Image forming device, control method, and non-transitory recording medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, a method and a non-transient recording medium. A grayscale pattern image is determined according to an image forming mode acquired when printing of a predetermined number of pages has been performed. When a color image forming mode is acquired, a color grayscale pattern image is formed, and when a monochrome image forming mode is acquired, a monochrome grayscale pattern image is formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the embodiments relate to an apparatus, a method, and a non-transitory recording medium. Background Art

[0002] An existing image forming apparatus has a plurality of printing modes that enable switching of the image forming mode between color printing and monochrome printing. For example, when printing a certain number of consecutive monochrome image pages, the forming unit of the image forming apparatus is switched to a monochrome image forming mode in which printing with only black toner can be performed. Control of toners other than black toner and components including a photosensitive drum is suspended. As a result of switching the printing mode, it is expected that mechanical deterioration is suppressed while productivity is improved. On the other hand, the switching of the printing mode involves a change of the forming unit, and thus takes a long time.

[0003] There is a printing system in which an inline sensor is connected to a subsequent stage of an image forming device that forms an image on a sheet, and the inline sensor reads the image formed on the sheet by the image forming device.

[0004] In this printing system, an inline sensor reads a density adjustment patch printed on a sheet by an image forming device, so that even during printing of a job including a large number of pages, the adjustment result can be fed back to the printer in real time. It may be desirable to print a patch on the edge of an output material (sheet), but depending on the type or size of the sheet, the adjustment patch may not be printed.

[0005] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-122377 discloses a technology for generating an adjustment chart by printing color patches on a sheet different from the output material of a print job and printing and inserting the adjustment chart when the number of printed pages reaches a predetermined number during printing of the job. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-122377 also discloses a technology for reading the density of the color patches of the printed adjustment chart and feeding the result back to a device to perform density adjustment.

[0006] In Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-122377, when inserting an adjustment chart, an adjustment chart consisting of four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black is continuously printed regardless of the printing mode, and a gradation correction table of these four colors is updated. In a monochrome image forming mode, only black toner is used for printing, so the updated gradation correction table is only used for black. Even if the gradation correction table is updated, the toners of other colors are not used until the next color image page is printed. Therefore, continuously forming and reading color blocks of all colors to perform gradation correction causes unnecessary use of color toners. Summary of the invention

[0007] A device switches between a color image forming mode in which printing is performed using a plurality of recording materials including a color recording material and a monochrome image forming mode in which printing is performed using a black monochrome recording material without using a color recording material. The device includes: a forming unit configured to form a gray pattern image on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table in response to printing of a predetermined number of pages of an image having been performed; a measuring unit configured to read the formed gray pattern image and measure the color of the gray pattern image; a generating unit configured to generate gray correction data based on a color measurement result of the measuring unit and a reference value; and a correcting unit configured to perform gray correction on image data by using the generated gray correction data. The formed gray pattern image is determined according to the image forming mode of the device acquired when printing of the predetermined number of pages has been performed.

[0008] An apparatus includes: a forming unit configured to form a gray pattern image on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table in response to printing of an image of a predetermined number of pages having been performed; a measuring unit configured to read the formed gray pattern image and measure the color of the gray pattern image; a generating unit configured to generate gray correction data based on a color measurement result of the measuring unit and a reference value; and a correcting unit configured to perform gray correction on image data by using the generated gray correction data. The formed gray pattern image is determined according to the color attributes of the image on the predetermined number of pages acquired.

[0009] Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printing system according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 is a diagram describing the internal structure of the printing system according to the first embodiment.

[0012] Figure 3A and Figure 3B are block diagrams each illustrating an example of a software configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment.

[0013] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0014] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating print control performed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 6is a flowchart illustrating interruption adjustment performed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0016] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating generation of a page image of an adjustment chart performed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0017] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for setting an interrupt adjustment interval.

[0018] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print management application screen.

[0019] Fig.10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job setting screen.

[0020] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job setting screen.

[0021] Fig. 12A and Fig. 12B are diagrams each illustrating an example of adjusting the layout of a graph.

[0022] Fig.13A is a diagram illustrating an example of reference value data, Fig. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example of measured value data, and Fig. 13C is a diagram illustrating an example of correction value data.

[0023] Fig.14 is a flowchart illustrating generation of a page image of an adjustment chart according to the second embodiment.

[0024] Fig.15A and Fig. 15B are block diagrams each illustrating an example of a software configuration of a printing system according to the third embodiment.

[0025] Fig.16 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

[0026] Fig.17 is a flowchart illustrating print control performed by the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.

[0027] Fig.18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment.

[0028] Fig.19A is a flowchart illustrating a printing process executed by the image forming apparatus, Fig.19B is a flowchart illustrating an interrupt adjustment chart printing process performed by the image forming apparatus, and Fig.19C: is a flowchart illustrating gray scale correction data generation processing executed by the image forming apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] First embodiment

[0031] Printing system configuration

[0032] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the printing system, an image processing apparatus 20 connected to an image forming apparatus 10 and a client personal computer (PC) 30 are connected to each other via a network 40 such as a local area network (LAN). The image forming apparatus 10 and the image processing apparatus 20 have a function (printing function) of forming an image on a recording medium such as a paper or plastic sheet (hereinafter referred to as a "sheet") in response to a print request received from the client PC 30.

[0033] The configuration of the printing system is not limited to Figure 1 It is sufficient that at least one client PC 30 is connected to the image forming apparatus 10 and the image processing apparatus 20 via the network 40 so that these apparatuses can communicate with each other. The image processing apparatus 20 may be configured as a print server independent of the image forming apparatus 10, such as Figure 1 As shown in , or the image forming apparatus 10 may have the function of the image processing apparatus 20 to serve as an integrated system. The network 40 may be wired or wireless.

[0034] Printing system hardware configuration

[0035] Fig.18 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

[0036] In the image forming apparatus 10, the device controller 100 is a controller that controls the devices of the image forming apparatus 10. A central processing unit (CPU) 111 centrally controls access to various devices connected to a system bus 116 according to a control program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 112 or a hard disk drive (HDD) 114. The ROM 112 stores control programs and the like that can be executed by the CPU 111. A random access memory (RAM) 113 is mainly used as a main memory, a work area, etc. of the CPU 111, and is configured to be able to expand the memory capacity by connecting to an optional RAM of an expansion port not shown. The HDD 114 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, etc. Although the HDD 114 is used in the present embodiment, an SD card or a flash memory may be used as an external storage device instead of the HDD 114. A control system interface (I / F) 115 transmits / receives information for print control to / from the image processing apparatus 20. A printer I / F 117 controls an image output to the printer 200. The operation unit I / F 119 controls display on the display unit 132 included in the operation unit 130 and controls input of various pieces of setting information set in the input unit 131 included in the operation unit 130. The image data system I / F 120 receives image data to be transmitted to the printer 200 from the image processing device 20. The sensor I / F 118 transmits an operation instruction for the sensor 220 included in the printer 200 and receives a measurement result of the sensor 220. The sensor 220 is disposed between the fixing unit and the sheet output port on the sheet conveying path. Alternatively, the sensor 220 may be disposed on the sheet conveying path of a finishing device that is connected to a subsequent stage of the printer 200 and is not shown. A measurement chart including color patches disposed according to the position of the sensor 220 is printed, and the chart passes through the sensor 220. Thus, for example, the sensor 220 measures color patch information such as spectral values, chromaticity values, and density. The information obtained by the measurement is used for the adjustment functions of the two devices.

