Information processing device and control method, storage medium, printing device and system

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device, a printing device, a printing system, a control method of the information processing device, and a storage medium. The information processing device sends printing data to the printing device, and comprises: a storage unit, which stores suitable concentration ranges in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit, which acquires printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material; a concentration setting value acquisition unit, which acquires a concentration setting value; a concentration identification unit, which identifies whether the concentration setting value is included in the suitable concentration range when it is identified that the printing data includes a code image; and a concentration change unit, which changes the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when the concentration identification unit identifies that it is not.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a printing device, a printing system, a control method of the information processing device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there has been known an information processing device that displays a warning message when a combination of the color of a printed medium and the color of a color material is not suitable for reading a QR code (registered trademark) and creates a QR code with a higher error correction level.

[0003] In the technology of Patent Document 1, it is impossible to print a code image at a printing density suitable for a combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-133279 Summary of the invention

[0005] The information processing device of the present invention is an information processing device that generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to a printing device, and comprises: a storage unit that stores a suitable density range as a range of printing density suitable for reading a code image in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of a printing medium and the color of a color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit that acquires printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of a printing medium used in printing the printing data and the color of a color material used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit that acquires a density setting value as a setting value of the printing density of the printing data; A code image recognition unit for recognizing whether the print data includes a code image; a concentration recognition unit for recognizing whether a concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that establishes a correspondence relationship with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image recognition unit recognizes that the print data includes a code image; and for changing the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration recognition unit recognizes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that establishes a correspondence relationship with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0006] The printing device of the present invention is a printing device that generates printing data and performs printing based on the generated printing data, and comprises: a storage unit that stores a suitable concentration range as a range of printing concentration suitable for reading a code image in a manner of establishing a correspondence according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a printing combination information acquisition unit that acquires printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and the color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a concentration setting value acquisition unit that acquires a concentration setting value that is a setting value of the printing concentration of the printing data; and a code image recognition unit. A distinguishing unit for distinguishing whether the print data includes a code image; a concentration distinguishing unit for distinguishing whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image distinguishing unit distinguishes that the print data includes a code image; and a concentration changing unit for changing the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration distinguishing unit distinguishes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0007] The printing system of the present invention is a printing system comprising an information processing device for generating printing data and sending the generated printing data to a printing device, and a printing device, wherein the information processing device comprises: a storage unit for storing a suitable concentration range as a range of printing concentration suitable for reading a code image in a manner of establishing a correspondence according to each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a printing medium and a color of a color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit for acquiring printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of a color material used in printing the printing data; and a concentration setting value acquisition unit for acquiring a setting value for printing concentration as the printing data. a concentration setting value of a value; a code image distinguishing unit, which distinguishes whether the print data includes a code image; a concentration distinguishing unit, which distinguishes whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image distinguishing unit distinguishes that the print data includes a code image; and a concentration changing unit, which changes the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration distinguishing unit distinguishes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0008] The control method of an information processing device of the present invention is a control method of an information processing device that generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to a printing device, wherein the information processing device includes a storage unit that stores a suitable density range as a range of printing density suitable for reading a code image in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material, and in the control method of the information processing device, the following steps are performed, namely: a step of obtaining printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and the color of the color material used in printing the printing data; A step of obtaining a concentration setting value as a setting value of the printing concentration of printing data; a step of discriminating whether a code image is included in the printing data; a step of discriminating whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that establishes a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information, if it is discriminated that the printing data contains a code image; a step of changing the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range, if it is discriminated that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

[0009] The program of the present invention is used to cause an information processing device to execute the following steps, wherein the information processing device is an information processing device that generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to a printing device, and the information processing device has a storage unit, and the storage unit stores a suitable concentration range as a range of printing concentration suitable for reading a code image in a manner of establishing a corresponding relationship according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium and the color of the color material used in printing the printing data, and the steps are: obtaining printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and the color of the color material used in printing the printing data; obtaining the printing combination information as the printing data The step of determining a setting value of a printing density of the printing data; the step of determining whether the printing data includes a code image; if it is determined that the printing data includes a code image, the step of determining whether the setting value of the density is included in a suitable density range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with specific combination information of the same combination as the printing combination information; the step of changing the printing density of the printing data to a printing density included in the suitable density range when it is determined that the setting value of the density is not included in the suitable density range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with specific combination information of the same combination as the printing combination information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 This is a system structure diagram with a printing system.

[0011] Figure 2 A diagram showing an example of a tape on which a code image is printed.

[0012] Figure 3 This is an appearance diagram of the tape printing device and tape box.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a PC and a printing device.

[0014] Figure 5 A diagram showing an example of the first table.

[0015] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the functional structure of a PC.

[0016] Figure 7 A diagram showing an example of an editing screen and an information display screen.

[0017] Figure 8 This is a flowchart showing the flow of printing processing.

[0018] Fig. 9 A diagram showing a modified example of the first table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Hereinafter, an information processing device, a printing device, and a method for controlling the information processing device will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 1 is a system structure diagram of a printing system SY. The printing system SY includes a PC (Personal Computer) 1 and a tape printing device 2, which are connected together via a cable 5 so as to be able to communicate. The PC 1 is an example of an "information processing device". In addition, the tape printing device 2 is an example of a "printing device". In addition, instead of the cable 5, the PC 1 and the tape printing device 2 may be connected together via wireless communication, or may be connected together via a network.

[0020] The PC 1 generates a print medium for printing on the tape printing device 2. Figure 2 The tape printing device 2 generates the print data to be printed on the tape T shown in the figure, and sends the generated print data to the tape printing device 2. The tape printing device 2 prints the print image based on the print data sent from the PC 1 on the tape T. The tape printing device 2 is a device that prints the print image based on the print data sent from the PC 1 on the tape T. Figure 3The thermal transfer printing device shown in the figure performs printing by thermally transferring the ink of the ink ribbon R onto the tape T. The ink ribbon R is an example of a "color material". The tape T is a tape formed by laminating a long strip of label components and a long strip of release paper components, and an adhesive is applied to the surface of the label component opposite to its printed surface. When the user wants to stick the printed tape T to the object to be stuck, the user peels off the release paper component from the label component and sticks the side of the label component coated with the adhesive to the object to be stuck.

[0021] PC1 Figure 4 The PC side display 11 shown in the figure is used to edit the printed image. Figure 7 The editing screen D shown in FIG. 1 is displayed. In the editing screen D, text, graphics, and Figure 2 The code image 50 shown is edited. The code image 50 is, for example, a barcode or a two-dimensional code. Two-dimensional codes include QR codes (registered trademark), DataMatrix, and PDF417. In addition, QR codes include model 1, model 2, and micro QR. In this embodiment, model 2 of the QR code is illustrated as an example of the code image 50.

[0022] like Figure 2 As shown, when the code image 50 is printed as a printed image on the tape T, the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R is sometimes not suitable for reading the code image 50. For example, when the color of the tape T is "white" and the color of the ink ribbon R is "yellow", there is a small difference in brightness between the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R. In this way, when the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R have a small difference in brightness, when the code image 50 printed on the tape T is read by an image reading device (not shown), there is a possibility of misreading or reading error. Therefore, when the user intends to print the code image 50 on the tape T, it is necessary to select a combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R that is suitable for reading the code image 50.

[0023] Furthermore, when the code image 50 is printed on the tape T, even if the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R is suitable for reading the code image 50, it may be printed at an inappropriate printing density, causing misreading or reading errors in the image reading device. For example, when the printing density setting can be changed between 11 levels of the minimum density "-5" and the maximum density "+5", if the color of the tape T is "white" and the color of the ink ribbon R is "black", the code image 50 suitable for reading can be printed regardless of the setting of the printing density. On the other hand, when the color of the tape T is "white" and the color of the ink ribbon R is "red", if the setting of the printing density is too small or too large, the code image 50 suitable for reading cannot be printed.

[0024] Therefore, when the print data includes the code image 50 and the setting of the print density is not included in the suitable density range determined by the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R, the PC 1 involved in this embodiment changes the print density of the print data to a print density included in the suitable density range. In this way, in this embodiment, the control for printing the code image 50 at the print density suitable for the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R is mainly described.

[0025] Figure 3 2 is an external view of the tape printing device 2 and the tape cassette C. The tape printing device 2 includes an operation button group 21 , a printing device-side display 22 , a cassette mounting portion 23 , and a tape discharge port 24 .

[0026] The operation button group 21 accepts various user operations such as editing of the print image. The printer side display 22 displays various information such as an editing screen for editing the print image. In addition, although the print image can also be edited on the tape printer 2 side in this way, in this embodiment, the print image is edited on the PC 1. In addition, it is assumed that the tape printer 2 receives the edited result of the print image realized by the PC 1 as print data, and performs printing based on the received print data.

[0027] The tape cassette C is detachably mounted in the cassette mounting portion 23. The tape cassette C contains a tape T and an ink ribbon R in a housing thereof.

[0028] The thermal head 25 is provided in the cartridge installation portion 23. The thermal head 25 is driven to generate heat according to the print data sent from the PC 1 when the tape cartridge C is installed in the cartridge installation portion 23. As a result, the ink of the ink ribbon R is transferred to the tape T, so that a print image based on the print data is printed on the tape T.

[0029] The printed tape T is discharged from the tape discharge port 24. A cutter 26 is provided between the cassette mounting portion 23 and the tape discharge port 24. The cutter 26 cuts the tape T in the width direction. Thus, the printed portion of the tape T is cut and separated.

[0030] Figure 4 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the PC 1 and the tape printing device 2. The PC 1 includes a PC display 11, an operation unit 12, a PC communication unit 13, a PC control unit 14, and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 15. The PC display 11 is an example of an "information presentation unit".

[0031] 11 pairs of monitors on the PC side Figure 7 The operation unit 12 includes a mouse and a keyboard, and accepts various operations of the user such as input of information to the editing screen D.

[0032] The PC side communication unit 13 communicates with the tape printing device 2 via the cable 5. For example, the PC side communication unit 13 sends print data to the tape printing device 2, or receives the cassette ID of the tape cassette C installed in the tape printing device 2 from the tape printing device 2. The cassette ID is identification information that differs for each product number of the tape cassette C.

[0033] The PC-side control unit 14 includes a PC-side CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14a, a PC-side ROM (Read Only Memory) 14b, and a PC-side RAM (Random Access Memory) 14c.

[0034] The PC side CPU 14a implements various controls by expanding and executing various programs stored in the PC side ROM 14b or HDD 15 described later in the PC side RAM 14c. In addition, the PC side control unit 14 may use a hardware circuit such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) as a processor instead of the PC side CPU 14a. In addition, the processor may also be a structure in which one or more CPUs and hardware circuits such as ASIC work in cooperation.

[0035] The PC-side ROM 14b stores control programs and control data that do not need to be rewritten. The PC-side RAM 14c is used as a work area for the PC-side CPU 14a to perform various controls. In addition, the PC-side RAM 14c has a density storage area 31. The density storage area 31 stores a density setting value that is a setting value for print density. The density storage area 31 stores a default density setting value or a density setting value that is set by the following method. Figure 7 The density setting value is changed by pressing the density change button 61 shown.

[0036] When a printing instruction is given by the user, the PC-side CPU 14a transmits printing data including printing image data representing the printing image edited in the editing screen D and the density designation value representing the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 to the tape printing device 2. When the tape printing device 2 receives the printing data, it prints the printing image based on the printing image data at the printing density designated by the density designation value.

[0037] The HDD 15 stores the tape printing application 32. The tape printing application 32 is used to start the following process. Figure 8 The printing process shown hereby executes an application program for generating printing data and communicating with the tape printer 2. The PC-side CPU 14a executes control for printing the code image 50 at a printing density suitable for the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R in the printing process described later.

[0038] The HDD 15 includes a first table storage unit 33 and a second table storage unit 34. The first table storage unit 33 is an example of a “storage unit”. Figure 5 The first table 38 is a table referred to by the PC-side CPU 14a in the printing process described later. The first table 38 contains information on the tape cassette C suitable for reading the code image 50, that is, the combination of the color of the tape T and the ink ribbon R stored in the tape cassette C suitable for reading the code image 50.

[0039] Figure 5 : is a diagram showing an example of the first table 38. The first table 38 is a table in which "band width", "box ID", "box product number", "band color", "ribbon color", "suitable density range" and "recommended ranking" are associated with each other.

[0040] “Tape width” is the tape width of the tape T stored in the tape cassette C. “Cassette ID” is identification information of the tape cassette C. “Cassette product number” is the product number of the tape cassette C. “Tape color” is the color of the tape T stored in the tape cassette C. “Ribbon color” is the color of the ink ribbon R stored in the tape cassette C.

[0041] The "suitable density range" is a range of print density suitable for reading the code image 50. The "suitable density range" is determined based on the "combination information". Figure 5 In the example, the minimum and maximum values ​​of the "suitable concentration range" are shown. For example, the "suitable concentration range" of the tape cassette C with the cassette ID "201" is the maximum range from "-5" to "+5". That is, when the tape cassette C with the cassette ID "201" is used, the printing concentration that is more suitable for reading the code image 50 becomes all the printing concentrations that can be set. In addition, the "suitable concentration range" of the tape cassette C with the cassette ID "203" is the range from "-3" to "+3". When the tape cassette C with the cassette ID "203" is used, the printing concentration that is more suitable for reading the code image 50 becomes any one of "-3", "-2", "-1", "0", "+1", "+2" and "+3".

[0042] The "recommended ranking" is a ranking suitable for reading the code image 50. The "recommended ranking" is determined for each bandwidth.

[0043] On the other hand, the second table storage unit 34 stores a second table (not shown). The second table contains information on all tape cassettes C that can be mounted on the tape printing device 2, regardless of whether the information is suitable for reading the code image 50. In the second table, at least a correspondence is established between "cassette ID", "tape color", "ribbon color" and "tape width".

[0044] Back to Figure 4 The tape printing device 2 includes a printing device side communication unit 41, a cassette ID reading unit 42, a printing unit 43, and a printing device side control unit 44.

[0045] The printing device-side communication unit 41 communicates with the PC 1 via the cable 5 .

[0046] The cassette ID reading section 42 optically reads a code image attached as a label to the tape cassette C mounted in the cassette mounting section 23 or reads a cassette ID from a circuit board (not shown) having a memory element provided in the tape cassette C.

[0047] The printing unit 43 is a mechanism for printing on the tape T, and includes a thermal head 25, a feed motor 43a, and a cutter motor 43b. The thermal head 25 includes a plurality of heating elements, and performs printing by thermally transferring ink from the ink ribbon R to the tape T. The feed motor 43a is a driving source for feeding the tape T and the ink ribbon R. The cutter motor 43b is a driving source for driving the cutter 26.

[0048] The printing device side control unit 44 includes a printing device side CPU 44 a , a printing device side ROM 44 b , and a printing device side RAM 44 c .

[0049] The printer side CPU 44a implements various controls by expanding and executing the control program such as firmware stored in the printer side ROM 44b in the printer side RAM 44c. In addition, the printer side control unit 44 may use a hardware circuit such as ASIC as a processor instead of the printer side CPU 44a. In addition, the processor may be a structure in which one or more CPUs and hardware circuits such as ASIC work in cooperation.

[0050] The printer side CPU 44a uses the control program stored in the printer side ROM 44b to print a print image on the tape T unwound from the tape cassette C based on the print data sent from the PC 1. At this time, the printer side CPU 44a changes the print density of the print image by determining the voltage to be applied to the thermal head 25 according to the density designation value included in the print data.

[0051] Furthermore, upon receiving the cartridge information request signal from the PC 1 , the printing device side CPU 44 a acquires the cartridge ID via the cartridge ID reading unit 42 , and transmits the acquired cartridge ID to the PC 1 .

[0052] When the PC 1 receives the cassette ID from the tape printing device 2, it refers to the second table stored in the second table storage unit 34 and generates a corresponding tape color, tape color, and tape width based on the received cassette ID. Figure 7 The respective information is displayed in the box information area E3 of the editing screen D shown.

[0053] Hereinafter, the box ID received by the PC 1 from the tape printing device 2 is referred to as a "print box ID". The "print box ID" is an example of the "print combination information" and the "width information" described later. In contrast, the box ID stored in the first table 38 is simply referred to as a "box ID". The "box ID" is an example of the "combination information".

[0054] Figure 6 1 is a block diagram showing the functional structure of the PC 1. The PC 1 includes a print combination information acquisition unit 110, a density setting value acquisition unit 120, a width information acquisition unit 130, a code image identification unit 140, a storage identification unit 150, a density identification unit 160, a density change unit 170, and an information display unit 180 as a functional structure. These functions are all functions implemented by the PC-side CPU 14a executing the tape printing application 32. In addition, the information display unit 180 is also a function implemented by the PC-side display 11.

[0055] The print combination information acquisition unit 110 acquires print combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the print data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the print data. The print combination information acquisition unit 110 acquires the print box ID as the print combination information. This is because Figure 5 As shown in the first table 38 of FIG. 3 , the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R can be specified by the cassette ID corresponding to the print cassette ID. When a print instruction is given by the user, the print combination information acquisition unit 110 acquires the print cassette ID from the tape printing device 2 by sending a cassette information request signal to the tape printing device 2.

[0056] The density setting value acquisition unit 120 acquires a density setting value that is a setting value of print density of print data. The density setting value acquisition unit 120 acquires a density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 .

[0057] The width information acquisition unit 130 acquires width information that can identify the width of the tape T used for printing the print data. The width information acquisition unit 130 acquires the print box ID as the width information. Figure 5 As shown in the first table 38 of FIG. 3 , the width information acquisition unit 130 can specify the tape box ID corresponding to the print box ID. When a print instruction is given by the user, the width information acquisition unit 130, like the print combination information acquisition unit 110, acquires the print box ID from the tape printing device 2 by sending a box information request signal to the tape printing device 2.

[0058] The code image recognition unit 140 recognizes whether the print data includes the code image 50. When a print instruction is given by the user, the code image recognition unit 140 arranges the image image GI of the code image 50 on the tape image TI in the layout area E4 of the editing screen D. Figure 7 As shown, it is recognized that the code image 50 is included in the printing data.

[0059] When the code image recognition unit 140 recognizes that the print data includes the code image 50, the storage recognition unit 150 recognizes whether or not the first table storage unit 33 stores combination information that can identify the same combination as the print combination information acquired by the print combination information acquisition unit 110. In other words, the storage recognition unit 150 recognizes whether or not the first table 38 includes a cartridge ID that can identify the same combination as the print cartridge ID acquired by the print combination information acquisition unit 110. In addition, hereinafter, "a cartridge ID that can identify the same combination as the print cartridge ID" is referred to as "a cartridge ID that is the same as the print cartridge ID".

[0060] When the storage identification unit 150 identifies that the first table storage unit 33 stores combination information that can identify the same combination as the acquired print combination information, the density identification unit 160 identifies whether the acquired density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in a manner corresponding to the combination information that can identify the same combination as the acquired print combination information. That is, the density identification unit 160 refers to the first table 38 to identify whether the acquired density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in a manner corresponding to the box ID that is the same as the acquired print box ID. For example, when the first table storage unit 33 stores combination information that can identify the same combination as the acquired print combination information, the density identification unit 160 identifies whether the acquired density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in a manner corresponding to the box ID that is the same as the acquired print box ID. Figure 5 In the case where the first table 38 shown in FIG. 1 is used and the acquired print cartridge ID is “203”, the density determination unit 160 determines whether the acquired density setting value is within the range from “−3” to “+3”.

[0061] When the density identification unit 160 identifies that the acquired density setting value is not included in the suitable density range stored in a manner that can identify the combination that is the same as the acquired print combination information, the density change unit 170 changes the print density of the print data to a print density included in the suitable density range. The density change unit 170 changes the print density of the print data by rewriting the value of the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31. When the acquired density setting value is smaller than the minimum value of the suitable density range, the density change unit 170 changes the print density to the minimum value of the suitable density range, and when the acquired density setting value is larger than the maximum value of the suitable density range, the density change unit 170 changes the print density to the maximum value of the suitable density range. For example, when the suitable density range is between "-3" and "+3" and the acquired density setting value is "-5", the density setting value is changed to "-3".

[0062] When the storage identification unit 150 identifies that the first table storage unit 33 does not store combination information that can identify the same combination as the acquired printing combination information, the information presentation unit 180 presents information to the user. More specifically, the information presentation unit 180 presents information by displaying, on the PC-side display 11, recommended combination information indicating a combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R that can be identified by the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33. The combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33 refers to the "box ID" included in the first table 38.

[0063] In addition, the information prompting unit 180 also displays the product number of the recommended tape cassette, which is the tape cassette C that stores the tape T and the ink ribbon R of the color combination that can be specified by the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33, as the recommended combination information. More specifically, the information prompting unit 180 displays the product number of the recommended tape cassette that matches the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33, which establishes a correspondence with the bandwidth that can be specified by the acquired width information, as the recommended combination information. In addition, in the case where there are multiple pieces of combination information that establish a correspondence with the bandwidth that can be specified by the acquired width information, the information prompting unit 180 displays the product number of the recommended tape cassette based on the recommendation ranking determined in the first table 38. The product number of the recommended tape cassette is displayed in the following description. Figure 7 In the recommended box list 82 of the information presentation screen 80 shown.

[0064] Reference Figure 7 , to explain the editing screen D and the information prompt screen 80. Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 8 , the information prompting screen 80 is displayed on the editing screen D. However, the information prompting screen 80 may be displayed as another screen different from the editing screen D.

[0065] The editing screen D is a screen displayed on the PC-side display 11 by starting the tape printing application 32. The editing screen D includes a tab menu area E1, a function button area E2, a box information area E3, and a layout area E4.

[0066] In the tab menu area E1, a plurality of tabs such as "File" and "Edit" are displayed. When the user selects any tab from the tab menu area E1, the PC 1 displays a function menu associated with the tab.

[0067] In the function button area E2 , a density change button 61 and a print button 62 are displayed.

[0068] The density change button 61 is a button for changing the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31. When the user selects the density change button 61, the PC 1 displays a density change screen for changing the print density. The density change screen accepts changes in the print density within the range of the minimum value "-5" to the maximum value "+5" of the print density. When the user changes the print density, the PC 1 updates the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31.

[0069] The print button 62 is a button for instructing printing. When the user selects the print button 62, the PC 1 generates print data including print image data representing the print image edited in the layout area E4 and a density setting value representing the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31, and sends the generated print data to the tape printing device 2.

[0070] In the box information area E3, a box information acquisition button 71, a band color area 72, a color band color area 73, and a band width area 74 are displayed. The band color area 72, the color band color area 73, and the band width area 74 are areas for displaying the band color, the color band color, and the band width, respectively.

[0071] The box information acquisition button 71 is a button for acquiring a print box ID from the tape printing device 2. When the box information acquisition button 71 is selected by the user, the PC 1 transmits a box information request signal to the tape printing device 2. When the print box ID is acquired from the tape printing device 2 after the box information request signal is transmitted, the PC 1 refers to the second table stored in the second table storage unit 34, and acquires the tape color, the color ribbon color, and the tape width that are associated with the same box ID as the print box ID. Then, the PC 1 displays the acquired tape color, the color ribbon color, and the tape width in the tape color area 72, the color ribbon color area 73, and the tape width area 74, respectively.

[0072] exist Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 1 , the case where the ribbon color "red", the ribbon color "black", and the ribbon width "24 mm" that are associated with the same box ID as the obtained print box ID in the second table is shown. Thus, the combination of the ribbon color "red" and the ribbon color "black" is not included in the Figure 5 That is, when the first table 38 does not include the same cassette ID as the acquired print cassette ID, the PC 1 displays the information presentation screen 80 described later when a print instruction for print data including the code image 50 is given.

[0073] In the layout area E4, the image image GI of the simulated printed image is displayed superimposed on the tape image TI of the simulated tape T. Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 1 , the image image GI simulating the code image 50 is displayed superimposed on the tape image TI. In this state, when the user selects the print button 62, the PC 1 displays the image GI simulating the code image 50. Figure 8As shown in step S03 of FIG. 1 , in the printing process described later, it is identified that the print data includes the code image 50. In addition, the user can create the code image 50 by selecting the "Insert" tab in the tab menu area E1 and selecting "QR Code" from the function menu, and insert the image image GI of the created code image 50 into the layout area E4.

[0074] As described above, the information display screen 80 is displayed in the layout area E4. The information display screen 80 displays a notification message 81, a recommended box list 82, a print continuation execution button 85, and a cancel button 86. The recommended box list 82 is an example of "recommended combination information".

[0075] The notification message 81 is a message notifying the user that there is a possibility that the code image 50 suitable for reading cannot be printed. The recommended cassette list 82 is a table showing the "recommended ranking", "cassette product number", "tape color" and "ribbon color" in a corresponding relationship with respect to one or more recommended tape cassettes. Figure 7 The example in FIG. 1 shows a case where the tape width corresponding to the same box ID as the print box ID obtained from the tape printing device 2 is "24 mm", so PC1 will Figure 5 The information of the three recommended tape boxes corresponding to the bandwidth of "24 mm" in the first table 38 is displayed in the recommended box list 82. In addition, in the recommended box list 82, the information of the recommended tape boxes is displayed starting from the information with a higher recommendation ranking, that is, the information with a recommendation ranking of "1" is the top of the table, and the lower the recommended ranking is, the lower the recommended ranking is.

[0076] In addition, although Figure 7 In the example, PC1 displays the "recommended ranking", "box product number", "ribbon color" and "ribbon color" in the recommended box list 82 in a corresponding manner, but it is also possible to display only the "box product number" in the order obtained based on the "recommended ranking" alone.

[0077] When the print continue button 85 is selected in the information display screen 80, the PC 1 continues printing. Figure 7 In the example of , in this case, the code image 50 is printed using the tape T with a tape color of "red" and the ink tape R with a tape color of "black". In addition, when the cancel button 86 is selected in the information prompt screen 80, the PC 1 cancels the printing. In this case, the user implements countermeasures such as replacing the tape cartridge C installed in the tape printing device 2.

[0078] Next, refer to Figure 8The printing process performed by the PC 1 will be described with reference to the flow. When the print button 62 is selected in the editing screen D, the printing process is started.

[0079] In step S01, the PC-side CPU 14a transmits a cassette information request signal to the tape printing device 2, thereby acquiring the print cassette ID from the tape printing device 2. Step S01 corresponds to a step of acquiring print combination information and a step of acquiring width information.

[0080] In step S02 , the PC-side CPU 14 a obtains the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 .

[0081] In step S03, the PC CPU 14a determines whether the print data includes the code image 50. If the PC CPU 14a determines that the print data includes the code image 50, the process proceeds to step S04. If the PC CPU 14a determines that the print data does not include the code image 50, the process proceeds to step S07.

[0082] In step S04, the PC side CPU 14a determines whether the same box ID as the print box ID obtained in step S01 is stored in the first table storage unit 33. When the PC side CPU 14a determines that the same box ID as the print box ID is stored in the first table storage unit 33, the process proceeds to step S05. On the other hand, when the PC side CPU 14a determines that the same box ID as the print box ID is not stored in the first table storage unit 33, the process proceeds to step S09.

[0083] In step S05, the PC side CPU 14a determines whether the density setting value obtained in step S02 is included in the appropriate density range associated with the same box ID as the print box ID obtained in step S01. If the PC side CPU 14a determines that the acquired density setting value is included in the appropriate density range, the process proceeds to step S07. In addition, if the PC side CPU 14a determines that the acquired density setting value is not included in the appropriate density range, the process proceeds to step S06.

[0084] In step S06, the PC side CPU 14a changes the printing density. Specifically, when the acquired density setting value is less than the minimum value of the suitable density range, the PC side CPU 14a changes the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 to the minimum value of the suitable density range. In addition, when the acquired density setting value is greater than the maximum value of the suitable density range, the PC side CPU 14a changes the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 to the maximum value of the suitable density range.

[0085] In step S07 , the PC-side CPU 14 a generates print data. The PC-side CPU 14 a generates print image data representing a print image such as the code image 50 and a density designation value representing a density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 as print data.

[0086] In step S08, the PC-side CPU 14a transmits the print data generated in step S07 to the tape printing device 2. After step S08, the PC-side CPU 14a ends the print process.

[0087] In step S09 , the PC-side CPU 14 a displays the information presentation screen 80 .

[0088] In step S10, the PC side CPU 14a determines whether to continue printing. When the printing continuation button 85 is selected in the information prompt screen 80, the PC side CPU 14a determines that printing is continued and proceeds to step S07. In addition, when the cancel button 86 is selected in the information prompt screen 80, the PC side CPU 14a determines that printing is not continued and ends the printing process.

[0089] As described above, when the user issues a print instruction for printing data including the code image 50, the PC 1 according to the present embodiment refers to the first table 38 to determine whether the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 is included in the appropriate density range stored in a manner corresponding to the same cartridge ID as the print cartridge ID obtained from the tape printing device 2. When it is determined that the density setting value is not included in the appropriate density range stored in a manner corresponding to the same cartridge ID as the obtained print cartridge ID, the PC 1 changes the print density of the print data to a print density included in the appropriate density range. Thus, the PC 1 can print the code image 50 at a print density suitable for the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the print data.

[0090] Furthermore, when the user issues a print instruction for printing data including the code image 50, the PC 1 determines whether the same cassette ID as the obtained print cassette ID is stored in the first table storage unit 33, and when it is determined that the cassette ID is not stored, the PC 1 displays the information prompt screen 80. Thus, the user can understand that the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R needs to be changed.

[0091] Furthermore, the PC 1 displays a notification message 81 and a recommended box list 82 on the information presentation screen 80 . This allows the user to understand the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink tape R suitable for reading the code image 50 .

[0092] Furthermore, the PC 1 displays the "cassette product number" in the recommended cassette list 82. This allows the user to grasp the product number of the tape cassette C suitable for reading the code image 50 and purchase the tape cassette C.

[0093] Furthermore, the PC 1 displays the product numbers of the recommended tape cassettes storing the tape T of the width that can be specified by the obtained print cassette ID as the recommended cassette list 82. Thus, the user can understand the product numbers of the tape cassettes C that are suitable for reading the code image 50 and store the tape T of the width used for printing the print data.

[0094] Furthermore, the PC 1 displays the product numbers of the recommended tape cassettes in the recommended cassette list 82 according to the recommended rankings, which are rankings of tape colors and combinations of tape colors suitable for reading the code image 50. Thus, the user can understand the recommended rankings of the recommended tape cassettes displayed in the recommended cassette list 82.

[0095] In addition, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, the following modified examples can be adopted.

[0096] [Modification 1]

[0097] The combination information may be information that can specify the combination of the type of tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R. For example, the type of tape T may indicate the color of the tape T and the material of the tape T. Fig. 9 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the first table 38 according to the modification example 1. Fig. 9 As shown, in the first table 38 involved in the modification example 1, the "combination information" is a combination of "ribbon color" indicating the color of the ribbon T, "ribbon material" indicating the material of the ribbon T, and "ribbon color" indicating the color of the ink ribbon R. Fig. 9 In the example of , whether or not the tape is strongly adhered is indicated as the "tape material".

[0098] Although the tape T is a tape formed by laminating a label member and a release paper member as described above, when a corresponding relationship is established for "strong adhesion" as "tape material", a strongly adhesive adhesive is applied to the label member of the tape T stored in the tape cassette C. On the other hand, when a corresponding relationship is not established for "strong adhesion" as "tape material", a weakly adhesive adhesive is applied to the label member of the tape T stored in the tape cassette C.

[0099] In Modification 1, the suitable concentration range is determined by the combination of the type of tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R. When the tape T whose "tape material" is highly adhesive is used, the suitable concentration range is narrower than when other tapes T are used. In addition, the tape cassette C containing the tape T whose "tape material" is highly adhesive has a lower "recommended ranking" than other tape cassettes C.

[0100] In addition, the “tape material” may indicate not only whether a highly adhesive adhesive is applied to the label member, but also whether a lamination process is performed and the material of the label member.

[0101] [Modification 2]

[0102] C1 may also store a plurality of first tables 38 having different "suitable concentration ranges" for each type of code image 50. That is, PC1 may also make the first table 38 to which it refers different according to the type of code image 50 included in the print data. In addition, the types of code images 50 may also be classified according to code dimensions such as "barcodes" or "two-dimensional codes" which are one-dimensional codes. In addition, the types of code images 50 may also be classified according to the types of two-dimensional codes such as "QR codes" or "DataMatrix". In addition, the types of code images 50 may also be classified according to the types of QR codes such as "model 1" or "model 2".

[0103] [Variation 3]

[0104] PC1 may store a third table formed by combining the first table 38 and the second table instead of storing the first table 38 and the second table. Although not shown in the figure, the third table establishes a correspondence with the same items as the first table 38 for each tape box C, but is different from the first table 38 in that it includes information related to all tape boxes C that can be installed on the tape printing device 2. In addition, the third table does not include information on the "suitable concentration range" and "recommended ranking" for the tape box C that does not correspond to the printing of the code image 50. Therefore, in this modified example, the storage identification unit 150 only needs to identify whether the third table stores a suitable concentration range that establishes a correspondence with the combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information obtained by the printing combination information acquisition unit 110 when it is identified by the code image identification unit 140 that the printing data contains the code image 50.

[0105] [Variation 4]

[0106] The PC 1 may repeatedly perform the recognition by the code image recognition unit 140 while the editing screen D is being displayed, rather than when the user issues a print instruction. In this case, the PC 1 only needs to repeat the recognition by the code image recognition unit 140 when it is recognized that the print data includes the code image 50, that is, when it is recognized that the image image GI representing the code image 50 is inserted into the tape image TI. Figure 6 Among the functions shown, components other than the code image recognition unit 140 may just function.

[0107] [Variation 5]

[0108] The “cassette product number” displayed in the recommended cassette list 82 on the information prompt screen 80 may also be attached with a link to a website that sells the tape cassette C. According to this structure, the user can easily purchase the tape cassette C suitable for reading the code image 50 by selecting the “cassette product number” in the recommended cassette list 82 displayed on the information prompt screen 80.

[0109] [Variation 6]

[0110] Before the density change unit 170 changes the print density, the PC 1 may display a notification message on the editing screen D or a screen other than the editing screen D to inform the user that the print density change is to be performed.

[0111] In addition, the PC 1 may display an option for the user to select whether to allow the change of the print density together with the notification message indicating the change of the print density, or after displaying the notification message. In this case, the PC 1 only needs to change the print density when the user selects "allow change" from the option, and display the information prompt screen 80 when the user selects "do not allow change" from the option.

[0112] [Variation 7]

[0113] The PC 1 may display information of a recommended tape cassette containing tape T of a bandwidth other than the bandwidth acquired by the width information acquisition unit 130 in the recommended tape list 82 of the information prompting screen 80. In this case, the PC 1 may display information of a recommended tape cassette containing tape T of the acquired bandwidth and information of a recommended tape cassette containing tape T of a bandwidth other than the acquired bandwidth in a differentiated manner. For example, the PC 1 may display the former in black text and the latter in red text, etc., so as to change the text color.

[0114] [Variation 8]

[0115] The density changing unit 170 may also change the print density in such a way that the density setting value acquired by the density setting value acquiring unit 120, that is, the density setting value stored in the density storage area 31 before the density change, becomes the center value of the appropriate density range. Figure 5 In the case of the first table 38 shown, the PC 1 may change the print density so that the print density becomes "0" regardless of which print cartridge ID is acquired.

[0116] In addition, the density changing unit 170 may also change the print density so that the print density becomes the recommended print density determined according to each combination information. In this case, it is only necessary to establish a correspondence between the information such as the "box ID" and the recommended print density in advance in the first table 38, and to make the density changing unit 170 refer to the first table 38 to change the print density.

[0117] [Variation 9]

[0118] The configuration may be such that the setting of the print density is not performed by the PC 1 side but is performed by the tape printer 2 side. In this case, the density setting value acquisition unit 120 of the PC 1 acquires the density setting value set in the tape printer 2 from the tape printer 2 by sending a density setting value request signal to the tape printer 2. Furthermore, the density change unit 170 of the PC 1 changes the print density of the print data by including a change command of the density setting value set in the tape printer 2 in the print data or sending the command before sending the print data.

[0119] [Variation 10]

[0120] The information presenting unit 180 may present information by a method other than displaying the information presenting screen 80. For example, the information presenting unit 180 may present information by lighting a lamp. In addition, the information presenting unit 180 may present information by outputting voice.

[0121] [Variation 11]

[0122] It can also be realized by the belt printing device 2 Figure 6 The functional structure of PC1 is shown. In this case, Figure 6 The functional configuration shown is realized by the printer-side CPU 44 a executing firmware stored in the printer-side ROM 44 b .

[0123] also, Figure 6 The information presenting unit 180 in the functional configuration shown is also a function realized by the printing device-side display 22 .

[0124] [Variation 12]

[0125] The "printing device" may be a device that uses a printing medium other than the tape T instead of the tape printing device 2. For example, the "printing device" may use copy paper or film as the printing medium.

[0126] Furthermore, the printing method of the "printing device" is not limited to the thermal transfer method, and may be an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method. When the "printing device" is an inkjet method, ink may be used as the "color material".

[0127] When the “printing device” is an electrophotographic method, toner can be used as the “color material”.

[0128] [Variation 13]

[0129] The tape printing device 2 may not read the cassette ID from the tape cassette C installed in the cassette installation portion 23, but may acquire the cassette information including information indicating the tape color, the ribbon color, and the tape width. Furthermore, the printing combination information acquisition portion 110 of the PC 1 may acquire the information indicating the tape color and the ribbon color included in the cassette information as the printing combination information. Furthermore, the width information acquisition portion 130 may acquire the information indicating the tape width included in the cassette information as the width information.

[0130] In addition, when the tape color, the color of the ink tape, and the width of the tape can be specified by the user in the editing screen D of the PC 1, the printing combination information acquisition unit 110 can also acquire the tape color and the color of the ink tape specified by the user as the printing combination information. Similarly, the width information acquisition unit 130 can also acquire the width of the tape specified by the user as the width information.

[0131] [Variation 14]

[0132] The “information processing device” may be an information processing terminal such as a smartphone instead of the PC 1 .

[0133] Furthermore, the tape printing application 32 may also be provided to customers as a program.

[0134] Furthermore, a storage medium recording the tape printing application 32 may be provided to the customer. In addition, appropriate changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0135] [Note]

[0136] An information processing device, a printing device, a printing system, a method for controlling an information processing device, and a program are supplementally described below.

[0137] The PC 1 generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to the PC 1 with the printing device 2, and includes: a first table storage unit 33, which stores a suitable density range as a range of printing density suitable for reading the code image 50 in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R; a printing combination information acquisition unit 110, which acquires printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit 120, which acquires a density setting value as a setting value of the printing density of the printing data; and a code image recognition unit 140, It discriminates whether the print data includes the code image 50; the concentration discriminating unit 160 discriminates whether the concentration setting value is included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with the combination information that can specify the combination that is the same as the print combination information, when the code image discriminating unit 140 discriminates that the print data includes the code image 50; the concentration changing unit 170 changes the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration discriminating unit 160 discriminates that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with the combination information that can specify the combination that is the same as the print combination information.

[0138] The tape printing device 2 is a tape printing device 2 that generates printing data and performs printing based on the generated printing data, and includes: a first table storage unit 33 that stores suitable density ranges as the range of printing density suitable for reading the code image 50 in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R; a printing combination information acquisition unit 110 that acquires printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit 120 that acquires a density setting value that is a setting value of the printing density of the printing data; and a code image recognition unit 140. 0, which discriminates whether the print data includes the code image 50; a concentration discriminating unit 160, which discriminates whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image discriminating unit 140 discriminates that the print data includes the code image 50; a concentration changing unit 170, which changes the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration discriminating unit 160 discriminates that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0139] The printing system SY comprises a PC 1 for generating printing data and sending the generated printing data to a printing device 2, and a printing system SY with a printing device 2, wherein the PC 1 comprises: a first table storage unit 33 for storing a suitable density range as a range of printing density suitable for reading a code image 50 in a manner of establishing a corresponding relationship according to each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a tape T and a color of an ink ribbon R; a printing combination information acquisition unit 110 for acquiring printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a tape T used in printing the printing data and a color of an ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; and a density setting value acquisition unit 120 for acquiring a density setting value as a setting value of the printing density of the printing data. value; a code image recognition unit 140, which recognizes whether the print data includes the code image 50; a concentration recognition unit 160, which recognizes whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image recognition unit 140 recognizes that the print data includes the code image 50; a concentration change unit 170, which changes the print concentration of the print data to a print concentration included in the suitable concentration range, when the concentration recognition unit 160 recognizes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0140] The control method of PC1 is a control method for generating printing data and sending the generated printing data to the PC1 with the printing device 2, wherein the PC1 has a first table storage unit 33, and the first table storage unit 33 stores the suitable concentration range as the range of printing concentration suitable for reading the code image 50 in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R. In the control method of PC1, the following steps are performed, namely: the step of obtaining the printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; the step of obtaining the printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; and the step of obtaining the printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data. A step of setting a concentration value as a setting value of the printing concentration of the printing data; a step of distinguishing whether the printing data includes the code image 50; a step of distinguishing whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information when it is distinguished that the printing data includes the code image 50; a step of changing the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when it is distinguished that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

[0141] The tape printing application 32 causes the PC1 to execute the following steps, wherein the PC1 generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to the tape printing device 2, and the PC1 has a first table storage unit 33, and the first table storage unit 33 stores the suitable density range as the range of printing density suitable for reading the code image 50 in a corresponding manner according to each combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R, and the steps are: obtaining the printing combination information that can specify the combination of the color of the tape T used in printing the printing data and the color of the ink ribbon R used in printing the printing data; obtaining the printing combination information as the printing data A step of setting a concentration setting value of a printing concentration; a step of distinguishing whether the printing data includes a code image 50; a step of distinguishing whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information when it is distinguished that the printing data includes the code image 50; a step of changing the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when it is distinguished that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that can establish a correspondence with combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

[0142] According to this configuration, the PC 1 can print the code image 50 at a printing density suitable for the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink tape R.

[0143] In the above-mentioned PC1, it is preferred that it further comprises: a storage identification unit 150, which, when the code image identification unit 140 identifies that the print data includes the code image 50, identifies whether the first table storage unit 33 stores combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information; an information prompting unit 180, which, when the storage identification unit 150 identifies that the first table storage unit 33 does not store combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, provides information prompts to the user; when the storage identification unit 150 identifies that the first table storage unit 33 stores combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information, the concentration identification unit 160 identifies whether the concentration setting value is included in a suitable concentration range stored in a manner that establishes a correspondence with the combination information that can specify the same combination as the print combination information.

[0144] According to this configuration, the user can understand, through the information presentation, that the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink ribbon R needs to be changed.

[0145] In the above-described PC 1 , the information presenting unit 180 preferably presents the information by displaying recommended combination information indicating a combination of a color of a printing medium and a color material that can be specified by the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33 .

[0146] According to this configuration, the user can grasp the combination of the color of the tape T and the color of the ink tape R suitable for reading the code image 50 .

[0147] In the above-mentioned PC1, preferably, the information prompt unit 180 displays the product number of the recommended tape box as the recommended combination information, and the recommended tape box is a tape box C that contains a tape T as a printing medium and an ink ribbon R as a color material, and a tape box C that contains a tape T and an ink ribbon R in a combination of colors that can be specified by the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33.

[0148] According to this configuration, the user can grasp the product number of the tape cassette C suitable for reading the code image 50 .

[0149] In the above-mentioned PC1, preferably, the first table storage unit 33 stores the bandwidth, combination information and suitable concentration range of the tape T in a corresponding manner, and the PC1 also has a width information acquisition unit 130, and the width information acquisition unit 130 acquires width information that can specify the bandwidth of the tape T used in printing the printing data, and the information prompt unit 180 displays the product number of the recommended tape box that matches the combination information stored in the first table storage unit 33 and has a corresponding relationship with the bandwidth that can be specified by the width information, as the recommended combination information.

[0150] According to this configuration, the user can understand the product number of the tape cassette C that is suitable for reading the code image 50 and stores the tape T of the width used for printing of the print data.

[0151] In the PC 1 described above, the first table storage unit 33 preferably stores a recommended ranking as combination information suitable for reading the code image 50 for each bandwidth, and the information presentation unit 180 displays the product number of the recommended tape cartridge based on the recommended ranking.

[0152] According to this configuration, the user can understand the recommended ranking of the product numbers of the displayed tape cassettes C.

[0153] Explanation of symbols

[0154] 1…PC; 2…tape printing device; 11…PC side display; 23…box installation section; 32…tape printing application; 33…first table storage section; 50…code image; 82…recommended box list; 110…printing combination information acquisition section; 120…concentration setting value acquisition section; 130…width information acquisition section; 140…code image identification section; 150…storage identification section; 160…concentration identification section; 170…concentration changing section; 180…information prompting section; C…tape box; R…ink ribbon; SY…printing system; T…tape.

Claims

1. An information processing device, characterized in that: It generates printing data and sends the generated printing data to a printing device, The information processing device comprises: a storage unit for storing, in correspondence with each other, a suitable density range as a range of print density suitable for reading a code image, for each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a print medium and a color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit that acquires printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit that acquires a density setting value as a setting value of print density of the print data; a code image recognition unit for recognizing whether the code image is included in the printing data; a density discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image discriminating unit discriminates that the print data includes the code image; A concentration changing section changes the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when the concentration distinguishing section distinguishes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a corresponding relationship with the combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: Also available: a storage identification unit for identifying whether the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the printing combination information is stored in the storage unit when the code image identification unit identifies that the printing data includes the code image; an information presenting unit for presenting information to a user when the storage identifying unit identifies that the storage unit does not store the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information, In a case where it is determined by the storage identification unit that the storage unit stores the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the printing combination information, the concentration identification unit identifies whether the concentration setting value is included in the suitable concentration range stored in a manner that establishes a correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the printing combination information.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The information presentation unit performs the information presentation by displaying recommended combination information indicating a combination of the color of the print medium and the color of the color material that can be specified by the combination information stored in the storage unit.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein: The information prompt unit displays the product number of the recommended tape box as the recommended combination information, wherein the recommended tape box is a tape box that contains a tape as the printing medium and an ink ribbon as the color material, and the tape box that contains the tape and the ink ribbon in a combination of colors that can be specified by the combination information stored in the storage unit.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The storage unit stores the bandwidth of the band, the combination information, and the suitable concentration range in a manner of establishing a correspondence relationship. The information processing device further includes a width information acquisition unit configured to acquire width information capable of specifying a width of the tape used for printing the print data. The information presenting section displays, as the recommended combination information, the product number of the recommended tape cassette that matches the combination information stored in the storage section and in which the bandwidth that can be specified by the width information is associated.

6. The information processing device according to claim 5, characterized in that The storage unit stores, for each of the bandwidths, a recommended ranking that is a ranking of the combination information that is suitable for reading the code image. The information display unit displays the product number of the recommended tape cassette according to the recommendation ranking.

7. A printing device, characterized in that: It generates printing data and performs printing based on the generated printing data. The printing device comprises: a storage unit for storing, in correspondence with each other, a suitable density range as a range of print density suitable for reading a code image, for each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a print medium and a color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit that acquires printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit that acquires a density setting value as a setting value of print density of the print data; a code image recognition unit for recognizing whether the code image is included in the printing data; a density discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image discriminating unit discriminates that the print data includes the code image; A concentration changing section changes the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when the concentration distinguishing section distinguishes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a corresponding relationship with the combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

8. A printing system, characterized in that: The device comprises an information processing device for generating printing data and transmitting the generated printing data to a printing device, and the printing device. The information processing device comprises: a storage unit for storing, in correspondence with each other, a suitable density range as a range of print density suitable for reading a code image, for each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a print medium and a color material; a printing combination information acquisition unit that acquires printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a density setting value acquisition unit that acquires a density setting value as a setting value of print density of the print data; a code image recognition unit for recognizing whether the code image is included in the printing data; a density discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information, when the code image discriminating unit discriminates that the print data includes the code image; A concentration changing section changes the printing concentration of the printing data to a printing concentration included in the suitable concentration range when the concentration distinguishing section distinguishes that the concentration setting value is not included in the suitable concentration range stored in a corresponding relationship with the combination information that can specify the same combination as the printing combination information.

9. A method for controlling an information processing device, characterized in that: The information processing device generates print data and sends the generated print data to the printing device. The information processing device includes a storage unit that stores appropriate density ranges, which are ranges of print density suitable for reading a code image, in a corresponding relationship with each combination information that can specify a combination of a color of a print medium and a color material. In the control method of the information processing device, the following steps are performed, namely: a step of acquiring printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a step of acquiring a density setting value as a setting value of the print density of the print data; A step of determining whether the printing data contains the code image; When it is determined that the print data includes the code image, determining whether the density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information; A step of changing the print density of the print data to a print density included in the suitable density range when it is determined that the density setting value is not included in the suitable density range stored in a correspondence relationship with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information.

10. A storage medium, characterized in that: A program for causing an information processing device to execute the following steps is stored, the information processing device generating print data and sending the generated print data to a printing device, and the information processing device includes a storage unit, the storage unit storing a suitable density range as a range of print density suitable for reading a code image in a corresponding relationship with each combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of a printing medium and a color material, The steps are: a step of acquiring printing combination information capable of specifying a combination of a color of the printing medium used in printing the printing data and a color of the color material used in printing the printing data; a step of acquiring a density setting value as a setting value of the print density of the print data; A step of determining whether the printing data contains the code image; When it is determined that the print data includes the code image, determining whether the density setting value is included in the appropriate density range stored in correspondence with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information; A step of changing the print density of the print data to a print density included in the suitable density range when it is determined that the density setting value is not included in the suitable density range stored in a correspondence relationship with the combination information capable of specifying the same combination as the print combination information.

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