JP4475619B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing apparatus control method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present inventionInformation processing apparatus, information processing apparatus control method, andThe present invention relates to a storage medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Multiple pages can be reduced by a processing method on the host side such as once spooling the print data and processing the appearance. In this method, the upper limit of the number of pages allocated to one page is currently about 16. In addition, an effect is provided such that a page frame is added to the print data subjected to reduced layout.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Although the above-mentioned frame line is effective as a cut line, the frame line as the cut line is necessary only on one side during double-sided printing. However, the current page frame function has a problem in that a frame is drawn on both sides during double-sided printing, and the frame is shifted on the front and back surfaces due to paper feed errors. The present invention has been made in order to efficiently use a page frame as a cut line as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide printing that effectively adds a cut line.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The present invention achieves the above object.Information processing deviceHas the following configuration.
[0005]
  That is,The information processing apparatus includes setting means for setting the number of pages drawn on the surface of the paper,
Designating means for designating drawing of the frame of the page on the back surface of the paper;
When the setting means is set to draw a plurality of pages on the surface of the paper, and the setting means specifies to draw a page border on the back surface of the paper, the setting means A plurality of pages are drawn on the front surface of the paper according to the setting of the page, a page border is not drawn on the front surface of the paper, and a plurality of pages are drawn on the front surface of the paper on the back surface of the paper. Generation means for generating print data in which a corresponding frame line is drawn and a page is not drawn on the back side of the paper.
[0006]
  That is,An information processing apparatus for rendering pages on both sides of the paper; and setting means for setting the number of pages to be rendered on the surface of the paper;
Designating means for designating drawing of a page border on the back side of the paper;
The setting unit is set to draw a page on both sides of the paper and a plurality of pages are drawn on the side of the paper, and the designating unit draws a page border on the back side of the paper A plurality of odd pages are drawn on the surface of the paper according to the setting of the setting means, and no page border is drawn on the surface of the paper. Generating means for generating print data such that a plurality of even pages are drawn on the back side of the paper according to the setting and a frame of the page is drawn on the back side of the paper.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an embodiment suitable for applying the present invention will be described.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printer control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, a connection is made through a network such as a LAN or a WAN, even if it is a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices. The present invention can be applied even to a system.
[0010]
In the figure, the host computer 3000 executes document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets, etc.) are mixed based on the document processing program stored in the ROM 3 program ROM or the external memory 11. The CPU 1 generally controls each device connected to the system bus 4. Further, an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) which is a control program of the CPU 1 is recorded in the program ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11, and the font ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11 is used for the above document processing. Font data to be used is recorded, and various data to be used when the document processing is performed is recorded in the data ROM of the ROM 3 or the external memory 11. The RAM 2 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 1.
[0011]
A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 10. A disk controller (DKC) 7 is a hard disk (HD), floppy disk (FD), etc. for recording a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), etc. The access to the external memory 11 is controlled. A printer controller (PRTC) 8 is connected to the printer 1500 via a bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 1500.
[0012]
The CPU 1 executes, for example, an outline font rasterization process on the display information RAM set on the RAM 2 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 10. Further, the CPU 1 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 10 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window related to print settings, and can set the print processing method for the printer driver, including printer settings and print mode selection.
[0013]
The printer 1500 is controlled by the CPU 12. The printer CPU 12 outputs an image as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected to the system bus 15 based on a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program stored in the external memory 14. Output a signal. Further, the control program of the CPU 12 and the like are stored in the program ROM of the ROM 13. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data used when generating the output information. In the case of a printer that does not have the external memory 14 such as a hard disk in the data ROM of the ROM 13, the data is stored on the host computer. Information to be used is stored.
[0014]
The CPU 12 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 18 and can notify the host computer 3000 of information in the printer. The RAM 19 is a RAM that functions as a main memory, a work area, or the like of the CPU 12, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 19 is used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 20. The external memory 14 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. Reference numeral 18 denotes an operation panel described above, on which switches for operation, LED indicators, and the like are arranged.
[0015]
The external memory 14 described above is not limited to one, and a plurality of external memories 14 are provided. In addition to the built-in font, a plurality of external memories storing an option card and a program for interpreting a printer control language having a different language system can be connected. May be. Furthermore, the illustrated NVRAM may be provided to store printer mode setting information from the operation panel 1501.
