JP7263866B2 - LABEL PRODUCTION DEVICE, LABEL PRODUCTION METHOD AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a label production apparatus, label production method, and program for producing a plurality of labels.

For example, there is known a label production apparatus that forms images (label images) such as pictures, figures, symbols (characters), barcodes, etc. on a print medium in which a mount, an adhesive layer, and a base material are laminated in order. After the label image is printed on the print medium, as post-processing, the base material (and adhesive layer) of the label image portion is cut (cut), and unnecessary portions other than the label image are peeled off from the backing paper (hereinafter referred to as It is also called waste removal).

In such a label production apparatus, a device (post-processing device) for cutting the printed label image may not be integrated with a device (printing device) for printing the label image. In such a case, it has been proposed to attach a QR code (registered trademark) indicating quality information to each label image in order to determine whether the label image is good or bad when cut by a post-processing device. (See Patent Document 1, for example).

JP 2014-188958 A

However, in the above-described label production apparatus, a space for arranging the QR code on the print medium must be secured, so there is a problem that the area for printing the label image on the print medium is limited. . There is also the problem that a dedicated sensor for reading the quality information attached to the QR code must be provided separately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to determine the quality of a label image as to whether it is a non-defective product or a defective product without limiting the printing area on the printing medium. do.

In order to solve the above problems and to solve the problems of the present invention, a label production apparatus of the present invention uses image data for generating a label image and a position mark corresponding to the label image to produce a label image and a label image on a print medium. A printing unit that prints a plurality of position marks, an inspection unit that inspects the quality of each label image printed on the print medium, and a position mark that detects the position mark and performs post-processing on the label image printed on the print medium. A post-processing unit and a position mark changing unit that changes the state of the position mark printed on the printing medium so that the position mark is not detected by the post-processing unit, and the inspection unit detects an abnormality in the label image. If so, the position mark changing unit changes the position mark corresponding to the abnormal label image.

The label production apparatus described above is one aspect of the present invention, and the label production method and program reflecting one aspect of the present invention also have the same configuration as the label production apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the quality of a label image without limiting the area for printing the label image on the print medium. Also, it is possible to judge the quality of the label image without providing a special reading sensor.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a label production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of roll paper S used in an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of waste removal. 4 is a flowchart of label image print processing by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of data acquired in a print job according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is an overall view of label images and eye marks printed on roll paper according to the present embodiment; It is a figure which shows the test result of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of cutting processing (post-processing processing) of a label image by the post-processing device according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a label image printed by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of a label after the image in FIG. 11 is cut and scraped by a post-processing device;

An embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this example") will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and drawings, constituent elements having substantially the same function or configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant description.

In this example, a label production apparatus that prints images by an inkjet method will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the label production apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the label production apparatus 1 of this example includes a printing apparatus 10, a post-processing apparatus 20, and a job control section 30. As shown in FIG.

The printing device 10 prints images (label images and eye marks as position marks) on a printing medium. As will be described later, the printing apparatus 10 of this example performs a quality inspection of the printed label image, and also performs a processing process for the eye mark.

The post-processing device 20 of the present example cuts the portion of the label image of the printing medium on which the label image is printed, and further removes unnecessary portions (removal of waste to be described later). As the post-processing device 20, in addition to the above-described cutting processing, there are devices that perform embossing processing, foil stamping processing, and additional printing.

The job control unit 30 is communicably connected to the printing device 10 and the post-processing device 20, and controls the printing device 10 and the post-processing device 20 to produce labels. The job control unit 30 acquires a print job from an input device (not shown). As the print job, data of an image to be printed, data for cutting, data for embossing, data for foil stamping, etc. are input. Based on this print job, the job control unit 30 controls the printing device 10 and the post-processing device 20 to produce labels.

Next, the configuration of the printer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the printing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.

In this example, a roll of paper (hereinafter referred to as roll paper S (continuous paper)) is used as an example of a medium on which an image is printed (corresponding to a medium to be printed).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the roll paper S of this example. The roll paper S, as shown in FIG. One surface of the base material 3 (the surface opposite to the adhesive layer 4) is a printing surface, and a label image and matching marks are printed on this surface. A sealing member 6 is composed of the base material 3 and the adhesive layer 4 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 10 includes a print data generation unit 11, a printing unit 12, an inspection unit 13, a transport unit 14, a print control unit 15, an eye mark processing unit 16, and a storage unit 17. and have.

