Program, information processing system, and layout method

Abstract

To prevent a situation where borderless printing ends up with a result not intended by a user.SOLUTION: A computer of an information processing apparatus functions as the following respective means. Receiving means receives instructions for re-laying out one or more objects included in pages that can be printed by a printer for borderless printing. Acquisition means, when the receiving means receives the instructions, acquires printable areas and protrusion areas in pages during the borderless printing. Re-layout means executes re-layout processing on the one or more objects so as to, for each object other than a background object, of the one or more objects, permit the object satisfying a predetermined condition to protrude to the protrusion area and not permit the object not satisfying the predetermined condition to protrude to the protrusion area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, an information processing system, and a layout method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a "borderless printing" technology that prints on a recording medium without leaving any margins when printing posters, business cards, pamphlets, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method of enlarging and arranging a print area based on print data so that it is larger than the paper, and printing the print area overflowing from the paper, so that no margins are left on the paper as a recording medium. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 proposes that when performing borderless printing, a fitting process is performed to fit data other than the background within a virtual printable area during borderless printing, so that data other than the background is printed without being cut off. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-216366 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, depending on the arrangement of objects, there is a risk that the print result may not be what the user intended.

[0005] The present invention provides a technique for preventing borderless printing from producing print results that are not intended by the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, The computer of the information processing device, means for receiving instructions to re-layout one or more objects included on a page printable by the printing device for borderless printing; an acquisition means for acquiring a printable area and a protrusion area of ​​the page when the borderless printing is performed when the instruction is accepted by the acceptance means; a relayout means for executing a relayout process of the one or more objects, for objects other than background objects, so as to allow objects that satisfy a predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion region and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion region; A program is provided to function as a Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent borderless printing from producing print results that are not intended by the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 1B] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of the information processing device. [Figure 2A] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 2B] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 2C] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 2D] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Diagram 5]13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing by the information processing device. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing examples of area information for a page on which borderless printing is performed. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the layout of a poster when S504 in FIG. 5 is executed. [Figure 8] This is a list of object types held by the application and the corresponding possibilities of overflow into the overflow area. [Figure 9] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of re-layout of objects when S505 to S509 in FIG. 5 are executed. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen provided by an application. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing by the information processing device. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a Web server. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration of a Web server. [Figure 18] 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating an example of a software configuration of an information processing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] First Embodiment <Information Processing System (Fig. 1A to Fig. 1B)> 1A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system SY according to an embodiment. The information processing system SY includes an information processing device 1, a monitor 6, and a printer 7. The information processing device 1, the monitor 6, and the printer 7 are connected via an interface unit (not shown) of the information processing device 1. Each component will be further described.

[0011] The printer 7 is a printer that forms (prints) an image on a recording medium such as paper by applying a recording agent such as ink to the recording medium. The printer 7 may be a multifunction machine having multiple functions such as a copy function, a FAX function, and a printing function. In this embodiment, the printer 7 is a device that prints using an inkjet recording method, but is not limited to this form and may be a device that prints using an electrophotographic method or a thermal dye sublimation method. In this embodiment, the printer 7 may also be a printing device that can print using special color ink. The special color ink is an ink that produces a special color (hereinafter also referred to as a "spot color"), and is, for example, an ink that produces a color during printing that cannot be displayed in the color space of SRGB. In other words, the printer 14 is configured to be capable of spot color printing, which is printing using spot color ink other than normal ink (i.e., a special color ink, hereinafter also referred to as a "spot color ink"). The "normal ink" is an ink for printing process colors (normal colors), and is an ink of a color such as cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), or black (K) that is the basis of the process colors. The process color is a color expressed by one color of CMYK or a combination of two or more colors of CMYK. In addition, in this embodiment, fluorescent pink ink and fluorescent orange ink are used as spot color inks. That is, the spot color is a color different from the process color, and is a color that cannot be expressed by only one color of CMYK or a combination of two or more colors of CMYK. However, this is not limited to this form, and the number and colors of the spot color inks may be arbitrary, and inks of colors other than fluorescent colors may be used. For example, violet ink, green ink, orange ink, gold ink, silver ink, etc. may be used as spot color inks. In addition, inks of other metallic colors may be used. Furthermore, inks obtained by mixing a special color ink with another ink (for example, a normal ink) may also be treated as special color inks. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an object in the image data that is to be printed in a spot color is associated with information indicating that the object will be printed in a spot color (called spot color information).A pixel to which spot color information has been added is printed using the spot color corresponding to the RGB value of that pixel. The RGB value of a pixel corresponding to a spot color can also be used as the RGB value of a pixel corresponding to a color expressed only with normal ink (i.e., a normal color). In other words, the same RGB value as the RGB value of a pixel corresponding to a spot color may also be set for a pixel corresponding to a color expressed only with normal ink. In that case, whether or not a special ink is used to print a pixel with that RGB value is controlled by whether or not special color information has been added.