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of typical print processing in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is directly connected or connected via a network. The application 201, the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203, and the system spooler 204 exist as files stored in the external memory 11, and when executed, are loaded into the RAM 2 and executed by the OS and modules using the modules. It is a program module. The application 201 and the printer driver 203 can be added to the HD of the external disk 11 via the FD of the external memory 11, a CD-ROM (not shown), or a network (not shown). The application 201 stored in the external memory 11 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed. When printing is performed from the application 201 to the printer 1500, the graphic that is similarly loaded into the RAM 2 and executable. Output (drawing) is performed using the engine 202.
[0017]
The graphic engine 202 similarly loads the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 11 to the RAM 2, and sets the output of the application 201 in the printer driver 203. Then, the GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function received from the application 201 is converted into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function, and the DDI function is output to the printer driver 203. Based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 202, the printer driver 203 converts it into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, for example, PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 1500 via the interface 21 via the system spooler 204 loaded into the RAM 2 by the OS.
[0018]
In addition to the print control system comprising the printer and host computer shown in FIG. 2, the print control system of this embodiment has a configuration in which print data from an application is temporarily spooled with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. .
[0019]
FIG. 3 is an extension of the system shown in FIG. 2 and has a configuration in which a spool file 303 including an intermediate code is temporarily generated when a print command is sent from the graphic engine 202 to the printer driver 203. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the application 201 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 203 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 202 into printer control commands. On the other hand, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the spooler 302 converts all print commands into intermediate code data and outputs the intermediate code data to the spool file 303. The latter usually requires less time. In the system shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the spool file 303 can be processed. As a result, it is possible to realize functions that the application does not have, such as enlargement / reduction or printing by reducing a plurality of pages into one page with respect to print data from the application.
[0020]
For these purposes, the system of FIG. 2 has been expanded to spool with intermediate code data as shown in FIG. In order to process the print data, settings are normally made from a window provided by the printer driver 203, and the printer driver 203 stores the setting contents on the RAM 2 or the external memory 11.
[0021]
Details of FIG. 3 will be described below. As shown in the figure, in this expanded processing method, the dispatcher 301 receives a print command from the graphic engine 202. If the print command received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is a print command issued from the application 201 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 loads the spooler 302 stored in the external memory 11 into the RAM 2 to print the printer. A print command is sent to the spooler 302 instead of the driver 203.
[0022]
The spooler 302 converts the received print command into an intermediate code and outputs it to the spool file 303. In addition, the spooler 302 acquires the processing settings relating to the print data set for the printer driver 203 from the printer driver 203 and stores them in the spool file 303. The spool file 303 is generated as a file on the external memory 11, but may be generated on the RAM 2. Further, the spooler 302 loads the spool file manager 304 stored in the external memory 11 into the RAM 2 and notifies the spool file manager 304 of the generation status of the spool file 303. Thereafter, the spool file manager 304 determines whether printing can be performed in accordance with the contents of the processing settings relating to the print data stored in the spool file 303.
[0023]
When the spool file manager 304 determines that printing can be performed using the graphic engine 202, the intermediate code described in the spool file 303 is printed on the despooler 305 stored in the external memory 11. Instruct to do.
[0024]
The despooler 305 processes the intermediate code included in the spool file 303 according to the contents of the processing setting included in the spool file 303 and outputs the processed code again via the graphic engine 202.
[0025]
If the print command received by the dispatcher 301 from the graphic engine 202 is a print command issued from the despooler 305 to the graphic engine 202, the dispatcher 301 sends the print command to the printer driver 203 instead of the spooler 302.
[0026]
The printer driver 203 generates a printer control command and outputs it to the printer 1500 via the system spooler 204.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer having a double-sided printing function, which is an example of the printer 1500.
[0028]
This printer forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the photosensitive drum 15 with a polygon mirror 31 with laser light modulated with image data for each color obtained based on print data input from the host computer 3000. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to obtain a visible image, and this is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 9 for all colors to form a color visible image. Further, this color visible image is transferred to the transfer material 2, and the color visible image is fixed on the transfer material 2. The image forming unit that performs the above control includes a drum unit having a photosensitive drum 15, a primary charging unit having a contact charging roller 17, a cleaning unit, a developing unit, an intermediate transfer body 9, a paper cassette 1, and various rollers 3, 4, 5, 7, a transfer unit including the transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit 25.
