JPH1086453A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a printing apparatus in which print data can be accommodated in a print area on a recording medium and which can perform good printing that is easy to read. A roller provided at the lower end of a printing device is brought into contact with a start point of a print area on a recording medium, and a print area setting switch is pressed, and then the roller is rolled. By pressing the setting switch 5, the distance of one of the printing areas is measured from the output of the encoder 11 connected to the roller. Similarly, a plurality of distances in the printing area are measured. For example, when printing a plurality of items in a table separated by ruled lines, the line height of one line of the table, the print length of each item in the column direction, and the like are measured. Thereafter, a print area is calculated based on the plurality of measured distances, and the control unit 14 prints the print data after processing the print data so as to fall within the calculated print area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording medium,
A printing device that prints an image or the like on a recording medium by being scanned manually, automatically or semi-automatically, and obtains a good printing result particularly when a printing area on the recording medium is limited. Related to a printing device to be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing apparatus which performs printing while scanning manually, the moving speed of the printing apparatus on a recording medium such as a recording sheet is not constant because it is manually operated.
Therefore, as a printing device capable of performing good printing even when the moving speed is not constant, a displacement detecting device for detecting the displacement of the printing device on the recording medium is provided, and the printing device is synchronized with the detection result. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-17630 discloses a printer that controls printing.

[0003] A displacement detecting device provided in this type of printing apparatus is in contact with a recording medium in order to detect relative movement between the recording medium and the printing apparatus caused by the printing apparatus moving on the recording medium. And a roller member for rotating the roller member, and detecting the relative movement as a rotation angle of the roller member. That is, by detecting the rotation angle of the roller member, the displacement amount of the printing apparatus relatively moving on the recording medium is detected, and the printing means is controlled in synchronization with the detected displacement amount to thereby control the image. Is printed.

[0004] A printing apparatus having such a configuration can easily print at an arbitrary position on a recording medium.
For example, printing can be performed on a thick book or document that has been bound, or on paper having a large size that cannot be transported by an ordinary printer or the like.

[0005]

However, in the conventional printing apparatus having the above-described structure, printing can be performed at an arbitrary position on a recording medium, but an image to be printed is not provided. The user does not know in advance the size of the area occupied by the user (hereinafter referred to as print data) on the recording medium, and therefore prints out of the area the user wants to print (hereinafter referred to as the print area). It happened frequently. Therefore, in order to obtain a print result that fits in the print area, test print on another paper in advance, check the test print result, and adjust the character size etc. so that it fits in the desired print area. It took a lot of time and effort to get the desired print result,
The running cost has been increased due to the consumption of waste paper and ink.

[0006] As described above, there is no other method for adjusting the printing so that it fits in the printing area, except for a method of reducing the character size. However, there is a problem that the character reduction rate becomes high and the character size becomes too small to be legible even if it fits in the print area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and print data can be accommodated in a print area on a recording medium, and good print that is easy to read can be performed. It is intended to provide a printing device.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention scans a recording medium to print an image or the like on the recording medium. In a printing device for printing, by scanning on the recording medium performed prior to scanning for printing an image or the like, a plurality of distances of a printing area on the recording medium are measured, and On the basis of the plurality of measured distances, a print area calculation unit for calculating a print area on the recording medium, and in the scan for printing the image or the like, the print area calculation unit Processing means for processing the image and the like so as to fit within the calculated print area.

That is, in using the printing apparatus, first, the printing area is scanned over the printing area of the recording medium to measure a plurality of distances of the printing area. The printing area calculation means measures a plurality of distances of the printing area by the scanning, and calculates a printing area on the recording medium based on the measured plurality of distances. Subsequently, the printing apparatus is again scanned over the printing area for printing an image or the like. At this time, the printing unit processes the image so that the image falls within the printing area calculated previously. While printing is performed.

Further, in the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the processing means has two or more types of processing methods for storing the image or the like in the printing area. It is characterized in that it comprises a selecting means for selecting at least one kind of arbitrary processing method from the methods.

