha blend value is a predetermined value, it generates intermediate data in a simple format. When the determining unit determines that the alpha blend value is not a predetermined value, the intermediate data in the detailed format is generated. Generating means for generating;
Printing means for performing printing based on the intermediate data generated by the generating means.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an image forming method of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, a determination step of determining whether or not the set alpha blend value is a predetermined value;
If it is determined that the alpha blend value is a predetermined value in the determination step, intermediate data in a simple format is generated. If the alpha blend value is determined not to be a predetermined value in the determination step, intermediate data in a detailed format is generated. A generation step to generate;
A forming step of forming an image based on the intermediate data generated by the generating step.

  With the configuration of the present invention, when performing a printing process based on intermediate data that requires an alpha blending process, an appropriate printing process according to the print setting can be performed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which intermediate data of an object that requires alpha blending processing is acquired, and printing processing based on this intermediate data is performed.

  First, with reference to FIG. 2, in the intermediate data that requires alpha blending processing, processing that will be described below is performed for a portion that requires alpha blending processing, and processing for creating intermediate data that does not require alpha blending processing is described. To do.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating processing for creating intermediate data that does not require alpha blending processing from intermediate data that requires alpha blending processing.

  Further, in the description using the same figure, it is assumed that the background of the frame memory is white (R = G = B = 255) as a premise. In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a drawing result obtained by sequentially drawing each object (intermediate data) indicated by 211 to 213.

  As shown in the figure, the object 211 is a rectangle whose upper left corner has coordinates (1, 1) and whose vertical and horizontal sizes are 5, and the R, G, and B values of this rectangle are 0. is there. Here, alpha blending processing is not specified for the object 211 (α value is not specified). Therefore, when this object 211 is drawn, R = G = B = 0 in the rectangular area having the coordinates (1, 1) and the coordinates (6, 6) as diagonal points.

Next, as shown in the figure, the object 212 is a rectangle whose upper left corner has coordinates (2, 2) and whose vertical and horizontal sizes are 5, and the R, G, and B values of this rectangle are respectively 128. Here, alpha blending processing is specified for the object 211 (α value = 128 is specified). Therefore, since the object 212 is drawn according to the calculation formula shown in FIG. 240, the R, G, and B values in the rectangular area whose diagonals are the coordinates (2, 2) and the coordinates (6, 6) are Respectively,
R = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 0 = 64
G = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 0 = 64
B = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 0 = 64
It becomes. That is, this rectangular area is an area where the object 211 and the object 212 overlap each other.

Further, a rectangular area having the coordinates (2, 2) and the coordinates (6, 6) as diagonal lines is excluded from the rectangular area (object 212) having the coordinates (2, 2) and coordinates (7, 7) as diagonal lines. The R, G, and B values of the portion 202 are
R = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 255 = 192
G = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 255 = 192
B = (128/255) × 128 + (1− (128/255)) × 255 = 192
It becomes.

Next, as shown in the figure, the object 213 is a rectangle whose upper left corner has coordinates (3, 3) and whose vertical and horizontal sizes are 2, and the R, G, and B values of this rectangle are respectively 255. Here, alpha blending processing is specified for the object 213 (α value = 128 is specified). Therefore, since the object 213 is drawn according to the calculation formula shown in FIG. 240, the R, G, and B values in the rectangular area whose diagonals are the coordinates (3, 3) and the coordinates (5, 5) are Respectively,
R = (128/255) × 255 + (1− (128/255)) × 64 = 160
G = (128/255) × 255 + (1− (128/255)) × 64 = 160
B = (128/255) × 255 + (1− (128/255)) × 64 = 160
It becomes. This rectangular area is an area where the objects 211 to 213 overlap each other. From the above processing, the R, G, and B values in the portion shown in FIG. 201 are the R, G, and B values in the portion indicated by 0, 202 and the R, G, and B values in the portion indicated by 192 and 203 are 64, 204. The R, G, and B values 160 of the portion indicated by

  A process for creating intermediate data that does not require alpha blending processing from intermediate data that requires alpha blending processing will be described using the above principle. When drawing the objects 211 to 213 in this order, attention is first paid to the object 212 that performs the alpha blending process and performs the drawing process.