[0012] The information processing device 1 may be a terminal device such as a personal computer. The information processing device 1 includes a CPU 8, a ROM 9, a RAM 10, and a hard disk (HD) 11. These components are electrically connected via a bus (not shown) inside the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1, the monitor 6, and the printer 7 may be directly connected by a cable or the like, or may be connected via a wired or wireless LAN or the like. The information processing device 1 and the monitor 6 may be integrally configured, as in a notebook computer or tablet terminal.

[0013] The CPU 8 reads out a program stored in the ROM 9 into the RAM 10 and executes it to realize various functions of the information processing device 1. That is, information processing by software stored in the ROM 9 is specifically realized by the CPU 8, which is an example of hardware, to realize various functions of the information processing device 1. These will be described later. The RAM 10 is used as a temporary storage area when the CPU 8 performs various processes. The ROM 9 or the hard disk (HD) 11 stores, for example, an operating system 3 and a poster editing application program 2 (hereinafter, application 2) described below. Note that each component of the information processing device 1 is not limited to being single.

[0014] 1B is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 includes an application 2, an operating system 3, a printer driver 5, and a monitor driver 4 as its software configuration.

[0015] Application 2 is an application for editing a poster. Application 2 executes a predetermined process and issues various drawing process commands to generate an image that displays the results of the process. Examples of the various drawing process commands include an image drawing command, a text drawing command, and a graphics drawing command. Application 2 may be an application having a function for causing printer 7 to print using spot color ink.

[0016] The monitor driver 4 processes the input drawing process commands and displays them on the monitor 6. The drawing commands issued by the application 2 are input to the monitor driver 4 via the operating system 3.

[0017] The printer driver 5 is distributed by the printer vendor and can be used by the user by installing it. The printer driver 5 may also be included with the OS. The printer driver 5 processes the input drawing process commands to create print data and causes the printer 7 to execute printing. For example, if the drawing commands issued by the application 2 relate to printing, the drawing commands are also input to the printer driver 5.

[0018] More specifically, the application 2 creates output image data using text data classified as text such as characters, graphics data classified as graphics such as figures, and image data classified as images. The output image data is displayed on the monitor 6. When the application 2 prints an image based on the output image data, it requests the operating system 3 to print it out. At this time, a group of drawing commands is issued to the operating system 3, in which the text data portion is composed of text drawing commands, the graphics data portion is composed of graphics drawing commands, and the image data portion is composed of image drawing commands.

[0019] <Image editing application (Fig. 2A to Fig. 3)> 2A is a diagram showing an example of an editing screen provided by application 2. Here, an editing screen having a function of arranging and editing an object on a poster is shown as an example. Application 2 may be a native application installed and used in information processing device 1, or may be a Web application executable by a Web browser.

[0020] Page 201 represents one page of the poster being edited. The user can create a poster by freely selecting objects from tabs 202 to 206 and arranging them on page 201. FIG. 2A shows a state in which tab 202 is selected. The user can also freely change the size of page 201 within application 2 (not shown).

[0021] Tab 202 is a button for displaying a group of images that can be added. When tab 202 is selected, a group of images that can be added to the poster is displayed in area 211. The group of images at this time may be, for example, a group of images prepared in an application, a group of images held by the user in information processing device 1, or a group of images uploaded to the cloud. The user can select one or more images from the group of images and arrange them on page 201 as image objects.

[0022] Tab 203 is a button for adding a text object. Here, FIG. 2B shows an example of an editing screen provided by application 2, with tab 203 selected. When tab 203 is selected, buttons 203-1 and 203-2 are displayed. Button 203-1 is a button for adding horizontally written text. Button 203-2 is a button for adding vertically written text. When the user selects 203-1 or 203-2 and then selects any location on page 201, text object 203-3 is added on page 201. The user can freely input text into text object 203-3. Since 203-1 is selected in FIG. 2B, it can be seen that text can be added horizontally to text object 203-3.

[0023] Returning to the description of FIG. 2A, tab 204 is a button for displaying a group of shapes that can be added. Here, FIG. 2C shows an example of an editing screen provided by application 2, with tab 204 selected. When tab 204 is selected, a group of shapes that can be added to the poster is displayed in area 211. The group of shapes displayed here may be, for example, a group of shapes prepared in application 2, a group of shapes held by the user in information processing device 1, or a group of shapes uploaded to the cloud. The user can select one or more shapes from the group of shapes and place them on page 201 as a graphic object. Note that the graphic data constituting the graphic object at this time may be vector data or raster data.

[0024] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2A, tab 205 is a button for adding a QR code (registered trademark). When tab 205 is selected, an input area for the character string to be encoded and a create button are displayed in area 211 (not shown). The user can add a QR code (registered trademark) to page 201 by inputting any characters in this character string input area and selecting the create button.

