JP2009223405A - Image forming apparatus, information processor, information processing program, and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus or the like which performs print processing of image data, which is suitable for walnut bookbinding. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 100 is provided with: a reception part 101 which receives print data consisting of the image data of a plurality of pages and print condition data including information for specifying a page for the cover of walnut bookbinding; a specification part 104 which specifies image data for the cover of the walnut bookbinding from the image data of the plurality of pages, on the basis of the print condition data; a print order control part 105 which judges layout; and a printing part 107 which prints the image data according to the print order preset concerning the cover and the text content in order to perform the walnut bookbinding of the image data for the cover and the image data of the text content. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and an image processing system for performing print processing on a paper medium.

  In recent years, bookbinding machines connected to image forming measures such as printers have been commercialized. The bookbinding machine can automatically book a plurality of printed materials output from the image forming apparatus.

  Commercialized bookbinding machines also include a bookbinding device that wraps a printed bundle of printed text (inner paper) with a large sheet as a cover (case cover). In the bookbinding machine, the cover and the text content are bound to the same size by performing the process of wrapping the text content with the cover and the cutting process of three sides after the wrapping.

  That is, after the image forming apparatus prints on different sizes of the case cover and the middle sheet, the bookbinding machine performs the bookbinding process. In this case cover, the front cover and the back cover are integrated. For this reason, the image forming apparatus does not have to print image data in order from the first page, and print processing for case binding is required.

  For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a system is assumed in which an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus are connected and image data for case binding is transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus. . In this system, by setting the image data of the cover and the text content in the information processing apparatus in a predetermined print order, the image forming apparatus determines which image data is the cover or the text content depending on the print order. Can be recognized.

JP 2007-102725 A

    However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to set a page number of image data to be a cover of case binding on the information processing apparatus side in accordance with the case binding printing order of the image forming apparatus. That is, there is a problem that it is necessary to synchronize the printing order of the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus, resulting in a burden on the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and an image processing system that perform print processing of image data suitable for case binding. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention includes an input unit that performs input processing of a plurality of pages of image data and bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a cover page for case binding. , A case binding unit that specifies, from the plurality of pages of image data, image data for a cover of case binding, image data for the cover, and image data of the text content based on the bookbinding condition information. In order to achieve this, the printing apparatus includes printing means for printing in accordance with a printing order set in advance with respect to the cover and the text content.

  According to the present invention, in the image data of a plurality of pages, a receiving unit that receives input of information for specifying a case binding cover page, and a case binding cover page that is received by the receiving unit. It comprises: condition information generating means for generating bookbinding condition information including information; and output means for outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information to an image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, in the image data of a plurality of pages, a reception step of receiving information specifying a cover page for case binding and a page for cover of the case binding accepted by the reception step are specified. A computer executes a condition information generation step for generating bookbinding condition information including information, and an output step for outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information to an image forming apparatus.

  Further, the present invention is a printing system that performs printing for case binding, a receiving unit that receives input of information for specifying a cover page for case binding in image data of a plurality of pages, and the receiving unit Received condition information generating means for generating bookbinding condition information including information specifying a cover page for case binding, output means for outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information, and a plurality of pages. An input unit that performs input processing of image data and bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a cover page for case binding, and a cover for case binding from the image data of the plurality of pages based on the bookbinding condition information. Specific means for specifying image data for the cover, image data for the cover, and image data of the text content for cover binding and text content for case binding A printing unit for printing according to a preset printing order, characterized by comprising a.

  According to the image forming apparatus and the image processing system of the present invention, the image data for the cover for case binding can be specified based on the bookbinding condition information. Thus, there is no need to set the pages of the image data for the case cover to coincide with each other, and the setting burden is reduced.

