JP2014032290A - Printing device, and print control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device in which a fingerprint removal mode is used to shorten a printing time.SOLUTION: A time when a sheet is supplemented at a sheet storage part for storing printing sheets is detected so as to measure a lapsed time from the supplemented time. If the lapsed time from the supplemented time is shorter than or equal to a threshold value, when printing is performed on a sheet supplied from the sheet storage part, fixing by a fixing unit is performed before printing the sheet. On the other hand, if it exceeds the threshold value, control is performed so that the fixing is not performed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing control method for performing processing for removing a fingerprint attached to a recording medium.

  The fats and moisture of the human body cause a decrease in the resistivity of the contact portion between the fixing device and the sheet. For example, a transfer omission occurs at the time of transfer of the toner sheet, and as a result, as shown by 1601 in FIG. A fingerprint mark remains in the result. In order to improve such fixed image defects, the fingerprint removal mode function removes fingerprint traces by removing the fingerprint oil components attached to the paper by passing the sheet with fingerprints through the fixing device before printing. There is known an image forming apparatus having the following (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 describes that the image forming apparatus removes dirt such as fingerprint marks by performing pre-fixing on a sheet fed to a manual paper feed stage. Patent Document 1 further describes that the user can set activation / deactivation of the fingerprint removal function from the operation unit.

JP 2007-286108 A

  In Patent Document 1, when a recording sheet is fed to the manual sheet feed stage, a fingerprint removal mode is set from the operation unit of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, when the fingerprint removal mode is set, printing is performed in the same fingerprint removal mode until all the sheets set in the manual paper feed stage are exhausted. Since the fingerprint removal mode is an operation in which printing is performed after passing through the fixing device once before the printed matter is discharged, the printing speed is slower than normal printing.

  The attached fingerprint actually disappears over time. Depending on the type and thickness of the recording paper, the fingerprint disappears in about 30 minutes on a general copy paper. Therefore, it may not be necessary to perform fingerprint removal on recording paper that has been stored for a long time since being stored in the paper feed tray. If fingerprint removal is performed in such a case, the printing time becomes unnecessarily long.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems. In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing control method that shorten the printing time using the fingerprint removal mode.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus including a sheet storage unit that stores a sheet for printing, and detects when a sheet is replenished in the sheet storage unit. Means for printing on a sheet fed from the sheet storage unit, a pre-printing processing unit for fixing by a fixing device before printing the sheet, and from the time when the sheet is replenished in the sheet storage unit. If the elapsed time from when the sheet to be printed is replenished to the sheet storage unit detected by the replenishment detection means is within a threshold, the pre-printing process The pre-printing processing unit is controlled to cause the fixing unit to execute sheet fixing. If the threshold value is exceeded, the pre-printing processing unit is controlled not to cause the pre-printing processing unit to perform sheet fixing. Characterized in that it comprises control means for the.

  According to the present invention, the printing time using the fingerprint removal mode can be shortened.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a print driver setting screen. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation screen displayed on an operation part. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration around a fixing unit of an image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a sheet feed stage selection screen displayed on an operation unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a paper media setting screen displayed on the operation unit. 3 is a diagram illustrating a paper type database stored in the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for setting a paper feed stage of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing according to the first embodiment. 3 is a diagram illustrating a paper type database stored in the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the printing operation determination process in fingerprint removal mode. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing in Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a paper media setting screen displayed on the operation unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing in Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows the trace of the fingerprint which remains on printed matter.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. . The same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

[Example 1]
[Configuration of image forming system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. In this image forming system, the client PCs 101 to 103 and the image forming apparatus 104 are connected to each other via a network 100 so that they can communicate with each other. The client PCs 101 to 103 are, for example, general PCs (information processing apparatuses). The image forming apparatus 104 is, for example, a printing apparatus that prints images and characters on a recording medium (hereinafter also referred to as a sheet) based on a received print job. The client PCs 101 to 103 can receive various types of information such as a status indicating the apparatus state of the image forming apparatus 104 and a printing error from the image forming apparatus 104.