[0025] Tab 206 is a button for displaying background groups that can be added. Here, FIG. 2D shows an example of an editing screen provided by application 2, with tab 206 selected. When tab 202 is selected, background groups that can be added to the poster are displayed in area 211. The background groups at this time may be, for example, background groups prepared in application 2, background groups held by the user in information processing device 1, or background groups uploaded to the cloud. The user can select any of the background groups and place it on page 201 as a background object. Note that the background data at this time may be vector data or raster data.

[0026] Returning to the description of FIG. 2A, the button 207 is a button for proceeding to the print settings of the poster. Here, FIG. 3 shows a print setting screen, which is an example of a screen provided by the application 2. When the button 207 is selected, this screen is displayed. The print setting area 302 is an area for making various settings related to printing, such as the printer, paper type, paper size, and borderless printing. The print preview 301 shows a preview screen when printing is executed with the current settings based on the contents set in the print setting area 302. The button 303 is a button for executing printing. When the button 303 is pressed, various drawing process commands are issued based on the output image data in the state displayed in the print preview 301. When the various drawing process commands are input to the printer driver 5 via the operating system 3, the printer driver 5 processes the input drawing process commands to create print data. The printer 7 receives the print data and executes printing based on the received print data. The button 304 is a button for returning from the print setting screen to the edit screen of FIG. 2A or the like.

[0027] Returning to the description of FIG. 2A, the button 208 is a button for executing a borderless layout. Although details will be described later, when the button 208 is selected, the application 2 executes an automatic layout for performing borderless printing in accordance with the user's intention. The button 209 is a button for displaying the previous page. When the data created by the user is only one page or when the first page is displayed, the button 209 may not be displayed or may be inactive. The button 210 is a button for displaying the next page. When the data created by the user is only one page or when the last page is displayed, the button 210 may not be displayed or may be inactive.

[0028] <Borderless printing (Fig. 4)> Figure 4 shows the print settings screen when the borderless print setting is enabled. In this case, the borderless print setting refers to the setting to create print data for a print image that is slightly larger than the paper size and print it beyond the paper in order to eliminate margins on the top, bottom, left, and right when printing.

[0029] Here, print preview 401 shows a preview when borderless printing is selected in print setting area 302 without performing automatic layout for borderless printing, which will be described later. In print preview 401, the print image of print preview 301, in which borderless printing setting is disabled, is enlarged and rearranged to the same paper size. In print preview 401, the portion of the print image that extends beyond the paper by enlarging it is not displayed as being outside the print range on the paper. In the example of FIG. 4, the text arranged inside is arranged close to the edge of the page, so the text is cut off. If this is not the print result intended by the user, the user will have to go to the trouble of changing the size and position of the text object again.

[0030] In response to this, it is conceivable to automatically execute a layout for borderless printing based on the positions and types of objects so that the user can perform borderless printing without going back and forth. In this case, it is conceivable to uniformly reduce the size of objects other than background objects in the print image so that these objects fit reliably on the paper. This makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of text cutting off and the like. On the other hand, with this method, for example, graphic objects located at the edge of the print image are also reduced, so that when actually printed on paper, the background color may get in between the graphic objects and the edge of the paper, resulting in a print result that is not intended by the user. In this case, too, the user must take the trouble of changing the size and position of the graphic objects again.

[0031] Therefore, in this embodiment, the application 2 automatically creates a layout for borderless printing from the positions and types of objects so that the user can perform borderless printing without having to go back and forth. This will be described in detail below.

[0032] <Processing example (Fig. 5 to Fig. 11, Fig. 14)> 14 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the information processing device 1, and is a flowchart outlining an automatic layout for borderless printing. For example, this flowchart is executed repeatedly at a predetermined interval while the application 2 is running.

[0033] In S1001, if the application 2 has received an instruction for automatic layout (re-layout) for borderless printing, the application 2 proceeds to S1002, otherwise the flow chart ends. Specifically, if the button 208 in Fig. 2A is selected, the application 2 determines that automatic layout for borderless printing has been received.

[0034] In S1002, the application 2 acquires area information of the target page. More specifically, the application 2 acquires the printable area and overflow area of ​​the target page for borderless printing. A specific example of the acquisition method will be described later (FIG. 5), but the printable area and overflow area will be described below.

[0035] 6 shows an example of area information for a page to be printed without borders. A page area 601 is an area made up of an overflow area 602 and a printable area 603, and corresponds to the entire target page for borderless printing. Therefore, the size of the page area 601 corresponds to the size of the print area based on the print data (the area where ink is ejected in the case of an inkjet printer).

[0036] The printable area 603 is an area of ​​the page area 601 that will definitely be printed on the paper when borderless printing is performed. The overflow area 602 is disposed around the printable area 603. The overflow area 602 is an area that may overflow from the paper when borderless printing is performed. In other words, there is a possibility that at least a part of the overflow area 602 will not actually be printed on the paper.