  Further, in the information processing apparatus and the information processing program, by including bookbinding condition information for specifying image data for cover for case binding in the print data, the print data transmission source apparatus and the image forming apparatus There is no need to make settings so that the pages of the case cover image data coincide with each other, and the setting burden is reduced.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and an image processing system according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, an example in which a PC (Personal Computer) is used as the information processing apparatus will be described. The present embodiment does not limit the information processing apparatus to a PC, and can be applied to any information processing apparatus such as an office device or a mobile phone terminal used in an office environment.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a copy function, a facsimile (FAX) function, a print function, a scanner function, and an input image (an original image read by the scanner function or an image input by a printer or a FAX function). The present invention is applied to a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that combines functions and the like for distributing the content.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 and a PC 150 connected via a network 180 according to the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the PC 150 includes a document editing application 151 and a printer driver 152.

  The document editing application 151 is an application for editing document data. When the document data edited by the document editing application 151 is to be printed, a printer driver 152 described later can be called. For example, the printer driver 152 can be called by selecting a print command in the document editing application 151.

  The printer driver 152 includes a print instruction reception unit 161, a page specification reception unit 162, a print condition data generation unit 163, a print data generation unit 164, and a transmission unit 165, and sends print data to the image forming apparatus 100. Output.

  The print instruction reception unit 161 receives a print command and a detailed setting at the time of printing after the print command is selected by the document editing application 151. Document data, image data, and the like to be printed are converted into image data for each page that can be recognized by the image forming apparatus 100 by a print data generation unit 164 described later. The format of the image data to be converted may be any format. For example, PDL (Page Description Language) can be considered.

  For example, when the document editing application 151 receives a selection of a print command, the PC 150 displays a window for receiving settings related to printing. Then, when the button indicating “Property of image forming apparatus 100” is pressed in the window, the window of “Property of image forming apparatus 100” shown in FIG. 2 is displayed.

  By checking the “Perform case binding” check box 201 in the window shown in FIG. 2, the print instruction receiving unit 161 has received an instruction to make case binding. Then, by selecting the “detail” button 202, a window for performing further detailed settings is displayed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a window for performing detailed settings for case binding. When the setting for the window shown in FIG. 3 is received, the print instruction receiving unit 161 receives the setting for case binding.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the page specification receiving unit 162 receives input of information specifying a cover page of case binding for image data of a plurality of pages transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100.

  For example, the page specification receiving unit 162 specifies the cover page of the case binding based on whether or not the cover image data arrangement 301 is checked and whether or not the prints 302 to 305 are checked on each side in the window shown in FIG. Input is accepted as information to be received.

  For example, when the page specification receiving unit 162 receives the prints 302 to 305 of each side and receives the selection of “divide before and after” in the display screen data arrangement 301 as input, the information is used for the cover of the case binding. This is information that identifies the page. With the information to be specified, the first two pages of the image data can be specified as the front cover front and back side image data, and the last two pages of the image data as the rear cover front and back side image data. .

  As another example, when the page specification receiving unit 162 receives a check of printing 302 to 305 on each side and selection of “after” in the display screen data arrangement 301 as an input, these pieces of information are included in the case binding cover. This information is used to specify the page for use. With the information to be specified, the last four pages of the image data can be specified as the front cover front, image data for back side printing, and the front cover front and back side image data.

  As another example, when the page identification receiving unit 162 checks only the back surfaces 303 and 305 as printing of each surface and receives the selection of “divide before and after” in the display screen data arrangement 301 as an input, This information is used to specify a cover page for case binding. With the information to be specified, it is possible to specify the first page of image data as image data for printing on the back side of the front cover and the last page of image data as image data for printing on the back side of the back cover.

  In addition, the page specification accepting unit 162 accepts an input by combining the printing 302 to 305 check for each side and the display screen data arrangement 301, thereby changing any page of the image data to each cover page. It can be specified as a face.

  Further, the specification of the page by the window is not limited, and any specification method may be used as long as the page of the image data can be specified for each cover surface. For example, the user may directly set a page of image data to be printed as each surface of the cover for the window, and the page specification receiving unit 162 may receive the setting.

  The printing condition data generation unit 163 generates printing condition data in which printing conditions are set. This print condition data includes bookbinding condition data in which a cover page is designated by case binding.

