JP6524854B2 - IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM, PROCESSING EXECUTION CONTROL DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND CONTROL PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, a processing execution control device, an image processing method, and a control program.

  According to an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format), a method of defining and controlling all processes related to the generation of a printed matter is used. According to this method, it is possible to collectively control different types of printers such as offset printers and digital printers. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system, and a server that controls such a system is called an HWF server.

  In such an HWF system, when output is performed on each of the offset printer and the digital printer, it is required that a consistent output result can be obtained with no difference in font, color tone, and the like. However, a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine that generates raster data, which is data ultimately referred to in print output, based on the print data is provided in each of the offset printer and the digital printer. As a result, since different RIP engines are used, differences in print results may occur.

  In the case of output by the offset printer, CTP (Computer To) creates a version for the offset printer after the raster data generation process (hereinafter referred to as “RIP process”) is performed on the HWF server by the RIP engine. Data is transferred to Plate).

  On the other hand, in the case of a digital printer, a system called DFE (Digital Front End) generally receives print data, performs RIP processing, and causes a printer engine to execute print output. Therefore, it is required that the processing result by the RIP engine for generating data to be transferred to the CTP be as identical as possible to the processing result by the RIP engine mounted on the DFE.

  Further, in the HWF system, it is possible to generate one printed matter including the page output by the offset printer and the page output by the digital printer. As control of the system in such a case, there has been proposed a method of improving the operability of the system when allocating pages to the offset printer and the digital printer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  With regard to the difference between the printing results described above, the problem is that the RIP engine installed in the HWF server corresponds to the RIP engine installed in the DFE so that the same result can be obtained regardless of which RIP engine. It is possible to solve. On the other hand, even with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the improvement of the operability of the system described above is not sufficient yet.

  According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, of pages of fixed data continuous in print target data in which fixed data and variable data are mixed, the offset printer can continuously print-process fixed data Allocate the number of pages to the offset printer. Then, the remaining pages including variable data are distributed to the digital printer.

  Here, in product printing that produces printed matter as a final product, it is required to shorten the time of print output as much as possible and increase the number of copies that can be generated per unit time to improve the productivity of a factory. However, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the time required for both offset and digital output to be completed and the final print generation to be completed.

  At the time of sorting taking into consideration the time as described above, it is also necessary to consider the time required for folding or cutting caused by imposition at the time of print output, but in Patent Document 1, it is dynamically from such a point of view. It is not considered that imposition is done.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the productivity of the entire system in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses and performs print output.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an image processing system that executes a plurality of predetermined processes in order, and a process execution control device that controls the execution of the plurality of processes; And an image formation output control device for controlling the execution of image formation output in the image forming apparatus of the second type, wherein the process execution control device controls the execution of the plurality of processes; As one, a control-side drawing information generation unit that generates drawing information, which is information referred to at the time of image formation output by a plate-type image forming apparatus, based on output object image information, which is information of an image formation output target image. And, as one of the plurality of processes, a drawing information transmission unit for transmitting the generated drawing information to the plate-type image forming apparatus, and output target image information including a plurality of pages for each page A plate output instruction which is an output instruction of output target image information configured by a page output by the plate-type image forming apparatus based on output destination specification information specifying a different output destination, and the plateless type image And an individual output instruction generation unit for generating a plateless output instruction that is an output instruction of output target image information configured by a page output by a forming apparatus, the image formation output control device generating the control side drawing information a drawing information generating unit corresponding to parts, on the basis of the output-side rendering information generation unit for generating a drawing image information on the basis of the output target image data, the drawing information generated by the output-side drawing information generation unit And an execution control unit for causing the plateless type image forming apparatus to execute the image formation output, wherein the individual output instruction generation unit is configured to generate the time required for the image formation output and the image. Based on the time required for post-processing on recording medium, and generates the chromatic version output command and no plate output command to determine the number of imposition is the number of pages to be formed on one recording medium.

  According to the present invention, productivity of the entire system can be improved in a system that manages printing of a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the JDF information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the functional composition of the HWF server concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the workflow information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing functional composition of DFE concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the conversion table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the RIP parameter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a RIP engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole operation | movement of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information of the division | segmentation request | requirement which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect in the case of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect in the case of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the imposition aspect in the case of the division | segmentation of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of processing time data concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of a division job table concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of schedule information concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the rescheduling which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flow chart which shows RIP processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the completion estimation timing data which concern on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an image processing system capable of controlling both printers via the same server in a system in which offset printers and digital printers are mixed will be described. Such a system is called an HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system.

  In the HWF system according to the present embodiment, a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine shared by a DFE (Digital Front End) that controls a digital printer and a server when operating a digital printer is mounted. Then, it is an object according to the present embodiment to improve the productivity of print output of the entire system by adjusting the page to be allocated to the offset printer and the digital printer and the imposition.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation mode of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to this embodiment includes digital printers 1a and 1b, an offset printer 2, a post-processing apparatus 3, HWF servers 4a and 4b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "HWF server 4"), client terminals 5a and 5b (hereinafter generally referred to as "client terminal 5") are connected via a network.

  The digital printers 1a and 1b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "digital printer 1") are plateless printers, such as an electrophotographic system and an inkjet system, which perform image formation output without using a plate, and DFE 100, digital engine 150 And a post-processing device 160. The DFE 100 functions as an image formation output control device that is a control unit for causing the digital engine 150 to execute print output and causing the post-processing device 160 to execute post-processing. Also, the digital engine 150 functions as an image forming apparatus. Therefore, the DFE 100 includes a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine for generating raster data, which is image data to be referred to when the digital engine 150 executes print output. This raster data is used as drawing information.

  The offset printer 2 is a plate-type printer that performs image formation output using a plate, and includes a CTP (Computer To Plate) 200 and an offset engine 250. The CTP 200 is a device that generates a plate based on raster data. Generation of a plate by the CTP 200 enables offset printing by the offset engine 250.

  The post-processing device 3 is a device that performs post-processing such as punching, stapling, and bookbinding on a sheet printed and output by the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. The post-processing apparatus 3 folds or cuts the sheet when the sheet output by the offset printer is a sheet on which the sheet is imposed.

  The HWF server 4 is a server on which HWF software is installed to manage everything from input of job data including image data to be printed out, print output, and post processing. The HWF server 4 manages the various processes described above according to information generated in an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format) (hereinafter referred to as “JDF information”). That is, the HWF server 4 functions as a process execution control device.

  When performing print output by offset printing using the offset printer 2, the HWF server 4 generates raster data by the RIP engine mounted inside, and transmits the raster data to the CTP 200. Therefore, the HWF server 4 is equipped with a RIP engine.

  On the other hand, when print output is performed by the digital printer 1, data is transmitted to the DFE 100. As described above, since the RIP engine is installed in the DFE 100, the HWF server 4 can cause the digital printer 1 to execute print output by transmitting the print data before RIP processing to the DFE 100.

  Here, print output for forming one printed matter may be executed in each of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. In such a case, if the font and the color are different in the result of both print output, the user who receives the output will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is preferable that the print output results of each of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 be consistent.

  Differences in print output by different devices are mainly caused by RIP processing. Therefore, by using the RIP engine in which the processing is shared between the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, it is possible to minimize the difference between the output results of the two.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4 corresponds to both the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, and is a RIP engine in which common processing is possible. Also, the DFE 100 is equipped with a RIP engine common to the RIP engine installed in the HWF server 4. Such a configuration is one of the gist of the present embodiment.

  With such a configuration, the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 are equipped with a common RIP engine. Therefore, when print output is performed by the digital printer 1, it is possible to combine the RIP process by the HWF server 4 and the RIP process by the DFE 100.

  The client terminal 5 is an information processing terminal for an operator using the system to operate the HWF server 4, and is realized by a general PC (Personal Computer) or the like. The operator displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for operating the HWF server 4 by operating the client terminal 5, and performs data input, setting of the above-described JDF information, and the like. JDF information is processing setting information.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus such as the DFE 100, the HWF server 4 and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the same configuration as a general server, a PC (Personal Computer), and the like. That is, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10, a random access memory (RAM) 20, a read only memory (ROM) 30, a hard disk drive (HDD) 40 and an I / F 50 as a bus 80. Connected through. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is an arithmetic unit and controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of high-speed reading and writing of information, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read only non-volatile storage medium, and stores programs such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information, and stores an operating system (OS), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 with various hardware, networks, and the like. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to confirm the status of the information processing apparatus. The operation unit 70 is a user interface, such as a keyboard or a mouse, for the user to input information to the information processing apparatus. In addition, since the HWF server 4 is operated as a server, user interfaces such as the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 can be omitted.

  In such a hardware configuration, the software control unit is configured by the CPU 10 performing an operation according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program loaded into the RAM 20 from a storage medium such as the HDD 40 or an optical disk (not shown). The combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware configures a functional block that implements the functions of the DFE 100, the HWF server 4, and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment.

  Next, the above-described JDF information will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of JDF information. As shown in FIG. 3, the JDF information includes "job information" on job execution, "edit information" on raster data, and "finishing information" on post processing. Also, it includes information of “RIP status”, “RIP device designation” and “device designation”.

  The “job information” includes information such as “number of copies”, “number of pages”, and “RIP control mode” as shown in FIG. The “number of copies” is information for specifying the number of copies of the printed matter to be output. The “number of pages” is information for specifying the number of pages of the printed matter. “RIP control mode” indicates a control mode of RIP processing, and “page mode”, “sheet mode” and the like are designated.

  "Edit information" includes "direction information", "print surface information", "rotation", "enlargement / reduction", "image position", "layout information", "margin information", and "crop mark information" . The “direction information” is information for specifying the printing direction, such as “vertical” or “horizontal”. "Printing surface information" is information for specifying a printing surface such as "both sides" and "one side".

  "Rotation" is information specifying the rotation angle of the image to be output. “Zooming in / out” is information for specifying the scaling factor of the image to be output. The “offset” of “image position” is information for specifying the offset of the image to be output. “Position adjustment information” is information for specifying a value of position adjustment of an image to be output.

