JP2004284265A - Printing control method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control method by which information relative to the arrangement of pages wherein data are printed, in printing a poster, can be added to the face or back of each of the pages and the load of an operation to arrange each page can be reduced, and a printing control device. <P>SOLUTION: This printing control method controls poster printing by enlarging printing data, equivalent to one page, which can be printed using a printer 200 and printing out, dividing the printing data into pieces on a plurality of media. First, the printing data are divided into a prescribed number of printing data pieces, then position information on each of a prescribed number of the divided printing data pieces in the printing data before the division is acquired. After that, each of the divided printing data pieces is printed on a respectively different medium and the position information is printed at a predetermined position on the medium where the printing data pieces after the division are printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print control technique for enlarging print data to a designated size, dividing the print data, and printing the divided print data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a method of poster printing in which print data that fits within one page is partially enlarged and then printed on a plurality of pages has been widely used.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, no technique has been found to add position information or the like for the entire printing of each page when poster printing is performed to the printed page. For this reason, until now, after ascertaining the size of the designated poster print, the pages after printing are arranged according to the processing order of the print layout apparatus or according to the processing order specified in advance by the user to the print layout apparatus. I needed to.
[0004]
Here, if the user knows the size of the poster print without breaking the order of printing and remembers the order of processing by the print layout device, the work of arranging is easy. . However, depending on the image to be printed, if these conditions are not met, the arrangement work may be a confusing work such as solving a jigsaw puzzle, especially when a large-sized poster is printed.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and information about the layout of the page can be added to the front or back surface of each page printed in poster printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control method and a print control device that can reduce the load of the arrangement work.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is a print control method for enlarging one page of print data that can be printed by a printing apparatus and dividing and printing it on a plurality of media,
A dividing step of dividing the print data into a predetermined number of print data;
An acquisition step of acquiring position information in print data before division of each print data divided into a predetermined number in the division step,
A first printing step of printing each of the divided print data on different media,
And a second printing step of printing the position information at a predetermined position on the medium on which the print data after the division is printed.
[0007]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus that enlarges print data of one page printable by a printing apparatus, divides the print data into a plurality of media, and prints the data.
Dividing means for dividing the print data into a predetermined number of print data;
An acquisition unit for acquiring position information in print data before division of each print data divided into a predetermined number by the division unit,
First printing means for printing each of the divided print data on different media,
A second printing unit that prints the position information at a predetermined position on the medium on which the print data after the division is printed.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, details of the poster print control according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a host computer 100 and a printer 200 are connected to each other via a bidirectional interface 150. In addition, as long as the poster printing function and the double-sided printing function according to the present invention are simultaneously executed, a LAN (Local Area Network: local area) can be used regardless of whether it is a single device or a system including a plurality of devices. It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a system in which print processing is performed by being connected via a network such as a network (Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network).
[0010]
The actual product forms to which the present invention can be applied include, besides the printing system itself, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-ROM, an Internet Web site, and a BBS (Bulletin Board System: a message exchange system using a computer). Can be mentioned. That is, the present invention can be realized by supplying the print control program according to the present invention to the printing system from an FD or a CD-ROM, or by connecting the printing system to the Internet, a BBS, or the like. is there.
[0011]
In the printing system according to the present embodiment, the host computer 100 includes a CPU 101, a RAM 102, a ROM 103, a keyboard controller (KBC) 105, a video controller (VDC) 106, a disk controller (DC) 107, and a printer controller ( (PRTC) 108, a keyboard 109, a display 110, and an external memory 111.
[0012]
The printer 200 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an input unit 205, a printing unit interface (I / F) 206, a memory controller (MC) 207, a printer engine 220, an operation unit 230, an external And a memory 240.
[0013]
First, the configuration of each part of the host computer 100 will be described in detail. The CPU 101 is a central processing unit that comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 104 as shown in FIG. Based on a document processing program or the like stored in the external memory 111, a document process in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets and the like) are mixed is executed.
[0014]
Further, the CPU 101 executes, for example, a process of developing (rasterizing) the outline font in the display information RAM set on the RAM 102, and displays it on the CRT display screen on the display 110 on a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) screen. Function that can be printed in the same size and shape).