[0037] In comparison with the size of the paper to be printed on, the size of the printable area 603 is set to correspond to the paper size, and the periphery of the overflow area 602 is set to surround the periphery of the paper to be printed on. This makes it possible to reliably print the image within the overflow area 602 on the paper, while preventing the formation of blank spaces at the edges of the paper. Note that the printable area 603 may be the same size as the paper to be printed on, or may be slightly smaller than the paper to be printed on.

[0038] Returning to the description of Fig. 14, in S1003, application 2 executes relayout processing. The relayout processing is processing in which various objects that the user has placed on a page with application 2 are relayed out for borderless printing. Here, application 2 executes relayout processing so as to allow objects that satisfy a predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area 602, and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area 602. Also, here, for objects other than background objects, relayout is executed depending on whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0039] The predetermined condition can be set as appropriate and will be described in detail later. As one example, the predetermined condition can be that the object is unlikely to be printed in a manner contrary to the user's intention even if the edges are cut off.

[0040] In S1004, the application 2 displays the result of the relayout, as will be described in detail later (see FIG. 5, etc.).

[0041] According to the above process, the layout is re-permitted so that objects that satisfy a certain condition are allowed to protrude into the protrusion area 602, and objects that do not satisfy the certain condition are not allowed to protrude into the protrusion area 602, and the objects are arranged to fit within the printable area 603. This makes it possible to prevent the user from obtaining a print result that is not intended by the user. Furthermore, for example, a certain condition may be set so that a graphic object is allowed to protrude into the protrusion area 602, and a text object is not allowed to protrude into the protrusion area 602. In this case, borderless printing can be used to prevent text objects from being cut off, and graphic objects can be reliably printed up to the edge of the paper. This makes it possible to prevent the user from obtaining a print result that is not intended by the user.

[0042] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the information processing device 1, and shows a more specific example of automatic layout processing.

[0043] In S501, the application 2 acquires a page size. For example, the application 2 acquires the page width and height of the page 201 shown in Fig. 2A. The size acquired here corresponds to the size of the page area 601 in Fig. 6.

[0044] In S502, the application 2 acquires the overhang area for borderless printing. For example, the application 2 acquires the setting value of the overhang width for borderless printing from the printer 7. The application 2 then acquires the overhang area (overhang area 602 in FIG. 6) from the page size acquired in S501 and the setting value of the overhang width. More specifically, the area between the outer periphery of the page area 601 of the page 201 and a position inward by the overhang width is specified as the overhang area 602. Note that the part of the page area 601 that is inside the overhang area 602 becomes the printable area 603, so it can be said that the application 2 also acquires the printable area 603. Note that the application 2 may be able to change the overhang width of the area 602.

[0045] In S503, the application 2 obtains the position and size of the object in the page 201.

[0046] In S504, the application 2 performs a reduction process on the predetermined object so that the predetermined object fits within the printable area 603. For example, the predetermined object may not be a background object and may be an object that does not protrude outside the page area 601. In this case, the application 2 can arrange the object so that it fits within the printable area 603 by calculating the position and size of each object based on a reduction ratio obtained from the ratio of the sizes of the page area 601 and the printable area 603. Note that in this embodiment, since an object that protrudes outside the page area 601 before the relayout is highly likely to have been intended to be printed protruding during borderless printing, reduction processing is not performed even for objects other than background objects. However, objects other than background objects, including objects that protrude outside the page area 601, may be reduced.

[0047] An example of when S504 is executed is shown in Figure 7. Here, application 2 reduces and arranges graphic object 704 and text object 705 so that they fit within the printable area. Specifically, page 701a is the poster before S504 is executed, and page 701b is the poster after S504 is executed. By reducing and arranging the objects to be reduced to fit the printable area, as in page 701b, the objects (graphic object 704 and text object 705) do not overlap the protruding area 702 during borderless printing, and these can be printed reliably.

[0048] Although the object is reduced in size to fit within the printable area 703 here, the object may be moved to fit within the printable area 703. Alternatively, the object may be both reduced and moved to fit within the printable area 703. Furthermore, the reduction and movement of the object may be used differently depending on the position or type of the object.

[0049] Here, by fitting the predetermined object within the printable area 703 by the process of S504, the predetermined object can be reliably printed on the paper. On the other hand, when the page 701b is actually printed on the paper, there may be variation in the extent to which the overflow area 702 is printed on the paper. Therefore, for example, if the overflow area 702 is printed on the paper wide enough to be visible, an object that is arranged in contact with the printable area, such as the graphic object 704, may be arranged on the actual paper with a gap between the page edge. As a result, the print result may not be as intended by the user. On the other hand, for the text object 705, since there is a risk of character cutting off if it is arranged in the overflow area, it is necessary to arrange it reliably within the printable area. Therefore, in this processing example, the following processing is executed to reflect the user's intention while suppressing character cutting off of the text.

