JP2021087195A - Information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that can form marks by using a toner having the optimal color.SOLUTION: In a printing system, a controller as an information processing apparatus controls respective units of an image forming apparatus to print reference marks on a sheet and read the sheet on which the reference marks are printed, and executes image processing on image data based on the amount of deviation of a printing position (image forming position) so that the printing position (image forming position) to the sheet becomes an ideal position. In this case, the controller determines the color of the reference marks based on the remaining amount of toner and the color of the sheet and forms the reference marks having the determined color.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to correction control for correcting the geometric characteristics of an image formed on a sheet.

The image forming apparatus has a printing position adjusting function for adjusting a printing position (also referred to as an image forming position) of an image with respect to the sheet so that the image is printed at an intended position of the sheet. For example, in double-sided printing, the printing position of the image on the front surface of the sheet and the image on the back surface of the sheet can be aligned by adjusting the printing position. Further, for example, when an image is formed on a preprint sheet on which ruled lines are pre-printed, if the image formation position is deviated, the quality of the product is significantly deteriorated.

Here, for example, a mark is formed on the sheet using toner, and the sheet on which the mark is formed is read to detect the geometric characteristics of the image formed on the sheet, and the image formation position is determined based on the detection result. A technique for correcting is known (Patent Document 1). In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to improve the mark detection accuracy, the mark color is automatically selected so that the contrast between the mark color and the sheet color becomes large.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-180857

The image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 sets the color of the mark formed on the sheet to, for example, one of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) with respect to the color of the sheet. The toner color with the highest contrast is selected.

However, since the frequency of toner usage is not taken into consideration, if a toner color with a low remaining amount is continuously selected, downtime will occur due to toner consumption. As a result, the productivity of the user's printed matter may be significantly hindered.

An object of the present invention is to form a mark using a toner of the optimum color.

In order to solve the above problems, the information processing apparatus of the present invention causes an image forming apparatus that forms an image using toners of different colors based on image data to form a mark on the sheet, and the sheet on which the mark is formed is formed. A detection means that acquires read data from a reading device and detects the geometric characteristics of an image formed on the sheet based on the read data, and the image in order to correct the geometric characteristics detected by the detecting means. Indicates the image processing means for performing image processing on the data, the first acquisition means for acquiring the remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of the toner of the different color of the image forming apparatus, and the color of the sheet on which the mark is formed. It has a second acquisition means for acquiring sheet information, and the detection means determines the color of the mark based on the remaining amount information and the sheet information, and determines the sheet on the sheet in the image forming apparatus. It is characterized in that the mark of the colored color is formed.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, in another information processing apparatus of the present invention, a mark is formed on a sheet by an image forming apparatus that forms an image using toners of different colors based on image data, and the mark is formed. In order to acquire the read data of the sheet from the reading device and detect the geometric characteristics of the image formed on the sheet based on the read data, and to correct the geometric characteristics detected by the detecting means. In addition, an image processing means for performing image processing on the image data, a control means for displaying a plurality of colors selectable as the color of the mark on the display device, and the plurality of colors displayed on the display device. A receiving means for receiving user instruction information indicating a color selected from, a first acquiring means for acquiring remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of toner of the different color of the image forming apparatus, and the mark being formed. The control means has a second acquisition means for acquiring sheet information indicating the color of the sheet, the control means determines the plurality of colors based on the remaining amount information and the sheet information, and the detection means has the mark. The color is determined based on the user instruction information received by the receiving means, and the image forming apparatus is made to form the mark of the determined color on the sheet.

According to the present invention, marks can be formed using toner of the optimum color.

Overall configuration of the printing system Schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus System configuration diagram of the reader Schematic diagram of the main part of the line sensor Control flowchart of image position adjustment control Schematic diagram of the sheet on which the reference mark is printed A table showing the correspondence between the reference mark color and the selected color Flow chart of color determination control that determines the color of the reference mark Flow chart showing print position detection processing Conceptual diagram for explaining how to search for the edge of paper Conceptual diagram for explaining how to search for the reference mark Operation panel screen display example

(Print system configuration)
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a printing system having an image forming apparatus 100. The printing system includes an image forming apparatus 100 and a host computer 101. The image forming apparatus 100 and the host computer 101 are communicably connected to each other via the network 105. The network 105 is, for example, a communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). A plurality of the image forming apparatus 100 and the host computer 101 may be connected to the network 105, respectively.

