JP6091098B2 - Image forming apparatus, charging method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a charging method, and a program.

Conventionally, most of the charging methods for one-page printing are only two types of devices, that is, charging for printing two or more colors (color printing) and charging for monochrome printing.
By the way, there is a case where color printing is included only in a part of a page which is mostly monochrome printing, such as a seal or a company logo, in one page of text. In such a case, the color printing apparatus determines that color printing is performed in the same way as when the majority of the document is a monochrome portion, as in the case where the majority is the color portion, and the charge for the printing is the charge for the color printing. It was done in. This is because, when monochrome and color print page data are mixed in one output sheet, a color printing operation (that is, four rotations of CMYK printing) is instructed. This is because the user is charged in the same manner as when the color portion is full. Therefore, even if the document is mostly monochrome, even if there is even a small color area, the user is charged for the color printing fee, which increases the printing cost for the user.

  To deal with this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that charges according to the proportion of the color print area included in one output sheet. This system analyzes drawing information of PDL data input via a network and calculates a color area ratio. Further, in Patent Document 2, PDL data is bitmap-developed, and color / monochrome determination is performed for each pixel.

JP 2002-91743 A JP 2006-209355 A

  Hereinafter, it is assumed that a billing system capable of setting the output number limit at each stage is implemented. Alternatively, it is assumed that the billing system is connected to a coin vendor placed in a convenience store or the like. Furthermore, color charging is classified into three stages of “low area color”, “middle area color”, and “full area color” in order from the one with the smallest color pixel ratio, depending on the ratio of the color area in each page. And

If the print job is executed when the number of full-area colors has reached the limit value, or only the middle area color has been charged to the coin vendor, and the print job is determined to be full-area color, the print job Need to stop.
If the color pixel determination is performed at the time of scanning in the case of a copy job and at the time of rendering of PDL data in the case of PDL printing, the print job can be stopped after the determination. However, if this is done, it is necessary to mount color pixel determination processing modules for copy jobs and PDL jobs, respectively. Therefore, if color pixel determination is performed at the time of print processing, a single color pixel determination module can handle both a copy job and a PDL job. However, with such a configuration, there is a problem that the print job cannot be stopped because the printer engine is operating when a color pixel determination result is output.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and performs color pixel determination at the time of print processing, performs charge switching according to whether it is color, and if the input fee is insufficient, the print The purpose is to allow the job to be stopped.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which a charge amount differs depending on a color amount in the image data in color printing of image data, and a plurality of charge unit prices determined depending on a color amount in a page. If the charging unit price is less than the highest charging unit price, the image data is not output to a printer engine, and is determined by a first determination unit that determines a color amount in the image data and the first determination unit. Determining means for determining a charging amount according to the color amount, a second determining means for determining whether or not the input charge is equal to or more than the charging amount determined by the determining means, and the second determining means If the charged price is determined to be a price for more than the charge amount, and outputs the image data to the printer engine, to execute the printing process, the second stamp If it is determined that the closing price is less rates than the charge amount by the means, and having a control means for controlling to stop the printing process.

  According to the present invention, color pixel determination is performed at the time of print processing, charging is switched according to whether or not the color is used, and the print job can be stopped when the input fee is insufficient. .

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming system. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a process of a scanner image process part. It is a figure which shows an example of a process of a printer image process part. It is a figure which shows an example of an image input / output device. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image processing by charge according to the first exemplary embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image processing by charge according to the second exemplary embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming system.
The image forming apparatus 200 includes a scanner unit 2015 that is an image input device, a printer unit 2017 that is an image output device, a controller unit 2000, and an operation unit 2006 that is a user interface.

