JP2011155502A - Printing system performing color/monochrome determination, printing method, program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that when printing a monochrome image, in a color printing device, even if all objects in a page are monochrome, they are all color-printed. <P>SOLUTION: Monochrome image objects are fundamentally color-printed, but when only monochrome images exist in the page of a printing object, monochrome image objects are monochrome-printed exceptionally. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing method, and a program for performing color / monochrome determination.

  In a conventional color printing system, RGB data input from an application or the like is converted into CMYK data, which is a color output configuration unit of a printing apparatus, and printing processing is performed. When converting from RGB to CMYK, for monochrome pixels (monochrome pixels, that is, R = G = B), it is preferable to convert only to K colors, and it is preferable to convert to mix CMYK colors. There is a case. For example, when printing monochrome characters and graphics (graphics), it is desirable to convert only to K color in order to obtain a sharp print result without color misregistration. On the other hand, when printing a monochrome image, it is preferable to convert the colors to mix CMYK colors in order to obtain a uniform print result giving priority to continuity with other adjacent colors.

  As described above, there are two types of images, that is, an image that is desired to be printed using only the K color and an image that is desirably printed in a mixed state of the CMYK colors. Therefore, a technique for switching between printing with only K colors or printing with CMYK mixed colors according to the image type (object type) is required. A document disclosing this technique is Patent Document 1. This document has a setting of a function (hereinafter, “gray compensation”) for printing monochrome pixels (R = G = B) using only K color, and “gray compensation” or “no gray compensation” depending on the type of drawing object. Is switched to print.

JP 2005-295572 A

  According to the configuration of this patent document, even when a page having only a monochrome image is printed, it is printed in color. As a result, a higher charge was incurred than when printing in monochrome.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the printing system of the present invention determines whether each object in the page to be printed is color, and determines whether each object in the page to be printed is an image. When there is no image determination means and an object determined to be color in the page to be printed, the printing means causes the printing means to print the object determined to be an image that is not a color and monochrome, A control unit that causes the printing unit to perform color printing on an object that is determined to be an image that is not a color and that is an image when an object that is determined to be a color exists in the page to be printed It is characterized by.

  When printing a page with only a monochrome image, it can be printed in black and white.

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a print processing system in an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the host computer in Example 1 of this invention. The flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the printing apparatus in Example 1 of this invention. The flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the host computer in Example 2 of this invention. The flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the printing apparatus in Example 2 of this invention. Gray compensation UI example

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, an MFP (Multi Function Printer) such as the printing apparatus 100 is used as an example. Of course, it goes without saying that an SFP (Single Function Printer), an LBP (Laser Beam Printer), or other printing type printers may be used.

<Overview of printing system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a printing system equipped with a controller as an electronic component related to the present invention. The printing apparatus 100 is connected to a host computer (first host computer 191 and second host computer 192 in the present embodiment) via a LAN (Local Area Network) 190 such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The printing apparatus 100 includes a reader device (reader unit) 200, a printer device (printer unit) 300, an operation unit 150, an image storage unit 160, and a control device (controller unit) 110 that controls these components. ing. The control device 110 includes a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, and the like, and the CPU performs overall control of the entire image input / output device 100 based on a program stored in the ROM or other storage medium. The RAM is used as a work area for the CPU. The reader device 200 reads image data. The printer apparatus 300 outputs image data using a printer engine. The operation unit 150 includes a keyboard for inputting and outputting image data, and a liquid crystal panel for displaying / setting image data and various functions. The image storage unit 160 can store / save image data and data such as PDL.

  The host computer 191 or 192 generates a PDL (Page Description Language) using a printer driver based on a print command requested from the application via the OS, and transmits the PDL (Page Description Language) to the printing apparatus 100 via the LAN 190. The printing apparatus 100 performs image data generation processing using the CPU of the control apparatus 110 based on the received PDL, and outputs it to a printing medium such as paper using the printer apparatus 300. Here, an example in which PDL data is input via the LAN 190 is shown, but a portable medium such as a USB memory connected to the printing apparatus 100 or a PDL stored in the image storage unit 160 may be used.

  Taking the printing system configured as described above as an example, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described below for image data generation processing from input PDL data in the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the printer driver in the host computer 191 in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the printing apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

  Before explaining these drawings in detail, the outline thereof will be described below.

  As described in the assignment section, even if all the objects that exist in the print data (that is, in the page to be printed) are monochrome objects, if there are monochrome objects in the image, conventionally printing in color Had been.

