Control device, recording medium, and printing device

Abstract

The present invention provides a control device, a recording medium and a printing device, which can print information related to a job printed on a continuous paper, i.e., printing information, on a printing surface that can be visually observed by a user when the continuous paper is wound, regardless of the winding direction of the continuous paper. The control device (10) determines the visual surface of the continuous paper (8) based on the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper (8), and controls the printing device (2) to print the printing information (3) on the visual surface of the continuous paper (8).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a recording medium and a printing device. Background Art

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a printing system, which includes: a printing unit, which prints information related to the printing results of multiple pages on continuous paper after the multiple pages when printing information including multiple pages is printed; a storage unit, which stores the continuous paper printed by the printing unit in the same order as the order of printing by the printing unit; a paper supply unit, which supplies the printed continuous paper stored by the storage unit in the reverse order of the order of printing by the printing unit; a reading unit, which reads the information related to the printing result printed on the continuous paper supplied by the paper supply unit; and a post-processing unit, which performs post-processing on the continuous paper supplied by the paper supply unit based on the information related to the printing result read by the reading unit.

[0003] [Prior art literature]

[0004] [Patent Document]

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-191215 Summary of the invention

[0006] [Problems to be solved by the invention]

[0007] For example, continuous paper is used when printing printed materials such as magazines and newspapers. After the printed materials are printed on the continuous paper with a specified binding, post-processing such as cutting, folding, and binding is performed to complete the printed materials.

[0008] The printing device for printing on the continuous paper and the processing device for post-processing are sometimes independent devices and are installed in physically separated places. Therefore, the operator or other users have to use a trolley or the like to carry the printed continuous paper wound into a concentric circle in the printing device to the storage place of the continuous paper. Then, according to the production plan of the printed matter, the user sets the designated printed continuous paper to the processing device to generate the printed matter.

[0009] Therefore, print information indicating the content of the printed matter printed on the continuous paper is printed on the continuous paper wound in a concentric circle shape so that the user can easily confirm what kind of printed matter is printed on the continuous paper.

[0010] However, depending on the winding direction of the printed continuous paper in the printing device, the printed surface of the printed information may become the inner surface of the continuous paper wound in a concentric circle, and the user can only observe the appearance of the continuous paper and cannot confirm the content of the printed matter printed on the continuous paper.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a control device, a recording medium and a printing device, which can print information related to a job printed on the continuous paper, i.e., printing information, on a printing surface that can be visually observed by a user when the continuous paper is wound, regardless of the winding direction of the continuous paper.

[0012] [Technical means to solve the problem]

[0013] The control device of the first scheme includes a processor, which obtains information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper, determines a visual surface according to the winding direction of the continuous paper, and the visual surface is the surface of the continuous paper visually observed by the user when the continuous paper is in a wound state; and controls a printing device to print printing information on the visual surface, wherein the printing information is information related to a job printed on the continuous paper.

[0014] The control device according to a second aspect is the control device according to the first aspect, wherein the processor acquires information on the winding direction of the continuous paper after receiving a print instruction of the job from a user and before performing print control based on the print instruction.

[0015] A control device according to a third aspect is the control device according to the second aspect, wherein the processor controls the printing device to print the print information on both sides of the continuous paper when the processor fails to acquire information on the winding direction of the continuous paper.

[0016] The control device of the fourth scheme is a control device according to any one of the first scheme to the third scheme, wherein the processor performs the following control, namely: accepting a designated instruction for specifying a printing surface of the printing information, and outputting a warning when the printing surface of the printing information specified by the designated instruction is different from the visual surface of the continuous paper.

[0017] The control device of the fifth scheme is a control device according to the fourth scheme, wherein the processor receives a re-designation instruction for re-designating the printing surface of the printing information after outputting the warning, and controls the printing device to print the printing information on the printing surface designated by the re-designation instruction.

[0018] The control device of the sixth scheme is a control device according to any one of the first to fifth schemes, wherein the processor controls the printing device to print the print information on a recording medium different from the continuous paper when the print destination of the print information is not the continuous paper.

[0019] The control device of the seventh aspect is the control device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the processor performs the following control, namely: further acquiring the information of the continuous paper and changing the printing destination of the printing information according to the type of the continuous paper.

[0020] The control device according to an eighth aspect is the control device according to the seventh aspect, wherein the processor controls the printing device to print the print information on a recording medium different from the continuous paper when information other than the job has been printed on the continuous paper in advance.

[0021] The recording medium of the ninth scheme records a control program for causing a computer to perform the following processing: obtaining information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper, determining a visual surface according to the winding direction of the continuous paper, wherein the visual surface is the surface of the continuous paper visually observed by a user when the continuous paper is wound, and controlling a printing device to print printing information on the visual surface, wherein the printing information is information related to a job printed on the continuous paper.

[0022] A printing device according to a tenth aspect includes the control device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, and prints printing information on a printing surface of a continuous paper designated by the control device, the printing information being information related to a job to be printed on the continuous paper.

[0023] [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the first, ninth and tenth schemes, the following effect is achieved, namely, regardless of the winding direction of the continuous paper, information related to the job printed on the continuous paper, i.e., printing information, can be printed on the printing surface that can be visually observed by the user when the continuous paper is wound.

[0025] According to the second aspect, there is an effect that the printing surface of the continuous paper on which the print information is to be printed can be determined before the print control based on the print instruction is performed.

[0026] According to the third aspect, even when the information on the winding direction of the continuous paper cannot be acquired, the user can check the print information in the state where the continuous paper is wound.