  An object that is drawn before the object 212 is an object that does not use alpha blending processing, and is an object 211 in this example. Therefore, a portion where the object 212 and the object 211 overlap is searched. This is done by referring to the size of each rectangle and searching for overlapping parts in the vertical and horizontal methods. Here, a rectangular area in which the coordinates of the upper left corner are (2, 2) and the vertical and horizontal sizes are 4 is an area where the object 211 and the object 212 overlap each other. This overlapping area is as shown in FIG. Note that the R, G, and B values of the rectangular area 222 are obtained by performing the alpha blend process on the object 211 and the object 212 according to the above description, and as a result, become 64.

  Next, an area 221 in which the overlapping rectangular area 222 is removed from the object 211 is generated, and an area 223 in which the overlapping rectangular area 222 is removed from the object 212 is generated. The R, G, and B values of the rectangular area 223 are obtained by performing the alpha blend process with the background of the frame memory as described above, and as a result, become 192.

  With the above processing, each of the objects 211 and 212 is divided into portions that overlap each other and portions that do not overlap each other, and alpha blending processing is performed on the portions that overlap each other. The result is 221 to 223. At this time, nothing is performed on the object 213, which is shown as an object 224.

  Next, focus on the object 224. First, of the previously generated objects 221 to 223, a portion overlapping with the object 224 is searched. Here, the object 222 is searched as an object overlapping the object 224.

  Therefore, next, an area 232 is generated by removing the overlapping rectangular area 224 from the object 222. Further, the R, G, and B values of the rectangular area 224 are obtained by performing the alpha blend process on the object 222 and the object 224 according to the above description. As a result, the value becomes 160 and the area 234. Also, the objects 221 and 223 do not overlap with the object 224, and thus become the objects 231 and 233 as they are.

  With the above processing, when the original objects 211 to 213 are divided into overlapping portions and non-overlapping portions, and alpha blending processing is designated for the overlapping portions, the alpha blending processing is performed. Thereby, as shown in 231 to 234, object intermediate data without designation of an alpha value is obtained. In other words, alpha blending processing is not necessary for rendering the objects 231 to 234.

  Incidentally, when the objects 231 to 234 are drawn, the result becomes 200. By performing the above processing, normal drawing can be obtained even if the device does not have the ability to perform alpha blending processing when drawing in the frame memory. As described above, the process of removing the alpha blend process at the intermediate data stage requires searching for each object one by one and performing a division process, which takes time. Conversely, in the pseudo-alpha blend process, it is possible to perform high-speed processing only by generating a pattern corresponding to the alpha blend value.

  Next, the difference in the amount of intermediate data stored in the memory between the case where the pseudo-alpha blend process is performed and the case where the alpha blend removal process is performed at the intermediate data stage will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example in which two objects having overlapping portions are drawn. When the alpha blend removal process is performed at the intermediate data stage, the overlap between the two objects 301 and 302 must be compared.

  FIG. 3B is a flowchart of the overlapping portion search process. The objects 301 and 302 are expressed by holding the x-coordinate positions of the left and right edges of the object by the height in the y-coordinate direction, and are described in a compressed code to further reduce the data amount.

  First, in step S303, the start point and end point of the y coordinate of the overlapping portion of the objects 301 and 302 are acquired. Next, in step S304, it is determined whether or not overlap determination processing has been performed for all y from the start point to the end point of the y coordinate. If all the processes have been performed, the present process is terminated. If all processes have not been performed, the process proceeds to step S305.

  In step S305, the edge information of the object 301 is expanded, and the x coordinate values of the left and right edges in the target y coordinate are acquired. Similarly, in step S306, the edge information of the object 302 is expanded, and the x coordinate values of the left and right edges in the target y coordinate are acquired.

  In step S307, the x-coordinate values acquired in steps S305 and S306 are used to determine whether or not there is an overlap between the objects 301 and 302 in the x direction.