  The “custom in-position arrangement” of “layout information” is information for specifying the arrangement of the custom surface. The “number of pages” is information for specifying the number of pages of one sheet of paper, and, for example, “2 in 1” or the like is designated when two pages are consolidated on one sheet of paper. “Page order information” is information specifying information on the order of pages to be printed. “Creep position adjustment” is information specifying a value related to the adjustment of the creep position.

  “Margin information” is information that specifies a value related to a margin such as a fit box or a gutter. The "center crop mark information" of the "crop mark information" is information specifying a value related to the center crop mark. “Corner crop mark information” is information specifying a value related to a corner crop mark.

  “Finishing information” includes “Collate information”, “staple / bind information”, “punch information”, “folding information”, “trim”, “output tray information”, “input tray information”, and “cover / sheet information” including. “Collate information” is information that specifies whether to print in page units or in document units when a document is printed in multiple copies.

  “Staple / bind information” is information specifying processing related to staple / bind. “Punch information” is information that designates a process related to a punch. "Folding information" is information for specifying a process related to folding. “Trim” is information that specifies processing related to trimming.

  “Output tray information” is information for specifying an output tray. “Input tray” is information for specifying an input tray. "Cover sheet information" is information for specifying a process related to a cover sheet.

  The “RIP status” is execution state information indicating whether or not each of the RIP internal processes that are processes included in the RIP process has been executed. In FIG. 3, processing items such as “preflight”, “normalize”, “font”, “layout”, “mark”, “CMM”, “Trapping”, “Calibration”, and “Screening” as RIP internal processing items Is described. Then, the status of the processing state for each item is described. In FIG. 3, "NotYet" indicating that the processing is not performed is set, and is updated to "Done" when each processing is executed.

  The “RIP device designation” is information for specifying whether each of the RIP internal processes is to be executed on the HWF server 4 side or the DFE 100 side. For each item of RIP internal processing similar to "RIP status", either "HWF server" or "DFE" is set. In addition, when “DFE” is set, information specifying one of a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 is included, as in “DFE (Engine A)”.

  “Device designation” is information for designating a device for executing a print job, and in the example of FIG. 3, “digital printer” is designated. The JDF information includes various information in addition to the information shown in FIG. Such information will be described in detail in the following description.

  The JDF information shown in FIG. 3 is generated by the operator displaying the GUI of the HWF server 4 via the client terminal 5 and setting various items in the GUI. Then, the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 or the DFE 100 performs RIP processing based on such JDF information. The post-processing device 3 also executes post-processing based on such JDF information. When a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, it may be submitted with JDF information attached.

  Next, the functional configuration of the HWF server 4 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the HWF server 4 includes an HWF controller 400 and a network I / F 401. A network I / F 401 is an interface for the HWF server 4 to exchange information with other devices via the network.

  The HWF controller 400 manages acquisition of print target data, creation of a print job, management of a workflow, distribution of jobs to the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2, and the like. The process in which job data to be printed is input to the HWF server 4 and acquired by the HWF controller 400 is submission processing in the present system. The HWF controller 400 is configured by installing dedicated software in the information processing apparatus. This software is HWF software.

  In the HWF controller 400, a system control unit 410 controls the entire HWF controller 400. Therefore, when realizing each function of the HWF controller 400 described above, the system control unit 410 gives an instruction to each part of the HWF controller 400 to execute processing. The data reception unit 411 receives print job data from another system or receives job data submitted by an operator's operation.

  A UI (User Interface) control unit 412 controls an operation by the operator via the client terminal 5. A GUI for operating the HWF server 4 is displayed on the client terminal 5, and the UI control unit 412 acquires information of an operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The UI control unit 412 notifies the system control unit 410 of the information of the operation thus acquired via the network. The display of the GUI in the client terminal 5 is realized by software installed in advance in the client terminal 5 or information provided from the UI control unit 412 to the client terminal 5 via the network.

  The operator operates the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 to select job data to be submitted. Thereby, the client terminal 5 transmits job data to the HWF server 4, and the data reception unit 411 acquires the job data. The system control unit 410 registers the job data acquired by the data reception unit 411 in the job data storage unit 414.

  When transmitting job data from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4, job data is generated in the client terminal 5 based on the document data and image data selected in the client terminal 5, and then transmitted to the HWF server 4. . The job data is, for example, data in a PDL (Page Description Language) format such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or PostScript.

  In addition, data to be printed may be transmitted from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4 in the data format dedicated to the application or the general image data format. In that case, the system control unit 410 causes the job control unit 413 to generate job data based on the acquired data. The job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to generate job data based on print target data.

  Although the print target data registered in the job data storage unit 414 is PDL information as described above, this PDL information is not only primary data generated based on the print target data, but is halfway through There may also be intermediate data for which processing has been performed. These pieces of information are used as output target image information which is information of an image forming output target image. In the case where intermediate data is stored in the job data storage unit 414, the job data is registered in the HWF server 4 in the state of intermediate data other than the state in the middle of the process in which the process has already been started in the HWF server 4 There is a possibility. In the following, “PDL information” indicates primary data not subjected to RIP processing, and “intermediate data” indicates data in the middle of processing in which RIP processing has been performed halfway. Show.

  Further, as described above, the information of JDF described in FIG. 3 is set and generated by the operation of the operator on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Alternatively, when a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from an external software or system, it is assigned in advance. The JDF information acquired in such a manner is received by the data receiving unit 411 together with PDL information as job data. The system control unit 410 associates the JDF information thus acquired and the PDL information and registers them in the job data storage unit 414.

  In the present embodiment, the case where JDF information is used as attribute information indicating the content of a job has been described as an example. However, this is only an example, and other formats, for example, PPF (Print Production Format) information may be used.

  In addition, the system control unit 410 can divide the received job data into each print portion such as page unit based on the operation of the operator displayed on the client terminal 5. The respective job data thus divided are registered in the job data storage unit 414 as the divided individual job data.

  In addition, when a device at the output destination is selected by the operation of the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 for each job for which division has been specified, the selection result is associated with job data and stored in the job data storage unit 414. Is saved. As the selection mode of the output destination, for example, there can be a selection mode such as the digital printer 1 for the cover part and the offset printer 2 for the text.

  Such division processing of jobs is executed by the division / imposition unit 422 through control by the system control unit 410 and the job control unit 413. The division / imposition unit 422 divides the job in consideration of imposition in offset printing and digital printing when dividing the job. At this time, the division / imposition unit 422 performs imposition and job division so that the job is completed in as short time as possible so that the productivity of print output of the entire system is improved. Such a function is one of the gist of the present embodiment. Details will be described later.

  The device information management unit 416 manages information by acquiring information of other devices included in the system, such as the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing apparatus 3, and storing the information in the device information storage unit 417. The information of other devices is the address of the network assigned when the device is connected to the network, and the information of the function of the device. The information on the function of the device is, for example, the printing speed, the usable post-processing function, the operation state, and the like.

  The device information communication unit 415 periodically acquires information of other devices included in the system via the network I / F 401. As a result, the device information management unit 416 periodically updates the information of the other devices stored in the device information storage unit 417, even if the information of the other devices changes dynamically. The information stored in 417 is kept accurate.

  The workflow control unit 418 determines the execution order of each process when processing job data registered in the job data storage unit 414 on the system, and stores the information in the workflow information storage unit 419. The execution order of each process defined in the workflow is determined in advance, and in order to maintain the order, control is made to proceed to the next process when the previous process is completed.

  That is, what is stored in the workflow information storage unit 419 is workflow information in which respective processes that can be executed in the HWF system are combined in the specified order. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of workflow information. On the other hand, parameters at the time when each process is executed are specified in the JDF information as described above. In the workflow information storage unit 419, workflow information set based on an operation of the operator displayed on the client terminal 5 is registered in advance.

  An execution instruction for job data registered in the HWF server 4 is notified to the system control unit 410 via the UI control unit 412 based on the operation of the operator on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Thus, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device described above.

  As described above, in the case of selecting the output destination device on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device according to the content of the specification. Besides this, it is also possible to automatically select based on the comparison between the contents of the job and the characteristics of the device.

  When the output destination device is automatically selected based on the comparison between the contents of the job and the characteristics of the device, the system control unit 410 acquires information of available devices from the device information management unit 416. Thus, when the output destination device is determined, the system control unit 410 adds information indicating the determined output destination device to the JDF information.

  After determining the output destination device, the system control unit 410 instructs the workflow control unit 418 to execute a job. At this time, workflow information registered in advance in the workflow information storage unit 419 may be used based on the operator's operation, or new workflow information may be generated based on the content set according to the operator's operation. .

  When the workflow control unit 418 receives an execution instruction from the system control unit 410, the workflow control unit 418 instructs the job control unit 413 to execute each process according to the designated execution order in accordance with the designated workflow information or newly generated workflow information. That is, the workflow control unit 418 and the job control unit 413 work together to function as a process execution control unit.

  In response to the execution instruction, the job control unit 413 inputs the above-described PDL information and JDF information to the RIP engine 420 to execute the RIP process. The JDF information includes information indicating which of the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 the multiple RIP internal processes performed by the RIP engine are to be executed.

  The job control unit 413 refers to the information on the distribution of the RIP process among the information included in the JDF information, and if the process instructed by the workflow control unit 418 is to be executed by the HWF server 4, the RIP engine 420 Run the specified process on. The RIP engine 420 executes the RIP process based on the parameters specified in the JDF information in accordance with the instruction from the job control unit 413.

  The RIP engine 420 that has performed the RIP process in this way updates the RIP status of the RIP process that has performed the process. As a result, the status of the RIP internal processing executed in the HWF server 4 among the plurality of RIP internal processing is changed to "Done". The RIP engine 420 functions as a control-side drawing information generation unit.

  RIP execution result data generated by executing the RIP process is any of PDL information, intermediate data, and raster data. Although these differ in the contents of RIP internal processing, intermediate data is generated based on data which was originally PDL information as the processing proceeds, and raster data is finally generated. The RIP execution result data is stored in the job data storage unit 414 in association with the job being executed.

