JP7054360B2 - Information processing equipment, its control method, and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program.

In commercial printing, various processes such as folding, saddle stitching, perfect binding, sewing machine processing, surface processing, etc. are performed according to the intended use of the printed matter. In order to process the printed matter accurately, it is necessary to suppress the variation in the position of the printed matter in the post-processing device. For example, in a sheet cutting device, the sheet cutting may vary due to the variation in the placement position of the printed matter. In order to prevent this, the print misalignment detection device of the sheet cutting device corrects the print misalignment based on the mark arranged on the page, so that the sheet can be cut accurately.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for generating coordinate data corresponding to the layout of a printed image even if the layout of the printed image is changed depending on the content of the finishing setting.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-178652

As a pretreatment for the bookbinding process, a cutting wrap that cuts the long side of the printed matter by several millimeters may be performed in the cutting process of the printed matter. The cutting wrap is performed in order to improve the work efficiency of the bookbinding process by making it easier for the operator or the like to grasp one printed matter when the plurality of printed matter is bound one after another.

In the technique of Patent Document 1, since the cutting wrap is not taken into consideration, the mark placed on the first page is cut as a result of performing the cutting wrap on the printed matter, and the post-processing apparatus cannot read the mark correctly. Sometimes.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is an object to create print data including a mark in consideration of cutting by a cutting wrap and to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the post-processing apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configurations. That is, it is an information processing device that generates print data of the bookbinding created by the image forming device and the post-processing device, and after forming the image constituting the bookbinding based on the function of the reading means included in the post-processing device. A calculation means for calculating the cutting amount for the cutting wrap performed on a plurality of sheets of paper, and the post-processing device read by the reading means based on the cutting amount calculated by the calculation means. A specific means for specifying a page on which a mark for control can be arranged is specified from the plurality of sheets of paper, and a generation means for generating print data so as to print the mark on the page specified by the specific means. Has.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the post-processing device on the print data even when the cutting wrap is performed.

The figure which shows the example of the system configuration of the information processing system which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of the hardware composition of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of the software structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. The schematic diagram of the printed matter after the cutting wrap which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of the calculation process of the arrangeable area which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of the print data which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of the device information which concerns on this invention. The flowchart of the whole process which concerns on 1st and 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart of the page identification process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The flowchart of the page identification process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the arrangeable area which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart of the whole process which concerns on 3rd and 4th Embodiment. The flowchart of the area determination process which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the arrangeable area which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the arrangeable area which concerns on 4th Embodiment. The flowchart of the area determination process which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
[Information processing system configuration example]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system according to the present invention. The environment of the entire information processing system in the following description is for facilitating the explanation of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these environments.

In FIG. 1, an information processing device 100, an image forming device 102, a cutting device 103, and a bookbinding device 104 are provided in an information processing system, and are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 101. The image forming device 102, the cutting device 103, and the bookbinding device 104 may be connected so as to form a transport path for transporting the processed article (paper), and the work may be performed between the devices. The structure may be such that the article is transported via a person or another device. Here, a case where an operator manually conveys the output of each device to a device for performing the next step will be described as an example.

The image forming apparatus 102 analyzes print data including a document (image) sent from the information processing apparatus 100, converts it into a dot image page by page, and converts it into a recording medium such as paper (also referred to as “paper” or “sheet”). Print on). As a preprocessing for the bookbinding process, the cutting device 103 cuts the long side of the printed matter after image formation output from the image forming device 102 by several millimeters to perform cutting wrapping. Details of the cutting according to this embodiment will be described later.

The bookbinding device 104 binds the printed matter printed by the image forming device 102. When binding a book, it is assumed that the target printed matter is placed in a predetermined position. The bookbinding device 104 uses an attached code reader (not shown) to read the mark printed in the margin of the top page of the target printed matter or in a position that can be referred from the code reader. Specifications related to the code reader include, for example, a reading range and a reading distance. The specifications of the code reader differ depending on the model attached to the bookbinding device 104. When the bookbinding device 104 receives the request from the information processing device 100, the bookbinding device 104 passes the specifications of the code reader to the information processing device 100 via the network 101.

