JPH11242579A - Print output method and print output controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly obtain a group of printed matters with a little occurrence of such mistakes as the incorrect collating, the missing pages, etc. SOLUTION: In this print output method, a data receiving part 21 receives plural page description data serving as the print units which are necessary for a desired booklet. Then a resterization processing part 26 resterizes those page description date to obtain plural resterized data. A merging processing part 28 merges the pasteurized data into a group of resterized data. Based on these resterized data, a group of printed matters are outputted to be printed by collecting the print units. A worker arranges the printed matters into a booklet. Thus, it's possible to reduce such mistakes as incorrect collating, missing pages, etc., and to quickly obtain a group of printed matters.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print output method and a print output control device for collecting a plurality of print units to obtain a group of prints.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, instruction manuals, accounting documents, and the like include various types of printed materials such as character information and drawing information, and printing units (jobs) that are the same type but are separated by their contents. Multiple books are created as one booklet.

[0003] When a booklet is obtained by collecting a plurality of printing units in this manner, the following two methods are conventionally performed.

[0004] Each printing unit is merged (hereinafter, referred to as "merge") by application software and printed out, and then bound by an operator.

[0005] Each printing unit is output separately, and the obtained printing units are manually collected to produce a desired booklet.

[0006]

The above two methods have the following problems.

In the method (1), when a booklet in which printed materials having different data formats such as pictures and characters are mixed is created, merging cannot be performed if the application software for obtaining the data is different.

In the method of (1), since manual collection is performed, errors such as missing pages or incorrect pages are likely to occur, and a long time is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to overcome the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and a print output method and a print output control apparatus capable of quickly obtaining a group of prints with less occurrence of mistakes such as incorrect pages and missing pages. The purpose is to provide.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print output method for collecting a plurality of print units to obtain a group of prints. (B) a rasterizing step of rasterizing each of the plurality of page description data to create a plurality of rasterized data, and (c) a plurality of rasterizing. It is characterized by comprising a merge step of merging data to obtain a group of rasterized data, and (d) an output step of printing out a group of printed matter based on the group of rasterized data.

A method according to a second aspect of the present invention is the print output method according to the first aspect, further comprising:
(e) an additional data expanding step of rasterizing additional data to be added to a group of printed matter to create expanded additional data, and a merging step merges a plurality of rasterized data and expanded additional data to form a group of rasterized data. It is characterized by being obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printout method according to the first aspect, wherein the obtaining step includes: (a-1) a plurality of page description data based A base data acquisition step of acquiring base page description data, and (a-
2) an additional step of obtaining a plurality of page description data by including additional data to be added to a group of printed materials in a plurality of base page description data.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print output control apparatus for collecting a plurality of print units to obtain a group of prints, wherein (a) a plurality of print units serving as a basis of the plurality of print units. Acquiring means for acquiring page description data; (b) rasterizing means for rasterizing each of the plurality of page description data to create a plurality of rasterized data; and (c) merging a plurality of rasterized data into a group of rasterized data. (D)
Transmitting means for transmitting a group of rasterized data to the printing apparatus.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the print output control apparatus according to the fourth aspect, further comprising: (e) rasterizing additional data to be added to a group of prints and expanding and adding the rasterized data. An additional data expanding unit for creating data is provided, and the merging unit merges a plurality of rasterized data and expanded additional data to obtain a group of rasterized data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the print output control apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the acquiring means comprises: (a-1) a plurality of page description data bases; Basic data acquisition means for acquiring the basic page description data of
(a-2) adding means for obtaining a plurality of page description data by including additional data to be added to a group of printed materials in a plurality of base page description data.

[0016]

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

<1. Mechanical Configuration and Processing> FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a print output system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This system comprises a plurality of computers 1
0, a print output control device 20 and a printer 30 are electrically connected to each other, and a system for collecting various print units created in each computer 10 and obtaining a group of prints. In this system, the print output control device 20 and the printer 30 form a print output device.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the print output control device 20 according to the embodiment. 3 and 4
5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of print output in the print output system. Hereinafter, print output in this system will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 with reference to FIG.