That is, the processing means has two or more types of processing methods.
An arbitrary process is selected, such as selecting one type of processing method or combining and applying two or more types of processing methods.

Further, in the printing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, one of the two or more types of processing methods is a processing method for reducing and printing the image or the like.

That is, the user can select a processing method for reducing and printing an image as one of the two or more types of processing methods.

Further, the printing device according to claim 4 is characterized in that the printing device
One of the more than one type of processing method is characterized in that the image or the like is divided into a plurality of lines and printed.

That is, the user can select a processing method of dividing an image into a plurality of lines and printing it as one of the two or more types of processing methods.

[0016]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The body 1 of the present printing apparatus has a cylindrical shape and is configured so that a user can easily hold it by hand.

The roller 42 is provided at the tip of the body 1 (FIG. 1).
At its lower end) is rotatably supported, and its surface is formed of a material having a large friction coefficient and elasticity, such as rubber. This roller 42
A cylindrical one, a disk-shaped wheel directly connected to both ends of a shaft, or the like can be used.

At the side of the roller 42, an ink jet recording head 45 as a means for printing an image or the like is provided.
Is arranged.

The other end of the body 1 is connected to an external device such as a personal computer (not shown) for infrared communication for transmitting and receiving data based on an image to be printed (hereinafter referred to as print data). Interface unit 3 is provided. The print data usually includes format data for printing, such as character size (height and width), character spacing, and line spacing, in addition to character data.

A mode changeover switch 4 for switching between a data input mode, a print area calculation mode, and a print mode, which are operation modes of the printing apparatus, A print area setting switch 5 for setting a print area in the printer and a display unit 6 for confirming the setting status are provided.
The mode changeover switch 4 also functions as a power switch for turning on / off the power of the printing apparatus.

That is, in the printing apparatus, in the print area calculation mode, the user grips the body 1 by hand and manually scans the recording medium while contacting and rotating the roller 42 on the recording medium to thereby perform the recording. Set the upper print area,
In the data input mode, print data is input from an external device such as a personal computer. In the print mode, the user grips the body 1 by hand and manually scans the recording medium while rotating the roller 42 in contact therewith. Thus, printing is performed in the set print area on the recording medium.

Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the printing apparatus and the operation for printing the printing apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Inside the body 1 of the printing apparatus, an encoder 11 as a print area calculation means, a print area setting switch 5, a roller 42, and a control section 14, a control section 14 as a processing means, and a storage section 16 , And drive unit 17
, An ink jet recording head 45, a power supply 15, and an interface unit 3. The encoder 11 and the roller 42 are connected via a pulley 9 and a belt 10.

A roller 42 is provided at the end of the body 1 on a shaft 8.
, And an ink jet recording head 45 is arranged beside the roller 42. The ink-jet recording head 45 is located at a position lower than the lowermost end of the roller 42 in FIG. 2 so that the leading end of the ink-jet recording head 45 maintains a constant gap with respect to the recording medium during printing. The tip is positioned somewhat up.

The ink jet recording head 45
Above the ink tank 7, an ink tank 7 for supplying ink to the ink jet recording head 45 is arranged.

A pulley 9 is arranged on the shaft 8 which is the center of rotation of the roller 42 so as to rotate with the rotation of the roller 42. A belt 10 is wound around the pulley 9, and the rotational force of the pulley 9 that rotates with the rotation of the roller 42 is transmitted to the rotating disk 12 of the encoder 11.
Is configured to communicate to

The encoder 11 is disposed substantially at the center of the body 1 and includes a rotating disk 12 and a photo interrupter 13.

The rotating disk 12 has the rotating disk 12
Slits 12a are provided at predetermined intervals on a circumference concentric with the center of rotation, and a slit 12b similarly provided inside the slit 12a. The slits 12a and 12b are arranged on the rotating disk 12 such that the center line in the longitudinal direction of the slit is orthogonal to the circumference where they are arranged.