The scanner unit 2015, the printer unit 2017, and the operation unit 2006 are each connected to the Controller Unit 2000. The Controller Unit 2000 is connected to a network transmission means such as a LAN 2008 and a public line. Transmission by G3 and G4 fax including color image transmission is possible from the public line. Further, other image forming apparatuses 220 and 230 having the same device configuration as the image forming apparatus 200 are connected to the LAN 2008. Further, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC) 240 is connected to the image forming apparatus 200, and can send and receive files and send and receive e-mails using FTP and SMB protocols.
The image forming apparatuses 220 and 230 have scanner units 2270 and 2370, printer units 2295 and 2395, and operation units 2212 and 2312, which are connected to the controller unit 2200 and 2300, respectively.
The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present exemplary embodiment performs normal image processing when a price equal to or higher than the highest charging unit price is input. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 200 operates in a mode in which only the image processing for printing is performed without storing the scanned image in the HDD and flowing the image to the printer unit when the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price. Perform monochrome / color judgment. As a result of the determination, if the price is insufficient, the image forming apparatus 200 displays that fact on the UI, stops the copy process, and if the price is sufficient, prints the image stored in the HDD.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus.
The Controller Unit 2000 is connected to a scanner unit 2015 that is an image input device and a printer unit 2017 that is an image output device. On the other hand, the Controller Unit 2000 is connected to a LAN 2008 or a public line (WAN) 2051 to input / output image information and device information.

A CPU 2001 is a controller that controls the entire system.
A RAM 2002 is a system work memory for operating the CPU 2001, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data.
A ROM 2003 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program.
An HDD 2004 is a hard disk drive that stores a system software program and image data.

An operation unit I / F 2005 is an interface unit with an operation unit (UI) 2006 and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 2006 to the operation unit 2006. An operation unit I / F 2005 serves to transmit information input by the system user from the operation unit 2006 to the CPU 2001.
A network 2007 is connected to the LAN 2008 and inputs / outputs information.
A Modem 2050 is connected to a public line (WAN) 2051 and inputs / outputs image information.

The binary image rotation unit 2052 and the binary image compression / decompression unit 2053 convert the direction of the image before transmitting the binary image by Modem 2050, or convert the image to a predetermined resolution or a resolution matching the other party's ability. Or The binary image rotation unit 2052 and the binary image compression / decompression unit 2053 support JBIG, MMR, MR, and MH.
A DMAC 2009 is a DMA controller that reads an image stored in the RAM 2002 without using the CPU 2001 and transfers the image to the ImageBus I / F 2011. Alternatively, the DMAC 2009 writes an image from the image bus to the RAM 2002 without going through the CPU 2001.
The above devices are connected to the system bus 2060.

The ImageBus I / F 2011 is an interface for controlling high-speed image input / output via the image bus 2010.
The compression unit 2012 performs JPEG compression in units of 32 × 32 pixels before sending an image to the image bus 2010.
The decompressing unit 2013 decompresses the image sent via the image bus 2010.
The raster image processor (RIP) unit 2018 receives the PDL code from the host computer via the network 2007, and the CPU 2001 stores the PDL code in the RAM 2002 through the system bus 2060.

The CPU 2001 converts the PDL into an intermediate code, inputs it again to the raster image processor (RIP) unit 2018 via the system bus 2060, and develops it into a bitmap image (multi-value).
The scanner image processing unit 2014 performs various appropriate image processing (for example, correction, processing, editing) on the color image and the black and white image from the scanner unit 2015 and outputs (multi-value).
Similarly, the printer image processing unit 2016 performs appropriate various image processing (for example, correction, processing, editing) on the printer unit 2017. At the time of printing, binary multilevel conversion is performed by the decompression unit 2013, so that the printer image processing unit 2016 can perform binary and multilevel output.
The image conversion unit 2030 has various image conversion functions used when converting an image on the RAM 2002 and writing it back into the RAM 2002 again.

The rotation unit 2019 can rotate an image of 32 × 32 pixel units at a specified angle, and supports binary and multi-value input / output.
The scaling unit 2020 has a function (for example, from 25% to 400%) for converting the resolution of the image (for example, from 600 dpi to 200 dpi) or scaling.
The scaling unit 2020 rearranges an image of 32 × 32 pixels into an image in units of 32 lines before scaling.
The color space conversion unit 2021 converts, for example, a YUV image on the memory into a Lab image by matrix operation and LUT, and stores the multi-valued input image on the memory. The color space conversion unit 2021 has a 3 × 8 matrix operation and a one-dimensional LUT, and can perform well-known background removal and show-through prevention. The converted image is output in multiple values.