  In the present embodiment, only the bookbinding conditions for case binding will be described as the print condition data.

  The print condition data includes the presence / absence of a case binding print instruction, the front of the case cover, the presence / absence of printing on the back surface, and information for specifying the page of image data used for case binding printing.

  The presence / absence of case binding printing instruction is embedded in the printing condition data as a command string for instructing whether or not to perform case binding. For example, in case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBIND = ON” is included in the printing condition data. On the other hand, when case binding is not performed, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBIND = OFF” is included in the printing condition data.

  The presence / absence of printing on the front and back of the case cover is embedded in the print condition data as a command sequence for instructing printing on the front and back of the case cover. For example, when printing on the front cover of case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDFRONTSIDEPRINT_FRONT = ON” is included in the print condition data. On the other hand, when printing is not performed on the front cover of case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDFRONTSIDEPRINT_FRONT = OFF” is included in the printing condition data.

  Further, when printing on the back side of the back cover of case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDBACKSIDEPRINT_BACK = ON” is included in the print condition data. On the other hand, when printing on the back side of the back cover of case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDBACKSIDEPRINT_BACK = OFF” is included in the print condition data.

  Information for specifying a page of image data used for case binding printing is embedded in the printing condition data as a command string indicating the arrangement of image data serving as a cover. For example, when the image data for the cover is divided into the image data from the beginning of the print data and the image data from the end, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDCOVERDATA = BACKANDFORTH” is included in the print condition data. When the image data for the cover is collected in the image data from the end of the print data, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDCOVERDATA = BACK” is included in the print condition data. Further, when the image data for the cover is collected in the image data from the beginning of the print data, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDCOVERDATA = FRONT” is included in the print condition data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of printing condition data. In the example shown in FIG. 4, case binding is instructed by the command sequence 401, and all of the case binding front, back cover front and back are instructed by the command sequence 402 to command sequence 405, and the command sequence is displayed. In 406, it is instructed that the image data for the cover is divided into the image data from the beginning and the image data from the end. That is, in the image forming apparatus 100, the cover page is printed using the first two pages and the last two pages of the image data stored in the print data.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of printing condition data. In the example shown in FIG. 5, case binding is instructed by the command string 501, and only the front and back surfaces of case binding are instructed by the command string 502 to the command string 505, and the command string 506 is instructed. It is instructed that the image data for the cover is collected in the last image data. That is, in the image forming apparatus 100, only the back of the front and back covers are printed using the last two pages of the image data stored in the print data.

  The print data generation unit 164 generates print data including print condition data and image data used for printing.

  The print data generation unit 164 performs processing for converting image data and document data generated by an application such as the document editing application 151 into image data for each page that can be recognized by the image forming apparatus 100. Then, the print data generation unit 164 generates print data including the converted image data and print condition data.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data. As shown in FIG. 6, print condition data 601 is stored in the header area of the print data, and image data for each page is stored thereafter.

  The transmission unit 165 transmits print data including print condition data and image data to the image forming apparatus 100.

  In the PC 150 according to the present embodiment, by including the print condition data in the print data, the image forming apparatus 100 that has received the print data can specify the image data for the cover.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a receiving unit 101, a printing condition interpretation unit 102, a drawing data generation unit 103, a specifying unit 104, a printing order control unit 105, a storage unit 106, and a printing unit 107. And a data control unit 108, and is connected to the bookbinding machine 190. As a result, the bookbinding machine 190 can perform the bookbinding process on the paper document printed by the image forming apparatus 100.

  The configuration and mechanism of the bookbinding machine 190 and the process for performing case binding are assumed to be processes that have been conventionally used, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The receiving unit 101 receives print data. As described above, the print data includes a plurality of pages of image data and print condition data having information that is specified by a page to be a cover in case binding.

