JP2003345549A - Information processor, information processing method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute printing pages to a plurality of printers in order to perform a printing operation evenly with respective color ink since the ink consumption of four C, M, Y and K colors is made different from each other for every print data and printer, and the ink consumption of one ink may be larger than the ink consumption of the other ink at the time of performing the printing operation by using the plurality of printers. <P>SOLUTION: The information processor (the information processing method) is provided with: a selection means (a selection step) for selecting a printer with the smallest counter numerical value in respective color counters corresponding to respective color heads at the time of connecting a plurality of printers; and a transfer means (a transfer step) for transferring print data to the printer selected by the selection means (the selection step). The storage medium stores a program having the selection step and the transfer step. The numerical values of the respective color counters are acquired from an Information Center. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a method for performing printing using a plurality of printers.
And a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, several types of printers using the ink jet system have been found. Although these printers are relatively inexpensive, they are capable of performing color printing at a level close to that of photographs, making it easy for anyone to create highly appealing documents.

[0003] Such a printer is called a serial type printer, and has a feature in which received information can be printed immediately. In this serial printer, printing is performed by ejecting ink to a certain width in the vertical direction while the print head scans in the left-right direction. Printing ink cartridges
It has a structure in which the ink itself and a head for discharging the ink are integrated, and the ink itself can be removed and replaced. After performing one horizontal scan, the print paper is fed in the vertical direction by a fixed amount, and further horizontal scan is performed. This is repeated for one page of printing paper, thereby completing printing.

A USB (Universal Serial) is used as an interface for connecting a printer.
al Bus), a plurality of printers can be connected in cascade to one personal computer, and printing can be performed by a plurality of connected printers.

[0005]

However, when printing is performed using a plurality of printers, C (cyan), which is used for print data allocated to each printer, is used.
M (magenta), Y (yellow), K (black) 4 each
The amount of color ink differs for each printer. Printers that print more color images also use more ink of each color, while printers that print only black and white text use only black ink. As a matter of course, print data that must be printed on one sheet cannot be divided and printed by a plurality of printers. As a result, a situation arises in which one of the four color inks is used more than the other inks for one printer, and the ink has to be replaced while the other inks still remain. Would. Also, only one of the connected printers may run out of ink extremely quickly.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium capable of printing each color ink without bias when printing is performed using a plurality of printers. To provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention selects a printer having the smallest counter value among color counters corresponding to respective color heads when a plurality of printers are connected. And a transfer unit for transferring print data to the printer selected by the selection unit.

Further, in the information processing method of the present invention, when a plurality of printers are connected, a selecting step of selecting a printer having the smallest counter value among the respective color counters corresponding to the respective color heads, and selecting the printer by the selecting step. And a transfer step of transferring print data to a printer.

In addition, the storage medium of the present invention, when connected to a plurality of printers, includes a color counter for each color head corresponding to each color head.
A program is stored which has a selection step of selecting a printer having the smallest counter value and a transfer step of transferring print data to the printer selected in the selection step.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front external view of a printer 100 having an ink-jet printing mechanism embodying the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a power switch, and reference numeral 2 denotes a reset switch for recovering from a failure in which a paper-out error or the like has occurred. Reference numeral 3 denotes an LED that lights up in green when the power is turned on and lights up in orange when an error occurs. Blinks when receiving print data and when printing, indicating the difference in operation.

FIG. 2 is a rear view. 4 is USB (U
5 is a connection part of an A type connector of a universal serial bus), and 5 is a connection part of a B type connector. Reference numeral 6 denotes a Centronics type connector.
Note that the USB standard is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, and thus a detailed description is omitted. The USB standard is Un
versal Serial Bus Specif
edition version 1.0 (Januar
y 19, 1996). The Centronics type interface unit is IEEE12
84. Similarly, since the IEEE 1284 standard itself has no direct relation to the present invention, a detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 3 connects the printer of FIG. 1 to the personal computer 200 of FIG. 4 using a USB cable. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the personal computer. Reference numeral 9 in FIG. 4 shows an example in which USB A type connectors are mounted in upper and lower stages. 7 in FIG. 3 is connected to one of 9 in FIG. 4, and 8 in FIG. 3 is connected to 5 in FIG. Similarly, it is possible to connect the A type connector of another USB cable to 4 in FIG. 2 and connect the B type connector of the same cable to another printer of the same type. This is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 10 denotes a USB connection. As shown in FIG. 5, the USB can cascade-connect a plurality of printers to one personal computer.
Each of the cascaded printers can operate completely independently without affecting each other. The maximum number of printers that can be connected is four.