[0015]
Further, the CPU 101 opens various registered windows based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor or the like on the display 110, and executes various data processing. When printing is performed using the printer 200, the user can open a window related to print settings and set print processing methods for the printer driver including settings of the printer 200 and selection of a print mode. ing.
[0016]
The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 101.
The ROM 103 is divided into a font area, a program area, and a data area. The font area of the ROM 103 or the external memory 111 stores font data and the like used in the document processing. The program area of the ROM 103 or the external memory 111 stores a BIOS (Basic Input Output System), an operating system (hereinafter, OS), and the like, which are control programs of the CPU 101. The data area of the ROM 103 or the external memory 111 stores various data used when performing the above-described document processing and the like.
[0017]
A keyboard controller (KBC) 105 controls key input from a keyboard 109 or a pointing device (not shown). The video controller (VDC) 106 controls the display on the display 110. The disk controller (DC) 107 controls access to the external memory 111. The printer controller (PRTC) 108 is connected to the printer 200 via the bidirectional interface 150, and executes communication control processing with the printer 200.
[0018]
The keyboard 109 has various keys. The display 110 displays figures, images, characters, tables, and the like. The external memory 111 includes a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), and the like, and includes a boot program, an OS, various applications, font data, a user file, an edit file, a printer control command generation program (hereinafter, referred to as a “printer Driver)) is used as an area for storing data.
[0019]
The CPU 101, RAM 102, ROM 103, keyboard controller (KBC) 105, video controller (VDC) 106, disk controller (DC) 107, and printer controller (PRTC) 108 are provided on a computer control unit 120. .
[0020]
Next, the configuration of each section of the printer 200 will be described in detail. The CPU 201 is a central processing unit that controls each device connected to the system bus 204 as shown in FIG. An image signal as output information is output to the print engine 220 based on the control program or the like stored in the external memory 240 or the like.
[0021]
The CPU 201 can perform communication processing with the host computer 100 via the input unit 205, and can notify the host computer 100 of information and the like in the printer 200.
[0022]
The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 201, and is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM (not shown) connected to the additional port. The RAM 202 is used for an output information development area, an environment data storage area, an NVRAM, and the like.
[0023]
The ROM 203 is divided into a font area, a program area, and a data area. The font area stores font data and the like used when generating the output information. The program area stores a control program of the CPU 201 and the like. The data area stores information and the like used on the host computer 100 when the external memory 240 such as a hard disk is not connected to the printer 200.
[0024]
The input unit 205 sends and receives data between the printer 200 and the host computer 100 via the bidirectional interface 150. A print unit interface (I / F) 206 sends and receives data between the CPU 201 and the print engine 220. The memory controller (MC) 207 controls access to the external memory 240.
[0025]
The print engine 220 performs a printing operation under the control of the CPU 201, and includes a recording medium transport mechanism (not shown), a semiconductor laser unit, a photosensitive drum, a developing unit, a fixing unit, a drum cloning unit, a separation unit, and the like. Printing is performed by the electrophotographic process. The operation unit 230 includes switches and display means (for example, an LED display) for various operations.
[0026]
The external memory 240 includes a hard disk (HD), an IC card, and the like, and is connected to the printer 200 as an option. The external memory 240 stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like, and its access is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 207. It is to be noted that the external memory 240 is not limited to one, and may be plural. That is, the printer 200 may be configured to be able to connect to the printer 200 a plurality of external memories storing an option card and a program for interpreting a printer control language of a different language system in addition to the built-in fonts. Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided to store the printer mode setting information from the operation unit 230.
[0027]
The above-described CPU 201, RAM 202, ROM 203, input unit 205, printing unit interface (I / F) 206, and memory controller (MC) 207 are provided on a printer control unit 210.
[0028]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration for performing a typical print control process in the host computer 100 connected to the printer 200. 2, an application 301, a graphic engine 302, a printer driver 303, and a system spooler 304 exist as files stored in the external memory 111 in FIG. 1 described above, and are used by the OS and its modules when executed. Is a program module loaded into the RAM 102 and executed.