The host computer 101 is, for example, a server, and transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network 105. The print job includes various information necessary for printing, such as image data, the type of sheet used for printing, the number of sheets to be printed, and instructions for double-sided or single-sided printing.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a controller 110, an operation panel 120, a paper feeding device 140, a printer 150, and a reading device 160. The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on the sheet based on the print job acquired from the host computer 101. The controller 110, the operation panel 120, the paper feeding device 140, the printer 150, and the reading device 160 are communicably connected to each other via the system bus 116.

The controller 110 controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The operation panel 120 is a display device, and includes an operation button (not shown below), a numeric keypad, and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The operator can input print jobs, commands, print settings, and the like to the image forming apparatus 100 by using the operation panel 120. The operation panel 120 displays the setting screen and the state of the image forming apparatus 100 on the LCD.

The paper feed device 140 includes a plurality of paper feed stages for accommodating paper. The paper feed device 140 feeds paper one by one from the top of the paper bundle loaded on the paper feed stage. The paper feed device 140 conveys the paper fed from the paper feed stage to the printer 150.

The printer 150 forms an image on the paper supplied from the paper feeding device 140 based on the image data. The specific configuration of the printer 150 will be described later with reference to FIG. The reading device 160 reads the printed matter generated by the printer 150 and transfers the reading result to the controller 110.

The configuration of the controller 110 as an information processing device will be described. The controller 110 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 114. Further, the controller 110 includes an I / O control unit 111 and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 115.

The I / O control unit 111 is an interface that controls communication with the host computer 101 and other devices via the network 105. The ROM 112 is a storage device that stores various control programs. The RAM 113 functions as a system work memory for reading and storing the control program stored in the ROM 112. The CPU 114 executes a control program read into the RAM 113 to control the image forming apparatus 100 in an integrated manner. HDD 115 is a large-capacity storage device. The HDD 115 stores various data such as a control program and image data used for image forming processing (printing processing). The modules are connected to each other via the system bus 116.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper feeding device 140, a printer 150, a reading device 160, and a finisher 190. Here, the finisher 190 is a post-processing device that post-processes the printed matter of the printer 150. The finisher 190, for example, performs a stapling process on a plurality of printed matter or a sorting process on the printed matter.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 150 includes four image forming units 200. The plurality of image forming units 200 include an image forming unit 200Y that forms a yellow image, an image forming unit 200M that forms a magenta image, an image forming unit 200C that forms a cyan image, and an image forming unit that forms a black image. Includes unit 200K. The configuration of each image forming unit 200 is almost the same. Reference numerals Y, M, C, and K are omitted and described as necessary.

The image forming unit 200 includes a photosensitive drum 153, a charger 220, an exposure device 223, and a developer 152. The photosensitive drum 153 is rotated in the direction of arrow R1 by a motor (not shown). The charger 220 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 153. The exposure apparatus 223 exposes the photosensitive drum 153. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 153. The developer 152 develops an electrostatic latent image using toner (developer). As a result, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 153 is visualized, and an image is formed on the photosensitive drum 153.

The printer 150 includes an intermediate transfer belt 154 on which the image formed by the image forming unit 200 is transferred, and a paper feeding device 140. The paper feed device 140 includes paper feed stages 140a, 140b, 140c, 140d, and 140e for accommodating paper. The printer 150 transfers the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images formed by the image forming unit 200 so as to overlap the intermediate transfer belt 154. As a result, a full-color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 154. The image on the intermediate transfer belt 154 is conveyed in the direction of arrow R2.

Then, the image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 154 is transferred to the paper conveyed from the paper feeding device 140 at the nip portion between the intermediate transfer belt 154 and the transfer roller 221.

