JP2006268094A - Print control device, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously print a plurality of documents with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: Job setting data 12a4 corresponding to preceding document data and job setting data 12a4 corresponding to a subsequent document data are combined. Then, printing is executed in accordance with a procedure described in the job setting data 12a4, thereby printing is performed as if the preceding document data and the subsequent document data were like single document data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program.

Conventionally, as this type of print control apparatus, there is known an apparatus that prepares attribute information for designating a plurality of document data to be combined at the time of printing and prints a document continuously based on the attribute information (for example, a patent Reference 1).
According to such a configuration, even a plurality of documents can be printed on both sides of a single printing paper, so that the printing paper can be saved.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-169685

In the above-described print control apparatus, attribute information for designating the combination of a plurality of document data is necessary. For this reason, this attribute information has to be managed in association with the document data, and there has been a problem that printing control becomes complicated. There is also a problem that a storage capacity for storing attribute information must be secured. Further, there is a problem that peripheral modules must be changed in order to handle attribute information.
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing control apparatus, a printing control method, and a printing control program that enable continuous printing of a plurality of documents with a simple configuration.

Means and actions / effects for solving the problem

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data conversion unit that stores page data in which drawing contents for each page are stored, at least a print start condition, a print end condition, and a page order. Setting data is generated. The page data and job setting data are stored in the data storage means. The rendering unit generates image data based on the page data. Then, the generated image data is output. Thereby, printing can be performed based on the image data of each page.

  Further, the job control means sets the output order of the image data in the rendering means based on the page order stored in the job setting data. Thus, the image data can be output in the order according to the page order in the document data. Therefore, each page can be printed in the printing order faithful to the document data. Further, the job control means executes a print start / end process based on the print start condition and the print end condition stored in the job setting data. With this configuration, it is possible to first execute the print start process, execute the printing of each page in an appropriate order, and further execute the print end process after the printing of each page.

  The combining unit combines the job setting data corresponding to the plurality of document data. Since the job control unit performs the above-described print control based on the job setting data, the plurality of job setting data are combined to make it as if the plurality of document data are single document data. Can be printed. That is, by combining a plurality of the job setting data, various print controls can be executed as a single document data in which the plurality of document data are combined. Since the page data and the job setting data are stored and held in the data storage means, the document data acquired at different times can be combined. Since the job setting data is also used in normal print control, continuous printing that combines a plurality of document data can be performed without preparing new data or changing the job control means. Can be realized.

  As a specific example of the processing performed by the combining means, the invention according to claim 2 is such that the print end condition of the job setting data corresponding to the previously acquired document data corresponds to the document data acquired later. The job setting data is rewritten according to the print end condition. As a result, the print end process can be executed at the time when the printing of the document data acquired later is completed. That is, by performing printing control based on the job setting data of the document data acquired previously, printing can be terminated after printing each page of both document data in order. As a result, it is possible to prevent the paper from being forcibly discharged by performing a print end process after printing each page of the document data acquired previously. Therefore, the last page of the previous document data and the first page of the subsequent document data can be assigned to the same side of one printing paper or printed on both sides.

  Further, as a specific example of processing performed by the combining unit, the invention according to claim 3 is acquired later after the page order of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired by the combining unit first. The page order of the job setting data corresponding to the document data is combined. Thereby, after each page of the previous document data is printed in order, each page of the subsequent document data can be continuously printed in order.

  As a preferred example of the job setting data, the invention according to claim 4 stores printing condition data in which printing conditions are described in the job setting data. Thereby, the job control means can set the drawing conditions in the rendering means based on the printing condition data. As the print condition data, for example, resolution, print size, color designation, and the like can be considered, and the image data can be printed in accordance with these print conditions. Further, when the job setting data is combined by the combining means, the print condition data of the job setting data corresponding to the previously acquired document data is held. Thereby, even when the document data acquired later is printed, the printing conditions of the document data acquired earlier can be applied. That is, the printing conditions can be unified in the printing of the document data before and after.

  As an example of the printing, the invention according to claim 5 applies the setting of the printing paper as the printing condition. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need to switch the paper setting between the printing of the document data acquired earlier and the printing of the document data acquired later, and smooth continuous printing can be realized. That is, if the settings of the front and rear printing papers are the same, printing can be performed smoothly even when performing layout printing or double-sided printing, for example.