  Since it is normal that there are 10,000 or more objects in the electronic document and PDL data, if the decompression process in steps S305 and S306 is performed each time, it takes a very long time. Therefore, when performing alpha blend removal processing using intermediate data, it is necessary to have the edge information uncompressed. Therefore, the memory capacity increases.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating an example of an image including a plurality of objects. When converting the image 310 as shown in the figure to intermediate data, it is necessary to create a display list 312 for managing objects such as characters and pictures in the image 310 as shown in FIG. is there. Further, it is necessary to create information (group range information) indicating an existing area on the image 310 for each object or each object group (group) as shown in 313a to 313d. For example, information indicating the existence area (area surrounded by a dotted line) of the character group 311 shown in FIG. 3C is created as the group range information 313a. Further, position information 314 in the intermediate data of the specified object is also created when the alpha blend process is performed.

  Thus, by creating each piece of information, processing time for searching for an object for which alpha blending processing is specified is not required. Also, before performing the process of searching for overlapping portions between objects, the information 313 is referenced to identify those having overlapping portions between groups. Then, the overlapping portion is searched for among the objects included in the group having the overlapping portion. Thereby, the processing time for searching for the overlapping portion can be greatly shortened.

  If the process for removing the alpha blend process is not performed, the display list 312 and edge information and the like may be created and held as additional information (for intermediate data). This additional information is compressed. Such intermediate data is “intermediate data in a simple format”. The intermediate data in the simple format can be created at high speed, and the amount of memory for holding the created intermediate data can be reduced.

  On the other hand, if the process for removing the alpha blend process is performed, the group range information 313 and the information 314 may be further included in the additional information. In this case, the edge information is uncompressed data. Such intermediate data is “intermediate data in a detailed format”. However, in this case, the amount of memory for holding the created intermediate data increases, and the time for creating this additional information also increases.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, three processes will be described: a process of drawing with a contone, a process of drawing through a pseudo alpha blend process, and a process of drawing after removing the alpha blend process in intermediate data. Furthermore, the reason why the process of directly drawing in the frame memory with a contone requires more memory than the process of generating intermediate data will be described.

  FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus that performs these three processes. Reference numeral 400 denotes electronic document data. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that PDL data is also included in the object to which the “electronic document” refers. The data of the electronic document 400 is interpreted by the electronic document interpretation unit 401. The interpretation result is sent to the subsequent drawing processing unit 406 and intermediate data generation processing & band dividing unit 402.

  The drawing processing unit 406 performs processing for drawing an image directly on the frame memory in a contone based on the interpretation content received from the electronic document interpretation unit 401. The frame memory is a memory for holding an image for one page, and is provided in the frame memory page 407. Since the electronic document 400 is generally not sorted in the y-coordinate direction, one page of memory is required.

  On the other hand, the intermediate data generation process & band division unit 402 performs a sort process on the y-coordinate of the object based on the interpretation content received from the electronic document interpretation unit 401, and performs a process of generating the object as intermediate data for each band. This intermediate data is either intermediate data in a simple format or intermediate data in a detailed format.

  Reference numeral 403 denotes intermediate data of the object for each band generated by the intermediate data generation processing & band dividing unit 402. The drawing processing unit 404 performs drawing processing based on the intermediate data 403. The drawing result is written in the frame memory band 405. Here, since the intermediate data 403 is for each band as described above, the drawing processing unit 404 performs drawing processing for each band. Accordingly, the frame memory band 405 only needs to have an area for holding an image for at least one band.

  Here, as described above, the frame memory page 407 needs an area for one page, whereas the frame memory band 405 only needs an area for one band. That is, the memory usage is larger when the electronic document 400 is directly drawn in the contone. However, when the electronic document 400 is band-sorted, the frame memory page 407 may have an area for one band. In this case, band sorting information may be added to the electronic document 400 that has been band-sorted, and a method of directly drawing in the frame memory in a contone manner may be selected for those that have been band-sorted.

  An image drawn on the frame memory page 407 or the frame memory band 405 is compressed by the compression processing unit 408. The compression algorithm is not particularly limited, and examples include JPEG compression. Data obtained by the compression (compressed data) is sent to the spool 409 at the subsequent stage and held there.

