JP2004066689A - Printer driver and record medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer driver capable of reducing an ink and toner consumption amount, and to provide a record medium. <P>SOLUTION: The printer driver 4 stored in a personal computer 1 is equipped with a color conversion module 7 which has the function of obtaining a color of a text part required to be printed and a background color and substituting the color of the text part with a single color so as to prevent the color from interfering with the background color. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer driver, which is an output control program for controlling an output device (printer device) mounted on a PC (personal computer), a workstation, or the like, and a recording medium on which the output control program is recorded.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-123267 discloses a "color image forming apparatus" as a conventional technique related to a printer device that outputs print data created by a PC. The technique described in this publication detects the edge of a black pixel region and performs black monochrome printing.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Due to the recent spread of color OA (office automation) devices, even users who do not need to actually print in color print color prints without any particular concern. Most users do not open the printer driver UI, so colored printing is even more subconscious.
[0004]
However, in color printing, the ink or toner consumes a considerable amount, and there is a problem that the cost of the ink or toner is high.
[0005]
The present invention can reduce the consumption of ink and toner in printing applications at a level where it is sufficient to distinguish between colored portions and non-colored portions within a range that does not hinder ordinary OA work. It is an object to provide a possible printer driver and a recording medium.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a printer driver stored in a personal computer acquires the color and background color of a text part requested to be printed, and obtains the color of the text part so as not to interfere with the background color. The most important feature is a printer driver including a color conversion module having a function of replacing a color with a single color.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the printer driver stored in the personal computer has a function of obtaining the color of the image portion and the background color requested to be printed and replacing the color of the image portion with a single color so as not to interfere with the background color. A printer driver including a color conversion module is the most main feature.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a printer driver stored in a personal computer has a function of obtaining a color of a graphic part and a background color requested to be printed and replacing the color of the graphic part with a single color so as not to interfere with the background color. A printer driver including a color conversion module is the most main feature.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer driver according to any one of the first to third aspects, a main feature is a printer driver that performs a color conversion processing operation either automatically or by user setting.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printer driver according to any one of the first to third aspects, a main feature is a printer driver capable of selecting whether or not to perform a color conversion processing operation.
[0011]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a recording medium in which the software of the printer driver according to any one of the first to third aspects is recorded is the most main feature.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a PC including a printer driver according to an embodiment of the present invention. The PC 1 includes an application 2, an OS module 3, a printer driver 4, and an output port 8.
[0013]
The application 2 issues a print request to the printer driver 4 operating on the PC 1. The OS module 3 mediates between the application 2 and the printer driver 4 at the time of a print request. The output port 8 is a Centro, USB, network, or the like for sending print data to the printer device 9. A printing system is constructed by the PC 1 and the printer device 9.
[0014]
The printer driver 4 has a UI driver 5, a graphic driver 6, and a color conversion module 7. The UI driver 5 is a UI processing module that displays a UI screen displayed and activated from a print dialog from the application 2 and sets various print settings. The graphic driver 6 is a module that captures print settings and generates print data that is a group of commands that can be interpreted by the printer device 9. The color conversion processing module 7 is responsible for color conversion processing.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first processing example of the present invention. At the time of printing from the application 2, the printer driver 4 performs the printing process via the OS module 3. At this time, the objects in the page are separated and managed, the text object is extracted, and the color is acquired (S1). , C, M, Y, K. The replacement may be automatic processing based on a fixed definition in a program, or may be manual instruction from a setting screen or the like by a user.
[0016]
At this time, the background color is also acquired (S2), and if the replaced color is the same color as the background, it becomes difficult to recognize the background. For example, when the text object is replaced with C, the background becomes C Alternatively, when it is determined that the density of C is relatively higher than MY and K (interference in S3), the process of giving up to C and giving up to M is performed. This replacement may be automatic processing based on a fixed definition in a program, or may be a manual instruction from a setting screen or the like by a user (S4).
[0017]
If there is no interference between the character object and the background color (not S3), the character color is obtained and set automatically or manually (S5). Then, the color character conversion process is executed by the color conversion module 7 (S6).
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second processing example of the present invention. This processing example is obtained by replacing the text in FIG. 2 with an image. However, since a natural image cannot be used as an image, it is necessary to determine in advance whether the image is the same color image or another image (for example, a natural image). That is, in S11 to S13, the processing for determining a single-color image is performed, and in the case of a single-color image, the same processing as in FIG.
[0019]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a third processing example of the present invention. In this processing example, the text in FIG. 2 is replaced with a graphic. In S21 to S26, the same processing as in FIG. 2 is performed by replacing the text with the graphic.
[0020]
In the present invention, the color conversion can be performed automatically or manually by the user during the color conversion process. Whether or not to perform the operation can be selected by the user. When performing the color conversion processing according to the setting, the printer driver 4 performs the color conversion processing by the color conversion module 7.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the colors of the text portion, the image portion, and the graphic portion are replaced with a single color, so that ink and toner can be saved. In this case, since the amount of ink and toner on the paper is reduced, the frequency of use on the backing paper increases accordingly.
[0022]
According to the invention described in claim 5, the user can select an object to be colored.
[0023]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the software of the printer driver of the present invention can be stored in a recording medium and used appropriately.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a PC including a printer driver according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a first processing example of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a second processing example of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a third processing example of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 PC
4 Printer driver 5 UI driver 6 Graphic driver 7 Color conversion module

Claims (6)

The printer driver stored in the personal computer includes a color conversion module having a function of obtaining the color of the text part and the background color requested to be printed and replacing the color of the text part with a single color so as not to interfere with the background color. Characteristic printer driver. The printer driver stored in the personal computer includes a color conversion module having a function of acquiring the color of the image portion and the background color requested to be printed and replacing the color of the image portion with a single color so as not to interfere with the background color. Characteristic printer driver. In the printer driver stored in the personal computer, a color conversion module having a function of acquiring the color of the graphic part and the background color requested to be printed and replacing the color of the graphic part with a single color so as not to interfere with the background color is provided. Characteristic printer driver. 4. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the color conversion operation is performed either automatically or by user setting. 4. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein whether or not to perform a color conversion processing operation can be selected. A recording medium on which the software of the printer driver according to claim 1 is recorded.

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