[0050] In S505, the application 2 selects one of the objects in the page 201. In S506, the application 2 executes a process of determining whether or not the selected object satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition can be set as appropriate. In this embodiment, whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied is determined based on information stored in the information processing device 1 that associates the type of object with whether or not it can overflow into the overflow area.

[0051] FIG. 8 is a list of object types held by application 2 and the corresponding protrusion possibility into the protrusion area. For example, application 2 determines that the predetermined condition is met when the protrusion possibility of the object type selected in S505 is true. On the other hand, application 2 determines that the predetermined condition is not met when the protrusion possibility of the object type selected in S505 is false. According to FIG. 8, application 2 determines that the predetermined condition is not met when the selected object is a text object, a QR code object, or the like. Also, application 2 determines that the predetermined condition is met when the selected object is an image object, a graphic object, a background object, or the like.

[0052] In this embodiment, whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied is determined depending on the type of object, but the predetermined condition can be changed as appropriate. For example, the application 2 may determine that the selected object does not satisfy the predetermined condition if it is an image object but includes a human face image. For example, the application 2 may determine that the selected object does not satisfy the predetermined condition if it is a graphic object but is an object that is easily recognized as being partially missing (such as a circular (○) or star-shaped (☆) object). For example, the application 2 may determine that the selected object does not satisfy the predetermined condition if it is a logo mark or the like even if it is a graphic object. In other words, the application 2 may determine that the predetermined condition is satisfied based on the degree of impact when a part of the object is missing.

[0053] In S507, if the application 2 determines that the selected object satisfies a predetermined condition, that is, that the selected object can protrude into the protrusion region 602, the application 2 proceeds to S508, and if not, the application 2 proceeds to S509.

[0054] In S508, application 2 executes enlargement processing of the object. That is, application 2 enlarges the object into protruding region 602. Through steps S506 to S508, an object that satisfies a predetermined condition is enlarged into protruding region 602. On the other hand, the enlargement processing of S508 is not executed for an object that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0055] Note that, among objects that satisfy a predetermined condition, the application 2 may enlarge an object that has a predetermined positional relationship with the outer periphery of the printable area 603 into the protruding area 602. For example, the application 2 may enlarge an object that satisfies a predetermined condition and has a positional relationship in contact with the outer periphery of the printable area 602 into the protruding area 602. Alternatively, the application 2 may enlarge an object that satisfies a predetermined condition and whose shortest distance from the outer periphery of the printable area 602 is equal to or less than a threshold into the protruding area 602.

[0056] In addition, the degree of enlargement in the enlargement process can be changed as appropriate. For example, the application 2 may enlarge the object to be enlarged by the overflow width of the overflow area 602. In other words, the application 2 may enlarge the object to be enlarged so that the enlarged object comes into contact with the outer periphery of the overflow area 602 (i.e., the outer periphery of the page area 601). In this case, it is possible to reliably prevent a gap from occurring between the object and the edge of the page on the printed paper. Also, for example, the application 2 may enlarge the object to be enlarged by a predetermined ratio. In this case, it is possible to prevent a gap from occurring between the object and the edge of the page on the printed paper to a certain extent, while suppressing the effect on the overall balance caused by the object being enlarged too much.

[0057] The method of enlargement in the enlargement process can also be changed as appropriate. For example, the object to be enlarged may be enlarged without changing the aspect ratio, or may be enlarged in a predetermined direction (for example, either vertically or horizontally). Furthermore, an object that contacts the four corners of the printable area 603 may be enlarged without changing the aspect ratio, and an object that contacts only the vertical or horizontal sides of the printable area 603 may be enlarged only in the vertical or horizontal direction.

[0058] In S509, the application 2 checks whether or not the determination process in S506 has been executed for all objects, and if so, proceeds to S510, and if not, returns to S505.

[0059] 9 shows an example of the object re-layout when steps S505 to S509 are executed. Page 901a is a page representing the poster before steps S505 to S509 are executed, and page 901b is a page representing the poster after steps S505 to S509 are executed for all target objects. Page 901 includes an overflow area 902 and a printable area 903. Since a graphic object 904 is determined in S505 to be an object that satisfies a predetermined condition (is allowed to overflow), it is enlarged in S506. On the other hand, since a text object 905 is determined in S505 to be an object that does not satisfy a predetermined condition (is not allowed to overflow), it is not enlarged and remains within the printable area 903.

[0060] In S510, application 2 displays the results of the relayout on the editing screen. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display in S510. Here, the entire page area 601 including the overflow area 602 is displayed as a page 1001. As shown in page 1001, a graphic object 1004 abuts the edge of the image data that has been expanded into the overflow area, whereas a text object 1005 is placed at a distance from the edge of the image data by being contained within the printable area.