  The client PCs 101 to 103 have the same configuration. Hereinafter, the client PC 101 will be described as an example, but the same applies to the client PCs 102 and 103. The client PC 101 includes a print driver 108 and a status display unit 107 that displays the status of the image forming apparatus 104 as modules. In the following description, the status display unit 107 is included and mounted in the print driver 108, but may be mounted separately from the print driver 108 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for the print driver 108 on the client PC 101. A print driver 108 corresponding to each image forming apparatus 104 that performs printing is mounted in the client PC 101 in advance, and the user selects a desired print driver 108 of the image forming apparatus 104 and submits a print job. The print driver 108 can accept designation of a plurality of output destinations 201 from the user. Here, the plurality of output destinations 201 are, for example, a printer, a user box, and a secure print. When outputting a printed matter from the image forming apparatus 104, the user designates “printer” as the output destination 201. In addition, when the user saves print job data in the image forming apparatus 104, the user designates “user box” as the output destination 201. The print driver 108 can switch print job processing in the image forming apparatus 104 in accordance with the output destination 201 specified by the user.

  The status display unit 107 displays a status indicating the apparatus state of the image forming apparatus 104 on the screen of the client PC 101 and notifies the user. Here, the status display unit 107 displays the status of the image forming apparatus 104 such as “idle state”, “printing”, “insufficient toner”, and print error statuses such as “no paper” and “paper jam”. Display to the user. The status display unit 107 can always obtain the status of the image forming apparatus 104 by making a status request to the registered image forming apparatus 104 at regular time intervals. Further, the status display unit 107 periodically updates the status display of the image forming apparatus 104 based on the result of the status request. Accordingly, the user can determine whether or not a print job can be submitted based on the latest status display of the image forming apparatus 104.

[Block Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
In this embodiment, a printing apparatus will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus. For example, the image forming apparatus 104 may be an apparatus having functions other than printing, such as a multi-function apparatus in which a plurality of functions are integrated, such as a copy and a scanner. As the image forming apparatus 104 in this embodiment, a printing apparatus having at least a printing configuration and a configuration for accepting a user operation can be used. The image forming apparatus 104 receives a print job submitted by the client PC 101 and executes printing based on the print job. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 104 includes a control unit 112, a job interpretation unit 109, an image forming unit 113, an image storage unit 111, a fixing unit 114, an operation unit 110, and a paper discharge unit 115 as functional blocks. . FIG. 1 shows only a part related to the operation for realizing the present embodiment in the configuration of a general image forming apparatus.

[Control unit 112]
The control unit 112 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and HDD. The control unit 112 starts an operation system (OS) by a boot program stored in the ROM, executes application programs stored in the HDD on the OS, and executes various processes. The control unit 112 controls each unit, and performs print processing in cooperation with other units based on the print job stored in the image storage unit 111. The print job describes information about the paper size, paper type, paper feed stage (sheet storage unit), paper discharge stage, and the like, and the control unit 112 executes the print job based on the information. Further, the control unit 112 stores the PDL code described in the print job in the image storage unit 111.

[Job Interpreting Unit 109]
The print job is described in a printer language called PDL code. The job interpretation unit 109 interprets print jobs submitted from the client PC 101 via the network 100 according to the order of submission. The job interpretation unit 109 interprets information such as the paper size, paper type, paper feed stage, and paper discharge stage, associates the interpreted information with the print job, and saves the information in the image storage unit 111. The print job is also set with a flag indicating whether the output data is character data or image data. As will be described later, the job interpretation unit 109 reads the flag and selects a print mode in which print processing is executed.

[Image forming unit 113]
The image forming unit 113 generates image data from the PDL code of the input print job. The process of generating image data from a PDL code is generally called rasterization (also called RIP). As described above, a flag indicating whether the output data is character data or image data is set in the print job. Further, the image forming unit 113 performs edge filter processing on the character data so that the ends of the characters are clean. In addition, smoothing filter processing is performed on the image data so that the image becomes smoother than the surrounding pixels.

[Image storage unit 111]
The image storage unit 111 includes a memory, an HDD, and the like, and temporarily stores the rasterized image data generated by the image forming unit 113 until the fixing unit 114 processes the image data. Further, the image storage unit 111 associates the interpretation result of the job interpretation unit 109 with the rasterized image data and stores them in units of jobs. The image storage unit 111 also stores a print job input from the client PC 101 using a PDL code. Further, the image storage unit 111 stores a paper feed stage database 800 shown in FIG. 8 and a paper type database 1100 shown in FIG.