A binary multi-value unit 2022 converts a 1-bit binary image into multi-value 8 bits and 256 gradations. On the other hand, the multilevel binary unit 2026 converts an 8-bit, 256-gradation image on the memory, for example, into 1-bit, 2-gradation by a technique such as error diffusion processing, and stores it on the memory.
The synthesizing unit 2023 has a function of synthesizing two multi-value images on the memory into one multi-value image. For example, the composition unit 2023 can easily attach a company logo to a document image by combining the image of the company logo on the memory with the document image.
The thinning unit 2024 is a unit that performs resolution conversion by thinning out pixels of the multi-valued image, and can output 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 multi-valued images. By using the thinning unit 2024 and the scaling unit 2020 in combination, a wider range of enlargement and reduction can be performed.

The moving unit 2025 can output the input binary image or multi-valued image by adding a margin portion or deleting the margin portion.
The rotation unit 2019, scaling unit 2020, color space conversion unit 2021, binary multi-value unit 2022, composition unit 2023, thinning unit 2024, moving unit 2025, and multi-value binary unit 2026 can be connected to operate. Is possible. For example, when image rotation and resolution conversion are performed on a multi-valued image on a memory, both processes can be performed by connecting them without using a memory.
The CPU 2001 generates charging information for charging for printing of document data based on information such as a print job. Then, the CPU 2001 sends the generated charging information to the charging unit 2071 through the charging unit I / F 2070.
The charging unit 2071 holds the transmitted charging information. The billing information may be stored in the RAM 2002 or a non-volatile memory (not shown).
When the CPU 2001 executes processing based on a program stored in the HDD 2004 or the like, part of the processing according to the flowchart described later is realized.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing of the scanner image processing unit 2014.
The RGB 8-bit luminance signal input from the scanner unit is converted by the masking unit 2501 into a standard RGB color signal that does not depend on the CCD filter color.
In the filter unit 2502, for example, a 9 × 9 matrix is used to perform a process of blurring or sharpening an image.
A histogram unit 2503 is a processing unit that samples image signal data in an input image, and is used to determine the background level of the input image. The histogram unit 2503 samples RGB data in a rectangular area surrounded by a start point and an end point specified in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction at a constant pitch in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, respectively. Create

The created histogram is read when background skipping or prevention of show-through is specified, and the background of the original is inferred from the histogram, and is stored and managed in the memory or HDD together with the image as the background skipping level. Used for image processing during transmission.
The gamma unit 2504 performs processing to increase or decrease the density of the entire image. For example, the gamma unit 2504 converts the color space of the input image into an arbitrary color space, or performs correction processing related to the color of the input system.
A color space conversion unit 2505 converts the image signal before scaling to a known Lab in order to determine whether the document is color or monochrome. Of these, a and b represent color signal components, and a 1-bit determination signal is output from the comparison unit 2506 as a chromatic color if it is equal to or higher than a predetermined level in the comparison unit 2506, and as an achromatic color otherwise.

The counter unit 2507 measures the output from the comparison unit.
A character / photo determination unit 2508 has a function of extracting a character edge from an image and separating the image into a character and a photo. As an output from the character / photo determination unit 2508, a character photo determination signal is obtained. This signal is also stored in the memory or HD together with the image, and is used during printing.
The specific document determination unit 2509 can compare to what extent the input image signal matches the pattern held in the determination unit, and can read the determination result of matching or mismatching as illustrated.
The scanner image processing unit 2014 processes the image according to the determination result to prevent counterfeiting of banknotes and securities.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing of the printer image processing unit 2016.
The background removal unit 2601 removes the background color of the image data and removes unnecessary background fog. For example, the background removal unit 2601 performs background removal by 3 × 8 matrix calculation or a one-dimensional LUT. As described above, this is a function included in the color space conversion unit 2021 and is a completely equivalent circuit.
The monochrome generation unit 2602 converts color image data into monochrome data and converts color image data, for example, RGB data into Gray single color when printing as a single color. For example, the monochrome generation unit 2602 multiplies RGB by an arbitrary constant and performs a 1 × 3 matrix operation as a Gray signal.