  In the invention according to claim 6, it is possible to specify the document data that is allowed to be combined with the job setting data in the combining unit. That is, for the document data that is desired to be printed alone, it is possible to realize independent printing by prohibiting the combination of the job setting data.

  Of course, the above invention can be realized not only by the print control apparatus but also by a print control method corresponding to the print control apparatus as in claim 7. Further, the present invention can be realized by a print control program that executes processing according to the print control method as in the eighth aspect. Further, the inventive idea is that the apparatus, method, and program according to the present invention may be implemented independently, or may be implemented together with other apparatuses, methods, and programs while being incorporated in a certain device. Is not limited to this, and includes various aspects, and can be changed as appropriate.

  Further, it can be provided as a recording medium on which the program of the present invention is recorded. The recording medium for this program may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium that will be developed in the future. In addition, the duplication stages such as the primary duplication product and the secondary duplication product are equivalent without any question. Further, even when a part is software and a part is realized by hardware, the idea of the invention is not completely different, and a part is stored on a recording medium and is appropriately changed as necessary. It may be in the form of being read. Further, not all functions are necessarily realized by a single program, but may be realized by a plurality of programs. In this case, what is necessary is just to make each function implement | achieve in a some computer.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of print control apparatus:
(2) Main flow of print control processing:
(3) Flow of print execution processing:
(4) Flow of document stock processing:
(5) Modification:
(6) Summary:

(1) Configuration of print control apparatus:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a computer 10 includes an arithmetic processing unit 11 that executes arithmetic processing using hardware such as a CPU and a RAM, and an HDD 12 that stores data. A display 30 and an input device 40 such as a mouse or a keyboard are connected to the computer 10. In addition, the computer 10 is connected to the printer 20 via a USB interface (not shown), and the printer 20 performs printing according to a print control process executed by the computer 10.

  The printer 20 can print a document on a print sheet one by one, and various printing methods such as an inkjet method and a laser method can be applied. The printable color may be color or monochrome. Of course, the computer 10 and the printer 20 may be connected by an interface other than the USB interface. The computer 10 and the printer 20 are not limited to being directly connected, and may be connected via a computer on a network.

  The HDD 12 of the computer 10 stores an operating system (O / S) (not shown), application data, and program data for executing a printer driver, and the arithmetic processing unit 11 performs arithmetic processing based on these to perform printing. Control processing is realized. In the arithmetic processing unit 11, the O / S 15 is executed, and the application 13 and the printer driver (DRV) 14 are executed on the O / S 15. The application 13 only needs to have a document printing function, and corresponds to, for example, word processing software, spreadsheet software, CAD software, image editing software, a WEB browser, or the like. The O / S 15 provides a program interface (API) between the application 13 and the DRV 14, and can perform processing in which the application 13 and the DRV 14 cooperate.

(2) Main flow of print control processing:
FIG. 2 shows a main flow of the print control process. In the figure, the UI unit 14 a displays a predetermined UI screen on the display 30. FIG. 3 shows an example of a UI screen that the UI unit 14a displays on the display 30 in step S100 of FIG. In the figure, the UI screen is provided with an selection button A1 for switching the document stock between valid and invalid, and either one can be selected by the input device 40. Further, a start button A2 for executing collective printing is provided below the selection button A1, and it is possible to execute collective printing by clicking the start button A2 when desired. . The DRV 14 is always activated, and the UI unit 14 a always displays the UI screen on a part of the display 30 and always accepts input from the input device 40.

  In step S110, the UI unit 14a detects a click on the start button A2, and if a click is detected, the print execution processing in step S200 executes batch printing of the documents stocked so far. The print execution process in step S200 will be described in detail later. If no click is detected, step S120 and subsequent steps are executed. In step S120, document data is received. That is, it waits in a reception state until document data is output in any application.

  If document data is input from any of the applications 13, the document data is acquired in step S130. On the other hand, if there is no input of document data, the process returns to step S100 to accept an input operation on the UI screen. By repeating steps S100 to S120, user input monitoring and document data reception on the UI screen are always performed. In addition, after completion of the print execution process in step S200 described later and the document stock process in step S300, the process returns to step S100 to accept an instruction from the user and input of document data.