[Operation unit 110]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 104. For example, the operation unit 110 includes a touch panel on a liquid crystal display (LCD). When the user presses the button 301 displayed on the displayed operation screen, the pressed information is transmitted to the control unit 112. In addition to the LCD, the operation unit 110 includes a start key, a stop key, a numeric keypad, and the like as hard keys 302.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 110. At the bottom of the operation screen, buttons for the user to select various functions are displayed as touch keys. For example, a schedule tab 404 for managing the schedule of a print job input to the image forming apparatus 104 and a job tab 405 for displaying and managing various job information such as a print job and a copy job are displayed. Also, a tray tab 406 for displaying the status of the paper feed tray and setting the type of recording medium such as printing paper, and a system tab 407 for managing the system of the image forming apparatus 104 are displayed.

[Fixing unit 114]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration around the fixing unit 114 of the image forming apparatus 104. The fixing unit 114 fixes the print image on the sheet based on the rasterized image data stored in the image storage unit 111. The laser driver 501 of the fixing unit 114 drives the laser emission unit 502 based on the image data input from the control unit 112. As a result, laser light modulated in accordance with the image data is emitted from the laser light emitting unit 502. The laser beam is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 503 while being scanned. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 503 by the irradiated laser light, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by toner supplied from the developing device. In synchronization with the laser light irradiation timing, a sheet is fed from each paper feed stage between the photosensitive drum 503 and the transfer unit 504 via the conveyance path, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 503 is fed. The image is transferred by the transfer unit 504 onto the sheet.

  In this embodiment, sheets are fed from the three-stage POD deck included in the manual feed or large-capacity feed deck 513 via the conveyance path 509 on the right side of the photosensitive drum. Note that the manual sheet feeding unit is attached instead of the large capacity sheet feeding deck 513 when the large capacity sheet feeding deck 513 is removed. Further, a sheet is fed from the main body cassette via a conveyance path 510 below the photosensitive drum. The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing roller pair 505 by driving the conveyance belt. The fixing roller pair is configured as a pair of a heating roller and a pressure roller. The fixing roller pair 505 heats the recording medium and fixes the toner image on the sheet. The sheet that has passed through the fixing roller pair 505 is discharged to a discharge accessory by a discharge roller pair 506. The paper discharge accessory is a device that performs post-processing (also referred to as finishing) such as sorting and stippling.

  Here, when the image forming apparatus 104 operates in a fingerprint removal mode to be described later, the fed sheet is temporarily fixed by the fixing unit 114 before printing (pre-printing processing), and the fixed sheet is flappered. In step 507, the paper is returned to the re-feed conveyance path 508. On the other hand, when double-sided printing is designated in the normal printing mode, the sheet is guided to the reverse path 511 by the flapper 507. Then, the sheet conveyed to 511 is guided to the refeed conveyance path 508 by the flapper 512. Then, the recording medium guided to the refeed conveyance path 508 is fed again between the photosensitive drum 503 and the transfer unit 504 at a predetermined timing, and the toner image is transferred to the back surface of the sheet.

  In this embodiment, in this way, the conveyance path in the fingerprint removal mode and the conveyance path in duplex printing are switched according to an instruction from the control unit 112.

[Discharge Unit 115]
The paper discharge unit 115 discharges the sheets fixed by the fixing unit 114 in the order set in the print job. The image forming apparatus 104 can apply various discharge accessories according to the finishing form set for the print job. In addition, the control unit 112 refers to each piece of information on the paper discharge accessory stored in the image forming apparatus 104, determines a compatible paper discharge function, and displays those finishing forms on the operation unit 110. be able to.

  When a print job is input from the client PC 101, the job interpretation unit 109 refers to information on each paper feed stage. The control unit 112 refers to information on each paper feed stage from the paper feed stage database 800 stored in the image storage unit 111. The control unit 112 can switch between the fingerprint removal mode and the normal print mode according to the information of each paper feed stage. Details will be described later.

[Job management screen]
The user presses the job tab 405 at the bottom of the operation screen during job management. FIG. 4 shows an operation screen displayed at that time. Based on the print job input from the client PC 101, the operation unit 110 arranges the print jobs in order from the top in the center of the operation screen in FIG. In the job list 403, new jobs are added to the bottom of the job list 403. In the job list 403, the name of the job, the number of pages, the number of sets (number of copies), job input time, elapsed time, media (sheet) information, and the like are displayed as items 408.