  When one RIP internal process is completed, the RIP engine 420 notifies the job control unit 413 of the completion, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418. Thereby, the workflow control unit 418 starts control of the next process according to the workflow information.

  If the content of the job received from the workflow control unit 418 is a request to another system, the job control unit 413 inputs job data to the job transmission / reception unit 421 in a form according to the other system, and transmits the job data Send it. In the case of transmission of job data to the offset printer 2, data to be printed is converted into raster data and transmitted as job data.

  On the other hand, in the case of transmission of job data to the digital printer 1, the job control unit 413 designates the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 among the plurality of RIP engines included in the DFE 100 to the job transmission / reception unit 421. Enter job data. Thus, the job transmitting / receiving unit 421 transmits the job data to the DFE 100 by designating the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420.

  The job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits, to the DFE 100, job data in which PDL information or intermediate data and JDF information are packaged. As a transmission mode of job data, PDL information or intermediate data may be used as external resource data, and a URL indicating a storage destination of PDL information or intermediate data may be described in JDF information. In this case, the side receiving the JDF information accesses the URL to acquire PDL information or intermediate data. In addition, in the case of offset printing, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits raster data generated by the RIP engine 420 to the CTP 200.

  The job data transmitted to the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 in this manner are sequentially executed by the CTP 200 and the DFE 100 which are the transmission destinations. The scheduling unit 423 adjusts the order of jobs to be executed in each device, that is, the schedule so that the standby time in each of the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2 and the post-processing device 3 is short and the throughput of the entire system is improved as much as possible. Execution order adjustment unit. The scheduling unit 423 performs the above-described scheduling process via the device information management unit 416 and the device information communication unit 415. Details will be described later.

  Next, the functional configuration of the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The DFE 100 receives job data from the HWF server 4 and performs control of the received job, execution control of RIP processing, and control of the digital engine 150. The HWF server 4 causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output by transmitting job data to the DFE 100. That is, the DFE 100 functions as a server for providing the HWF server 4 with the digital print function.

  The job control function provided by the DFE 100 is a control function of a series of operations such as acceptance of job data, analysis of JDF information, creation of raster data, and print output by the digital engine 150. The execution control of the RIP processing is control for causing the RIP engine to execute the RIP processing based on the information generated by the analysis of the JDF information and the PDL information.

  Information generated by analysis of JDF information is information obtained by extracting information used for RIP processing from the JDF information described in FIG. 3 and converting it into a format that can be deciphered by the DFE 100. It is called an attribute. Intermediate data and raster data are created by executing the RIP process with reference to the in-DFE job attribute and the PDL information.

  The control function of the digital engine 150 is a function that causes the digital engine 150 to transmit raster data and part of the above-described DFE job attributes to execute print output. These functions are realized by the blocks shown in FIG. Each block shown in FIG. 6 is realized by the CPU 10 performing arithmetic processing according to the program loaded into the RAM 20 or the program stored in the ROM 30 as described in FIG. 2 and operating other hardware.

  The DFE 100 includes a network I / F 101, a display 102, and a DFE controller 110. A plurality of RIP engines are mounted inside the DFE controller 110. This is installed corresponding to RIP engines of other devices which may transmit a job to the DFE 100 in the HWF system. In the present embodiment, since the plurality of HWF servers 4a and 4b include different RIP engines, the DFE 100 is equipped with a plurality of RIP engines corresponding to the respective RIP engines.

  The job receiving unit 111 internally includes a plurality of individual job receiving units 112. The individual job receiving unit 112 receives job data from the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101. The plurality of individual job reception units 112 correspond to the plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100, respectively. The individual job receiving unit 112 functions as an individual receiving unit.

  As described above, upon transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100, the corresponding RIP engine is designated and transmitted. Therefore, in the job receiving unit 111, the individual job receiving unit 112 corresponding to the designated RIP engine receives the job data.

  In addition to the input via the network from the HWF server 4, the input of the job data to the DFE 100 can also be performed via a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. In the present embodiment, a case where JDF information is included in job data will be described as an example, but if JDF is not included, the job receiving unit 111 creates a dummy JDF and adds JDF information to job data. .

  The individual job reception unit 112 also functions as a virtual printer in which the contents of the job are set in advance, in addition to the case where the individual job reception unit 112 is provided corresponding to each of the RIP engines described above. That is, the RIP engine installed in the DFE 100 and the individual job reception unit 112 in which the contents of the job are set are provided, and the job is executed with the contents set in advance by designating one of the plural individual job reception units 112. It becomes possible.

  One possible setting in the individual job receiving unit 112 according to the present embodiment is a “pass-through mode”. In this "pass-through mode", analysis processing of JDF information is not performed by the JDF analysis unit 117 which is an analysis function of JDF information provided separately from the RIP engine in the DFE 100, and analysis of JDF information is performed in the RIP engine. It is a mode.

  With such a function, it is possible to use in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 a RIP engine in which it is difficult to use a format of JDF information that the JDF analysis unit 117 does not support or to provide a JDF analysis function outside the RIP engine. It becomes. In the present embodiment, when the processing is shared by the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 and the RIP engine 120 installed in the DFE 100, the “pass-through mode” described above is used. The same RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 is used as an output-side drawing information generation unit.

  When distributing the RIP processing to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, it is preferable that the division between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is performed as a series of processing without being conscious of the division between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 as much as possible. Therefore, when data processed halfway up in the HWF server 4 is input to the DFE 100, the same JDF analysis processing as in the case where unprocessed job data is input is omitted, and the processing is performed as a continuation of the processing in the HWF server 4. It is preferred to be implemented.

  In the present embodiment, since the same RIP engine corresponding to the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 is mounted, it is possible to preferably realize control of such RIP processing. Also, in such a case, it is preferable that the data processed by one RIP engine is passed as it is to the other RIP engine, so that such control is preferably realized by the above-mentioned "pass-through mode". Can do.

  The system control unit 113 stores the job data received by the individual job receiving unit 112 in the job data storage unit 114 or delivers the job data to the job control unit 116. When the DFE 100 is set to store job data, or when there is a job that is already being executed, the system control unit 113 stores job data in the job data storage unit 114. In addition, when it is described in the JDF information whether or not the job data storage unit 114 stores the information, the system control unit 113 follows the description.

  When job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, for example, the print content is previewed in the DFE 100. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires print target data included in job data, that is, PDL information and intermediate data from the job data storage unit 114, generates preview data, and passes it to the UI control unit 115. Thereby, the UI control unit 115 causes the display 102 to display a preview of the print content.

  When generating preview data, the system control unit 113 transfers data to be printed to the job control unit 116 to request generation of preview data. The job control unit 116 passes data to be printed to the RIP unit 118 to generate preview data, and passes the generated preview data to the system control unit 113.

  Also, when the operator changes the JDF information in the DFE 100, job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires JDF information from the job data storage unit 114 and passes it to the UI control unit 115. As a result, the JDF information of the job data is displayed on the display 102, and the operator can change it by the operation.

  When the operator operates the DFE 100 to change the JDF information, the UI control unit 115 receives the change content and notifies the system control unit 113 of the change content. The system control unit 113 reflects and updates the received change content in the target JDF information, and causes the job data storage unit 114 to store the updated JDF information.

  In principle, the system control unit 113 fetches job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 in the order in which the job data is stored, and delivers the job data to the job control unit 116. In the case of job data described in JDF information that is to be executed waiting for an execution instruction in DFE 100, the job control unit 116 sends the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 to the job control unit 116 when the job execution instruction is accepted. Hand over.

  The job execution instruction is input from the HWF server 4 via the network, or by the operation of the operator on the DFE 100. Also, for example, when the job execution time is set in the JDF information, the system control unit 113 passes the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 to the job control unit 116 when the set time is reached.

  Further, in the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment, among the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114, as described above, the order in which the system control unit 113 extracts it and delivers it to the job control unit 116 is adjusted by scheduling. Be done. The adjustment of the scheduling is performed by the scheduling unit 423 described in FIG. Details will be described later.

  The job data storage unit 114 is a storage area for storing job data as described above, and is realized by the HDD 40 or the like described in FIG. Other than this, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a network may be used.

  The UI control unit 115 receives the display of information on the display 102 and the operator's operation on the DFE 100 as described above. In the editing operation of the JDF information described above, the UI control unit 115 interprets the JDF information and displays the content of the print job on the display 102.

  The job control unit 116 performs control relating to job execution based on a job execution instruction from the system control unit 113. Specifically, the control performed by the job control unit 116 is JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117, RIP processing by the RIP unit 118, and control processing of the digital engine 150 by the printer control unit 122.

  When receiving an instruction to execute a job from the system control unit 113, the job control unit 116 inputs JDF information contained in job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 and makes a JDF conversion request. The JDF conversion request is a request for processing of converting JDF information described in a format of a generation source of JDF information into a format that can be recognized by the RIP unit 118. That is, the JDF analysis unit 117 functions as a process setting information conversion unit.

  On the other hand, when the “pass-through mode” is specified as described above, the job control unit 116 inputs the JDF information included in the job data acquired from the system control unit 113 to the RIP unit 118 as it is. The designation of the “pass-through mode” is described in the JDF information by the individual job receiving unit 112, for example. Further, when the “pass-through mode” is designated by the individual job receiving unit 112, the designation of “page mode” and “sheet mode” is also described according to the designated RIP engine 120.

  The JDF analysis unit 117 converts the JDF information described in the format of the generation source as described above into a format that can be recognized by the RIP unit 118. The JDF analysis unit 117 internally holds a conversion table, extracts necessary information in the RIP unit 118 out of the information contained in the JDF information according to the conversion table, and converts the description format. Thus, the in-DFE job attribute described above is generated.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the conversion table held by the JDF analysis unit 117 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the conversion table according to the present embodiment is information in which a description form in JDF information and a description form in a job attribute in DFE are associated. For example, the “number of copies” information described in FIG. 3 is described as “A · Amount” in the actual JDF information, and is converted to “number of copies” when generating the job attribute in DFE.