[0037] In the image processing device 20, a raster image processor (RIP) controller 140 performs processing for performing print processing in the image processing device 20, such as analysis of an input print job and development to image data. The CPU 141 centrally controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 146 according to a control program stored in the ROM 142 or the HDD 144. The ROM 142 stores control programs and the like that can be executed by the CPU 141. The RAM 143 is mainly used as a main memory, a work area, etc. of the CPU 141, and is configured to be able to expand the memory capacity by connecting to an optional RAM of an expansion port not shown. The HDD 144 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, etc. Although the HDD 144 is used in the present embodiment, an SD card or a flash memory may be used as an external storage device instead of the HDD 144. The control system I / F 145 transmits / receives information for print control to / from the image forming device 10. The image data system I / F 147 transmits image data to be output from the printer 200 to the image forming device 10.

[0038] The operation unit I / F 148 controls display on the display unit 152 included in the operation unit 150 and controls input of various pieces of setting information set in the input unit 151 included in the operation unit 150. The network I / F 149 performs data communication with the external network 40 through a network cable.

[0039] The image processing apparatus 20 may have a function of inputting a print job similarly to the client PC 30 described below. The print job is input from the operation unit 150 to the RIP controller 140 via a printer driver or a print management application.

[0040] The client PC 30 is connected to the image processing apparatus 20 through the external network 40. The client PC 30 inputs a print job to the image processing apparatus 20 via a printer driver or a print management application.

[0041] Internal structure of the printing system

[0042] Figure 2 1 is a diagram describing the internal structure of a printer 200 based on an electrophotographic method and equipped in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment and the relationship between the respective devices.

[0043] refer to Figure 2, the portion surrounded by the dotted line is the printer 200. The printer 200 includes four stations corresponding to the respective toners (recording materials) of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). The four stations are arranged in the horizontal direction, and form toner images in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The yellow toner, magenta toner, and cyan toner are color recording materials.

[0044] Each station includes a photosensitive drum 201 serving as an image bearing member. A charging device 202, an exposure device 203, a developing device 204, a cleaning device 207, and a pre-exposure device 208 are disposed along the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 201. The developing device 204 has a developing roller 205 for supplying a developer (toner) to the photosensitive drum 201. In the intermediate transfer unit 206, a first transfer roller 210 faces and contacts the photosensitive drum 201 in each station with an intermediate transfer belt 209 therebetween. A second transfer inner roller 211 and a second transfer roller 212 are in contact with each other with the intermediate transfer belt 209 therebetween, and the second transfer inner roller 211 and the second transfer roller 212 are disposed so that the intermediate transfer belt 209 rotates in the conveying direction. The fixing device 213 is composed of a heating film (heating rotating body) 214, a fixing roller 215 and a pressure roller 216, and heats and presses the toner transferred to the sheet 222 to fix the toner. The discharge roller 217 discharges the sheet 222 having passed through the fixing device 213 onto the discharge tray 218.

[0045] A sensor 220 as a color measurement sensor is disposed between the fixing device 213 and the discharge roller 217 so as to be able to read the printing side, measure the density of the color patch formed on the sheet 222 that has been fixed, and transmit the color measurement data (density data) to the device controller 100. A cleaning blade 221 removes the toner that is not transferred to the sheet 222 at the time of the second transfer and remains on the intermediate transfer belt 209. A sheet feed roller 224 feeds the sheet 222 stored in a sheet cassette 223 (sheet feed table). Although Figure 2 A single sheet cassette 223 is illustrated, but it is assumed that the printer 200 includes a plurality of sheet cassettes 223 for various sheet sizes and various sheet types.

[0046] Next, the software configuration of each device according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0047] Software configuration of image forming apparatus

[0048] Figure 3A 11 is a block diagram of the device controller 100, illustrating a software module configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. These software modules are stored as programs in the HDD 114, and are loaded into the RAM 113 and executed by the CPU 111.

[0049] A user interface (UI) control unit 301 controls display on the display unit 132 in the operation unit 130 via the operation unit I / F 119 and controls input of various pieces of setting information set in the input unit 131 .

[0050] The page image analysis unit 302 analyzes the print job received from the image processing apparatus 20. In the present embodiment, the page image analysis unit 302 determines whether the interruption adjustment setting of the print job is enabled. The page image control unit 303 performs print processing on the print job in the image forming apparatus 10. The page image control unit 303 performs density grayscale correction processing, application of halftone processing, etc., thereby generating data that can be printed by the printer 200. The engine control unit 304 controls a series of printing operations performed by the printer 200. The print job is processed and printed in units of pages.

[0051] The sensor control unit 305 controls the sensor 220 to measure the density of the color patch formed on the printed sheet of the page for which the sensor measurement instruction has been provided, and acquires the color measurement data. The data transmission / reception unit 306 controls the data transmission / reception of data to / from the image processing apparatus 20. The data transmitted / received is, for example, the data of the print job, the setting registration information stored in the image forming apparatus 10, etc. The interruption adjustment interval setting unit 307 sets the interval of interruption printing of the adjustment chart.

[0052] Figure 8 An example of a UI screen for setting an interrupt adjustment interval according to the present embodiment is illustrated. The UI screen 801 is generated by the interrupt adjustment interval setting unit 307 and displayed on the display unit 132 via the UI control unit 301. Reference numeral 802 represents interval information, which indicates the interval at which an adjustment chart for performing adjustment is to be printed. The setting is accepted from the operator via the input unit 131. Here, the number of pages to be printed is specified as the interrupt interval information. On the UI screen 801, a change in setting is accepted in response to the operation of the button 803 or the button 804. Alternatively, for example, a UI that displays a numeric keypad and directly accepts a numerical value can be used. Once the operator presses the OK button 805, the interrupt adjustment interval setting unit 307 transmits the specified information to the interrupt adjustment execution unit 310 described below, and then closes the UI screen 801. Once the cancel button 806 is pressed, the interrupt adjustment interval setting unit 307 immediately closes the UI screen 801.