  The current status of the image forming apparatus 104 is displayed as an item 401 at the top of the operation screen in FIG. In FIG. 4, “Stopped” is displayed as the status. In the present embodiment, the operation screen of FIG. 4 is displayed at a stage immediately before suspending printing and assigning a paper feed stage to the print job. At the right end of the job list 403, the type, basis weight, size, and the like of the sheet used by the print job are displayed as media information. A newly input print job is displayed in the job list 403 together with information on the added sheet.

  As described above, the print driver 108 of the client PC 101 can receive various information such as a print error and a paper feed or paper discharge accessory from the image forming apparatus 104. The print driver 108 also receives information from the paper type database 1100 (described later) in FIG. 11 stored in the image storage unit 111 from the image forming apparatus 104. Based on the information, the print driver 108 can display the latest information about the latest correspondence between the respective paper feed stages and sheets of the image forming apparatus 104. The print driver 108 adds the media information selected by the user to the print job and transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 104. If the sheet corresponding to the sheet type assigned to the print job is associated with the paper feed stage at the time of printing based on the print job, the control unit 112 prints the sheet. I do. On the other hand, when the sheet corresponding to the sheet type assigned to the print job is not associated with the paper feed stage, the control unit 112 temporarily stops printing. At that time, the user associates the type of the recording medium with the paper feed stage for printing. When the user presses the portion of the media information 408 at the right end of the job list 403 on the operation screen in FIG. 4, the operation unit 110 displays a sheet feed stage selection screen for associating the sheet type with the sheet feed stage. 500 is displayed.

[Paper source settings]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper feed stage setting screen 600 displayed on the operation unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 104. The setting screen 600 is also displayed when the user presses the tray tab 406 of the operation screen in FIG. In the paper feed stage setting screen 600, paper feed accessory information 602 of each paper feed accessory configured in the image forming apparatus 104 is displayed. The paper feed accessory information 602 is displayed corresponding to the position where the actual paper feed accessory is configured.

  When the user adds a sheet to the paper feed stage or newly replenishes a sheet, the user selects the paper feed stage button 601 on the setting screen 600 and presses the assign button 603. The paper feed stage button 601 and the accessory arranged in the image forming apparatus 104 are interlocked, and the control unit 112 opens the cassette of the paper feed accessory at the same position as the button pressed by the user. The user adds or newly replenishes a sheet to be printed in the opened paper feed tray, and closes the cassette. When the control unit 112 detects that the cassette of the paper feed stage is closed by a sensor or the like, the control unit 112 causes the operation unit 110 to display a paper media setting screen.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper media setting screen displayed on the operation unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 104. The paper media setting screen 700 is a screen for setting the type and weight of the paper set in the paper feed stage by the user. The user can assign items 701 such as plain paper, recycled paper, and colored paper prepared in advance to the paper feed stage. For the paper size not displayed on the setting screen 700, the control unit 112 can detect the paper size from the position of the guide applied to the side surface of the sheet in the paper feed stage. The operation unit 110 displays a fingerprint removal mode ON / OFF button 702 on the paper media setting screen 700. By setting the button 702 to “ON”, the user can operate the image forming apparatus 104 in the fingerprint removal mode when printing a sheet fed from the paper feed tray. When the user sets the button 702 to “ON” by the user, the control unit 112 sets ON to the fingerprint removal mode item 801 of the paper feed stage of the paper feed stage database 800 stored in the image storage unit 111.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting a paper feed stage of the image forming apparatus 104 according to the present exemplary embodiment. Each process shown in FIG. 9 is executed, for example, when the CPU of the image forming apparatus 104 controls each part of the image forming apparatus 104 shown in FIG. The execution of this flowchart is started when the paper feed stage setting screen 600 is opened or when the tray tab 406 is pressed by the user.

  When the user presses the paper feed stage button 601 and presses the OK button 604, the control unit 112 opens the paper feed stage linked to the pressed paper feed stage button (S901). A sensor is installed in each paper feed stage, and the control unit 112 can recognize that the paper feed stage is opened or closed (an example of detection during replenishment). The control unit 112 sets “Open” in the paper feed stage Open item 806 of the paper feed stage database 800 in order to store that the paper feed stage is opened. When the paper feed tray is opened, that is, when sheets are replenished, the control unit 112 detects the remaining amount of sheets in the paper feed tray (S902). The control unit 112 can detect the remaining amount of sheets in units of several percent from the ratio when the full load state is 100% for each paper feed stage other than manual feed (an example of remaining amount detection). In particular, the control unit 112 determines whether the fingerprint of the current sheet bundle is based on the remaining amount of sheets at the time when the user opens and closes the paper feed tray in the paper feed tray on which the sheets whose printing surface is the bottom surface are stacked. It is possible to roughly specify the number of sheets from the top that will be attached.