The printer shown in FIG. 1 can exchange a print cartridge. For this reason, it is possible to perform printing by mounting a cartridge optimal for the content or purpose of printing on the printer. FIG. 6 shows a printable cartridge that can be mounted on the printer of FIG.

Reference numeral 13 in FIG. 6 denotes a print cartridge composed of four color inks of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black). When used for general color printing, optimal results can be obtained. In the printer of FIG. 1 embodying the present invention, the cartridge can be detached. The method is shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 14 in FIG. 7 denotes a cartridge exchange switch. By pressing this switch, the cartridge is moved to the center of the carriage and the replacement of the cartridge is facilitated. Reference numeral 15 in FIG. 7 shows a case where the cartridge is removed. 7 in FIG. 7 is a view in which a cartridge is mounted, and 17 in FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a state in which the cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 8 shows the printer 1 of FIG. 1 embodying the present invention.
It is a block diagram of 00. Reference numeral 18 in FIG. 8 denotes a power switch corresponding to 1 in FIG. Reference numeral 19 in FIG. 8 is a cartridge exchange switch corresponding to 14 in FIG. Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 8 is a reset switch corresponding to 2 in FIG. 8 in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an LED that lights green when the power is turned on, and corresponds to 3 in FIG. Reference numeral 22 in FIG. 8 denotes an LED that lights up in orange when an error occurs, and also corresponds to 3 in FIG. This LED alone can be lit in two colors, green and orange. Numeral 23 in FIG. 8 denotes a signal line for transmitting the operation of the power switch 18 in FIG. 8 to the MPU 30 in FIG. Since this signal is transmitted to the MPU 30 in FIG. 8 as the interrupt signal 26 in FIG. 8, the signal is preferentially processed in the MPU 30. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 25 denotes a printer control gate array which is 27 in FIG.
An address bus and a data bus connecting the OM. 29
ROM stores a program in which the operation and processing of the MPU are recorded. Reference numeral 27 in FIG. 8 denotes a printer control gate array, which has control functions such as switches, LEDs, interfaces, and memories. Reference numeral 28 in FIG. 8 denotes a RAM that provides a storage area for temporarily storing data and the like when the MPU 30 performs processing. Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 8 denotes a signal line for transmitting a signal for controlling the step motor, which is 32 and 33 in FIG. Reference numeral 32 denotes a carriage, which is a support of the ink cartridge, which is 103 in FIG.
A carriage motor that moves left and right as viewed from the front. A feed motor 33 feeds printing paper. The printing paper is stored in a printing paper tray 100 shown in FIG. 1 and is discharged to a printing paper receiver 101 through the inside of the printer. The feed motor 33 moves the printing paper. Reference numeral 35 in FIG. 8 is the ink cartridge shown in FIG. This ink cartridge has a structure in which the ink itself and a head for discharging the ink are integrated. An ID indicating the type of the ink cartridge itself is also recorded. Reference numeral 34 in FIG. 8 is a control line for controlling the head in the ink cartridge 35 and for calling the ID.

Reference numeral 36 in FIG. 8 denotes a commercial power supply provided to ordinary households. Reference numeral 37 in FIG. 8 connects this commercial power supply to 3 in FIG.
It is an AC adapter that converts the DC power to 8 DC 5 volts and 39 DC 24 volts. 38 is used to operate 30 electronic components such as MPUs, and 24 volts is used to drive a motor such as 32 and a head in 35 ink cartridges.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 40 denotes an interface controller signal for connecting the interface controller 44 and the printer control gate array 25. It is used by the 27 printer control gate arrays to detect the mode of operation of the interface. Reference numeral 41 denotes a data bus for transmitting data received from the PC by the interface gate array 44 to the PC 27. The 44 interface controller switches between data from the 46 Centronics connector and data from the 55 USB MPU. This switching is performed by 42 analog switches. The 44 interface controllers are designed to always prioritize data from 55 USB MPUs. That is, when print data is sent to both the USB B type connectors 46 and 51, which are the Centronics interface, the USB is always used.
Side, and does not receive data from the Centronics side.