[0027] According to the fourth aspect, there is an effect that the user can be notified that the print information is to be printed on a printing surface different from the visible surface of the continuous paper.

[0028] According to the fifth aspect, even after the printing side of the print information is designated, if the designated printing side is not the visible side of the continuous paper, the user can be provided with an opportunity to change the printing side of the print information.

[0029] According to the sixth aspect, there is an effect that, even when there is a situation where the print information cannot be printed on the continuous paper, the print information can be presented to the user.

[0030] According to the seventh aspect, there is an effect that, even when the user does not know the type of the continuous paper, the print information can be printed to a printing destination suitable for the type of the continuous paper.

[0031] According to the eighth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to avoid duplication of print information with information other than the print job that has been previously printed on the continuous paper. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of a printing system.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing a printing example of the printed content printed on continuous paper.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of printing information.

[0035] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a printing example in which printed information is hidden on the back side of the visible surface of the continuous paper.

[0036] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing another printing example in which printed information is hidden on the back side of the visible surface of the continuous paper.

[0037] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of an electrical system in a printing device.

[0038] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing an example of a printing process for automatically switching the printing surface of print information.

[0039] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of a designated screen.

[0040] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing an example of printing processing when the printing surface of the print information is designated as one of the sides.

[0041] Fig.10 This is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen.

[0042] Fig.11 This is a diagram showing an example of pre-printing continuous paper.

[0043] Fig.12 This is a flowchart showing an example of a printing process for automatically switching the printing surface of print information in consideration of the type of continuous paper.

[0044] Fig.13 This is a diagram showing an example of a change screen.

[0045] Fig.14 This is a flowchart showing an example of a printing process for determining the printing surface of the print information while taking the type of continuous paper into consideration when the printing surface of the print information is designated as one of the sides.

[0046] Fig.15 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of pre-printing continuous paper.

[0047] [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 1: Printing system

[0049] 2: Printing device

[0050] 3: Printing information

[0051] 4: Hangtag printing device

[0052] 5: Specify the screen

[0053] 6: Communication lines

[0054] 7: Confirmation screen

[0055] 8: Continuous paper

[0056] 8A: Pre-printed continuous paper

[0057] 9: Change screen

[0058] 10 Control device

[0059] 11: Communication unit

[0060] 12: UI Unit

[0061] 13: Paper feeding unit

[0062] 14: Printing unit

[0063] 15: Containment Unit

[0064] 16: Paper feed roller

[0065] 17: Collection roller

[0066] 18: Printing Engine

[0067] 18A: Surface printing engine

[0068] 18B: Back printing engine

[0069] 19A~19G: Transport roller

[0070] 20: Computer

[0071] 21: CPU

[0072] 22: ROM

[0073] 23: RAM

[0074] 24: Non-volatile memory

[0075] 25: I / O

[0076] 26: Bus

[0077] 30: Radio Button

[0078] AR1(AR2): Arrow DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same components and the same processes in all the drawings, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0080] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a printing system 1 according to the present embodiment. Figure 1 As shown, the printing system 1 includes a printing device 2 and a hang tag printing device 4 , and the printing device 2 and the hang tag printing device 4 are connected via a communication line 6 .

[0081] The printing device 2 includes a paper feed unit 13 that feeds recording media, a printing unit 14 that prints images or text on the recording media fed from the paper feed unit 13 , and a storage unit 15 that stores the recording media on which images or text are printed by the printing unit 14 .

[0082] In the printing device 2 , a continuous long paper (referred to as “continuous paper 8 ”) is used as a recording medium.

[0083] The paper supply unit 13 is a unit that supplies the continuous paper 8 to the printing unit 14, and includes, for example, a paper supply roller 16, a conveying roller 19A, and a conveying roller 19B. The continuous paper 8 is mounted on the paper supply roller 16 in the form of a so-called roll that is wound concentrically along the longitudinal direction, for example, and the conveying rollers 19A and 19B sandwich one end of the continuous paper 8 in the gap while conveying the continuous paper 8 to the printing unit 14. As a result, the paper supply roller 16 rotates in the direction of arrow AR1 (clockwise), and the continuous paper 8 mounted on the paper supply roller 16 is rotated along the longitudinal direction ( Figure 1 The X direction) is transported.

[0084] The printing unit 14 is a unit that prints an image or text designated by a user in a designated color on the continuous paper 8 conveyed from the paper feeding unit 13 , and includes, for example, a printing engine 18 and conveying rollers 19C and 19D.

[0085] The printing engine 18 includes a front printing engine 18A and a back printing engine 18B. The front printing engine 18A prints the image or text specified by the user in a specified color on one side of the continuous paper 8. The back printing engine 18B prints the image or text specified by the user in a specified color on the other side of the continuous paper 8.

[0086] In addition, the front and back of the continuous paper 8 are defined for the convenience of explanation, and any printed surface of the continuous paper 8 can be treated as the surface. As an example, in this embodiment, the printed surface printed by the front printing engine 18A is called the "front of the continuous paper 8", and the printed surface printed by the back printing engine 18B is called the "back of the continuous paper 8".

[0087] The front printing engine 18A and the back printing engine 18B may use any printing method, for example, an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

[0088] The conveying rollers 19C and 19D convey the continuous paper 8 to the storage unit 15 while sandwiching the continuous paper 8 in the gap so that the conveyed continuous paper 8 does not become loose.

[0089] The storage unit 15 is a unit that winds up the continuous paper 8 printed by the printing unit 14 , and includes, for example, a storage roller 17 and conveyance rollers 19E, 19F, and 19G.