[0061] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the print setting screen when the user presses button 1002 on the screen in Fig. 10. In the print preview 1101, the printable area of ​​the page area is displayed, and it can be seen that the print preview is displayed without any character cutoff.

[0062] As described above, this processing example makes it possible to automatically perform layout for borderless printing by rearranging objects based on the object type and position, and information on overhang width for borderless printing. This eliminates the need for the user to change the layout by considering the overhang width for each object.

[0063] In this processing example, reduction processing is performed on all predetermined objects (S504), and then enlargement processing is performed on objects that satisfy a predetermined condition (S508). However, a configuration in which reduction processing is performed only on objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition can also be adopted. For example, before the reduction processing in S504, a determination process equivalent to S506 may be performed, and reduction processing may be performed only on objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition (e.g., text objects). That is, in the example of this embodiment, it is sufficient that the text object 905 ultimately fits within the printable area 903, and the graphic object 904 protrudes into the protrusion area 902. The internal processing for this purpose can be appropriately changed.

[0064] <Second embodiment (FIGS. 12 to 13)> This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the method of determining the type of object. In the first embodiment, the determination was made based on a list of whether each object type can overflow (see FIG. 8) held by the application 2. However, even if the object type is the same, there may be some objects that are allowed to overflow and some that should not overflow. For example, even if the object is the same graphic object, it is undesirable for a graphic object that the user wants to use as a logo to be cut off at the edges during borderless printing. Therefore, in this embodiment, a method for the user to set whether each object can overflow will be described.

[0065] FIG. 12 shows an example of a display when an image object in page 201 is selected in FIG. 2A.

[0066] Image object 1201 is the object currently selected within page 201. Control 1202 is a button for resizing image object 1201. Button 1203 is a button for deleting the selected image object 1201. Button 1204 is a button for allowing the user to configure the object. Figure 13 shows the screen that appears when button 1204 is selected.

[0067] Dialog 1301 is a dialog for configuring object settings. By selecting a check box 1302, the user can configure whether to enable overflow targeting for borderless print layout for the image object 1201. For this setting, a default value may be set by application 2 based on the list in FIG. 8, for example. Button 1303 is a button for closing dialog 1301.

[0068] In this embodiment, based on the above setting values, it is determined in S506 of Fig. 5 whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. That is, the predetermined condition includes a setting that the object is allowed to protrude into the protrusion region 602. Therefore, based on the user's setting of whether or not the object can protrude, the enlargement process in S508 is executed regardless of the type of object.

[0069] According to this embodiment, by making it possible to set for each object whether or not overflow is permitted in a borderless print layout, it is possible to create a borderless print layout in line with the user's intentions.

[0070] <Third embodiment (FIGS. 15 to 18)> The present invention may be applied to a system having a different form from the information processing system shown in the first and second embodiments. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, the information processing system may include a Web server 103. The present invention may be realized by using a program provided by the Web server 103 in a Web browser of the information processing device 1. The Web server 103 may be a server system composed of one or more servers. That is, for example, a plurality of servers may work in cooperation with each other to function as one Web server 103. In FIG. 15, the information processing device 1 can access the Internet via an access point 100. The information processing device 1 can communicate with the Web server 103 via the Internet. The access point 100 is, for example, a wireless LAN router, and is an external device for enabling a device connected to the access point 100 to access the Internet. In FIG. 15, the printer 7 is also connected to the access point 100, and the information processing device 1 communicates with the printer 7 via the access point 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and the information processing device 1 may communicate with the printer 7 without going through the access point 100. Furthermore, the information processing device 1 may communicate with the Web server 103 without going through the access point 100 by using a mobile communication network or the like.

[0071] FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the Web server 103. The CPU 1601 is a processor for controlling the device in an integrated manner. The disk device 1602 stores various files, in addition to the application program 1612, database 1613, and OS that the CPU 1601 reads. The external storage medium reader 1603 is a device for reading information such as files stored in an external storage medium such as an SD card. The memory 1604 is composed of a RAM or the like, and the CPU 1601 temporarily stores data, buffers data, and the like as necessary. The operation of the Web server 103 in this embodiment is realized, for example, by the CPU 1601 reading a program stored in the disk device 1602 into the memory 1604 and executing it.