On the information processing apparatus 100, a program such as a job management program or a Web server for managing the creation of printed matter is operating. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 is equipped with an image forming apparatus 102, a cutting apparatus 103, a printer driver program (not shown) for controlling the bookbinding apparatus 104, and the like. The information processing device 100 generates various jobs according to the bookbinding product and gives an instruction to each device.

Although one information processing device 100 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of information processing devices 100 may be provided. Further, although one image forming device 102, one cutting device 103, and one bookbinding device 104 are shown, the printing system may be configured to include a plurality of devices. Further, the network 101 may be the Internet, and may be configured to access the image forming apparatus 102 from the information processing apparatus 100 via the Internet, for example. Further, in the present embodiment, the cutting device 103 and the bookbinding device 104 are used as the post-processing device, but other post-processing devices may be used.

[Hardware configuration example]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 100 can be configured by, for example, general computer (PC) hardware. In FIG. 2, the CPU 200 executes a program stored in the program ROM in the ROM 202, or a program such as an OS (operating system) or an application program loaded from the external memory 209 into the RAM 201. That is, by executing the program stored in the readable storage medium by the CPU 200, it functions as each processing unit that executes the processing of each flowchart described later.

The RAM 201 is the main memory of the CPU 200 that functions as a volatile storage area, and is used as a work area or the like. The keyboard controller 203 controls operation inputs from the keyboard 207, a barcode reader (not shown), and a pointing device (mouse, touch pad, touch panel, trackball, etc.).

The display controller 204 controls the display of the display 208. The disk controller 205 controls data access to an external memory 209 such as a hard disk (HD) or a flexible disk (FD) for storing various data. The network controller 206 is connected to the network 101 and executes communication control processing with other devices connected to the network. The CPU 200, RAM 201, ROM 202, and each controller are communicably connected via the internal bus 210.

[Software configuration example]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of software that realizes each function of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

The print data storage unit 300 stores print data managed in the information processing apparatus 100. Specifically, the print data storage unit 300 stores the print data that has been transmitted to the image forming apparatus 102 and the print data that is to be sent to the image forming apparatus 102. In the present embodiment, the print data is created in response to an instruction or request from the user.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of print data according to this embodiment. The print data 600 includes a document 601 and a job ticket 602. The document 601 is data indicating an image to be printed, and PDF (Portable Document Form) is generally used as the format in commercial printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an Office (registered trademark) document format or PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language). The format of the document used in the present invention is not particularly limited.

The job ticket 602 describes the layout of imposition, the type of paper used for printing, and printing settings such as double-sided and single-sided. The information regarding the type of paper may include information such as thickness, size, and surface characteristics. The print settings are not particularly limited, although the items and values that can be set differ depending on the function of the image forming apparatus 102. As the job ticket format, a standard such as JDF (Job Definition Format) may be used, or a unique job ticket format may be used. In this embodiment, JDF will be described as an example. Regarding JDF shown as an example, the description of parameters unnecessary for explanation will be omitted.

In JDF, the processing is performed in order from the top. In the case of the example of FIG. 6, the processing is performed in the order of printing shown in description 603, trimming shown in description 604, and binding shown in description 605. In the present embodiment, whether or not the cutting wrap is performed can be determined by confirming the presence or absence of the cutting process of the description 604 and determining whether or not the paper is cut after the printing process before bookbinding.

The description (from description 603 to one before description 604) indicating the setting of the printing process includes description 606 to description 609. Description 606 is paper setting information. Dimensions represent the paper size, and Weight represents the thickness (basis weight) of the paper. Sides of description 607 represent a double-sided / single-sided setting. NumberUp in description 608 represents a multi-imposition setting. In this example, a setting of 1UP is specified. Description 609 represents a file path in which the document to be printed is stored.

The description (from description 604 to one before description 605) indicating the setting of the cutting process includes description 610. Description 610 represents a cutting setting. Wide represents the cutting width. Hight represents the depth of cutting. The cutting depth is a value indicating the position (distance) from the cutting surface to the thickness of the printed matter. The depth of cutting may be described in Height in advance, or if it is not described, the value may be determined by calculating from the job ticket settings.

The description indicating the setting of the bookbinding process (from description 605 to immediately before the last description) includes description 611. Description 611 represents a bookbinding setting.