In advance, in each computer 10, the operator creates a printing unit using digital data (hereinafter referred to as "native data") in a format specific to each of the various application software using various application software, and In step (1), a print output is designated (FIG. 3: step S1).

More specifically, instruction manuals, accounting documents, merchandise information documents, guide documents, etc. are printed materials of various types such as character information and drawing information, and printed materials of the same type but divided according to the contents. It is created by further collecting printing units, which are collections of.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a printing unit. FIG.
As shown in the figure, printing units PU1 of various sizes, formats, etc.
PU3 are collected to form a group of printed matter PO.

Then, the operator checks each of the printing units PU1 to PU1.
PU3 data is created as native data by various application software. Then, in each application software, the printing units PU1 to PU1
When the print output of the PU3 is instructed, the application software converts the native data of the print units PU1 to PU3 into page description data described in a page description language such as PS language (trademark) or PDF language (trademark). It is sent to the print output control device 20 via the network.

Then, the page description data is input to the data receiving unit 21 (see FIG. 2) of the print output control device 20, and the data is stored in the data storage unit 22 (see FIG. 2) (FIG. 3: Step S2).

Next, the control unit 2 of the print output control device 20
5 (see FIG. 2) registers the page description data of these print units PU1 to PU3 as a job (FIG. 3: step S3).

Next, the operator selects the job to be finally printed out as a booklet from the registered jobs, the order of merge including those jobs and additional data, if any, the number of output copies, and the number of output copies. The print instruction information specifying the paper size and the like is transmitted to the print instruction
3 (see FIG. 2) (FIG. 3: Step S
4).

Here, the additional data is data representing print output contents to be added when finally printing and outputting as a booklet, and specifically, the following can be handled.

(1) Serial Number FIGS. 6 to 8 are views showing examples of printing units with serial numbers.

In FIG. 5, each page of each print unit has a print area pa and a blank area ma, and a lower part of the print area pa is provided with a partial serial number n which is a serial number (number of pages) in the job. Have been.

On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 6, the partial serial number n set for each job is output as it is, and the serial number N, which is a serial number through a booklet, is added separately from them. I have.

In the example of FIG. 7, the partial serial number n is deleted and the overall serial number N
Is added.

In the example of FIG. 8, the partial serial number n is processed and the overall serial number N
Is added.

As described above, the partial serial number can be easily changed or the entire serial number can be assigned, so that when they are added and printed, it is possible to easily find out of order or missing pages.

(2) Cover, interleaf, back cover Of these, the interleaf is a delimiter between print units and a part of a specific print unit when the print units of each job are put together. Means an intermediate cover. In this way, the system can handle the front cover, interleaf, and back cover together with each job, so it is easy to add them and print out, and when creating a booklet, easily create a booklet that includes them. it can.

(3) Out-of-page description data Out-of-page description data refers to a comment C (see FIG. 5) such as a creation date, a distribution date, and a distribution destination when a plurality of printing units are combined into one booklet. This is data to be inserted and printed outside (in the margin). Such comments and the like can be easily added, and the distribution work after the printout can be easily performed by adding a comment such as a distribution date and a distribution destination.

Returning to the description of the processing, again.

Next, the operator judges whether or not there is additional data (FIG. 3: step S5). If there is additional data, the operation proceeds to step S6, and if not, the operation proceeds to step S8. Hereinafter, a case where there is additional data will be described.

The operator sends the additional data to the print output control device 2.
0 is input to the additional data instruction unit 24 (see FIG. 2) (FIG. 3: step S6).

Then, the control unit 2 of the print output control device 20
The memory (not shown) in 5 stores the additional data (FIG. 3: step S7).

Next, the operator instructs the print output in the print instruction section 23 of the print output control device 20 (FIG. 3: step S8).