This switching is performed using the status of the signal line from the 43 Centronics interface and the status of the 47 signal line. 45 is a data signal from the Centronics interface. Reference numeral 48 denotes a flash memory in which a USB MPU program for controlling the USB interface 55 is stored. As described above, USB has A type and B type connectors, and a PC or an upstream device is connected to a 52B type connector. The downstream equipment is connected via a 51A type connector. 53 and 54 are signal lines to 51 type A connectors and 52 type B connectors, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a personal computer 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU, that is, a central processing unit, which controls the entire computer apparatus and performs arithmetic processing and the like. Reference numeral 202 denotes a ROM, that is, a read-only memory, which is a storage area for storing information of a system startup program. Reference numeral 203 denotes a RAM, that is, a random access memory, which is a data storage area having no use restriction, and includes an operating system,
This area is where programs such as a device driver and communication control are loaded and executed. A keyboard unit 204 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like for inputting data. Reference numeral 205 denotes a CRT unit, which includes a display such as a CRT and a control unit for display on the display. Reference numeral 206 denotes an HD unit, which includes a hard disk that records and stores programs such as a printer driver program and various data such as fonts related to a flowchart described later, and a disk control unit that controls the hard disk. Load to RAM. An interface unit 207 controls communication with an external device such as a printer via a USB in this embodiment. 208 is a system bus,
It should be a data path between the above-mentioned components.

Next, an operating system (hereinafter referred to as an OS) for executing a printer driver on the personal computer 200 is Microsoft Windows.
The printing mechanism of ws (registered trademark) 95 will be briefly described. Reference numeral 56 in FIG. 10 denotes an application.
The user performs operations such as editing a document using this application. The user instructs the 56 applications to print the created print document. A print instruction is given by designating a printer for printing from an application. FIG. 11 shows a screen on which an instruction is given. The name of the printer to be used is shown at 76 in FIG.

By designating a printer, information on the characteristics of the printer is transferred to GDI (57 in FIG. 10) which is a drawing process of the OS. Specifically, the information indicates whether color printing is possible or the size of paper used for printing.
The GDI 57 draws a document based on these pieces of information. The result of drawing by 57 GDIs is O
This format is unique to S and can be used for display not only on printing paper but also on a CRT monitor or the like.

The output result of the 57 GDI is input to a 59 printer driver. This printer driver is specific to each type of printer to be used and is usually provided by the printer maker, and is not provided by the OS vendor. The printer driver 59 converts the output from the GDI 57 so as to be optimal for the characteristics of the ink used by the printer, and creates print data for sending it to the printer. From here, the process is divided into two depending on the printing method. One is a method via the first spooler 60 shown in FIG. 10, and the other is a method not via the first spooler.

First, a method that does not pass through will be described.
59 The print data created by the printer driver is 62 G
It is passed to DI32. The GDI 62 is an interface module between the spooler process and the printer driver 59. This is one of 59 printer drivers
This is because it is a 6-bit application and 63 spooler processes are 32 bit personal computers. Normal 16
A bit application cannot directly call a 32-bit application. Therefore, a part called from 16-bit application and 32 bit
6 with both parts called from the application
2 GDIs 32 are required.

The print data sent to the spooler process 63 through the GDI 32 62 is temporarily recorded in a second spooler 65. After the spooling of the print data is completed, the spooler process of 63 reads out the print data from the second spooler of 65 and transfers it to the language of 69.
Send to ge monitor. The 69 Language monitor detects the status of the printer, for example, a state in which print data cannot be received due to running out of print paper, etc., and notifies the user if necessary, or sends the print data to the printer. It has the role of a gate that controls start / stop of sending. Since the printer embodying the present invention uses a USB as an interface, 69 language
The ge monitor sends print data to the USB port of the PC. Since the port itself is hardware, the module that directly controls the port is not the Ring3 in which the printer driver is executed, but the Rin called the privileged mode.
Performed at g0. Since an application or module in Ring3 cannot directly access a module on Ring0 side, 70 USB port monitors virtualize a 75USB port, which is hardware, to a module on Ring3 side. Ring
The module on the third side can obtain the same result as accessing the hardware directly by accessing the 70 USB port monitors. 70 USB
Port monitor is a WIN32 AP provided by 71 OS
Access I. This module is Ring3 and Ri
This is a module that bridges ng0.

USB device hardware 75 device drivers are provided by OS vendors. 74 USB
The common driver is a module that directly controls USB hardware. The 72 USB printer driver integrates the functions provided by the 74 USB common driver and provides functions for the printer. 72 US
The B printer driver sends the print data sent via the WIN32 API of 71 to the USB common driver of 74, so that the print data finally arrives at the printer and is printed by the printer.