The photo-interrupter 13 includes two sets of light-emitting units and light-receiving units (not shown), and the optical path from the light-emitting unit to the light-receiving unit in each set is the slit 12a and the slit 12a.
They are arranged so as to penetrate the circumference in which b is arranged. Therefore, in the photo interrupter 13, the optical path is intermittently interrupted by the rotation of the slits 12a and 12b accompanying the rotation of the rotary disk 12, and the detection signal of the light receiving unit at that time is changed as shown in FIG. Occur. That is, when there is a slit 12a and a slit 12b in each optical path, the optical path is not blocked, light from the light emitting unit reaches the light receiving unit (ON in FIG. 3), and the optical path is a plate-like shape between the slits. When the light is blocked by the light receiving part, the light does not reach the light receiving part (Fig. 3
OFF).

As described above, the photo interrupter 13
Thus, the rotation of the rotating disk 12 is converted into an electric pulse signal, and the signal is input to the control unit 14. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the slit 12b is disposed so as to be located at an intermediate position between two adjacent slits 12a in the circumferential direction.
As shown in the figure, when the rotating disk 12 is rotated at a constant peripheral speed, the output waveform of the photo interrupter 13 is 90 ° (quarter wavelength) by the slit 12b with respect to the waveform by the slit 12a. It is configured to generate only a phase shift.

A control unit 14 is disposed above the encoder 11 and is connected to each unit of the printing apparatus such as the ink jet recording head 45 and the encoder 11. Further, a power supply 15 is arranged near the side. The power supply 15 includes a power supply unit such as a small primary battery or a secondary battery, and a device for stabilizing the power.

Next, a method of detecting the moving amount and the moving direction by the encoder 11 in the manual scanning performed for calculating the printing area of the printing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

By causing the printing apparatus to scan on the recording medium, the roller 42 rotates, and as described above, the optical path between two sets of light-emitting units and light-receiving units (not shown) provided in the photo interrupter 13 is changed. The waveform as shown in FIG. 3 is detected from the photo interrupter 13 by being blocked or not blocked by the rotation of the slits 12a and 12b.

In FIG. 3, when the printing apparatus moves rightward and leftward in FIG. 2, that is, when the roller 42 and the rotary disk 12 rotate rightward in FIG. , And photo interrupter 1 when rotated left
3 is shown. Note that the rightward direction in FIG. 3 indicates the passage of time.

When the roller 42 rotates clockwise, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, the detected waveform of the slit 12b is delayed by 90 ° from the detected waveform of the slit 12a. Conversely, in the case of left rotation, the detected waveform of the slit 12b is advanced by 90 ° from the detected waveform of the slit 12a. Therefore, the rotation direction of the roller 42 can be detected by detecting the phase difference between the two waveforms. Further, by counting the number of detection pulses of the photo interrupter 13, the movement amount of the printing device can be detected.

Therefore, the printing apparatus according to the present invention, according to the number of pulses detected by the photo interrupter 13,
By driving the inkjet recording head 45 to perform printing, normal printing can always be performed even if the moving speed of the printing apparatus on the recording medium changes.

Since the moving speed of the printing apparatus can be detected by the number of pulses per unit time, it is possible to control so that printing is not performed when the moving speed is too high.

Normally, printing is performed by scanning the printing apparatus in the right direction in FIG.
When printing is performed while scanning in the leftward direction in FIG. 2, the ink ejected onto the recording medium from the ink jet recording head 45 comes into contact with the roller 42 before the ink has dried yet. A part of the undried ink adheres to the surface of the roller 42, and the adhered ink is transferred to another part on the recording medium, thereby soiling the recording medium. Therefore, when the rotation direction of the roller 42 is the left direction, it is possible to control so that the ink jet recording head 45 is not driven and printing is not performed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printing apparatus. In FIG. 4, a control unit 14 including a CPU and the like includes a storage device 20 including a ROM and the like, which incorporates a control program for controlling each functional block in the block diagram according to a predetermined program, The interface 3, the mode changeover switch 4, the print area setting switch 5, and the display 6 are connected.