The print data acquisition unit 301 acquires print data to be processed from the print data storage unit 300. The device information acquisition unit 302 acquires device information in which device specifications are described from the image forming device 102, the cutting device 103, and the bookbinding device 104. The device information may be directly acquired from each device, or may be configured to acquire information that uniquely identifies the device and then inquire device information based on the information. The device information may be configured to be acquired for each part or function of each device.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of device information of the bookbinding device 104. The device information 700 shown in FIG. 7 includes specifications of a code reader (not shown) attached to the bookbinding device 104. In the device information 700, for example, information such as a reading distance of a code reader, a readable range, and a non-printable range is described. The device information that can be acquired from the image forming apparatus 102 describes, for example, information such as a non-printable area on paper. As the data format of the device information, JDF may be used or a unique data format may be used as in the job ticket 602.

The cutting amount calculation unit 303 cuts the printed matter by the cutting wrap based on the imposition layout and paper thickness described in the job ticket 602, the print settings, and the reading distance of the code reader described in the device information. Calculate the amount of cutting. The cutting amount here may be the thickness of the cutting for the printed matter, or may be the number of pages to be cut among the plurality of pages included in the printed matter. Since the printed matter is not necessarily composed of only the same type of paper, when the printed matter includes a plurality of types of paper, the cutting amount is calculated in consideration of the composition.

The page specifying unit 304 specifies a page on which the mark can be arranged based on the cutting amount calculated by the cutting amount calculation unit 303. That is, after cutting the printed matter, the page on which the mark can be placed is specified. The page here corresponds to the surface of the plurality of papers constituting the printed matter, which is located on the reading side of the code reader. The page specifying unit 304 according to this embodiment is not limited to a configuration that specifies only one page. Although detailed description is omitted here, if the print control code such as a color bar or a barcode is not arranged in the margin of the sheet, the page identification unit 304 may arrange the mark on all the pages of the printed matter without any problem. You may consider it. In this case, the configuration may be such that the mark is specified to be placed on all pages. In addition, multiple pages are taken into consideration for operational errors during cutting (for example, when the paper on the specified page is also cut or when the paper located in front of the specified page fails to be cut). May be configured to specify as the page on which the mark is placed. Specifically, the pages included in the paper before and after the paper containing the specified page may also be specified as the page on which the mark is arranged. Further, the page may be specified in consideration of the readability of the mark according to the characteristics of the surface of the paper. Also, regardless of whether or not cutting is performed, the side of the code reader side of the first sheet must be the page on which the mark is placed, and the page on which the mark is placed should be specified from the second and subsequent sheets. It may have a different configuration.

The arrangeable area calculation unit 305 calculates an area in which a mark can be arranged on the page specified by the page identification unit 304. The calculation here is performed based on the cutting lap width, the readable area of the code reader of the bookbinding apparatus 104, the non-printable area of the image forming apparatus 102, and the margin of the sheet described in the job ticket. Further, when there are a plurality of areas where the mark can be placed, the placeable area calculation unit 305 selects the area having the largest area among the plurality of areas as the placeable area so that the reading accuracy of the mark is improved. Here, the case where the reading accuracy is good includes the case where the irradiation area by the light source of the code reader is wide, the case where the reading distance of the code reader is short, and the like. Since the conditions for achieving the highest reading accuracy differ depending on the specifications of the code reader, the area may be selected according to the specifications of the code reader.

The size determination unit 306 determines the size of the mark to be arranged in the arrangeable area. The determination method may be a predefined value or may use the maximum and minimum values of the marks described in the device information 700. Alternatively, a size between the maximum value and the minimum value may be used. Further, one mark may be arranged or a plurality of marks may be arranged. Further, a plurality of types of marks may be defined and selected from among them according to the size of the distributable area and the like.

The placement position determination unit 307 determines the placement position of the mark in the placeable area. The position of the mark may be the center of the placeable area or any of the four corners. Alternatively, it may be determined according to the relationship between the size of the mark determined by the size determination unit 306 and the size of the displaceable area. In the present embodiment, the mark will be described as being arranged in the center of the placeable area. When the placement position is determined, the mark is placed on the target page of the document.