  The received printing condition data includes information for specifying a cover image data page among a plurality of pages of image data included in the print data. Since the details of the printing condition data are as described above, the description thereof is omitted. Then, the print condition interpretation unit 102 described later extracts the print condition data, so that the specifying unit 104 specifies a predetermined number (1 or 2) of pages as the front cover page from the beginning, and images of a plurality of pages. A predetermined number (1 or 2) of pages from the end of the data can be specified as pages for the back cover.

  As another example, the print condition data includes information for specifying only one page as a front cover page or a back cover page. In this case, a blank page is set by the blank page setting unit 111 on the back side of the page on which the image data is printed as the case cover.

  The data control unit 108 divides the received print data into print condition data and a plurality of pages of image data. The data control unit 108 outputs the divided print data to the print condition interpretation unit 102, and outputs the divided plural pages of image data to the drawing data generation unit 103.

  The printing condition interpretation unit 102 extracts a command string included in the printing condition data, and controls each component according to the command string.

  The drawing data generation unit 103 converts image data of a plurality of pages input by the data control unit 108 and generates drawing data used by the printing unit 107 for printing. The drawing data generation unit 103 generates drawing data in the order of pages.

  The specifying unit 104 includes a blank page setting unit 111, and specifies a page of image data for case binding cover from a plurality of pages of image data included in the print data according to the command sequence extracted by the printing condition interpretation unit 102. To do.

  In addition, when the specifying unit 104 specifies only one page of image data on the front side or the back side as a front cover page or a back cover page, and determines that no image data exists on the other side, a blank page setting is performed. The unit 111 sets a blank page for a surface on which no image data exists. Further, when the specifying unit 104 determines that there is no image data on both sides as a front cover page or a back cover page, the blank page setting unit 111 sets a blank page for both sides where no image data exists.

  The printing order control unit 105 includes an arrangement determination unit 112, and sets the printing order of the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 103 based on the cover image data page specified by the specifying unit 104. When performing case binding, the printing order control unit sets a printing order set in advance for case binding. The preset printing order is the order of printing the text contents after first printing the cover for case binding (drawing data for pages 1 to 4) first, or for case binding after printing the text contents first. The drawing data of the first to fourth pages of the cover page).

  The storage unit 106 temporarily stores image data for the front cover when the cover is printed after the body content. The storage unit 106 can be configured by any commonly used storage means such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an optical disk, a memory card, and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

  The arrangement determining unit 112 determines whether the cover image data is divided from the beginning and the end among a plurality of pages included in the print data. When the layout determining unit 112 determines that the layout is divided, the printing order control unit 105 temporarily stores the drawing data for the cover page in the storage unit 106. Then, after printing of the drawing data of the body content is completed, the drawing data for the cover is printed at once.

  In accordance with the printing order control unit 105, the printing unit 107 prints the cover drawing data and the body content drawing data according to the printing order set by the printing order control unit 105.

  For example, when the specifying unit 104 specifies that the drawing data for the cover is divided into a page from the beginning and a page from the end, the printing unit 107 prints the drawing data of the body content Cover printing for case binding is performed using the drawing data for the front cover and the drawing data for the back cover stored in the storage unit 106.

  As another example, when the drawing data for the front cover or the drawing data for the back cover is specified as only one page of the front side or the back side by the specifying unit 104, the blank page setting unit 111 determines that the drawing data is In accordance with the set blank paper, the printing unit 107 prints the surface on which drawing data exists (the page specified as the one to be printed) as the cover page according to the set blank paper, and the other surface (specified The page on the back of the printed page is printed as white paper.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first example of the concept of case binding from print data. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, it is assumed that, for case binding, print data including image data in which a cover and a body content page are arranged according to the page arrangement at the time of bookbinding is received. At this time, as described above, the specifying unit 104 specifies whether the image data for each page included in the print data is the front cover (the front cover or the front cover or the back cover) or the text content. It is assumed that the specifying unit 104 specifies that the cover is the first two pages and the last two pages (n−1, nth page).