  By the processing of the JDF analysis unit 117 using the conversion table as shown in FIG. 7, a job attribute in DFE is generated. The information described in the job attribute in the DFE is, for example, “job information”, “edit information”, “finishing information” or the like shown in FIG.

  Further, the JDF analysis unit 117 sets “RIP control mode” in the job attribute in DFE when generating the job attribute in DFE. In the "RIP control mode", a "page mode", a "sheet mode" and the like are set. The JDF analysis unit 117 assigns the “RIP control mode” according to the type of the individual job reception unit 112 that has received the job data, the contents of the job, the HWF software that configures the HWF server 4 that is the transmission source of the job data, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the setting of consolidated printing in a print job is handled in the “page mode”. Details of the “RIP control mode” will be described later.

  The job control unit 116 generates a “RIP parameter” based on the job attribute in DFE generated by the JDF analysis unit 117, and passes the RIP parameter to the RIP control unit 119 of the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing. Run it. Thus, the RIP unit 118 executes the RIP process based on the RIP parameters.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of RIP parameters according to the present embodiment. The RIP parameters according to the present embodiment include “input / output data type”, “data read information”, and “RIP control mode” as the information at the beginning. “Input / output data type” designates the type of input / output data such as “JDF” or “PDL”. The designation format is, in addition to “JDF”, “PDL”, etc., text format, extension of image data, intermediate data, etc.

  The “data read information” is information on the input / output data read position, the method of specifying the write position, and the specified position. The “RIP control mode” is information of “page mode” and “sheet mode”. In addition, the information at the beginning includes information of a unit used in RIP parameters and information of a data compression method.

  The “input / output image information” includes “information on output image”, “information on input image”, and “information on image handling”. The "information on output image" includes information such as the format, resolution, size, color separation, color shift, page orientation, etc. of output image data. Also, “information on input image” includes information such as the format, resolution, page range, and color setting of input image data. The "information regarding image handling" includes information such as an offset of the scaling algorithm, an object area, and an offset of halftone.

  The “PDL related information” is information related to PDL information targeted by the RIP parameter, and includes information of “data area”, “size information”, and “data arrangement method”. The PDL information referred to here is data to be printed in a job, and includes the case of intermediate data. “Data area” designates area information in which PDL information is stored. “Size information” specifies the data size of PDL information. “Data arrangement method” designates a data arrangement method in the memory of PDL information, such as “little endian” and “big endian”.

  On the other hand, in the case of the “pass-through mode”, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters based on the JDF information and the PDL information or the intermediate data. In this case, in each item constituting the RIP parameter, information for referring to the item of the corresponding JDF information is set.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the RIP parameters include "RIP control mode". The RIP control unit 119 controls the RIP engine 120 according to the “RIP control mode”. Therefore, the sequence is determined according to the "RIP control mode". As described above, the "page mode" and the "sheet mode" are set in the "RIP control mode".

  The “page mode” is a process of executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pre-aggregated pages collected on one sheet of paper to generate raster data. The “sheet mode” is a process of executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pages collected on one sheet of paper to generate raster data collected on one sheet.

  Further, in the case of the "pass-through mode", the "pass-through mode" is designated as the "RIP control mode". However, this is an example, and the "pass-through mode" may be described in items other than the "RIP control mode".

  Also, the job control unit 116 sets “RIP engine identification information” in the RIP parameter. “RIP engine identification information” is information for identifying a plurality of RIP engines 120 included in the RIP unit 118. In the present embodiment, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 is used in the DFE 100.

  Therefore, as described above, the JDF information includes the information for specifying the individual job receiving unit 112, and the job data is received by the individual job receiving unit 112 specified as such. The individual job receiving unit 112 corresponds to one of the RIP engines 120, and adds identification information of the corresponding RIP engine 120 to the received JDF information. The job control unit 116 adds the “RIP engine identification information” described above to the RIP parameter based on the identification information of the RIP engine 120 added to the JDF information as described above.

  In the RIP unit 118, the RIP control unit 119 controls the plurality of RIP engines 120, and executes RIP internal processing based on the input RIP parameters to generate raster data. Here, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment has a function to cope with the possibility that the system according to the present embodiment receives a print job from a plurality of different HWF servers 4.

  In the HWF server 4 of different types, the method of handling data in the print job may be different. For example, the difference is the "RIP control mode" such as the "page mode" or the "sheet mode" described above. In the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “page mode”, data of the original page corresponding to the number of consolidations are designated in order at the time of consolidation printing.

  On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the “sheet mode”, all data of the original page before aggregation is designated and the RIP process is executed. That is, the method of specifying parameters for the RIP engine 120 is different. Such a difference is not limited to the "RIP control mode". For example, it occurs due to the difference in the format and the handling method of the original data, such as the handling of the margin of the original data.

  In order to cope with such a difference, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment performs conversion processing of parameters designated to the RIP engine 120 according to the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP processing. For example, when data corresponding to the "page mode" is input to the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the "sheet mode", a process of converting a parameter described in the "page mode" into the "sheet mode" is performed. The functions of the RIP engine 120 will be described in detail later.

  The image storage unit 121 is a storage unit that stores raster data generated by the RIP engine 120. The image storage unit 121 is realized by the HDD 40 or the like described in FIG. Other than this, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a network may be used.

  The printer control unit 122 is connected to the digital engine 150, reads out raster data stored in the image storage unit 121, and transmits the raster data to the digital engine 150 to execute print output. Further, control for finishing processing is performed by acquiring from the job control unit 116 the finishing information included in the in-DFE job attribute.

  The printer control unit 122 can obtain information of the digital engine 150 itself by exchanging information with the digital engine 150. For example, in the case of the CIP4 standard, a standard called DevCaps for transmitting and receiving device specification information to and from a printer is defined as a JDF information standard. Also known is a method of collecting printer information using a communication protocol called Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and a database called Management Information Base (MIB).

  The device information management unit 123 manages device information which is information of the DFE 100 itself or the digital engine 150. The device information includes information of the RIP engine 120 included in the RIP unit 118 and information of the individual job reception unit 112 configured in the job reception unit 111. Then, the information of the “pass-through mode” described above is also included as the information of the individual job receiving unit 112. Furthermore, the device information management unit 123 according to the present embodiment acquires and manages the execution order of job data in the job data storage unit 114, that is, the above-described scheduling information.

  The device information communication unit 124 exchanges device information with the HWF server 4 via the network I / F 101 in accordance with specifications such as MIB and JMF (Job Messaging Format). Thus, the device information communication unit 415 of the HWF server 4 acquires device information from the DFE 100. As a result, in the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5, the information of the RIP engine 120 included in the DFE 100 and the information of the individual job reception unit 112 are reflected. Further, the information on scheduling in the job data storage unit 114 is grasped in the HWF server 4.

  When the digital engine 150 is controlled by the printer control unit 122 in the DFE 100 and print output is completed, the system control unit 113 recognizes this via the job control unit 116. Then, the system control unit 113 notifies the HWF server 4 of the completion notification of the print job via the job reception unit 111. As a result, the job transmission / reception unit 421 of the HWF server 4 receives a job completion notification.

  In the HWF server 4, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transfers a job completion notice to the job control unit 413, and the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of the job completion. The transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 to the DFE 100 is originally performed by the workflow control unit 418 according to the workflow information.

  When recognizing the completion of the job by the DFE 100, the workflow control unit 418 controls the execution of the next process according to the workflow information. The processing to be set next to the print output by the DFE 100 includes, for example, post-processing by the post-processing device 3 and the like.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 in the case where the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is accompanied. As described above, the RIP engine 120 is a software module that executes RIP internal processing based on the RIP parameters described in FIG. 8 to generate raster data. As a RIP engine, for example, APPE which is a PDF printing engine provided by Adobe Systems is used as a base.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the RIP engine 120 is configured by the control unit 201 and other parts. Parts other than the control unit 201 are extensions which can be expanded by the vendor. The control unit 201 executes the RIP process by using various functions included as an extension unit.

  The input unit 202 receives an initialization request and an execution request for RIP processing, and notifies the control unit 201 of the request. At the time of initialization request, the above-described RIP parameters are also input to the control unit 201. The control unit 201 having received the initialization request inputs the RIP parameters received at the same time to the RIP parameter analysis unit 203. Then, the analysis result of the RIP parameter is acquired by the function of the RIP parameter analysis unit 203, and the order of operating the respective expansion units included in the RIP engine 120 is determined in the RIP process. Also, the format of data generated as a result of those processes determines any one of raster image, preview image, PDF, intermediate data, etc.

  When the control unit 201 receives an execution request for RIP processing from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 causes the respective units of the extension unit to operate according to the processing order determined when the initialization request is received. The preflight processing unit 204 confirms the validity of the content of the input PDL data. When an invalid PDL attribute is found, the control unit 201 is notified. The control unit 201 having received this notification notifies the external modules such as the RIP control unit 119 and the job control unit 116 via the output unit 213.

  As information on attributes confirmed by the preflight processing, for example, information that may cause processing by other modules included in the RIP engine 120 to be impossible, such as whether or not a non-compliant font is specified. It is.

  The normalization processing unit 205 converts the input PDL data into PDF when the input PDL data is not PDF but PostScript. The mark processing unit 206 develops graphic information of the designated mark, and superimposes the graphic information of the image to be printed on the designated position.

  The font processing unit 207 takes out font data and performs embedded font conversion and outlining of the font into PDL. A CMM (Color Management Module) processing unit 209 converts the color space of the input image into CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK) based on a color conversion table or the like described in an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile. The ICC profile is color ICC information and device ICC information.

  The Trapping processing unit 210 performs trapping processing. In the trapping process, each color area is expanded to fill the space to prevent gaps from being generated at the boundary when misregistration occurs for areas of different colors adjacent to each other at the border. Processing.

  The calibration processing unit 211 performs adjustment work of the variation of the color development balance due to the temporal change of the output device and the individual difference in order to enhance the accuracy of the color conversion by the CMM processing unit 209. The processing by the calibration processing unit 211 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120.

  The screening processing unit 212 executes halftone dot generation processing in consideration of the final output. The processing by the screening processing unit 212 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120 as in the processing by the calibration processing unit 211. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside. The RIP result is either a raster image, a preview image, a PDF, or intermediate data determined at initialization.

  The rendering processing unit 218 performs rendering processing to generate raster data based on input data. Among the processing units shown in FIG. 9, the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 may be simultaneously executed by the rendering processing unit 218.

  Next, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 when the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not performed will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the case where the JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not accompanied is the case where the RIP internal processing is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, it also includes the RIP engine 420 installed in the HWF server 4 in the same configuration as the RIP engine 120 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 without JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is mostly the same as the configuration described in FIG. Hereinafter, only differences from FIG. 9 will be described. It is also the same as FIG. 9 that parts other than the control part 201 are expansion parts.

  When the control unit 201 in the example of FIG. 10 receives an initialization request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 acquires JDF information together with the initialization request. Then, the control unit 201 analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information using the function of the job attribute analysis unit 214, and as in the case of FIG. 9, the processing order of each extension unit and the format of data generated as a result of processing Decide.

  In particular, in the case of the RIP engine 120 mounted on the DFE 100, the data format of the processing result is often raster data to be input to the printer control unit 122. On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4, the data format of the processing result differs depending on the distribution mode of the processing of the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, the control unit 201 in the RIP engine 420 determines the data format of the processing result such as PDL information and intermediate data based on the analysis result by the job attribute analysis unit 214.

  Further, the control unit 201 analyzes the information of the RIP status contained in the JDF information using the function of the RIP status analysis unit 215, and confirms the presence or absence of the RIP internal processing already executed. If there is an already executed RIP internal processing unit, the corresponding extension unit is excluded from the processing target.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 can analyze PDL information and execute the same processing as well as when analyzing the RIP status included in the JDF information. In the case of PDL information, since the attribute information such as the parameter has disappeared for the RIP internal processing that has already been executed, it is possible to determine the RIP internal processing that has not been executed based on the remaining attribute information.

  The layout processing unit 217 executes imposition processing. Under control of the control unit 201, the RIP status management unit 216 rewrites the RIP status corresponding to the RIP internal processing executed by each of the extension units into "Done". The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside of the engine. The RIP result is data of a data format determined at initialization.

  The rendering processing unit 218 illustrated in FIG. 10 also performs rendering processing for generating raster data based on input data as in FIG. 9. In addition to the processing by the mark processing unit 206 and the font processing unit 207 among the processing units shown in FIG. 10, the processing by the layout processing unit 217 may be simultaneously executed by the rendering processing unit 218.

  Also, as described above, depending on the information of "RIP device specification" included in the JDF information, a plurality of RIPs installed inside the DFE 100, such as "DFE (Engine A)" and "DFE (Engine B)". The engine 120 may be used separately. The control unit 201 can not delegate the process to the extension unit of another RIP engine, and therefore, is processed by the job control unit 116.

  As described above, the job control unit 116 adds “RIP engine identification information” to the RIP parameter. At this time, different RIP parameters are generated for each of the specified RIP internal processes by different RIP engines. In the case of the example of FIG. 3, RIP parameters for "engine A" for which execution of "font" and "layout" is specified, and RIP parameters for "engine B" for which execution of "mark" is specified, and Generate RIP parameters for “engine A” for which execution of the subsequent processing is specified.

  Then, the job control unit 116 sequentially requests the RIP unit 118 for RIP processing for each of the generated RIP parameters in accordance with the order of processing in the RIP. As a result, "Engine A" and "Engine B" are properly used to execute RIP internal processing.

  At this time, it is possible to refer to the information of "RIP status" as a method of executing only the designated process in each engine. That is, by setting the status to "NotYet" only for the item of the processing to be executed and "Done" for the other processing, it is possible to execute only the designated processing.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, the RIP engine 120 common to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE 100. Here, the common RIP engine is at least a part related to generation of raster data.

  Therefore, in the RIP engine 420 and the RIP engine 120, all of the processing units shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are not common. At least the processing units related to the generation of raster data, such as the mark processing unit 206, the font processing unit 207, the layout processing unit 217, and the rendering processing unit 218, may be shared. It is a minimum configuration that the processing units related to the generation of raster data are common, and other processing units may be common.

  Next, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the HWF system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows an example where print output is executed by the digital printer 1. As shown in FIG. 11, in the HWF server 4, the device information communication unit 415 acquires device information from the DFE 100 or CTP 200 via the network, and the device information management unit 416 registers the information in the device information storage unit 417 ( S1101). The process of S1101 is performed periodically.

  On the other hand, the client terminal 5 transmits a job registration request to the HWF server 4 when the registration operation of the job data is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system (S1102). In the HWF server 4, the UI control unit 412 acquires a job registration request. Accordingly, the data reception unit 411 acquires job data according to the control of the system control unit 410 (S1103).

  When job data is acquired by the data reception unit 411, the system control unit 410 controls the job control unit 413, and converts the format of the acquired job data into a PDL format (S1104). The job data converted in this manner is registered in the job data storage unit 414. In GUI in which job registration operation is performed in S1102, an input unit for specifying items of information included in the JDF described in FIG. 3 as well as an interface for specifying data to be registered by a file path or the like. Is displayed.

  Further, in the HWF server 4, information on the type of RIP engine installed in the DFE 100 is acquired by the process of S1101. Therefore, in the input field for specifying the information of "RIP device designation" shown in FIG. 3 in the GUI of the client terminal 5, it is possible to select which RIP engine is to be executed when the DFE is to be executed. It becomes possible.

  In addition, when the job data division operation is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a job division request to the HWF server 4 (S1105). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of information included in the job division request transmitted in S1105. As shown in FIG. 12, in addition to the information indicating the job to be divided, information in which the contents of division are designated is transmitted in the job division request. The information indicating the contents of division is information in which a device that executes print output is designated in page units. The information shown in FIG. 12 is used as output destination designation information for designating an output destination that is different for each page with respect to an output target image composed of a plurality of pages.

  In the present embodiment, when the output destinations of the printed matter constituting one booklet, that is, the plurality of pages included in the printed matter outputted by one job data are divided into the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 Is taken as an example. Such designation of the output destination is transmitted to the HWF server 4 by, for example, the division request in S1105.

  In the HWF server 4 having received the job division request, the division / imposition unit 422 divides the job in page units according to the division contents for the division target job specified in the information shown in FIG. It generates (S1106). At this time, a device designated for each divided range is used as information of “device designation” shown in FIG. 3 in the JDF information. The jobs generated by being divided in this manner are stored in the job data storage unit 414 as individual jobs.

  Here, in S1106 according to the present embodiment, the division and imposition unit 422 simultaneously performs the imposition processing of the page, and performs the imposition so that the processing is completed in a short period as described above. The page imposition process is a process of determining the number of pages formed on one recording medium, and generates information corresponding to the “number of pages” of the “layout information” in the JDF information shown in FIG. It becomes processing. Also, when there is a page for which offset printing and digital printing are not designated, offset printing and digital printing are distributed so that the process is completed in a short period.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an aspect of the processing by the division and imposition unit 422. As shown in FIG. In the case of FIG. 13, four pages from the 13th page to the 16th page of the printed matter of 32 pages in total are designated as the output by the digital printer 1. The page designated as the output by the digital printer 1 is, for example, a variable print page for printing data of different contents (hereinafter referred to as “variable data”) for each part.

  On the other hand, when imposition is performed in an offset printer and printing is performed, and a final printed product is obtained by folding and cutting, generally possible folding modes are folding in two, folding in three, and the like. Therefore, the number of impositions per page that can be supported is limited to the power of two. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 13, it is imposed that P1 to P8 are output as four pages on one side and P9 to P12 are output as two pages on one side.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a case where different imposition is performed in the same division content as FIG. In the example of FIG. 14, P <b> 1 to P <b> 12 and P <b> 17 or later output as an offset are imposed so that they are all output as two pages per side. As a result, in the print output in the offset printer 2, when the print size of the different pages is the same, the size of the plate is the same, and when it takes time to change the size of the plate, the print output is performed in a shorter period It is possible to finish. That is, the division and imposition unit 422 can perform division and imposition of job data so that all pages outputted by the offset printer can be outputted with the same imposition number. Further, as the number of pages formed on one side of the sheet decreases, the number of folding processes decreases, and accordingly, it becomes possible to finish the folding process in a short period of time.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a case where the output destination from the 9th page to the 12th page is not specified among the divided contents in FIG. 13 and imposition is performed when either the offset printer or the digital printer may be used. is there. In the example of FIG. 15, in the example of FIG. 13, P1 to P8 are output in four pages per side, and P9 to P16 including P9 to P12 which are not specified are output in four pages in one side in the digital printer. It is attached.

  In the case of FIG. 15, it is expected that the time required for print output is shortened as the number of output sheets is smaller than in the mode of FIGS. On the other hand, both the sheet output by the offset printer 2 and the sheet output by the digital printer 1 need to be folded and cut in half, and the time for that is necessary.

  The division / imposition unit 422 according to the present embodiment determines the division / imposition mode in which the print output is completed in the shortest time in consideration of such imposition and division modes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the division / imposition unit 422 holds information on the time required for various processes in the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 respectively.

  The division / imposition unit 422 calculates the processing time of each imposition as described in FIGS. 13 to 15, offset printing for the division mode, and digital printing based on the processing time data shown in FIG. Then, the division mode and the imposition mode in which the processing time of each of offset printing and digital printing is shortest are determined.

  Regarding division of job data, the division / imposition unit 422 generates JDF information for each of the pages divided as described above, and stores the JDF information in the job data storage unit 414. Further, with regard to the determination result of the imposition, the division / imposition unit 422 updates the JDF information of the job data after each division based on the determined aspect of the imposition. The items to be updated at this time are, for example, the “number of pages”, “layout information”, and “finishing information” among the items shown in FIG.