  In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, when all the objects existing in the print data (that is, in the page to be printed) are monochrome objects, monochrome printing is performed (S340, S341). On the other hand, if there is even one color object, color printing is performed (S340, S342).

The process performed in S342 will be described in more detail.
First, color objects are printed in CMYK. On the other hand, for monochrome objects, the processing to be applied is switched between a monochrome object of an image (an object with gray compensation OFF) and a character or graphic character (an object with gray compensation ON). More specifically, the monochrome object of the image (gray compensation OFF object) is printed in CMYK, and the character or graphic character (gray compensation ON object) is printed in K single color.

  When it is determined that the object includes a color object, the determination information is rewritten to color and the determination ends. When the determination is completed without including any color object in the print data, the determination information remains monochrome.

  That is, when there is even one color object in the print data (that is, in the page to be printed), the determination information is color, and when there is no color object, the determination information is monochrome (black and white).

In S201, the determination information is initialized to monochrome.
In step S202, the printer notifies the printer of gray compensation setting information (for example, character object is ON, graphic object is ON, and image object is OFF) for each object type. The gray compensation setting information can be selected from the UI as shown in FIG. 6 as one of the printer driver settings. Note that processing may be performed based on predetermined fixed setting information or setting information from the UI of the printing apparatus, and in this case, processing is not performed in this step.

  In S210, drawing commands for all objects included in the file for one page are acquired from the application via the OS. At this time, it is determined whether each of the objects included in the acquired drawing command is a character, an image, or a graphic.

  In S211, it is checked whether the determination information remains in monochrome or has been rewritten in color. If it remains monochrome, the process proceeds to S212 and the determination process is continued. If the color has been rewritten, the process proceeds to S230.

  In S212, it is checked whether the object acquired in S210 is a monochrome object or a color object. That is, monochrome determination (monochrome determination) or color determination is performed. If it is a monochrome object, the process proceeds to S230, and if it is a color object, the process proceeds to S220.

  In S220, the determination information is rewritten to color. At this point, it is determined that this print data is printed as a color page.

  In S230, the drawing commands for all objects are converted into print data described in PDL, and transmitted to the printing apparatus. At this time, the print data includes data obtained by converting the drawing commands of all objects, and includes the type of each object (image, graphic, or character). .

  In S240, it is checked whether or not processing of print data for one page has been completed. If completed, the process proceeds to S250, and if not completed, the process returns to S210 to continue the process.

  In S250, determination information reflecting the check of all objects in the page is added to the print data and transmitted to the printing apparatus, and the print data generation process is terminated.

Next, the description of FIG. 3 will be given.
In S301, PDL interpretation processing of the received print data is performed.
In S302, it is checked whether or not the data interpreted in S301 is the color page / monochrome page determination information added in S250. If it is determination information, the process proceeds to S310, and if it is not determination information but print data, the process proceeds to S303.

  In S303, based on the interpreted print data, intermediate data (which means a display list, hereinafter referred to as DL. Also, generating intermediate data is hereinafter referred to as DL) is generated. This intermediate data also includes data generated by format conversion of drawing commands for all objects, and also includes the type of each object (image, graphic, or character).

In step S310, determination information for color pages / monochrome pages is held.
In S320, it is checked whether the interpretation of the print data for one page is completed. If completed, the process returns to S330, and if not completed, the process returns to S301. In the determination information, if all objects have been converted to DL, the process proceeds to S330.

  In S330, a rendering process (RIP process) is performed based on the DL generated in S320, and an RGB image of one page is generated.

  In S340, it is checked whether the page being processed is a monochrome page or a color page from the determination information held in S310. If it is a monochrome page, the process proceeds to S341, and if it is a color page, the process proceeds to S342.

  In S341, the RGB image generated in S330 is converted into a K single color image. As a result, the monochrome page is printed only in the K single color. Both the gray compensation enabled (ON) object and the gray compensation disabled (OFF) object are printed in K single color.

  In S342, the RGB image generated in S330 is converted into a CMYK mixed color image while following the gray compensation setting set in S202. A pixel included in an object for which gray compensation is ON is converted to K single color only when R = G = B (monochrome). Pixels contained in other objects (grey compensation OFF object or non-monochrome object) are converted into CMYK mixed colors.

  Thus, in the above example (for example, the character object is ON, the graphic object is ON, and the image object is OFF), the pixels included in the character object are printed in K single color. Pixels included in the graphic object are printed in K single color. The pixels included in the image object are printed with CMYK mixed colors.