[0072] The display unit 1605 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode) and an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays a UI screen based on various data. The operation unit 1606 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, and the like for a user to perform various input operations. The network communication unit 1607 is connected to a network such as the Internet via a network connection unit 1608, and performs various communications. The network communication unit 1607 communicates, for example, by a wired LAN or a wireless LAN. When the network communication unit 1607 is compatible with a wired LAN, the network connection unit 1608 is, for example, a connector for connecting a cable of the wired LAN, and when the network communication unit 1607 is compatible with a wireless LAN, the network connection unit 1608 is, for example, an antenna. The network connection unit 1608 may be compatible with both the wired LAN and the wireless LAN. The USB (Universal Serial Bus) communication unit 410 is connected to various peripheral devices via a USB connection unit 411, and performs various communications according to the USB standard. The above-mentioned units are connected to each other by a bus 1609. The Web server 103 may be a server system made up of one or more servers. That is, for example, a plurality of servers may work in cooperation with each other to function as one Web server 103.

[0073] FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the Web server 103. The front end 1702 mainly controls the display of the Web browser of the information processing device 1. Specifically, the front end 1702 manages and holds a program (JavaScript) executed on the Web browser. More specifically, the front end 1702 manages and holds a program (JavaScript) for executing a UI (user interface) control unit 1704 for controlling user operations on the browser, a work editing unit 1703 for processing work editing created by an application, and a user authentication unit 1707 for performing user authentication. The front end 1702 is then transmitted (downloaded) to the information processing device 1, causing the Web browser of the information processing device 1 to perform display according to the above program. That is, when the information processing device 1 receives the above program, it uses the program to display a screen corresponding to the program on the Web browser. The front end 1702 operates as a program having a poster editing function similar to that of the application 2 in the first and second embodiments. That is, the front end 1702 operates as a program for executing the process of the flowchart of FIG. 5. The front end 1702 may also be a program having a function for causing the printer 7 to execute printing using spot color inks.

[0074] The backend 1705 includes a user management unit 1706, a user authentication unit 1707, a content management unit 1708, and a rendering processing unit 1709. The user management unit 1706 manages user information for identifying a user. For example, the user information included in a cookie is managed. The user authentication unit 1707 issues a unique identifier for each user in association with the user information. The identifier is account information, for example, a guest ID described later. The content management unit 1708 manages content such as image data created by an application. The rendering processing unit 1709 performs rendering processing on content managed by the content management unit 1708. The frontend 1702 and the backend 1705 may be held by different servers.

[0075] 18(a) is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration when the information processing device 1 is a PC. The web browser 1801 is a web browser, and for example, "Internet Explorer", "Microsoft Edge", "Google Chrome", "Firefox", or "Safari" may be used. The information processing device 1 accesses the web server 103 using a predetermined URL by the web browser 1801, thereby downloading the front end 1702. Then, the front end 1702 is operated on the web browser 1801. That is, in a state where the front end 1702 is downloaded, the front end 1702 also becomes a part of the software configuration of the information processing device 1.

[0076] The print application 1802 is an application for performing printing based on print settings set by the user, and includes a print setting processing unit 1803 and a thumbnail display unit 1804. For example, the print application 1802 is a native application associated with the Web application 1701, and is an application for causing a printing device to print content data created by the Web application 1701. The print setting processing unit 1803 performs print settings. The thumbnail display unit 1804 performs thumbnail display based on data of a poster image (poster data) created by the user. In this embodiment, the print application 1802 is downloaded and installed from a server different from the Web server 103 to the information processing device 1, and is then stored in the information processing device 1. When the information processing device 1 is a PC, a printer driver 1805 generates print data for printing by the printing device 102. The printer driver 1805 is the same as the printer driver 5 in the first and second embodiments. The printer driver 1805 includes printer model information 1806 and a print data generation processing unit 1807. Setting information and the like that can be used when printing for each printer is stored in the model information 1806. Usable setting information includes, for example, settings for the paper feed method, the type of paper, and the like.

[0077] Fig. 18(b) is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration when the information processing device 1 is a mobile terminal. The differences from Fig. 18(a) will be described. When the information processing device 1 is a mobile terminal, the printer driver 1805 does not exist. Therefore, the information processing device 1 is configured with a print processing module 1808 that performs print data generation processing. The print processing module 1808 includes a model information acquisition processing unit 1809. The model information acquisition processing unit 1809 acquires model information 1806 from the printing device 102. The acquired model information 1806 is stored, for example, in an external storage device (not shown).

[0078] In such an information processing system, a user creates a poster image on a screen displayed by the front end 1702 on the Web browser 1801 of the information processing device 1. At this time, the screens shown in FIGS. 2A to 4 and 10 to 13 can be displayed on the Web browser 1801 by the front end 1702. Furthermore, the process shown in the flowchart in FIG. 5 can be executed by the front end 1702. The created poster image is printed on a recording medium using the print application 1802.

[0079] <Other embodiments> In the above embodiment, a terminal device such as a personal computer is exemplified as the information processing device, but other devices can also be adopted. For example, a smartphone, a tablet, an image processing device such as a printer, an Internet KIOSK terminal, etc. may be used. Alternatively, the information processing device may be a server or the like capable of communicating with a terminal device owned by a user via a network. When a server is adopted as the information processing device, for example, among the processing of application 2, processing related to screen display may be performed by a terminal device owned by the user.