The print data storage unit 308 stores print data including a document in which the mark is arranged in the print data storage unit 300.

[Printed matter with cutting wrap]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a printed matter after cutting and wrapping. FIG. 4 shows a printed matter 400 composed of a plurality of sheets of paper. The cutting wrap cuts the first half of the printed matter (here, a plurality of sheets of paper on the upper side of the printed matter), and does not cut the second half. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in one printed matter 400, short paper and long paper are formed in a certain direction, and a step is generated. When a plurality of printed matter before binding is stacked, such a step makes it easier for a user or a device to grasp one printed matter (multiple sheets of paper) at the time of binding. For example, when the printed matter after the cutting process is transported (transported) to the bookbinding device 104 that performs the next bookbinding process, the cutting wrap is performed so that the printed matter can be easily grasped in the bookbinding unit.

The height 401 represents the height of one printed matter 400. The height of the printed matter 400 can be calculated from the parameters described in the job ticket 602. Specifically, the height 401 can be calculated from the thickness per sheet of the paper constituting the printed matter 400 and the number of sheets. The reading distance 402 represents the reading distance of the code reader included in the bookbinding device 104. Specifically, the distance from the installation position of the code reader to the farthest readable position is shown. The reading distance of the code reader is not limited to this distance, and the position may be defined according to, for example, the focal length. The cutting amount 403 represents the cutting amount in the cutting lap. As described above, the cutting amount is calculated based on the imposition layout and paper thickness described in the job ticket 602, the print settings, and the reading distance of the code reader described in the device information. As described above, when the printed matter contains a plurality of types of paper, the cutting amount may be determined in consideration of the thickness of each type of paper and the arrangement thereof.

Page 404 represents a page identified based on the discretionary discretion 403. Page 404 is illuminated with the reading light source of the code reader of the bookbinding device 104. In the present embodiment, the code reader is provided with a light source (not shown), and the reading target is irradiated with light from the light source to perform reading. Area 405 indicates an area on page 404 where marks can be placed. A mark to be read by a code reader is arranged in this area 405.

The cutting wrap width 406 represents the width of the paper cut by the cutting process. Generally, the cutting lap width 406 is preferably 10 mm, but it may be other than 10 mm. In some cases, the short side is cut instead of the long side. Whether to cut the long side or the short side, or both, depends on the purpose of use when the printed matter is stacked flat.

[flowchart]
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the entire process according to the present embodiment. The program corresponding to this processing flow is stored in the ROM 202 of the information processing apparatus 100 or the external memory 209, is read out by the RAM 201, and is executed by the CPU 200 to realize the main processing flow.

In S801, the print data acquisition unit 301 acquires print data to be printed from the print data storage unit 300.

In S802, the device information acquisition unit 302 acquires each device information from the image forming apparatus 102, the cutting apparatus 103, and the bookbinding apparatus 104.

In S803, the page specifying unit 304 determines whether or not the printed paper is cut before binding. Specifically, the page specifying unit 304 confirms the job ticket 602 and confirms whether the cutting process (description 604) is between the printing process (description 603) and the bookbinding process (description 605). When there is a cutting process between the printing process and the bookbinding process, the page specifying unit 304 determines that there is a cutting wrap in the print data 600. If it is cut (YES in S803), it proceeds to S804, and if it is not cut (NO in S803), it proceeds to S805.

Page identification processing is performed in S804. The processing here will be described later with reference to FIG. After this step, the process proceeds to S805.

In S805, the size determination unit 306 determines the size of the mark to be arranged. When the processing of S804 is performed, the size of the mark to be arranged in the displaceable area calculated in S804 is determined. On the other hand, when the processing of S804 is not performed, the mark is arranged on the surface (page) on the code reader side of the first sheet, and for example, a predetermined size may be used. That is, the size determination method may be changed depending on whether or not S804 has been performed.

In S806, the arrangement position determination unit 307 determines the arrangement position of the mark. When the processing of S804 is performed, the placement position in the placeable area may be determined according to the size of the placeable area calculated in S804 and the size of the mark to be placed. On the other hand, when the processing of S804 is not performed, it may be, for example, a predetermined position. That is, the method of determining the mark placement position may be changed depending on whether or not S804 has been performed.