  For this reason, in the case binding shown in FIG. 7, the printing unit 107 prints the case cover 701 including the drawing data of the first, second, n-1, and nth pages after printing the text content. Therefore, the drawing data of the first page and the second page are temporarily stored in the storage unit 106 first. After the printing of the body content, the printing unit 107 uses the first page and second page drawing data and the n−1 page and n page drawing data stored in the storage unit 106 to print the case cover. Print. That is, the drawing data of a total of four pages of the first page, the second page, the n-1, and the nth page is printed on one case cover 701.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the concept of case binding from print data. In the case binding shown in FIG. 8, the printing unit 107 prints the case cover 801 including the drawing data of the n-3, n-2, n-1, and nth pages after printing the text content according to the page order. For this reason, it is not necessary to store temporarily in the memory | storage part 106 as shown in FIG.

  That is, in the example illustrated in FIG. 7, image data is arranged in the order of pages created by the user, and print data is output from the PC 150 to the image forming apparatus 100. In this case, since it is necessary to change the data arrangement in order to perform case binding in the image forming apparatus 100, a processing burden is imposed on the image forming apparatus 100. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 8, since the image data for the cover is collected, the processing by the image forming apparatus 100 is easy, but it is necessary to rearrange the image data on the printer driver 152 side of the PC 150. Therefore, a processing load on the printer driver 152 is applied. In other words, the user can select whether the image processing apparatus 100 or the PC 150 should bear the processing burden. Further, the printer driver that performs the arrangement as shown in FIG. 7 and the printer driver as shown in FIG. 8 may be different drivers.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the concept of case binding from print data. The print data 901 shown in FIG. 9 does not include image data of the front cover surface and the rear cover surface. In this case, printing by the printing unit 107 is handled as single-sided printing. In this single-sided printing, basically only the front side is printed, so the back side is not printed, and there is a problem that printing cannot be performed as intended. Therefore, as shown in the image data sequence 902, the blank page setting unit 111 sets blank page data for the front cover surface and the back cover surface. In this case, the printing unit 107 processes as double-sided printing. Thereby, it becomes possible to print the back surface of a front cover and a back cover appropriately.

  That is, the drawing data for the first page is first temporarily stored in the storage unit 106. Then, after the printing of the body content, the printing unit 107 prints the case cover using the two pages of blank paper, the first page of drawing data, and the nth page of drawing data stored in the storage unit 106. That is, on one case cover 903, the drawing data of the front cover is printed as white paper, the first page is printed on the back, the front cover is printed on white, and the back page is printed on the nth page.

  In this way, when printing only on the back side, not only at the time of case binding, but the blank page setting unit 111 sets blank page information on the front side, thereby enabling processing by normal double-sided printing with drawing data on both sides.

  Also, the setting of blank paper is not limited to the case shown in FIG. 9, and there are various variations. 10 and 11 are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of blank pages set by the blank page setting unit 111. FIG. That is, when the specifying unit 104 specifies a page of cover image data for case binding from a plurality of pages of image data, the blank page setting unit 111 appropriately sets a blank page, so that the printing unit 107 can set the case cover. Can be processed by normal double-sided printing. Thereby, it is possible to print the case cover according to the user's intention.

  Note that, unlike the present embodiment, when only the back side is printed, the blank sheet setting unit 111 does not set blank sheets, but the image forming apparatus 100 conveys using the same conveyance path as in normal duplex printing. Thus, only the back side may be printed.

  Next, processing until a print code is transmitted in the PC 150 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the above-described processing procedure in the PC 150 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the print instruction reception unit 161 of the printer driver 152 of the PC 150 receives a print command selection (step S1201). Thereafter, the PC 150 displays a window for printing.

  In the displayed window, the print instruction receiving unit 161 receives selection of case binding (step S1202). As an example of the window, the window shown in FIG.

  Next, the page specification receiving unit 162 receives input of information for specifying a cover page for case binding for image data for each page to be printed (step S1203). The information to be specified is whether or not the cover image data arrangement 301 is checked in the window shown in FIG. 3 and whether or not printing 302 to 305 is checked on each side.