  In step S130, the DRV 14 acquires document data from the document data output unit 13a of the application 13. For example, in the WEB browser as the application 13, it is possible to determine the downloaded HTML data or image data as a print target and instruct the print execution so that the printer 20 prints the print target. When a print execution instruction is received on the application 13, the document data output unit 13 a of the application 13 creates document data in a predetermined format and outputs it to the DRV 14. Strictly speaking, an API is interposed between the document data output unit 13a and the DRV 14 to smoothly exchange document data. In step S140, the data converter 14c receives the document data and generates an intermediate file 12a from the document data.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows how the intermediate file 12a is generated from the document data. In the figure, the intermediate file 12a is composed of document head data 12a1, single or plural page data 12a2, document end data 12a3, and job setting data 12a4. In step S150, these data are stored in the HDD 12 as independent files, and each has a unique file name. Note that the combination of ◯, ×, Δ, □ in FIG. 4 means a file name. The HDD 12 that stores the intermediate file 12a composed of the page data 12a2, the document end data 12a3, and the job setting data 12a4 corresponds to the data storage means of the present invention.

  The document head data 12a1 is a file that stores various printing conditions such as the paper size, duplex / allocation setting, resolution, and color setting specified when the application 13 executes printing. This printing condition is output to the printer 20 for setting the operation of the printer 20, or used as a condition when the rendering unit 14e described later creates image data. The document head data 12a1 also stores a start command for causing the printer 20 to execute a print start process. Operations such as nozzle check at the start of printing and return to the origin of the print head are executed according to this start command. The page data 12a2 is a file in which drawing commands for each page are stored, and is generated as an independent file for each page. For example, one page data 12a2 is generated for document data for printing only one page, and 10 page data 12a2 is generated for document data for printing 10 pages. Each page data 12a2 is given a unique file name and can be individually distinguished.

  In the document end data 12a3, an end command for causing the printer 20 to execute a print end process is stored. Operations such as paper discharge at the start of printing are executed according to this end command. In the job setting data 12a4, the file name of the document head data 12a1 of the document data and the file name of the document end data 12a3 of the document data are described, and the file name of the page data 12a2 of the document data is in page order. is described.

  In step S160, the UI unit 14a confirms whether the document stock designation is valid / invalid. If it is valid, the document stock processing is executed in step S300. On the other hand, if the document stock is invalid, a print execution process is executed in step S200. That is, depending on whether the document stock is currently valid or invalid, the document data stored immediately before as an intermediate file is printed in the print execution process in step S200 or stored as it is in the document stock process in step S300. To decide. However, even when the document stock instruction is valid, if the collective print execution instruction is accepted in step S110, the process is forcibly shifted to the print execution process in step S200.

(3) Flow of print execution processing:
FIG. 5 shows the flow of the print execution process in step S200 in detail. As described above, the print execution process is a process that is executed when a batch print execution instruction is issued and when document data is acquired in a state where the document stock instruction is invalid. In step S210, the HDD 12 is searched for job setting data 12a4. If the job setting data 12a4 is not retrieved in step S220, the UI unit 14a outputs a warning display on the display 30 in step S230, assuming that there is no job to be printed, and returns to step S100 in FIG. As a result, it can be recognized that the user has instructed execution of the collective printing even though there is no intermediate file in the HDD 12.

  In step S240, the job control unit 14d analyzes the detected job setting data 12a4. As shown in FIG. 4, the job setting data 12a4 describes the document head data 12a1, the document end data 12a3, and the file names of the page data 12a2 arranged in the page order. Can be identified. First, since the document head data 12a1 can be specified, various printing conditions and a print start command stored in the document head data 12a1 can be acquired. Further, since the document end data 12a3 can be specified, the print end command stored in the document end data 12a3 can be acquired. Further, the order of the page data 12a2 can be specified from the page order of the job setting data 12a4.

  As described above, when various pieces of information are specified from the job setting data 12a4, the rendering unit 14e performs drawing based on the drawing command of the page data 12a2 and generates image data in step S250. At that time, since printing conditions such as paper size, resolution, layout printing, and duplex printing are acquired in step S240 in advance, bitmap format image data can be generated based on these printing conditions. Thereby, image data suitable for the paper size and resolution designated on the application 13 can be generated.