[0029]
Further, the application 301 and the printer driver 303 can be added to the FD or CD-ROM of the external memory 111 or the HD of the external memory 111 via a network (not shown).
[0030]
The application 301 stored in the external memory 111 is loaded into the RAM 102 and executed. When printing from the application 301 to the printer 200, the application 301 is similarly loaded and executable in the RAM 102. Output (drawing) is performed using the graphic engine 302.
[0031]
The graphic engine 302 similarly loads a printer driver 303 prepared for each printer from the external memory 111 to the RAM 102, and sets the output of the application 301 to the printer driver 303. Further, it converts a GDI (graphic device interface) function received from the application 301 into a DDI (device driver interface) function, and outputs the DDI function to the printer driver 303.
[0032]
The printer driver 303 converts a DDI function received from the graphic engine 302 into a control command recognizable by the printer, for example, a PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 200 via the bidirectional interface 150 via the system spooler 304 loaded into the RAM 102 by the OS.
[0033]
The printing system according to the present embodiment includes, in addition to the printing system including the host computer 100 and the printer 200 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 described above, printing from an application described below with reference to FIG. It is configured to temporarily spool data as intermediate code data.
[0034]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the host computer 100 in the printing system when the host computer 100 of the printing system of FIG. 2 is expanded. That is, the host computer 100 shown in FIG. 3 is configured to generate a spool file 403 including an intermediate code when sending a print command from the graphic engine 302 to the printer driver 303.
[0035]
In the printing system illustrated in FIG. 2, the application 301 is released from the printing process when the printer driver 303 has converted all print commands from the graphic engine 302 into control commands for the printer 200. On the other hand, in the printing system illustrated in FIG. 3, the application 301 is released from the printing process when the spooler 402 converts all print commands into intermediate code data and outputs the intermediate code data to the spool file 403.
[0036]
Normally, the printing process of the printing system shown in FIG. 3 requires less time. Further, in the printing system shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the spool file 403 can be processed. This makes it possible to realize functions that the application 301 does not have, such as enlargement / reduction of print data from the application 301 and N-up printing for reducing a plurality of pages to one page for printing. In other words, the host printer 100 having the configuration as shown in FIG. 3 can realize the poster printing function (the function of enlarging an original image to a specified size and dividing and printing the poster image) according to the present invention. It has become. For these purposes, the printing system shown in FIG. 3 according to the present embodiment is extended from the system shown in FIG. 2 so that spooling is performed using intermediate code data.
[0037]
Normally, in order to process print data, settings are made from a window provided by the printer driver 303, and the printer driver 303 stores the settings on the RAM 102 or the external memory 111.
[0038]
Hereinafter, details of the printing system shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
[0039]
In the extended processing method as shown in FIG. 3, the dispatcher 401 receives a print command from the graphic engine 302. If the print command received from the graphic engine 302 is a print command issued from the application 301 to the graphic engine 302, the dispatcher 401 loads the spooler 402 stored in the external memory 111 into the RAM 102, and the printer driver 303 And sends a print command to the spooler 402.
[0040]
The spooler 402 converts the received print command into an intermediate code and outputs it to the spool file 403. Further, the spooler 402 acquires the processing settings related to the print data set for the printer driver 303 from the printer driver 303 and stores the processing settings in the spool file 303. Here, the processing settings include setting items related to poster printing and an output format of position information. Although the spool file 403 is generated as a file on the external memory 111, it may be generated on the RAM 102. Further, the spooler 402 loads the spool file manager 404 stored in the external memory 111 into the RAM 102, and notifies the spool file manager 404 of the generation status of the spool file 403.
[0041]
After that, the spool file manager 404 determines whether the printer driver 303 can create print data according to the contents of the processing settings related to the print data stored in the spool file 403.
[0042]
Here, the spool file 403 manages intermediate data in logical page units, which are pages output by the application. Further, as described above, the spool file 403 stores the processing settings set by the user for the printer driver 303, for example, poster printing (the original image is enlarged to a designated size, and divided and printed). Manage the settings of. In the case of poster printing, when the generation of the spool file 403 for one logical page is completed, the spool file manager 404 determines that the printer driver 303 can create print data.
