Printing system, printed matter production method, and program product

Abstract

The invention provides a printing system, a printed matter production method, and a program product for improving the convenience of a printing device. A printing system includes: a first ink receiving unit; a second ink receiving portion; a first identifier acquisition unit that acquires a first identifier indicating the type of the first ink placed in the first ink receiving unit; a second identifier acquisition unit that acquires a second identifier indicating the type of the second ink placed in the second ink receiving unit; a control data acquisition unit that acquires, from the database, control data corresponding to a combination of the first identifier and the second identifier; an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data; and a printing section that performs printing in accordance with the image data using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the control data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system, a method for producing a printed matter, and a program. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a printer that performs printing using inks of multiple colors. Further, in a case where print data for printing in three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow is input to a printer that performs printing using four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, printing cannot be normally performed. In view of such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for converting input print data into data corresponding to the types of inks provided in a printing apparatus.

[0003] Conventionally, since the types of inks that can be used in a printing system are fixed, it has been necessary to manufacture a printing system corresponding to the types of inks.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-241066 Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a printing system including: a first ink receiving unit; a second ink receiving unit; a first identifier acquisition unit that acquires a first identifier indicating the type of a first ink disposed in the first ink receiving unit; a second identifier acquisition unit that acquires a second identifier indicating the type of a second ink disposed in the second ink receiving unit; a control data acquisition unit that requests control data corresponding to a combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; a storage unit that stores the control data acquired from the database according to the request; an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data; and a printing unit that performs printing corresponding to the image data using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the control data.

[0006] Further, another aspect of the present invention provides a method for producing a printed matter, including: a first identifier acquisition step of acquiring a first identifier indicating the type of a first ink disposed in a first ink receiving unit; a second identifier acquisition step of acquiring a second identifier indicating the type of a second ink disposed in a second ink receiving unit; a control data acquisition step of acquiring control data corresponding to a combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; and a printing step of causing a printing mechanism to perform printing corresponding to image data by using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the control data, thereby producing a printed matter.

[0007] In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a program product that causes a computer to perform the following steps: a first identifier acquisition step of acquiring a first identifier indicating the type of the first ink disposed in the first ink receiving portion; a second identifier acquisition step of acquiring a second identifier indicating the type of the second ink disposed in the second ink receiving portion; a control data acquisition step of acquiring control data corresponding to the combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; and a printing process step of causing a printing mechanism to perform printing corresponding to image data in accordance with the control data and using the first ink and the second ink. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a printing system.

[0009] Figure 2 It is a structural diagram of a printer.

[0010] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen.

[0011] Figure 4 It is a flowchart showing a printed matter production process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The printing system 1 includes an inkjet printer 100, a computer 200, a display 260, a keyboard 270, and a printing server 300. The printer 100 is an example of a printing device.

[0013] The printer 100 is connected to the printing server 300 via a network. Various information is stored in the printing server 300.

[0014] The printer 100 is connected to the computer 200 via a USB cable. In addition, the printer 100 may be connected to the computer 200 via other standard communication cables capable of data transmission and reception. Further, data may be transmitted and received between the printer 100 and the computer 200 using wireless communication such as wireless LAN. The printer 100 can perform monochromatic printing or color printing by ejecting one color or multiple colors of ink onto a printing medium such as paper based on the printing data generated in the computer 200.

[0015] In the computer 200, a printer driver for controlling the operation of the printer 100 is installed, and printing data for causing the printer 100 to print a printing object such as characters or images specified by the user is generated.

[0016] The display 260 is connected to the computer 200 and displays various information based on display data sent from a video driver (not shown) of the computer 200. For example, when the user selects multiple candidate images for specifying the printing object through operations of the keyboard 270 or the mouse 280, the display 260 displays these images. In addition, the display 260 can also display information such as printing settings of the printer 100.

[0017] Figure 2 FIG. shows a structural diagram of the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a processor 110, a non-volatile memory 120, a display unit 130, an operation unit 140, an interface (I / F) 150, a media conveyance mechanism 160, a carriage motor 170, and a carriage 180. In addition, on the carriage 180, a plurality (four in this example) of cartridge holders 181, 182, 183, and 184 are provided.

[0018] And, on these four cartridge holders 181, 182, 183, and 184, four ink cartridges 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914 for storing ink are respectively installed. The cartridge holders 181 to 184 are an example of an ink receiving portion. The number of these components may be one or more.