  For example, when 4-page layout printing is specified, image data having a size obtained by dividing the printing paper into four equal parts is generated from the page data 12a2 of the four pages in which the page order is continuous, and these are appropriately set according to the page order. Composite image data arranged in the above is created. The generated plurality of image data is managed in an order based on the page order of the job setting data 12a4 acquired in advance in step S240. When layout printing, double-sided printing, or the like is set, the image data is managed in an order that considers both these settings and the page order.

  In step S260, the job control unit 14d creates print data in which a print start command, a print end command, and print conditions are attached to the image data. Note that the printing conditions attached here need to be output to the printer 20 among the printing conditions stored in the document head data 12a1. For example, the setting of paper feed or paper discharge corresponds to this. As a result, the printer 20 can perform printing in accordance with the printing conditions designated on each application 13. The print start command and the print end command are created based on information stored in the document head data 12a1 and the document end data 12a3.

  The print start command and the print end command also define the timing of the print start process and the print end process based on the page order described in the job setting data 12a4. In other words, based on the page order described in the job setting data 12a4, the image data to be printed at the head / final is specified, and a print end command for performing print start / end processing before and after printing the image data is attached. In this sense, the page order described in the job setting data 12a4, the document head data 12a1, and the document end data 12a3 can be said to correspond to the print start condition and the print end condition of the present invention. In step S270, the print data output unit 14f outputs the print data created as described above to the printer 20. At that time, necessary color conversion processing and halftone processing are executed for each image data.

  In step S280, the printer 20 that has received the print data performs printing based on the print data. When printing is completed in step S280, the intermediate file 12a stored in the HDD 12 is deleted in step S290, and the process returns to step S100 in FIG. That is, the process returns to step S100 to accept a summary print execution instruction and the input of the next document data. As described above, when the job control unit 14d analyzes the job setting data 12a4, it is possible to realize printing that reflects the page order of the original document data with settings as specified by the user.

  That is, it can be said that printing is executed according to the procedure described in the job setting data 12a4. If the document stock instruction is not valid in step S160 of FIG. 2, the document data can be sequentially printed in step S200 each time the document data is output from the application 13. That is, by invalidating the document stock instruction, it is possible to prohibit the document stock processing from being executed for the document data input during that time. Next, the flow of document stock processing will be described.

(4) Flow of document stock processing:
FIG. 6 shows the flow of document stock processing. As described above, the document stock processing can be said to be processing performed when document data is acquired in a state where the document stock instruction is valid. In step S310, it is determined whether or not the preceding intermediate file 12a is already stored in the HDD 12. Here, the case where there is a preceding intermediate file 12a is a case where another intermediate file 12a coexists other than the current intermediate file 12a stored in step S150 executed immediately before. If there is no other intermediate file 12a other than the current intermediate file 12a stored in step S150 executed immediately before, the document stock process is terminated as it is, and the process returns to step S100 in FIG. That is, it is determined that there is no need to combine the intermediate file already stored and the intermediate file stored this time, and the process returns to step S100 to accept a summary print execution instruction or the input of the next document data.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows a state in which the preceding intermediate file 12a and the current intermediate file 12a coexist. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when document stock is set to be valid and batch printing is not executed, the intermediate file 12a is repeatedly stored in step S150, so that the preceding intermediate file 12a has already been stored in the HDD 12. Will exist. In steps S320 to S360, the combining unit 14b combines the existing job setting data 12a4 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows how the job setting data 12a4 is combined. In step S320, the page order described in the current job setting data 12a4 is combined with the page order described in the preceding job setting data 12a4. For example, when the page order of the page data 12a2 up to 3 pages is described in the preceding job setting data 12a4, the file name of the page data 12a2 described in the first page in the current job setting data 12a4 is This is described as the file name of the fourth page in the preceding job setting data 12a4. The file name of the page data 12a2 described as the last page in the current job setting data 12a4 is described as the file name of the last page in the preceding job setting data 12a4.

  In step S330, the file name of the document end data 12a3 described in the preceding job setting data 12a4 is rewritten with the file name of the document end data 12a3 described in the current job setting data 12a4. In step S340, the preceding document end data 12a3 itself is deleted from the HDD 12. In step S350, the current document head data 12a1 is deleted from the HDD 12. In step S360, the current job setting data 12a4 is further deleted.