[0090] One end of the conveyed continuous paper 8 is mounted on the receiving roller 17, and the receiving roller 17 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow AR1 by, for example, a driving member (not shown), whereby the printed continuous paper 8 is concentrically wound around the receiving roller 17 and received in the receiving unit 15. The receiving roller 17 can also rotate in the direction opposite to the arrow AR1, and the rotation direction of the receiving roller 17, i.e., the winding direction of the continuous paper 8, is selected according to the setting of the printing device 2.

[0091] In addition, arrow AR1 indicates the rotation direction when viewing the side (reference side) of the printing device 2 located on the right side of the continuous paper 8 from the reference side along the rotation axis direction of the receiving roller 17 when viewing the downstream along the X direction from the upstream in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper 8. When viewing the receiving roller 17 from the side opposite to the reference side, the receiving roller 17 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow AR1 (counterclockwise direction), but in the present embodiment, the rotation direction of the receiving roller 17 is indicated by the rotation direction when viewing from the reference side.

[0092] In order to prevent the conveyed continuous paper 8 from being wound around the receiving roller 17 in a loose state, the conveying rollers 19E, 19F and 19G apply tension to the continuous paper 8 and adjust the conveying position of the continuous paper 8 so that the position of the end of the continuous paper 8 wound around the receiving roller 17 along the long strip direction is aligned.

[0093] The processing of the printing device 2 that performs such operations is controlled by the control device 10 . Figure 1 In the illustrated configuration example of the printing device 2, the control device 10 is included in the storage unit 15, but the installation position of the control device 10 is not limited, and it may be installed in the paper supply unit 13 or in the printing unit 14. Furthermore, the control device 10 does not necessarily need to be included in the printing device 2, and may be an independent device different from the printing device 2.

[0094] The control device 10 and the hang tag printing device 4 are connected via a communication line 6 , and the control device 10 may request the hang tag printing device 4 to print a hang tag based on the setting contents in the printing device 2 .

[0095] The so-called “hang tag” is a recording medium attached to the continuous paper 8 , and the hang tag has printed information 3 indicating the content of the printed matter printed on the continuous paper 8 by the printing device 2 as described later.

[0096] The hang tag printing device 4 prints the print information 3 instructed by the control device 10 on a recording medium to generate a hang tag.

[0097] Unlike the printing device 2 , the hang tag printing device 4 uses cut paper cut into a predetermined size such as A4 or A3 as a recording medium to generate a hang tag of a size that is easily attached to the continuous paper 8 .

[0098] The communication line 6 connecting the control device 10 and the tag printing device 4 can be a wired line, a wireless line, or a line in which both wired and wireless lines exist in combination. Furthermore, the communication line 6 can be a dedicated line such as a local area network (LAN) within a company, or a public line such as the Internet that is shared with a non-specific majority of users.

[0099] As an example, Figure 1 Although the communication line 6 is shown with the printer 2 and the hangtag printer 4 connected, a device other than the printer 2 and the hangtag printer 4 (referred to as an “external device”) may be connected to the communication line 6 .

[0100] Furthermore, a UI unit 12 is connected to the control device 10. The UI unit 12 is a unit that provides an interface between the printing device 2 and a user, receives instructions from the user, and notifies the user of the processing status in the printing device 2.

[0101] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing an example of printing of printed contents printed on continuous paper 8 by the printing device 2. The control device 10 of the printing device 2 controls the printing device 2 according to the preset imprinting information so as to print the printed contents on the continuous paper 8. Such printed contents or imprinting information are managed as jobs in the printing device 2. That is, the so-called job is a printing management body that manages information related to printing, such as the file name of the printing data, the printed contents, and imprinting information, and exists for each printed matter printed by the printing device 2.

[0102] exist Figure 2 In the printing example shown, the main text assigned to the surface is printed on the surface of the continuous paper 8 (referred to as the "main text surface"), and the main text assigned to the back side of the text surface is printed on the back side of the continuous paper 8 (referred to as the "main text back side").

[0103] Meanwhile, the control device 10 prints the print information 3 , which is information on the job of the printed matter printed on the continuous paper 8 , in the final area of ​​the continuous paper 8 so that the user can easily confirm what kind of printed matter is printed on the continuous paper 8 .

[0104] Figure 3 3 is a diagram showing an example of the printing information 3. The printing information 3 includes, for example, information such as the document name of the printed matter printed on the continuous paper 8, the number of pages of the printed matter, the number of copies of the printed matter, and the printing time required for printing the printed matter. The information printed in the printing information 3 may be any information as long as it is information related to the job of printing the printed matter on the continuous paper 8, and may include, for example, information required for managing the continuous paper 8 such as an identification number for identifying the continuous paper 8, and information related to the user in charge of printing the continuous paper 8.

[0105] Furthermore, the final area of ​​the continuous paper 8 refers to the area of ​​the last turn of the continuous paper 8 wound by the receiving roller 17 along the longitudinal direction. The control device 10 controls the printing device 2 to print the printing information 3 on the final area of ​​the printing surface of the continuous paper 8 specified by the user, thereby, even if the continuous paper 8 is wound in a concentric circle shape, the printing information 3 is displayed on the side of the continuous paper 8, so that the user can confirm the printing information 3.

[0106] However, when the print information 3 is printed on the printing surface of the continuous paper 8 instructed by the user, there may be a situation where the user cannot check the print information 3 .