Next, the printing method of the method via the 60 first spooler will be described.

The printing method via the first spooler is a case where background printing in FIG. 12 is selected. By passing through the first spooler 60, the printing operation in the application ends earlier than in the case where the print job does not pass through the first spooler.

FIG. 12 shows a screen display method.
12 is displayed when the print control 86 is selected by pressing the 761 property button 1 with the mouse.

The printer driver 59 sends the created print data to the first spooler 60. Next, when the multi-printer print mode is not set, that is, 7 in FIG.
If the check mark is not attached to 8, the background 61 sends spooled print data to the spool process 63. Then, the print data is sent to the printer designated at 76 in FIG. 11 and printed. The following is the same as the process already described.

On the other hand, when the multi-printer printing of 78 is set, the backgrounder of 61 is the first of 61
The print data is called from the spooler of No. 66 and sent to the multi-printer controller 66. The multi-printer controller divides the print data into pages according to the number of available printers in order to distribute the print data to a plurality of printers for printing. The divided print data is sent to 68 USB output tasks created for each assigned printer. For example, if there are four usable printers, this 68
Are created as four USB output tasks.

On the other hand, the spooler process 63 is created for each port to which the printer is connected. For example, four printers are USBPRNO01 and USBPRRN, respectively.
When connected to O02, USBPRNO03, and USBPRNO04, four spooler processes are also created for each port. The port names such as USBPRNO01 are names provided for convenience in order to distinguish cascaded printers as shown in FIG. 5, and there is only one actual USB interface. Since the OS manages a printer by connecting a single printer to each port, the OS is used as a destination of print data.
The method of identifying a printer at the S level is performed using a port name.

The USB output task 68 sends the divided print data to the 63 spooler process created for each port. The following processing is the same as the processing described above.

FIG. 10 shows a case where printing is performed by connecting four printers.

As described above, the second spooler corresponding to 65 in FIG. 10 is created for each printer. Also, four 63 spooler processes are created.
Similarly, four 69 Language Monitors that perform processing according to the status of the printer are also created. However, as described above, since there is only one USB interface, there is only one USB-related module such as a driver regardless of the connected printer.

Next, a method of determining a usable printer by the 66 multi-printer controllers will be described. 53 is Information Center
And its role is to collect information about connected printers. The information to be collected includes the size of the print data stored in the second spooler, the operation status of the connected printer, and the like. In addition, counters for each color of C, M, Y, and K corresponding to each printer are prepared. This counter stores the number of inks ejected on one page. From the second page onward, each counter value for one page is added to the already stored counter value. The initial value of each counter is 0
It is.

Before distributing print data to a plurality of printers, the multi-printer controller 66 first obtains each counter value of each printer from the Information Center 58, and the 65th spooler process obtains the counter value of each printer. The print data stored in the second spooler is acquired. The multi-printer controller 66 compares the acquired count values and sends the next print data to the printer having the smallest value.

The reason that the printer driver does not directly acquire the print data from the 63 spooler is that the printer driver is a 16-bit application and directly accesses the 63 spooler which is a 32-bit application as described above. Because it is difficult. Meanwhile, 58Information Center
er has a special structure that can be directly accessed from both 16-bit and 32-bit applications. Therefore, it is possible not only to obtain necessary information by directly accessing from a printer driver, but also to directly access a 32-bit application.

The processing in the multi-printer controller will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the maximum number of connectable printers is four. Shown below is a printer information structure for storing information about each printer.

Typedef struct ｛int PortNumber; long Ccount, Mcount, Ycount, Kcount; long Mincount;｝ PRINTER_INFO, * pPRINTER_INFO;
A numerical value indicating a number such as 1 or 2 of a port name given for convenience such as SBPRNO1 or USBPRNO2 is stored. Ccount, Mcount, Ycount, K
The value of each counter of C, M, Y, and K corresponding to each printer is stored in count. And the smallest value among the counters is Mincount
stored in t. Here, when color ink is used as a reference, only C, M, and Y counters are used, and when black is used as a reference, only a K counter is used. This designation can be determined by the user before printing.

Using this structure, PRINTER_I
Printer 4 as NFO PrtInfo [4]
Secure an area for each car. The start address (& PrtInfo) of this secured area is used as an input parameter for In.
When the Information Center is executed, if there is an available printer, the Information
n Center stores that information in this structure.