The pulse signal sent from the encoder 11 accompanying the movement of the printing apparatus is transmitted to the control unit 1.
4 is input.

Further, a storage section 16 composed of a RAM or the like for storing print data inputted from the interface section 3 and a driving section 17 for driving the ink jet recording head 45 are also connected to the control section 14. ing.

Each of these functional blocks is arranged inside the body 1 of the printing apparatus.

Next, in the printing apparatus of the present embodiment,
A method of calculating a print area from a plurality of distances of the print area by the print area calculation means will be described.

First, the mode changeover switch 4 is set to the print area calculation mode. Then, “H” is displayed at the left end of the display unit 6. Here, the user sets the printing device to the roller 42 in order to set the height of the printing area.
The roller 42 is brought into contact with the recording medium so that the rotation direction of the roller is in the height direction of the print area, and the print area setting switch 5 is pressed at the starting point in the height direction of the print area to roll the roller 42. The print area setting switch 5 is pressed again at the end point. Thereby, the distance H in the height direction of the printing area is measured.

Then, "L1" is displayed at the right end of the display section 6.
Is displayed. Here, in order to set the length of the printing area, the user turns the printing apparatus so that the rotation direction of the roller 42 is in the length direction of the printing area.
On the recording medium, and presses the print area setting switch 5 at the start point in the length direction of the print area, and presses the roller 42
Is scanned while rolling, and the printing area setting switch 5 is pressed again at the end point. Thereby, the distance L1 in the length direction of the print area is measured.

Then, "L2" is displayed at the right end of the display section 6.
Is displayed. Here, if the user only needs to fit the desired print area within one rectangle, for example,
When printing as shown in FIG. 5A is performed, the mode can be ignored and the mode switch 4 can be pressed to switch to another mode. For example, as shown in FIG. When a plurality of items must be input in the partitioned table, scanning is restarted from the end point of the distance L1, and after scanning by a predetermined length, the printing area setting switch 5 is pressed again, and FIG. )) Is measured. Less than,
When L3, L4,... Have been set and all necessary distances have been measured, the mode switch 4 is pressed to switch to another mode.

The size of the print area is calculated from the plurality of distances of the print area measured as described above, and the calculated print area is temporarily stored in the storage unit 16 or a register or the like in the control unit 14. Is stored.

As described above, in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the printing area can be easily calculated by scanning a desired distance.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the printing result shown in FIG. 5 for the operation of printing based on the printing area calculated as described above.
A description will be given based on the flowchart of FIG.

As described above, the present printing apparatus uses the storage device 2
0 operates according to a program stored in advance.

First, when the input mode is set by the mode changeover switch 4 (Step 1 → Y, hereinafter, the step is abbreviated as S), the control unit 14 drives the interface unit 3 to operate the external device such as a personal computer. , And waits until the print data is input from an external device to the interface unit 3 by an infrared signal (S2: before print data is input, S2 → N). When the control unit 14 detects the input of the print data (S2 → Y), the print data is stored in the storage unit 16 (S3).

When a print area calculation mode other than the input mode is designated in S1, for example (S1 → N, S4 →
Y) As described above, the user calculates the print area by scanning the print area on the recording medium. Specifically, the height H of the print area is measured in S5, the lengths L1, L2,... Of the print area are measured in S6, and the print area is calculated from H, L1, L2,.

When the print mode is designated (S1 →
N, S4 → N, S7 → Y), and the control unit 14
It is determined whether or not print data is stored in the
8). If the print data is stored in the storage unit 16 (S
8 → Y), the control unit 14 prints the print data with the print length and print height (hereinafter, referred to as “print height”) set in the external device.
(Referred to as an initial data size) on the display unit 6. Further, it is determined whether or not the print area has already been calculated (S9).

If the print area has been calculated (S9 →
Y), the size of the print area is compared with the initial data size stored in the storage unit 16 (S10). Here, when the print size of the print data is smaller than the size of the print area (S10 → N), the control unit 14 transfers the print data to the drive unit 17 as it is, and the drive unit 17
The inkjet recording head 45 is driven to print the print data with the initial data size (S13).