  Thereafter, the print instruction accepting unit 161 accepts pressing of the enter button in the window (step S1204).

  Then, the print condition data generation unit 163 generates print condition data including information for specifying a cover page in case binding (step S1205). In the present embodiment, the print condition data generation unit 163 generates print condition data including a command string representing the information received in step S1203.

  Next, the print data generation unit 164 generates image data in which the image forming apparatus 100 can recognize document data or image data to be printed, and generates print data including the image data and print condition data (step S1206). ).

  Thereafter, the transmission unit 165 transmits the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 100 (step S1207).

  The processing procedure described above includes print condition data for specifying the image data for the cover, so it is possible to specify which image data is to be used for the cover in the image forming apparatus 100 that is the transmission destination.

  Next, overall processing in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the above-described processing procedure in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the receiving unit 101 receives print data from the PC 150 (step S1301).

  Next, the data control unit 108 divides the print data into print condition data and image data (step S1302).

  Thereafter, the printing condition interpretation unit 102 extracts a command string included in the printing condition data (step S1303). Then, in accordance with the command sequence extracted by the printing condition interpretation unit 102, the specifying unit 104 specifies the page of cover image data for case binding (step S1304).

  Next, the specifying unit 104 determines whether image data for both sides of the cover exists from the specified cover image data page (step S1305). If it is determined that there is image data for both sides (step S1305: Yes), no particular processing is performed.

  On the other hand, when the specifying unit 104 determines that there is no image data for both sides (step S1305: No), the blank page setting unit 111 sets a blank page on the side where no image data exists (step S1306).

  Then, the drawing data generation unit 103 generates drawing data used for printing from the image data included in the print data (step S1307).

  Thereafter, the arrangement determining unit 112 determines whether the cover image data is stored separately from the beginning and the end of the image data based on the page specified by the specifying unit 104 (step S1308). When it is determined that they are not separated (step S1308: No), the process using the storage unit 106 is not particularly performed.

  If the layout determining unit 112 determines that the data has been stored separately (1308: Yes), the printing order control unit 105 displays the drawing data for the cover sheet that was initially positioned. The information is temporarily stored in the storage unit 106 (step S1309).

  Thereafter, the printing unit 107 executes print control (step S1310).

  According to the above-described processing procedure, it is possible to specify the image data for the cover based on the information included in the print condition data and perform print control.

  Next, the printing control process in the printing unit 107 according to the present embodiment shown in step S1310 of FIG. 13 will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the above-described processing in the printing unit 107 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the printing unit 107 determines from the position of the cover image data page specified by the specifying unit 104 whether to print the cover before the body content (step S1401).

  If it is determined that the cover is to be printed before the text content (step S1401: Yes), the case cover is printed (step S1402).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the printing of the body content has been completed (step S1403). If it is determined that the processing has not been completed (step S1403: No), the drawing data is printed on the paper medium for the text content, and the process proceeds again to step S1403 (step S1404). If it is determined that the process has been completed (step S1403: Yes), the process proceeds to step S1405.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1401 that the cover is not printed before the text content (step S1401: No), it is determined whether printing of the text content is completed (step S1406). If it is determined that the processing has not been completed (step S1406: No), the drawing data is printed on a paper medium for text content, and the process proceeds to step S1406 again (step S1407).

  On the other hand, when the printing unit 107 determines that the printing has ended (step S1406: Yes), it determines whether or not to print the cover (step S1408). If it is determined not to print the cover (step S1408: No), the process proceeds to step S1405.

  If the printing unit 107 determines that cover printing is to be performed (step S1408: YES), it is determined whether drawing data for case cover is stored in the storage unit 106 (step S1409). If it is determined that it is not stored (step S1409: NO), the cover sheet is printed using the input drawing data as it is (step S1410).

  On the other hand, when the printing unit 107 determines that it is stored in the storage unit 106 (step S1409: Yes), the drawing data for the case cover stored in the storage unit 106 is read (step S1411).

  Then, the printing unit 107 prints the case cover using the read drawing data and the input drawing data (step S1412).