Then, the control unit 2 of the print output control device 20
5 determines the presence or absence of additional data based on the above-described print instruction information (FIG. 4: step S9), and if not, step S10.
The process proceeds to step S11 if any.

If there is no additional data, the rasterization processing unit 26 (see FIG. 2) of the print output control device 20 rasterizes the page description data of each job (FIG. 4: step S10). As a result, rasterized data in a data format that can be output by the printer 30 is generated from the page description data of each job. Here, the rasterized data is a TIFF that can be input to a printing device such as a printer.
Image data of a format and the like.

If there is additional data, it is determined whether the print contents of each job need to be corrected or whether the print contents need not be corrected and should be added to them (FIG. 4: step S11). Specifically, FIG.
Of the three examples of the correction and deletion of the partial serial number n and the assignment of the general serial number N in FIG. 8, the example of FIG. 6 is the former example, and the examples of FIGS. 7 and 8 are the latter example. That is, in the case of the example of FIG. 6, a new overall number N may be written in the margin area ma of each job, so that the print content itself (within the print area pa) does not need to be modified. In the example of No. 8, since the partial serial number n itself is deleted or changed, it is necessary to correct the print content of each job. Similarly, the cover, interleaf, back cover, and out-of-page description data are included in the latter.

As described above, in step S11, the above-described determination is made for the additional data. When the print content itself is changed, the page description data is directly rewritten and then the changed page description data is rasterized. If it is easier to add additional data, but the print content itself is not changed, the original page description data is rasterized into rasterized data, and then the rasterized additional data is added to those data. Because it is easy to do. For such a reason, the processing is performed as follows.

In the former case, the control unit 25 of the print output control device 20 rewrites the portion of the page description data that needs to be corrected based on the additional data (FIG. 4: step S1).
2), as in step S10, the rasterization processing unit 26
Rasterizes each job (FIG. 4: Step S1)
3).

Conversely, if it is determined in step S11 that the job can be added, the rasterization processing unit 26 rasterizes each job as in step S10 (FIG. 4: step S14). 27 (see FIG. 2) rasterizes the additional data in the same manner (FIG. 4: step S15).

Next, steps S10 and S13
Alternatively, when step S15 is completed, the rasterized data generated from the page description data (including the additional data after step S13) by the rasterization processing unit 26 is sent to the merge processing unit 28 (see FIG. 2), and the merge processing unit 28 Merges the rasterized data according to the print instruction information. If the job and the additional data corresponding to the required print unit are included, the rasterized data including the job and the additional data are in a state in which the order, the number of output copies, the output paper size, and the like are specified in the print instruction information. Merged into a group of rasterized data.

However, if it is determined in step S11 that additional data can be added, the rasterized data of the additional data obtained in step S15 is also merged with the rasterized data of each job (FIG. 4: step S1).
6).

When each job and the additional data obtained in this way are included, the rasterized data including the data is sent to the printer 3 via the data transmission unit 29 (see FIG. 2).
0 (FIG. 4: step S17).

Then, the printer 30 prints out a designated group of prints in which print units corresponding to each job are collected (FIG. 4: step S18). Since the output of this group of printed materials is output based on a series of rasterized data obtained as described above, the output is in the order of the target booklet (when the overall number N is added, the overall The sorting is performed in the order of number N).

With the above, the print output process is completed, and the required number of printouts of the booklet in which the necessary print units are collected are obtained, and the output is performed in the page order of the booklet. The user can easily obtain the desired booklet without mistakes such as missing pages or missing pages by binding the pages in different numbers.

As described above, according to this embodiment, each of a plurality of page description data on which a plurality of print units are based is rasterized, and the resulting rasterized data corresponding to each print unit is obtained. Is merged to obtain a group of rasterized data corresponding to the target booklet, and based on it, print a group of printed materials that collects multiple printing units, so there are few errors such as incorrect pages, missing pages, etc. A group of printed materials can be obtained quickly, and a desired booklet can be easily obtained simply by binding them in the order of output.