[0107] For example, Figure 4 As shown, when the print information 3 is printed on the back side of the continuous paper 8 according to the user's instructions, and when one end of the continuous paper 8 is wound around the receiving roller 17 from above the receiving roller 17, the receiving roller 17 is rotated in the direction of the arrow AR1 to wind the continuous paper 8, the print information 3 will be hidden on the back side of the printed surface of the continuous paper 8 (referred to as the "visible surface") that can be visually observed by the user even when the continuous paper 8 is wound around the receiving roller 17.

[0108] Moreover, if Figure 5 As shown, when the printed information 3 is printed on the surface of the continuous paper 8 according to the user's instructions, and when one end of the continuous paper 8 is wound around the receiving roller 17 from under the receiving roller 17 and the receiving roller 17 is rotated in the direction of arrow AR2 to wind up the continuous paper 8, the printed information 3 will also be hidden on the back side of the visible surface of the continuous paper 8.

[0109] If in Figure 4 The printed information 3 is printed on the surface of the continuous paper 8 under the condition of Figure 5 If the printed information 3 is printed on the back side of the continuous paper 8 under the condition of being wound in a concentric circle, the printed information 3 will be printed on the visual surface of the continuous paper 8. Therefore, the control device 10 obtains information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 and controls the printing device 2 to print the printed information 3 on the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 wound in a concentric circle.

[0110] In addition, Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , after one end of the continuous paper 8 is wound around the receiving roller 17 from above the receiving roller 17, the receiving roller 17 is rotated clockwise to wind up the continuous paper 8. This is called "winding up the continuous paper 8". Figure 5 As shown, after one end of the continuous paper 8 is wound around the receiving roller 17 from below the receiving roller 17, the receiving roller 17 is rotated counterclockwise to wind up the continuous paper 8, which is called "winding up the continuous paper 8".

[0111] The details of the printing process of the print information 3 executed by the control device 10 will be described later.

[0112] Next, a configuration example of a main part of the electrical system in the printing device 2 will be described.

[0113] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of an electrical system in the printing device 2. The control device 10 in the printing device 2 is configured using a computer 20, for example.

[0114] The computer 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 21 that reads a control program and executes processing related to the control device 10, a read-only memory (ROM) 22 that stores a control program for making the computer 20 function as the control device 10, a random access memory (RAM) 23 used as a temporary work area of ​​the CPU 21, a nonvolatile memory 24, and an input / output interface (I / O) 25. The CPU 21, the ROM 22, the RAM 23, the nonvolatile memory 24, and the I / O 25 are connected via a bus 26, respectively.

[0115] The nonvolatile memory 24 is an example of a storage device that can maintain stored information even if the power supplied to the nonvolatile memory 24 is cut off, and for example, a semiconductor memory is used, but a hard disk may also be used. The nonvolatile memory 24 does not necessarily need to be built into the computer 20, and for example, it may be a portable storage device that can be attached to and detached from the computer 20.

[0116] For example, the communication unit 11 , the UI unit 12 , the paper feeding unit 13 , the printing unit 14 , and the storage unit 15 are connected to the I / O 25 .

[0117] The communication unit 11 is connected to the communication line 6 , and has a communication protocol for performing data communication with the hang tag printing device 4 or an external device connected to the communication line 6 .

[0118] The UI unit 12 is provided with input devices such as buttons, keyboards, mice, and touch panels to receive user instructions, and output devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal displays to notify users of information processed by the control device 10.

[0119] The functions of the paper feeding unit 13 , the printing unit 14 , and the storage unit 15 are as described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

[0120] Next, the printing process of the print information 3 executed by the control device 10 will be described.

[0121] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing an example of a printing process of the print information 3 executed by the CPU 21 of the control device 10 .

[0122] For example, before starting printing control based on a printing instruction, the CPU 21 Figure 8 The designation screen 5 for designating the printing surface of the print information 3 is displayed on the UI unit 12 .

[0123] On the designation screen 5, there are recorded items such as "Front" for setting the printing surface of the printing information 3 to the front, "Back" for setting the printing surface of the printing information 3 to the back, and "Automatically switch according to winding direction" for the CPU 21 to automatically determine the printing surface of the printing information 3 according to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8. A radio button 30 is associated with each item. The user selects the radio button 30 of the desired item and presses the "Confirm" button to pre-designate the printing surface of the printing information 3. Figure 8 On the designated screen 5, an example of a designated method in which only the printing information 3 can be selected to be printed on the continuous paper 8 is shown, but for example, an option of "printing in a tag printing device" can be added. When the option is selected, the CPU 21 can also use the tag printing device 4 to print the printing information 3 on the tag.

[0124] Figure 7 The printing process of the print information 3 shown is a process executed by the CPU 21 when the user designates “automatically switch according to the winding direction” on the designation screen 5 .

[0125] A control program that defines the printing process of the print information 3 is stored in advance in, for example, the ROM 22 of the control device 10 . The CPU 21 of the control device 10 reads the control program stored in the ROM 22 to execute the printing process of the print information 3 .

[0126] In step S10, the CPU 21 obtains information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8, that is, whether the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 in the storage unit 15 is upward or downward. The information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 can also be obtained by, for example, detecting the rotation direction of the storage roller 17 by the control device 10, or the rotation direction of the storage roller 17 can be detected by the printing device 2, and the CPU 21 obtains the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 obtained based on the detected rotation direction of the storage roller 17 from the printing device 2 through the communication unit 11. In addition, the CPU 21 can also obtain the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 preset by the user from the non-volatile memory 24.