[0019] These ink cartridges 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914 respectively have non-volatile ROMs 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924. Here, the ROMs 1921 to 1924 are an example of an external recording medium. In the ROMs 1921 to 1924, ink identifiers for identifying the types of ink stored in the ink cartridges are stored. The printer can communicate with these ROMs to read ink identifiers or remaining amount information, etc.

[0020] In addition, the carriage 180 has a print head 185, and ink nozzles for ejecting the ink stored in the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 onto a printing medium such as paper are provided on the print head 185. This print head is an example of a printing mechanism.

[0021] For example, in ink cartridges 1911 to 1914, inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are respectively stored. Thus, the printer 100 can correspond to four colors (CMYK). In addition, the printer 100 of the present embodiment can perform printing with combinations of inks other than these. For example, it is also possible to place the black ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 in all the cartridge holders 181 to 184 to perform printing in monochrome. In addition, it is also possible to store inks of three colors, CMK, in the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 to perform printing in three colors. It is also possible to perform printing with inks such as RGB, white, metallic, or transparent. It is also possible to place cartridges respectively storing inks of four colors, edible ink CMYK, and perform printing on edible wafers. As described above, for the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, the types of inks placed in the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 are not fixed, and multiple types of inks can be placed. Among these inks, there are also third-party inks. Thus, the printer 100 can perform printing in multiple different color spaces.

[0022] The I / F is a connector for implementing a wired connection or an antenna for implementing a wireless connection. The processor 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random-Access Memory), and executes programs recorded in the ROM or the non-volatile memory 120 to control each part of the printer 100. In addition, the processor 110 may be composed of a single chip or multiple chips. Furthermore, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used instead of the CPU, or the structure may be such that the CPU and the ASIC work together. In the non-volatile memory 120, programs, data, etc. executed by the processor 110 are recorded.

[0023] The processor 110 reads the control data stored in the non-volatile memory 120. Then, based on the control data and the image data transmitted via the I / F 150 from the computer 200, scanner, USB memory, etc., the processor 110 controls the operations of the media conveyance mechanism 160, carriage motor 170, and print head 185. By the printer 100, the print head 185 moves back and forth in the main scanning direction relative to the printing medium by driving the carriage motor 170 together with the carriage 180. On the other hand, the printing medium is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the media conveyance mechanism 160. Then, the image to be printed is printed by ejecting one or more kinds of ink from the ink nozzles of the print head 185 onto the printing medium. The media conveyance mechanism 160, carriage motor 170, and carriage 180 constitute the printing unit.

[0024] The display unit 130 is provided on the housing of the printer 100 and displays various information. The operation unit 140 accepts user operations. The operation unit 140 may also be integrally provided with the display unit 130 as a touch panel.

[0025] As described above, the printer 100 of the present embodiment can perform printing corresponding to the types of ink stored in the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 when the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 are installed. As a functional structure for this purpose, the processor 110 includes a reception unit 111, a display processing unit 112, an image data acquisition unit 113, an identifier acquisition unit 114, a control data acquisition unit 115, a warning determination unit 116, a suitability determination unit 117, an authority determination unit 118, and a printing processing unit.

[0026] The functions of the reception unit 111, display processing unit 112, image data acquisition unit 113, identifier acquisition unit 114, control data acquisition unit 115, warning determination unit 116, suitability determination unit 117, authority determination unit 118, and printing processing unit are realized by the processor 110 reading the program stored in the non-volatile memory 120 and executing the program. That is, hereinafter, the processes described as the contents executed by the reception unit 111, display processing unit 112, image data acquisition unit 113, identifier acquisition unit 114, control data acquisition unit 115, warning determination unit 116, suitability determination unit 117, authority determination unit 118, and printing processing unit are the processes executed by the processor 110.

[0027] The receiving unit 111 receives information input according to the user operation in the operation unit 140. The display processing unit 112 controls the display on the display unit 130. The image data acquisition unit 113 acquires image data from the computer 200 via the I / F 150. The identifier acquisition unit 114 acquires ink identifiers from the ROMs 1921-1924 of the ink cartridges 1911-1914. The control data acquisition unit 115 acquires printing control data from the printing server 300 or the ROMs 1921-1924 and stores it in a storage unit such as the non-volatile memory 120.

[0028] The warning determination unit 116 determines whether the combination of inks (current inks) installed in the printer 100 satisfies the warning conditions, and warns the user when the warning conditions are satisfied. For the warning conditions, for example, it is stored in the ROM of the cartridge which cartridge with which identification number should be warned when used simultaneously. The warning conditions are set such that a warning is issued when a combination of inks with a printable color gamut narrower than a preset standard color gamut is installed, and no warning is issued when a combination of inks with the same or including the standard color gamut as the standard color gamut is installed. The standard color gamut is the color gamut that can be printed by a combination of inks preset as the inks installed in the printer 100. For example, when the color gamut realized by CMYK inks is set as the standard color gamut, the color gamut becomes narrower when only the K ink is installed. Therefore, in this case, the warning determination unit 116 determines that the warning conditions are satisfied. On the contrary, when the color gamut realized by the K ink is set as the standard color gamut, the color gamut becomes wider than the standard color gamut when CMYK inks are installed. Therefore, the warning determination unit 116 determines that the warning conditions are not satisfied.

[0029] Figure 3 FIG. is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen 400 that is displayed on the display unit 130 by the display processing unit 112 as a warning to the user when the warning conditions are satisfied. In the warning screen 400, an image image 410 of an image conceived as a printing result formed by a plurality of current inks installed at the processing time point (current) is displayed. In addition, an OK (confirmation) button 421 and a cancel button 422 are displayed. The user confirms the image image 410 and selects the OK button 421 if there is no difference from the completed image expected by the user. In this case, printing is performed with the combination of current inks. If the user selects the cancel button 422 when the image image 410 is different from the completed image. In this case, printing will be aborted.

[0030] The suitability determination unit 117 determines whether the ink that was previously installed and had ink supply performed and the ink that is subsequently installed meet the suitability conditions when the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 are replaced in the cartridge holders 181 to 184. The suitability conditions are the conditions under which the previously installed past ink and the subsequently installed current ink are determined to be suitable. When the past ink and the current ink can use the same control data as the same color, it is determined that the suitability conditions are met. On the other hand, when different control data needs to be used, it is determined that the suitability conditions are not met. Or, when the past ink and the current ink are inks of non-mixable types, it is determined that the suitability conditions are not met. For example, when the past ink is non-edible ink and the current ink is edible oil ink, it is determined that the suitability conditions are not met. The suitability determination unit 117 determines that the suitability conditions are met when the ink identifier (past identifier) of the past ink matches the ink identifier of the current ink. In addition, the suitability conditions stored in the ROM are read, and it is determined whether the conditions are met. Further, the ink identifier of the past ink is stored in the non-volatile memory 120.

[0031] The permission determination unit 118 determines whether the user is a paid member who can use the ink when one or a combination of the inks installed on the cartridge holders 181 to 184 is for paid members. That is, the permission determination unit 118 determines whether the user has the permission to use the ink for paid members. Specifically, the information of paid members is managed in the printing server 300, and the permission determination unit 118 determines the presence or absence of permission by inquiring the printing server 300. The printing processing unit 119 controls the printing unit to execute printing.

[0032] The printing server 300 stores the user identification information of paid members who have permission, and the user identification information is appropriately updated according to the acquisition and cancellation of the qualifications of paid members. In addition, the printing server 300 also stores the ink identifiers of the inks that require permission. For example, it is assumed that when a paid member uses ink, instead of purchasing the ink, a payment corresponding to the printing is made for the printed matter obtained by using the ink obtained for free. Or, in order to perform printing in a color gamut different from the standard color gamut, it is assumed that an additional fee needs to be paid to become a paid member.

[0033] The printing server 300 has a database that stores the control data for the printer 100 for each combination of inks. The control data is information used in the control during printing by the printer 100. For example, color conversion data that converts the color space of image data from the RGB color space to the color space of the inks installed in the printer 100 is control data. The waveform data for ejecting the inks installed in the printer 100 is also control data. In addition, data (LUT: Look-up Table) used in data conversion of image data such as color conversion or plate making, or data such as the cleaning operation interval is also control data. In addition, the UI data displayed on the display unit 130 is also included in the control data. The printing server may have all of this control data, or may be configured to have only a part of it and use the data that the printer already has for the remaining control data. The printing server 300 also stores the member identifiers of the charge members who can use the chargeable inks. The printing server 300 is an example of an external server.

[0034] Figure 4 is a flowchart when the power of the processor 110 of the printer 100 is turned on or when a new ink cartridge is installed. In this flowchart, for the identifier acquisition unit 114 of the processor 110, first, the ink identifiers stored in the ROMs 1921 to 1924 of all the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 are acquired (step S100).

[0035] Next, based on the ink identifiers acquired from the ROMs 1921 to 1924, the processor 110 confirms whether the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 currently installed are the first ones to be installed on the cartridge holders 181 to 184. In addition, the ink identifiers of the ink cartridges that were previously installed on the cartridge holders 181 to 184 are stored in a storage unit such as the non-volatile memory 120, and the determination is made with reference to this ink identifier.

[0036] If all are first installations (Yes in step S102), the processor 110 advances the process to step S110. If not (No in step S102), the processor 110 advances the process to step S104. In step S104, the processor 110 determines whether the suitability condition is satisfied by comparing the ink identifier of the currently installed ink cartridge with the ink identifier of the previously installed ink cartridge (past identifier).

[0037] When the suitable conditions are met (Yes in step S104), the printing processing unit 119 is set to be able to perform printing using the inks of the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 placed at the processing time point (step S106). In addition, although the control data is stored in the non-volatile memory 120, the processor 110 can also acquire new control data and use this new control data. Thus, the printer 100 can use the latest control data. Specifically, the control data acquisition unit 115 acquires the control data corresponding to the combination of the ink identifiers of the currently placed inks from the printing server 300 and newly stores it in the non-volatile memory 120.

[0038] In addition, as another example, the processor 110 can also determine whether to acquire new control data according to an instruction from the user. In this case, for the control data acquisition unit 115, when new control data is acquired, it will be stored in the non-volatile memory 120, but when no new control data is acquired, the storage to the non-volatile memory 120 is not performed. In this way, the printer 100 can decide whether to use new control data according to the user's wish.

[0039] When the suitable conditions are met, the inks placed in the past and the currently placed inks are ink combinations that can be used even when mixed. Therefore, in this way, when the suitable conditions are met, normal printing is performed.

[0040] On the other hand, when the suitable conditions are not met (No in step S104), the processor 110 notifies the user of an error to the effect that the currently placed ink cartridge cannot be used (step S108). Specifically, the display processing unit 112 displays an error screen for notifying the error on the display unit 130. When the suitable conditions are not met, the inks placed in the past and the currently placed inks are combinations of inks that cannot be mixed. Therefore, in this case, the processor 110 does not perform the supply and printing of the ink of the currently placed ink cartridge, but notifies the error.

[0041] In step S110, the control data acquisition unit 115 of the processor 110 requests the printing server 300 for control data corresponding to the combination of ink identifiers of the currently installed ink. In response to this request, the printing server 300 sends the control data corresponding to the combination of ink identifiers. When the control data acquisition unit 115 receives the control data sent from the printing server 300 and is able to acquire the control data (in step S110, "Yes"), it stores the control data in the non-volatile memory 120 and advances the process to step S114. When the control data acquisition unit 115 fails to acquire the control data (in step S110, "No"), it advances the process to step S112. The situation of failing to acquire the control data means that the printing server 300 does not store the control data corresponding to the combination of the target ink. For example, when the combination of the target ink includes third-party ink, it is possible that the control data is not stored in the printing server 300.

[0042] In step S112, the control data acquisition unit 115 of the processor 110 acquires the control data from the ROMs 1921 - 1924 of the ink cartridges 1911 - 1914. When the processor 110 is able to acquire the control data (in step S112, "Yes"), it stores the control data in the non-volatile memory 120 and advances the process to step S114. When the processor 110 fails to acquire the control data (in step S112, "No"), it advances the process to step S108. That is, in this case, the processor 110 issues an error notification and ends the process without performing printing. Additionally, the situation of failing to acquire the control data means that none of the ROMs 1921 - 1924 stores the control data corresponding to the combination of the target ink.

[0043] In step S114, the authority determination unit 118 of the processor 110 confirms whether authority is required for the combination of the currently installed ink by querying the printing server 300. For the authority determination unit 118, when authority is required (in step S114, "Yes"), it advances the process to step S116. For the authority determination unit 118, when authority is not required (in step S114, "No"), it advances the process to step S124.

[0044] In step S116, the permission determination unit 118 confirms whether the user has permission. Specifically, the permission determination unit 118 sends the user identification information input by the user to the printing server 300. The printing server 300 determines that the user has permission when the user identification information registered as a paid member matches the user identification information received from the printer 100, and determines that the user does not have permission when they do not match. Then, the printing server notifies the printer of the determination result. When the permission determination unit 118 receives a notification that the user has permission (in step S116, it is "yes"), it advances the process to step S118. When the permission determination unit 118 receives a notification that the user does not have permission (in step S116, it is "no"), it advances the process to step S108. That is, in the case of no permission, an error notification is made, and the process ends without performing printing.

[0045] In step S118, the warning determination unit 116 determines whether the current ink combination satisfies the warning conditions. When the current ink combination does not satisfy the warning conditions (in step S118, it is "no"), the warning determination unit 116 advances the process to step S124. When the current ink combination satisfies the warning conditions (in step S118, it is "yes"), the warning determination unit 116 advances the process to step S120.

[0046] In step S120, the display processing unit 112 displays the warning screen 400 on the display unit 130. Next, the reception unit 111 receives a continue instruction or an abort instruction. For the reception unit 111, in the warning screen 400, when the OK button 421 is selected, it receives the continue instruction, and when the abort button 422 is selected, it receives the abort instruction. When the processor 110 receives the continue instruction (in step S122, it is the continue instruction), it advances the process to step S124. When the processor 110 receives the abort instruction (in step S122, it is the abort instruction), it advances the process to step S108. That is, in this case, the processor 110 makes an error notification, and the process ends without performing printing.

[0047] In step S124, the control data acquisition unit 115 stores the control data corresponding to the combination of the ink identifiers of the current inks in the non-volatile memory 120. Next, in step S106, the printing processing unit 119 is set to be able to perform printing using the inks of the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 placed at the processing time point. Thus, a printer suitable for the combination of ink cartridges can be produced. Thereafter, when an instruction to print is received from the user, printing of the image data is performed. Specifically, by controlling the medium conveyance mechanism 160, the carriage motor 170, and the carriage 180, printing using the inks of the ink cartridges 1911 to 1914 placed on the cartridge holders 181 to 184 is performed. Thus, a printed matter using the combination of the placed ink cartridges can be produced. Further, during printing, the control data stored in the non-volatile memory 120 is referred to, and the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 113 is used.

[0048] As described above, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, by acquiring the control data corresponding to the combination of the current inks, printing corresponding to the combination of the current inks can be performed. Thus, since instead of manufacturing different printer models for each combination of inks, only a general-purpose printer model needs to be manufactured, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, for the printing system 1, when the combination of the current inks satisfies the warning condition, a warning can be given to the user. Therefore, for the user, when a warning is received, it is possible to confirm before printing whether there is no problem in printing using the current inks.

[0049] Further, for the printing system 1, when ink supply has not been performed in the past, printing is assumed to be performed, while when ink supply has been performed in the past, printing is restricted according to the inks used in the past. Specifically, the printing system 1 performs printing when the combination of the inks in the past and the current inks satisfies the suitability condition, while when the suitability condition is not satisfied, ink supply is not performed. Thus, it is possible to prevent the situation where inks that cannot be mixed are mixed. Further, the printing system 1 confirms the user authority before printing. Therefore, management can be performed in such a way that printing by a user without permission is not performed.

[0050] The above-described embodiment is an example for implementing the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted in addition to this.

[0051] As such a first modification example, in the printer 100, in addition to the ink cartridges, an ink tank can also be provided. In this case, the ink is injected from the ink bottle into the ink tank. And, in this case, the printer 100 includes a reading unit (not shown), and the reading unit reads an ink identifier via a barcode or a two-dimensional code printed on the label of the ink bottle or the outer packaging of the packing box. Then, the identifier acquisition unit 114 acquires the ink identifier read by the reading unit. Thus, the structure for acquiring the identifier is not limited to the embodiment. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a laser printer that performs printing using toner ink.

[0052] As a second modification example, the printing server 300 can also store a plurality of control data for the same combination of ink identifiers. Further, in this case, the display processing unit 112 displays the plurality of control data, and when the user selects the desired control data, the acceptance unit 111 accepts the designation of the control data selected by the user. Then, the control data acquisition unit 115 acquires the control data selected by the user. Thereby, when a plurality of control data are prepared, the user can perform printing with the desired control data.

[0053] As a third modification example, the authority determination unit 118 can also regularly determine whether there is authority regardless of the printing timing. Thereby, the processor 110 can accurately determine the presence or absence of authority even for a user who was once determined to have authority but then no longer has authority. Specifically, even if a user who was once determined to have authority loses authority later, the processor 110 controls so as not to perform printing. Thereby, appropriate printing corresponding to the user authority can be managed.

[0054] As a fourth modification example, the warning determination unit 116 can also present a sample of the printing result as a warning to the user. For example, a sample related to the paper selection such as plain paper or photo paper, or the printing settings such as the size of the paper that are preset can also be presented. In addition, here, the printing settings can be initial settings or favorite settings set by the user.

[0055] As a fifth modification example, the warning condition only needs to be a condition for giving a warning when it is possible to obtain a printing result not intended by the user, and the content of this condition is not limited to the embodiment. The warning condition can also be, for example, a combination other than the combination of inks preset in the printer 100. It can also be set such that even a combination of inks using different control data satisfies the suitability condition. In this case, it is set to proceed from step S104 to step S110. In addition, the determination of the suitability condition, the determination of the authority, and the determination of the warning condition may not be performed.

[0056] The above-described embodiments are an example for implementing the present invention, and various other embodiments can also be adopted. For example, a modification of a certain embodiment can be applied to other embodiments, etc. Within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims, various modifications and changes can be made.

[0057] Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied as a program or method executed by a computer. In addition, there are cases where it is implemented as a single device as described above, and there are also cases where it is implemented using components provided in multiple devices, including various modes. In addition, appropriate changes such as part being software and part being hardware can be made. Further, the invention is also established even as a recording medium for a program that controls a system. Of course, the recording medium for this program can be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and can be considered in exactly the same way for any recording medium developed in the future. It is also conceivable to apply the present invention as a printer driver or application program that executes part or all of the above-described flowcharts.

[0058] Reference Signs

[0059] 1... Printing system; 100... Printer; 110... Processor; 111... Reception unit; 112... Display processing unit; 113... Image data acquisition unit; 114... Identifier acquisition unit; 115... Control data acquisition unit; 116... Warning determination unit; 117... Suitability determination unit; 118... Authority determination unit; 119... Printing processing unit; 120... Non-volatile memory; 130... Display unit; 140... Operation unit; 180... Carriage; 181 to 184... Cartridge holders; 185... Print head; 300... Printing server; 1911 to 1914... Ink cartridges; 1921 to 1924... ROM.

Claims

1. A printing system, comprising: A first ink receiving part; A second ink receiving part; A first identifier acquisition part that acquires a first identifier indicating the type of the first ink placed in the first ink receiving part; A second identifier acquisition part that acquires a second identifier indicating the type of the second ink placed in the second ink receiving part; A control data acquisition part that requests control data corresponding to the combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; A storage part that stores the control data obtained from the database according to the request; An image data acquisition part that acquires image data; A printing part that performs printing corresponding to the image data by using the first ink and the second ink in accordance with the control data.

2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The first ink receiving part fixes a first ink cartridge that houses the first ink, The second ink receiving part fixes a second ink cartridge that houses the second ink, The first identifier acquisition part acquires the first identifier from the first ink cartridge, The second identifier acquisition part acquires the second identifier from the second ink cartridge.

3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The first ink receiving part is a first ink tank into which the first ink is injected from a first ink bottle, The second ink receiving part is a second ink tank into which the second ink is injected from a second ink bottle, The first identifier acquisition part acquires the first identifier read by a first reading part from the outer package of the first ink bottle, The second identifier acquisition part acquires the second identifier read by a second reading part from the outer package of the second ink bottle.

4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The control data includes color conversion data for converting the color space of the image data from an RGB color space to a color space including the color of the first ink and the color of the second ink.

5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The control data includes waveform data for ejecting the first ink and the second ink.

6. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The control data acquisition part acquires one of the control data from among a plurality of control data corresponding to the combination of the first identifier and the second identifier.

7. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein The control data acquisition part acquires one of the control data from among the plurality of control data according to the user's selection.

8. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The control data acquisition part acquires the control data from an external recording medium.

9. The printing system according to claim 8, wherein The control data acquisition part acquires the control data from the external recording medium when it fails to acquire the control data from the database.

10. A method for producing a printed matter, comprising: A first identifier acquisition step that acquires a first identifier indicating the type of the first ink placed in a first ink receiving part; A second identifier acquisition step that acquires a second identifier indicating the type of the second ink disposed in the second ink receiving portion; A control data acquisition step that acquires control data corresponding to the combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; A printing step that causes a printing mechanism to perform printing corresponding to image data by printing in accordance with the control data and using the first ink and the second ink, thereby producing a printed matter.

11. A program product that causes a computer to execute the following steps, namely: A first identifier acquisition step that acquires a first identifier indicating the type of the first ink disposed in the first ink receiving portion; A second identifier acquisition step that acquires a second identifier indicating the type of the second ink disposed in the second ink receiving portion; A control data acquisition step that acquires control data corresponding to the combination of the first identifier and the second identifier from a database; A printing process step that causes a printing mechanism to perform printing corresponding to image data in accordance with the control data and using the first ink and the second ink.

Images