[0043]
If the spool file manager 404 determines that the print data can be created by the printer driver using the graphic engine 302, the spool file manager 404 loads the despooler 405 stored in the external memory 111 into the RAM 102, and loads the despooler 405. Is instructed to print the intermediate data described in the spool file 403.
[0044]
The despooler 405 processes the intermediate code included in the spool file 403 in accordance with the contents of the influence information specified by the spool file manager 404, converts the processed intermediate data into a GDI function, and outputs it to the graphic engine 302. That is, the despooler 405 acquires or determines the number of physical pages and the drawing order of the physical pages based on the information acquired from the spool file 403 and the influence information acquired from the spool file manager 404, and enlarges the print data. Then, image data of the corresponding physical page is generated. The despooler 405 converts the intermediate data obtained as described above into a GDI function and outputs the GDI function to the graphic engine 302.
[0045]
The graphic engine 302 generates a DDI function from the GDI function received from the despooler 405, and outputs a print command including the DDI function to the dispatcher 401.
[0046]
When the print command of the DDI function received by the dispatcher 401 from the graphic engine 302 is the print command of the GDI function issued from the despooler 405 to the graphic engine 302, the dispatcher 401 sends the print command to the printer driver 303 instead of the spooler 402. send.
[0047]
The printer driver 303 generates print data including a printer control command based on the received print command, and outputs the print data to the printer 200 via the system spooler 304.
[0048]
Next, general processing of the despooler 405 of the host computer 100 in the printing system having the above-described configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0049]
First, the poster printing function refers to a function of performing enlargement processing on print data for one page drawn by the application 301 and dividing the print data into a plurality of physical pages for printing. By bonding the divided physical pages, an output result larger than the paper size supported by the printer 200 can be obtained.
[0050]
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a print result of an image printed by poster printing. FIG. 4 shows an example in which an original image of one page is printed on a sheet of paper in a 2 × 2 vertical and horizontal direction. In general, as the setting relating to the size of the poster print, as shown in FIG. 4, N × N expressed by a multiple N of the vertical and horizontal paper lengths with respect to the print paper, and a general enlargement ratio are indicated by percentage (%) or the like. Although in some cases, in the present embodiment, it is expressed in principle as a multiple N × N.
[0051]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining details of the processing procedure in the despooler 405 in the printing system according to the present embodiment. In the following, in order to avoid the complexity of the description, the description will be made on the assumption that the processing settings other than the printing of the N × N size poster and the printing of the position information are not specified. Processing settings can also be used together.
[0052]
As shown in FIG. 5, first, print parameters for poster printing are initialized (step S501). Here, the parameters to be initialized include a poster index indicating the position of the corresponding physical page, a copy index indicating the specified number of copies, a logical page index indicating the corresponding logical page, and enlargement of the drawing data. Layout parameters indicating the amount of reduction and movement are given. These various parameters are set in this step so as to be appropriate values as initial values.
[0053]
Next, the despooler 405 reads the intermediate code included in the spool file 403 corresponding to the current logical page index (step S502). Then, the despooler 405 processes the read intermediate code into print data according to the contents of the processing settings included in the spool file 403 (step S503). Further, in step S503, the drawing command is output to the graphic engine 302 again.
[0054]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed process of step S503 in FIG. 5 in which the intermediate code is converted into a drawing / control command and transmitted to the graphic engine 302.
[0055]
As shown in FIG. 6, the despooler 405 first determines the type of the intermediate code read in step S502 in FIG. 5 (step S601). As a result, if the intermediate code is the poster print setting (Yes), the process proceeds to step S602; otherwise (No), the process proceeds to step S604.
[0056]
In step S602, specific contents of the poster print setting are acquired from the spool file 403. As the acquired parameters, information such as the paper size of the original image, the size of the poster print, the print order of the poster print, the format and size of the positional information to be added, the drawing position, and the drawing surface are obtained here. The printing order of the poster printing is generally, for example, LRTB (going from the upper left to the right, reaching the right end, and then stepping down to the left end to process the left end). The order of processing may be determined. By acquiring the poster print size, the processing order of the pages, and the poster index, it is possible to know exactly where the physical page is located.