In S807, the print data storage unit 308 stores the print data including the document on which the mark is arranged in the print data storage unit 300. Then, this processing flow is terminated.

(Page identification process)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the page specifying process according to the present embodiment. This process corresponds to the process of S804 in FIG.

In S901, the cutting amount calculation unit 303 calculates the cutting amount. The calculation here is described in the imposition layout (description 608) described in the job ticket 602 in the print data 600, the paper thickness (description 606), the print settings (description 607), and the device information 700. It is performed based on the reading distance 701 of the code reader.

Specifically, first, the cutting amount calculation unit 303 calculates the height of the printed matter. The height of the printed matter (corresponding to the height 401 in FIG. 4) is obtained by multiplying the number of sheets to be printed by the thickness of the sheets. The number of sheets to be printed is calculated by the number of pages of the document ÷ the layout of the imposition ÷ the print setting. Therefore, the formula for calculating the height of the printed matter is
(Number of document pages ÷ Imposition layout ÷ Print settings) × Paper thickness. For example, when a 4-page document is impositioned on 2 UP and printed on one side, (4/2/2) = 2 and the number of sheets is 2. The height of the printed matter can be obtained by multiplying this by the thickness of the paper. Here, the numbers after the decimal point are rounded up.

Next, starting from the maximum value of the height of the printed matter (corresponding to the top paper of the printed matter), the cutting discretion range is up to the maximum value of the reading distance of the code reader (the value having the highest depth). The cutting amount is determined so that there is a step in the printed matter within the cutting amount range. In this embodiment, a value that is half of the range of the cutting amount is adopted as the cutting amount. The minimum value in the range of the cutting amount corresponds to the position of the top paper, and the cutting is not performed. Therefore, it cannot be selected as the cutting amount value.

In S902, the page specifying unit 304 specifies the page on which the mark is placed based on the cutting amount calculated in S901. If the processing of S804 has not been performed, the mark will be placed on the side (page) of the top sheet of the printed matter on the code reader side.

In S903, the placeable area calculation unit 305 calculates the area where the mark can be placed on the page specified in S902. Specifically, the cutting lap width described in the job ticket, the imposition layout, the sheet margin, the readable area described in the device information of the bookbinding device 104, and the printing described in the device information of the image forming device 102. The displaceable area is calculated based on the non-possible area.

The calculation process of the displaceable area will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the placed printed matter 500 as viewed from above. On the printed matter 500 of FIG. 5A, the margin 501 of the sheet and the cutting lap width 502 are shown by arrows, respectively. Further, the arrangable area 503 is indicated by diagonal lines. Further, an area 504 on which the printed image is printed is shown.

First, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 subtracts the manuscript size of the document 601 from the divisions of the paper setting information shown in the description 606 of the job ticket 602 to obtain the margin of the sheet (paper). The sheet margin obtained here is the length (width) of the margin 501 in FIG. Next, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 refers to the wise of the description 610 of the job ticket 602 and acquires the cutting lap width. The cutting lap width acquired here corresponds to the cutting lap width 502 of FIG. The arrangeable area calculation unit 305 subtracts the cutting lap width 502 from the margin 501 of the sheet to obtain the lateral length (width) of the arrangeable area 1503.

Further, the distributable area calculation unit 305 acquires the readable range 702 of the device information 700 shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 5, when the readable range 702 is illustrated, it is the readable range 505 represented by the dotted line. Here, the range is specified with reference to the upper right end of the printed matter 500. The arrangeable area calculation unit 305 narrows the area of the arrangeable area 503 so as to be within the readable range 505. As a result, the distributable area 503 becomes the displaceable area 506 as shown in FIG. 5 (b).

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5C, the displaceable area calculation unit 305 calculates the displaceable area 508 by subtracting the non-printable area 507 of the image forming apparatus 102 from the displaceable area 506. As described above, the non-printable area 507 is acquired from the device information of the image forming apparatus 102.