  All items of the paper feed stage database 800 stored in the image storage unit 111 are updated each time the paper feed stage information is changed during printing, paper feed stage replacement, or the like. Accordingly, the latest information on the paper feed tray is always stored in the paper feed tray database 800. First, the control unit 112 acquires the remaining amount of sheets in the sheet feed tray that the user desires to input sheets from the item 802 in the sheet feed tray database 800. Then, when the sheet feeding stage is closed by the user, when the remaining amount of the sheet is detected again, the control unit 112 determines whether the remaining amount of the sheet is increased or decreased (S903). If it is determined that the remaining amount of sheets has increased, the control unit 112 stores the additional amount of sheets in the item 803 of the paper feed stage database 800. Further, the control unit 112 stores the time when the user closed the paper feed tray in the item 804 of the paper feed tray database 800 (S904). The control unit 112 also measures the elapsed time from that time, and stores the measured elapsed time in the item 804. When the user presses the paper feed tray setting screen 600 or the OK button 604 on the tray tab screen, the processing in this figure is terminated (S905).

[Select paper source and check mode]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing of the image forming apparatus 104 according to the present exemplary embodiment. For example, it is executed by the CPU of the image forming apparatus 104 controlling each part of the image forming apparatus 104 shown in FIG. As described above, when printing is performed by the image forming apparatus 104 and the paper type (sheet type) to be used does not exist in the paper feed stage, the user can use FIG. 6 and FIG. Associate with. The processing of this flowchart is executed before printing when the paper type specified in the print job is present in the paper feed stage. On the other hand, if the paper type does not exist in the paper feed stage, it is executed when the media information button 402 of the job list 403 is pressed by the user.

  When the user presses the media information button 402 in the job list 403, the control unit 112 displays a paper feed stage setting screen 600. When the user presses the media information button 402, information on sheets in each paper feed stage connected to the image forming apparatus 104 is displayed together with the paper feed stage image based on the paper feed stage database 800. It is displayed on the setting screen 600. When the user selects the paper feed stage button 601 on the paper feed stage setting screen 600 and presses the OK button 604, the control unit 112 associates the paper feed stage with the current print job to be processed. At that time, the control unit 112 can also select a plurality of paper feed stages and assign them to the print job.

  The control unit 112 determines whether or not the fingerprint removal mode item 801 of the paper feed stage database 800 stored in the image storage unit 111 is ON for the paper feed stage used for the print job (S1001). . When it is determined that the fingerprint removal mode item in the paper feed stage database 800 is ON, the control unit 112 selects a paper feed stage selected by the user from the paper type item in the paper feed stage database 800. Gets the set paper type.

  Next, the control unit 112 searches the media information set for the paper feed stage from the table stored as the paper type database 1100 in FIG. 11 stored in the image storage unit 111 (S1002). In the paper type database 1100, the paper type 1101 of each paper medium is associated with a fingerprint removal time 1102 that is a threshold for determining whether or not to perform fingerprint removal. The control unit 112 detects an elapsed time 804 from when the sheet is replenished to the sheet feed tray from the sheet feed tray database 800 (S1003).

  The control unit 112 replenishes the fingerprint removal time 1102 corresponding to the paper medium set in the print job from the paper feed stage database 800 and the sheet stored as the item 804 in the paper feed stage database 800. The elapsed time is compared (S1004). Here, when the predetermined time has not elapsed, that is, within the threshold value, the control unit 112 selects the fingerprint removal mode as the print mode (S1005). On the other hand, if the predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined that the fingerprint has disappeared, and the control unit 112 selects the normal print mode as the print mode (S1006).

  In this embodiment, if a sheet runs out during printing, if there is a sheet feed stage in which a sheet of the same type as the sheet type used for printing exists, the control unit 112 , Switch to the paper feed stage where the same sheet is set. Also in that case, the control unit 112 selects the print mode based on the flowchart of FIG.