An output color correction unit 2603 performs color correction in accordance with the characteristics of the printer unit that outputs image data. For example, the output color correction unit 2603 performs processing by 4 × 8 matrix calculation or direct mapping.
The filter processing unit 2604 arbitrarily corrects the spatial frequency of the image data. For example, the filter processing unit 2604 performs a 9 × 9 matrix operation.
A gamma correction unit 2605 performs gamma correction in accordance with the characteristics of the output printer unit. The gamma correction unit 2605 is usually composed of a one-dimensional LUT.

A halftone correction unit 2606 performs arbitrary halftone processing according to the number of gradations of the output printer unit, and performs arbitrary screen processing such as binarization and binarization, and error diffusion processing. The halftone correction unit 2606 can switch each process by a character / photo determination signal (not shown).
The inter-drum delay memory unit 2607 is a color printer having CMYK color drums, and is a memory for superimposing CMYK images by shifting the CMYK print timing by the inter-drum. A color printer having four drums for each color of CMYK, and having an inter-drum delay memory unit 2607, can delay the image position.

An image input / output device is shown in FIG.
The scanner unit 2015, which is an image input device, illuminates an image on paper serving as a document and scans a CCD line sensor (not shown), thereby converting it into an electrical signal as raster image data.
The original sheet is set on the tray unit 2702 of the feeder unit 2701, and the apparatus user instructs the start of reading from the operation unit 2006. As a result, the CPU 2001 gives an instruction to the scanner unit 2015, feeds original sheets one by one from the tray unit 2702 of the feeder unit 2701, and performs an original image reading operation.

The printer unit 2017 that is an image output device is a part that converts raster image data into an image on paper. There are two methods for converting raster image data into an image on paper, such as an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, and an ink jet method in which ink is ejected from a minute nozzle array to directly print an image on the paper. However, any method is acceptable.
The activation of the printing operation is started by an instruction from the CPU 2001.
The printer unit 2017 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and there are paper cassettes 2703, 2704, and 2705 corresponding thereto. A paper discharge tray unit 2706 is a paper discharge tray that receives the printed paper.

Next, the processing of this embodiment will be described.
Regardless of the type of print job, the color pixel determination process is performed in one place and the input color space is limited to one, so that the halftone correction unit 2606 starts immediately before the filter processing unit 2604 in FIG. The color pixel determination process needs to be performed until immediately before.
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that color pixel determination is performed immediately before the halftone correction unit 2606.

The color pixel determination is as follows.
A data string of raster image data is scanned, and the number of pixels in which one of CMY colors has at least one gradation value is counted. When the ratio of counted pixels in all pixels of the image data of the raster image is calculated, the calculated value is compared with a threshold value held in advance. In the present embodiment, the calculated color pixel ratio is compared with three threshold values to determine which region of “low area color”, “middle area color”, and “full area color” belongs.
The inter-drum delay memory unit 2607 performs a process of flowing a CMYK image to the printer unit 2017, but can discard the image data without flowing to the printer unit 2017. This function is called a trash mode. In this embodiment, this trash mode is used.

Next, the process of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing that image data scanned by the scanner unit 2015 is stored in the HDD 2004 and then processed by the printer image processing unit 2016 and then sent to the printer unit 2017. The image data may be PDL data input via Network 2007.
First, the CPU 2001 checks whether or not the input charge is equal to or higher than the “full area color” that is the highest unit price (S6001). If the CPU 2001 determines that the input price is equal to or higher than the “full area color” that is the highest charging unit price, the CPU 2001 proceeds to S6002, and determines that the input price is not equal to or higher than the “full area color” that is the highest charging unit price. The process proceeds to S6008.
In the case of a billing system that can set the output number limit at each stage, the CPU 2001 checks whether the output number at each stage has reached the limit number.