As described above, the system according to the present embodiment identifies the page on which the mark is placed from the print data document and places the mark on the document. This makes it possible to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the code reader of the bookbinding device 104.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, a mode for specifying a page on which a mark is placed has been described. On the other hand, even when the cutting wrap is performed, the mark may be placed on the first page. For example, when the margin of the sheet is larger than the cutting lap width. Since the reading distance of the code reader of the bookbinding device 104 is shorter on the first page, it is expected that the reading accuracy by the code reader will be improved. Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, first, the first page is referred to to confirm whether or not the mark can be arranged. Then, when the mark cannot be arranged, a form of arranging the mark on another page will be described.

The parts common to the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be omitted or simplified, and the differences will be mainly described. The basic processing flow is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, but the content of the page specifying processing is different from that of the first embodiment.

(Page identification process)
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the page specifying process according to the present embodiment.

In S1001, the page specifying unit 304 refers to the margin and the cutting lap width of the sheet described in the job ticket 602, and determines whether or not the margin is larger than the cutting wrap width. If the margin is larger than the cutting lap width (YES in S1001), the process proceeds to S1002, and if it is equal to or less than the cutting lap width (NO in S1001), the process proceeds to S901. Since the processing after S901 is the same as the content described with reference to FIG. 9 in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

In S1002, the page specifying unit 304 sets an area obtained by removing the cutting lap width from the margin of the sheet of the first page as a displaceable area. Then, this processing flow is terminated.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a distributable area according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the first page when the printed matter 1100 is viewed from above. The sheet margin 1102 and the cutting lap width 1103 are indicated by arrows, respectively. Further, the area 1104 on which the printed image is printed is shown. Further, a print management code 1105 such as a color bar or a bar code is printed in the margin portion on the top side of the printed matter. The range indicated by the dotted line 1106 is the readable range of the code reader of the bookbinding apparatus 104. Within the dotted line 1106, the code reader of the bookbinding apparatus 104 can read the mark. Further, a non-printable range 1107, which is a range that cannot be printed by the image forming apparatus 102, is shown. In the above, the printable area 1101 is defined. The horizontal length of the printable area is the length obtained by subtracting the cutting wrap width 1103 from the margin 1102 of the sheet.

In the example of FIG. 11, the margin portion on the side where the print control code 1105 is arranged is not included in the printable area for the print control code 1105 to exist. However, when the print control code 1105 does not exist, the margin area may also be treated as a printable area.

As described above, as a result of specifying the page on which the mark is placed from the print data document, it is determined whether or not there is an area where the mark can be placed on the first page. Then, when an area that can be arranged is found, the mark is arranged in the document after confirming whether the mark can be arranged on the first page where the reading distance of the code reader of the bookbinding device 104 is short. This makes it possible to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the code reader of the bookbinding device 104.

<Third embodiment>
In the first embodiment, a mode for specifying a page on which a mark is placed has been described. On the other hand, when performing cutting wrapping, the edge side of the printed matter may be cut, and then the top side of the printed matter may be further cut. This is done, for example, to make the steps of the printed matter clearer. Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, a mode in which one displaceable area is selected from a plurality of displaceable areas after specifying a page will be described.

The parts common to the first embodiment and the third embodiment will be omitted or simplified, and the differences will be mainly described.

[Example of multiple arrangeable areas]
In FIG. 14, the distributable area 1400 indicates an displaceable area formed on the top side of the printed matter. The distributable area 1401 indicates an displaceable area formed on the edge side of the printed matter. The non-printable area 1402 indicates a non-printable area of the image forming apparatus 102. The range indicated by the dotted line 1403 represents the readable range of the code reader of the bookbinding apparatus 104. Margins 1404 and 1406 represent the margins on the edge side and the top side of the sheet, respectively. The cutting width 1405 and the cutting width 1407 represent the cutting lap widths on the edge side and the top side of the sheet, respectively. Area 1408 indicates an area on which a printed image is printed. In the example of FIG. 14, the area located in the upper right corner is treated as the margin on the edge side, but this portion may be treated as the margin on the top side, which is different from the margin on the edge side and the top side. It may be treated as an area.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the entire process according to the present embodiment. The basic processing flow is the same as the flowchart described with reference to FIG. 8 in the first embodiment, but the point is that the area determination processing (S1201) is performed after the page specifying processing of S804. It's a difference. The details of the region determination process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

(Area determination process)
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the area determination process is performed when a plurality of displaceable areas are found in the page specifying process. In the example of FIG. 14, two displaceable areas are found on the edge side and the top side of the printed matter.