[Print operation in fingerprint removal mode]
As described with reference to FIG. 5, in the image forming apparatus 104, the sheet passing through the sheet feeding conveyance path is reversed upside down and conveyed to the fixing unit according to the sheet feeding stage. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 104 stores model (mechanism) information corresponding to each paper feed stage as an item 805 in the paper feed stage database 800. The main body cassette 1 corresponds to the paper feed cassette of FIG. 5, and the POD decks 1 to 3 correspond to the three-stage POD decks of the large capacity paper feed deck 513. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the main body cassette 2 is a paper feed cassette that can be optionally attached to the image forming apparatus 104.

  When the user touches the sheet bundle, the fingerprints adhere to the upper surface of the uppermost paper and the lower surface of the lowermost paper of the sheet bundle. In the image forming apparatus 104, in the case of a conveyance path from a manual sheet feed stage (first sheet storage unit) connected so as to be fed to the conveyance path 509 (“manual feed model”), the sheet is being conveyed and turned upside down. Therefore, the upper surface with the top fingerprint of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 503 as a printing surface. Therefore, when the selected paper feed stage is the “manual feed model”, printing is performed in the fingerprint removal mode when the first recording medium is printed. The second and subsequent sheets are printed in the normal print mode.

  On the other hand, in the case of a conveyance path from the main cassette (second sheet storage unit) connected so as to be fed to the conveyance path 510 (“reversing cassette”), the sheet is reversed while being conveyed to the photosensitive drum 503. Will be in touch. Accordingly, when printing the first recording medium, printing is performed in the normal print mode. Further, since the lower surface of the bottom sheet of the added sheet bundle is inverted, the lower surface to which the fingerprint is attached comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 503 as a printing surface. Therefore, the control unit 112 calculates the approximate number of prints until the surface with the fingerprint attached contacts the photosensitive drum, based on the amount of additional paper indicated by the item 803 in the paper feed stage database 800. This can be calculated based on, for example, the number of pages that can be obtained in a state where sheets are fully loaded in the sheet feed stage and the current sheet remaining amount (%). The control unit 112 performs printing in the fingerprint removal mode such that the surface on which the fingerprint is attached is fed near, for example, from the fifth page to the tenth page. In this way, the image forming apparatus 104 switches the print mode according to the paper feed stage.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the printing operation determination process (printing control method) in the fingerprint removal mode. For example, it is executed by the CPU of the image forming apparatus 104 controlling each part of the image forming apparatus 104 shown in FIG. When the operation unit 110 displays the operation screen of FIG. 4, the control unit 112 starts executing this flowchart. The control unit 112 detects model information of each paper feed stage from the item 805 of the paper feed stage database 800 (S1201). The control unit 112 determines whether or not the upside down of the sheet occurs in the conveyance path for each paper feed stage from the model information of the paper feed stage (S1202). If it is determined that the recording medium is not turned upside down in the conveyance path, the control unit 112 prints only the first sheet in the fingerprint removal mode (S1303). This is the case, for example, when paper is fed from a paper feed stage connected so as to feed paper to the transport path 509 in FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that the upside down occurs, the control unit 112 prints a sheet near the additional sheet amount in the fingerprint removal mode (S1204). This is the case, for example, when paper is fed from a paper feed stage connected so as to feed paper to the conveyance path 510 in FIG.

[Example 2]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing of the image forming apparatus 104 according to the present exemplary embodiment. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the process of S1301 in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the job interpretation unit 109 interprets the PDL code of the print job input from the client PC 101, and determines whether the print output information is character information or image information from the interpretation result. (An example of job determination). The determination result is used when the image forming unit 113 executes the image forming process. For example, if the character information is determined, filter processing is performed so that the end of the character is clean (edge processing). If it is determined that the image information is included, a filter process is performed so that the image is smoother than the surrounding pixels (smoothing process).

  13 is executed after it is determined in S1001 that the fingerprint removal mode item 801 of the paper feed stage database 800 is ON. When printing, the image forming apparatus 104 proceeds to step S1002 in order to change the print mode in units of pages based on the interpretation result of the PDL code of the print job input from the client PC 101. If the interpretation result indicates that the print output information is character information, the control unit 112 proceeds to S1006 to select the normal print mode. On the other hand, when the interpretation result indicates that the print output information is image information, the control unit 112 selects the fingerprint removal mode. In the present embodiment, when the printed matter is an image, the attachment of the fingerprint becomes visually noticeable, so printing is performed in the fingerprint removal mode. Further, when the printed matter is a character, the attachment of fingerprints is not visually noticeable, and printing is performed in the normal print mode. As a result, the printing process time can be shortened and the efficiency can be improved. If it is determined in step S1301 that image information and character information are mixed in the print output information, the process advances to step S1002 to select a fingerprint removal mode.