[0057]
The user can specify the format, size, and drawing position of the position information to be added on a driver setting screen or the like. In the present embodiment, information indicating the position of the corresponding physical page after pasting the position information and the number of the poster when a plurality of copies of the poster are printed, and poster printing of the print job of the plurality of pages are performed. In this case, information indicating the page number of the poster can be added.
[0058]
After acquiring the parameters related to the poster printing and the position information in step S602 as described above, the layout parameters of the physical page to be subjected to the printing process are calculated from these (step S603).
[0059]
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the setting of the layout parameters in step S603 in FIG. In FIG. 8, an arbitrary point a (Xo, Yo) in the case where the horizontal direction is the x direction and the vertical direction is the y direction with the upper left as the origin is the size N × M (N and M are positive numbers larger than 1). FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating how a position (i, j) at the time of performing poster printing is represented by a coordinate system x ′, y ′ of a physical page. In FIG. 8, the paper size of the reference original image is assumed to be width Xw and height Yh.
[0060]
Assuming that the point a (Xo, Yo) is projected on a ′ (Xo ′, Yo ′) under the above conditions, the following relational expression holds.
[0061]
Xo ′ = N × Xo−Xw × (i−1) (1)
Yo ′ = M × Yo−Yh × (j−1) (2)
In normal poster printing, taking into account that the image after printing the poster is enlarged so that the aspect ratio of the original image is not destroyed, N = M, the size of the enlarged image is N × N, and the effective printing of the original image If the areas Xw and Yh and the positions i and j of the physical page are known, it is possible to acquire the parameters for performing the coordinate conversion.
[0062]
On the other hand, in FIG. 6, when it is determined in step S601 that the intermediate code is other than the poster print setting (No), the despooler 405 acquires the print data from the spool file 403 (step S604). Then, the despooler 405 converts the acquired print data, which is the intermediate code, into a drawing command or a print control command (step S605). Next, the despooler 605 determines whether or not the converted drawing command or print control command is affected by the layout parameters (step S606).
[0063]
As a result, if it is determined that the command is affected by the layout parameters (Yes), the layout conversion is performed on the parameters requiring the layout conversion using the layout parameters determined in step S603 first ( Step S607). That is, the despooler 405 enlarges / moves the parameters according to the layout parameters.
[0064]
Next, the despooler 405 transmits a drawing or control command to the graphic engine 302 (step S608). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S606 that the layout parameter is not affected (No), the process advances to step S608 to transmit a drawing or control command to the graphic engine 302.
[0065]
The process of step S503 in FIG. 5 is performed as described above. Next, when the processing in step S503 for the read intermediate code is completed, the despooler 405 determines whether all the intermediate codes for the target physical page have been output (step S504). As a result, when it is determined that all the intermediate codes for the target physical page have been output (Yes), the process proceeds to step S505, and when it is determined that there is still an intermediate code to be output (No), the above-described step S502 is performed. Then, the process of the next intermediate code is repeated.
[0066]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of step S505 in FIG. 5 for generating position data and transmitting the generated position data to the graphic engine 302.
[0067]
As shown in FIG. 7, first, the despooler 405 determines whether or not the drawing surface of the position information to be added acquired in step S602 is designated as the back surface of the original image (step S701). As a result, if it is specified to draw the position information on the back side (Yes), it is necessary to turn over the drawing page, so a command (page break command) for performing an operation to turn over the page is transmitted to the graphic engine 302 ( Step S702). Next, the despooler 405 creates drawing position data that can be drawn based on the information such as the format, size, and drawing position of the position information to be added acquired in step 602 (step S703). On the other hand, if the position information is not specified to be drawn on the back surface in step S701 (No), the process proceeds to step S703 described above. That is, in the print control according to the present embodiment, the position information is printed on the same surface as the medium surface on which the divided print data is printed or on the back surface.
[0068]
FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an example of a display format of a drawing position according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 shows a display example in which a third physical page located at the upper right is printed with respect to the first page of a print job issued by 2 × 2 size poster printing as an example.