[0053] The interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 determines the color patch layout configuration of the adjustment chart to be inserted based on the information received from the page image analysis unit 302 or the page image control unit 303. The details will be described below. The interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 309 performs control for performing interruption printing. In order to print the adjustment chart at a specified interval, the interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 309 performs processing related to the printing of the adjustment chart, such as counting and clearing the number of printed pages, and generation of the adjustment chart image. The interruption adjustment execution unit 310 acquires color measurement data (color measurement results) from the sensor 220 and calculates a correction value for correcting grayscale. The grayscale correction data is updated based on the correction value.

[0054] The print mode switching unit 311 is a part of the engine control unit 304 and controls the mode switching of the printing operation performed by the printer 200. The timing of switching the print mode is as follows. For example, page number information indicating the number of pages of continuously printed monochrome page images is defined in the engine control unit 304, and when the number of pages has reached this number, the print mode is switched from the color image forming mode to the monochrome image forming mode.

[0055] If the printing mode is the monochrome image forming mode when printing a color page image, the printing mode is immediately switched from the monochrome image forming mode to the color image forming mode.

[0056] Now, control of the print mode of the printer 200 will be described.

[0057] In the present embodiment, the printer 200 has a color image forming mode capable of both color and monochrome printing and a monochrome image forming mode capable of only monochrome printing as printing modes. The printing mode switching unit 311 switches the printing mode in the following manner.

[0058] In the color image forming mode, image formation is performed so that all the photosensitive drums 201K, 201C, 201M, and 201Y of all K, C, M, and Y are in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 209. All the photosensitive drums 201 are in a ready state in which image formation can be performed immediately. In this printing mode, color printing and monochrome printing can be performed, but even during monochrome printing, all the photosensitive drums 201 operate in a ready state.

[0059] In the monochrome image forming mode, image formation is performed so that the photosensitive drums 201C, 201M and 201Y of C, M and Y are separated from the intermediate transfer belt 209 and stopped and only the photosensitive drum 201K of K is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 209. Only the photosensitive drum 201K of K is in a ready state capable of performing image formation immediately. In this printing mode, monochrome printing can be performed, but color printing is not possible. If an instruction for color printing is provided during the control of the monochrome image forming mode, the printer 200 will switch control so that all photosensitive drums 201 are in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 209. The switching operation is performed after image formation and transfer are completed for the sheets in all pages advancing in parallel on the intermediate transfer belt 209. After the rotation of each photosensitive drum 201 has been restarted, the photosensitive drum 201 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 209. Therefore, the switching operation takes a certain amount of time. In the monochrome image forming mode, printing is performed using a recording material of only black monochrome (K).

[0060] Here, the method in which the photosensitive drum 201 is separated from the intermediate belt 209 and stopped is described as the control of the monochrome image forming mode. However, the control method is not limited to this.

[0061] Another method may be used, for example, the first transfer roller 210 may be separated from the intermediate transfer belt 209 and stopped in addition to the photosensitive drum 201, or the power supply to the exposure device 203 or the developing device 204 may be stopped.

[0062] Software configuration of image processing device

[0063] Figure 3B 140 is a block diagram of the RIP controller 140, illustrating a software module configuration of the image processing apparatus 20. These software modules are stored as programs in the HDD 144, loaded into the RAM 143, and executed by the CPU 141. The UI control unit 341 controls display on the display unit 152 in the operation unit 150 via the operation unit I / F 148 and controls input of various pieces of setting information set in the input unit 151.

[0064] The print job management unit 342 manages print job data accepted from the operator.

[0065] Specifically, the print job management unit 342 performs processing such as calling a print job stored in the HDD 144, reflecting changes in print job settings made by the operator, and history management of completed print jobs. Generally, there is a print management application for enabling an operator to easily perform a series of processes.

[0066] Fig. 9An example of a UI screen of a print management application according to the present embodiment is illustrated. The UI screen 901 is managed and generated by the print job management unit 342, and is displayed on the display unit 152 via the UI control unit 341. The job queue 902 is a job queue that displays information about a print job received by the image processing device 20. The information displayed here includes information indicating the name, number of pages, and number of copies of the print job, information indicating whether the interrupt adjustment described below is enabled, and information indicating whether the print job has been processed. The information to be displayed is not limited to this. For example, any item set for the print job, such as color / monochrome information and sheet information, can be displayed.

[0067] In the case where the operator selects a target print job, once any one of buttons 903 to 905 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 performs processing according to the pressed button. Once the print button 903 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 starts the print processing of the selected print job, and transmits the print data to the image forming device 10 after completing the processing. Once the property button 904 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 displays a UI screen for executing print settings for the selected print job. The print settings include various items related to, for example, sheets, page layout, colors, and image processing to be used for the print job. The print setting items set here are notified to the print job management unit 342. Once the delete button 905 is pressed, the data of the selected print job is deleted from the queue.

[0068] Fig.10 An example of a UI screen for executing settings related to print sheets, which is one of print settings for a print job, is illustrated. The UI screen 1001 is generated by the print job management unit 342 and is displayed on the display unit 152 via the UI control unit 341 .

[0069] On this UI screen, field 1002 indicates the type of sheet, field 1003 indicates the size of the sheet, and field 1004 indicates information about a sheet catalog. These settings are received from the operator via the input unit 151. Here, the sheet catalog is the name of a certain collection of sheet information, which is managed by the print job management unit 342 but can be created by the operator. Once a sheet catalog is selected in field 1004, field 1002 of the sheet type and field 1003 of the size indicate information set to the sheet catalog. Once the OK button 1005 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 sets the input sheet information as job setting information. Once the Cancel button 1006 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 closes the UI screen 1001.

[0070] The print job processing unit 343 performs processing for executing print processing, such as analysis, development to image data, and image compression / decompression of the print job accepted from the operator. The data transmission / reception unit 344 manages the transmission / reception of various data to / from the image forming device 10. The print job data generated by the print job processing unit 343 is transmitted to the image forming device 10 by the data transmission / reception unit 344. The data transmission / reception unit 344 also manages the transmission / reception of data to / from the client PC 30 connected via the external network 40. The interruption adjustment setting unit 345 sets whether to perform interruption adjustment on the print job. This setting is one of the print setting items displayed once the property button 904 is pressed on the UI screen 901 of the above-mentioned print management application.