The print data generator 11 generates print data based on the image data of the print job.

The printing unit 12 forms (prints) a label image and an eye mark on the roll paper S using print data. Note that the printing unit 12 of this example is a line printer, and has a plurality of heads arranged to face the roll paper S. As shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a cyan ink head C ejects cyan ink, a magenta ink head M ejects magenta ink, a yellow ink head Y ejects yellow ink, and a black ink head ejects black ink. K has four heads. These four heads are arranged at regular intervals in the order of cyan ink head C, magenta ink head M, yellow ink head Y, and black ink head K from the upstream side in the transport direction. The printing unit 12 prints a label image and an eye mark by ejecting ink from each head onto the roll paper S transported in the transport direction.

The inspection unit 13 is for inspecting the label image formed on the roll paper S. FIG. The inspection unit 13 of this example has a scanner 131 . As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner 131 is provided downstream of each head of the printing unit 12 in the transport direction.

The scanner 131 scans the printed roll paper S to acquire color information. Thus, the scanner 131 scans the label image printed on the roll paper S to generate a scanned image.
Then, the inspection unit 13 compares the scanned image generated by the scanner 131 with the original image (image data) to perform a quality inspection as to whether the label image was printed normally (defective product or defective product). .

The eye mark processing unit 16 as a position mark processing unit processes the eye mark printed on the roll paper S. FIG. The eyemark processing section 16 has an eyemark processing unit 161 . As shown in FIG. 2, the eyemark processing unit 161 is provided downstream of the scanner 131 in the transport direction.
Then, the eye mark processing unit 16 processes the eye mark corresponding to the defective label image printed on the roll paper S when the printed label image is defective.

The transport unit 14 transports the roll paper S in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as transport direction), and has a delivery shaft 141 and a winding drive shaft 142 .

The delivery shaft 141 is for delivering the roll paper S in the transport direction, and is provided on the most upstream side in the transport direction in the transport path of FIG.
The take-up drive shaft 142 is provided on the most downstream side in the transport direction in the transport path of FIG. Roll paper S on which images and eye marks are formed is taken up. That is, the label production apparatus 1 of this example employs a so-called roll-to-roll system.

The print control section 15 controls the operation of each section of the printing apparatus 10 . The print control unit 15 includes a CPU and a storage unit (not shown). The CPU executes a program (including processing of various drivers) that drives each part of the printing apparatus 10 . The storage unit 17 stores programs executed by the CPU and various data.

The print control unit 15 causes the CPU to execute programs stored in the storage unit 17 to control each unit of the printing apparatus 10 . First, the print control unit 15 controls the transport unit 14 to rotate the winding drive shaft 142 with a motor (not shown) to transport the roll paper S in the transport direction. During this time, the print control unit 15 controls the print unit 12 to print the label image and the eye mark.

Next, the configuration of the post-processing device 20 as a post-processing unit will be described. The post-processing device 20 of this example performs cutting processing of the roll paper S. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the post-processing device 20 has a cutting section 21 , a scrap removing section 22 and a cut control section 23 . The post-processing device 20 cuts (cuts) the seal member 6 of the roll paper S at the cutting section 21 .

The cutting section 21 cuts (cuts) the seal member 6 of the roll paper S according to a cut line (hereinafter also referred to as a cut path) used for cutting. The cutting section 21 of this example has a laser cutter (not shown) that cuts the sealing member 6 by irradiating a laser. Further, an eye mark detection sensor 24 for detecting an eye mark printed on the roll paper S is provided. Note that the eye mark is a mark for controlling the timing of cutting with the laser cutter 33 .
The scrap removing section 22 is for removing the seal member 6 of the unnecessary portion (the portion other than the label image) of the roll paper S from the backing paper 5 .

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of how scraps are removed by the post-processing device 20. As shown in FIG. In this example, a substantially rectangular label image is printed on the roll paper S, and the periphery of the label image is cut by a laser cutter in the cutting unit 21 . As shown in FIG. 4, by peeling off the seal member 6 of the unnecessary portion (portion other than the label image) of the roll paper S after cutting from the backing paper 5 , only the seal member 6 of the portion of the label image is left on the backing paper 5 . will remain.

The cutting control section 23 controls the cutting section 21 and the waste removing section 22 according to instructions from the job control section to execute cutting and waste removal.