  FIG. 9 shows the intermediate file 12a after execution of steps S320 to S360. In the figure, for page data 12a2, the preceding intermediate file 12a and the preceding intermediate file 12a coexist, but the other document head data 12a1, document end data 12a3, and job setting data 12a4. About exist alone. That is, by performing steps S320 to S360, the preceding intermediate file 12a and the current intermediate file 12a that existed together can be integrated into a set of intermediate files 12a. When step S360 is completed, the process returns to step S100 and accepts a summary print execution instruction and input of the next document data.

  Returning to step S100 of FIG. 2, and when the document data is output again from the application 13 without being instructed to execute batch printing, the processing of steps S120 to S160 and steps S310 to S360 is performed. It will be. Here, steps S310 to S360 are executed in the same manner as described above, with the already integrated intermediate file 12a as the preceding intermediate file 12a. In other words, when document data is output from the application 13 in a state where the document stock is valid and there is no instruction for executing collective printing, the intermediate files 12a are sequentially integrated, and the page data 12a2 of each document data is accumulated. It will be done. Note that the applications 13 that output document data need not be the same. For example, page data 12a2 corresponding to the document data output from the word processing software may be stored after the page data 12a2 corresponding to the document data output from the WEB browser.

  Then, when the user inputs a collective print execution instruction at a certain stage, the print execution process of step S200 is executed in the same flow as described above. That is, printing is executed according to the procedure described in the job setting data 12a4 as described above. Accordingly, printing is performed according to the job setting data 12a4 whose description has been changed in steps S320 and S330. Specifically, since the page order of the job setting data 12a4 of the subsequent document is added to the page order, the pages of the subsequent document can be printed continuously. Of course, since the page data 12a2 corresponding to the subsequent document data is sequentially stored, the rendering unit 14e can generate image data corresponding to the document data.

  Further, since the file name of the document end data 12a3 of the job setting data 12a4 has been rewritten to the file name of the document end data 12a3 corresponding to the subsequent document data, the print end process corresponding to the subsequent document data is executed. Can do. Of course, since the page order is rewritten, the print end process can be executed after printing the last page of the last document.

  On the other hand, the description of the file name of the document head data 12a1 of the job setting data 12a4 is applied in advance, so that the print start process corresponding to the first acquired document data can be executed. In addition, since image data is created in the rendering unit 14e and various printing conditions are output to the printer 20 based on the printing conditions stored in the document head data 12a1, the printing of each page of the subsequent document is also performed. Initial printing conditions can be applied.

  As described above, by combining the job setting data 12a4, it is possible to realize a collective print of a plurality of documents without any change in the print execution process in step S200 and each module that executes the process. In step S200, page data 12a2 corresponding to a plurality of document data is handled as page data 12a2 generated from a single document data, so that the last page of the previous document and the first page of the subsequent document are printed. No print end processing is performed. Accordingly, the last page of the previous document and the first page of the subsequent document can be assigned to the same printing paper, or can be printed on both sides of the same printing paper. In particular, in the printing of document data such as a WEB browser in which the number of printed sheets of each document is small, the paper saving effect is increased.

  Further, only the document head data 12a1 corresponding to the first acquired document data remains after the combination of the intermediate files 12a in steps S320 to S360. Accordingly, the various printing conditions described in the document head data 12a1 corresponding to the first acquired document data are held as they are after being combined. Therefore, it is possible to apply the print condition of the document data acquired first in the printing of the subsequent document data. Therefore, for example, even when the paper setting is different between the preceding document and the succeeding document, the succeeding document can be printed on the printing paper of the preceding document. If the preceding document and the succeeding document are printed on different printing papers, the organization of the document becomes complicated. However, if the summary printing of the present invention is performed, the documents can be arranged on a uniform paper size, which is convenient. It is.