As described above, the print data from the 56 applications is once stored in the first spooler process at 60 and then called by the 61 backgrounder and sent to the multi-printer controller at 66. This multi-printer controller is started by a backgrounder before actually sending print data. After being activated, it waits in S1 for print data to be sent from the backgrounder. When the print data is sent, an area for storing information of the printer connected in S2 is secured. As described above, the maximum number of connected printers is four. Inform at S3
Access the ion Center to obtain information about the printer. Information at S3
Based on information from the Center, necessary data is stored in the printer information structure and initialization is performed. If there is no usable printer in the determination at S5, an error message shown in FIG. 15 is displayed. Here, the user can select either OK or Cancel. If it is determined in S7 that OK is pressed, the printer information is obtained again in S3. Therefore, before pressing OK, it is necessary for the user to eliminate the cause that the printing cannot be started. If the obstacle cannot be removed, it is possible to press Cancel. In this case, the process proceeds to S8 and the process ends. In S9, 66 USB output tasks are generated for the number of usable printers. In S10, the control parameters are initialized. P is a parameter for controlling the number of pages to be printed, and I and J are control parameters for finding the smallest counter value among the minimum counter values of each printer stored in a later process. In S11, the number of usable printers is checked. The variable M is the number of usable printers stored in the Information Center. If there is only one usable printer, printing is performed using only that printer, and there is no need to distribute print data. Therefore, the process proceeds to S19, where the print data is transmitted to the printer. In S12, Information C again
In step S13 and step S14, each color counter value of each printer is changed to an Information Center.
er, and stores the minimum counter value of each printer from the values in Mincount. S1
5 to S18, PrtInfo [I]. Minc
From the counts, select the smallest value. Then, in S19, the print data is sent to the printer having the value. If there are a plurality of printers having the selected minimum value, the print data is sent to the printer with the smallest PortNnmber. In step S20, it is determined whether or not the page is the last page. If the page is the last page, the printing process is terminated in step S21. If the page is not the last page, the process returns to step S11 to print the next page in step S22.

When printing a plurality of edited pages or a plurality of copies of a document or image from an application running on a PC to which a plurality of printers are connected, print data is transferred to each printer so that each color ink can be used without bias. The method of distributing the values to the groups will be described with reference to FIG. Here, for simplification of the description, a case will be described in which three printers having exactly the same conditions are connected to a PC. Also, since more K (black) ink is usually prepared than other inks, it is easy to understand C (cyan) and M
(Magenta) and Y (yellow) inks will be described.

It is assumed that data to be printed is composed of six pages including a color image. The table (1) in FIG. 13 shows the expected number of ejections of each color ink for each page. P1
To P4 indicate page numbers, respectively, Ccount, M
“count” and “Ycount” are counters for counting the number of times that cyan, magenta, and yellow inks that will be used to print each page, respectively, are ejected.
The values in the table are virtually shown for ease of explanation. Now, these six pages are distributed to the printer 1, the printer 2, and the printer 3. FIG. 13B shows an example in which pages to be printed are sequentially distributed from the printer 1. This distribution method is a method of allocating pages mechanically.
As can be seen from (3), the number of ejections of each color ink in each printer is different, and each color difference appears in the amount of ink used. If printing is continued in this manner, the difference may widen, and a situation may occur in which one of the inks is extremely reduced compared to the other inks. On the other hand, (4) shows the result of considering page distribution using the counters of each color. Here, since the color counters of all printers are initially considered to be 0, P1 to P3 are mechanically distributed from the printer 1 in order, and ink is ejected to each counter at the same time when printing for one page is completed. Set the number of times performed. The value of this counter is stored until the next printing. After all the counters are set, the printer 2 with the smallest counter value among the three printers
To the next page P4. The printer 2 increases the value of each counter in accordance with the printing of P4. That is, after the printing of P4 is completed, the respective counter values of the printer 2 are cyan 13, magenta 25, and yellow 26. After the printing is completed, the counters of the three printers are compared, and the pages are distributed to the printer having the smallest counter value. Therefore, P5 and P in FIG.
6 are sent to the printer 3 and the printer 1, respectively.
(5) indicates the amount of each color ink used in each printer when printing is performed using this method. Comparing (3) and (5), although there is a slight difference between the colors in the printer 1, the difference between cyan, magenta, and yellow can be reduced in the printer 2 than in (3). Obviously, the amount of use of each color ink is equivalent to that of (3).