[0029]
The drum unit 13 is configured integrally with a photosensitive drum (photoconductor) 15 and a cleaner container 14 having a cleaning mechanism that also serves as a holder for the photosensitive drum 15. The drum unit 13 is detachably supported with respect to the printer main body, and can be easily replaced in accordance with the life of the photosensitive drum 15. The photosensitive drum 15 is configured by applying an organic photoconductor layer to the outer periphery of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by the cleaner container 14. The photosensitive drum 15 rotates when a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted. The driving motor rotates the photosensitive drum 15 in a counterclockwise direction according to an image forming operation. An electrostatic latent image is formed by selectively exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 15. In the scanner unit 30, the modulated laser light is reflected by a polygon mirror that rotates in synchronization with the horizontal synchronizing signal of the image signal by the motor 31 a, and irradiates the photosensitive drum through the lens 32 and the reflecting mirror 33.
[0030]
The developing unit includes three color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C for developing yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), and black ( And a single black developing device 21B that performs the development of B). The color developing units 20Y, 20M, and 20C and the black developing unit 21B include a sleep 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS, and coating blades 20YB, 20MB, 20CB, and 21BB that are in pressure contact with the outer periphery of each of the sleeps 20YS, 20MS, 20CS, and 21BS. And are provided respectively. The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are provided with application rollers 20YR, 20MR, and 20CR.
[0031]
Further, the black developing device 21B is detachably attached to the printer main body, and the color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are detachably attached to the developing rotary 23 that moves around the rotation shaft 22, respectively. .
[0032]
The sleep 21BS of the black developing device 21B is arranged with a minute interval of about 300 μm, for example, with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. The black developing device 21B conveys the toner by a feeding member built in the device, and imparts a charge to the toner by frictional charging so as to be applied to the outer periphery of the sleep 21BS rotating in the clockwise direction by the coating blade 21BB. Further, by applying a developing bias to the sleep 21BS, the photosensitive drum 15 is developed according to the electrostatic latent image, and a visible image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15 with black toner.
[0033]
The three color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C rotate with the rotation of the developing rotary 23 during image formation, and the predetermined sleeps 20YS, 20MS, and 20CS have a minute interval of about 300 μm with respect to the photosensitive drum 15. Will face each other. As a result, the predetermined color developing devices 20Y, 20M, and 20C are stopped at the developing position facing the photosensitive drum 15, and a visible image is created on the photosensitive drum 15.
[0034]
At the time of color image formation, the developing rotary 23 rotates every rotation of the intermediate transfer member 9, and the developing process is performed in the order of the yellow developing device 20Y, the magenta developing device 20M, the cyan developing device 20C, and then the black developing device 21B. The intermediate transfer member 9 rotates four times to sequentially form a night visible image on each of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. As a result, a full color visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 9.
[0035]
The intermediate transfer member 9 is configured to contact the photosensitive drum 15 and rotate as the photosensitive drum 15 rotates. The intermediate transfer member 9 rotates clockwise when forming a color image and is visible four times from the photosensitive drum 15. Receive multiple images. Further, the intermediate transfer member 9 simultaneously transfers the color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 onto the transfer material 2 by nipping and conveying the transfer material 2 by contact with a transfer roller 10 described later at the time of image formation. At the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member, a TOP sensor 9a and an RS sensor 9b for detecting the position in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member 9, and a density sensor for detecting the density of the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer member. 9c is arranged.
[0036]
The transfer roller 10 includes a transfer charger that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the photosensitive drum 15, and is configured by winding a metal shaft with a medium resistance foamed elastic body.
[0037]
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the transfer roller 10 is separated downward so as not to disturb the color visible image while the multiple color visible image is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 9. After the four color visible images are formed on the intermediate transfer member 9, the transfer roller 10 is shown by a dotted line by a cam member (not shown) in accordance with the timing of transferring the color visible image to the transfer material 2. Is located in the information indicated by. As a result, the transfer roller 10 is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 9 via the transfer material 2 with a predetermined pressing force, and a bias voltage is applied to transfer the color visible image on the intermediate transfer member 9 to the transfer material 2.