  In particular, according to the present invention, the size of the printing paper can be unified even for documents output by a plurality of applications that tend to have different paper settings. Furthermore, even if the paper settings of each document are different, the last page of the first document and the first page of the subsequent document can be assigned to the same print paper, or both sides of the same print paper. It can also be printed. Therefore, the paper saving effect can be made synergistic. Further, it is possible to instruct valid / invalid of document stock on the UI screen of FIG. For the document data received while the document stock is designated as valid on the UI screen, the combination of job setting data in the document stock processing described above is permitted. On the other hand, for the document data received while the document stock is designated as invalid on the UI screen, the above-described document stock processing is not performed and the combination of job setting data is prohibited. That is, by instructing the validity / invalidity of document stock on the UI screen of FIG. 3, the document data received during the instructed period is permitted to be printed together or the document data can be combined. It is possible to specify whether to prohibit and to perform sequential printing.

(5) Modification:
In the above embodiment, the preceding job setting data 12a4 is edited in consideration of the contents of the subsequent job setting data 12a4. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. That is, the job setting data 12a4 reflecting the contents of both the preceding job setting data 12a4 and the succeeding job setting data 12a4 may be left, and the succeeding job setting data 12a4 is used as the contents of the preceding job setting data 12a4. The job setting data 12a4 may be created based on both the preceding job setting data 12a4 and the succeeding job setting data 12a4. In addition, a part of the functions of each module constituting the DRV 14 of the present embodiment may be realized by the printer 20.

(6) Summary:
In the present invention, job setting data 12a4 corresponding to preceding document data and job setting data 12a4 corresponding to subsequent document data are combined. Since printing is executed according to the procedure described in the job setting data 12a4, printing can be performed as if the preceding document data and the succeeding document data are single document data.

It is a block diagram of a computer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print control processing. It is a figure which shows UI screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the content of an intermediate file. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print execution processing. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a document stock process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the content of an intermediate file. It is a schematic diagram which shows the content of an intermediate file. It is a schematic diagram which shows the content of an intermediate file.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Computer, 11 ... Arithmetic processing part, 12 ... HDD, 12a ... Intermediate file, 12a1 ... Document head data, 12a2 ... Page data, 12a3 ... Document end data, 12a4 ... Job setting data 13 ... Application, 13a ... Document data output 14 ... DRV, 15 ... O / S, 14a ... UI part, 14b ... combining part, 14c ... data conversion part, 14d ... job control part, 14e ... rendering part, 14f ... print data output part

Claims (8)

In a print control apparatus that acquires document data, converts the document data into printable data, and outputs the data.
Data conversion means for generating page data storing drawing contents for each page from the document data, and job setting data storing at least a print start condition, a print end condition, and a page order;
Data storage means for storing the page data and the job setting data;
Rendering means for generating image data based on the page data and outputting the image data;
Based on the job setting data, setting of the output order of the image data in the rendering means, job control means for performing print start / end processing,
A print control apparatus comprising: a combining unit that combines the job setting data corresponding to a plurality of the document data.   The combining means rewrites the print end condition of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired earlier with the print end condition of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired later. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1.   The combining unit combines the page order of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired later after the page order of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired previously. The print control apparatus according to claim 1. The job setting data stores printing condition data in which printing conditions are described. The job control unit sets drawing conditions in the rendering unit based on the printing condition data.
The combining unit combines the job setting data and the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired later while holding the print condition data of the job setting data corresponding to the document data acquired previously. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing control apparatus is a printing control apparatus.   The printing control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printing condition is a setting of printing paper.   6. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document data permitted to combine the job setting data in the combining unit can be specified. In a print control method for acquiring document data, converting the document data into printable data and outputting the data,
A data conversion step for generating page data storing drawing contents for each page from the document data, and job setting data storing at least a print start condition, a print end condition, and a page order;
A data storage step for storing the page data and the job setting data;
A rendering step of generating image data based on the page data and outputting the image data;
Based on the job setting data, a setting of the output order of the image data in the rendering step, a job control step for performing print start / end processing,
And a combining step of combining the job setting data corresponding to the plurality of document data. In a print control program for realizing on a computer a function of acquiring document data, converting the document data into printable data and outputting the data,
A data conversion function for generating page data storing drawing contents for each page from the document data, and job setting data storing at least a print start condition, a print end condition, and a page order;
A data storage function for storing the page data and the job setting data;
A rendering function for generating image data based on the page data and outputting the image data;
Based on the job setting data, a setting of the output order of the image data in the rendering function, a job control function for performing print start / end processing,
A print control program for realizing on a computer a combining function for combining the job setting data corresponding to a plurality of the document data.

Images