[0127] The process of step S10 is executed after a print instruction of a job is accepted from the user and before printing control based on the print instruction is performed by the printing device 2 .

[0128] In step S20, the CPU 21 determines the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 based on the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 obtained in step S10. Specifically, if the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 is clockwise, the upper roll is wound around the continuous paper 8. Figure 4As described above, the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 will be referred to as the surface of the continuous paper 8 .

[0129] On the other hand, if the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 is counterclockwise, the lower roll will be wound around the continuous paper 8. Figure 5 As described above, the visual side of the continuous paper 8 will be referred to as the back side of the continuous paper 8 .

[0130] In step S30, the CPU 21 controls the printing device 2 to print the main text of the printed matter corresponding to the job to be printed, and then prints the print information 3 to the final area of ​​the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 determined in step S20, and ends. Figure 7 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0131] Therefore, when the user Figure 8 When “automatically switch according to winding direction” is designated on the designated screen 5 shown, the printing device 2 prints the print information 3 on the visible surface of the continuous paper 8 regardless of the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 .

[0132] In addition, when the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 cannot be obtained in step S10 due to some conditions, the CPU 21 cannot determine the visual surface of the continuous paper 8. In this case, the CPU 21 prints the print information 3 on the respective final areas on both sides of the continuous paper 8. Thus, the print information 3 is printed on the visual surface of the continuous paper 8.

[0133] In this way, when the user Figure 8 When “automatically switch according to winding direction” is designated on the designated screen 5 shown, the printing device 2 prints the print information 3 on the visible surface of the continuous paper 8 .

[0134] However, when the user specifies “front” or “back” as the printing surface of the print information 3 on the designation screen 5 , the print information 3 may be printed on the back side of the visible surface depending on the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 , and the user may not be able to confirm the print information 3 .

[0135] Therefore, even when the user designates the printing surface of the print information 3 as “front” or “back” on the designation screen 5 , the control device 10 can control the printing device 2 to print the print information 3 on the visible surface of the continuous paper 8 .

[0136] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing an example of the printing process of the print information 3 executed by the CPU 21 of the control device 10 when a designation instruction to designate the printing surface of the print information 3 as “front side” or “back side” is accepted on the designation screen 5 .

[0137] In step S100, the CPU 21 performs Figure 7The same processing as step S10 is performed to obtain information on the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 in the storage unit 15.

[0138] In step S110, the CPU 21 performs Figure 7 The same processing as step S20 is performed to determine the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 based on the information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 obtained in step S100.

[0139] In step S120, the CPU 21 determines whether the designated printing surface designated by the designation instruction is the visual surface of the continuous paper 8. If the designated printing surface is the visual surface of the continuous paper 8, the process proceeds to step S190.

[0140] At this time, if the printed information 3 is printed on the designated printing surface, the user can visually see the printed information 3 even if the continuous paper 8 is in a rolled state. Therefore, in step S190, the CPU 21 controls the printing device 2 to print the printed information 3 on the final area of ​​the designated printing surface of the continuous paper 8, and ends. Fig. 9 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0141] On the other hand, if the designated printing surface is different from the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 , the process proceeds to step S130 .

[0142] At this time, if the print information 3 is directly printed on the designated print surface, the user cannot visually see the print information 3 in the state where the continuous paper 8 is wound. Therefore, in step S130, the CPU 21 outputs a warning.

[0143] Specifically, the CPU 21 displays the confirmation screen 7 on the UI unit 12, and the confirmation screen 7 notifies that there is a discrepancy between the printing surface of the print information 3 and the winding direction of the continuous paper 8. In addition, the CPU 21 may also notify that there is a discrepancy between the printing surface of the print information 3 and the winding direction of the continuous paper 8 by voice together with the display of the confirmation screen 7.

[0144] Fig.10 : is a diagram showing an example of the confirmation screen 7. The confirmation screen 7 includes, for example: a forced printing button, which re-designates that the printed information 3 is forcibly printed on the printing surface designated by the user on the designated screen 5 because the printed information 3 can also be printed on the back side of the visual surface of the continuous paper 8; a hangtag printing button, which re-designates that the printed information 3 is printed on the hangtag using the hangtag printing device 4; and a switch printing button, which re-designates that the printing surface of the printed information 3 is switched from the printing surface designated by the user on the designated screen 5 to the visual surface of the continuous paper 8.

[0145] The user presses any button displayed on the confirmation screen 7 to notify the CPU 21 of an instruction to re-designate the printing surface of the print information 3 .

[0146] On the other hand, in step S140, the CPU 21 determines whether a re-designation instruction is accepted. If a re-designation instruction is not accepted, the CPU 21 repeatedly executes the determination process of step S140 and waits until a re-designation instruction is accepted.

[0147] On the other hand, if the re-designation instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S150. The CPU 21 that has accepted the re-designation instruction prints the print information 3 in accordance with the re-designation instruction.

[0148] Therefore, in step S150, the CPU 21 determines whether a hang tag printing instruction for designating printing of the print information 3 on the hang tag has been accepted as a re-designation instruction. If the hang tag printing instruction has been accepted, the process proceeds to step S160.

[0149] In step S160, the CPU 21 controls the hangtag printing device 4 according to the content of the re-designated instruction, so that the hangtag printing device 4 prints the printing information 3 on the hangtag instead of the continuous paper 8, and the process ends. Fig. 9 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0150] On the other hand, if the received re-designation instruction is not a hangtag printing instruction, the process proceeds to step S170.