[0038]
The fixing unit 25 fixes the transferred color visible image while conveying the transfer 2, and a fixing roller 26 for heating the transfer material 2 and a pressure roller for pressing the transfer material 2 against the fixing roller 26. 27. The fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 are formed in a hollow shape, and heaters 28 and 29 are incorporated therein, respectively. That is, the transfer material 2 holding the color visible image is conveyed by the fixing roller 26 and the pressure roller 27, and the toner is fixed on the surface by applying heat and pressure.
[0039]
The transfer material 2 after fixing the visible image is then discharged to the paper discharge unit 37 by the paper discharge rollers 34, 35, and 36, and the image forming operation is completed.
[0040]
The cleaning unit cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 15 and the intermediate transfer member 9, and the waste toner after the transfer of the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 15 to the intermediate transfer member 9 is performed. And stored in the cleaner container 14.
[0041]
The transfer material (recording paper) 2 to be printed is taken out from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller 3 and conveyed so as to be sandwiched between the intermediate transfer member 9 and the transfer roller 10 to record a color toner image. Then, the toner image passes through the fixing unit 25 and is fixed. In the case of single-sided printing, the conveyance path is formed so that the guide 38 guides the recording sheet to the information paper discharge unit, but for screen printing, the path is formed so as to guide to the lower duplex unit.
[0042]
The recording sheet guided to the duplex unit is once fed to the lower part of the tray 1 (conveying path indicated by a two-dot chain line) by the conveying roller 40 and then conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent to the duplex tray 39. On the double-sided tray 39, the front and back sides of the sheet placed on the sheet feeding tray 1 are reversed, and the front and back are reversed in the transport direction. Double-sided printing can be performed by transferring and fixing the toner image again in this state.
[0043]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process of the page unit storage step in the generation of the spool file 303 in the spooler 302.
[0044]
First, in step S501, a print request from an application is received. In the application, a dialog for inputting print settings as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the print settings input from this dialog are passed to the spooler 303 from the printer driver. The setting input dialog shown in FIG. 8 includes setting items such as 801 for determining the number of logical pages to be laid out on one physical page.
[0045]
In step S502, it is determined whether the received print request is a job start request. If it is determined in step S502 that it is a job start request, the process proceeds to step S503, and the spool file 303 for temporarily storing intermediate data is stored. Create In step S504, the spool file manager 304 is notified of the progress of the printing process. In step S505, the page number counter of the spooler 302 is initialized to 1. Here, the spool file manager 304 reads job information, processing settings, and the like for the job for which printing has started from the spool file 303 and stores it.
[0046]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S502 that the request is not a job start request, the process proceeds to step S506.
[0047]
In step S506, it is determined whether the received request is a job end request. If it is determined that the request is not a job end request, the process advances to step S507 to determine whether the page is a page break. If it is determined in step S507 that the page is a page break, the process advances to step S508 to notify the spool file manager 304 of the progress of the printing process. Then, the page number counter is incremented.
[0048]
If it is determined in step S507 that the received print request is not a page break, the process advances to step S509 to prepare for intermediate file writing.
[0049]
In step S510, a conversion process for storing the print request in the spool file 303 is performed. In step S511, the print request converted into a form that can be stored in step S510 is written into the spool file 303. Thereafter, the process returns to step S501 to accept a print request from the application again. The series of processing from step S501 to step S511 is continued until a job end request is received from the application.
[0050]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S506 that the print request from the application is the end of the job, all the print requests from the application are complete, so the process proceeds to step 512 and the print processing progress to the spool file manager 304 is completed. And finish the process.
[0051]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the control in the spool file manager 304 between the spool file 303 generation process and the print data generation process described below.
[0052]
In step S601, a print processing progress notification from the spooler 302 or the despooler 305 is received.
[0053]
In step S602, it is determined whether or not the progress notification is a print start notification from the spooler 302 notified in the above-described step S504. If so, the process proceeds to step S603 to read the print processing settings from the spool file 303. Start job management. On the other hand, if the print start notification is from the spooler 302 in step S602, the process proceeds to step S604, and it is determined whether the progress notification is a print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302 notified in step 508 described above. If it is a notification of printing completion of one logical page, the process proceeds to step 605 to store logical page information for this logical page.