Example 3
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print mode selection processing of the image forming apparatus 104 according to the present exemplary embodiment. The present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the process of S1501 in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the image storage unit 111 manages the paper type 1101 and the fingerprint removal time 1102 of each paper medium in the paper type database 1100. In the paper type 1101, paper types such as plain paper and recycled paper are set, and are associated with the paper type database 1100.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper media setting screen displayed on the operation unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 104. The setting screen of FIG. 14 is displayed by pressing a detailed setting button 703 for each paper displayed on the paper media setting screen 700 of FIG. The setting screen 1400 in FIG. 14 is displayed when setting whether to perform the fingerprint removal mode for each paper type. The user can set whether or not to print in the fingerprint removal mode for each paper type by pressing the ON / OFF button 1401 of the fingerprint removal mode displayed on the setting screen 1400. When the user sets ON, the fingerprint removal mode ON / OFF button 702 displayed on the paper media setting screen 700 is grayed out.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 104 can switch the print mode between the fingerprint removal mode and the normal print mode using the initial setting for each paper type when printing. For example, when printing on paper such as recycled paper that is pre-printed, the fingerprint removal mode is not used. In step S1501, the control unit 112 detects the paper type of the recording medium set in the paper feed stage, and proceeds to step S1003 to switch the print mode to the fingerprint removal mode according to the paper type.

  The functions shown in the flowcharts in this embodiment can also be realized by executing software (programs) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a computer personal computer.

Claims (7)

A printing apparatus including a sheet storage unit for storing a sheet for printing,
Replenishment detection means for detecting when a sheet is replenished in the sheet storage unit;
When printing on a sheet fed from the sheet storage unit, pre-printing processing means for fixing by a fixing device before printing the sheet;
Measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from when the sheet is replenished to the sheet storage unit;
If the elapsed time from when the sheet to be printed is replenished to the sheet storage unit detected by the replenishment detection unit is within a threshold value, the pre-printing processing unit is caused to execute fixing of the sheet. Control means for controlling the pre-printing processing means so as not to cause the pre-printing processing means to perform sheet fixing if the threshold is exceeded;
A printing apparatus comprising: A table in which a sheet type and the threshold are associated with each other;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the threshold value associated with a sheet type set in the sheet storage unit with reference to the table.   The apparatus further comprises a conveying unit that conveys the sheet fixed by the pre-printing processing unit to an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet again using a conveyance path for performing double-sided printing. The printing apparatus according to 1 or 2.   4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls execution of sheet fixing by the pre-printing processing unit in accordance with a sheet type specified in a print job. 5. Printing device. Job determination means for determining whether the print job specifies image data or character data; and
The control unit controls the pre-printing processing unit to cause the pre-printing processing unit to perform sheet fixing when the job determining unit determines that the print job specifies image data. Controlling the pre-printing processing unit so that the pre-printing processing unit does not fix the sheet when it is determined that the print job specifies character data;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls execution of sheet fixing by the pre-printing processing unit in accordance with a designation from a user. A printing control method executed by a printing apparatus including a sheet storage unit that stores a sheet for printing,
A replenishment detection step of detecting when the sheet is replenished in the sheet storage unit by a replenishment detection unit of the printing apparatus;
When the pre-printing processing unit of the printing apparatus performs printing on a sheet fed from the sheet storage unit, a pre-printing process step of fixing by a fixing device before printing the sheet;
A measuring step in which the measuring unit of the printing apparatus measures an elapsed time from when the sheet is replenished to the sheet storage unit;
If the elapsed time from when the sheet to be printed is replenished to the sheet storage unit detected in the replenishment detection step is within a threshold by the control unit of the printing apparatus, the pre-printing process step The pre-printing process is controlled so as to execute fixing of the sheet in step S1, and if the threshold is exceeded, the pre-printing process is controlled so as not to execute fixing of the sheet in the pre-printing process. Control process;
A printing control method characterized by comprising: