JP6795051B2 - Process execution control device, process execution control method and control program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, processing execution control equipment, to processing execution control method及beauty control program.

A method of defining and controlling all processes related to the generation of printed matter is used by an information format called JDF (Job Definition Format). 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 a HWF (Hybrid Work Flow) system, and the server that controls such a system is called an HWF server.

In such an HWF system, when an offset printer and a digital printer are made to execute output, it is required that there is no difference in font, color, etc., and a consistent output result can be obtained. However, RIP (Raster Image Processor) engines that generate raster data, which is the data finally referred to in the print output, based on the print data are provided in the offset printer and the digital printer, respectively. As a result, different RIP engines are used, which may result in differences in print results.

In the case of output by an offset printer, CTP (Computer To) that creates a plate for the offset printer after performing raster data generation processing (hereinafter referred to as "RIP processing") by the RIP engine on the HWF server. Data is transferred to Plate).

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

Further, in the HWF system, it is also possible to make the digital printer execute the print output by using the image data and the job data generated for the offset printer. In such a case, a method has been proposed in which large-format image data is electronically cut based on the imposition information generated for the offset printer and the imposition is re-imposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ..

Regarding the above-mentioned difference in printing results, it is a problem to make the RIP engine installed in the HWF server and the RIP engine installed in the DFE correspond to each other so that the same result can be obtained regardless of the RIP engine. Can be solved. On the other hand, regarding the conversion of information in the sharing of job data between the offset printer and the digital printer described above, even the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is still insufficient.

In Patent Document 1, imposition of a page to be printed is targeted. On the other hand, when printing in an imposition state, a mark indicating a folding position or a cutting position is generally added. When the printing conditions change due to a change from offset printing to digital printing and the imposition state changes, it is necessary to change the mark accordingly.

However, Patent Document 1 does not consider the change of the mark due to the change of imposition. When a change occurs in the mark, the user must manually handle it, which is a burden on the user's operation. It should be noted that such a problem is not limited to the change from offset printing to digital printing, but also occurs when the mark is changed due to the imposition change. Further, not only when the imposition is changed, but also when the function of the post-processing device for cutting or folding is changed due to the change of the device for executing the print output, the same problem may occur.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming devices and performs print output, a user operation when changing a mark due to a change in printing conditions. The purpose is to reduce the burden.

In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is applied to a composed image processing system includes a plurality of image forming output control apparatus for controlling an image forming output in one of the image forming apparatus even without low, more This is a process execution control device that manages the control of the image formation output by the image formation output control device, and conditions for image formation output are set for the output target image information which is the information of the image to be image formation output. an output instruction information acquisition unit for acquiring the generated information der Ru output command information, drawing information and control side rendering information generating unit that generates the information that is referred to in the image forming output in the image forming apparatus, an image the output instruction information possess a setting converter for converting the set of graphics in accordance with a change in the relevant condition collation result was output by forming an output, said output command information acquisition unit acquires, the see contains graphic settings for collation of the setting and the result of the conditions associated with the collation is formed outside of the image forming output target image, the control-side rendering information generating unit in accordance with said output instruction information , The drawing information is generated based on the output target image information, and the setting conversion unit accepts a change in the setting of the condition related to the collation included in the output command information, and changes the setting of the condition. A method for converting the setting of the condition of the image related to the collation according to the condition related to the changing collation is to convert the setting of the image based on the specified mark conversion information. To do.

According to the present invention, in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming apparatus and performs print output, it is possible to reduce the operational burden on the user when changing a mark due to a change in printing conditions.

It is a figure which shows the operation mode of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structure 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 which shows the functional structure of the HWF server which concerns on embodiment of this 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 which shows the functional structure of DFE which concerns on embodiment of this 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. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the RIP engine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the RIP engine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole operation of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the mark setting screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the mark which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the division request setting screen of the job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information of the division request which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the mark conversion information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the mark conversion information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the mathematical expression table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the mark conversion result confirmation screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the conversion result of the mark which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing in DFE which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the RIP processing which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

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

The HWF system according to the present embodiment is equipped with a DFE (Digital Front End) that controls the digital printer when the digital printer is operated and a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine that is common to the server. The purpose of the present embodiment is to improve the productivity of the print output of the entire system by adjusting the pages 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 the present embodiment includes a digital printer 1a, 1b, an offset printer 2, a post-processing device 3, an HWF server 4a, 4b (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "HWF server 4"), and a client terminal. 5a and 5b (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "client terminal 5") are connected to each other via a network.

Digital printers 1a and 1b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "digital printer 1") are plateless printers that perform image formation output without using a plate, such as an electrophotographic method and an inkjet method, and are DFE100 and a digital engine 150. And the aftertreatment device 160. The DFE 100 functions as an image formation output control device, which is a control unit for causing the digital engine 150 to execute print output and the post-processing device 160 to execute post-processing. Further, 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 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 outputs an image by using a plate, and includes a CTP (Computer To Plate) 200 and an offset engine 250. The CTP200 is a device that generates a plate based on raster data. By generating a plate by CTP200, offset printing by the offset engine 250 becomes possible.

The post-processing device 3 is a device that performs post-processing such as punching, staples, and bookbinding on the paper printed out by the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2. Further, when the paper output by the offset printer is imposition paper, the post-processing device 3 folds or cuts the paper.

The HWF server 4 is a server on which HWF software that manages everything from submission of job data including image data to be printed out to print output and post-processing is installed. The HWF server 4 manages the various processes described above by using 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 processing execution control device.

When the HWF server 4 prints out by offset printing using the offset printer 2, the RIP engine installed inside generates raster data and transmits the raster data to the CTP200. Therefore, the HWF server 4 is equipped with a RIP engine.

On the other hand, when printing is output by the digital printer 1, data is transmitted to the DFE 100. Since the DFE 100 is equipped with the RIP engine as described above, the HWF server 4 can make the digital printer 1 execute the print output by transmitting the print data before the RIP processing to the DFE 100.

Here, the 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 fonts and colors are different in the print output results of both, the user who receives the output will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is preferable that the print output results of the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 are consistent.

Differences in print output between 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, the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 in the present embodiment is a RIP engine that supports both the digital printer 1 and the offset printer 2 and has common processing that can be shared. Further, the DFE100 is equipped with a RIP engine common to the RIP engine mounted on 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 DFE100 are equipped with a common RIP engine. Therefore, when the print output is executed by the digital printer 1, it is possible to combine the RIP process by the HWF server 4 and the RIP process by the DFE100.

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 client terminal 5 and operating the HWF server 4, inputs data, sets the JDF information described above, and the like. The JDF information is the processing setting information.

Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing device such as the DFE100, 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 a configuration similar to that of a general server, a PC (Personal Computer), or the like. That is, in the information processing device according to the present embodiment, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, the RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, the ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 40, and the I / F 50 are buses 80. It is connected via. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

The CPU 10 is a calculation means and controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, 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 OS (Operating System), 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 state of the information processing apparatus. The operation unit 70 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input information to the information processing device. 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 calculations according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program loaded into the RAM 20 from a storage medium such as an HDD 40 or an optical disk (not shown). The combination of the software control unit and the hardware configured in this way constitutes a functional block that realizes the functions of the DFE100, the HWF server 4, and the client terminal 5 according to the present embodiment.

Next, the JDF information described above 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" regarding job execution, "edit information" regarding raster data, and "finishing information" regarding post-processing. It also includes information on "RIP status", "RIP device designation" and "device designation".

As shown in FIG. 3, the "job information" includes information such as "number of copies", "number of pages", and "RIP control mode". The "number of copies" is information that specifies the number of copies of the printed matter to be output. The "number of pages" is information that specifies the number of pages of the printed matter. The "RIP control mode" indicates a control mode for RIP processing, and "page mode", "sheet mode", and the like are designated.

"Edit information" includes "orientation information", "print surface information", "rotation", "enlargement / reduction", "image position", "layout information", "margin information", and "crop mark information". .. "Orientation information" is information that specifies the printing orientation such as "vertical" and "horizontal". "Print surface information" is information that specifies a print surface such as "double-sided" and "single-sided".

"Rotation" is information that specifies the rotation angle of the image to be output. "Enlargement / reduction" is information that specifies the scaling factor of the image to be output. The "offset" of the "image position" is information that specifies the offset of the image to be output. The "position adjustment information" is information that specifies the value of the position adjustment of the image to be output.

The "custom in-position arrangement" of the "layout information" is information that specifies the arrangement of the custom surface. The "number of pages" is information for designating the number of pages on one sheet of paper, and is designated as "2in1" or the like when two pages are aggregated on one sheet of paper, for example. “Page order information” is information that specifies information regarding the order of printed pages. "Creep position adjustment" is information for designating a value related to creep position adjustment.

"Margin information" is information that specifies values related to margins such as fit boxes and gutters. The "center crop mark information" of the "crop mark information" is information that specifies a value related to the center crop mark. “Corner crop mark information” is information that specifies a value related to the corner crop mark. In addition, various information may be included as the mark information. Details will be described later.

"Finishing information" includes "Collate information", "staple / bind information", "punch information", "fold information", "trim", "output tray information", "input tray information", "cover / sheet information". including. The "Color information" is information that specifies whether to print in page units or document units when a plurality of copies of a document are printed.

"Staple / bind information" is information that specifies processing related to staple / bind. “Punch information” is information that specifies processing related to punching. "Folding information" is information that specifies processing related to folding. “Trim” is information that specifies processing related to trim.

"Output tray information" is information that specifies the output tray. The "input tray" is information that specifies the input tray. “Cover / sheet information” is information that specifies processing related to the cover / sheet.

The “RIP status” is execution status information indicating whether or not each of the RIP internal processes, which are the 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" are the RIP internal processing items. Is described. Then, the status of the processing status for each item is described. In FIG. 3, "Not Yet" indicating that the processing has not been performed is set, and when each processing is executed, the processing is updated to "Done".

The "RIP device designation" is information for designating whether to execute each RIP internal process on the HWF server 4 side or the DFE100 side. Either "HWF server" or "DFE" is set for each item of RIP internal processing similar to "RIP status". Further, when "DFE" is set, information for designating any of a plurality of RIP engines mounted on the DFE 100 is included, such as "DFE (engine A)".

The "device designation" is information for designating a device for executing a print job, and in the example of FIG. 3, a "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 when the operator displays the GUI of the HWF server 4 via the client terminal 5 and sets various items in the GUI. Then, the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 performs the RIP process based on such JDF information. Further, the post-processing device 3 executes post-processing based on such JDF information. When a job is submitted to the HWF server 4 from external software or a system, it may be submitted with JDF information added.

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 the HWF controller 400 and the network I / F 401. The 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 data to be printed, creation of print jobs, workflow management, distribution of jobs to digital printer 1 and offset printer 2, and the like. The process in which the job data to be printed is input to the HWF server 4 and acquired by the HWF controller 400 is the submission process in this system. The HWF controller 400 is configured by installing dedicated software in the information processing device. This software is HWF software.

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

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

The UI control unit 412 notifies the system control unit 410 of the operation information acquired via the network in this way. The display of the GUI on the client terminal 5 is realized by software pre-installed on the client terminal 5 and information provided to the client terminal 5 from the UI control unit 412 via the network.

The operator selects the job data to be submitted by operating the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. As a result, the client terminal 5 transmits the job data to the HWF server 4, and the data receiving 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, the 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, PDF (Page Description Language) format data such as PDF (Portable Document Form) or PostScript.

In addition, the data to be printed may be transmitted from the client terminal 5 to the HWF server 4 in the application-specific data format 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 generates job data based on the data to be printed by the function of the RIP engine 420.

The data to be printed registered in the job data storage unit 414 is PDL information as described above, but this PDL information is not only the primary data generated based on the data to be printed, but also halfway through. It may be intermediate data for which processing has been performed. These pieces of information are used as output target image information, which is information of the image to be output. The case where the intermediate data is stored in the job data storage unit 414 is the case where the job data is registered in the HWF server 4 in the state of the intermediate data, in addition to the state in the middle of processing where the processing has already started in the HWF server 4. There can be. After that, when it is used as "PDL information", it indicates primary data that has not been RIP-processed, and when it is used as "intermediate data", it indicates data in a state where RIP processing is executed halfway. Shown.

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

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

Further, the system control unit 410 can divide the received job data into print parts such as page units based on the operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. Each of the job data divided in this way is registered in the job data storage unit 414 as the divided individual job data.

Further, when the output destination device is selected by the operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 for each job for which division is specified, the selection result is associated with the job data and stored in the job data storage unit 414. It will be saved. As the output destination selection mode, for example, the cover portion may be the digital printer 1 and the text may be the offset printer 2.

Such job division processing is executed by the imposition conversion unit 422 via control by the system control unit 410 and the job control unit 413. The imposition conversion unit 422 generates job data for each output destination device and divides the job according to the job division mode specified by the operator. Further, the imposition conversion unit 422 converts the mark information set for the original job before the division according to the job after the division, based on the change in the printing conditions determined by the result of the division of the job. Such a function is one of the gist of the present embodiment. Details will be described later.

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

The device information communication unit 415 periodically acquires information on 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 other devices stored in the device information storage unit 417, so that even if the information of the other device changes dynamically, the device information storage unit The information stored in 417 is kept accurate.

When converting the mark information described above, the imposition conversion unit 422 acquires the information of the device to which the divided job data is transmitted, that is, the information of the offset printer 2 and the digital printer 1, and converts the mark information. I do. The information is information stored in the device information storage unit 417, and is provided by the device information management unit 416.

The workflow control unit 418 determines the execution order of each process when processing the 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, it is controlled 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 each process that can be executed in the HWF system is combined in a designated order. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of workflow information. On the other hand, the parameters 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 the operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5 is registered in advance.

The execution instruction for the 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 operator's operation on the GUI displayed on the client terminal 5. As a result, the system control unit 410 selects the output destination device described above.

As described above, in the embodiment 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 specified contents. In addition, it is possible to automatically select the job based on the comparison between the job content and the characteristics of the device.

When the output destination device is automatically selected based on the comparison between the job contents and the characteristics of the device, the system control unit 410 acquires the information of the available devices from the device information management unit 416. When the output destination device is determined in this way, 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 the job. At this time, the workflow information registered in advance in the workflow information storage unit 419 may be used based on the operation of the operator, or new workflow information may be generated based on the contents set according to the operation of the operator. ..

When the workflow control unit 418 receives an execution instruction from the system control unit 410, the workflow control unit 418 gives an execution instruction of each process to the job control unit 413 according to the designated execution order according to the designated workflow information or the 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.

Upon receiving the execution instruction, the job control unit 413 inputs the above-mentioned PDL information and JDF information into the RIP engine 420 to execute the RIP process. The JDF information includes information indicating whether the HWF server 4 or the DFE100 executes each of the plurality of RIP internal processes performed by the RIP engine.

The job control unit 413 refers to the distribution information of the RIP process among the information included in the JDF information, and if the process instructed by the workflow control unit 418 is the process to be executed in the HWF server 4, the RIP engine 420 To execute the specified process for. 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 executed the RIP process in this way updates the RIP status of the RIP process that has executed the process. As a result, the status of the RIP internal processing executed by 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 generator.

The RIP execution result data generated by executing the RIP process is any one of PDL information, intermediate data, and raster data. These differ in the content of the RIP internal processing, but as the processing progresses, intermediate data is generated based on the data that was initially PDL information, and finally raster data is 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. As a result, the workflow control unit 418 starts controlling the next process according to the workflow information.

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

On the other hand, in the case of transmitting job data to the digital printer 1, the job control unit 413 specifies the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 among the plurality of RIP engines included in the DFE 100, and sets the job transmission / reception unit 421. Enter the job data. As a result, the job transmission / reception unit 421 specifies the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 and transmits the job data to the DFE 100.

The job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits the job data in which the PDL information or the intermediate data and the JDF information are packaged to the DFE 100. As a mode of transmitting 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 the JDF information. In this case, the side receiving the JDF information accesses the URL and acquires PDL information or intermediate data. Further, in the case of offset printing, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits the 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 way are sequentially executed in the CTP 200 and DFE 100 to which the data has been transmitted.

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, controls the received job, controls the execution of RIP processing, and controls the digital engine 150. The HWF server 4 transmits the job data to the DFE 100 to execute the print output by the digital engine 150. That is, the DFE 100 functions as a server for providing the digital print function to the HWF server 4.

The job control function provided by the DFE 100 is a control function for 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 RIP process execution control is a control that causes the RIP engine to execute the RIP process based on the information generated by the analysis of the JDF information and the PDL information.

The information generated by the analysis of the JDF information is the information obtained by extracting the information used for the RIP processing from the JDF information described in FIG. 3 and converting it into a format decipherable by the DFE100. Called "attribute". Intermediate data and raster data are created by executing RIP processing with reference to the job attributes in DFE and PDL information.

The control function of the digital engine 150 is a function of transmitting raster data and a part of the above-mentioned job attributes in DFE to the digital engine 150 to execute print output. These functions are realized by each block shown in FIG. As described in FIG. 2, each block shown in FIG. 6 is realized by the CPU 10 performing arithmetic processing according to the program loaded in the RAM 20 and the program stored in the ROM 30 to operate other hardware.

The DFE 100 includes a network I / F 101, a display 102, and a DFE controller 110, and has a plurality of RIP engines mounted inside the DFE controller 110. This is installed in the HWF system corresponding to the RIP engine of another device that may send a job to the DFE100. 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 includes a plurality of individual job receiving units 112 inside. 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 receiving units 112 correspond to a plurality of RIP engines mounted on the DFE 100, respectively. The individual job receiving unit 112 functions as an individual receiving unit.

As described above, when the job data is transmitted from the HWF server 4 to the DFE100, 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.

It should be noted that the job data can be input to the DFE 100 from the HWF server 4 via a network as well as via a portable storage medium such as a USB memory. In the present embodiment, the case where the job data includes JDF information will be described as an example, but when the job data does not include the JDF, the job receiving unit 111 creates a dummy JDF and adds the JDF information to the job data. ..

The individual job receiving unit 112 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 receiving unit 112 is provided corresponding to each of the above-mentioned RIP engines. That is, the RIP engine mounted on the DFE 100 and the individual job receiving unit 112 in which the contents of the job are set are provided, and by designating any of the plurality of individual job receiving units 112, the job is executed with the preset contents. It becomes possible.

One of the possible settings in the individual job receiving unit 112 according to the present embodiment is the "pass-through mode". In this "pass-through mode", the RIP engine analyzes the JDF information without performing the JDF information analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117, which is a JDF information analysis function provided separately from the RIP engine in the DFE100. The mode.

With such a function, it is possible to use JDF information in a format that the JDF analysis unit 117 does not support, or to use a RIP engine that is difficult to provide a JDF analysis function outside the RIP engine in the HWF server 4 and the DFE100. It becomes. In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned "pass-through mode" is used when the processing is shared between the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 and the RIP engine 120 mounted on the DFE100. The same RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 is used as the output side drawing information generation unit.

When the RIP process is distributed to the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, it is preferable that the RIP process is executed as a series of processes without being aware of the distinction between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 as much as possible. Therefore, when the data processed halfway in the HWF server 4 is input to the DFE100, the JDF analysis processing similar to the case where the 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 performed.

In the present embodiment, since the same RIP engine corresponding to the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 is mounted, it is possible to suitably realize such control of RIP processing. Further, in such a case, since it is preferable that the data processed by one RIP engine is directly passed to the other RIP engine, such control is suitably realized by the above-mentioned "pass-through mode". Can be done.

The system control unit 113 stores the job data received by the individual job reception unit 112 in the job data storage unit 114, or passes it to the job control unit 116. If the DFE 100 is set to store job data, or if there is a job that is already being executed, the system control unit 113 stores the job data in the job data storage unit 114. If the JDF information describes whether or not to store the job data in the job data storage unit 114, the system control unit 113 follows the description.

The case where the job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114 is, for example, the case where the print contents are previewed in the DFE 100. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires the data to be printed included in the 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. As a result, the UI control unit 115 causes the display 102 to display a preview of the print content.

When generating the preview data, the system control unit 113 passes the data to be printed to the job control unit 116 and requests the generation of the preview data. The job control unit 116 passes the 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.

Further, when the operator changes the JDF information in the DFE 100, the job data is stored in the job data storage unit 114. In this case, the system control unit 113 acquires the 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 operation.

When the operator operates the DFE 100 to change the JDF information, the UI control unit 115 accepts the changed content and notifies the system control unit 113. The system control unit 113 reflects the received change contents in the target JDF information and updates it, and stores the updated JDF information in the job data storage unit 114.

As a general rule, the system control unit 113 takes out the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 in the order in which they are stored and delivers them to the job control unit 116. Further, in the case of job data described in the JDF information to wait for the execution instruction in the DFE 100 and execute the job data, when the job execution instruction is received, the job data stored in the job data storage unit 114 is transmitted to the job control unit 116. Hand over.

The job execution instruction is input from the HWF server 4 via the network or by the operator's operation on the DFE 100. Further, 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 at the set time.

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

As described above, the UI control unit 115 accepts the display of information on the display 102 and the operator's operation on the DFE 100. In the above-described JDF information editing operation, 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 controls the job execution based on the job execution instruction from the system control unit 113. Specifically, the control performed by the job control unit 116 is a JDF analysis process by the JDF analysis unit 117, a RIP process by the RIP unit 118, and a control process of the digital engine 150 by the printer control unit 122.

When the job control unit 116 receives a job execution instruction from the system control unit 113, the job control unit 116 inputs the JDF information included in the 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 the JDF information described in the format of the source of the JDF information into a format recognizable by the RIP unit 118. That is, the JDF analysis unit 117 functions as a processing setting information conversion unit.

On the other hand, when the "pass-through mode" is specified as described above, the job control unit 116 directly inputs the JDF information included in the job data acquired from the system control unit 113 into the RIP unit 118. The designation of "pass-through mode" is described in the JDF information by, for example, the individual job receiving unit 112. 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 generation source format into a format recognizable by the RIP unit 118 as described above. The JDF analysis unit 117 holds a conversion table internally, and the RIP unit 118 extracts necessary information from the information included in the JDF information according to the conversion table and converts the description format. As a result, the above-mentioned in-DFE job attribute is generated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a 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 the description format in the JDF information and the description format in the job attribute in DFE are associated with each other. For example, the "number of copies" information described in FIG. 3 is described as "A.Amount" in the actual JDF information, and is converted into the description of "number of copies" when the job attribute in DFE is generated.

Job attributes in DFE are generated by the processing of the JDF analysis unit 117 using the conversion table as shown in FIG. 7. The information described in the job attribute in DFE is, for example, "job information", "edit information", "finishing information" and the like shown in FIG.

Further, the JDF analysis unit 117 sets the "RIP control mode" for the job attribute in the DFE when the job attribute in the DFE is generated. "Page mode", "sheet mode" and the like are set in the "RIP control mode". The JDF analysis unit 117 assigns a "RIP control mode" according to the type of the individual job receiving unit 112 that has received the job data, the content of the job, the HWF software constituting the HWF server 4 that is the source of the job data, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the setting of aggregate printing in the print job is handled in the "page mode". Details of the "RIP control mode" will be described later.

The job control unit 116 generates "RIP parameters" based on the job attributes in DFE generated by the JDF analysis unit 117, and passes the RIP parameters to the RIP control unit 119 of the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing. Let it run. As a result, the RIP unit 118 executes the RIP process based on the RIP parameters.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of the RIP parameter according to the present embodiment. The RIP parameter according to the present embodiment includes "input / output data type", "data read information", and "RIP control mode" as the information at the beginning. The "input / output data type" specifies the type of input / output data such as "JDF" and "PDL". The designated format is, in addition to "JDF", "PDL", etc., a text format, an extension of image data, intermediate data, and the like.

The "data read information" is information on the input / output data read position, the write position designation method, and the designated position. The "RIP control mode" is information on the "page mode" and the "sheet mode". In addition, the information at the beginning includes information on the unit used in the RIP parameter and information on the data compression method.

The "input / output image information" includes "information about the output image", "information about the input image", and "information about the handling of the image". The "information about the output image" includes information such as the format, resolution, size, color separation, color shift, and page orientation of the output image data. Further, the "information about the input image" includes information such as the format, resolution, page range, and color setting of the input image data. The "information regarding the handling of images" includes information such as the offset of the scaling algorithm, the object area, and the offset of the halftone.

The "PDL-related information" is information related to the 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 the job, and includes the case of intermediate data. The "data area" specifies the area information in which the PDL information is stored. "Size information" specifies the data size of PDL information. The "data allocation method" specifies a data allocation method in the memory of PDL information such as "little endian" and "big endian".

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

As shown in FIG. 8, the RIP parameter includes a “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 "RIP control mode" is set to "page mode" and "sheet mode".

The "page mode" is a process of generating raster data by executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pages before aggregation that are aggregated on one sheet of paper. The "sheet mode" is a process of executing RIP processing for each of a plurality of pages aggregated on one sheet to generate raster data aggregated on one sheet.

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

Further, the job control unit 116 sets "RIP engine identification information" in the RIP parameter. The “RIP engine identification information” is information for identifying a plurality of RIP engines 120 included in the RIP unit 118. In this embodiment, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is used in the DFE100.

Therefore, the JDF information includes information for designating the individual job receiving unit 112 as described above, and the job data is received by the individual job receiving unit 112 so designated. The individual job receiving unit 112 corresponds to any of the RIP engines 120, and adds the identification information of the corresponding RIP engine 120 to the received JDF information. The job control unit 116 adds the above-mentioned "RIP engine identification information" to the RIP parameter based on the identification information of the RIP engine 120 added to the JDF information in this way.

In the RIP unit 118, the RIP control unit 119 controls a 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 for dealing with the possibility that the system according to the present embodiment receives a print job from a plurality of different HWF servers 4.

In different types of HWF servers 4, the method of handling data in the print job may be different. For example, it is a difference between "RIP control mode" such as "page mode" and "sheet mode" described above. In the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the "page mode", the data of the original page corresponding to the number of aggregates is designated in order at the time of aggregate printing.

On the other hand, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the "seat mode", all the data of the original page before aggregation is specified and the RIP process is executed. That is, the method of specifying the 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 differences in the format and handling method of the original data, such as the handling of margins in the original data.

In order to deal with such a difference, the RIP control unit 119 according to the present embodiment performs a parameter conversion process designated for the RIP engine 120 according to the RIP engine 120 for executing the RIP process. For example, when inputting data corresponding to the "page mode" to the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the "sheet mode", a process of converting the parameters described in the "page mode" to the "sheet mode" is performed. The function 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. In addition, a storage device connected to the DFE 100 via a USB interface or the like, or a storage device connected via a network may be used.

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

The printer control unit 122 can acquire the information of the digital engine 150 itself by exchanging the 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 standard for JDF information. Further, there is also known a method of collecting printer information using a communication protocol called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and a database called MIB (Management Information Base).

The device information management unit 123 manages device information which is information of the DFE 100 itself and the digital engine 150. The device information includes information on the RIP engine 120 included in the RIP unit 118 and information on the individual job receiving unit 112 configured in the job receiving unit 111. And, as the information of the individual job receiving unit 112, the information of the above-mentioned "pass-through mode" is also included.

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

When the digital engine 150 is controlled by the printer control unit 122 in the DFE 100 and the print output is completed, the system control unit 113 recognizes the digital engine 150 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 the job completion notification.

In the HWF server 4, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transfers the job completion notification 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 was originally executed by the workflow control unit 418 according to the workflow information.

When the workflow control unit 418 recognizes 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 process set after the print output by the DFE 100 includes, for example, post-processing by the post-processing device 3.

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 when JDF analysis processing by the JDF analysis unit 117 is involved. 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 the 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 composed of a control unit 201 and other parts. The part other than the control part 201 is an extension part that can be expanded by the vendor. The control unit 201 executes the RIP process by using various functions included as the 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 the initialization request, the above-mentioned RIP parameters are also input to the control unit 201. The control unit 201 that has 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 in which each extension unit included in the RIP engine 120 is operated in the RIP process is determined. Further, the format of the data generated as a result of these processes determines any one of raster image, preview image, PDF, intermediate data and the like.

When the control unit 201 receives the RIP processing execution request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 operates each unit of the expansion unit according to the processing order determined when the initialization request is received. The preflight processing unit 204 confirms the validity of the contents of the input PDL data. Then, when an invalid PDL attribute is found, the control unit 201 is notified. Upon receiving this notification, the control unit 201 notifies the external modules such as the RIP control unit 119 and the job control unit 116 via the output unit 213.

As the attribute information confirmed by the preflight processing, for example, whether or not an unsupported font is specified, information that may cause a situation in which processing by other modules included in the RIP engine 120 becomes impossible may occur. Is.

The normalization processing unit 205 converts the input PDL data into PDF when it is PostScript instead of PDF. The mark processing unit 206 develops the graphic information of the designated mark and superimposes it on the designated position on the image to be printed.

The font processing unit 207 takes out the font data, embeds the font in the PDL, and outlines the font. The CMM (Color Management Model) processing unit 209 converts the color space of the input image into CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blackK) based on the color conversion table or the like described in the ICC (International Color Consortium) profile.
The ICC profile is color ICC information and device ICC information.

The Trapping processing unit 210 performs a trapping process. The trapping process is to expand the areas of each color to fill the gaps in order to prevent gaps from occurring at the boundaries when misalignment occurs between adjacent regions of different colors that touch the boundaries. It is a process to do.

In order to improve the accuracy of color conversion by the CMM processing unit 209, the calibration processing unit 211 performs adjustment work for adjusting the variation in color balance due to the time-dependent variation of the output device and individual differences. The processing by the Calibration processing unit 211 may be executed outside the RIP engine 120.

The Screening processing unit 212 performs 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 in the same manner as the processing by the Calibration processing unit 211. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside. The RIP result is any of the raster image, preview image, PDF, and intermediate data determined at the time of initialization.

The rendering processing unit 218 performs a rendering process that generates raster data based on the input data. Of 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 unit 117 does not involve the JDF analysis processing will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the case where the JDF analysis process by the JDF analysis unit 117 is not involved is the case where the RIP internal process is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE 100. Therefore, the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 has the same configuration as the RIP engine 120 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, the functional configuration of the RIP engine 120 when the JDF analysis unit 117 does not involve the JDF analysis processing is almost the same as the configuration described in FIG. Hereinafter, only the parts different from FIG. 9 will be described. It is the same as in FIG. 9 that the portion other than the control unit 201 is an expansion unit.

When the control unit 201 in the example of FIG. 10 receives the initialization request from the input unit 202, the control unit 201 acquires the JDF information together with the initialization request. Then, the control unit 201 analyzes the JDF information and the PDL information by 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 the data generated as a result of the processing. To determine.

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 between 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 RIP status information included in the JDF information by using the function of the RIP status analysis unit 215, and confirms whether or not the RIP internal processing has already been executed. If there is an RIP internal processing unit that has already been executed, the corresponding extension unit is excluded from the processing target.

In addition to the case where the RIP status analysis unit 215 analyzes the RIP status included in the JDF information, it is also possible to analyze the PDL information and execute the same process. In the case of PDL information, since the attribute information such as parameters has disappeared from 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 the imposition processing. The RIP status management unit 216 rewrites the RIP status corresponding to the RIP internal processing executed by each extension unit to "Done" according to the control of the control unit 201. The output unit 213 transmits the RIP result to the outside of the engine. The RIP result is data in the data format determined at the time of initialization.

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

Further, as described above, depending on the "RIP device designation" information included in the JDF information, a plurality of RIPs mounted inside the DFE100, such as "DFE (engine A)" and "DFE (engine B)", are installed. The engine 120 may be used properly. Since the control unit 201 cannot outsource the processing to an extension unit of another RIP engine, the job control unit 116 processes the processing.

As described above, the job control unit 116 adds "RIP engine identification information" to the RIP parameter. At this time, different RIP engines generate different RIP parameters for each specified RIP internal process. In the case of the example of FIG. 3, the RIP parameter for "engine A" specified to execute "font" and "layout", the RIP parameter for "engine B" specified to execute "mark", and the same. Generates the RIP parameter for "engine A" specified to execute the subsequent processing.

Then, the job control unit 116 requests the RIP unit 118 to perform RIP processing in order for each generated RIP parameter according to the order of processing inside the RIP. As a result, "engine A" and "engine B" are used properly and RIP internal processing is executed.

At this time, the information of "RIP status" can be referred to as a method of executing only the specified process in each engine. That is, by setting the status of only the item of the process to be executed to "Not Yet" and setting the other process to "Done", only the specified process can be executed.

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 DFE100. Here, the common RIP engine is at least a part related to the generation of raster data.

Therefore, the RIP engine 420 and the RIP engine 120 do not have all of the processing units shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in 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. In addition, it is the minimum configuration that the processing unit related to the generation of raster data is shared, and other processing units may be shared.

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 in which 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 DFE100 and CTP200 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 executed periodically.

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

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

When a plurality of pages are impositioned on one sheet and printed out, a mark indicating a folding position, a cutting position, or the like is added. These marks are set by the operator via GUI in S1102. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a mark setting screen which is a GUI for setting a mark.

As shown in FIG. 12, on the mark setting screen, the position on the paper is specified for the marks and layouts such as "cutting register mark", "corner register mark", "center register mark", "Kuwae", and "dob". An input field is displayed. The operator operates the client terminal 5 to input information in each input field to set marks and layouts in imposition printing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mark and a layout displayed in response to input of information on the mark setting screen as shown in FIG. By displaying the marks and layouts on the GUI as shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to efficiently assist the operator in inputting information. The information input in this way is transmitted to the HWF server 4 in S1102 and used as a part of the JDF information shown in FIG.

In this way, the job data generated by making various settings for the image information to be output is used as the output command information. Then, as described above, the job data includes setting of conditions related to collation of the result of print output such as sheet size and imposition, and setting of a mark which is a figure related to collation. The system control unit 410 that accepts these settings and generates job data functions as an output command information acquisition unit.

Further, by the processing of S1101, the HWF server 4 acquires the information on the type of the RIP engine mounted on the DFE100. Therefore, in the GUI of the client terminal 5, in the input field for specifying the information of "RIP device designation" shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to select which RIP engine is to be executed when the DFE is executed. It will be possible. The job data in which various conditions are set and stored in the job data storage unit 414 in this way is used as output command information.

Further, the client terminal 5 transmits a job division request to the HWF server 4 when the job data division operation is performed by the operator's operation on the GUI of the system (S1105). At the time of the job division request in S1105, the operator specifies the job division mode via the output destination setting screen as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, on the output destination setting screen, an output destination specification field for designating an "offset printer" and a "digital printer" and a page range specification field for designating a page range to be output to each output destination. Is displayed.

The page range that can be specified in the page range specification field is a multiple of the number of impositions supported by the output destination device specified in the output destination specification field. Therefore, the display information for displaying the output destination setting screen is configured so that only the number corresponding to the designated output destination device can be specified as the number of pages that can be specified in the page range specification field.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of information included in the job division request transmitted in S1105 based on the information set on the output destination setting screen shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, in addition to the information indicating the job to be divided, the information in which the content of the division is specified is transmitted in the job division request. The information indicating the content of the division is the information in which the device that executes the print output is specified for each page. The information shown in FIG. 15 is used as output destination designation information for designating a different output destination for each page of an output target image composed of a plurality of pages.

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

In the HWF server 4 that receives the job division request, the job control unit 413 divides the job to be divided specified in the information shown in FIG. 15 in page units according to the division contents, and generates a separate job. (S1106). At this time, the device designated for each division range is used as the "device designation" information shown in FIG. 3 in the JDF information.

When the job data is divided, the imposition conversion unit 422 performs imposition conversion processing (S1107). For example, in the case where the original job data is printed on an A1 size sheet with eight impositions, the maximum size of the sheet that can be used at the changed output destination after division is A3. In that case, print output cannot be performed unless the imposition state is changed.

Therefore, the imposition conversion unit 422 acquires the device information stored in the device information storage unit 417. As described above, this information includes information on the corresponding function of the collating condition. Then, the imposition conversion unit 422 compares the print conditions in the job data before the division with the corresponding functions of the output destination device changed after the division, and converts the imposition according to the function of the designated output destination. I do.

Further, when the imposition state is changed, the mark information specified on the mark setting screen shown in FIG. 12 and set as shown in FIG. 13 becomes unusable. Therefore, in the process of S1107, the imposition conversion unit 422 converts the mark information included in the JDF information based on the changed output destination function information after changing the imposition. That is, the imposition conversion unit 422 functions as a setting conversion unit.

Here, since the imposition conversion unit 422 converts the mark information in S1107, whether or not the mark is changed or changed based on the original printing conditions before the output destination is changed and the printing conditions after the change. The mark conversion information for which the modification mode is specified is retained. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of such mark conversion information.

FIG. 16 is an example of mark conversion information held by the imposition conversion unit 422, in which the original job data is sheet size A1, the number of impositions on one side is eight, and the binding method is flat binding. It is a figure which shows. As shown in FIG. 16, in the mark conversion information according to the present embodiment, "register marks (corners)" are used for each binding method such as "flat stitching", "saddle stitching", "no device", and "bookbinding machine". Whether or not there is a change in marks such as "dragonfly (page center)" is specified.

Further, each of the above binding methods is specified for each sheet size after being divided and changed as in A3, A4, and so on. Further, when there is a change in each mark, a formula for converting the mark information is specified, such as "Formula 1" and "Formula 2".

FIG. 17 is an example of mark conversion information held by the imposition conversion unit 422, in which the original job data is sheet size A1, the number of impositions on one side is eight, and the binding method is saddle stitching. It is a figure which shows. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a table is provided for the mark conversion information according to the present embodiment for each printing condition of the original job data before division. Then, the imposition conversion unit 422 determines whether or not the information of each mark needs to be changed by referring to the column corresponding to the print condition of the job data after division in the table corresponding to the print condition of the original job data. ..

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a table of information of each mathematical formula such as “Formula 1”, “Formula 2”, etc. shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. As shown in FIG. 18, each formula includes "horizontal position", "vertical position", "line width", "total number of pages", and "number of target pages" entered in the mark setting screen shown in FIG. This is a calculation formula for calculating the position of the mark after conversion with "etc." as a parameter.

The imposition conversion unit 422 determines the presence / absence of conversion and the mathematical formula when conversion is necessary for each mark based on the conversion tables shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Then, when the formula is determined, the required parameters are substituted into the formula extracted from the formula table shown in FIG. 18, and the converted mark information is calculated.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a mark conversion result confirmation screen displayed on the client terminal 5 as a result of the processing of S1107. As shown in FIG. 18, the conversion result of each mark is displayed on a screen similar to the mark setting screen. Further, for the mark that becomes unnecessary as a result of the conversion, it is displayed that the item is invalid, for example, "Kuwae" shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a mark and a layout displayed according to the mark conversion result confirmation screen shown in FIG. By displaying the marks and layouts on the GUI as shown in FIG. 20, it is possible to efficiently assist the operator in confirming the information. By such a process, the mark resetting process accompanying the division of the job data is completed. The jobs generated by being divided in this way are stored in the job data storage unit 414 as individual jobs.

After that, the client terminal 5 transmits a workflow generation request to the HWF server 4 when the workflow generation operation operation is performed by the operator's operation on the GUI of the system (S1108). In the workflow generation request, information that specifies the contents of the workflow as shown in FIG. 5 and information that specifies 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. As a result, the workflow control unit 418 generates new workflow information based on the received information and stores it in the workflow information storage unit 419, and associates the workflow with the job specified in the request (S1109). The association between the workflow and the job is executed, for example, by adding an identifier for identifying the workflow to the JDF information.

After such processing, when a job execution operation is performed on the client terminal 5 by an operator's operation on the GUI of the system, the client terminal 5 transmits a job execution request to the HWF server 4 (S1110). The operations S1102 to S1110 may be executed according to different operations, or a job registration request, a job division request, a workflow generation request, and a job execution request may be executed in one operation.

In the HWF server 4 that has received the job execution request, the system control unit 410 acquires the job data specified from the job data storage unit 414 based on the information for specifying the job data received together with the request (S1111). .. Further, 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 (S1112).

After that, the system control unit 410 passes the job data to the workflow control unit 418 and starts the execution of the workflow (S1113). The workflow control unit 418 acquires the workflow information associated with the acquired job data from the workflow information storage unit 419, and executes the process according to the workflow information.

In the workflow process, first, the in-server process to be executed by the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is executed (S1114). In S1114, the job control unit 413 causes the RIP engine 420 to execute the process as described above according to the control of the workflow control unit 418.

When the identifier specified in the execution request in S1109 is the identifier of the original job data of the divided job in the processing of S1105 and S1106, it is processed as a batch execution request for each of the divided jobs. In that case, in the in-server processing of S1114, the RIP processing for offset printing, which is one of the divided jobs, is executed, and the raster data transmission processing to the offset printer 2 is also executed.

As described above, the transmission of raster data to the CTP 200 is executed by the job transmission / reception unit 421. In this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 functions as a drawing information transmission unit. Further, regarding the post-processing by the post-processing device 3 that can be executed only by the output result of the offset printer 2, the execution request is transmitted from the HWF server 4 to the post-processing device 3 in the in-server processing by S1114. Also in this case, the job transmission / reception unit 421 transmits the job data related to the post-processing to the post-processing device 3.

After that, when the workflow process reaches the process in the DFE 100, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418 to cause the DFE 100 to transmit the job data (S1115). In S1115, the job control unit 413 designates the individual job receiving unit 112 according to the information specified in the JDF information from the plurality of individual job receiving units 112.

By designating any one of the plurality of individual job receiving units 112 when transmitting the job data to the DFE 100, the appropriate individual job receiving unit 112 in the DFE 100 receives the job data. When the job data is input to the DFE 100, the RIP process and the output process by the digital engine 150 are executed in the DFE 100 as described above (S1116).

In the DFE 100, when the designated process is completed, the job receiving unit 111 notifies the HWF server 4 of the completion (S1117). 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. As a result, the workflow control unit 418 makes a post-processing request to the post-processing device 3 for executing the post-processing specified in the workflow after the control by the DFE 100 (S1118).

In S1118, the job control unit 413 controls the job transmission / reception unit 421 according to the control of the workflow control unit 418, and makes a post-processing request to the post-processing device 3. By such processing, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment is completed.

Next, the DFE internal processing in S1116 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 21, first, the individual job receiving unit 112 designated when transmitting the job data from the HWF server 4 receives the job data (S2101). When the individual job receiving unit 112 receives the job data, the individual job receiving unit 112 updates the JDF information so as to reflect the individual settings set for itself in the job data (S2102).

The above-mentioned "pass-through mode" setting is also reflected in S2102. The job data to which the individual settings are 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 or the like via the UI control unit 115 according to the operation of the operator.

Then, when the job execution timing in the DFE 100 comes, such as the operation of the operator or the arrival at the set execution time, the system control unit 113 inputs the job data to the job control unit 116. The job control unit 116 refers to the input job data and confirms whether or not it is in the pass-through mode (S2103). As a result, when the pass-through mode is not set (S2103 / NO), the job control unit 116 inputs the job data to the JDF analysis unit 117 to generate the job attribute in DFE (S2104).

As a result of confirmation in S2103, when the pass-through mode is set (S2103 / YES), or when the JDF conversion is completed and the job attribute in DFE is generated, the job control unit 116 generates the RIP parameter (S2105). When not in the pass-through mode, in S2105, the RIP parameters as described in FIG. 8 are generated. On the other hand, in the pass-through mode, among the information shown in FIG. 8, RIP parameters including information other than "input / output image information" are generated, and JDF information is referred to for other parts.

When the job control unit 116 generates the RIP parameter, the job control unit 116 inputs necessary information to the RIP unit 118 to execute the RIP process. As a result, the RIP control unit 119 first performs the parameter conversion described above (S2106). Then, the RIP control unit 119 specifies the converted parameter and causes the RIP engine 120 to execute the RIP process (S2107). As a result, raster data is created by the RIP engine 120.

In S2105, as described above, RIP parameters are generated for each RIP engine based on the information of "RIP device designation" shown in FIG. Then, in S2107, RIP processing is executed in order for each generated RIP parameter to generate raster data.

When the raster data is generated and the 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 the print output (S2108). By such processing, the processing in DFE is completed.

Next, the RIP process in S2107 of FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 22, first, the control unit 201 executes the initialization process based on the initialization request to the input unit 202 (S2201). In S2201, in the case of the example of FIG. 9, the RIP parameter analysis unit 203 receives the RIP parameter and analyzes it, and as described above, the extension unit that executes the processing among the expansion units included in the RIP engine 120, and the extension unit. Determine the order. It also determines the format of the data generated as a result of the process.

Further, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the job attribute analysis unit 214 receives the JDF information and the PDL information, analyzes the information, and determines the extension unit for executing the processing and the order thereof. It also determines the format of the data generated as a result of the process. Subsequently, in the case of the example of FIG. 10, the control unit 201 causes the RIP status analysis unit 215 to execute the status analysis.

In the status analysis, the RIP status analysis unit 215 refers to the “RIP status” shown in FIG. 3 and selects one item of the RIP internal processing (S2202). Then, if the status is "Done" (S2203 / YES), the corresponding extension is excluded from the extension to be executed determined in the process of S2202 (S2204). On the other hand, if it is "Not Yet" (S2203 / NO), no particular processing is performed.

The RIP status analysis unit 215 repeats the processing for all the items of the RIP internal processing until the processing from S2202 is completed (S2205 / NO). After the RIP status analysis unit 215 completes the processing from S2202 for all the items of the RIP internal processing (S2205 / YES), when the input unit 202 acquires the execution request of the RIP processing (S2206 / YES), the control unit 201 Causes each extension unit to execute processing in order (S2207).

In S2207, processing is required only for the expansion portion determined in the processing of S2201 and not excluded by the processing of S2204. Further, processing is requested according to the processing order determined in S2201. When the processing is executed by the extension unit and the raster data is generated in this way, the output unit 213 outputs the processing result (S2208). By such a process, the process by the RIP unit 118 is completed.

In the present embodiment, only in the case of the example of FIG. 10, that is, in the case of the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the pass-through mode, the process of S2202 to S2205, that is, the case where the status analysis process is executed is taken as an example. There is. This is based on the fact that the status analysis process is required when the RIP process is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 as described above.

In such a case, the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 are equipped with the same RIP engine, and the RIP process is executed as a series of processes without being aware of the boundary between the two. Therefore, it is preferable that the data processed by the RIP engine 420 in the HWF server 4 is directly input to the RIP engine 120 in the DFE 100, and the pass-through mode that does not pass through the JDF analysis unit 117 provided outside the RIP engine is suitable.

However, this is an example, and even when the pass-through mode is not used, if the RIP processing is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, it is necessary to perform status analysis. That is, when the RIP processing is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, it is necessary to exclude the RIP processing already executed by the HWF server 4 on the DFE100 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 DFE100. In other words, even when the RIP processing is shared between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, it is necessary to perform the JDF analysis by the JDF analysis unit 117 on the DFE100 side and then perform the status analysis by the RIP status analysis unit 215. RIP internal processing may be determined.

In the HWF system according to the present embodiment, the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the RIP engine 420 mounted on the HWF server 4 is mounted on the DFE100. Therefore, there is a difference between the raster data of the print job processed by the RIP engine 420 for output on the offset printer 2 and the raster data of the print job processed by the RIP engine 120 for output on the digital printer 1. Does not occur. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the difference in printing results between different types of image forming devices.

Further, by providing a plurality of HWF servers 4, various data having different parameter specification formats at the time of RIP processing will be input. In this case, it is necessary to change the mode of parameter specification according to each format, and it is conceivable that the job control unit 116 shown in FIG. 6 is provided with such a function. However, since the job control unit 116 is related to other modules such as the system control unit 113 and the printer control unit 122, which are major elements in the DFE 100, when the function of the job control unit 116 is expanded, the entire system Has a large effect on.

On the other hand, in the DFE 100 according to the present embodiment, the RIP control unit 119 performs parameter conversion based on the control from the job control unit 116. That is, the RIP control unit 119 functions as a control value conversion unit. Therefore, the harmful effects of the function expansion of the job control unit 116 as described above should be eliminated, and the function expansion of the RIP control unit 119 should support a new parameter specification format without significantly affecting the entire system. Is possible.

As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, when the job data is divided and the execution destination of the print output is changed, the mark setting is converted according to the change of the print condition. Therefore, in a system that manages a plurality of types of image forming devices and outputs prints, it is possible to reduce the operational burden on the user when changing the mark due to the change in printing conditions.

In the above embodiment, as a case where the printing conditions are changed, a case where the output destination of the job generated for offset printing and set with a mark is changed to digital printing has been described as an example. In this case, the imposition is changed by changing the corresponding sheet size, and a difference is generated between the post-processing device 160 and the post-processing device 3 according to the corresponding function. Then, the mark conversion information shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is generated in response to such a change.

However, this is just an example. For example, even when the output destination of a job that is intentionally generated and marked with the digital printer 1a is changed to the digital printer 1b, the corresponding sheet size and post-processing device It is similarly applicable due to the difference in 160 functions. Even if the output destination is not changed, if the imposition is changed due to the change in the sheet size, it is necessary to change the mark setting in the same manner.

That is, the mark conversion process according to the present embodiment is used as a method of changing the mark setting according to the change of the condition when the condition related to the collation of the print output result is changed.

In the above embodiment, "page mode" and "sheet mode" have been described as examples of the "RIP control mode". Here, in the "page mode", the RIP control unit 119 transmits the data before the RIP to the RIP engine 120 for each of the plurality of pages before aggregation as described above, and executes the RIP process for each page to be aggregated. Raster data in the state of being generated is generated.

In addition, the RIP control unit 119 can transmit all the pre-RIP data for the plurality of pages before aggregation to the RIP engine 120, and the RIP engine 120 executes the RIP process while performing the imposition process. is there. Such a processing mode is called "surface mode". Even when the "surface mode" is used, the RIP control unit 119 performs a parameter conversion process designated for the RIP engine 120 according to the RIP engine 120 for executing the RIP process, as described above. This makes it possible to obtain the same effect as described above.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case of converting parameters for RIP control has been described as an example as a process for dealing with such a difference in "RIP control mode". In addition, for example, the RIP engine 120 for executing the RIP process may be selected according to the format of the original data.

In this case, when the RIP control unit 119 acquires the data to be processed by the RIP from the job control unit 116, the RIP control unit 119 refers to the information of the “RIP control mode”. Then, the RIP engine 120 corresponding to the designation of "page mode", "sheet mode", "surface mode", etc. is selected, and the RIP process is executed. Similar to the above, the function of the RIP control unit 119 also makes it possible to deal with the difference between the parameter specification method in the original data and the corresponding "RIP control mode" of the RIP engine 120.

Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, assuming that the same RIP engine is mounted on a plurality of devices, each of the RIP internal processes is executed by the information of "RIP device designation" as shown in FIG. Manage the devices you want to use. Then, when the RIP process is executed in the DFE 100, the RIP internal process that has already been executed is excluded by the information of the "RIP status".

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

By such a process, when the RIP process is performed on a plurality of devices, it is possible to facilitate the change of the process in charge of each device. Further, when the RIP processing is executed by the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, respectively, it is possible to generate the same image as when the RIP processing is executed by only one of them.

Further, according to the above embodiment, when the RIP internal processing is distributed between the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, a "pass-through mode" is set, and the information processed by the HWF server 4 is directly input to the RIP engine of the DFE100. Will be done. Since the same RIP engine is mounted on the HWF server 4 and the DFE100, it is possible to continue the RIP process as a series of processes without being aware of the difference between the devices. In such a case, by using the above-mentioned "RIP status" information, it is possible to more preferably realize that the distribution mode is dynamically changed when the RIP processing is distributed among a plurality of devices.

Further, according to the above embodiment, each of the plurality of RIP engines mounted on the DFE100 is supported, and each individual job receiving unit 112 associated with individual settings such as the "pass-through mode" is provided on the DFE100. It is provided.

As a result, on the HWF server 4 side, the same RIP engine corresponding to the RIP engine mounted on the HWF server 4 can be specified by designating the individual job receiving unit 112. In addition, it is possible to specify that the processing is performed in the "pass-through mode". Therefore, it is possible to easily execute the processing by the same RIP engine in the HWF server 4 and the DFE100 as described above, set 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 RIP process is executed in the DFE 100, any one of a plurality of RIP engines mounted on the DFE 100 can be designated. is there. This makes it possible to flexibly utilize the functions installed in each RIP engine to execute the RIP process.

Further, in the above embodiment, as described in FIG. 3, as an example, the information of "RIP device designation" is provided, and the workflow control unit 418 determines the module to execute the process based on this information. explained. In addition, for example, in the workflow information shown in FIG. 5, information corresponding to "RIP device designation" may be described.

In such a case, since the information corresponding to "RIP device designation" is not included in the JDF information, it is not transmitted to the DFE100 side. As a result, the DFE100 side cannot determine the specified processing by the RIP engine 420 on the HWF server 4 side, but it is possible to determine the processing to be executed on the DFE100 side by referring to the "RIP status". You can.

In addition, it is also possible to analyze the contents of the data received on the DFE100 side and determine the RIP process that has already been executed. However, in this case, since the process of analyzing the input data occurs, it takes a corresponding amount of time. On the other hand, by using the "RIP status" information, it is possible to quickly execute the image formation output without performing such an analysis process.

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 receiving unit 112 Individual job receiving 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 Department 124 Device Information Communication Department 130 Job Management Department 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 attributes 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 Imposition conversion unit

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-268918

Claims (6)

Even without least is applied to an image processing system including a plurality of image forming output control apparatus for controlling an image forming output in one image forming apparatus, the management control of the image forming output by the plurality of image forming output control device It is a processing execution control device
An output instruction information acquisition unit that condition to obtain an output instruction information information Ru der generated is set in the image forming output to output target image information is information of an image forming output target image,
A control-side rendering information generating unit that generates the rendering information is information that is referred to in the image forming output in the image forming apparatus,
Possess a setting converter for converting the set of graphics in response to changes in conditions associated with collation of the resultant structure that is output by the image forming output,
The output command information acquired by the output command information acquisition unit includes setting of conditions related to the collation and setting of a graphic related to the collation formed outside the image to be output for image formation in the result product. ,
The control side rendering information generating unit in accordance with the output instruction information, generates the rendering information based on the output target image data,
The setting conversion unit accepts a change in the setting of the condition related to the collation included in the output command information, and the collation is changed according to the condition related to the collation that changes based on the change in the setting of the condition. Converting the setting of the figure based on the mark conversion information for which a method for converting the setting of the condition of the figure is specified.
A processing execution control device characterized by this. The output command information includes information that specifies the size of the product.
The setting conversion unit
Accepting changes in the size of the product
The processing execution control device according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the graphic related to the collation is changed according to the received change in the size. The output command information includes information that specifies an image forming apparatus for executing image forming output.
The setting conversion unit
Accepts changes in the information that specifies the image forming apparatus
Obtaining information on the corresponding function of the condition related to the collating in the image forming apparatus after the change,
Claim 1 is characterized in that the setting of a graphic related to the collation is converted based on the difference between the acquired information on the corresponding function of the condition and the setting of the condition related to the collation in the output command information. Alternatively, the process execution control device according to 2. The setting conversion unit
The processing execution control device according to claim 3, further comprising accepting a change in information that specifies the image forming apparatus so as to specify a different output destination for each page of the output target image information composed of a plurality of pages. Even without least is applied to an image processing system including a plurality of image forming output control apparatus for controlling an image forming output in one image forming apparatus, the management control of the image forming output by the plurality of image forming output control device To do
Acquires the output instruction information condition Ru information der generated are set in the image forming output to output target image information is information of an image in the image forming output target,
The drawing information is information that is referred to in the image forming output in the image forming apparatus forms the raw,
It is a process execution control method that converts the graphic settings according to changes in the conditions related to the collation of the result output by the image formation output .
The output instruction information obtained is seen containing a graphic settings for collation of the setting and the result of the conditions associated with the collation is formed outside of the image forming output target image,
The drawing information is generated based on the output target image information according to the output command information .
Accepts changes in the settings of the conditions related to the collating included in the output command information.
A mark conversion in which a method for converting the setting of the graphic condition related to the collation according to the condition related to the changing condition based on the change of the setting of the condition is specified. Informed conversion,
A processing execution control method for image processing, characterized in that. Even without least is applied to an image processing system including a plurality of image forming output control apparatus for controlling an image forming output in one image forming apparatus, the management control of the image forming output by the plurality of image forming output control device A control program that controls an information processing device
An output instruction information acquisition unit that condition to obtain an output instruction information information Ru der generated is set in the image forming output to output target image information is information of an image forming output target image,
A control-side rendering information generating unit that generates the rendering information is information that is referred to in the image forming output in the image forming apparatus,
The information processing device is made to execute a setting conversion unit that converts the setting of the figure according to the change of the condition related to the collation of the result output by the image formation output .
The output command information acquired by the output command information acquisition unit includes the setting of conditions related to the collation and the setting of a graphic related to the collation formed outside the image to be output for image formation in the result product. included,
The control side drawing information generation unit is made to generate the drawing information based on the output target image information according to the output command information .
The setting conversion unit receives a change in the setting of the condition related to the collation included in the output command information, and the change according to the condition related to the collation that changes based on the change in the setting of the condition. A method for converting graphic condition settings related to collation so that the graphic settings are converted based on the specified mark conversion information .
Control program characterized Rukoto to execute the processing in the information processing apparatus.