As described above, each color ink is detected by detecting the number of ink ejections using the counter corresponding to each color head of each printer, and allocating pages so as to eliminate the difference in the amount of ink used. Bias can be prevented.

In the embodiment of the first invention, counters corresponding to inks of three colors C, M, and Y are used for performing color printing. The black ink has a larger ink capacity than other color inks. This is because 70% to 80% of black is used the most in ink used for normal printing. Thus, by using a black counter, when monochrome printing is more important than color printing, black ink can be distributed to each printer without bias. As described above, whether to use the C, M, and Y counters or the K counter can be specified by the user according to the print content. When the K counter is used, in the flowchart of FIG. 14, only the K counter value is accessed in S12. The rest of the process is the same as in the previous embodiment. Similarly, if any one of C, M, and Y is used as a reference, the reference ink can be more evenly distributed to the printer. After all the printing work is completed, the Information Cen
ter is stored in a non-volatile memory or the like, and the initial value of each counter in the next printing operation is set to the stored value, so that ink can be more evenly distributed to each printer. It is possible.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When printing using a plurality of printers, a counter corresponding to each color head of each printer is provided, and the amount of each ink used for printing is predicted by the numerical value of the counter, and cyan, magenta, yellow, black The print pages can be distributed to the printer so that each of the color inks is used without bias. In addition, it is possible to reduce the user's burden of having to replace the ink because any one of the inks runs out earlier than the other inks.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a printer embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the printer.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a USB cable which is an interface of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a view of a USB connector on the back of the PC.

FIG. 5 is an image diagram in which four printers are cascaded.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a cartridge that can be mounted on the printer.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a method of attaching and detaching a cartridge.

FIG. 8 is an electric circuit block diagram of the printer.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a personal computer.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a printer driver embodying the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a dialog displayed when printing is performed from an application using the printer driver described above.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing items related to print control among the above-described setting items.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a counter amount corresponding to the amount of ink necessary for printing and how to allocate pages.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a dialog displayed when there is no usable printer.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. When a plurality of printers are connected, there are provided selection means for selecting a printer having a minimum value of a counter corresponding to each color head, and transfer means for transferring print data to the printer selected by the selection means. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a counter value corresponding to each color head of each printer is obtained from n Center and the counter value is recognized. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of printers, wherein the print data is print data in units of one page. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a personal computer, and the printers are connected in cascade. 5. An instruction means for instructing multi-printer printing, and when there is an instruction for multi-printer printing by said instruction means, print data is transferred to the printer selected by said selection means. 1 information processing device. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when there is no instruction for multi-printer printing by said instruction means, print data is transferred to a printer designated by an operator. 7. When a plurality of printers are connected, a selection step of selecting a printer having a minimum value of a counter corresponding to each color head, and a transfer step of transferring print data to the printer selected in the selection step are provided. An information processing method characterized by the following. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
8. The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein a counter value corresponding to each color head of each printer is obtained from n Center and the counter value is recognized. 9. The information processing method according to claim 7, further comprising a plurality of printers, wherein said print data is print data of one page unit. 10. The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein said information processing method is performed by a printer driver. 11. The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein said printers are connected in cascade. 12. An instruction step for instructing multi-printer printing, and when there is an instruction for multi-printer printing in said instruction step, print data is transferred to the printer selected in said selecting step. 7 information processing method. 13. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein when there is no multi-printer printing instruction in said instruction step, print data is transferred to a printer designated by an operator. 14. A program having a selection step of selecting a printer having a minimum value of a counter corresponding to each color head when a plurality of printers are connected, and a transfer step of transferring print data to the printer selected in the selection step. A storage medium characterized by storing: 15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein
15. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein a counter value corresponding to each color head of each printer is obtained from on Center, and the counter value is recognized. 16. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the storage medium includes a plurality of printers, and the print data is print data in units of one page. 17. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the recording program is a printer driver program. 18. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein said printers are connected in cascade. 19. An instruction step for instructing multi-printer printing, and when there is an instruction for multi-printer printing in the instruction step, print data is transferred to the printer selected in the selecting step. 14 storage media. 20. The storage medium according to claim 19, wherein when there is no instruction for multi-printer printing in said instruction step, print data is transferred to a printer designated by an operator.