In S1301, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 refers to the arrangeable area calculated in S804, and determines whether or not there are a plurality of arrangeable areas. If there are a plurality of displaceable areas (YES in S1301), the process proceeds to S1302, and if there is only one area (NO in S1301), the process proceeds to S1303. As shown in FIG. 14, the plurality of displaceable areas here may be treated as different displaceable areas on the edge side and different side areas on the top side, or may be treated as different displaceable areas, or may be dissimilar displaceable areas. May be treated as a plurality of displaceable areas.

In S1302, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 calculates the area by multiplying each of the plurality of arrangeable areas by the vertical size and the horizontal size of the arrangeable area. Then, the distributable area calculation unit 305 selects the displaceable area having the largest area from the plurality of displaceable areas. At this time, a threshold value may be set for each of the vertical size and the horizontal size of the displaceable area, and the displaceable area having a size equal to or less than this threshold value may not be selected. Then, this processing flow is terminated.

In S1303, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 selects one calculated arrangeable area. Then, this processing flow is terminated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even if a plurality of areas are found as a result of specifying the page on which the mark is placed from the print data document, the area having the largest area is selected and the mark is placed on the document. .. This makes it possible to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the code reader of the bookbinding device 104.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, first, the first page of the printed matter is referred to to confirm whether or not the mark can be placed, and if the mark cannot be placed, the mark is placed on another page. On the other hand, as described in the third embodiment, when performing the cutting wrap, the edge side of the printed matter may be cut and then the top side of the printed matter may be further cut. Therefore, as a fourth embodiment, a mode is described in which it is confirmed whether the mark can be placed in the placeable area on the first page, and when the mark cannot be placed, one placeable area is selected from a plurality of other placeable areas. do. The parts common to the above embodiments will be omitted or simplified, and the differences will be mainly described here.

[Example of multiple arrangeable areas]
In FIG. 15, the displaceable area 1500 and the distributable area 1501 indicate the displaceable area specified on a page other than the first page after cutting. On the other hand, the displaceable area 1503 is the displaceable area specified on the first page. The range indicated by the dotted line 1504 represents the readable range of the code reader of the bookbinding device 104. Further, the dotted line 1502 indicates a cutting position in the cutting process, and is a position where a step is generated. Area 1505 indicates an area on which a printed image is printed. Margins 1507 and 1509 represent the margins on the edge side and the top side of the sheet, respectively. The cutting width 1506 and the cutting width 1508 represent the cutting lap widths on the edge side and the top side of the sheet, respectively.

In the present embodiment, first, it is verified whether or not the mark can be arranged in the arrangeable area 1503 specified on the first page. Then, when the mark cannot be placed in the placeable area 1503, it is confirmed whether the mark can be placed in the placeable area 1500 or the placeable area 1501 specified on a page other than the first page.

[Area determination process]
Since the flow of the entire process is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 12 in the third embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, the content of the region determination process shown in S1201 of FIG. 12 is different from that of the third embodiment. The flow of the region determination process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In S1601, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 determines whether or not there is an arrangeable area on the first page. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the displaceable region 1503 shown in FIG. 15 exists. If there is an area that can be arranged on the first page (YES in S1601), the process proceeds to S1602, and if not, the process proceeds to S1301 (NO in S1601).

In S1602, the arrangeable area calculation unit 305 confirms whether or not there is an area sufficient for arranging the mark in the arrangeable area on the first page. The area where the mark can be placed here may be determined by setting a threshold value in advance and comparing whether or not the placeable area on the first page is equal to or larger than the threshold value. If the mark can be placed (YES in S1602), the process proceeds to S1303, and if the mark cannot be placed (NO in S1602), the process proceeds to S1301. If the mark cannot be placed in the placeable area on the first page, the placeable area on a page other than the first page is used. Since the subsequent processing is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 13, the description here will be omitted.