[0151] In step S170, the CPU 21 determines whether a forced printing instruction for forcibly printing the print information 3 on the printing surface designated by the user on the designation screen 5 is accepted as a re-designation instruction. If the forced printing instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S190, and as described above, the CPU 21 controls the printing device 2 to print the print information 3 on the final area of ​​the printing surface of the continuous paper 8 designated by the user on the designation screen 5, and ends. Fig. 9 The printing process of the printed information 3 shown in FIG. 2 is as follows. In this case, since the printed information 3 is not printed on the visible surface of the continuous paper 8, the CPU 21 may control the hang tag printing device 4 to print the printed information 3 on the hang tag.

[0152] On the other hand, if the forced printing instruction is not accepted, the process proceeds to step S180.

[0153] At this time, a switching printing instruction is received to switch the printing surface of the printed information 3 to the visual surface of the continuous paper 8. Therefore, in step S180, the CPU 21 performs the same Figure 7 The same process is performed as in step S30, and the printing information 3 is printed on the final area of ​​the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 determined in step S110, and the process ends. Fig. 9 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0154] In this way, when the user designates the printing surface of the printed information 3 as the back side of the visual surface of the continuous paper 8, the control device 10 displays Fig.10 The confirmation screen 7 shown is used to warn the user. Then, the control device 10 accepts the user's re-designation of the printing surface of the print information 3 through the confirmation screen 7, and prints the print information 3 on the designated printing surface.

[0155] The continuous paper 8 mounted on the paper feed roller 16 of the printing device 2 does not necessarily need to be plain, and various types of continuous paper 8 may be mounted. For example, continuous paper 8 on which information other than the job to be printed is pre-printed before printing by the printing device 2 (referred to as "pre-printed continuous paper 8A") may be mounted.

[0156] Fig.11 8A is a diagram showing an example of pre-printed continuous paper 8A. Fig.11 As shown, sometimes, for example, frame lines, characters, and graphics that are recorded on all pages are printed in advance on the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. By printing the frame lines, characters, and graphics in advance, the printing time in the printing device 2 can be saved, and the time or cost required for printing can be suppressed compared to the case of using a plain color continuous paper 8, so the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is widely used as a recording medium for the printing device 2.

[0157] Fig.11 The pre-printed continuous paper 8A is a recording medium on which a bill outline is pre-printed. After the necessary contents such as the recipient's name and the amount are printed on each bill, the blank space between the bills is cut by a processing device, thereby generating each bill.

[0158] The pre-printed continuous paper 8A includes pre-printed continuous paper having a rough shape printed on only one side and pre-printed continuous paper having a rough shape printed on both sides.

[0159] In such a pre-printed continuous paper 8A, information other than the job to be printed is also pre-printed in the final area of ​​the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, so the printing device 2 must be connected with the printing device 2. Figure 7 and Fig. 9 The print information 3 shown is printed by a different process.

[0160] Fig.12 It means that the user is Figure 8 The flowchart of an example of the printing process of the print information 3 in consideration of the type of the continuous paper 8 executed by the CPU 21 when “automatically switch according to the winding direction” is designated on the designation screen 5 shown.

[0161] Fig.12 In the flowchart shown, relative to Figure 7The flowchart of the printing process of the print information 3 shown in FIG. 1 is modified by adding each process of step S21 to step S27.

[0162] In step S21, the CPU 21 obtains the type of the continuous paper 8 installed on the paper feed roller 16 of the printing device 2. The type of the continuous paper 8 is registered in the printing device 2 by the user operating the UI unit 12 in advance, and the registered type of the continuous paper 8 is stored in the non-volatile memory 24. Therefore, the CPU 21 obtains the type of the continuous paper 8 from the non-volatile memory 24.

[0163] In step S22, the CPU 21 determines whether the type of the continuous paper 8 acquired in step S21 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. If the type of the continuous paper 8 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, the process proceeds to step S23. In addition, if the type of the continuous paper 8 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, information indicating whether the surface on which information other than the job to be printed is pre-printed (referred to as the "pre-printed surface") is the front surface, the back surface, or both surfaces is added to the information related to the type of the continuous paper 8 as information related to the continuous paper 8.

[0164] In step S23 , the CPU 21 determines whether the visible surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A specified in step S20 is the pre-printed surface.

[0165] If the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is not the pre-printed surface, even if the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is used in the printing device 2, the print information 3 can still be printed on the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A because the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is solid color. Therefore, the process proceeds to the step S30 described above, and after the CPU 21 controls the printing device 2 to print the main text of the printed matter corresponding to the job to be printed, the print information 3 is printed on the final area of ​​the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A determined in step S20, and the process ends. Fig.12 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0166] On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of step S23 that the visible surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is the pre-printed surface, the process proceeds to step S24.

[0167] On the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, since information other than the job to be printed is pre-printed, there is no blank space for printing the printed information 3. If the printed information 3 is forcibly printed, the printed information 3 will overlap with the pre-printed display, making it difficult to confirm the printed information 3.

[0168] Therefore, in step S24 , the CPU 21 displays the change screen 9 for changing the printing method of the print information 3 on the UI unit 12 .

[0169] Fig.13 1 is a diagram showing an example of a change screen 9. On the change screen 9, for example, an item "Do not print" for not printing the print information 3 and an item "Switch to hang tag printing" for switching the print destination of the print information 3 to a hang tag are described, and a radio button 30 is associated with each item. The user selects the radio button 30 corresponding to the desired item and presses the "Confirm" button, thereby changing the printing method of the print information 3.