[0071] Fig.11 An example of a UI screen for executing print settings for a print job according to the present embodiment is illustrated. The UI screen 1101 is managed and created by the interruption adjustment setting unit 345 on the print job management unit 342, and is displayed on the display unit 152 via the UI control unit 341. A check box 1102 is used to specify whether to perform interruption adjustment. Once the operator enters a check mark to the check box 1102, the interruption adjustment for the print job is enabled. Once the check mark is deleted from the check box 1102, the interruption adjustment for the print job is disabled. Once the OK button 1103 is pressed, the print job management unit 342 is notified of the state of the currently displayed check box 1102, and the UI screen 1101 is closed. Once the Cancel button 1104 is pressed, the interruption adjustment setting unit 345 immediately closes the UI screen 1101.

[0072] Print job execution flow in the first embodiment

[0073] A description will be given of a print job execution flow involving interruption adjustment according to the present embodiment.

[0074] In order to execute a print job, processes are respectively performed by the image processing apparatus 20 and the image forming apparatus 10, and the processes will be described in order. First, the process performed by the image processing apparatus 20 will be described.

[0075] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the image processing apparatus 20. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 144 of the image processing apparatus 20 into the RAM 143 and executing it by the CPU 141. When a print job is selected on the UI screen 901 of the print management application, this process starts when the print button 903 is pressed.

[0076] In S401 , the print job management unit 342 reads data of a target print job.

[0077] In S402, the print job management unit 342 reads the print setting information about the print setting. Fig.10 and Fig.11 The items described herein include page layout settings for a print job, and settings related to a color management system (CMS) such as a color profile. In addition, the print setting information regarding print settings includes many items, for example, settings related to image processing corrections such as halftones, and settings related to the operation of a finishing device. The print settings for a print job are of course not limited to the items described herein, and include other various setting items.

[0078] In S403, the print job processing unit 343 performs RIP processing on the print job. Herein, RIP processing on the print job means analyzing the input print job and performing processing including color conversion according to the print setting information read in S402 to develop the print job into rasterized image data. After RIP processing, the print job becomes an image data group in page units.

[0079] In S404, the print job management unit 342 transmits the processed print job data to the image forming apparatus 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 344. The print job data also includes setting item information of the print job to be used for processing in the image forming apparatus 10 in addition to the developed page image data group. After S404, the print job management unit 342 ends the processing.

[0080] Next, a description will be given of a process executed by the image forming apparatus 10. First, a print mode switching method for switching a print mode of the printer 200 will be described.

[0081] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart illustrating processing executed by the print mode switching unit 311 included in the engine control unit 304 of the device controller 100 in the image forming apparatus 10. This processing is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0082] This process starts once the engine control unit 304 executes printing of page image data that has been subjected to print processing in the page image control unit 303. This process is executed when the processing for a print job described below proceeds to S6104 or S6205.

[0083] In S501, the print mode switching unit 311 determines the color configuration (color attribute) of the page image data that has been read. Here, the color configuration means the number of colors used to form the page image data. In the printer 200 according to the present embodiment, four toners of C, M, Y and K can be used. If the page image data is formed only by the K toner, it is determined that the color configuration is "monochrome". In the case of a configuration other than "monochrome", that is, if the page image data includes even a small amount of C, M or Y toner, it is determined that the color configuration is "color". If it is determined in S501 that the page configuration is "color", the process proceeds to S502.

[0084] In S502, the print mode switching unit 311 determines the current print mode of the printer 200. If it is determined in S502 that the print mode is color, the processing proceeds to S504. If it is determined in S502 that the print mode is monochrome, the processing proceeds to S503. In S503, the print mode switching unit 311 switches the print mode of the printer 200 to the color image forming mode via the engine control unit 304. The method for controlling the switching is as described above. Because the color configuration of the page image to be printed is color, if the print mode remains in the monochrome image forming mode, printing is not executable. Therefore, the print mode is switched at this timing.

[0085] In S504, the engine control unit 304 receives an instruction from the print mode switching unit 311 and executes printing of the target page image. In S505, the print mode switching unit 311 clears the monochrome continuous counter.

[0086] Now, the monochrome continuous counter will be described. The monochrome continuous counter is information managed by the print mode switching unit 311, stored in the HDD 114 or the ROM 112, and is defined as a condition for switching the print mode of the printer 200. In the present embodiment, the monochrome continuous counter is defined as information indicating the number of consecutive pages, and the value of the predetermined number of pages is, for example, 100.

[0087] The value of the predetermined number of pages is maintained as a fixed value by the print mode switching unit 311, but is not limited thereto. For example, the value may be dynamically set in response to an input by an operator or an administrator through an unillustrated operation setting screen. In addition, the monochrome continuous counter may define an indicator different from the number of continuous pages, such as the elapsed time or the number of jobs. After completing S505, the print mode switching unit 311 ends this process.

[0088] Returning to S501, if it is determined in S501 that the page configuration is "monochrome", the process proceeds to S506. In S506, as in S504, the engine control unit 304 receives an instruction from the print mode switching unit 311 and executes printing of the target page image. Because the color configuration of the page image data is monochrome, printing can be executed regardless of the print mode of the printer 200.

[0089] In S507, the print mode switching unit 311 determines the current print mode of the printer 200. If it is determined in S507 that the print mode is color, the process proceeds to S508. If it is determined in S507 that the print mode is monochrome, the process ends.

[0090] In S508 , the print mode switching unit 311 increments the monochrome continuous counter by 1. When a monochrome page image is printed in a case where the print mode of the printer 200 is the color image forming mode, the counter is incremented by one.

[0091] In S509, the print mode switching unit 311 determines whether the monochrome continuous counter has reached a predetermined number of pages. In the present embodiment, the predetermined number of pages is set to, for example, 100. If the counter has reached the predetermined number, the process proceeds to S510. If the counter has not reached the predetermined number, the process ends. In S510, the print mode switching unit 311 switches the print mode of the printer 200 to the monochrome image forming mode via the engine control unit 304. The print mode is switched to the monochrome image forming mode to prevent the consumption of unused color toner and the wear of components due to the continuous printing of a predetermined number of monochrome image pages. The processing of printing page image data has been described. This processing is performed on all pages to be printed.

[0092] Next, the processing of a print job involving interruption adjustment will be described.

[0093] Figure 6 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a print job involving interrupt adjustment performed in the image forming apparatus 10. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111. This process is started upon receiving image data after the print process of the print job is completed in the image processing apparatus 20 in S404.

[0094] In S6001 , the page image analysis unit 302 analyzes the received print job.

[0095] Here, the image data group and the content of the setting item information of the received print job are checked. In S6002, the page image analysis unit 302 determines whether the interruption adjustment setting is enabled. If enabled, the process proceeds to S6003. In S6003, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 reads the interruption adjustment counter information and the adjustment interval information.

[0096] If it is determined in S6002 that the interrupt adjustment setting is disabled, or after S6003, the process proceeds to S6004. In S6004, the page image control unit 303 selects the image data of the first page of the print job that has been received and analyzed. In S6005, the page image control unit 303 performs print processing on the selected page.