Even if it is determined in S9 that the print area has not been calculated (S9 → N), the stored print data is printed with the initial data size.

On the other hand, if the print size of the print data is larger than the set print area size (S10 → Y), the control unit 14 calculates the reduction ratio so that the print data fits in the print area (S11). Based on the reduction ratio, a reduction process is performed on the print data stored in the storage unit 16 (S12), the data is transferred to the drive unit 17, and printing is performed by the inkjet recording head 45 (S1).
3).

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the initial data size of the print data stored in the storage unit 16 is such that the print length L0 is 100 mm, the print height H0 is 5 mm, and in S5 The printing length L1 is 50 m
When the print area is set such that the print height H is 5 mm, the control unit 14 sets the print length of the print data stored in the storage unit 16 so that the print length falls within the calculated print area. Printing is performed by performing 50% reduction processing in the vertical direction.

Further, when the user sets the print length L1 to 50 m
When the print area is set such that the print height H is 2.5 mm, the control unit 14 controls the print data stored in the storage unit 16 so that the print data falls within the print area.
Printing is performed by performing a reduction process of 50% in each of the printing height direction and the printing length direction.

As described above, the user can easily set a desired print area on the recording medium, and can easily obtain a print result in which the print data fits in the print area.

In the above-described printing apparatus, a method has been described in which the control unit 14 reduces the print data when the print data does not fit in the designated print area. The case of performing the process will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, the same steps as those in FIG. 6 are not shown and the description thereof is omitted.

First, in S10, when it is determined that the print size of the print data is larger than the calculated print area size, the control unit 14 displays a selectable processing method on the display unit 6. Request the user to select a processing method. Then, the user operates the selection switch 50 (see FIG. 4) as a selection means for selecting at least one arbitrary processing method among two or more types of processing methods, and selects the column processing. Then (S14 → Y), the control unit 1
4 calculates the number of lines so that the print data fits in the print area (S15), and based on the calculated number of lines, the storage unit 16 calculates the number of lines.
A line division process is performed on the print data stored in the storage unit (S16), and then the data is transferred to the drive unit 17,
Printing is performed using the inkjet recording head 45 (S
13). As described above, even when the printing area is small, by performing the multi-column printing, it is possible to obtain a printing result in which the character size is appropriately maintained.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the initial data size of the print data stored in the storage unit 16 is
The print length L0 is 100 mm, the print height H0 is 5 mm, and in S5, the user sets the print length L1 to 50 m.
When a print area of m and a print height H of 10 mm is set, the control unit 14 performs a multi-column process on the print data stored in the storage unit 16 so that the print length is within 50 mm. To print.

Here, the number of lines to be divided may be set arbitrarily by the user in addition to the value calculated by the processing means as described above. In this case, based on the size of the print area calculated by the print area calculation means and the set number of lines, the print data is divided into the set number of lines (this number of lines is set to n) so that the number of lines becomes substantially equal. Each print data divided into n and divided into n is the length L of the set print area.
1 and a print height H / n calculated again by the control unit 14 which is a component of the print area calculation means based on the division number n so that the print area is divided into n divided print areas. Is reduced and printed.

In addition to performing only one of the reduction processing and the column processing, both processings may be performed. Further, a process for closing the space between characters may be performed.

FIG. 5B shows a table divided by ruled lines.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a processing example when a long character string is input.
In this figure, the print data is “AP46173, a microcomputer for a differential device (FIG. 5).
In the character string indicating the print data in the upper part of (b),
···), 1,85,000,85000 "
, A plurality of character data separated by commas are serially arranged data, and the measured H, L1 to L5
, The character data is processed and printed so as to fit in each of the divided print areas. The printing result is shown in the second row of the table in FIG.