[0054]
In subsequent step S606, it is determined whether printing of one physical page can be started for the n logical pages for which spooling has been completed at this time. If printing is possible, the process advances to step S607 to determine the physical page number from the logical number assigned to one physical page to be printed.
[0055]
Regarding the calculation of the physical page, for example, when the processing setting is such that four logical pages are arranged in one physical page, the first physical page can be printed when the fourth logical page is spooled, and the first physical page is printed. It becomes a page. Subsequently, the second physical page can be printed when the eighth logical page is spooled.
[0056]
Even if the total number of logical pages is not a multiple of the number of logical pages arranged in one physical page. The logical page to be arranged in one physical page can be determined by the spool end notification in step 512.
[0057]
In step S608, the despooler 305 is notified of the logical page number constituting the physical page that can be printed and information such as the physical page number in the format shown in FIG. Thereafter, the process returns to step S601 and waits for the next notification. In the present embodiment, print processing can be performed even if all the print jobs are not spooled when one page of print data, that is, a logical page constituting one physical page is spooled.
[0058]
On the other hand, in step S604, if the progress notification is not a print end notification of one logical page from the spooler 302, the process proceeds to step S609, and it is determined whether the job end notification is issued from the spooler 302 notified in the above-described step S512. . If it is a job end notification, the process proceeds to step S606 described above. On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification, the process advances to step 610 to determine whether or not the received notification is a print end notification for one physical page from the despooler 305. If it is a print end notification for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 612, where it is determined whether all of the processing settings have been printed. When printing is completed, the process proceeds to step 612, and the despooler 305 is notified of printing completion. On the other hand, if it is determined that printing for the processing setting has not yet been completed, the processing proceeds to step 606 described above. The despooler 305 in this embodiment assumes that the number of physical pages that can be simultaneously printed is one.
[0059]
If it is determined in step 610 that it is not a print end notification for one physical page from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 613 to determine whether it is a print end notification from the despooler 305. If it is determined that the print end notification is received from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 614 to delete the spool file 303 and finish the process. On the other hand, if the print end notification is not received from the despooler 305, the process proceeds to step 615 to perform other normal processing and wait for the next notification.
[0060]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the print data generation process in the despooler 305.
[0061]
In response to a print request from the spool file manager 304, the despooler 305 reads out necessary information from the spool file 303 and generates print data. A method of transferring the generated print data to the printer is as described with reference to FIG.
[0062]
In the generation of print data, first, in step 701, the notification from the spool file manager 304 is input. In the subsequent step 702, it is determined whether or not the input notification is a job end notification. If the input notification is a job end notification, the process proceeds to step 703. . On the other hand, if it is not a job end notification in step 702, the process proceeds to step 704, where it is determined whether a print start request for one physical page in step 608 is notified. If it is determined that the print start request is for one physical page, the process proceeds to step 705 to generate print data for the designated physical page from the information shown in FIG. 9 and the spool file 303 passed from the spool file manager 304. Read the necessary information and print it. In the printing process, the print request command stored in the spool file 303 is converted into a format recognizable by the graphic engine 202 in the despooler 305 and transferred. As in the present embodiment, processing settings for laying out a plurality of logical pages on one physical page are converted in this step while taking reduced arrangement into consideration.
[0063]
When the necessary print processing is completed, in step 706, the spool file manager 304 is notified of the print data generation completion of one physical page. Then, the process returns to step 701 and waits for the next notification.
[0064]
On the other hand, if it is not determined as a start request in step 704, the process proceeds to step 707, performs other normal processing, returns to step 701, and waits for the next notification.
[0065]
Hereinafter, a method for adding a frame line in the present embodiment will be described.
[0066]
FIG. 10 is an example of a multi-page printing setting screen. Multiple page printing is set from the page layouts listed in 1001. The setting screen is displayed by the printer driver 202 and necessary allocation is performed. Further, as indicated by 1002, the paper orientation can also be set. Furthermore, a page frame can be set by pressing a button 1003.
[0067]
FIG. 11 is an example of a page frame setting screen displayed by pressing 1003. 1001 lists the types of frame lines, and 1102 can specify whether or not to attach a frame line to the back surface. 1102 can be selected when double-sided printing is designated.