[0097] Now, refer to Fig.19A The printing process of pairs of pages executed in S6005 is described. Fig.19A 1 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process of a page image executed in the image forming apparatus 10. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0098] In S6101, the page image control unit 303 reads the grayscale correction table described below.

[0099] In S6102 , the page image control unit 303 executes grayscale correction processing.

[0100] Now, the grayscale correction process will be described. The grayscale correction process is a correction process for keeping the output density of the image forming device 10 constant. The printer 200 that performs printing by controlling the toner and ink is susceptible to the temperature, humidity, etc. of the environment in which the device is installed and the sheet used for printing, and the output density of the print is constantly changing. When the output density of the printer 200 changes, there are differences in the image quality of the print output even if the pages created by the same image processing. The grayscale correction process can be performed to continuously obtain a stable output image quality. The grayscale correction process is a process for correcting the print data to achieve a predetermined optimal output of a toner or ink component. The grayscale correction process is usually implemented by having a lookup table (LUT) for converting an input signal value into an output signal value to achieve an appropriate output in units of a toner or ink component and by performing correction using the LUT when the print data is processed. Here, the LUT used for conversion is referred to as a grayscale correction table.

[0101] Will refer to FIG. 13A to FIG. 13C The principle of the grayscale correction process is described. The data illustrated here is stored in the HDD 114 and managed by the page image control unit 303.

[0102] Fig.13A An example of a table defining target density as a reference value of output density of each color is illustrated. Here, information of optimal output density values ​​is defined for ten input signals of 10% to 100%. The target information may be information predefined by a printer vendor or information generated by registering a value obtained by actually measuring output via the operation unit 130 by an operator.

[0103] Fig. 13B An example of measured values ​​obtained by printing grayscale patch images created based on ten input signal values ​​at a specific time point and reading their density is illustrated. These measured values ​​correspond to the current output density of the printer 200. The page image control unit 303 generates a grayscale image based on the output density of the printer 200. Fig.13A The grayscale target (reference value) and Fig. 13B The grayscale correction table is calculated using the measured values ​​in .

[0104] Fig. 13C An example of a correction value calculated as a difference in density is illustrated. The difference may be used as a correction value as it is, or a value obtained by a specific process such as multiplication by a constant may be used as a correction value. Based on these correction values, a signal value having the same density as the target density of the input signal value is associated as an output signal value to generate a grayscale correction table. In this example, ten input signal values ​​are used for description, but the number of input signal values ​​is not limited thereto. The accuracy of the correction increases with the increase in the number of signal values ​​to be used, but the number of color patches for measurement also increases. In addition, the output density varies according to the sheet on which printing is performed, so the grayscale target and the grayscale correction table can be maintained in units of sheets. A grayscale correction process for all four colors has been described herein, but it is not necessary to perform a grayscale correction process for all colors at once. A grayscale correction process for only one color or some colors may be performed. In the present embodiment, when the adjustment chart described below is composed of four colors, the correction process is performed for all four colors, and when the adjustment chart is monochrome, the correction process is performed for black.

[0105] According to the above-described processing, in S6102, the page image control unit 303 converts the signal value of the target page image to be processed by using the gray scale correction table read in S6101.

[0106] In S6103, the page image control unit 303 performs halftone processing. Halftone processing is a process of converting the signal value of a page image expressed in multi-gradation into a small number of grayscales that the printer 200 can output. This is generally referred to as a technique of expressing multiple grayscales in a pseudo manner while reducing the number of grayscales by expressing each pixel of the page image in multiple regions. In S6104, the engine control unit 304 forms page image data that is converted into data that can be printed on a sheet by the printer 200, and performs a print process. In the present embodiment, a process of switching the print mode of the printer 200 according to the color configuration of the page image occurs by the print mode switching unit 311. The print process is as described above with reference to Figure 5 When the printing of the target page is completed, this process ends.

[0107] Return to reference Figure 6 , in S6006, the page image control unit 303 determines whether the interruption adjustment setting is enabled, as in S6002.

[0108] If it is determined in S6006 that the interruption adjustment setting is disabled, the process proceeds to S6007, where the page image control unit 303 determines whether the processed page is the last page of the print job. If it is determined that the processed page is the last page, the process ends. If it is determined that the processed page is not the last page, the next page is selected in S6008, and the process returns to S6005. If it is determined in S6006 that the interruption adjustment setting is enabled, the process proceeds to S6009. In S6009, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 increments the adjustment counter read in S6003 by one.

[0109] In S6010, the interrupt adjustment chart printing control unit 309 determines whether the adjustment counter has reached the set value of the adjustment interval read in S6003. If the adjustment counter has reached the adjustment interval value, the adjustment chart printing process is performed in or after the next S6011. If the adjustment counter has not reached the adjustment interval value, the process returns to S6007 and the above process is continued.

[0110] If it is determined in S6010 that the adjustment counter has reached the adjustment interval value, the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 and the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 generate an interruption adjustment chart in S6011.

[0111] Now, the determination and generation of the interruption adjustment map performed in S6011 will be described. Figure 72 is a flowchart illustrating the process of generating an interruption adjustment chart in S6011. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0112] In S701, the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 analyzes the page image whose adjustment counter has reached the adjustment interval value, that is, analyzes the page image of the predetermined number page. Specifically, the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 analyzes the color configuration information of the target page image. The color configuration information is as described above in S501.

[0113] In S702, the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 determines whether the color configuration of the page image is color or monochrome based on the analysis result in S701. In the case of color, the process proceeds to S703. In the case of monochrome, the process proceeds to S704. If it is determined in S702 that the color configuration is color, the process proceeds to S703, where the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 selects a color grayscale patch. The grayscale patch will be described below.

[0114] If it is determined in S702 that the color configuration is monochrome, the process proceeds to S704, where the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 selects a monochrome grayscale patch. The grayscale patch will be described below. In S705, the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 creates page image data for an adjustment chart by using the grayscale patch selected in S703 or S704.

[0115] Now, refer to Fig. 12A and Fig. 12B Describes the page of the tuning chart to be generated. Fig. 12A and Fig. 12B 12 are diagrams each illustrating an example of a page image (gray pattern image) of an adjustment chart. This chart is determined and generated by the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308. Page image 1201 is an example of a page image in the case where a color grayscale patch is selected in S703. Page image 1211 is an example of a page image in the case where a monochrome grayscale patch is selected in S704.