  In S350, the K single color or CMYK mixed color image generated in S341 or S342 is output to a print medium such as paper by the printer device 300, and the process is terminated. It should be noted that when the printer apparatus 300 receives a K monochrome image, monochrome printing (monochrome printing) is performed, and when a CMYK mixed color image is received, color printing is performed.

  In the present embodiment, for simplification of description, the print data generation process / print process of print data composed of one page has been described. However, when a plurality of pages are processed, these processes are repeated.

  In the above embodiment, for example, the character object is set to ON, the graphic object is set to ON, and the image object is set to OFF and UI. However, even when other settings are made on the UI, the processing of the flowchart shown in the embodiment is performed. For example, there may be other cases where only the graphic object is ON, only the image object is OFF, only the character object is OFF, or only the graphics object is OFF.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the printer driver in the host computer 191 in the present embodiment, and S401 to S460 in the figure indicate each step.

The print data generation process in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In step S401, the gray compensation setting information for each object type set in the printer driver UI is transmitted to the printing apparatus.
In step S410, object data is acquired from the application via the OS.

  In S420, it is checked whether or not the acquired object is an object for which gray compensation is disabled in S401. If the object is set to gray compensation invalid, the process proceeds to S430, and if the object is set to gray compensation valid, the process proceeds to S450.

  In S430, it is checked whether the object is monochrome. If it is a monochrome object, the process proceeds to S440, and if it is a color object, the process proceeds to S450.

In S440, the gray compensation enabled setting is added to the monochrome object.
In S450, the data is converted into print data described in PDL and transmitted to the printing apparatus.

  In S460, it is checked whether or not the processing of one page of data has been completed. If the page is finished, the print data generation process is finished. If the page is not finished, the process returns to S410 to continue the process.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the printing apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment, and S501 to S540 in the drawing indicate each step.

The printing process performed in this embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
In step S501, PDL interpretation processing of the received print data is performed. If the gray compensation is enabled in S440, the information is reflected.

  In S502, intermediate data (display list, hereinafter referred to as DL) is generated based on the interpreted print data.

  In S510, it is checked whether the interpretation of the print data for one page is completed. If completed, the process returns to S520, and if not completed, the process returns to S501.

  In S520, rendering processing (RIP processing) is performed based on the DL generated in S510 to generate an RGB image of one page.

  In S530, the RGB image generated in S520 is converted into a CMYK mixed color image while following the gray compensation setting set in S401 or S501. If it is a gray compensation effective pixel, if R = G = B, it is converted to K single color, otherwise it is converted to CMYK mixed color. If the pixel is gray compensation invalid, it is always converted to CMYK mixed color.

  In S540, the K single color or CMYK mixed color image generated in S530 is output to a print medium such as paper by the printer apparatus 300, and the process is terminated.

  In the present embodiment, for simplification of description, the print data generation process / print process of print data composed of one page has been described. However, when a plurality of pages are processed, these processes are repeated.

  In this embodiment, whether or not to add the gray compensation enabled setting is switched for each object of the object type for which the gray compensation disabled setting is performed, but the object group having the correlation is collectively determined. You may go. The correlation described here indicates that the same clipping process is designated, the ROP process using the same pattern is designated, the boundary between objects is in contact, and the like. As a result, the same gray compensation setting can be added even when an object on the application is divided upon conversion to a drawing command.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

100 Image input / output system 110 Control device (controller part)
112 CPU
114 ROM
116 RAM
150 Operation Unit 151 Panel 152 Ground Pattern Display Switching Unit 160 Image Storage Unit 190 LAN
191 Host computer 192 Host computer 200 Reader device (leader section)
300 Printer device (printer part)

Claims (3)

Color determination means for determining whether each object in the page to be printed is in color;
Image determination means for determining whether each object in the page to be printed is an image;
If there is no object determined to be color in the page to be printed, the object that is not color and determined to be an image is printed in black and white on the printing means,
A control unit that causes the printing unit to perform color printing on an object that is determined to be an image that is not a color and that is an image when an object that is determined to be a color exists in the page to be printed A printing system featuring. A color determining step for determining whether each object in the page to be printed is in color;
An image determining step for determining whether each object in the page to be printed is an image;
When there is no object determined to be color in the page to be printed, the control means causes the printing means to print the object determined to be an image that is not a color and is monochrome.
When there is an object determined to be color in the page to be printed, the control unit is configured to perform color printing on the printing unit for an object determined to be an image that is not a color. A printing method characterized by the above.   A computer-readable storage medium for causing a computer to execute the printing method.

Images