The printer 150 has a first fixing device 155 and a second fixing device 156 that heat and pressurize the image transferred to the paper to fix the image on the paper. The first fixing device 155 includes a fixing roller having a heater inside, and a pressure belt for pressing the paper against the fixing roller.

These rollers are driven by a motor (not shown) to convey paper. The second fixing device 156 is arranged downstream of the first fixing device in the paper transport direction. The second fixing device 156 increases the gloss of the image on the paper that has passed through the first fixing device 155, and ensures the fixing property. The second fuser 156 includes a fixing roller having a heater inside and a pressurizing roller having a heater inside. Depending on the type of paper, it is not necessary to use the second fixing device 156. In this case, the paper is conveyed to the transfer path 130 without passing through the second fixing device 156. The flapper 131 switches between guiding the paper to the transport path 130 and guiding the paper to the second fixing device 156.

The flapper 132 switches between guiding the paper to the transport path 135 and guiding the paper to the discharge path 139. The flapper 132 guides the paper on which the image is formed on the first surface to the transport path 135, for example, in the double-sided printing mode. For example, in the face-up paper ejection mode, the flapper 132 guides the paper on which the image is formed on the first surface to the ejection path 139. The flapper 132 guides the paper on which the image is formed on the first surface to the transport path 135, for example, in the face-down paper ejection mode. Further, after the reference mark is printed on the first side of the paper, the flapper 132 guides the paper to the transport path 135 in order to print the reference mark on the second side of the paper.

The paper conveyed to the transfer path 135 is conveyed to the reversing section 136. The paper transported to the reversing unit 136 is switched back to reverse the paper transport direction after the transport operation is temporarily stopped. Next, the flapper 133 switches whether to guide the paper to the transport path 138 or the transport path 135. The flapper 133 guides the switched back paper to the transport path 138, for example, in the double-sided printing mode. The flapper 133 guides the switched back paper to the transport path 135, for example, in the face-down paper ejection mode. The paper conveyed to the transfer path 135 by the flapper 133 is guided to the discharge path 139 by the flapper 134. Further, the flapper 133 guides the switched back paper to the transport path 138 in order to print the reference mark on the second surface of the paper.

The paper conveyed to the transfer path 138 by the flapper 133 is conveyed toward the nip portion between the intermediate transfer belt 154 and the transfer roller 221. As a result, the front and back sides of the paper as it passes through the nip portion are reversed.

A reading device 160 that reads a reference mark on the paper is connected downstream of the printer 150 in the paper transport direction. The paper supplied from the printer 150 to the reader 160 is conveyed along the transfer path 313. The reading device 160 further includes a document detection sensor 311 and line sensors 301a and 301b. The reading device 160 reads the paper on which the reference mark is printed by the printer 150 by the line sensors 301a and 301b while transporting the paper along the transport path 313. Images other than the reference mark are also transported to the finisher 190 along the transport path 313.

The document detection sensor 311 is, for example, an optical sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The document detection sensor 311 detects the tip of the paper transported along the transport path 313 in the transport direction. The controller 110 starts the reading operation of the reading device based on the detection timing of the paper tip by the document detection sensor 311.

The line sensors 301a and 301b read the reference mark on the paper. The reference mark is printed, for example, on both the front and back sides of the paper. The line sensors 301a and 301b are provided at positions that sandwich the transport path 313 in order to read both sides of the paper on which the reference mark is printed. When the print position adjustment is executed, the image forming apparatus 100 detects the deviation amount of the printing position (image forming position) of the reference mark based on the result of reading the paper by the line sensors 301a and 301b. By connecting the points where the two straight lines of the reference mark intersect, geometric characteristics such as the squareness of the image formed on the paper, the position with respect to the sheet, and the parallelism can be detected. Since the calculation for detecting these geometric characteristics is a known technique, the description thereof will be omitted here. Then, the controller 110 executes image processing on the image data based on the amount of deviation of the print position (image formation position) so that the print position (image formation position) with respect to the paper becomes an ideal position. The image processing for correcting the print position is, for example, an affine transformation. Since the affine transformation is a well-known technique, the description here is omitted.

(System configuration of reader)
FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of the reading device 160.