[0116] In the page image 1201, grayscale patches expressed by four color toners are arranged at predetermined positions (1202 to 1205) in the page. In this example, each toner is configured as ten grayscale patches with step-wise changes in density. However, the number of patches is not limited to this, as described above in the grayscale correction process. Figure 2The sensor 220 in the sheet conveying path is installed, and the grayscale patches 1202 to 1205 are arranged in the page image so as to pass through the position of the sensor 220. Here, the sensor 220 includes two fixedly deployed sensors 220, but the number and position of the sensor 220 are not limited thereto. One sensor 220 may be fixedly deployed at a certain position, or four sensors 220 may be fixedly deployed at certain positions. Alternatively, one or more sensors 220 may be installed in a movable state. In addition, the adjustment chart to be generated may have a layout that allows the sensor 220 to read the grayscale patches according to the number and installation state of the sensor 220. In addition, the layout of the grayscale patches on the adjustment chart may be changed according to the size or type of the sheet so that the sensor 220 can read the grayscale patches.

[0117] In the page image 1211, grayscale blocks expressed by a single color black toner are arranged at predetermined positions (1212 and 1213) in the page. In this example, the black toner is configured as twenty grayscale blocks with step-wise changes in concentration. However, as described above, the number and layout of the arranged grayscale blocks are not limited thereto. When S705 has been completed, the process proceeds to S6012.

[0118] In S6012, the interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 309 executes the interruption adjustment chart printing process. Fig.19B The interruption adjustment chart printing process executed in S6012 is described.

[0119] Fig.19B 1 is a flowchart illustrating an interruption adjustment chart printing process executed in the image forming apparatus 10. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0120] In S6201, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 reads the current grayscale correction table. In S6202, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 performs grayscale correction processing. In S6203, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 performs halftone processing. In S6204, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 instructs the sensor control unit 305 to control the sensor 220 and measure the density of the grayscale patch formed and printed on the page image 1201 or 1211.

[0121] In S6205, the engine control unit 304 forms a page image (grayscale pattern image) of the adjustment chart on the sheet, thereby performing print output. At the same time, the sensor control unit 305 measures the density of the color patch. In this embodiment, a process of switching the print mode of the printer 200 according to the color configuration of the page image by the print mode switching unit 311 occurs. The print process is as described above with reference to Figure 5 When printing is completed, this process ends.

[0122] Return to reference Figure 6 In the flowchart of FIG. 6013, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 receives the measurement result of the adjustment color block obtained by the sensor 220. In S6014, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 generates grayscale correction data. Now, referring to Fig.19C The gray scale correction data generation process performed in S6014 is described. The principle of gray scale correction is as described above.

[0123] Fig.19C 1 is a flowchart illustrating gray scale correction data generation processing executed in the image forming apparatus 10. This processing is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0124] In S6301, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 reads the grayscale correction target corresponding to the sheet on which the adjustment chart is printed from the page image control unit 303. In S6302, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 reads the measurement result of the adjustment patch of the sensor 220 received in S6013. In S6303, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 calculates the difference between the grayscale target and the measured value. In S6304, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 generates a new grayscale correction table based on the calculated difference. In this way, a new grayscale correction table is generated each time an interruption occurs and an adjustment chart is output.

[0125] As described above, the new correction table to be generated can be changed according to the color configuration of the adjustment color block measured in S6013. In this embodiment, if the configuration of the adjustment chart is formed by four colors, then the grayscale correction table is generated for all four colors, and if the configuration of the adjustment chart is monochrome, then the grayscale correction table is generated for black monochrome.

[0126] Return to reference Figure 6 , in S6015, the interruption adjustment execution unit 310 updates the grayscale correction table with the newly generated grayscale correction table and stores the new grayscale correction table. In S6016, the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 clears the interruption adjustment counter, and the process advances to S6007 to continue the above-mentioned process.

[0127] As a result of executing this process, during the printing of a print job for which adjustment settings are enabled, each time the number of printed pages reaches the set adjustment interval, an adjustment chart is generated and printed. Based on the measured values ​​obtained by measuring the grayscale patches printed on the adjustment chart, a grayscale correction table is newly generated and updated. The updated grayscale correction table is applied to the print process immediately after the update, so that stable output image quality can be obtained during the printing of the print job.

[0128] According to the present embodiment, in a printing system that prints an adjustment chart during execution of a print job and applies the measurement results of the color patch density of the adjustment chart to grayscale correction processing, the grayscale color patches of the adjustment chart are changed according to the color configuration of the print job. Thus, if the pages of the print job are composed of color images, color adjustment can be performed, and if the pages are composed of monochrome images, monochrome adjustment can be performed, and switching between color adjustment and monochrome adjustment is performed at the same time. Therefore, unnecessary toner consumption or wear of device components can be prevented.

[0129] Second embodiment

[0130] In the first embodiment, a process of making a determination based on the analysis result of the page image when the counter has been reached is described as a method for determining the configuration of the grayscale blocks of the adjustment chart. In the second embodiment, a description will be given of a method for determining the configuration of the adjustment chart that is different from that of the first embodiment. The hardware configuration, software configuration, and printing process are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the drawings and descriptions thereof are omitted. In the following, only the differences will be described. In this embodiment, Figure 6 The generation of the interruption adjustment chart in S6011 in the flowchart of FIG. 1 is different.

[0131] Fig.14 1 is a flowchart illustrating the process of generating an interruption adjustment chart in S6011 according to the present embodiment. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0132] In S1401, the interrupt adjustment chart determination unit 308 checks the print mode (image forming mode) of the printer 200 controlled by the engine control unit 304. The print mode (image forming mode) has been determined based on the reference Figure 5 The described process is dynamically switched and has become the color image forming mode or the monochrome image forming mode. In the case of the color image forming mode, the process proceeds to S1402. In the case of the monochrome image forming mode, the process proceeds to S1403.

[0133] If it is determined in S1401 that the printing mode is the color image forming mode, the process proceeds to S1402, where the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 selects color grayscale patches. If it is determined in S1401 that the printing mode is the monochrome image forming mode, the process proceeds to S1403, where the discontinuity adjustment chart determination unit 308 selects monochrome grayscale patches.

[0134] S1404 is the same as S705, so the description thereof is omitted. The printing process after the generation of the adjustment chart in S6011 is the same as that in the first embodiment, so the description thereof is omitted.

[0135] According to the present embodiment, the interrupt adjustment chart determination unit 308 changes the grayscale patches of the adjustment chart according to the print mode of the printer 200 controlled by the engine control unit 304. Thus, if the pages of the print job are composed of color images, color adjustment can be performed, and if the pages are composed of monochrome images, monochrome adjustment can be performed, while switching between color adjustment and monochrome adjustment is performed. Therefore, unnecessary toner consumption or wear of device components can be prevented.

[0136] In a configuration in which the printing mode switches between color and monochrome, downtime occurs for switching the printing mode from the monochrome image forming mode to the color image forming mode to print color patches. According to the present embodiment, the occurrence of downtime can be prevented.