  As a result of such division processing, the job data storage unit 414 stores a division job table which is information indicating the division mode of the job. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a divided job table according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the divided job table is information in which “small job ID”, “large job ID”, and “estimated processing time” are associated.

  The "small job ID" is an identifier for identifying each of the divided job data. “Large job ID” is an identifier for identifying job data before division. The “estimated processing time” is information of the time calculated based on the processing time data shown in FIG. 16 for each of the divided jobs. The function of such a division / imposition unit 422 is one of the gist of the present embodiment.

  Among the job data divided and generated for each small job ID in this manner, the job data to be sent to the offset printer 2 is a plate output command, and the job data to be sent to the digital printer 1 is It is a plateless output instruction. That is, the division / imposition unit 422 functions as an individual output instruction generation unit that generates job data for causing the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 to execute processing.

  In the imposition determination, in addition to an aspect in which the aspect determined by the division / imposition unit 422 is forcibly adopted, an aspect in which an operator is made to make a final determination is also possible. In that case, the system control unit 410 transmits, via the UI control unit 412, a screen for displaying the mode determined by the division / imposition unit 422 to the client terminal 5 as a response screen to the process of S1105. This enables the operator to confirm the manner of division and imposition determined by the system.

  Also, by transmitting display information for displaying a screen showing an estimated processing time for various division and imposition modes as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 to one of the respective modes. May be selected by the operator.

  In addition, when the creation operation of the workflow is performed by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a workflow generation request to the HWF server 4 (S1107). In the workflow generation request, information specifying the content of the workflow as shown in FIG. 5 and information specifying the job to be processed according to the workflow are transmitted.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the workflow generation request, the system control unit 410 inputs the information received together with the request to the workflow control unit 418. Accordingly, the workflow control unit 418 generates new workflow information based on the received information and stores the new workflow information in the workflow information storage unit 419, and associates the workflow with the job specified in the request (S1108). The association of a workflow with a job is performed, for example, by adding an identifier for identifying the workflow to the JDF information.

  After such processing, when the job execution operation is performed in the client terminal 5 by the operation of the operator on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a job execution request to the HWF server 4. The operations of S1102 to S1109 may be executed according to different operations, or a job registration request, a job division request, a workflow generation request, or a job execution request may be performed by one operation.

  In the HWF server 4 that has received the job execution request, the system control unit 410 acquires the designated job data from the job data storage unit 414 based on the information for specifying the job data received along with the request (S1110) . Also, the system control unit acquires the latest information of the device specified in the acquired job data from the device information management unit 416, and sets the device information for the job (S1111).

  After that, the system control unit 410 delivers job data to the workflow control unit 418, and starts execution of the workflow (S1112). The workflow control unit 418 acquires workflow information associated with the acquired job data from the workflow information storage unit 419, and executes processing in accordance with the workflow information.

  In the workflow processing, first, the in-server processing to be executed is executed by the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 (S1113). In step S1113, the job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to execute processing as described above according to the control of the workflow control unit 418.

  If the identifier specified in the execution request in S1109 is the "large job ID" described in FIG. 17, it is used as a collective execution request for all of the plurality of "small job IDs" associated with the specified large job ID. It is processed. In that case, in the in-server process of S 1113, RIP processing for offset printing is performed, and transmission processing of raster data to the offset printer 2 is also performed.

  As described above, transmission of raster data to the CTP 200 is performed by the job transmission / reception unit 421. In this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 functions as a drawing information transmission unit. Further, with regard to post-processing by the post-processing apparatus 3 that can be executed only by the output result by the offset printer 2, an execution request is transmitted from the HWF server 4 to the post-processing apparatus 3 in the in-server processing at S1113. Also in this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits job data relating to post-processing to the post-processing apparatus 3.

  Thereafter, when the process of the workflow reaches the process in the DFE 100, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 to transmit job data to the DFE 100 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418 (S1114). In step S1114, the job control unit 413 designates the individual job reception unit 112 according to the information specified in the JDF information from the plurality of individual job reception units 112.

  By specifying one of the plurality of individual job receiving units 112 when transmitting job data to the DFE 100, an appropriate individual job receiving unit 112 in the DFE 100 receives job data. By inputting job data to the DFE 100, as described above, the DFE 100 executes RIP processing and output processing by the digital engine 150 (S1115).

  In S1115, as described with reference to FIG. 6, after job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, jobs are executed according to the scheduled order. At this time, in the HWF server 4, the scheduling unit 423 acquires schedule information managed by the DFE 100, and performs rescheduling processing so that efficient system operation is realized (S1116).

  In the DFE 100, when the designated processing is completed, the job reception unit 111 sends a completion notification to the HWF server 4 (S1116). When the job control unit 413 receives the completion notification from the DFE 100 via the job transmission / reception unit 421, the job control unit 413 notifies the workflow control unit 418 of the completion. Thus, the workflow control unit 418 sends a post-processing request to the post-processing apparatus 3 to execute post-processing specified in the workflow next to the control in the DFE 100 (S1117).

  In step S1117, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418, and issues a post-processing request to the post-processing apparatus 3. By such processing, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment is completed.

  Next, the process in DFE in S1115 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, first, the individual job receiving unit 112 designated upon transmission of job data from the HWF server 4 receives job data (S1801). When receiving the job data, the individual job receiving unit 112 updates the JDF information so as to reflect the individual setting set for itself in the job data (S1802).

  The setting of the "pass-through mode" described above is also reflected in S1802. The job data to which the individual setting is reflected is input to the system control unit 113. The system control unit 113 stores the input job data in the job data storage unit 114 according to the setting, and performs preview processing and the like via the UI control unit 115 according to the operation of the operator.

  When job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114, the system control unit 113 adjusts the processing order of the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 based on the exchange of information with the HWF server 4. Scheduling is performed (S1803). The rescheduling process according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the execution order information of job data stored in the job data storage unit 114, that is, an example of schedule information managed in the DFE 100 as described above. The schedule information shown in FIG. 19 is managed by the device information management unit 123. As shown in FIG. 19, in the schedule information according to the present embodiment, “job ID” for identifying job data stored in the job data storage unit 114, its “order of execution”, and “priority of each job” "Is associated.

  The system control unit 113 storing the new job data in the job data storage unit 114 instructs the device information management unit 123 to perform rescheduling in S1803. Thereby, the device information management unit 123 controls the device information communication unit 124 to transmit the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 to the HWF server 4.

  In the HWF server 4, the scheduling unit 423 acquires the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 and adjusts the execution order in the DFE 100 so that the standby time of each of the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2 and the post-processing device 3 becomes shortest. . FIG. 20 is a diagram showing one aspect.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a schedule for executing a job in each of the digital printer 1, the offset printer 2, and the post-processing apparatus 3. The conceptual diagram as shown in FIG. 20 can be generated based on the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 and the information of the divided job table shown in FIG. These pieces of information are used as information indicating job execution status in each device.

In the example of FIG. 20, the jobs of the offset printer 2, the digital printer 1, and the post-processing apparatus 3 associated with each other by the same large job ID are indicated by solid diagonal lines. The processing by the post-processing device 3 can be performed only after the processing in the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1 is completed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20, the processing of the post-processing apparatus 3 is started at the timing t _1, completes at timing t _2.

  On the other hand, FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state after the schedule shown in FIG. 20 has been rescheduled by the scheduling unit 423. In the example of FIG. 21, the job shown by the hatched broken line in FIG. 20, that is, the execution order of the job immediately before the job in digital printer 1 is delayed, and the execution order of the job in digital printer 1 is repeated. It's up.

Result of rescheduling, as shown in FIG. 21, completed timing the processing and both are in the process and the digital printer 1 in the offset printer 2 reassigned earlier _t'1 than t _1, the processing of the post-processing apparatus 3 is completed It is going up repeatedly in _t'2 of the timing to be. In addition, since the deferred job is executed in parallel with the processing of the post-processing apparatus 3, it does not affect the time to complete the processing of the entire system.

  The scheduling unit 423 refers to the “priority” shown in FIG. 19 in rescheduling as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, and the priority of the job shown by the hatched dashed line is higher than the priority of the job shown by the hatched solid line. If it is low, change the execution order. At this time, the scheduling unit 423 calculates the difference between the predicted completion timings of the offset printing job and the digital printing job. Then, if one of the two jobs, which has the later completion timing, is replaced with the job executed immediately before that, the job execution is performed based on whether the difference between the completion timings of both jobs is shortened. Swap the order. The processing in consideration of such priority can improve the efficiency of the entire system. With such processing, the rescheduling processing of S1803 is completed.

  Such rescheduling processing is executed on job data newly stored by the processing of S1801 and S1802. Therefore, when the schedule information shown in FIG. 19 is transmitted from the DFE 100 to the HWF server 4 in S1803, the job ID of the job data to be processed is also notified. However, since the newly stored job data is in principle the last execution order, the scheduling unit 423 executes the process for the job data with the latest "execution order" among the received schedule information. good.

  Also, the scheduling unit 423 performs the same rescheduling process by periodic polling as well as when receiving the schedule information by the process of the DFE 100 as shown in FIG. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example in the case where a job delay occurs in the hatched portion in the figure from the state rescheduled as shown in FIG. 21 as a result of such polling.

  In such a case, the scheduling unit 423 confirms the presence or absence of a job whose processing time has been completed between the job end time of the offset printer 2 and the job end time of the digital printer 1. Then, if there is such a job, the processing order is advanced to process the job with priority. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example where such rescheduling is performed.

  According to the aspect of FIG. 23, there is no change in the completion time of the processing of the entire system. However, it becomes possible to forward and execute a specific job without affecting the completion time of each job, and it is possible to advance the timing when each job is individually completed.

  Then, when the execution timing of the job in the DFE 100 comes, such as arrival of the execution order shown in FIG. 19 or operator operation or arrival at the set execution time (S1804 / YES), the system control unit 113 controls the job data Input to the part 116. The job control unit 116 refers to the input job data, and confirms whether or not the pass-through mode is set (S1805). As a result, if it is not in the pass-through mode (S1805 / NO), the job control unit 116 inputs job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 to generate an in-DFE job attribute (S1806).