As described above, as a result of specifying the page on which the mark is placed from the print data document, it is determined whether or not there is an area where the mark can be placed on the first page. If there is an area that can be arranged, the mark is arranged in the document after confirming whether the mark can be arranged on the first page where the reading distance of the code reader of the bookbinding apparatus 104 is short. This makes it possible to improve the reading accuracy of the mark by the code reader of the bookbinding device 104.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or an apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or the apparatus read and execute the program. But it is feasible. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

100 ... Information processing device, 101 ... Network, 102 ... Image forming device, 103 ... Cutting device, 104 ... Bookbinding device, 600 ... Print data, 700 ... Device information

Claims (14)

An information processing device that generates genuine print data created by an image forming device and a post-processing device.
Based on the function of the reading means provided in the post-processing device, a calculation means for calculating the cutting amount for the cutting wrap performed on a plurality of sheets of paper after image formation constituting the bookbinding, and a calculation means.
A specific means for specifying a page on which a mark for controlling the post-processing device read by the reading means can be arranged based on the cutting amount calculated by the calculating means from the plurality of sheets of paper. When,
An information processing apparatus comprising: a generation means for generating print data so as to print the mark on a page specified by the specific means. Based on the function of the reading means, it further has a determining means for determining a region where the mark can be placed on the page specified by the specific means.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation means generates print data so as to print the mark in an area determined by the determination means. The determining means further determines whether or not there are a plurality of areas in which the mark can be placed.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when there are a plurality of areas in which the mark can be arranged, the largest area among the plurality of areas is determined as the area in which the mark is arranged. .. Further having a means for acquiring device information indicating the function of the image forming apparatus,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the determination means determines a region in which the mark can be arranged based on device information indicating a function of the image forming apparatus. The device information indicating the function of the image forming apparatus includes information indicating a printable range of the image forming apparatus with respect to the paper.
The fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the determination means determines an area in which the mark can be placed on a page specified by the specific means based on a printable range and a margin position by the image forming apparatus. The information processing device described. The invention according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising means for determining at least one of the mark size and the arrangement position in the region according to the size of the region determined by the determination means. The information processing device described. Further having a means for acquiring device information indicating the function of the post-processing device,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the device information includes information in a range in which the reading means can read the mark on paper. The calculation means according to claim 1 to 7, wherein the calculation means calculates the cutting amount based on the print setting, the types of the plurality of sheets constituting the bookbinding, and the function of the reading means. The information processing device according to any one of the items. The specific means determines whether or not the mark can be printed on the first page of a plurality of sheets constituting the bookbinding product.
If it is determined that the mark can be printed on the first page, the first page is specified as a page on which the mark can be printed.
The present invention according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein when it is determined that the mark cannot be printed on the first page, the page on which the mark can be printed is specified from other than the first page. Information processing equipment. The specific means specifies a page specified based on the cutting amount calculated by the calculation means and a page on a sheet of paper located before and after the certain sheet as a page on which the mark can be printed. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the information processing apparatus is to be used. Further having a means for determining whether or not cutting for cutting wrap is performed on a plurality of sheets of paper after forming an image constituting the bookbinding.
15. The information processing device according to any one of the items. It is a control method of an information processing device that generates real print data of bookbinding created by an image forming device and a post-processing device.
A calculation step for calculating the cutting amount for the cutting wrap performed on a plurality of sheets of paper after forming an image constituting the bookbinding based on the function of the reading means provided in the post-processing device.
Based on the cutting amount calculated in the calculation step, a specific step of specifying a page on which a mark for controlling the post-processing device read by the reading means can be arranged is specified from the plurality of sheets of paper. When,
A control method comprising a generation step of generating print data so as to print the mark on a page specified in the specific step. Further, it has a determination step of determining a region in which the mark can be placed on the page specified in the specific step based on the function of the reading means.
The control method according to claim 12, wherein in the generation step, print data is generated so as to print the mark in the area determined in the determination step. A computer that generates genuine print data created by image forming equipment and post-processing equipment.
A calculation means for calculating a cutting amount for a cutting wrap performed on a plurality of sheets of paper after image formation constituting the bookbinding based on the function of the reading means provided in the post-processing device.
A specific means for specifying a page on which a mark for controlling the post-processing device read by the reading means can be arranged based on the cutting amount calculated by the calculating means from the plurality of sheets of paper. ,
A program for functioning as a generation means for generating print data so as to print the mark on a page specified by the specific means.

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