  After that, the bookbinding machine 190 performs a bookbinding process, and wraps a paper medium on which the text content is printed with a case cover (step S1405).

  In the image forming apparatus 100 described above, from the printing condition data included in the print data transmitted from the PC 150, it is possible to specify which page is the body content and which page is the cover. For this reason, it is not necessary to make a setting so that the cover page can be specified between the PC 150 and the image forming apparatus 100, and the work load can be reduced.

  In addition, since the print condition data includes a case binding command, setting for performing the case binding is not necessary in the image forming apparatus 100, and the operation burden can be reduced.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 100, the blank page setting unit 111 sets a blank page on the side where drawing data does not exist for the case cover, so that each side of the case cover is suitable for the user's request. Printing can be performed.

(Modification)
Moreover, it is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, The various deformation | transformation which is illustrated below is possible.

(Modification 1)
In the PC 150 according to the first embodiment described above, the image data for the cover can be selected from the beginning, from the end, from the beginning and from the end. However, the selection method is not limited to this, and other selection methods such as setting the page number of the image data for the cover directly in the window displayed by the printer driver 152 of the PC 150 may be used. In this case, the page number of the image data for the cover is stored in the print condition data. Then, the image forming apparatus 100 can specify the page number in which the image data for the cover is stored based on the printing condition data.

  For example, when the first page of image data is assigned to the front cover of the case cover, “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDFRONTSIDEPRINT_FRONT = 1” may be stored in the command string. Furthermore, when assigning the last (p39) page of image data to the front cover of case binding, the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDBACKSIDEPRINT_FRONT = 39” may be stored, or the command string “@PJL SET PERFECTBINDBACKSIDEPRINT_FRONT = “LAST PAGE” may be stored.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described first embodiment, an example in which print data is generated by the PC 150 printer driver 152 has been described. However, the printer driver 152 is not limited to generating print data. As a second modification, an application that can generate print data for case binding may be installed in the PC 150. In this case, each component indicated by the printer driver 152 is installed in the application.

(Modification 3)
Furthermore, the generation of print data is not limited to the PC 150, and a filter of an apparatus equipped with UNIX (registered trademark) may be used.

  An example of using this filter is using PRINTCAP. By using PRINTCAP, it is possible to describe a filter that adds the above-described printing conditions as a header as specific format data to each printer. And a header can be provided by describing a filter that provides a header. Furthermore, the filter is not limited to the filter using PRINTCAP, and for example, CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) may be used.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the PC 150 according to the first embodiment. The PC 150 according to the first embodiment described above includes a CPU 1601 that executes processing, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1602 and a RAM 1603, an external storage device 1604 such as an HDD and a CD drive device, and a display device. A display device 1605 such as a keyboard, a mouse, an input device 1606, a communication interface 1607 connected to a network, and a bus 1608 connecting them, and a hardware configuration using a normal computer. ing.

  The printer driver 152 program executed by the PC 150 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. And recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the printer driver 152 program executed by the PC 150 according to the present embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Further, the printer driver 152 program executed by the PC 150 according to the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  Further, the printer driver 152 program according to the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The printer driver 152 program executed by the PC 150 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described configuration, and as actual hardware, the CPU 1601 executes the printer from the storage medium (for example, the external storage device 1604). By reading and executing the driver 152 program, the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device, whereby the above-described components are generated on the RAM 1603.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 100 has a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 and controls drawing, communication, and input from the operation unit 20. The engine unit 60 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. The MEM-P 12 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 100, has a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 12b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, or the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 16 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 18 and MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. An FCU (Fax Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 50 are connected to the ASIC 16 via a PCI bus.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. It is.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphics processing. The AGP 15 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