Further, a group of printed materials including a print output based on the additional data can be easily obtained based on the group of rasterized data including the additional data. Can easily create the desired booklet.

Further, when the additional data is a serial number throughout, the occurrence of an incorrect page, a missing page, or the like can be easily known.

<2. Modification> In the above embodiment, FIG.
If it is determined in step S11 that the additional data requires correction of the print content, the page description data is rewritten based on the additional data. If not, the additional data rasterized in step S15 is rewritten. Although the present invention is added to the rasterized data, the present invention is not limited to this. Even when the print contents need to be modified, the rasterized additional data may be replaced with the data at the target position of the rasterized data. Good.

In the above embodiment, the printer 30 is used as the printing device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other printing devices such as a digital printer capable of handling rasterized data may be used.

[0057]

As described above, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, each of a plurality of page description data on which a plurality of print units are based is rasterized, and a plurality of page description data obtained thereby are obtained. A group of rasterized data is merged to obtain a group of rasterized data, and based on the merged data, a group of prints is collected and printed out. Can be obtained.

Also, according to the inventions of claims 4 to 6, a group of rasterized data according to the invention of claim 1 can be obtained, and a group of printed matter is output by a printing apparatus based on the data. Can be obtained, so that the same effects as in claims 1 to 3 can be obtained.

Further, according to the second, third, fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, a group of rasterized data including additional data can be obtained, so that an output based on the additional data is included. A group of printed matter can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a print output system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a print output control device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a print output procedure in the print output system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a print output procedure in the print output system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing each printing unit for explaining a serial number.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of print units with serial numbers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of print units with serial numbers.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of print units with serial numbers.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 print output control device 21 data receiving unit (acquisition unit, basic data acquisition unit) 26 rasterization processing unit (rasterization unit) 27 additional data rasterization unit (additional data development unit) 28 merge processing unit (merge unit) 29 data transmission unit ( Transmission means) 30 Printer (printing device) PO Printed matter PU1 to PU3 Print unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A print output method for collecting a plurality of printing units to obtain a group of printed materials, comprising: (a) an obtaining step of obtaining a plurality of page description data on which a plurality of printing units are based; Rasterizing each of the page description data to create a plurality of rasterized data; (c) merging the plurality of rasterized data to obtain a group of rasterized data; and (d) rasterizing the group of rasterized data. An output step of printing out a group of printed materials based on the data. 2. The print output method according to claim 1, further comprising: (e) an additional data expanding step of rasterizing additional data to be added to the group of prints to create expanded additional data. A print output method, wherein the merging step is to obtain the group of rasterized data by merging the plurality of rasterized data and the rasterized additional data. 3. The print output method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining step includes: (a-1) obtaining a plurality of base page description data based on the plurality of page description data. And (a-2) an additional step of obtaining the plurality of page description data by including additional data to be added to the group of printed materials in the plurality of base page description data. Print output method. 4. A print output control device for collecting a plurality of print units to obtain a group of prints, comprising: (a) an obtaining unit for obtaining a plurality of page description data on which the plurality of print units are based; Rasterizing means for rasterizing each of the plurality of page description data to create a plurality of rasterized data; (c) merging means for merging the plurality of rasterized data to obtain a group of rasterized data; (d) A print unit for transmitting a group of rasterized data to the printing apparatus. 5. The print output control device according to claim 4, further comprising: (e) additional data expanding means for rasterizing the additional data to be added to the group of printed materials to create expanded additional data, The print output control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the merging unit merges the plurality of rasterized data and the rasterized additional data to obtain the group of rasterized data. 6. The print output control device according to claim 4, wherein the obtaining unit obtains a plurality of base page description data based on the plurality of page description data. Acquisition means, and (a-2) additional means for obtaining the plurality of page description data by including additional data to be added to the group of printed materials in the plurality of base page description data. Print output control device.