The image data converted into a digital signal by the AD converters (302a, 302b) is sent to the CPU 114. The AD converters 302a and 302b) convert the analog signals sent from the line sensors (301a and 301b) into digital signals. The line sensor 301a reads an image of the surface, and the AD converter 302a converts an analog signal into a digital signal. Further, the line sensor 301b reads the image on the back surface, and the AD converter 302b converts the analog signal into a digital signal.

The line sensors (301a, 301b), AD converters (302a, 302b), image memory 303, and document detection sensor 311 are connected to the CPU 114, and each device is controlled by the CPU 114. The image memory 303 is used as a device for storing image data necessary for image processing in the CPU 114.

(Structure of line sensor)
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a main part of the line sensor 301a or 301b.

The line sensors (301a, 301b) are, for example, CIS (Contact Image Sensor) and have the same configuration. Reference numeral 400 denotes an LED that is a light source, and is composed of an LED that emits white light. 402 is a light guide body. The LED 400 is arranged at each end of the light guide 402. 403 is a lens array and 401 is a sensor chip group. The sensor chip group 401 has a three-line configuration coated with an RGB color filter.

The light emitted by the LED 400 diffuses inside the light guide body 402 to the side where the LED 400 is not mounted, and is emitted from a portion having a curvature to illuminate the entire main scanning area of the document. The lighting unit composed of the LED 400 and the light guide body 402 can irradiate light from the position of the array 403, that is, two directions, the front side and the rear end side in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the document reading line. It has a "double-sided lighting configuration". The light emitted from the light guide 402 is applied to the document, and the light diffused on the surface of the document is imaged on the sensor chip group 401 by the lens array 403.

(Flowchart of image forming apparatus in the present invention)
The operation of the image forming apparatus in the present proposal will be described. The CPU 114 executes the processing of each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 by expanding the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing the program.

First, the background color is determined from the media information selected by the user on the operation panel 120 (S501). The media information is information such as the type, basis weight, and size of the media, and can be registered by the user via the operation panel 120. Further, the media information includes at least sheet information capable of determining the background color. The media information registered by the user is stored in the ROM 112, and when the user selects and sets the media information registered in advance from the operation panel 120, the media information is read from the ROM 112 and applied to the image forming job.

Next, the CPU 114 estimates the remaining amount of each toner color (for example, Y, M, C, K) (S502). The CPU 114 reads out image data for printing (for example, binary data of “0” and “1”) stored for each of the colors Y, M, C, and K from the HDD 115. As for the pixel value of the image data, "1" indicates printing and "0" indicates non-printing. The CPU 114 counts the number of pixel values "1" from the read image data for each of the Y, M, C, and K colors. The counting operation is always performed during printing. The CPU 114 clears the count value to 0 when it detects replacement with an unused toner bottle (not shown). Until then, the counting operation is continued. Further, the count value is always stored in the ROM 112. The amount of toner used can be obtained by multiplying the count value by the amount of toner consumed by one pixel as a coefficient.
The remaining amount of toner is calculated by Equation 1.
Toner_rm_n = Toner_ini_n- (α × Count_value_n) ... (Equation 1)

In Equation 1, Toner_rm_n indicates the remaining amount of toner, Toner_ini_n indicates the initial amount of toner in the toner bottle, and Count_value_n indicates the pixel count value.

The remaining amount of toner is estimated by subtracting the amount of toner used from the initial amount of toner in an unused toner bottle (not shown). In addition, n is a toner color of Y, M, C, and K. Further, α is a coefficient representing the amount of toner consumed by one pixel described above, and is a value obtained experimentally. The configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the remaining amount of toner is calculated from the count value for each color. For example, the remaining amount of toner can be easily obtained by comparing the threshold value determined in advance as the remaining amount of toner with the count value for each color. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the one obtained by calculating the remaining amount of toner, and also includes the one including the count value itself for each color instead of the remaining amount of toner. Therefore, the count value for each color can be said to be the remaining amount information.

Next, the CPU 114 determines the toner color for printing the reference mark based on the base color of S501 and S502 and the estimated value of the remaining amount of toner (S503). Details will be described later.