  The purpose of the spool 409 is to create asynchronism between the processing from when the electronic document 400 is input to the electronic document interpretation unit 401 until the compression processing unit 408 performs compression processing and the processing after the decompression processing unit 410. To do. That is, in order to operate the expansion processing unit 410, the video output unit 411, the thinning circuit 412, and the printer unit 413 without interruption, the spool 409 does not already hold the next page being printed. must not. Accordingly, the image forming process until the image is sent to the spool 409 is configured to operate asynchronously with the printing process performed by the expansion processing unit 410 and the subsequent processing and can be performed at a higher speed than the printing process.

  Furthermore, in order for the spool 409 to hold a plurality of pages following the page currently being printed, a large capacity is required according to the number of pages to be held. Therefore, it is preferable to compress the data held by the spool 409.

  Next, the decompression processing unit 410 sequentially reads and decompresses the images held in the spool 409 and sends them to the video output unit 411. The video output unit 411 outputs an image signal based on the received image to the printer unit 413. Based on the received image signal, the printer unit 413 forms (prints) an image on a recording medium such as paper.

  In the present embodiment, the print format is not particularly limited, and any of an ink jet method, a laser beam method, and the like may be used. Here, when toner-saving printing is designated in the print settings, the image signal from the video output unit 411 is output to the thinning circuit 412. The thinning circuit 412 performs a thinning process on the video signal and sends the image signal after the thinning process to the printer unit 413.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a condition for determining which of the three processes is performed on the electronic document 400. As shown in the figure, the image based on the electronic document 400 is based on the alpha blend information described in the additional information for the electronic document 400, the print setting information described in the electronic document 400, and the memory capacity in the image forming apparatus. A forming process is performed.

  For example, if alpha blend processing is not specified and the object is color, intermediate data in a simple format is created, and if it is monochrome, it is drawn directly in contone.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic document used in the present embodiment. Reference numeral 500 denotes the entire electronic document. The electronic document 500 includes print setting information 501 valid for the entire document and information 504 for each page. The information 504 for each page includes print hint information 502, and a portion surrounded by “<alpha blend> to </ alpha blend>” (alpha blend hint information) is the print hint information 502. It is described in. The print hint information 502 includes information that is common to each page and information that is valid for the entire document.

  As shown in the figure, the alpha blend hint information indicates the presence / absence of alpha blend, the content of alpha blend, the coordinate position of alpha blend, and the like. One of the features of this embodiment is that the processing related to printing is switched based on the print setting information 501 and the print hint information 502.

  Reference numeral 503 denotes data (print information of each page) related to an image that is actually recorded on a recording medium such as paper.

  FIG. 12 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. Note that the configuration shown in the figure is an example, and the configuration can be modified as appropriate.

  A CPU 1201 controls the entire image forming apparatus using programs and data stored in the RAM 1202 and the ROM 1203 and also controls the entire print processing.

  A RAM 1202 can appropriately provide an area for temporarily storing programs and data loaded from the hard disk 1204 and data of electronic documents received from an external computer via the I / F 1206. Furthermore, a work area used when the CPU 1201 executes various processes can be provided as appropriate.

  A ROM 1203 stores programs and data for causing the CPU 1201 to perform overall control processing relating to print processing, setting data of the image forming apparatus, and the like.

  A hard disk 1204 has an area for temporarily storing an electronic document received from an external computer via the I / F 1206, intermediate data created based on the electronic document, and the like. That is, it corresponds to the memory portion in the configuration shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as a memory used for temporarily storing various data, either the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 may be used, or each may be used as appropriate.

  A printing unit 1205 has a mechanism for printing an image drawn based on the intermediate data on a recording medium such as paper. For example, the video output unit 411, the thinning circuit 412, and the printer unit 413 shown in the configuration of FIG.

  Reference numeral 1206 denotes an I / F. Electronic document data (for example, data having the configuration shown in FIG. 5) transmitted from an external computer is input to the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 via the I / F 1206 and temporarily stored therein. Stored.

  Reference numeral 1207 denotes a bus connecting the above-described units.

  Next, the overall flow of print processing performed by the image forming apparatus having such a configuration will be described. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a process for storing intermediate data of a page to be printed in the RAM 1202 or a spool provided in the hard disk 1204. Note that programs and data for causing the CPU 1201 to execute processing according to the flowchart of FIG. Then, the program and data are appropriately loaded into the RAM 1202 under the control of the CPU 1201 and are processed by the CPU 1201.