  As a result of confirmation in S1805, if the pass-through mode is selected (S1805 / YES), or if JDF conversion is completed and a job attribute in DFE is generated, the job control unit 116 generates RIP parameters (S1807). If not in pass-through mode, RIP parameters as described in FIG. 8 are generated in S1807. On the other hand, in the case of the pass-through mode, of the information shown in FIG. 8, RIP parameters including information other than "input / output image information" are generated, and JDF information is referred to in other parts.

  After generating the RIP parameters, the job control unit 116 inputs necessary information to the RIP unit 118 to execute the RIP process. Thus, first, the RIP control unit 119 performs the parameter conversion described above (S1808). Then, the RIP control unit 119 designates the converted parameter and causes the RIP engine 120 to execute the RIP process (S1809). Thus, raster data is created by the RIP engine 120.

  In S1807, as described above, RIP parameters are generated for each RIP engine based on the information of "RIP device designation" shown in FIG. Then, in step S1809, RIP processing is sequentially performed for each of the generated RIP parameters to generate raster data.

  When raster data is generated and raster data is acquired from the RIP unit 118, the job control unit 116 inputs the raster data to the printer control unit 122 and causes the digital engine 150 to execute print output (S1810). Such processing completes the processing in DFE.

  Next, the RIP processing in S1809 of FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 24, first, the control unit 201 executes an initialization process based on an initialization request for the input unit 202 (S2401). In S2401, in the case of the example of FIG. 9, the RIP parameter analysis unit 203 receives and analyzes the RIP parameters, and as described above, the expansion unit that executes the processing of the respective expansion units included in the RIP engine 120, Determine the order. Also, the type of data generated as a result of processing is determined.

  Further, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the job attribute analysis unit 214 receives and analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information, and determines the extension unit that executes the process and the order thereof. Also, the type of data generated as a result of processing is determined. Subsequently, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the control unit 201 causes the RIP status analysis unit 215 to execute status analysis.

  In status analysis, the RIP status analysis unit 215 selects one item of RIP internal processing with reference to “RIP status” shown in FIG. 3 (S2402). Then, if the status is "Done" (S2403 / YES), the corresponding extension is excluded from the extension to be executed determined in the process of S24FS01 (S2404). On the other hand, in the case of "NotYet" (S2403 / NO), no particular processing is performed.

  The RIP status analysis unit 215 repeats the process until the process from S2402 is completed for all items of the RIP internal process (S2405 / NO). After the RIP status analysis unit 215 completes the processing from S2402 for all items of RIP internal processing (S2405 / YES), if the input unit 202 acquires a request to execute the RIP processing (S2406 / YES), the control unit 201 Causes the respective extension units to execute processing in order (S2407).

  In S2407, the process is requested only for the expansion units determined in the process of S2401 and not excluded by the process of S2404. Also, processing is requested in accordance with the processing order determined in S2401. Thus, when the processing is executed by the extension unit and raster data is generated, the output unit 213 outputs the processing result (S2408). The processing by the RIP unit 118 is completed by such processing.

  In this embodiment, the processing of S2402 to S2405, that is, the status analysis processing is executed only in the case of the example of FIG. 10, that is, the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the pass-through mode. There is. This is based on the fact that the status analysis process is required when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP process as described above.

  In such a case, utilizing the fact that the same RIP engine is installed in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, RIP processing is executed as a series of processing without being aware of the boundary between the two. Therefore, it is preferable to input the data processed by the RIP engine 420 in the HWF server 4 as it is to the RIP engine 120 in the DFE 100, and a pass-through mode which does not pass through the JDF analysis unit 117 provided outside the RIP engine is suitable.

  However, this is only an example, and even in the case where the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing even when the pass-through mode is not used, it is necessary to perform the status analysis. That is, when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing, it is necessary to exclude the RIP processing already executed in the HWF server 4 on the DFE 100 side.

  Therefore, even if the RIP engine 120 does not support the pass-through mode, the RIP status analysis unit 215 may be provided in order to share the RIP processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. In other words, even when the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 share the RIP processing, the DFE 100 side performs JDF analysis by the JDF analysis unit 117, and then performs status analysis by the RIP status analysis unit 215 and is necessary. RIP internal processing may be determined.

  In the HWF system according to this embodiment, a RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE 100. Therefore, there is a difference between the raster data of the print job processed by RIP engine 420 for output at offset printer 2 and the raster data of the print job processed by RIP engine 120 for output at digital printer 1 It does not occur. Therefore, differences in printing results in different types of image forming apparatuses can be reduced.

  Further, by providing a plurality of HWF servers 4, various data having different parameter designation formats in the RIP process will be input. In this case, it is necessary to change the mode of parameter specification according to each format, and a mode in which the job control unit 116 shown in FIG. However, since the job control unit 116 is associated with other modules that are major elements in the DFE 100, such as the system control unit 113 and the printer control unit 122, when expanding the function of the job control unit 116, the entire system The impact on the

  On the other hand, in the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment, the RIP control unit 119 performs parameter conversion based on control from the job control unit 116. That is, the RIP control unit 119 functions as a control value conversion unit. Therefore, the problem caused by the functional expansion of the job control unit 116 as described above is eliminated, and the functional expansion of the RIP control unit 119 corresponds to a new parameter specification format without largely affecting the entire system. Is possible.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, job data of offset printing and digital printing are generated based on one job data including offset printing and digital printing. At this time, the division and imposition unit 422 determines imposition in consideration of the time required for post-processing such as print output, folding, and cutting. Therefore, the productivity of the entire system can be improved in a system that manages printing of a plurality of types of image forming apparatuses.

  As described above, the optimal imposition aspect differs based on the number of pages of offset printing and digital printing. Therefore, the division / imposition unit 422 can simultaneously perform imposition when generating job data for offset printing and digital printing, which can contribute to improvement in productivity of the entire system.

  Also, when there is a page for which digital printing or offset printing is not specified, the division / imposition unit 422 offsets the page or performs digital printing in consideration of the time required for each of the offset printing and digital printing. Allocate to This can contribute to the improvement of the productivity of the entire system.

  Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, the scheduling unit 423 adjusts the processing order of jobs in the DFE 100, and enhances the parallelism of the processing of each of the offset printer 2, the digital printer 1, and the post-processing device 3 to improve efficiency. Plan. This can contribute to the improvement of the productivity of the entire system.

  As described above, such rescheduling is periodically performed by polling from the HWF server 4 in addition to when job data is input to the DFE 100 and stored in the job data storage unit 114. This makes it possible to optimize the job execution order when delays occur in the respective devices.

  Such rescheduling at an arbitrary timing after job data input is notified to the HWF server 4 at the timing when a delay occurs in each apparatus in addition to the polling from the HWF server 4 as described above. It may be carried out by

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where job data is stored and scheduled in the job data storage unit 114 of the DFE 100 has been described as an example. In addition, the queued job data may be held in the HWF server 4, and the scheduling process may be performed on the job data held in the HWF server 4.

  In the above embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15 in S1106 of FIG. 11, an example is described in which imposition is determined so as to minimize the time required for image formation output. Besides, as described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 23, it is preferable that the completion timing of offset printing and the completion timing of digital printing be as different as possible. Therefore, in S1106, the division and imposition unit 422 may perform division and imposition such that the difference between the time required for offset printing and the time required for digital printing is minimized.

  Further, the division and imposition unit 422 may perform division and imposition so as to directly adjust the completion timing of the offset printing and the completion timing of the digital printing as described in FIGS. In that case, the division / imposition unit 422 refers to the information on the timing at which all jobs of job data already generated and stored for offset printing and digital printing are completed. Then, the predicted processing time of each of the newly generated offset printing and digital printing is added to the above-described completion timing, and division and imposition of job data are performed so that the difference in timing of the addition result becomes as small as possible.

  FIG. 25 is an example of completion completion timing data indicating timing when all jobs of job data already generated and stored for the above-described offset printing and digital printing are completed. Information as shown in FIG. 25 is obtained by adding “predicted processing time” of offset printing and digital printing in the divided job table generated as shown in FIG. 17 and adding to the current time.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in S1106 of FIG. 11, the case where imposition is performed at the job division request before the execution of the workflow is started is described as an example. However, a configuration is also possible in which the process of S1106 is executed as part of a workflow. In that case, the output destination specification information shown in FIG. 12 is also described as a part of the JDF information, and by referring to the JDF information as a part of the workflow, division of job data as described in FIGS. Processing is performed.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the “page mode” and the “sheet mode” have been described as “RIP control mode” as an example. Here, in the “page mode”, as described above, the RIP control unit 119 transmits the data before RIP to the RIP engine 120 for each of the plurality of pages before aggregation, and executes the RIP process for each page to be integrated. It generates raster data in different conditions.

  Besides, it is also possible that the RIP control unit 119 transmits all data before RIP for a plurality of pre-aggregated pages to the RIP engine 120, and the RIP engine 120 executes the RIP processing while performing the imposition processing. is there. Such processing mode is called "surface mode". Even in the case of using the “surface mode”, the RIP control unit 119 performs conversion processing of parameters designated to the RIP engine 120 according to the RIP engine 120 that executes the RIP processing, as described above. This makes it possible to obtain the same effect as described above.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as a process for coping with such a difference in "RIP control mode", the case of converting a parameter for RIP control has been described as an example. Besides, for example, according to the format of the original data, the RIP engine 120 may be selected to execute the RIP process.

  In this case, when acquiring the data to be subjected to the RIP process from the job control unit 116, the RIP control unit 119 refers to the information of "RIP control mode". Then, the RIP engine 120 is selected according to the designation of “page mode”, “sheet mode”, “surface mode” or the like to execute the RIP process. The function of the RIP control unit 119 can also cope with the difference between the parameter specification method in the original data and the corresponding “RIP control mode” of the RIP engine 120 as described above.

  Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, each of the internal processing of RIP is executed by the information of “RIP device designation” as shown in FIG. 3 on the premise that the same RIP engine is installed in a plurality of devices. Manage the devices Then, when the RIP process is executed in the DFE 100, the RIP internal process already executed by the information of "RIP status" is excluded.

  According to such a configuration, the operator can easily change the RIP internal processing that each device takes charge of by changing the information of “RIP device designation”. Further, in this case, since the necessary processing is determined by the information of “RIP status”, only the necessary processing is to be executed in the DFE 100.

  By such processing, when RIP processing is performed in a plurality of devices, it is possible to facilitate change of processing which each device takes charge of. In addition, when the RIP process is performed by the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, respectively, it is possible to generate the same image as when the RIP process is performed by only one of them.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when distributing the RIP internal processing between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, the “pass-through mode” is set, and the information processed in the HWF server 4 is directly input to the RIP engine of the DFE 100. Be done. The same RIP engine is installed in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100, so it is possible to continue the RIP processing as a series of processing without being aware of the difference between the respective devices. In such a case, by using the information of the “RIP status” described above, it is possible to more preferably realize dynamically changing the distribution mode when distributing RIP processing in a plurality of devices.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the individual job receiving unit 112 corresponding to each of the plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 and associated with individual settings including the “pass-through mode” in the DFE 100 It is provided.

  Thus, on the HWF server 4 side, by designating the individual job receiving unit 112, it is possible to designate the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4. In addition, it is possible to specify that the process is in the "pass-through mode". Therefore, it is possible to easily realize that the processing is performed by the same RIP engine in the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100 as described above, setting of the “pass-through mode”, and the like.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in the information of “RIP device designation” in FIG. 3, when the DFE 100 is to execute the RIP process, any one of a plurality of RIP engines installed in the DFE 100 can be designated. is there. As a result, it is possible to execute RIP processing flexibly using the functions installed in each RIP engine.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as described in FIG. 3, the information of “RIP device designation” is provided, and the case where the workflow control unit 418 determines the module to execute the process based on this information is taken as an example. explained. In addition to this, for example, information corresponding to “RIP device designation” may be described in the workflow information shown in FIG.

  In such a case, the information corresponding to “RIP device designation” is not included in the JDF information, and is not transmitted to the DFE 100 side. As a result, on the DFE 100 side, although the RIP engine 420 on the HWF server 4 side can not judge the designated processing, it is possible to judge the processing to be executed on the DFE 100 side by referring to the “RIP status”. It can.

  Besides, it is also possible to analyze the content of the received data on the DFE 100 side and judge the RIP processing already executed. However, in this case, processing for analyzing the input data occurs, which requires time for the processing. On the other hand, by using the information of "RIP status", the image formation output can be performed quickly without performing such analysis processing.

1 digital printer 2 offset printer 3 post-processing device 4, 4a, 4b HWF server 5, 5a, 5b client terminal 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
40 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
70 Operation Unit 80 Bus 100 DFE
101 Network I / F
102 Display 111 Job Reception Unit 112 Individual Job Reception Unit 113 System Control Unit 114 Job Data Storage Unit 115 UI Control Unit 116 Job Control Unit 117 JDF Analysis Unit 118 RIP Unit 119 RIP Control Unit 120 RIP Engine 121 Image Storage Unit 122 Printer Control Unit 123 Device Information Management Unit 124 Device Information Communication Unit 130 Job Management Unit 150 Digital Engine 200 CTP
201 control unit 202 input unit 203 RIP parameter analysis unit 204 preflight processing unit 205 normalization processing unit 206 mark processing unit 207 font processing unit 209 CMM processing unit 210 trapping processing unit 211 calibration processing unit 212 screening processing unit 213 output unit 214 job attribute Analysis unit 215 RIP status analysis unit 216 RIP status management unit 217 Layout processing unit 218 Rendering processing unit 400 HWF controller 401 Network I / F
410 system control unit 411 data reception unit 412 UI control unit 413 job control unit 414 job data storage unit 415 device information communication unit 416 device information management unit 417 device information storage unit 418 workflow control unit 419 workflow information storage unit 420 RIP engine 421 job Transmission / reception unit 422 division / imposition unit 423 scheduling unit 430 job management unit

JP, 2008-146607, A

Claims (9)

An image processing system that executes a plurality of predetermined processes in order.
A processing execution control device for controlling execution of the plurality of processing, and an image formation output control device for controlling execution of an image formation output in a plateless image forming apparatus;
The process execution control device
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control is performed to generate drawing information, which is information referred to at the time of image formation output by a plate-type image forming apparatus, based on output target image information, which is information of an image of the image formation output target. Side drawing information generation unit,
A drawing information transmission unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus as one of the plurality of processes;
Output target image information composed of pages output by the plate type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating output destinations different for each page with respect to output target image information composed of a plurality of pages An individual output instruction generation unit for generating a plateless output instruction which is an output instruction of output target image information constituted by a plate output instruction which is an instruction and a page outputted by the plateless type image forming apparatus;
The image formation output control device
A drawing information generating unit corresponding to the control-side rendering information generation unit, and an output-side rendering information generation unit for generating a drawing image information on the basis of the output target image data,
An execution control unit that causes the non-plate-type image forming apparatus to execute image formation output based on the drawing information generated by the output-side drawing information generation unit;
The individual output command generation unit determines the imposition number, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. An image processing system characterized in that the plate output instruction and the plateless output instruction are generated.   The individual output command generation unit determines the imposition number and generates the output command so that the time required for the image formation output by the plate-type image forming apparatus is shortest. The image processing system according to Item 1.   The individual output instruction generation unit is configured to minimize the difference between the time required for image formation output by the plate-type image forming apparatus and the time required for image formation output by the plate-less image forming apparatus. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein an imposition number is determined to generate the output command.   The individual output instruction generation unit determines the imposition number and generates the output instruction so that all pages output by the plate-type image forming apparatus can be output by the same imposition number The image processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:   In order to reduce the difference between the completion timing of the image formation output according to the plate output instruction and the completion timing of the image formation output according to the plateless output instruction, a plurality of the plate already generated and stored in the storage medium The image processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an execution order adjustment unit that changes the execution order of an output instruction or the no-plate output instruction.   The execution order adjustment unit acquires information on the execution status of image formation output in the plate-type image forming apparatus and the plate-less image forming apparatus at predetermined intervals, and the execution status adjustment unit acquires the acquired execution status. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the order of execution is changed so that the difference between the completion timing of the image formation output by the plate output instruction and the completion timing of the image formation output by the no plate output instruction is reduced. Image processing system. In an image processing system that executes a plurality of defined processes, an image forming output control device that controls execution of the plurality of processes and controls execution of an image forming output in a plateless image forming apparatus A processing execution control unit for executing output,
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control is performed to generate drawing information, which is information referred to at the time of image formation output by a plate-type image forming apparatus, based on output target image information, which is information of an image of the image formation output target. Side drawing information generation unit,
A drawing information transmission unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus as one of the plurality of processes;
Output target image information composed of pages output by the plate type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating output destinations different for each page with respect to output target image information composed of a plurality of pages An individual output instruction generation unit for generating a plateless output instruction which is an output instruction of output target image information constituted by a plate output instruction which is an instruction and a page outputted by the plateless type image forming apparatus;
The individual output command generation unit determines the imposition number, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. Generating the plate output instruction and the plateless output instruction;
The control side rendering information generation unit, the process execution control unit, characterized in that corresponds to the output side drawing information generating unit that generates a drawing image information on the basis of the output target image data in the image forming output controller . An image processing method in an image processing system including a processing execution control device for controlling execution of a plurality of predetermined processes and an image formation output control device for controlling execution of image formation output in a plateless type image forming apparatus ,
The process execution control device
Control the execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, drawing information, which is information referred to at the time of image formation output by a plate-type image forming apparatus, is generated based on output target image information, which is information of an image of the image formation output target.
As one of the plurality of processes, the generated drawing information is transmitted to a plate type image forming apparatus,
Output target image information composed of pages output by the plate type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating output destinations different for each page with respect to output target image information composed of a plurality of pages A plateless output instruction which is an instruction and a plateless output instruction which is an output instruction of output target image information constituted by a page outputted by the plateless type image forming apparatus is generated, in which case an image formation output is required. An imposition number, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, is determined based on the time and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which an image is formed, and the plate output instruction and the plateless output instruction are generated. ,
The image formation output control device
By the processing execution control unit the drawing information output rendering information generation unit corresponding to the drawing information generation unit for generating at generates portrayal information based on the output target image data,
An image processing method comprising: causing the non-plate-type image forming apparatus to execute image formation output based on drawing information generated by the output-side drawing information generation unit. In an image processing system that executes a plurality of defined processes, an image forming output control device that controls execution of the plurality of processes and controls execution of an image forming output in a plateless image forming apparatus A control program for controlling a process execution control apparatus for executing an output, the control program comprising:
A process execution control unit that controls execution of the plurality of processes;
As one of the plurality of processes, control is performed to generate drawing information, which is information referred to at the time of image formation output by a plate-type image forming apparatus, based on output target image information, which is information of an image of the image formation output target. Side drawing information generation unit,
A drawing information transmission unit that transmits the generated drawing information to a plate-type image forming apparatus as one of the plurality of processes;
Output target image information composed of pages output by the plate type image forming apparatus based on output destination designation information for designating output destinations different for each page with respect to output target image information composed of a plurality of pages An individual output instruction generation unit for generating a plateless output instruction which is an output instruction of output target image information constituted by a plate output instruction which is an instruction and a page outputted by the plateless type image forming apparatus; In the device,
The individual output command generation unit determines the imposition number, which is the number of pages formed on one recording medium, based on the time required for image formation output and the time required for post-processing on the recording medium on which the image is formed. Generating the plate output instruction and the plateless output instruction;
The control side rendering information generation unit, a control program, characterized in that corresponds to the output side drawing information generating unit that generates a drawing image information on the basis of the output target image data in the image forming output control device.