Printing system, storage medium, computer device, and image forming apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a printing system, a storage medium, a computer device, and an image forming device, and aims to reduce a printing target image design constraint. An information processing device of the present invention has a display control section that displays a print setting screen for receiving a print setting for superimposing a specific color image on a print target image on a display section; a storage location information creating section that, after the print setting has been received through the print setting screen, transmits a specific color image related to the print setting to an image management server through a network, and acquires storage location information indicating a storage location of the specific color image from the image management server; and a first communication section that sends print data including a print instruction including the print setting, an image of a print target, and the acquired storage location information to an image forming device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to printing systems, storage media, computer devices, and image forming apparatuses. Background Technology

[0002] From the perspectives of development, transfer, fixing, and image quality, toners used in image formation, such as those for laser printers, are required to possess a wide variety of properties. In response, techniques for image formation using toners that reflect or absorb specific wavelengths of light have been explored previously. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2006-38933) discloses a technique for image formation by mixing an infrared absorber into a toner containing C, M, Y, and K (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black).

[0003] However, existing technologies have limitations on the design of images for printed objects. Design refers to the arrangement and color scheme of text, patterns, images, etc. Specifically, the information processing device embeds an image, such as a barcode, printed in a specific color within the page containing the image of the printed object. The image forming device removes the white space from the barcode during printing, thus leaving that area blank. If the image forming device does not remove the white space, the barcode image will be retained. Therefore, the limitation of existing technologies is that the entire page of the printed object image cannot be used for designing the printed object image. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned issues, the present invention aims to reduce the constraints of the design of printed object images and to print using specific colors.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a printing system connected to an image management server via a network, including an information processing device and an image forming device. The information processing device comprises: a display control unit for displaying a print setting screen on a display screen, the print setting screen accepting print settings indicating that an image of a specific color will be overlaid on an image of a printable object; a save location information creation unit for, when the print setting is accepted via the print setting screen, sending the image of the specific color associated with the print setting to the image management server via the network, and obtaining save location information indicating the save location of the image of the specific color from the image management server; and a first communication unit for sending print data to the image forming device, the print data... The image forming apparatus includes a printer, a printer, a second communication unit for receiving the print data, an acquisition unit for acquiring the image of the specific color from an image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit, a drawing unit for creating image data based on the print instructions contained in the print data, the image data being used to overlay and print the image of the specific color acquired from the image management server onto the image of the print object contained in the print data, and a print control unit for printing the created image data using the printer.

[0006] The advantage of this invention is that it can reduce the constraints of image design on printed objects. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the problems that exist when printing with a specific color.

[0008] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating examples of printed images, IR toner printed images, and printed parts.

[0009] Figure 3 This is an example flowchart of how a printing system works.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an example of a printing system.

[0011] Figure 5 This is a block diagram of an example hardware configuration of an information processing device and an IR image management server.

[0012] Figure 6 This is an example hardware block diagram of an image forming apparatus.

[0013] Figure 7 This is an example of a functional block diagram of an information processing device and an IR image management server.

[0014] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the image management table owned by the IR toner image management program.

[0015] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an example of an IR image management table.

[0016] Figure 10 This is an example functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus.

[0017] Figure 11 It is a flowchart of a process or operation performed by the print driver.

[0018] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a print settings screen.

[0019] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a process or operation of the IR toner image management program, specifically addressing user settings related to the creation of IR image management tables.

[0020] Figure 14 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing or operation of the IR toner image manager when the print driver calls the IR toner image manager.

[0021] Figure 15 This is a flowchart of an example of a process or operation in which the IR image management server, having received the IR toner print image and print location, sends the URL to the IR toner image management program.

[0022] Figure 16 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing or operation of printing data by an image forming apparatus.

[0023] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus performing IR toner printing.

[0024] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of an example of overlay printing. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrates an example of a printing system implementing the present invention and a printing method performed by the printing system.

[0026] <Supplementary Explanation of Existing Technical Issues>

[0027] Use here Figure 1 Provide supplementary explanations of the problems existing in the prior art. Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating a problem in printing with a specific color (hereinafter also referred to as a spot color). Figure 1 This demonstrates a method for printing using spot color toners in a general-purpose application that processes RGB image data but cannot create spot color layers. For example... Figure 1 As shown in (a), the user pre-embeds a printed image printed with spot toner (e.g., a barcode printed with IR toner, hereinafter referred to as an IR toner printed image) in part 201 of the printed image that is to be printed.

[0028] The image forming apparatus 30 cuts out an IR toner printing image from a portion 201 of a printed image at a designated location and overlaps it onto another designated location. Figure 1 In (b) of the image, the area representing the photograph is blank, therefore a portion 201 of the printed image will inevitably be blank in the printed result. Although the image forming apparatus 30 can retain the IR toner printed image on a portion 201 of the printed image, it is not desirable to leave barcodes, etc. Therefore, since the area of ​​the printed image that requires the IR toner printed image exists, there is a problem that the user cannot design the printed image using a whole page.

[0029] <Printing System Operations>

[0030] The following is for reference Figure 2 , Figure 3 This embodiment briefly describes the method of forming an image using spot colors using the image forming apparatus. First, Figure 2 This represents an example of a printed image, an IR toner printed image, and a printout. Figure 2 (a) and (b) are the first and second pages of the printed image, respectively. Although the pages are different, the printing results are different, but the processing flow is the same. Figure 3 This is an example of a flowchart of a printing system. Figure 3 The processing is mainly carried out by information processing devices and image forming devices.

[0031] (1) An application software operates in the information processing device to execute multiple IR toner printing images 101. Figure 2 The application manages IR toner images (e.g., barcodes) and accepts user-specified IR toner print images 101 for each page during printing. This application software will be referred to as the "IR toner image management program (label 12)". The IR toner image management program 12 can also save the correspondence between each page of the print image and the IR toner print image.

[0032] (2) The user operates the general application to prepare the print image 102 as the print object. Figure 2 The image and price of cherries and grapes are shown in print image 102.

[0033] (3) After the user issues a print instruction, the image forming apparatus 30 overlays the IR toner print image 101 onto the print image 102 and then prints. The output is a print 103, which appears transparent to the naked eye as the IR toner print image 101 is overlaid on the print image 102.