In the table of FIG. 5B, regarding the item of the part name, since the character data in the second line is very long compared to the print area, the reduction processing, the column setting processing, and the character spacing are performed. While the processing is performed in a complex manner, the character data on the first line is printed in larger characters because it is relatively short.
In this way, even when one piece of serial character data is printed as print data, various processes can be applied alone or in combination according to the size of individual character data included in the print data. Good printing can be performed within a predetermined format.

The various processing methods as described above are stored in the storage device 20 in advance, and by appropriately operating the selection switch 50 and the print area setting switch 5, any of a plurality of processing methods can be selected. Can be performed in combination. At this time, as described above, the print area once calculated is recalculated by a plurality of processing methods (may be re-divided into small areas as described above), so that the print area falls within the recalculated print area. Then, the print data undergoes processing such as reduction as appropriate.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a set of cylindrical rollers and an encoder are used to measure a print area. If a spherical rotor, two cylindrical rollers in contact with the rotor, and two encoders connected to the two rollers are used instead of the pair of the roller and one encoder,
When setting a rectangular print area, a rectangular print area can be set by one scan on a diagonal line, and the number of times of changing the orientation of the printing apparatus and pressing the print area setting switch is reduced. FIG. 8 shows a printing apparatus having such a configuration.
Members having the same functions as those of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 8, two sets of encoders, 11x and 11y, are provided.
It is connected to detection rollers 62x and 62y via belts 10x and 10y. The ball 60 is arranged so as to contact both of the detection rollers 62x and 62y. At least the surface of the ball 60 has elasticity such as rubber, and when the printing apparatus scans on the recording medium, the ball is rolled without slipping with the movement of the printing apparatus. Coated with a material having an appropriate coefficient of friction.

In the printing apparatus having such a configuration, since the movement amounts in two directions can be measured simultaneously, the number of scans for setting the printing area can be reduced,
When measuring the distance between the height direction and the length direction of the print area,
There is no need to change the orientation of the printing device. Therefore, it is possible to provide a printing device that is easier to use. In addition,
If the rollers 42 having cylindrical wheels at both ends are arranged at the lower end of the printing apparatus, the scanning linearity is improved during scanning for printing.

[0074]

As apparent from the above description, according to the printing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, even when the printing area is limited, the user can easily set the printing area, The desired print result can be obtained easily and without test printing.
Good prints that are easy to see can be made, and good prints can be made at predetermined positions even for arbitrary formats partitioned by ruled lines or the like.

According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect, the processing means has at least two or more types of processing methods.
By the selection means, at least one or more types of processing can be selected from a plurality of processing methods, so that a processing method desired by the user can be selected from various processing, and limited printing is performed. It is possible to easily obtain a readable print result in the area.

According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect, as one of the processing methods, there is a processing method of reducing the size of the image and printing the image. Even when the print area is calculated, a print result that fits within the print area can be obtained.

According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, as one of the processing methods, a processing method of dividing an image into a plurality of lines and printing the image is provided, for example, the print data such as a character string is unnecessary. It is possible to perform printing that fits within the set printing area while maintaining an appropriate size without reducing the size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an internal configuration of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of detecting a moving amount and a moving direction of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram schematically showing an electric circuit configuration of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a printing result by the printing device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another operation example of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an internal configuration of a printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Print area setting switch 11 Encoder 14 Control unit 16 Storage unit 42 Roller 45 Inkjet recording head 50 Selection switch 60 Ball

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Scanning on a recording medium,
In a printing device for printing an image or the like on the recording medium, a scan on the recording medium performed prior to a scan for printing an image or the like causes a printing area on the recording medium to be printed. A plurality of distances are measured, and based on the measured plurality of distances, a print area calculation unit for calculating a print area on the recording medium, and a scan for printing the image or the like. And a processing unit for processing the image and the like so as to fit within the print area calculated by the print area calculation unit. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit has two or more types of processing methods for storing the image or the like in the print area, and at least one type of any one of the two or more types of processing methods. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit for selecting. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the two or more types of processing methods is a processing method that prints the image or the like in a reduced size. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the two or more types of processing methods is a processing method in which the image or the like is divided into a plurality of lines and printed. .