Next, the operation of the printing process of the label image printing apparatus 10 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining label image print processing by the printer 10 .
First, an operator who operates the label production apparatus 1 inputs a print job to the job control section 30 using an input device (not shown).

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of image data acquired in the print job of this example. In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, image data for printing an eye mark 33 and a label image 34 are acquired as a print job. Image data for repeatedly printing two rectangular images (label images) 34 and an eye mark 33 corresponding to each label image as shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. In the following description, of the two label images 34 in FIG. 6, the upper side in the figure is called the upper stage, and the lower side in the figure is called the lower stage. At the same time, cut path data for cutting around the label image portion is also generated as a print job.

First, in step S101, the job control unit 30 transmits image data of the print job to the printing device 10, and the print data generation unit 11 of the printing device 10 transmits the image data received from the print control unit 15 to the printing unit 12. is converted into print data in a format that can be interpreted by the , and output to the printing unit 12 . When converting image data into print data, the print data generation unit 11 performs resolution conversion processing, color conversion processing, halftone processing, rearrangement processing, command addition processing, and the like, and converts each color of CMYK from the image data. Print data is generated.

The print control unit 15 controls the transport unit 14 to transport the roll paper S in the transport direction, and uses the print data (each CMYK print data) generated by the print data generation unit 11 to print each print data of the print unit 12. Ink is ejected onto the roll paper S from each head. Thus, the printing process for printing the image of FIG. 6 on the roll paper S is started (S101). By continuing this printing process, an eye mark 33 and a label image 34 are printed on the roll paper S, and a plurality of images as shown in FIG. 7 are repeatedly printed. In this example, plain roll paper S on which nothing is printed is used, but for example, roll paper on which a white background image is preprinted may be used.

Next, in step S102, it is determined whether or not print processing by the printing unit 12 is being executed. If it is determined that the printing process is being executed (YES in S102), the print control unit 15 controls the inspection unit 13 to determine whether the label image printed on the roll paper S has any abnormality. Inspection processing is performed (S103). If it is determined in step S102 that the printing unit 12 has not executed the printing process (NO in S102), the printing process is terminated.

In the quality inspection process performed in step S<b>103 , the print control unit 15 causes the scanner 131 to scan the image printed on the roll paper S when the image passes under the scanner 131 . Then, the inspection unit 13 inspects whether there is an abnormality (defect) in the printed label image by comparing the scanned image data (scan data) with the image data shown in FIG. For example, the inspection unit 13 compares the scan data and the original image data pixel by pixel. If the pixel color difference is less than the threshold, it is determined that there is no abnormality (good product), and if the difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, it is determined that there is an abnormality (defective product). Note that the threshold is stored in the storage unit 17 .

FIG. 8 is a diagram specifically showing an example of inspection results by the inspection unit 13. As shown in FIG. The diagram on the left side of FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the scan results of non-defective products. In this figure, when compared pixel by pixel with the image data in FIG. 6, there is no place where the difference in color exceeds the threshold value, so it is determined to be a non-defective product. On the other hand, the diagram on the right side of FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of scan results of defective products. In the label image in the upper part of this figure, there is a portion 341 where dots are not formed due to missing nozzles or the like. For this reason, by comparing each pixel with the image data of FIG. 6, it is determined that there is a portion where the color difference exceeds the threshold value and that it is defective.

If it is determined in step S103 that the quality of the label image 34 is abnormal (defective product) (YES in S103), then in step S104 the eyemark processing unit 16 determines that the product is defective. The eye mark 33 printed on the roll paper S corresponding to the label image is processed (S104).

Here, the eye mark processing performed in step S104 will be described. The eye-mark processing unit 161 of the eye-mark processing unit 16 of this example includes a punch kit for forming a through hole in the roll paper S, and punches or trims a part of the eye-mark 33 printed on the roll paper S. By performing the processing, processing processing for changing the shape of the eye mark 33 is performed. In addition, since the eye mark detection sensor 24 of the post-processing device 20 has registered the information of the eye mark 33 before being processed, if the shape or color of the eye mark is changed by the processing, the eye mark can be detected. The eye mark cannot be read by the mark detection sensor 24 . As described above, in this example, the eyemark processing unit 16 deforms the eyemark 33 so that the eyemark detection sensor 24 can detect that the eyemark 33 is absent.