[0170] The changed printing method of the printing information 3 is notified to the CPU 21 as a change instruction. Therefore, in step S25, the CPU 21 determines whether the change instruction is accepted. If the change instruction is not accepted, the CPU 21 repeatedly executes the determination process of step S25 and waits until the change instruction is accepted. On the other hand, if the change instruction is accepted, the process moves to step S26.

[0171] In step S26, the CPU 21 determines whether the received change instruction is a change instruction to switch the print destination of the print information 3 to a hang tag (referred to as a "hang tag change instruction"). If the change instruction is a hang tag change instruction, the process proceeds to step S27.

[0172] Since the user changes to printing on a hangtag, in step S27, the CPU 21 controls the hangtag printing device 4 to print the print information 3 on the hangtag of the hangtag printing device 4 instead of the continuous paper 8, thereby ending the process. Fig.12 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0173] On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of step S26 that the accepted change instruction is not a hang tag change instruction, the user has selected the "do not print" item on the change screen 9, so the CPU 21 does not print the print information 3 on the pre-printed continuous paper 8A or on the hang tag, and ends the process. Fig.12 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0174] Fig.14 It means that the user is Figure 8 The flowchart is a flowchart of an example of a printing process of the print information 3 in consideration of the type of the continuous paper 8, which is executed by the CPU 21 when “front side” or “back side” is designated as the printing side of the print information 3 on the designation screen 5 shown.

[0175] Fig.14 In the flowchart shown, relative to Fig. 9 The flowchart of the printing process of the print information 3 shown in FIG. 1 is modified by adding the processes of step S112 , step S114 , and step S116 .

[0176] After determining the visual surface of the continuous paper 8 in step S110, the CPU 21 performs the same operation as in step S112. Fig.12 The same process as step S21 is performed to obtain the type of the continuous paper 8 mounted on the paper feed roller 16 of the printing device 2.

[0177] In step S114, the CPU 21 performs Fig.12 The CPU 21 performs the same processing as step S22 to determine whether the type of the continuous paper 8 acquired in step S112 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. If the type of the continuous paper 8 is not the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, the CPU 21 performs the processing after step S120 described above.

[0178] On the other hand, if the type of the continuous paper 8 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, the process proceeds to step S116 , and the CPU 21 executes the pre-printed continuous paper process.

[0179] Fig.15 It means in Fig.14 Flowchart of an example of the flow of the pre-printing continuous paper process executed in step S116 of FIG.

[0180] In step S200, the CPU 21 determines whether the user is Figure 8 The designated printing surface designated on the designation screen 5 is the visual surface on which the continuous paper 8A is printed in advance. If the designated printing surface is the visual surface on which the continuous paper 8A is printed in advance, the process proceeds to step S210.

[0181] In step S210, the CPU 21 determines whether the user is Figure 8 The CPU 21 checks whether the designated printing surface designated on the designated screen 5 is the pre-printed surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. If the designated printing surface is not the pre-printed surface, even if the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is used in the printing device 2, the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is solid color, so the printing information 3 can still be printed on the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S220, and the CPU 21 controls the printing device 2 to print the main body of the printed matter corresponding to the job to be printed, and then prints the printing information 3 on the pre-printed continuous paper 8A. Fig.14 The final area of ​​the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A determined in step S110 is ended. Fig.15 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0182] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S200 that the designated printing surface is not the visual surface on which the continuous paper 8A is previously printed, or if it is determined in step S210 that the designated printing surface is the previously printed surface on which the continuous paper 8A is previously printed, the process proceeds to step S230.

[0183] At this time, the printing information 3 will be printed on the back side of the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, or even if the printing surface of the printing information 3 is the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, the printing information 3 will overlap with information other than the job that is the printing object and is pre-printed on the pre-printed continuous paper 8A.

[0184] Therefore, in step S230, the CPU 21 displays on the UI unit 12 Fig.13 The change screen 9 shown is for the user to change the printing method of the print information 3 .

[0185] In the subsequent steps S240, S250, and S260, the CPU 21 performs the same operations as in Fig.12 The same processing as described in step S25, step S26 and step S27 is performed, and the end Fig.15 The pre-printed continuous paper processing shown in the figure is completed. Fig.14 The printing process of the printing information 3 is shown.

[0186] In this way, the control device 10 changes the printing destination of the print information 3 according to the type of the continuous paper 8 .

[0187] In addition, Fig.15 In the pre-printed continuous paper processing shown in FIG. 1 , if it is determined in the determination process of step S200 that the designated printing surface of the printing information 3 is not the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, the control device 10 displays a message on the UI unit 12 Fig.13 The change screen 9 shown is for requesting the user to change whether to print the print information 3 on the hang tag or to stop printing the print information 3 .

[0188] However, if the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A is not the pre-printed surface, the control device 10 can also switch the printing surface of the printed information 3 to print the printed information 3 on the back side of the designated printing surface, that is, the visual surface of the pre-printed continuous paper 8A.

[0189] Moreover, in Fig.12 and Fig.14 In the printing process of the printing information 3 shown, when the type of the continuous paper 8 is the pre-printed continuous paper 8A, a change screen 9 is displayed to change the printing method of the printing information 3. However, the printing method of the printing information 3 may be changed based on other information related to the continuous paper 8, such as the price per meter of the continuous paper 8.

[0190] When the price per meter of the continuous paper 8 is higher than the predetermined price as a benchmark for high-quality paper, if information other than the main text of the printed matter is printed on the continuous paper 8, the range that can be used for main text printing will be narrowed accordingly, which may sometimes cause an increase in printing costs. Therefore, in this case, the control device 10 may also display the change screen 9 to change the printing method of the print information 3.