  First, when data of an electronic document is acquired in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 via the I / F 1206, the CPU 1201 checks whether print setting information is included in the electronic document (step S601). If not included, the process proceeds to step S605. On the other hand, if it is included, the process proceeds to step S602, and print setting information is acquired in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 (step S602).

  Next, the CPU 1201 refers to the acquired print setting information, and when print settings that emphasize high speed rather than high image quality, such as draft printing and toner-saving printing, are performed, the processing is performed via step S603. The process proceeds to step S604. Then, in order to generate intermediate data at a higher speed, settings are made to generate intermediate data in a simple format, and pseudo alpha blend processing is set as alpha blend processing (step S604).

  On the other hand, as a result of the CPU 1201 referring to the print setting information, if the print setting that emphasizes high speed has not been made, the process proceeds to step S613 via step S603. If the setting that emphasizes the quality of the print result (setting that emphasizes high image quality such as high gradation and high resolution) is not made, the process advances to step S605 via step S613.

  On the other hand, if the setting is made with emphasis on the quality of the print result, the process proceeds to step S614 via step S613. Then, it is set to generate intermediate data in a detailed format, and is set to perform alpha blend removal processing as alpha blend processing (step S614).

  Through the above processing, the format of the intermediate data and the type of alpha blending processing according to the print settings can be switched.

  Next, the processes in steps S605 to S612 are performed for each page to be printed.

  First, it is checked whether or not intermediate data has been accumulated in the spool for all pages to be printed. If accumulated, this processing is terminated. On the other hand, if not, the process proceeds to step S606 via step S605. If the memory capacity in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 is a predetermined amount or more, or the electronic document is band-sorted, the process proceeds to step S608 via step S606. Whether or not the electronic document is band-sorted can be checked by referring to the “band sorting” item in the electronic document data. If this item is set to “completed”, the band is sorted. Judge that it is sorted.

  Then, an image based on the data of the electronic document is directly drawn on the frame memory in a contone manner in the page frame memory provided in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 (step S608). Then, the drawn image is compressed and stored in the spool (step S609).

  On the other hand, if the memory capacity in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204 is not equal to or larger than the predetermined amount and the electronic document is not band-sorted, the process proceeds to step S607 via step S606. Then, the electronic document is converted into intermediate data in accordance with the contents set in step S604 or step S614 (step S607). Details of the processing in step S607 will be described later.

  Next, it is determined whether drawing processing and compression processing to be described later have been performed for all the bands. If so, the processing returns to step S605 via step S610, and the subsequent processing is performed for the next page. On the other hand, if drawing processing and compression processing to be described later are not performed for all bands, the processing proceeds to step S611 via step S610. Then, based on the intermediate data created in step S607, a drawing process is performed for each band in the RAM 1202 or a band frame memory provided in the hard disk 1204 (step S611). Then, the drawn image is compressed and stored in the spool (step S612).

  With the above processing, it is possible to perform alpha blending processing with an emphasis on memory saving according to the memory capacity, and it is possible to reliably process alpha blending if there is a memory capacity.

  Next, a series of processes for decompressing and printing the compressed image data stored in the spool will be described with reference to FIG. 6B showing a flowchart of the process. First, it is checked whether or not there is compressed image data in the spool. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S622 via step S621, and this is expanded (step S622). Next, as a result of referring to the print setting information in the processing in step S603, if print settings that emphasize high speed rather than high image quality, such as draft printing and toner-saving printing, have been made, the process proceeds to step S623. Then, the process proceeds to step S625.

  Then, the thinning circuit 412 thins out the image signal based on the expanded image, and sends the thinned image signal to the printing unit 1205 (step S625). On the other hand, if such a setting has not been made, the process proceeds to step S624 via step S623, and an image signal based on the expanded image is sent to the printing unit 1205 as it is (step S624).

  Accordingly, the print unit 1205 can form an image based on the sent image signal on a recording medium such as paper.

  Next, details of the processing in step S607 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the processing in step S607.