In this example, as the eye mark processing processing, an example in which the shape of the eye mark 33 is changed by cutting off or the like has been described. By doing so, the color of the eye mark 33 may be changed. Furthermore, a seal sticking unit may be installed as the eyemark processing unit 161 to stick a seal so as to cover the eyemark 33 .

In step S103, if it is determined that the label image 34 has no abnormality (non-defective product) (NO in S103), the printing process by the printing unit 12 is continued (S102).

Next, the operation of post-processing by the post-processing device 20 of this example will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the cutting process (post-processing process) of the label image by the post-processing device 20. As shown in FIG.
Note that the post-processing device 20 is also provided with a transporting unit (not shown) similar to the transporting unit of the printing device 10, and roll paper that has undergone eye mark processing in the printing device 10 is attached. and

First, in step S410, the cut control unit 23 controls the transport unit (not shown) to transport the roll paper S in the transport direction, and the eye mark detection sensor 24 of the cut unit 21 prints on the roll paper S. The eye mark 33 is read (S401). It should be noted that the cutting control unit 23 grasps the cutting timing of the label image based on the reading result of the eye mark 33 .

Next, in step S402, it is determined whether the eye mark detection sensor 24 has detected the eye mark 33 or not. When the eye mark detection sensor 24 detects the eye mark 33 (YES in S402), the cutting section 21 cuts the label image 34 using the cut path (S403). That is, the cut control unit 23 causes the transport unit (not shown) to transport the roll paper S in the transport direction, and every time the eye mark detection sensor 24 detects the eye mark 33, the cut control unit 23 cuts the cut unit 21 based on the cut path data. to execute the cutting process. Note that the label images 34 corresponding to the eye marks 33 that can be detected by the eye mark detection sensor 24 are only non-defective products.

On the other hand, when the eye mark detection sensor 24 does not detect the eye mark 33 (NO in S402), the label image 34 is not cut by the cutting unit 21. FIG. As described above, the label image 34 corresponding to the eye mark 33 that cannot be detected by the eye mark detection sensor 24 is defective. Therefore, according to this example, it is possible to prevent the defective label image from being cut.

After that, in step S404, the cut control unit 23 determines whether the label image on the roll paper S is the last label image (S404). If it is not the last label image (NO in S404), the process returns to step S401 to continue eye mark reading processing. On the other hand, if it is the last label image (YES in S404), the cutting process by the cutting section 21 ends.

After that, the cut control unit 23 controls the waste removal unit 22 to peel off the unnecessary portion of the seal member 6 of the cut roll paper S from the backing paper 5 (remove the waste). In this example, the label image of the defective product is not cut and is removed as an unnecessary part of the seal member, so that only the label image of the good product can be taken out.

In this example, the post-processing device 20 is a device that cuts an image label. It may be one that executes an additional overprint printing process. Even if these post-processing apparatuses are used, as described above, only the label image 34 corresponding to the eye mark 33 detected by the eye mark detection sensor 24 should be subjected to the post-processing process in step S402.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a label image printed by the printing device 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state after the label image of FIG. 10 and 11, numbers (row numbers) are assigned in order from the upstream side in the transport direction. For example, in FIG. 10, an abnormality has occurred in the upper label image of the third row image and the lower label image of the sixth row label image (defective product). The mark 331 is processed by the eye mark processing unit 16 as described above.

If the eye mark 33 has been processed, the corresponding label image 341 is not cut as described above, so the defective label image 341 can be discarded as waste. That is, after scrap removal, only the good image label 34 from which the defective label image 341 is removed remains on the roll paper S as shown in FIG. As described above, according to the label production apparatus and the label production method of this example, when there is an abnormality in the label image, the eye mark processing unit 16 processes the eye mark 33 so that the eye mark detection sensor 24 The non-existence of the eye mark 33 is detected so that the post-processing by the post-processing device 20 is not performed when there is an abnormality (defect) in the label image. Therefore, only good product labels can be left as products, so it is possible to prevent defective product labels from appearing on the market.

As described above, according to the label production apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the quality of the label image can be judged by processing the conventional eye mark 33. Therefore, the label image on the roll paper S can be The flexibility of label printing can be increased without limiting the area to be printed.