  Note that the image processing program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The image processing program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). ) Or the like may be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Furthermore, the image processing program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. good. The image processing program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The image processing program executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described configuration. As actual hardware, the CPU 11 reads the image processing program from the ROM 12a and executes it. As a result, the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device, and the components are generated on the RAM 12B.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus and a PC connected via a network according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property window of an image forming apparatus displayed on the PC according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of the window for performing the detailed setting of case binding displayed with PC concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of the printing condition data produced | generated by PC concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the other example of the printing condition data produced | generated by PC concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of the print data produced | generated by PC concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the 1st example of the concept which performs case binding from the printing data concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the 2nd example of the concept which performs case binding from the printing data concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the 3rd example of the concept which performs case binding from the printing data concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the 1st example of the blank paper set by the blank paper setting part concerning 1st Embodiment. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the 2nd example of the blank paper set by the blank paper setting part concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process until it transmits the printing code in PC concerning 1st Embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an overall processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a print control process in the printing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing hardware constitutions of PC concerning a 1st embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine according to a first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Controller 11 CPU
12 MEM-P
12a ROM
12b RAM
13 NB
14 SB
15 AGP bus 16 ASIC
17 MEM-C
18 HDD
20 Operation unit 30 FCU
40 USB interface 50 IEEE 1394 interface 60 Engine unit 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Receiving unit 102 Print condition interpretation unit 103 Drawing data generation unit 104 Identification unit 105 Printing order control unit 106 Storage unit 107 Printing unit 108 Data control unit 111 Blank page setting unit 112 Arrangement Determination unit 151 Document editing application 152 Printer driver 161 Print instruction reception unit 162 Page specification reception unit 163 Print condition data generation unit 164 Print data generation unit 165 Transmission unit 180 Network 190 Bookbinding machine 1601 CPU
1602 ROM
1603 RAM
1604 External storage device 1605 Display device 1606 Input device 1607 Communication interface 1608 Bus

Claims (8)

Input means for performing input processing of image data of a plurality of pages and bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a page for case binding cover;
Based on the bookbinding condition information, specifying means for specifying image data for a cover of case binding from the image data of the plurality of pages;
Printing means for printing the image data for the cover and the image data of the text content according to a printing order set in advance for the cover and the text content for case binding;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The input means specifies a predetermined number of pages from the front of the image data of the plurality of pages as a front cover page, and sets a predetermined number of pages from the end of the image data of the plurality of pages as a page for the back cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the binding condition information to be specified is input. Storage means for temporarily storing the image data for the front cover;
The printing means prints the image data for the front cover and the image data for the back cover stored in the storage means after printing the image data of the body content;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The input means inputs the bookbinding condition information that specifies only one page of the plurality of image data as a front cover page or a back cover page,
The specifying means specifies one page of image data as a front cover page or a back cover page based on the bookbinding condition information,
The printing unit prints the specified one-page image data as a front cover page or a back cover page, and prints the back page of the specified one page as a blank sheet;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. Accepting means for accepting input of information for specifying a page for cover of case binding in image data of a plurality of pages;
Condition information generating means for generating bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a cover page for case binding received by the receiving means;
Output means for outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information to an image forming apparatus;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The accepting unit accepts input of information for specifying a cover page for a predetermined page from the beginning and a predetermined page from the end in image data of a plurality of pages;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5. A reception step for receiving input of information for specifying a page for cover of case binding in image data of a plurality of pages;
A condition information generating step for generating bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a cover page for case binding accepted by the accepting step;
An output step of outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information to an image forming apparatus;
An information processing program that causes a computer to execute. A printing system that performs printing for case binding.
Accepting means for accepting input of information for specifying a page for cover of case binding in image data of a plurality of pages;
Condition information generating means for generating bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a cover page for case binding received by the receiving means;
Output means for outputting the image data and the bookbinding condition information;
Input means for performing input processing of image data of a plurality of pages and bookbinding condition information including information for specifying a page for case binding cover;
Based on the bookbinding condition information, specifying means for specifying image data for a cover of case binding from the image data of the plurality of pages;
Printing means for printing the image data for the cover and the image data of the text content according to a printing order set in advance for the cover and the text content for case binding;
An image processing system comprising:

Images