  First, it is checked whether the format setting of the intermediate data to be created is a simple format (step S700). This is equivalent to checking which process in steps S604 and S614 has been performed. If it is determined that the intermediate data is to be created in the simple format as a result of the check, the process proceeds to step S710 to create the intermediate data in the simple format and perform the pseudo alpha blending process when generating the intermediate data (step S710). S710).

  On the other hand, if it is not set to create intermediate data in a simple format, the process advances to step S701 to check whether the format setting of the intermediate data to be created is a detailed format (step S701). As a result of the check, if it is not set to create intermediate data in the detailed format, the process proceeds to step S707. On the other hand, if it is set, the process proceeds to step S702, where the electronic document is referenced to check whether alpha blend hint information is included (step S702). If not included, the process proceeds to step S707.

  On the other hand, if it is included, the process proceeds to step S703 to obtain hint information (step S703). Then, with reference to the item “alpha blend” in the fetched hint information, it is checked whether it is “present” or “none” (step S704). If the result of the check is “none”, the process proceeds to step S710. On the other hand, if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S705.

  Next, with reference to the item “alpha blend value” in the hint information, it is checked whether only “0%” and “100%” are set (step S705). If only “0%” and “100%” are set as a result of the check, the process proceeds to step S710. On the other hand, if only “0%” and “100%” are not set, the process proceeds to step S706.

  Next, the “alpha blend value” item in the hint information is referenced (step S706). As a result, when the values are values other than “0%” and “100%” and the same value (in many cases, 50%), and the print mode in the print setting information is “monochrome fixed”. Advances the process to step S710. On the other hand, if this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S707 to create intermediate data in the detailed format (step S707).

  Next, when it is determined in step S702 that the “alpha blend” item in the hint information is “present”, the process proceeds to step S709 via step S708. Then, the above process for removing the alpha blend process is performed on the intermediate data created in step S707 (step S709).

  With the above processing, the type of alpha blending process can be switched according to the hint information of alpha blending.

  Here, in the above step S706, the hint information is referred to, “a numerical value other than“ 0% ”and“ 100% ”and the same value (in many cases, 50%). Whether the print mode is “monochrome fixed” or not. Here, the point that the condition “monochrome fixed” is included in this condition will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the pseudo-alpha blend process, the color expressed in halftone is synthesized with the area pattern generated based on the alpha blend value. In the figure, reference numeral 800 denotes an area on the image occupied by a color expressed in halftone. This region 800 is generally characterized by factors such as the number of dither lines 801 and the dither angle 802 in halftoning using a dither matrix. For example, even if the transmission is 50%, a simple checkerboard pattern cannot express transmission normally, and a pattern corresponding to the characteristics of the dither matrix is generated to some extent.

  In the case of monochrome, since there is one dither matrix, it is relatively easy to create, for example, a 50% pattern. However, different dither matrices are often used for each color of KYMC, and it is difficult to create a 50% pattern common to KYMC. In addition, it is relatively easy to create a 50% pattern for each KYMC, but the KYMC synthesis result after the pseudo alpha blending process with each KYMC pattern is different from 50% of the original KYMC. The problem that etc. differ greatly occurs. The situation described above is shown at 810-813. In other words, the pseudo alpha blending process is easy to apply to monochrome but difficult to apply to color.

  Next, processing for adding alpha blend information (hint information) to an electronic document will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating functional configurations of the computer 900 and the image forming apparatus 911.

  An application 901 is operating on the computer 900, and an electronic document 903 can be created by the application 901. The created electronic document 903 can be registered in the database 906 by operating the database registration unit 904, or can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 911 by the transmission unit 907 by operating the transmission unit utility 908. If the electronic document 903 is not PDL data, the transmission unit 907 may convert the electronic document 903 into PDL data.

  Here, alpha blend information can be added to the electronic document 903, but the addition timing can be added at various timings as shown in 902, 905, 909, and 910. That is, it is added when the application 901 is operated to create the electronic document 903 as indicated by 902, or is added when the electronic document 903 is registered in the database 906 by the database registration unit 904 as indicated by 905. be able to. Furthermore, as indicated by reference numeral 909, it may be added when the electronic document 903 is delivered to the transmission unit 907 by the transmission unit utility 908, or added when the electronic document 903 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 911 by the transmission unit 907. You may do it.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 911 includes a receiving unit 912, an image forming processing unit 951, and a printer unit 952. The reception unit 912 receives the electronic document 903 sent from the transmission unit 907 and passes it to the subsequent image formation processing unit 951. The image formation processing unit 951 performs the above-described intermediate data generation processing and drawing processing based on the electronic document 903, and passes the drawing result to the printer unit 952 as an image signal. The printer unit 952 performs processing for recording an image of the electronic document 903 on a recording medium such as paper in accordance with the image signal.