Next, the CPU 114 controls the printer 150 to print the reference marks as shown in FIG. 6 on the four corners of the conveyed paper in the toner color determined in S503 (S504).

Next, the CPU 114 controls the line sensors 301a and 301b of the reading device 160 to read the paper on which the reference mark is printed, and stores the read image data in the image memory 303 (S505). The image data is composed of three colors of RGB.

Then, the image data for one color is selected from the image data for three colors of RGB stored in the image memory 303 in S505, and the corner coordinate information of the four corners of the paper and the feature points of the four reference marks are selected. The pointing coordinate information is detected (S506). The color of the image data for one color is selected based on the toner color selected in S503. As shown in FIG. 7, the selected colors correspond to B (blue) when the toner color is Y (yellow), G (green) when the toner color is M (magenta), and C (cyan) when the toner color is C (cyan). When R (red) and the toner color are K (black), it is set to G. The detection of each coordinate information in S506 is performed on the front and back surfaces of the paper, and the CPU 114 controls the image formation position so as to adjust the amount of deviation of the detected coordinate information on the front and back surfaces of the paper (S507). The detailed processing of each coordinate information detection in S506 will be described later.

(Determination of print color)
The details of the toner color determination method used for printing the reference mark in S503 will be described below with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the background color acquired from the media information registered in S501 is white (S801). When it is determined to be white (S801: Y), the remaining amount of toner described in S502 is compared for each color, and the toner color having the largest remaining amount is determined as the printing color of the reference mark (S802). When it is determined in S801 that the color is not white (S801: N), a toner color having a contrast with the base color is determined as the printing color of the reference mark (S803). The contrast information of the toner color with respect to the base color is stored in the ROM 112 in advance at the time of shipment from the factory, and the CPU 114 selects the toner color from the ROM 112 based on the determination result of the base color. For example, when it is determined that the background color is black, the toner color of Y having high contrast is selected, and in other cases, the toner color of K (black) is selected.

(Print position detection)
The print position detection process executed by the CPU 114 of the reader 160 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The control in each step of the flowchart is realized by the CPU 114 reading and executing the program stored in the ROM 112. Further, this control is performed by using the image data stored in the image memory 303 by the reading control.

First, in S901, in order to detect the tip of the paper, the CPU 114 reads out an image for each pixel as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 10A, compares the brightness values continuous in the sub-scanning direction, and continues the brightness. The positions where there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the values are extracted as edge coordinates. Then, after sampling a predetermined number of edge coordinates, approximation is performed with a straight line as shown in FIG. 10B, and the slope and intercept of the straight line indicating the tip of the paper are calculated. The approximate straight line may be calculated by using the general least squares method, and detailed calculation formulas will be omitted.

Next, in order to detect the tip of the paper, the CPU 114 reads out an image for each pixel as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 10C, compares the luminance values continuous in the main scanning direction, and between the successive luminance values. The positions where there is a difference of a predetermined value or more are extracted as edge coordinates. Then, in the same manner as in S901, a straight line is approximated using the edge coordinates, and the slope and intercept of the straight line indicating the left edge of the paper are calculated (S902).

Further, the same processing is performed on the right end and the rear end, and the slope and the intercept of the straight line indicating the right end and the rear end of the paper are calculated (S903, S904). Note that FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are image data when a white paper is read against a black background.

The CPU 114 obtains the coordinates of the intersection of the two straight lines using the two straight line approximation formulas indicating the edges of the paper, and calculates the paper angle coordinates (S905). The angular coordinates are calculated for the four combinations of the tip and the left end, the tip and the right end, the rear end and the left end, and the rear end and the right end, and the angular coordinates of the four corners are calculated.

Next, the CPU 114 initializes the variable N to 1 in order to calculate the coordinate values of the reference mark 4 from the reference mark 1 shown in FIG. 6 (S906). Then, in order to detect the horizontal line portion of the reference mark N, the CPU 114 reads out an image for each pixel as shown by the arrow in FIG. 11A, compares the luminance values continuous in the sub-scanning direction, and between the successive luminance values. The positions where there is a difference of a predetermined value or more are extracted as edge coordinates. Then, in the same manner as in S901, a straight line is approximated using the edge coordinates, and the slope and intercept of the straight line indicating the horizontal line of the reference mark N are calculated (S907).