[0034] Next, according to Figure 3 Please provide an explanation.

[0035] S1: The user operates a general application to prepare the image for printing.

[0036] S2: When the user specifies printing with IR toner, the printer driver 11 calls the IR toner image management program 12. The printer driver 11 transmits the print data of the printed image to the IR toner image management program 12.

[0037] S3: The user operates the IR toner image management program 12 to specify the IR toner print image and print position for each page of print image (an example of position information).

[0038] S4: The IR toner image management program 12 sends the IR toner print image and print location to the IR image management server 50. After saving the received IR toner print image and print location, the IR image management server 50 generates a URL representing the save location and sends the URL to the IR toner image management program 12. The IR toner image management program 12 draws the URL received from the IR image management server 50 at the specified location on the print image. The IR toner image management program 12 sets a print instruction indicating that the URL is the save location of the IR toner print image and prints the IR toner print image with a specific color. The IR toner image management program 12 performs the same processing on all pages and sends the print image to the image forming apparatus.

[0039] S5: The image forming apparatus retrieves URL 111 from a designated location on each page. When the print instruction specifies that URL 111 is related to IR toner printing, it retrieves the IR toner printing image and printing position from the storage location indicated by URL 111. The image forming apparatus overlays the printed image with IR toner at the printing position of the printed image (more details about overlay printing will be discussed later). Figure 18 (See detailed explanation below). In this way, the image forming apparatus can overlay a printed IR toner image onto the printed image.

[0040] In this way, the printer driver 11 receives the specification for IR toner printing and transmits the print data to the IR toner image management program 12. The IR toner image management program 12 associates the user-specified IR toner print image with the print image. After processing the entire page, the IR toner image management program 12 returns the print data to the printer driver 11, and the printer driver 11 transmits the processed print data to the image forming apparatus 30. The image forming apparatus 30 analyzes the print data of each page, and if a print instruction for printing with IR toner is attached, it overlays the IR toner print image onto the print image.

[0041] Therefore, applications that process ordinary RGB image data can be used for printing with IR toners. Furthermore, users can design printed images using entire pages.

[0042] <Terminology>

[0043] A specific color (spot color) refers to a color other than C, M, Y, and K (these are called printing colors). Examples of specific colors include gold, silver, white, or transparent. Some image forming apparatuses 30 (especially inkjet types) can use toners other than C, M, Y, and K, so the spot colors in the image forming apparatus 30 can be different. Application software can process colors that cannot be represented by RGB. Toners or inks that can print spot colors are called spot color materials. In this embodiment, the color of an IR toner is used as the spot color.

[0044] Transparency means that a substance is not visible to a certain wavelength of light. It doesn't require complete invisibility, just a visually undetectable appearance and / or inaccessible to cameras. Transparent toners or inks are sometimes also called invisible toners or invisible inks.

[0045] The image forming apparatus 30 used in this embodiment is not an image forming apparatus 30 capable of specifying spot colors other than C, M, Y, and K for printing, but rather, for example, an image forming apparatus 30 that assigns spot colors to K. That is, only C, M, Y, and K colors can be processed. The image forming apparatus 30 of this embodiment does not use K-color toners, but instead stores spot color material in a K-color toner cartridge. However, an image forming apparatus 30 capable of specifying spot colors for printing (C, M, Y, K + spot color) can also be used.

[0046] Images of a specific color are images printed using spot colors. In this embodiment, an image printed using IR toner will be used as an example.

[0047] <System Composition>

[0048] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a printing system 100. Figure 4The printing system 100 shown includes an information processing unit 10 and one or more image forming devices 30. The information processing unit 10 and the image forming device 30 can be connected to an IR image management server 50. An image forming device 30 connected to the information processing unit 10 via a dedicated line is referred to as image forming device 30A, and an image forming device 30 connected via a network is referred to as image forming device 30B. Any one of the multiple image forming devices 30A and 30B is referred to as "image forming device 30".

[0049] The information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30A are connected one-to-one via a dedicated line such as a USB cable. However, they do not need to be connected at all times, and the user can detach the dedicated line. In addition to USB cables, other options include PC cards, PCI, IEEE 1394, SCSI, etc.

[0050] The information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30A can also be connected wirelessly in a communicative manner. Wireless communication methods for peer-to-peer connections include Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, etc.

[0051] The information processing device 10 is communicatively connected to the image forming apparatus 30B via a network. This network N is assumed to be a common network such as a LAN or the Internet. A LAN is, for example, a LAN within a facility such as a company where the image forming apparatus 30B is installed. Alternatively, the network N may include a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and a wide area Ethernet (registered trademark). The network N can be wired or wireless, or a combination of both.

[0052] Information processing device 10 executes various control programs and application software, such as OS (operating system) and printer driver 11, providing functions corresponding to the application software; it is also commonly referred to as a computer. Control programs are, for example, programs called device drivers (software that enables control of hardware connected to a personal computer via the OS), and an example of a device driver is printer driver 11. Information processing device 10 includes, for example, PCs (personal computers), smartphones, tablet computers, PDAs (personal digital assistants), wearable PCs, etc.

[0053] In addition, the information processing device 10 can also be an electronic blackboard (whiteboard, device with electronic blackboard function that can communicate with each other), a digital sign, a projector, a video conferencing terminal, etc., as long as it is a device that runs an OS, control program and application software.

[0054] The image forming apparatus 30 primarily forms images such as text or graphics on a recording medium using toners or inks. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 30 can form images of C, M, and Y image data not only using toners or inks that are readable to the naked eye (hereinafter referred to as visible materials), but also images of K image data using spot color materials (tone agents or inks). The image forming apparatus 30 can form images on the same recording medium using both visible materials and spot color materials, or it can form images using only one of these materials.

[0055] Spot color materials can be toners or inks that absorb infrared light (around 850nm), including near-infrared light, while absorbing less in the visible light range (around 400-700nm) (visible light absorption is less than infrared light absorption). Such spot color materials are transparent to visible light (invisible treatment) but readable under infrared light. Therefore, spot color means transparent to visible light. Spot color materials are absorbed when exposed to infrared light, thus appearing black. C, M, and Y colors are transparent to infrared light. On the other hand, some K color materials (usually black toners) absorb infrared light, while others do not. If an infrared-absorbing K color and a spot color material are formed simultaneously, both appear black, making it difficult to identify barcodes or similar items formed by the spot color material. Therefore, infrared-absorbing K colors and spot color materials cannot be formed on the same sheet of paper. On the other hand, even when the K color, which does not absorb infrared light, is formed on the same sheet of paper together with a spot color material, only the spot color material appears black when illuminated with infrared light, making it possible to identify barcodes and the like formed by the spot color material. This embodiment describes an image forming apparatus 30 that does not use the K color for printing. Therefore, black is displayed by overlapping C, M, and Y. However, it is also acceptable to print using five colors, including the K color, which does not absorb infrared light, along with the spot color.

[0056] Because spot color materials can form information that can determine the authenticity of the output, they can prevent the duplication of outputs. Due to this enhanced security, spot color materials can be referred to as security-grade consumer materials.

[0057] Spot color materials can also be toners or inks that absorb ultraviolet (UV) light but absorb little visible light. Additionally, materials that are transparent under normal conditions but become visible through chemical changes induced by heat, lasers, or pharmaceuticals can also be used to form images. Alternatively, they can be used to create textures or depressions to form information that is difficult to discern with the naked eye.

[0058] The recording medium for printing by the image forming apparatus 30 can be any medium capable of adhering to toner or ink. This refers to things that can adhere temporarily, things that are fixed after adhesion, things that adhere and penetrate, etc. Specific examples include recording media such as special paper, recording paper, special recording paper, films, cloth, etc., electronic substrates, electronic components such as piezoelectric elements, powder layers, etc. Unless otherwise specified, this includes all media to which toner or ink can adhere.

[0059] The materials to which "colorant or ink can adhere" include paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., as long as the colorant or ink can adhere temporarily.

[0060] The image forming apparatus 30 includes, in addition to a printing device using electrophotographic technology, a printing device using inkjet technology that ejects droplets, and a printing device using thermal transfer ribbon. The image forming apparatus 30 can also be a multifunction printer. The term "multifunction" in multifunction printer refers to having multiple functions such as image forming, fax transmission and reception, document scanning, and copying. Multifunction printers are sometimes referred to as MFPs (Multifunction Peripherals / Printers / Products). However, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 30 only needs to have image forming functionality. The image forming apparatus 30 can also be called a printer.

[0061] An IR image management server 50 is an information processing system with one or more computers. An IR image management server 50 only needs to be a computer that creates and stores IR toner print images and print locations. Therefore, an IR image management server 50 does not necessarily need to be called a server. An IR image management server 50 can reside either on the Internet or locally. Ideally, an IR image management server 50 should support cloud computing. "Cloud" is a term used when unintentionally utilizing specific hardware resources.

[0062] <Hardware Components>

[0063] The hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30 in the printing system 100 will be described below.

[0064] [Information processing device and IR image management server]

[0065] Figure 5 This is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing device 10 and the IR image management server 50. (See diagram for example.) Figure 5 As shown, the information processing device 10 and the IR image management server 50 are composed of computers, such as... Figure 5As shown, it includes a CPU 501, ROM 502, RAM 503, HD 504, HDD (hard disk drive) controller 505, display 506, peripheral connection I / F (interface) 508, network I / F 509, data bus 510, keyboard 511, indicating device 512, optical driver 514, and media I / F 516.

[0066] The CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the information processing device 10 and the IR image management server 50. The ROM 502 stores the program used to drive the CPU 501, such as the IPL. The RAM 503 serves as the working area for the CPU 501. The HDD 504 stores various data, including programs. The HDD controller 505, under the control of the CPU 501, controls the reading and writing of various data in the HDD 504. The display 506 (an example display unit) displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, text, or images. The peripheral connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various peripherals. In this case, peripherals may include USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or printers. The network I / F 509 is an interface for data communication using a network N. The data bus 510 is used for electrical connections. Figure 5 The CPU501 and other components shown include the address bus and data bus.

[0067] Additionally, the keyboard 511 is an input device equipped with multiple keys for inputting text, numbers, various instructions, etc. The indicator device 512 is an input device for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting processing objects, moving the cursor, etc. The optical disc drive 514 controls the reading or writing of various data in an optical storage medium 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. The optical drive 514 is a CD, DVD, Blu-ray (registered trademark), etc. The media I / F 516 controls the reading or writing (storage) of data in a recording medium 515 such as flash memory.

[0068] [Image forming apparatus]

[0069] Figure 6 This is a hardware block diagram of the image forming apparatus 30. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the image forming apparatus 30 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, and a network I / F 950.

[0070] The controller 910 includes a CPU 901, a MEM-P (system memory) 902, an NB (northbridge) 903, an SB (southbridge) 904, an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) 906, a MEM-C (local memory) 907 (as a storage unit), an HDD controller 908, and an HD 909 (as a storage unit), and the NB 903 and ASIC 906 are connected via an AGP (accelerated graphics port) bus 921.

[0071] Among them, CPU901 is the control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 30. NB903 is a bridge for connecting CPU901, MEM-P902, SB904 and AGP bus 921, and has a memory controller for controlling read and write operations in MEM-P902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect Standard) host and an AGP target.

[0072] The MEM-P902 consists of a ROM902a, which serves as a memory for storing programs and data that implement the various functions of the controller 910, and a RAM902b, which serves as a memory for expanding programs and data and for drawing during memory printing. Furthermore, the program stored in the ROM902a can also be recorded in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD for provision.

[0073] SB904 is a bridge connecting NB903, PCI devices, and peripherals. ASIC906 is an image processing IC (integrated circuit) with hardware elements for image processing, acting as a bridge connecting AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C907. ASIC906 consists of a PCI target and an AGP host, an arbiter (ARB) forming the core of ASIC906, a memory controller controlling MEM-C907, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) for image rotation and other functions via hardware logic, and a PCI unit for data transfer between scanner 931 and printer 932 via PCI bus 922. Additionally, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface can be connected to ASIC906.

[0074] The MEM-C907 is a local memory used as an image buffer and code buffer for copying. The HD909 is a memory used for saving image data, font data used during printing, and formatting. The HD909 is controlled by the CPU901 to read and write data. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards developed to improve graphics processing speed. It allows direct high-throughput access to the MEM-P902, thereby increasing the speed of the graphics accelerator card.

[0075] The short-range communication circuit 920 includes a short-range communication antenna 920a. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit for NFC, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.

[0076] The engine control unit 930 includes a scanner 931 and a printer 932. The operation panel 940 displays current settings and selection screens, and includes a touch panel or similar display unit 940a for receiving operator input, and hard keys 940b consisting of numeric keys for receiving image-forming condition settings such as density settings, and a start key for receiving a copy start indication. The controller 910 performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 30, including controlling drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 940. The scanner 931 or printer 932 includes image processing units such as error diffusion and gamma transformation.

[0077] The image forming apparatus 30 can sequentially switch and select the document box function, copy function, printer function, and fax function via the application switch key on the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the image forming apparatus 30 enters document box mode; when the copy function is selected, it enters copy mode; when the print function is selected, it enters print mode; and when the fax mode is selected, it enters fax mode.

[0078] Finally, the Network I / F950 is an interface used for data communication using Network N. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the Network I / F950 are electrically connected to the ASIC906 via the PCI bus 922.

[0079] Functions of information processing apparatus and image forming apparatus

[0080] Next, using Figures 7-10 This explains the functions of the information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30.

[0081] [Information Processing Device]

[0082] Figure 7This is an example functional block diagram of the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 operates two programs: a printer driver 11 and an IR toner image management program 12, while omitting the general application software used to call the printer driver 11.

[0083] The aforementioned general-purpose application software can be any software that can call the printer driver 11, such as word processing software, presentation software, spreadsheet software, PDF software, and browser software. These application software programs save and read files of their respective formats. Figure 7 The program of the information processing device 10 is described in two parts, but it can also be that the printer driver 11 has the function of the IR toner image management program 12.

[0084] When printing a document, the user invokes the printer driver 11 from the application, and the printer driver 11 automatically starts the IR toner image management program 12. In the IR toner image management program 12, the user can specify the IR toner print image per page (each page is different; some pages do not specify an IR toner print image). The user can also specify the position of the print image within the IR toner print image. Therefore, in addition to the usual document printing tasks, the user only needs to operate the IR toner image management program 12, and the operability is not significantly reduced.

[0085] Printer driver 11

[0086] The printer driver 11 includes a display control unit 21, an operation receiving unit 22, a setting holding unit 23, an application calling unit 24, and a communication unit 25. These functions of the printer driver 11 are achieved through… Figure 5 Any one of the constituent elements shown can be used as a function or device by operating according to instructions from the CPU 501 of the printer driver 11 expanded from HD504 to RAM503.

[0087] The display control unit 21 displays the print settings screen (UI: user interface) on the monitor 506 (an example display unit) showing the printer driver 11 accepting print settings. The operation receiving unit 22 accepts print settings and settings from the user regarding whether to perform IR toner printing. Print settings include color / monochrome, number of copies, duplex, compact, etc. The setting holding unit 23 holds the settings for whether to perform IR toner printing received by the operation receiving unit 22 from the user.

[0088] The application invocation unit 24 invokes the IR toner image management program 12 according to the settings held by the setting retention unit 23, and transmits the print data to the IR toner image management program 12. The application invocation unit 24 receives the print data processed by the IR toner image management program 12.

[0089] The communication unit 25 is capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus 30 and sending print data to the image forming apparatus 30 (in an example, a first communication unit).

[0090] IR toner image management program

[0091] The IR toner image management program 12 includes a display control unit 41, an operation receiving unit 42, a storage location information creation unit 43, an image management unit 44, and a processing unit 45. These functions of the IR toner image management program 12 are achieved through… Figure 5 Any one of the constituent elements shown can be used as a function or device by operating according to instructions from the CPU 501 of the IR toner image management program 12 expanded from HD504 to RAM503.

[0092] The display control unit 41 displays the screen of the IR toner image management program 12. The user can specify the combination of each page of the printed image and the IR toner printed image, and specify the printing position of the IR toner printed image on this screen. The operation receiving unit 42 accepts the specification of the combination of each page of the printed image and the IR toner printed image, as well as the specification of the printing position of the IR toner printed image.

[0093] The storage location information creation unit 43 sends the IR toner print image and print location of each page to the IR image management server 50, and accepts the URL representing these storage locations page by page.

[0094] Image Management Department 44 manages the IR toner print images corresponding to the printed images. IR toner print images can be pre-registered by the user or registered during IR toner printing. Details of the IR toner print images managed by Image Management Department 44 will be available in [the following section / document / etc.]. Figure 8 The explanation is as follows.

[0095] The processing unit 45 draws the URL on each page of the printed image. A print instruction corresponding to the URL (related to IR toner printing) is appended to the page where the IR toner print image has been printed. The URL's drawing position is preset. Preferably, the URL is printed using spot toner (K ​​color in this embodiment).

[0096] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the image management table held by the IR toner image management program 12. For example... Figure 8As shown, the IR toner image management program 12 maintains an IR image management table n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) for each IR toner print image. IR image management table n is the table that manages IR toner print images. Users can register new IR image management tables, as well as edit and delete existing ones.

[0097] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an IR image management table, where (a) represents the structure of IR image management table 1, (b) represents the structure of IR image management table 2, and (c) represents the structure of IR image management table 3. Figure 9 As shown, the IR image management table n can register table identifiers used to identify IR toner printed images, IR image files that store IR toner printed images, and remarks. These can be registered by users.

[0098] [IR Image Management Server]

[0099] The IR image management server 50 includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a storage location response unit 53. These functions of the IR image management server 50 are achieved through… Figure 5 Any one of the constituent elements shown can be used to perform a function or device by operating according to instructions from the CPU 501, which executes a program from the HD504 to the RAM 503.

[0100] The communication unit 51 communicates with the IR toner image management program 12 operating in the information processing device 10, and receives the IR toner print image and print location. The storage unit 52 stores the IR toner print image and print location. The storage location can be either the IR image management server 50 or other server devices. The storage location response unit 53 creates a URL representing the storage location.

[0101] [Image forming apparatus]

[0102] Figure 10 This is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus 30. The image forming apparatus 30 includes a communication unit 31, a drawing unit 32, an instruction interpretation unit 33, a page holding unit 34, a print control unit 35, and an acquisition unit 36. These functions of the image forming apparatus 30 are achieved through… Figure 6 Any one of the constituent elements shown can be used to perform a function or device by operating according to instructions from the CPU 901, which is derived from a program that expands from the HD909 to the RAM 902b.

[0103] The communication unit 31 receives print data from the printer driver 11 (in an example, a second communication unit). The drawing unit 32 interprets the print data received by the communication unit 31 and creates image data (bitmap data) for each page. The drawing unit 32 transmits the image data to the print control unit 35. When interpreting the print data, if the drawing unit 32 includes a print instruction, it transmits the print instruction to the instruction interpretation unit 33. The print instruction is written in PCL (Printer Control Language) and specifies where text and images are formed. The print instruction also includes an instruction to use IR toner for printing. In some cases, a URL is depicted at a predetermined location in the printed image, and the print instruction for that URL specifies the printing of IR toner.

[0104] When the print data is a page printed using IR toner, the instruction interpretation unit 33 retrieves the URL representing the IR toner printing at a predetermined position on the print image and transmits it to the acquisition unit 36. The acquisition unit 36 ​​retrieves the IR toner print image and print position from the storage location specified by the URL and transmits it to the drawing unit 32.

[0105] The drawing unit 32 creates image data that overlays the IR toner printed image onto the position of the printed image specified by the printing location, and transmits it to the print control unit 35. The print control unit 35 receives the image data page by page and uses the printer 932 to form an image on the received image data paper.

[0106] <Printer driver processing or operation>

[0107] Figure 11 This is an example flowchart of the processes or operations performed by the printer driver 11. Figure 11 Processing begins after the printer driver 11 receives print data from the general application.

[0108] The user is on the print settings screen (see...) Figure 12 The printer driver 11 inputs the settings for IR toner printing. Since the setting holding unit 23 holds the settings, the application calling unit 24 refers to the setting holding unit 23 to determine whether there is a setting for IR toner printing (S11). If the determination in step S11 is "no", the process proceeds to step S14. That is, the printer driver 11 converts the print image into print data and sends the print data directly to the image forming apparatus 30, just like printing with ordinary toner.

[0109] When the determination in step S11 is "yes", the application calling unit 24 transmits the print data of the printed image to the IR toner image management program 12 (S12). The IR toner image management program 12 then executes the process described later. Figure 14 The processing.

[0110] The application call unit 24 receives print data with a URL attached to each page of the print image from the IR toner image management program 12 (S13). This print data represents the storage location of the IR toner print image and the print position.

[0111] The communication unit 25 sequentially sends the print data to the image forming apparatus 30 by page (S14).

[0112] [Print setting screen]

[0113] Figure 12 This is an example of a print setting screen 210. The print setting screen 210 includes a current setting column 211, a menu bar 212, and a spot color print setting checkbox 214. The current setting column 211 shows the current print settings or preview. The menu bar 212 selectively displays items for print settings. One of them is the effect item 213. When the user presses the effect item 213, the spot color print setting checkbox 214 is displayed. The user who needs to print with IR toner checks the spot color print setting checkbox 214. The operation reception unit 22 of the printer driver program 11 can receive from the user the designation of whether to print with IR toner.

[0114] <User settings of the IR toner image management program (IR image management table)>

[0115] The following references Figure 13 to explain how the user directly starts the IR toner image management program 12 in the information processing apparatus 10, creates the IR image management table, etc. Figure 13 This is an example flowchart of the setting process or operation in which the IR toner image management program 12 accepts the user's creation, etc. of the IR image management table. The user can directly start the IR toner image management program 12 to manage the IR toner print image.

[0116] The operation reception unit 42 of the IR toner image management program 12 determines whether the user's operation is to create a new IR image management table (S21). The creation of the IR image management table means the registration of the IR toner print image.

[0117] If the determination in step S21 is "yes", the image management unit 44 creates a new IR image management table (S22).

[0118] If the determination in step S21 is "no", the image management unit 44 transmits the list of existing IR image management tables to the display control unit 41 according to the user's operation (S23). The display control unit 41 displays the list of IR image management tables, and the operation reception unit 42 determines whether the user edits (modifies) the IR image management table (S24). If the user does not modify the IR image management table, then Figure 13The processing is now complete.

[0119] If the user creates or changes the IR image management table, the image management unit 44 adds or deletes IR toner print images or notes (step S25).

[0120] When a user needs to save the IR image management table for added or deleted IR toner printed images (S26), the image management unit 44 saves the IR image management table (S27).

[0121] In this way, users can pre-register IR toner print images in the IR toner image management program 12. Additionally, as... Figure 14 The user can also register the IR toner print image in the IR toner image management program 12 during printing.

[0122] <The actions or operations of the IR toner image manager when the printer driver invokes the IR toner image manager>

[0123] Figure 14 This is an example flowchart of the processing or operation of the IR toner image management program 12 when the printer driver 11 calls the IR toner image management program 12.

[0124] The IR toner image management program 12 receives the printing data of the printed image. The processing unit 45 receives the printing data of the printed image and interprets the pagination and page number (S31).

[0125] The user determines whether to use the saved IR image management table (S32). If the user determines that the saved IR image management table should be used (S32: yes), the image management unit 44 calls the list of IR image management tables according to the user's operation (S33).

[0126] The processing unit 45, as shown below, repeatedly processes each printed image (cycle A).

[0127] The operation receiving unit 42 accepts the IR toner print image that is overlaid on the print image and the designation of the print position (S34).

[0128] The location information creation unit 43 sends the IR toner print image and print location to the IR image management server 50 (S35). The location information creation unit 43 receives a URL from the IR image management server 50 (S36), which represents the location where the IR toner print image and print location are stored.

[0129] The processing unit 45 attaches a print instruction indicating that it is an object to be printed with IR toner to the page of the print data, and depicts the URL indicating the above storage location at a predetermined position of the print image (S37). The predetermined position is preferably an inconspicuous place such as the upper right, lower right, lower left, upper left, etc. of the print image. In addition, the processing unit 45 sets that this URL represents a print instruction related to IR toner printing. This is because the print image may contain URLs unrelated to the storage location information. In addition, the colors of both the IR toner print image and the URL are specified as K color (IR toner).

[0130] After the processing is completed, the IR toner image management program 12 designates the image forming apparatus 30 for printing the print data (S38). This image forming apparatus 30 can be the image forming apparatus 30 set by the user through the printer driver 11.

[0131] After the processing is completed, the IR toner image management program 12 returns the processed print data to the printer driver 11 (S39).

[0132] On the other hand, if the user does not use the saved IR image management table (No in S32), the image management unit 44 creates a new IR image management table (S40).

[0133] When the user adds or deletes an IR image management table, the image management unit 44 adds or deletes the IR image management table (S41).

[0134] It is judged whether it is necessary to save the IR image management table added by the user (S42). If it is necessary to save (Yes in S42), the image management unit 44 saves the corresponding IR image management table (S43).

[0135] In addition, in an application example where the print image changes while the IR toner print image remains unchanged, the IR toner image management program 12 preferably has a correspondence relationship between the page number of the print image and the IR toner print image. Even if the user does not select the IR toner print image, the IR toner image management program 12 can insert the IR toner print image according to the correspondence relationship.

[0136] <Processing and Operation of IR Image Management Server>

[0137] Figure 15 It is a flowchart of an example of the process or operation in which the IR image management server 50 that has received the IR toner print image and the print position sends the URL to the IR toner image management program 12.

[0138] The communication unit 51 of the IR image management server 50 receives the IR toner printing image and printing position from the information processing device 10, and the storage unit 52 saves the IR toner printing image and printing position in any storage location (S51).

[0139] Next, the storage location response unit 53 creates a URL (S52) representing the storage location of the IR toner print image and the print location.

[0140] The communication unit 51 sends the created URL to the information processing device 10 (S53).

[0141] exist Figure 14 , Figure 15 In this process, the IR image management server 50 saves the URL and sends the saved location information back to the information processing device 10. However, the information processing device 10 can also save the IR toner print image and print location and create a URL. In this case, the saved location information creation unit 43 saves the IR toner print image and print location to an external server and creates a URL representing the saved location.

[0142] <Processing and Operation of Image Forming Apparatus>

[0143] Next reference Figure 16 This describes the steps of IR toner printing performed by the image forming apparatus 30. Figure 16 This is an example flowchart of the image forming apparatus 30 processing or operating the printing data. Figure 16 The processing is initiated after the communication unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 30 receives the print data.

[0144] First, the drawing unit 32 uses the instruction interpretation unit 33 to repeatedly interpret the printing instructions of each page of print data until the last page (S61).

[0145] Even if there is only one page, the drawing unit 32 must determine whether it contains a print instruction for printing with IR toner (S62).

[0146] If none of the pages contain print instructions for printing with IR toner (S62 No), the drawing unit 32 creates image data (bitmap data) and sends the created image data to the print control unit 35. The print control unit 35 controls the printer 932 to print the created image data (S68).

[0147] If the print instruction includes printing with IR toner (No for S62), loop B will be executed page by page, even if it is only one page.

[0148] The instruction interpretation unit 33 interprets the print instruction of the current page (S63) and determines whether the print instruction of the current page contains a print instruction for printing with IR toner.

[0149] If the print instruction includes printing with IR toner, the instruction interpreter 33 obtains the URL from a predetermined location of the printed image (S64). The URL can be determined by having a string such as "http: / / ". The instruction interpreter 33 determines whether the URL in the print instruction contains a setting for printing an image with IR toner.

[0150] When a URL associated with an IR toner printing image is detected, the acquisition unit 36 ​​uses that URL as the destination for communication, requests the IR toner printing image and printing location (S65), and obtains the IR toner printing image and printing location from that URL (S66).

[0151] Next, the drawing unit 32 overlays the IR toner printing image onto the position specified by the printing position of the printed image, creates image data, and allows the printing control unit 35 to control the printer 932 to print (S67).

[0152] Loop B ends after the last page is processed. Figure 16 The processing is now complete.

[0153] <Supplementary Explanation of IR Toner Printing in Image Forming Apparatus>

[0154] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the IR toner printing process performed by the image forming apparatus 30. This image forming apparatus 30 is a standard image forming apparatus 30 where IR toner (spot color) cannot be specified (only C, M, Y, K can be specified). The image forming apparatus 30 of this embodiment is a color printer that prints using a combination of four colors: C, M, Y, and K (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). The image forming apparatus 30 converts the RGB printing data output by the printer driver 11 into individual C, M, and Y printing data. That is, the image forming apparatus 30 does not convert the RGB printing data into K. Black can also be represented using only C, M, and Y from C, M, Y, and K. The standard image forming apparatus 30 also uses K to improve color rendering and reduce toner usage. The image forming apparatus 30 of this embodiment utilizes the fact that black can be printed even without K by allocating IR toner to K (the IR toner is stored in a toner cartridge for K).

[0155] (1) The image forming apparatus 30 prints an image with IR toner in the printing data sent by the information processing apparatus 10 and creates a planar image 81 (image data represented by pixel 1 or 0) of C, M, and Y, where the presence or absence of color is represented by a bit.

[0156] (2) The image forming apparatus 30 transforms the IR toner print image and URL in the print data sent from the information processing apparatus 10 into a planar image 82 of K. This is because K is allocated to the IR toner in the image forming apparatus 30, and the image forming apparatus 30 can transform it into an empty (unassigned color) color.

[0157] (3) The image forming apparatus 30 forms a planar image 81 of C using toner C, a planar image 81 of M using toner M, and a planar image 81 of Y using toner Y. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 30 overlays and prints a planar image 82 of K using IR toner, thereby obtaining outputs of IR toner printed images 101 and URL 111 printed with IR toner.

[0158] Thus, in the printing system 100 of this embodiment, printing using IR toner can be realized even in the absence of an image forming apparatus 30 that can specify IR toner, or application software that can specify IR toner, or neither.

[0159] <About Overlay Printing>

[0160] This implementation specifies overlay printing during printing. Overlay printing refers to printing one color on top of another.

[0161] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of overlay printing, where (a) represents the output 171 from the image forming apparatus 30, which uses two colors: C for the background and K for the text (Black). Therefore, a planar image 81 of color C and a planar image 82 of color K are created in the printing process. When overlay printing is not specified, such as... Figure 18 As shown in (b), the image forming apparatus 30 masks (removes white) the K portion to create a planar image 81 of color C. When there is a specified overlay printing, such as... Figure 18 As shown in (c), the image forming apparatus 30 creates a planar image 81 of color C without obscuring the portion of K (without removing white).

[0162] If no overprint is specified, the bottom color ( Figure 18 The middle color is C) and the top color ( Figure 18The gap between the two colors (K) can sometimes be quite noticeable. If overprinting is specified, the two colors may mix, and the colors displayed by the application may not be reproduced in the output 171. Therefore, although the presence or absence of overprinting is set according to the documentation, in this embodiment, the spot color is transparent, so the underlying color (photograph, etc.) will be washed out without overprinting being specified. On the other hand, since the spot color is transparent, the color will not change even if overprinting is specified. Therefore, in this embodiment, overprinting is specified, and the planar image 82 assigned to the spot color K is printed. Overprinting may not be specified for C, M, and Y.

[0163] <Effect>

[0164] As described above, the printing system 100 of this embodiment allows applications that process general RGB image data to print using IR toners. Furthermore, users can design printed images using an entire page.

[0165] <Other Application Examples>

[0166] The above examples illustrate the best mode for carrying out the present invention, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above examples, and various modifications and substitutions are permitted without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0167] For example, although this embodiment prints a toner that is transparent to visible light, the image forming apparatus 30 can also print colors other than C, M, Y, and K, such as gold, silver, or white.

[0168] This embodiment mainly describes printing using electrophotographic technology, but it is also applicable to inkjet printing devices that use droplet ejection.

[0169] Figure 7 The configuration examples are provided to facilitate understanding of the processing of the information processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 30, and are examples of division based on main functions. The present invention is not limited to the method and name of the division of processing units. Furthermore, the processing of the information processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 30 can also be divided into more processing units depending on the processing content. It is also possible to divide them into a single processing unit containing more processing steps.

[0170] The device group described in the embodiments represents only one of a plurality of computing environments used to implement the embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the IR image management server 50 includes a plurality of computing devices, such as a server cluster. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including networks, shared memory, etc., to implement the processes disclosed herein.

[0171] Furthermore, the IR image management server 50 can be configured to share the exposed processing steps in various combinations, such as Figure 15 For example, the processing performed by the specified unit can be performed by multiple information processing devices of the IR image management server 50. Alternatively, the IR image management server 50 can be centralized on a single server device or divided into multiple devices.

[0172] Furthermore, the functions of the embodiments described above can be implemented by one or more processing circuits. Here, "processing circuit" in this specification includes processors programmed to perform functions via software, such as processors mounted in circuitry, and devices designed to perform the functions described above, such as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), and existing circuit modules.

[0173] <Postscript>

[0174] (1) A printing system, comprising an information processing device and an image forming device, and capable of being connected to an image management server via a network, characterized in that,

[0175] The information processing device has

[0176] The display control unit is used to display a print setting screen on the display unit. The print setting screen accepts print settings that indicate printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image of the object to be printed.

[0177] The storage location information creation unit is used to, when a print setting is accepted through the print setting screen, send an image of a specific color related to the print setting to the image management server via the network, and obtain storage location information indicating the storage location of the image of that specific color from the image management server; and

[0178] A first communication unit is configured to send print data to the image forming apparatus. The print data includes a print instruction containing print settings for overlaying an image of the specific color onto an image of a printable object, an image of the printable object, and acquired storage location information.

[0179] The image forming apparatus has

[0180] printer;

[0181] The second communication unit is used to receive the printed data;

[0182] The acquisition unit is configured to acquire an image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit;

[0183] A drawing unit, configured to create image data based on the print instructions contained in the print data, the image data being used to overlay a printable image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image of the printable object contained in the print data; and

[0184] A printing control unit is used to print the created image data using the printer.

[0185] (2) The printing system according to (1), characterized in that,

[0186] The information processing device further includes a processing unit that incorporates the saved location information into the printed object image.

[0187] The first communication unit sends the print data, which includes the image of the printable object containing the saved location information and the print instruction, to the image forming apparatus.

[0188] (3) According to the printing system described in (2), the processing unit draws the storage location information on the image of the object to be printed, and sets the printing instruction to print the storage location information using the specific color.

[0189] The image forming apparatus includes an interpretation unit for detecting the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and for detecting a setting to print the storage location information using the specific color from the print instruction.

[0190] When the interpretation unit detects the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and detects the setting to print the storage location information with the specific color from the printing instruction, the acquisition unit acquires the image of the specific color from the storage location information.

[0191] (4) The printing system according to (3) is characterized in that the printing control unit causes the printer to overlay an image of the specific color onto the image of the printing object, and simultaneously overlays the storage location information onto the image of the printing object with the specific color.

[0192] (5) The printing system according to any one of (1) to (4), characterized in that the position of the image of the specific color in the image of the printed object is set by the printing setting screen.

[0193] The storage location information creation unit sends an image of the specific color related to the printing settings and location information related to the location to the image management server via the network, and retrieves the storage location information containing the image of the specific color and the location information from the image management server.

[0194] The printing control unit overlays the image of the specific color obtained by the acquisition unit from the image management server at the position indicated by the position information in the image of the object to be printed.

[0195] (6) The printing system according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the storage location information is a URL.

[0196] (7) The printing system according to any one of (1) to (6), characterized in that the specific color is a color that is transparent to visible light.

[0197] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0198] 10. Information processing device

[0199] 30 Image forming apparatus

[0200] 50 IR Image Management Server

[0201] 100 Printing System

Claims

1. A printing system connected to an image management server via a network, comprising an information processing unit and an image forming unit, characterized in that, The information processing device has The display control unit is used to display a print setting screen on the display unit. The print setting screen accepts print settings that indicate printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image of the object to be printed. The storage location information creation unit is used to send an image of a specific color related to the print setting to the image management server via the network when the print setting screen accepts the print setting, and to obtain storage location information indicating the storage location of the image of the specific color from the image management server; as well as A first communication unit is configured to send print data to the image forming apparatus. The print data includes a print instruction containing print settings for overlaying an image of the specific color onto an image of a printable object, an image of the printable object, and acquired storage location information. The image forming apparatus has printer; The second communication unit is used to receive the printed data; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire an image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit; A drawing unit is used to create image data according to the printing instructions contained in the printing data. This image data is used to overlay an image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image of the printed object contained in the printing data. as well as A printing control unit is used to print the created image data using the printer; The information processing device further includes a processing unit for incorporating the storage location information into the image of the printed object. The first communication unit sends the print data, including the image of the printable object contained in the storage location information and the print instruction, to the image forming apparatus; The processing unit depicts the storage location information onto the image of the object to be printed, and the printing instruction specifies that the image should be printed in the specified color. The image forming apparatus further includes an interpretation unit for detecting the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and detecting a setting to print the image of the specific color using the specific color from the print instruction. The acquisition unit obtains the image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information.

2. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The printing control unit causes the printer to overlay an image of the specific color onto the image of the object to be printed, and simultaneously overlays the storage location information onto the image of the object to be printed using the specific color.

3. The printing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The print settings screen allows you to set the position of a specific color image within the image of the object being printed. The storage location information creation unit sends an image of the specific color related to the printing settings and location information related to the location to the image management server via the network, and retrieves the storage location information containing the image of the specific color and the location information from the image management server. The printing control unit overlays an image of the specific color obtained by the acquisition unit from the image management server at the position indicated by the position information in the image of the object to be printed.

4. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The storage location information is a URL.

5. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific color is one that is transparent to visible light.

6. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a program that enables an information processing apparatus to send print data to an image forming apparatus and connect to an image management server via a network to perform the following steps, including... The display control step is used to display a print setting screen on the display unit, the print setting screen accepting print settings that indicate printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image of the object to be printed; The save location information creation step is used to send an image of a specific color related to the print setting to the image management server via the network when the print setting is accepted through the print setting screen, and to obtain save location information indicating the save location of the image of the specific color from the image management server; as well as The first communication step is used to send print data to the image forming apparatus. The print data includes a print instruction containing a print setting that overlays the image of the specific color onto the image of the print object, the image of the print object, and the obtained storage location information. The information processing device further implements a processing step, which includes the storage location information in the image of the printed object. Through the first communication step, the print data, including the image of the printable object contained in the storage location information and the print instruction, is sent to the image forming apparatus; The image forming apparatus has printer; The second communication unit is used to receive the printed data; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire an image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit; A drawing unit, configured to create image data based on the print instructions contained in the print data, the image data being used to overlay a printable image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image of the printable object contained in the print data; and A printing control unit is used to print the created image data using the printer; In this process, the storage location information is depicted on the image of the object to be printed through the aforementioned processing steps, and the printing instruction specifies that the image of the particular color should be printed using the particular color. The image forming apparatus further includes an interpretation unit for detecting the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and detecting a setting to print the image of the specific color using the specific color from the print instruction. The acquisition unit obtains the image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information.

7. A computer device comprising a processor and a storage device storing a program, characterized in that, The program is executed by the processor to perform the following steps, including The display control step is used to display a print setting screen on the display unit, the print setting screen accepting print settings that indicate printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image of the object to be printed; The save location information creation step is used to send an image of a specific color related to the print setting to an image management server via a network when the print setting is accepted through the print setting screen, and to obtain save location information indicating the save location of the image of that specific color from the image management server; as well as The first communication step is used to send print data to the image forming apparatus, the print data including a print instruction containing the print settings for overlaying the image of the specific color onto the image of the print object, the image of the print object, and the obtained storage location information; The processor executes the program, which also includes a processing step for incorporating the storage location information into the image of the printed object. Through the first communication step, the print data, including the image of the printable object contained in the storage location information and the print instruction, is sent to the image forming apparatus; The image forming apparatus has printer; The second communication unit is used to receive the printed data; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire an image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit; A drawing unit, configured to create image data based on the print instructions contained in the print data, the image data being used to overlay a printable image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image of the printable object contained in the print data; and A printing control unit is used to print the created image data using the printer; In this process, the storage location information is depicted on the image of the object to be printed through the aforementioned processing steps, and the printing instruction specifies that the image of the particular color should be printed using the particular color. The image forming apparatus further includes an interpretation unit for detecting the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and detecting a setting to print the image of the specific color using the specific color from the print instruction. The acquisition unit obtains the image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information.

8. An image forming apparatus that receives print data from an information processing apparatus connectable to an image management server via a network, the information processing apparatus having The display control unit is used to display a print setting screen on the display unit. The print setting screen accepts print settings that indicate printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image of the object to be printed. The storage location information creation unit is used to send an image of a specific color related to the print setting to the image management server via the network when the print setting screen accepts the print setting, and to obtain storage location information indicating the storage location of the image of the specific color from the image management server; as well as A first communication unit is configured to send print data to the image forming apparatus. The print data includes a print instruction containing print settings for overlaying an image of the specific color onto an image of a printable object, an image of the printable object, and acquired storage location information. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that it has printer; The second communication unit is used to receive the printed data; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire an image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit; A drawing unit is used to create image data according to the printing instructions contained in the printing data. This image data is used to overlay an image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image of the printed object contained in the printing data. as well as A printing control unit is used to print the created image data using the printer; The information processing device further includes a processing unit for incorporating the storage location information into the image of the printed object. The first communication unit sends the print data, including the image of the printable object contained in the storage location information and the print instruction, to the image forming apparatus; The processing unit depicts the storage location information onto the image of the object to be printed, and the printing instruction specifies that the image should be printed in the specified color. The image forming apparatus further includes an interpretation unit for detecting the storage location information from the image of the object to be printed, and detecting a setting to print the image of the specific color using the specific color from the print instruction. The acquisition unit obtains the image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information.

Images