[0191] The present invention has been described above using the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention, and the forms to which the changes or improvements are made are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, the order of processing can also be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0192] Furthermore, in the embodiment, as an example, the printing process of the print information 3 is described by software, but it is also possible to implement the printing process of the print information 3 by software. Figure 7 , Fig. 9 , Fig.12 , Fig.14 and Fig.15 The processing equivalent to the flowchart shown is performed by hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic device (PLD). In this case, the processing speed can be increased compared to the case where the printing process of the printing information 3 is implemented by software.

[0193] In this way, the CPU 21 of the control device 10 may be replaced by a dedicated processor designed for specific processing, such as ASIC, FPGA, PLD, graphics processing unit (GPU) and floating point unit (FPU).

[0194] The operation of the control device 10 of the embodiment may be realized by a plurality of CPUs 21, in addition to the one CPU 21. Furthermore, the operation of the control device 10 of the embodiment may be realized by cooperation of processors located in physically separate positions.

[0195] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the form in which the control program is installed in the ROM 22 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The control program of the embodiment can also be provided in the form of being recorded in a storage medium that can be read by the computer 20. For example, the control program can also be provided in the form of being recorded in a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) or a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc-Read Only Memory). Furthermore, the control program of the embodiment can also be provided in the form of being recorded in a portable semiconductor memory such as a USB memory or a memory card.

[0196] Furthermore, the control device 10 may acquire the control program from an external device connected to the communication line 6 via the communication unit 11 .

Claims

1. A control device for a printing device, characterized in that: Including processor, The processor acquires information related to the winding direction of the continuous paper, The visual surface is determined according to the winding direction of the continuous paper, wherein the visual surface is the surface of the continuous paper visually observed by a user when the continuous paper is wound. Controlling the printing device to print printing information on the visual inspection surface, wherein the printing information is information related to the job printed on the continuous paper, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: receiving a designation instruction for designating a printing surface of the print information, When the printing surface of the print information of the continuous paper designated by the designation instruction is different from the visual surface of the continuous paper, a warning is output.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein The processor acquires information on the winding direction of the continuous paper after receiving a print instruction of the job from a user and before performing print control based on the print instruction.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein The processor controls the printing device to print the print information on both sides of the continuous paper when the information on the winding direction of the continuous paper cannot be acquired.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein The processor receives a re-designation instruction to re-designate a printing surface of the print information after outputting the warning. The printing device is controlled to print the printing information on the printing surface of the printing information designated by the redesignation instruction.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein The processor controls the hangtag printing device to print the print information on the hangtag when the user specifies that the print information is to be printed on the hangtag, wherein the hangtag is cut paper cut into a predetermined size and attached to the continuous paper.

6. The control device according to claim 2, wherein The processor controls the hangtag printing device to print the print information on the hangtag when the user specifies that the print information is to be printed on the hangtag, wherein the hangtag is cut paper cut into a predetermined size and attached to the continuous paper.

7. The control device according to claim 3, wherein The processor controls the hangtag printing device to print the print information on the hangtag when the user specifies that the print information is to be printed on the hangtag, wherein the hangtag is cut paper cut into a predetermined size and attached to the continuous paper.

8. The control device according to claim 4, wherein The processor controls the hangtag printing device to print the print information on the hangtag when the user specifies that the print information is to be printed on the hangtag, wherein the hangtag is cut paper cut into a predetermined size and attached to the continuous paper.

9. The control device according to claim 1, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: The information of the continuous paper is further acquired, and when information other than the job has been printed in advance on the visual surface of the continuous paper, the printing device is controlled not to print the printed information on the visual surface of the continuous paper.

10. The control device according to claim 2, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: The information of the continuous paper is further acquired, and when information other than the job has been printed in advance on the visual surface of the continuous paper, the printing device is controlled not to print the printed information on the visual surface of the continuous paper.

11. The control device according to claim 3, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: The information of the continuous paper is further acquired, and when information other than the job has been printed in advance on the visual surface of the continuous paper, the printing device is controlled not to print the printed information on the visual surface of the continuous paper.

12. The control device according to claim 4, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: The information of the continuous paper is further acquired, and when information other than the job has been printed in advance on the visual surface of the continuous paper, the printing device is controlled not to print the printed information on the visual surface of the continuous paper.

13. The control device according to claim 5, wherein The processor performs the following control, namely: The information of the continuous paper is further acquired, and when information other than the job has been printed in advance on the visual surface of the continuous paper, the printing device is controlled not to print the printed information on the visual surface of the continuous paper.

14. A control program recording medium, characterized in that: The control program recorded in the control program recording medium causes the computer to execute the following processing: Get information related to the winding direction of continuous paper, The visual surface is determined according to the winding direction of the continuous paper, wherein the visual surface is the surface of the continuous paper visually observed by a user when the continuous paper is wound. controlling a printing device to print printing information on the visual inspection surface, wherein the printing information is information related to a job printed on the continuous paper, The control program recorded in the control program recording medium causes the computer to further execute the following processing: receiving a designation instruction for designating a printing surface of the print information, When the printing surface of the print information of the continuous paper designated by the designation instruction is different from the visual surface of the continuous paper, a warning is output.

15. A printing device, characterized in that: A control device comprising any one of claims 1 to 13, Printing information related to a job to be printed on the continuous paper is printed on a printing surface of the continuous paper designated by the control device.

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