In order to detect the vertical line portion of the reference mark N, the CPU 114 reads out an image for each pixel as shown by the arrow in FIG. 11B, compares the luminance values continuous in the main scanning direction, and between the successive luminance values. The positions where there is a difference of a predetermined value or more are extracted as edge coordinates. Then, in the same manner as in S901, a straight line is approximated using the edge coordinates, and the slope and intercept of the straight line indicating the vertical line of the reference mark N are calculated (S908).

The CPU 114 obtains the intersection coordinates of the two straight lines using the two linear approximation formulas calculated in S907 and S908, and calculates the intersection coordinates of the reference mark N (S909). The above processing is sequentially performed from N = 1 to N = 4, and the printing position detection processing is completed (S910, S911).

(Settings from the operation panel)
The color of the toner forming the reference mark can also be selected from the operation panel 120. The operation panel 120 displays a recommended toner color on the operation panel 120 based on the determination result of the base color and the remaining amount of toner in S503. For example, when Y (yellow) is selected as the toner color for forming the reference mark, as a message prompting the user to select the recommended toner color, as shown in FIG. 12, "recommended toner color" Is Y (yellow). " Here, the color of the reference mark finally formed on the paper may be a color selected by the user from the operation panel 120. Information about the color selected by the user is transferred to the controller 110 as user instruction information. The controller 110 receives the user instruction information, and forms a reference mark on the paper by the image forming unit corresponding to the color indicated in the received user instruction information.

From the above, it is possible to generate a reference mark with a toner color having a small amount of toner remaining and a color having a contrast with the base color, and it is possible to provide a comfortable image forming apparatus that does not hinder productivity.

Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the controller 110 is arranged in the image forming apparatus 100 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, a controller capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus 100 transfers pattern image data for printing a reference mark to the image forming apparatus 100, and detects a print position from the reading apparatus 160 based on the reading data. May be. This controller has a housing different from that of the image forming apparatus 100. This controller is an information processing device generally called a digital front end.

100 Image forming device 110 Controller 150 Printer 160 Reading device

Claims (2)

A mark is formed on a sheet by an image forming apparatus that forms an image using toners of different colors based on the image data, and the reading data of the sheet on which the mark is formed is acquired from the reading device and formed on the sheet. A detection means that detects the geometric characteristics of an image based on the read data, and
An image processing means that performs image processing on the image data in order to correct the geometric characteristics detected by the detection means, and an image processing means.
The first acquisition means for acquiring the remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of the toner of the different color of the image forming apparatus, and
It has a second acquisition means for acquiring sheet information indicating the color of the sheet on which the mark is formed.
The detection means determines the color of the mark based on the remaining amount information and the sheet information, and causes the image forming apparatus to form the mark of the determined color on the sheet. Processing equipment. A mark is formed on a sheet by an image forming apparatus that forms an image using toners of different colors based on the image data, and the reading data of the sheet on which the mark is formed is acquired from the reading device and formed on the sheet. A detection means that detects the geometric characteristics of an image based on the read data, and
An image processing means that performs image processing on the image data in order to correct the geometric characteristics detected by the detection means, and an image processing means.
A control means for displaying a plurality of colors that can be selected as the color of the mark on the display device, and
A receiving means for receiving user instruction information indicating a color selected from the plurality of colors displayed on the display device, and
The first acquisition means for acquiring the remaining amount information regarding the remaining amount of the toner of the different color of the image forming apparatus, and
It has a second acquisition means for acquiring sheet information indicating the color of the sheet on which the mark is formed.
The control means determines the plurality of colors based on the remaining amount information and the sheet information, and determines the plurality of colors.
The detection means determines the color of the mark based on the user instruction information received by the receiving means, and causes the image forming apparatus to form the mark of the determined color on the sheet. Information processing device.

Images