[0068]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the printing process in the case where “only the frame line can be put on the back” is designated in FIG.
[0069]
In step 1301, the number P of pages to be printed and N of N page printing are acquired. Also, the counter I is initialized to 1.
[0070]
If it is determined in step 1302 that the counter I is greater than P, the printing is terminated and the process is terminated. Otherwise, go to step 1303.
[0071]
In step 1303, the output paper size is acquired.
[0072]
In step 1304, the binding position and binding margin are acquired.
[0073]
In step 1305, an effective print area is calculated. At this time, the binding positions of the front surface and the back surface are opposite.
[0074]
In step 1306, the area in which each logical page is drawn is divided.
[0075]
In step 1307, it is determined whether to draw the front side or the back side. In step 1308, logical page data is drawn for each divided area on the surface. In the drawing method, the divided area is reduced to the maximum size that fits the paper size, and the portion where the margin is generated is drawn by centering.
[0076]
In step 1309, the counter i is incremented by N.
[0077]
In step 1310, a frame line is drawn for each logical division area on the back surface. As in the case of 1308, the drawing method is reduced to the maximum area where the paper size can be accommodated, and the centering is performed for the portion where the margin is generated. The frame line is drawn so as to represent the paper size.
[0078]
By drawing the frame line only on the back side by the above processing, it becomes possible to efficiently draw the frame line as a cut line.
(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the method for drawing the drawing data only on the front surface has been described. However, in this embodiment, the page data is drawn on the back surface in consideration of cutting, and the frame line is drawn only on the back surface. explain. In this case, 1102 in FIG. 13 is replaced with an expression such as “attach the frame only to the back surface”.
[0079]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of this embodiment.
In step 1301, the number P of pages to be printed and the value N of N page printing are acquired. Also, the counter I is initialized to 1.
[0080]
In step 1401, the sheet orientation 1001 and the Nup print order 801 are acquired.
[0081]
If it is determined in step 1302 that the counter I is greater than P, the printing is terminated and the process is terminated. Otherwise, go to step 1303.
[0082]
In step 1303, the output paper size is acquired.
[0083]
In step 1304, the binding position and binding margin are acquired.
[0084]
In step 1305, the area where each logical page is drawn is divided.
[0085]
In step 1307, it is determined whether to draw the front side or the back side. In step 1402, odd-numbered logical page data is drawn for each divided area on the surface. In the drawing method, the divided area is reduced to the maximum size that fits the paper size, and the portion where the margin is generated is drawn by centering.
[0086]
In step 1403, even logical page data is drawn for each divided area on the back surface. In the drawing method, the divided area is reduced to the maximum size that fits the paper size, and the portion where the margin is generated is drawn by centering.
[0087]
In step 1310, a frame line is drawn for each logical division area on the back surface. As in the case of 1308, the drawing method is reduced to the maximum area where the paper size can be accommodated, and the centering is performed for the portion where the margin is generated. The frame line is drawn so as to represent the paper size.
[0088]
In step 1404, the counter i is incremented by N.
[0089]
In step 606 described in the first embodiment, whether or not printing is possible is determined in units of paper, not in units of physical pages. For example, when the processing setting is such that four logical pages are arranged on one physical page, the first sheet composed of the first physical page and the second physical page is the time when the eighth logical page is spooled. Printing becomes possible.
[0090]
FIG. 15 is a table summarizing how logical pages are arranged with respect to the printing order and paper orientation of N-page printing at the time of backside drawing in step 1403 in FIG. In the figure, LRTB is located from the upper left to the right, RLTB is located from the upper left to the lower side, TBLR is located from the upper left to the lower side, and TBRL is located from the upper right to the lower side.
[0091]
For example, when printing a portrait in the 4-page printing from the upper left to the right and in the binding direction Long Edge, the even pages are drawn so as to be arranged in the RLTB, that is, from the upper right to the left. On the other hand, the odd-numbered pages may be arranged in the printing order in step 1402.
[0092]
With the above process, in addition to adding a border on the back side, drawing data is also printed on the back side, and double-sided printing is printed so that double-sided printing is correctly arranged even after cutting. To do.
[0093]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (copier, printer, facsimile device, etc.) composed of a single device. You may apply to.