  Here, the process of adding the alpha blend information to the electronic document 903 may be performed on the image forming apparatus 911 side. That is, as indicated by 913, it may be added when the receiving unit 912 receives the electronic document 903. If alpha blend information is added on the image forming apparatus 911 side, for example, it is effective when an electronic document 903 is transmitted from an apparatus (such as a PDA or a mobile phone) with low processing capability.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of processing for adding alpha blend information to an electronic document.

  First, it is checked whether alpha blend information addition processing has been performed for all electronic documents (step S1001). If so, this processing ends. On the other hand, if alpha blend information addition processing has not been performed for all electronic documents, the process proceeds to step S1002, and “None” is set in the item “alpha blend” for the current page (step S1002).

  Next, it is checked whether or not processing has been performed for all pages (step S1003). If so, the process proceeds to step S1010. The processing after step S1010 will be described later. On the other hand, if processing has not been performed for all pages, the process proceeds to step S1004 to check whether processing has been performed for all objects in the current page (step S1004). If all the objects have been processed as a result of this check, the process returns to step S1003 to perform the subsequent processes for the next page.

  On the other hand, if all the objects in the current page have not been processed, the process proceeds to step S1005, and it is checked whether all the pixels constituting the current object have been processed (step S1005). . As a result of this check, if processing has been performed for all the pixels constituting the current object, the processing returns to step S1004, and the subsequent processing is performed for the next object.

  On the other hand, if the processing has not been performed for all the pixels constituting the current object, the process proceeds to step S1006, and it is checked whether the alpha blending processing has been specified for the current pixel. (Step S1006). This determines that the designation of performing the alpha blending process is made for the pixel having the pixel value including the alpha component.

  If no designation is made, the process returns to step S1005 to perform the subsequent processes for the next pixel. On the other hand, if the designation is made, the process advances to step S1007 to set “present” in the item “alpha blend” for the current page (step S1007).

  Next, the alpha value of the current pixel is set in the item “alpha blend value” for the current page (step S1008). If the alpha value is other than 0, 255, the pixel position is temporarily stored in the memory (step S1009). Then, the process returns to step S1005 to perform the subsequent processes for the next pixel.

  On the other hand, if all pages have been processed in step S1003, the process proceeds to step S1010. Then, the item “alpha blend” set for each page is set to the item “alpha blend” in the hint information of each page (step S1010).

  Next, a process for recording each alpha blend value set in step S1008 in the hint information is performed (step S1011). Finally, a process of recording the pixel position recorded in the memory in step S1009 in the hint information is performed (step S1012).

  In steps S1011 and S1012, the pixel position in the page recorded in the memory in step S1009 and the alpha blend value set in step S1008 are referenced, and the position range where the same alpha value is set is recorded in the hint information.

  Next, a method of using this alpha blend drawing position (range) will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating alpha blend processing for each range in one page.

  If there is information on the drawing position (range), processing can be switched even within the page. For example, intermediate data is created in a simple format for the ranges indicated by 1101 and 1103 in FIG. For the range indicated by 1102, intermediate data is created in a detailed format, and alpha blending is normally rendered.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, alpha blend removal processing from intermediate data can be performed at high speed and memory saving can be realized. As a result, when the user displays or prints a document including alpha blend processing or PDL data, it is possible to obtain a display or print result with high speed, memory saving, and non-rendering.

  An apparatus applicable to the above-described image forming apparatus generally only needs to have a function of recording an image on a recording medium such as paper, and is, for example, a printer, a copier, or a multifunction machine. Further, as an electronic document supply form, in addition to being supplied from a computer, for example, when the image forming apparatus is configured as a multifunction peripheral, an image is captured by a scanner and supplied to the image forming unit. You may do it. In this case, a series of processing in the above description is performed by the image forming unit.