[0137] Third embodiment

[0138] In the first and second embodiments, description has been given of the configuration in which the device controller 100 of the image forming apparatus 10 performs generation of an interruption adjustment chart and control to perform interruption adjustment.

[0139] In the third embodiment, a description will be given of a configuration in which the RIP controller 140 of the image processing apparatus 20 generates an interruption adjustment chart. Hereinafter, only the differences will be described.

[0140] The hardware configuration is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus drawings and descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0141] Fig.15A 11 is a block diagram of the device controller 100, illustrating a software module configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. These software modules are stored as programs in the HDD 114, loaded into the RAM 113, and executed by the CPU 111.

[0142] The control and operation of the UI control unit 1501, the page image analysis unit 1502, the page image control unit 1503, the engine control unit 1504, and the sensor control unit 1505 are as follows: Figure 3AThe control of the corresponding units 301 to 305 having the same names in FIG. 1 is the same, so the description thereof is omitted. The control of the interrupt adjustment interval setting unit 1507, the interrupt adjustment execution unit 1508, and the print mode switching unit 1509 is the same as that of FIG. Figure 3A The controls of the corresponding units 307, 310 and 311 with the same names are the same, so their description is omitted.

[0143] The control of the data transmission / reception unit 1506 is the same as that of the data transmission / reception unit 306, and the data transmission / reception unit 1506 controls the transmission / reception of data to / from the image processing apparatus 20. The data transmitted / received is, for example, data of a print job, setting registration information stored in the image forming apparatus 10, etc. In addition, in the present embodiment, the data transmission / reception unit 1506 transmits the value set in the interrupt adjustment interval setting unit 1507 and the print mode information of the printer 200 to the image processing apparatus 20.

[0144] Fig. 15B 140 is a block diagram of the RIP controller 140, illustrating a software module configuration of the image processing apparatus 20. These software modules are stored in the HDD 144 as programs, and are loaded into the RAM 143 and executed by the CPU 141.

[0145] The control and operation of the UI control unit 1541, the print job management unit 1542, the print job processing unit 1543, and the interruption adjustment setting unit 1545 are Figure 3B The controls of the corresponding units 341 to 343 and 345 having the same names are the same, so their description is omitted.

[0146] The control of the data transmission / reception unit 1544 is the same as that of the data transmission / reception unit 344, and the data transmission / reception unit 1544 manages transmission / reception of various data to / from the image forming apparatus 10. The print job data generated by the print job processing unit 1543 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10 by the data transmission / reception unit 1544. In addition, the data transmission / reception unit 1544 manages transmission / reception of data to / from the client PC 30 connected via the external network 40. In addition, in the present embodiment, the data transmission / reception unit 1544 receives the setting value set in the interruption adjustment interval setting unit 1507 and the printing mode information of the printer 200 from the image forming apparatus 10.

[0147] The break adjustment chart determination unit 1546 is the same as the break adjustment chart determination unit 308 of the device controller 100 according to the first and second embodiments. The break adjustment chart determination unit 1546 receives information to be used for determination from the image forming apparatus 10 and determines the patch layout configuration of the break adjustment chart.

[0148] The interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 1547 is the same as the interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 309 of the device controller 100 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment. In order to print the adjustment chart received from the image forming apparatus 10 at a specified interval, the interruption adjustment chart printing control unit 1547 performs processing related to counting or clearing the number of pages of the print job subjected to the RIP process, generating an adjustment chart image, and inserting a page in the print job.

[0149] Fig.16 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a print job involving interrupt adjustment executed in the image processing apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 144 of the image processing apparatus 20 into the RAM 143 and executing it by the CPU 141.

[0150] Reference will mainly be made to the first and second embodiments. Figures 4 to 6 A description of the differences in the processing described.

[0151] S1601 to S1603 are the same as S401 to S403 in the first and second embodiments, so their description is omitted. In S1604, the print job processing unit 1543 analyzes the image page group and print setting information after RIP processing. Subsequently, in S1605 to S1607, the print job processing unit 1543 performs processing similar to that in S6002 to S6004.

[0152] In S1608, the print job management unit 1542 transmits the processed page image to the image forming apparatus 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 1544. The print job data also includes setting item information about the print job to be used for processing in the image forming apparatus 10 in addition to the developed page image data.

[0153] S1609 to S1611 are executed by the print job management unit 1542. These steps are the same as S6006 to S6008 executed by the page image control unit 303 in the first and second embodiments, and thus description thereof is omitted.

[0154] S1612 and S1613 are executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 1547. These steps are the same as S6009 and S6010 executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 in the first and second embodiments, so their description is omitted. S1614 is executed by the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 1546. This step is the same as S6011 executed by the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 in the first and second embodiments.

[0155] In addition, in the first and second embodiments, in reference to Figure 7 and Fig.14 In the described processing, determination of the interruption adjustment chart is implemented by the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 308 of the image forming apparatus 10. In the present embodiment, the determination is implemented by the interruption adjustment chart determination unit 1546 of the image processing apparatus 20. The method is the same as that in the first and second embodiments, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

[0156] In S1615, the print job management unit 1542 transmits the processed page image to the image forming apparatus 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 1544. In addition to the developed page image data, the print job data also includes information indicating the adjustment chart. S1616 is executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 1547. This step is the same as S6016 executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 in the first and second embodiments, so its description is omitted.

[0157] Fig.17 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a print job involving interrupt adjustment executed in the image forming apparatus 10. This process is realized by loading a program stored in the HDD 114 of the image forming apparatus 10 into the RAM 113 and executing it by the CPU 111.

[0158] Reference will mainly be made to the first and second embodiments. Figures 4 to 6 S1701 and S1702 are executed by the page image analysis unit 1502 and the page image control unit 1503. These steps are the same as S6001 and S6004 executed by the page image analysis unit 302 and the page image control unit 303 in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0159] In S1703, the page image analysis unit 1502 determines whether the selected page is a page image for adjustment. This determination is made based on the information attached to the adjustment chart transmitted in S1615.

[0160] If it is determined in S1703 that the selected page is not an adjustment chart, the process proceeds to S1704, where the page image control unit 1503 performs print processing on the target page. This step is the same as S6005 in the first and second embodiments. The details are the same as those in the reference 1704. Fig.19A S1705 and S1706 are executed by the page image control unit 1502. These steps are the same as S6007 and S6008 executed by the page image control unit 303 in the first and second embodiments, so description thereof is omitted.

[0161] S1707 is executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 1547. This step is the same as S6012 executed by the interruption adjustment chart print control unit 309 in the first and second embodiments. Fig.19B Those described are the same, so their description is omitted.