[0069]
First, in 9-1, the current position of the physical sheet is displayed relative to the layout of the entire poster using a figure, and a numerical value indicating the number of the page and the number of copies to be printed is also indicated. In 9-2, the current position of the physical paper is displayed relative to the mark shown in 9-1 based on the layout of the entire poster taking into account the length and width of the printing paper, and the number of pages is displayed. And the number of copies are also indicated. On the other hand, as a method of expressing position information only with characters, various expression methods are possible as shown in 9-3, 9-4, 9-5, and the like.
[0070]
In the present embodiment, when printing on the same surface as the original image surface, the raster operation with the enlarged image as the base, when the notation format of the position information, its display position, surface and display size as shown in FIG. By preparing a dedicated user interface (UI) on the driver setting screen or the like so that the user can specify the driver setting screen or the like, it becomes easier to use.
[0071]
The drawing position data created in step S703 is transmitted to the graphic engine 302 (step S704). Then, a page break command is transmitted to the graphic engine 304 to end the drawing process on the physical paper (step S705). The above is the processing of transmitting the position data to the graphic engine 302 by the despooler 405 in step S505.
[0072]
After the process of step S505 is completed, the despooler 405 determines whether the target and the poster are printed in copies (step S506). The processing in step S506, that is, the subsequent processing is divided into two processing paths depending on whether the target and the poster printing are printed in copies, but the order of the processing is basically different. Only the same processing content is used.
[0073]
Here, when printing is performed in copies (Yes), processing is performed in the order of a physical page, a logical page, and the number of copies as described below. That is, first, the poster index is updated, and the position of the physical page to be processed is changed (step S507).
Next, it is checked whether or not rendering of all physical pages has been completed in the logical page of the copy currently being processed (step S508). As a result, if there is still a physical page to be processed (No), the process returns to step S502 to process the corresponding physical page. On the other hand, if there is no physical page to be processed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S509.
[0074]
In step S509, the poster index indicating the position of the physical page is set to the initial value, and the logical page index indicating the logical page to be processed next is updated. Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the issued job has no logical pages to be processed yet, that is, whether or not the drawing of all the logical pages has been completed (step S510). As a result, if there is a logical page to be processed again (No), the process returns to step S502 to perform processing on a new logical page. On the other hand, if there is no logical page to be processed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S511.
[0075]
In step S511, the logical page index is returned to the initial value, and the copy index indicating the number of copies is updated. Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the drawing of all the numbers has been completed. (Step S512). As a result, if the drawing of all the copies has not been completed (No), the process returns to step S502 to start processing of a new copy. On the other hand, if all copies have been processed (Yes), the despooler 405 ends the processing.
[0076]
On the other hand, if printing in copies is not specified in step S506 (No), processing is performed in the order of the number of copies, physical pages, and logical pages as shown below. That is, first, the copy index indicating the number of copies is updated (step S513). Next, it is checked whether or not the drawing of all the numbers has been completed (step S514).
As a result, if the number of copies to be processed still remains (No), the process returns to step S502 to perform the processing of the corresponding copy. On the other hand, if all the copies to be processed have been processed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S515.
[0077]
In step S515, the copy index indicating the number of copies is set to the initial value, and the poster index indicating the position of the physical page is updated. Thereafter, it is checked whether or not any physical pages to be processed remain, that is, whether or not the drawing of all the physical pages has been completed (step S516). As a result, if a physical page still remains (No), the process returns to step S502 to process the physical page at the new position. On the other hand, if there are no more physical pages to be processed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S517.
[0078]
In step S517, the poster index indicating the physical page position is set to the initial value, and the logical page index is updated to indicate the next logical page.
Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the processing of all logical pages has been completed (step S518). As a result, if there is still a logical page to be processed (No), the process returns to step S502 to start processing a new logical page. On the other hand, when the processing for all logical pages is completed (Yes), the despooler 405 ends the processing.
[0079]
By performing the processing according to the procedure described above, the position information of the physical page corresponding to the poster printing with respect to the entire poster-printed logical page, the information indicating the number of copies to be printed when printing a plurality of copies of the poster, the Information indicating which logical page is to be printed during poster printing of the logical page can be printed on the front or back side of the printed physical page. As a result, the operation of arranging the physical pages after the poster printing is performed can be performed more easily than before.