  Needless to say, the object of the present invention can be achieved as follows. That is, a recording medium (or storage medium) that records a program code of software that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus. Then, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, an operating system (OS) or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the process includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

  Furthermore, it is assumed that the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU included in the function expansion card or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, program code corresponding to the flowchart described above is stored in the recording medium.

It is a figure which shows the mode of creation of the electronic document containing a general alpha blend process. It is a figure explaining the process which creates the intermediate data which does not require an alpha blend process from the intermediate data which requires an alpha blend process. (A) is a figure which shows the example at the time of drawing two objects which have an overlap part, (b) is a flowchart of the search process of an overlap part, (c) is the image of the image containing several objects FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating an example of information related to an electronic document. (A) is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus that performs these three processes, and (b) is for determining which of the three processes is performed on the electronic document 400. It is a figure which shows an example of conditions. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the electronic document used by embodiment of this invention. (A) is a flowchart of a process for accumulating intermediate data of a page to be printed in a spool in the RAM 1202 or the hard disk 1204, and (b) is a series of processes for decompressing and printing the compressed image data stored in the spool. It is a flowchart of. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process in step S607. It is a figure explaining the conditions used at Step S706. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional configurations of a computer 900 and an image forming apparatus 911. It is a flowchart of the process which adds alpha blend information to an electronic document. It is a figure explaining the alpha blend process for every range in one page. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (13)

First acquisition means for acquiring electronic data composed of an object group including one or more objects including a target portion of alpha blend processing;
Second acquisition means for acquiring print setting information indicating settings for printing the electronic data;
Creating means for creating intermediate data of the electronic data in a format based on the print setting information;
A first processing means for performing a pseudo-alpha blending process on the object when the print setting information is referred to and a setting for emphasizing high-speed printing is made;
A second processing means for performing alpha blending processing on the object when the print setting information is referred to and setting of emphasizing the quality of the print result is made;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs a printing process based on intermediate data that has been processed by the first processing unit or the second processing unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more objects are objects having overlapping portions, and the portions are target portions of the alpha blending process.   The second processing means refers to the print setting information, and when the setting is made to place importance on the quality of the print result, the one or more objects are set as overlapping portions and non-overlapping portions. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus divides the image and performs alpha blend processing on the overlapped portion.   The creation means refers to the print setting information, and when the setting for emphasizing high-speed printing is made, the format is simpler than when the setting for emphasizing the quality of the printing result is made The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein intermediate data is generated. A first acquisition step of acquiring electronic data composed of an object group including one or more objects including a target portion of alpha blend processing;
A second acquisition step of acquiring print setting information indicating a setting when printing the electronic data;
A creation step of creating intermediate data of the electronic data in a format based on the print setting information;
A first processing step of performing a pseudo-alpha blending process on the object when a setting for emphasizing high-speed printing is made with reference to the print setting information;
A second processing step of performing an alpha blending process on the object when the print setting information is referred to and the setting of emphasizing the quality of the print result is made;
An image forming method comprising: a printing step of performing a printing process based on intermediate data after the processing by the first processing step or the second processing step. A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the set alpha blend value is a predetermined value;
When the determining unit determines that the alpha blend value is a predetermined value, it generates intermediate data in a simple format. When the determining unit determines that the alpha blend value is not a predetermined value, the intermediate data in the detailed format is generated. Generating means for generating;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs printing based on the intermediate data generated by the generation unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined values are 0 percent and 100 percent.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the alpha blend value is included in hint information added by a host computer. A determination step of determining whether or not the set alpha blend value is a predetermined value;
If it is determined that the alpha blend value is a predetermined value in the determination step, intermediate data in a simple format is generated. If the alpha blend value is determined not to be a predetermined value in the determination step, intermediate data in a detailed format is generated. A generation step to generate;
And a forming step of forming an image based on the intermediate data generated by the generating step.   The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined values are 0 percent and 100 percent.   The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein the alpha blend value is included in hint information added by a host computer.   A program for causing a computer to execute the image forming method according to any one of claims 5 and 9 to 11.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 12.

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