[0162] S1708 to S1710 are executed by the discontinuity adjustment chart print control unit 1547. These steps are the same as S6013 to S6015 executed by the page image control unit 303 in the first and second embodiments, and therefore description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, a description has been given of the configuration in which a discontinuity adjustment chart is generated and controlled by the image processing apparatus 20.

[0163] According to the present embodiment, in a printing system that prints an adjustment chart during execution of a print job and applies the measurement results of the color patch density of the adjustment chart to grayscale correction processing, the grayscale color patches of the adjustment chart are changed according to the color configuration of the print job. Thus, if the pages of the print job are composed of color images, color adjustment can be performed, and if the pages are composed of monochrome images, monochrome adjustment can be performed, and switching between color adjustment and monochrome adjustment is performed at the same time. Therefore, unnecessary toner consumption or wear of device components can be prevented.

[0164] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, when printing of a predetermined number of pages has been performed, the color configuration of the gray pattern image can be switched according to the image forming mode of the device, and thus excessive consumption of recording materials used to print the gray pattern image can be prevented.

[0165] Other embodiments

[0166] The (one or more) embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by reading out and executing computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more completely referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform the functions of one or more of the above (one or more) embodiments and / or a system or device including one or more circuits (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above (one or more) embodiments, and by a method performed by a computer of a system or device, for example, by reading out and executing computer executable instructions from a storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above (one or more) embodiments and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above (one or more) embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU)), and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a storage device of a distributed computing system, an optical disk (such as a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), or a Blu-ray disk (BD)), a flash memory device, a memory card, etc.

[0167] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by providing software (program) for performing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0168] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus for switching between a color printing mode for performing printing using a plurality of recording materials including a color recording material and a monochrome printing mode for performing printing using a black monochrome recording material without using a color recording material, the apparatus comprising: a printing device for printing a gray pattern image on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table in accordance with printing of images of a predetermined number of pages having been performed; a measuring device for reading the printed grayscale pattern image and measuring the color of the grayscale pattern image; an enabling device for enabling the interruption adjustment setting, wherein when the interruption adjustment setting is not enabled, the enabling device does not increment the adjustment counter by one at each timing of printing the sheet, and when the interruption adjustment setting is enabled, the enabling device increments the adjustment counter by one at each timing of printing the sheet; a printing control device, for causing the printing device to print a grayscale pattern image when the adjustment counter has reached a predetermined value; generating means for generating grayscale correction data based on the color measurement result of the printed grayscale pattern image by the measuring means and the reference value; as well as correction means for performing grayscale correction on the image data by using the generated grayscale correction data, wherein the printed gray pattern image is determined based on a printing mode of the device acquired when printing of a predetermined number of pages has been performed, and When the acquired printing mode is a color printing mode, the printing control device causes the printing device to print a color grayscale pattern image by using a color recording material, and when the acquired printing mode is a monochrome printing mode, the printing control device causes the printing device to print a monochrome grayscale pattern image by using a black monochrome recording material instead of a color recording material, and the color grayscale pattern image includes a plurality of color block images with gradient concentrations.

2. An image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to: when the acquired printing mode is a color printing mode, at least print color patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using a first color recording material and color patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using a second color recording material different from the first color recording material. 3 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of recording materials including a color recording material include at least two of a cyan toner, a yellow toner, a magenta toner, and a black toner.

4. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising setting means for setting the predetermined number of pages via an operation section of the image processing apparatus.

5. A control method for controlling an image processing apparatus for switching between a color printing mode for performing printing using a plurality of recording materials including a color recording material and a monochrome printing mode for performing printing using a black monochrome recording material without using a color recording material, the method comprising: printing a gray pattern image on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table in accordance with printing of an image of a predetermined number of pages having been performed; reading a printed grayscale pattern image and measuring the color of the grayscale pattern image; Enable interrupt adjustment settings; When the interruption adjustment setting is not enabled, the adjustment counter is not incremented by one at each timing of printing a sheet, and when the interruption adjustment setting is enabled, the adjustment counter is incremented by one at each timing of printing a sheet; printing a grayscale pattern image when the adjustment counter has reached a predetermined value; generating grayscale correction data based on a color measurement result of the printed grayscale pattern image by the measuring section and a reference value; as well as By performing gamma correction on the image data using the generated gamma correction data, wherein the printed gray pattern image is determined based on a printing mode of the device acquired when printing of a predetermined number of pages has been performed, and When the acquired printing mode is a color printing mode, a color grayscale pattern image is printed by using a color recording material, and when the acquired printing mode is a monochrome printing mode, a monochrome grayscale pattern image is printed by using a black monochrome recording material instead of a color recording material, and the color grayscale pattern image includes a plurality of color block images with gradient concentrations.

6. The control method according to claim 5, wherein: When the acquired printing mode is the color printing mode, at least patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using the first color recording material and patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using the second color recording material are printed.

7. The control method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of recording materials including a color recording material include at least two of a cyan toner, a yellow toner, a magenta toner, and a black toner.

8. The control method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising setting a predetermined number of pages.

9. A non-transitory recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling an apparatus for switching between a color printing mode for performing printing using a plurality of recording materials including a color recording material and a monochrome printing mode for performing printing using a black monochrome recording material without using a color recording material, the method comprising: printing a gray pattern image on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table in accordance with printing of an image of a predetermined number of pages having been performed; reading a printed grayscale pattern image and measuring the color of the grayscale pattern image; Enable interrupt adjustment settings; When the interruption adjustment setting is not enabled, the adjustment counter is not incremented by one at each timing of printing a sheet, and when the interruption adjustment setting is enabled, the adjustment counter is incremented by one at each timing of printing a sheet; printing a grayscale pattern image when the adjustment counter has reached a predetermined value; generating grayscale correction data based on a color measurement result of the printed grayscale pattern image by the measuring section and a reference value; as well as By performing gamma correction on the image data using the generated gamma correction data, wherein the printed gray pattern image is determined based on a printing mode of the device acquired when printing of a predetermined number of pages has been performed, and When the acquired printing mode is a color printing mode, a color grayscale pattern image is printed by using a color recording material, and when the acquired printing mode is a monochrome printing mode, a monochrome grayscale pattern image is printed by using a black monochrome recording material instead of a color recording material, and the color grayscale pattern image includes a plurality of color block images with gradient concentrations.

10. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 9, wherein When the acquired printing mode is the color printing mode, at least patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using the first color recording material and patch images each having one of a plurality of densities by using the second color recording material are printed. 11 . The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 9 , wherein the plurality of recording materials including a color recording material include at least two of a cyan toner, a yellow toner, a magenta toner, and a black toner.

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