Another object of the present invention is to read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium by the computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus, which stores the program code of the software that realizes the retreating brain described above. Is also achieved.
[0094]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0095]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0096]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instruction of the program code. Also included is a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0097]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the printing control system, the printing control method, and the storage medium according to the present invention are a system including an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer connected to a printer capable of duplex printing. Means for reducing and laying out a plurality of pages into one page, frame line drawing means for drawing a frame line for page data from an application, and when performing double-sided printing in the information processing apparatus, In addition, it is possible to provide printing for effectively adding a cut line by providing a frame line drawing surface designating unit for designating whether to perform the above or only on the back surface.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a typical print system of a host computer to which a printer is connected.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system that temporarily spools an intermediate code before converting a print command from an application into a printer control command.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in the spooler 305;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing print control and physical page number determination in the spool file manager 304;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing in the despooler 305;
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format that is passed when the spool file manager 304 makes a physical page print request to the despooler 305;
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for printing multiple pages.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page frame setting screen.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for duplex printing.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing of the first embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing of the second embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a diagram summarizing the layout of logical pages with respect to the printing order and paper orientation of N-page printing.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 CPU
2 RAM
3 ROM
4 System bus
12 CPU
13 ROM
19 RAM
3000 Host computer
1500 printer

Claims (7)

Setting means for setting the number of pages to be drawn on the surface of the paper;
Designating means for designating drawing of the frame of the page on the back surface of the paper;
When the setting means is set to draw a plurality of pages on the surface of the paper, and the setting means specifies to draw a page border on the back surface of the paper, the setting means A plurality of pages are drawn on the front surface of the paper according to the setting of the page, a page border is not drawn on the front surface of the paper, and a plurality of pages are drawn on the front surface of the paper on the back surface of the paper. Generating means for generating print data in which a corresponding frame line is drawn and a page is not drawn on the back side of the paper;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A conversion means for converting the print command output from the application into intermediate data;
Spool means for spooling the intermediate data converted by the conversion means,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the print data based on the intermediate data spooled by the spool unit. Drawing means on both sides of the paper, and setting means for setting the number of pages drawn on the paper surface;
Designating means for designating the drawing of a page border on the back side of the paper;
The setting unit is set to draw a page on both sides of the paper and a plurality of pages are drawn on the side of the paper, and the designating unit draws a page border on the back side of the paper A plurality of odd pages are drawn on the surface of the paper according to the setting of the setting means, and no page border is drawn on the surface of the paper. Generating means for generating print data such that a plurality of even-numbered pages are drawn on the back side of the paper according to the setting, and a page border is drawn on the back side of the paper;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A setting step in which the setting means sets the number of pages drawn on the surface of the paper;
A designating step of designating that the designating means draws a border of the page on the back side of the paper;
When the setting step is set to draw a plurality of pages on the surface of the paper and the designating step is designated to draw the frame of the page on the back surface of the paper, the generating unit A plurality of pages are drawn on the front surface of the paper according to the setting of the setting step, and a page border is not drawn on the front surface of the paper, and is drawn on the front surface of the paper on the back surface of the paper A generation step of generating print data in which frame lines corresponding to a plurality of pages are drawn and a page is not drawn on the back surface of the paper;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: A conversion step in which the conversion means converts the print command output from the application into intermediate data;
A spooling step for spooling the intermediate data converted in the converting step;
5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the generation step generates the print data based on the intermediate data spooled in the spool step. A setting step in which the setting means draws pages on both sides of the paper and sets the number of pages to be drawn on the paper surface;
A designating step for designating that the designating means draws a page border on the back side of the paper;
It is set to draw pages on both sides of the paper by the setting step and to draw a plurality of pages on the surface of the paper, and the border of the page is drawn on the back side of the paper by the specifying step. When it is specified that the generation means, a plurality of odd pages are drawn on the surface of the paper according to the setting of the setting step, and the page border is not drawn on the surface of the paper, and A generation step of generating print data such that a plurality of even pages are drawn on the back side of the paper according to the setting of the setting step, and a frame of the page is drawn on the back side of the paper;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: A storage medium readable by a computer, characterized in that storing a program for executing a control method by a computer in an information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

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