[0080]
That is, the print control according to the present embodiment as described above can be executed by the information processing apparatus such as the host computer 100, and enlarges one page of print data printable by the printer 200 to a plurality of media (for example, This is print control related to poster printing in which print data is divided and printed on recording paper or the like. The print data is divided into a predetermined number of print data, and the position of each of the divided print data in the print data before division is determined. The method is characterized in that information is obtained, the divided print data is printed on different media, and the position information is printed at a predetermined position on the medium on which the divided print data is printed.
[0081]
In the print control, the position information includes information on what number of copies is to be printed when printing the plurality of copies by the printer 200 and information on what number of pages is to be printed. It is characterized by Further, in the printing control, the user may set (or let the user set) the notation format of the position information, the notation position and the size.
[0082]
As described above, even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, and the like), an apparatus including one device (for example, a copying machine) , Facsimile machines, etc.).
[0083]
Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium (or a storage medium) recording program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or a CPU or a CPU) of the system or the apparatus. Needless to say, the present invention can also be achieved by the MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention. When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0084]
Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.
[0085]
When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, the recording medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.
[0086]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to add information on the layout of each page to the front or back surface of each page printed in poster printing, thereby reducing the load on the layout work of each page. Can be.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration for performing a typical print control process in a host computer 100 connected to a printer 200.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the host computer 100 in the printing system when the host computer 100 of the printing system in FIG. 2 is extended.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result of an image printed by poster printing.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating details of a processing procedure in a despooler 405 in the printing system according to the present embodiment.
6 is a flowchart showing a detailed process of step S503 in FIG. 5 for converting an intermediate code into a drawing / control command and transmitting the command to the graphic engine 302.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed process of step S505 in FIG. 5 for generating position data and transmitting the generated position data to the graphic engine 302;
8 is a schematic diagram for explaining setting of layout parameters in step S603 in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display format of a drawing position according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Host computer
200 printer
301 Application
302 Graphic Engine
303 Printer Driver
304 system spooler
401 dispatcher
402 spooler
403 Spool file
404 Spool File Manager
405 Despooler

Claims (9)

A print control method for enlarging one page of print data printable by a printing device and dividing and printing the print data on a plurality of media,
A dividing step of dividing the print data into a predetermined number of print data;
An acquisition step of acquiring position information in print data before division of each print data divided into a predetermined number in the division step,
A first printing step of printing each of the divided print data on different media,
A second printing step of printing at a predetermined position on the medium on which the print data after the division of the position information is printed. 2. The print control method according to claim 1, wherein in the second printing step, the position information is printed on the same surface as a medium surface on which the print data after division is printed. 2. The print control method according to claim 1, wherein in the second printing step, the position information is printed on a back surface of a medium surface on which the print data after the division is printed. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the printing apparatus is caused to perform printing of a plurality of copies, the position information further includes information on what number of copies is to be printed. 5. Printing control method. The print control according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when printing a plurality of pages on the printing apparatus, the position information further includes information on what page number is to be printed. Method. The print control method according to claim 1, further comprising a position information setting step of allowing a user to set a notation format, a position, and a size of the position information. A print control device for enlarging one page of print data printable by a printing device and dividing and printing the data on a plurality of media,
Dividing means for dividing the print data into a predetermined number of print data;
An acquisition unit for acquiring position information in print data before division of each print data divided into a predetermined number by the division unit,
First printing means for printing each of the divided print data on different media,
A second printing unit that prints the position information at a predetermined position on the medium on which the print data after the division is printed. A program for causing a computer to execute print control for enlarging one page of print data that can be printed by a printing device and dividing and printing the data on a plurality of media,
A division procedure of dividing the print data into a predetermined number of print data;
An acquisition step of acquiring position information in print data before division of each print data divided into a predetermined number in the division step,
A first printing procedure for printing each of the divided print data on different media,
And a second printing procedure for printing at a predetermined position on the medium on which the print data after the division of the position information is printed. A computer-readable recording medium storing the program according to claim 8.

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