Further, since the quality of the image label is detected by using the conventional eye mark reading sensor 24, there is no need to provide a new reading sensor, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

Further, the storage unit 17 of the print control unit 15 in this example counts the label images 341 in which the eye mark 33 has been processed, and the print data generation unit 11 generates print data of the counted label images. may be additionally generated and additionally printed by the printing unit 12 . As a result, the number of labels originally planned to be produced using the label production apparatus can be reliably secured. Note that additional label printing may be an arbitrary setting item, and may be set by the user via an input device (not shown) provided in the label production apparatus.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention described in the claims. For example, in this example, the printing device and post-processing device of the label production apparatus are configured separately, but the printing device and post-processing device may be provided in one label production device.

In this example, the label production apparatus that prints images by the ink jet method is used, but the label images may be formed by using an intermediate transfer belt method using Y, M, C, and K toners. good.

In the example described above, a rectangular figure was printed as the label image, but the label image is not limited to this, and may be another figure (round shape), an image, a symbol (character), or the like. In the above example, two label images are arranged in the paper width direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only one label image or three or more label images may be arranged side by side in the paper width direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Label production apparatus, 3... Base material, 4... Adhesive layer, 5... Mounting paper, 6... Seal member, 10... Printing apparatus, 11... Print data generation part , 12...printing section, 13...inspection section, 14...conveyance section, 15...print control section, 16...eye mark processing section, 17...storage section, 20... Post-processing device 21 Cutting unit 22 Waste removing unit 23 Cut control unit 24 Eye mark detection sensor 30 Job control unit 33, 331 eye mark 34, 341 label image 131 scanner 141 delivery shaft 142 take-up drive shaft 161 eye mark processing unit S roll paper

Claims (11)

a printing unit that prints a plurality of label images and position marks on a print medium using image data for generating a label image and a position mark corresponding to the label image;
an inspection unit that inspects the quality of each label image printed on the print medium;
a post-processing unit that detects the position mark and performs post-processing on the label image printed on the printing medium;
a position mark changing unit that changes the state of the position mark printed on the print medium so that it is not detected by the post-processing unit ;
The label production apparatus, wherein when the inspection section determines that the label image has an abnormality, the position mark changing section changes a position mark corresponding to the label image having the abnormality. a storage unit for storing the number of label images determined to be abnormal by the inspection unit;
The label production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing section performs additional printing for the number of sheets stored in the storage section. The label production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position mark changing unit changes the position mark corresponding to the abnormal label image by forming a through hole in a part of the position mark. The label production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position mark changing unit changes the position mark corresponding to the abnormal label image by changing the color of the position mark. The label production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position mark changing unit changes the position mark corresponding to the abnormal label image by attaching a sticker covering the position mark. The position mark changing unit does not change the position mark when the inspection unit determines that the label image has no abnormality.
The label production apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5. The print medium comprises a first substrate having a printing surface, a second substrate, and an adhesive layer between the first substrate and the second substrate,
The post-processing unit performs a post-processing process for cutting the first base material, and cuts the first base material at the portion of the label image when the position mark is detected. 7. The label production apparatus according to claim 6, wherein if the position mark is not detected , the first substrate in the portion of the label image is not cut. 7. The label production apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the post-processing section performs post-processing to emboss the label image. 7. The label production apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the post-processing section performs a post-processing process of adding foil stamping to the label image. A label production method for producing a plurality of labels, comprising:
a step of printing a plurality of label images and position marks on a print medium using image data for generating a label image and a position mark corresponding to the label image by a printing unit provided in a label production apparatus;
inspecting the quality of each label image printed on the print medium by an inspection unit provided in the label production apparatus;
When the inspection unit determines that the label image has an abnormality, a position mark corresponding to the label image having the abnormality is changed by a position mark changing unit provided in the label production apparatus after processing provided in the label production apparatus. modifying so as not to be detected by the processing unit ;
a step of detecting the position mark by the post-processing unit and performing a post-processing process on the label image printed on the print medium based on the position mark. In the computer equipped with the label production equipment that produces multiple labels,
a step of printing a plurality of label images and position marks on a print medium using image data for generating a label image and a position mark corresponding to the label image by a printing unit provided in a label production apparatus;
inspecting the quality of each label image printed on the print medium by an inspection unit provided in the label production apparatus;
When the inspection unit determines that the label image has an abnormality, a position mark corresponding to the label image having the abnormality is changed by a position mark changing unit provided in the label production apparatus after processing provided in the label production apparatus. modifying so as not to be detected by the processing unit;
a step of detecting the position mark by the post-processing unit and performing post-processing on the label image printed on the printing medium based on the position mark.

Images