In the following description, it is assumed that the billing system is connected to a coin vendor.
When the input charge is “full area color” or more, image data for one page is read from the HDD 2004 (S6002), and image processing for printing is performed as usual (S6003), while the halftone correction unit 2606 Color pixel determination processing is performed immediately before (S6004).
When the color pixel determination process is completed, the CPU 2001 subtracts the charge calculated based on the color area determination result from the charge, and notifies the charging unit 2071 of the charging information via the charging unit I / F 2070 (S6005). . Subsequently, image data is output to the printer unit 2017 while color pixel determination is performed in the printer image processing unit 2016 (S6006).

On the other hand, in S6008, image data for one page is read from the HDD 2004 (S6008). Then, while the image processing for printing is performed in the trash mode (S6009), the color pixel determination processing is performed immediately before the halftone correction unit 2606 (S6010). By doing so, the color area determination is executed without causing the image to flow to the printer unit 2017.
Subsequently, the CPU 2001 compares the input fee with the fee calculated based on the color area determination result (S6011). As a result of the comparison, the CPU 2001 advances the process to step S6012 if there is more input money, and advances the process to step S6015 if there is not more input money.
In step S6012, the CPU 2001 subtracts the fee calculated based on the color area determination result from the input fee, and notifies the charging unit 2071 of the charging information via the charging unit I / F 2070. Then, image data for one page is read again from the HDD 2004 (S6013). Subsequently, image processing for printing is performed in the printer image processing unit 2016 or the like as usual (S6014).

On the other hand, in step S6015, the CPU 2001 stops the print job, and displays on the operation unit 2006 that the input fee is insufficient (S6015).
By thus determining the color area and switching the billing, it is possible to prevent the print job from being executed even though the input fee is insufficient. Further, it is possible to prevent the performance of the print job from deteriorating when the input charge is equal to or higher than the full color area, which is the highest charging unit price.

<Embodiment 2>
Usually, in order to improve the printing performance, an instruction for completion of preparation is issued to the printer unit 2017 before all the image data enters the inter-drum delay memory unit 2607, and the image data starts to flow. For this reason, as described in the first embodiment, when the color pixel determination is performed while performing the printing process, the operation of the printer is executed without being stopped.
However, when the inter-drum delay memory unit 2607 has a memory that can store image data for one page, the printer operation can be stopped by not operating the printer unit 2017 until a color pixel determination result is obtained. . The processing flow at this time will be described with reference to FIG.

The processing from the step (S6001) in which the CPU 2001 confirms whether or not the input price is equal to or higher than the “full area color” which is the highest charging unit price, to the step (S6008) in which image data for one page is read from the HDD 2004. This is the same as FIG. However, as described above, it is supplemented that the CPU 2001 issues a preparation completion instruction to the printer unit 2017 during the printer image processing (S6003).
First, the CPU 2001 confirms whether or not the input price is equal to or higher than “full area color” which is the highest charging unit price (S6001), and determines that the input price is less than “full area color”. In this case, the printer image processing unit 2016 performs printer image processing, but does not issue a preparation completion instruction to the printer unit 2017, and stores the image memory for one page in the inter-drum delay memory unit 2607 (S6016). At this stage, the notification of completion of preparation has not been sent to the printer unit 2017 yet.

While the printer image process is being performed, the color pixel determination process is performed immediately before the halftone correction unit 2606 (S6010). When the color pixel determination process is completed, the CPU 2001 compares the input fee with the fee calculated from the color area determination result (S6011).
If there is more money to be charged, the CPU 2001 subtracts the charge calculated based on the color area determination result from the money to be charged, and notifies the charging unit 2071 of the charging information via the charging unit I / F 2070 (S6012). At this stage, the printer image processing unit 2016 notifies the printer unit 2017 of a preparation completion notification (S6017). Then, the image data is output to the printer unit 2017 by the printer image processing unit 2016 (S6006).

On the other hand, the CPU 2001 compares the input fee with the fee calculated based on the color area determination result (S6011). If the input fee is smaller, the CPU 2001 stops the print job and informs the operation unit 2006 of that fact. It is displayed (S6015).
According to the processing of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained without operating the printer unit 2017.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  As described above, according to the processing of each embodiment described above, color pixel determination is performed at the time of print processing, charging is switched according to whether or not the color is used, and printing is stopped when the input fee is insufficient Can be possible.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (10)

In color printing the image data, an image forming apparatus which billing amount varies depending on the color quantity in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the color amount in the image data is determined without outputting the image data to the printer engine. First determining means to perform,
Determining means for determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined by the first determining means;
Second determination means for determining whether or not the input price is equal to or greater than a billing amount determined by the determination means;
When it is determined by the second determination means that the input price is a charge equal to or greater than the charge amount , the image data is output to the printer engine, print processing is executed , and the second determination means If the charged price is determined to be smaller rates than the charge amount, the image forming apparatus characterized by a control means for controlling to stop the printing process.   Furthermore, when the second determination means determines that the input price is less than the charge amount, the second determination means includes display means for displaying that the input price is insufficient. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. In color printing the image data, an image forming apparatus which billing amount varies depending on the color quantity in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the image data is stored in the memory without being output to the printer engine, and the color amount in the image data is calculated. Determination means for determining;
Determining means for determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined by the determining means;
The closing price is not less than the charged amount, the image forming apparatus characterized by a control means for the image data accumulated in the memory and output to the printer engine, and controls so as to execute printing process. The control means, the closing price is, if the division is smaller than the amount, the image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controller controls so as to stop the printing process. Furthermore, the closing price is less than the charge amount, the image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises a display means for displaying that the entered money is insufficient.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines a ratio of color pixels in all pixels of the image data as a color amount in the image data. In color printing of image data, a charging method in an image forming apparatus in which a charge amount differs according to a color amount in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the color amount in the image data is determined without outputting the image data to the printer engine. A first determination step,
A determination step of determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined in the first determination step;
A second determination step for determining whether or not the input charge is equal to or greater than the charge amount determined in the determination step;
When it is determined in the second determination step that the input price is equal to or greater than the charge amount , image data is output to the printer engine to execute a printing process , and the input is performed in the second determination step. If the price is determined to be smaller rates than the charge amount, charging method, characterized by a control step for controlling to stop the printing process. In color printing of image data, a charging method in an image forming apparatus in which a charge amount differs according to a color amount in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the image data is stored in the memory without being output to the printer engine, and the color amount in the image data is calculated. A determination step for determining;
A determination step of determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined in the determination step;
Charging method the closing price is not less than the charging amount, which outputs the image data accumulated in the memory to the printer engine, characterized in that it comprises a control step of controlling so as to execute printing process. In color printing of image data, a computer of an image forming apparatus having a different charge amount according to the color amount in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the color amount in the image data is determined without outputting the image data to the printer engine. First determining means to perform,
Determining means for determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined by the first determining means;
Second determination means for determining whether or not the input price is equal to or greater than a billing amount determined by the determination means;
If it is determined by the second determination means that the charge is equal to or greater than the charge amount , image data is output to the printer engine, print processing is performed , and the input is performed by the second determination means. If it is determined that the price is less rates than the charge amount, the program to function as a control means for controlling so as to stop the printing process. In color printing of image data, a computer of an image forming apparatus having a different charge amount according to the color amount in the image data,
When the input charge is less than the highest charging unit price among a plurality of charging unit prices determined according to the color amount in the page, the image data is stored in the memory without being output to the printer engine, and the color amount in the image data is calculated. Determination means for determining;
Determining means for determining a charge amount according to the color amount determined by the determining means;
The closing price is not less than the charging amount, and outputs the image data accumulated in the memory to the printer engine, a program to function as a control means for controlling so as to execute printing process.

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