[0080] Although the poster creation application is exemplified in the above embodiment, the application is not limited to poster creation. For example, the features of the above embodiment can be applied to applications for creating and editing pamphlets, business cards, photo albums, etc.

[0081] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0082] <Additional Notes> The above embodiment discloses at least the following program, information processing system, and layout method.

[0083] (Item 1) The computer of the information processing device, means for receiving instructions to re-layout one or more objects included on a page printable by the printing device for borderless printing; an acquisition means for acquiring a printable area and a protrusion area of ​​the page when the borderless printing is performed when the instruction is accepted by the acceptance means; a relayout means for executing a relayout process of the one or more objects, for objects other than background objects, so as to allow objects that satisfy a predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion region and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion region; A program that functions as a

[0084] (Item 2) The program according to item 1, the relayout means relays out the one or more objects by changing a position or a size of the one or more objects; program.

[0085] (Item 3) The program according to any one of items 1 to 2, The relayout process includes a reduction process for reducing objects other than a background object among the one or more objects so that they fit within the printable area, and an enlargement process for enlarging objects that satisfy the predetermined condition among the reduced objects to the protruding area. program.

[0086] (Item 4) Item 3. The program according to item 3, In the relayout process, the reduction process is not performed on any of the one or more objects that protrude outside the protrusion area before the relayout, even if the object is an object other than the background object. program.

[0087] (Item 5) The program according to any one of items 1 to 4, The relayout process includes a reduction process for reducing objects other than a background object among the one or more objects so that they fit within the printable area, and an enlargement process for enlarging objects among the reduced objects that satisfy the predetermined condition and are in a predetermined positional relationship with the periphery of the printable area, into the protruding area. program.

[0088] (Item 6) Item 5. The program according to item 5, the predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship in which the object is in contact with the outer periphery of the printable area; program.

[0089] (Item 7) The program according to any one of items 1 to 2, the relayout process includes reducing only an object that does not satisfy a predetermined condition among the one or more objects so that the object fits within the printable area; program.

[0090] (Item 8) The program according to any one of items 1 to 7, The computer, a determining unit that determines whether the one or more objects satisfy the predetermined condition; The determining means determines that the object does not satisfy the predetermined condition if the object is a text object. program.

[0091] (Item 9) The program according to any one of items 1 to 8, The computer, a determining unit that determines whether the one or more objects satisfy the predetermined condition; The determination means determines that the object does not satisfy the predetermined condition if the object is an object including a face image. program.

[0092] (Item 10) The program according to any one of items 3 to 6, In the relayout process, the object that is to be expanded into the protruding region is expanded by a protruding width of the protruding region. program.

[0093] (Item 11) The program according to any one of items 1 to 10, The computer, a determining unit that determines whether the one or more objects satisfy the predetermined condition; the determining means determines whether or not the one or more objects satisfy the predetermined condition based on information stored in the information processing device, the information relating to a type of the object and whether or not the object may protrude into the protrusion area. program.

[0094] (Item 12) The program according to any one of items 1 to 11, The computer, a setting unit that can set whether or not the one or more objects are allowed to protrude into the protrusion area; the predetermined condition includes that the object is set to be allowed to protrude into the protrusion region; program.

[0095] (Item 13) The program according to any one of items 1 to 12, The computer, A modification means for modifying a protrusion width of the protrusion region; A program that further functions as.

[0096] (Item 14) a receiving means for receiving an instruction to re-layout one or more objects included on a page printable by the printing device for borderless printing; an acquisition means for acquiring a printable area and a protrusion area of ​​the page when printing without borders in response to the instruction being accepted by the acceptance means; a relayout means for executing relayout processing of the one or more objects, for objects other than background objects, so as to allow objects that satisfy a predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area; An information processing system comprising:

[0097] (Item 15) 1. A method for laying out objects on a page printable by a printing device, comprising: receiving instructions to re-layout one or more objects included on the page for borderless printing; acquiring a printable area and a protrusion area of ​​the page when printing without borders in response to the instruction being accepted in the accepting step; executing a relayout process for the one or more objects, for objects other than background objects, such that an object that satisfies a predetermined condition is permitted to protrude into the protrusion region, and an object that does not satisfy the predetermined condition is not permitted to protrude into the protrusion region; A layout method including:

[0098] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 1: Information processing device, 2: Application, 8: CPU

Claims

1. The computer of the information processing device, means for receiving instructions to re-layout one or more objects included on a page printable by the printing device for borderless printing; a relayout means for executing a relayout process of the one or more objects, when the instruction is received by the receiving means, which includes a process of reducing at least a predetermined object that does not satisfy the predetermined condition relatively to the background object, so as to allow objects other than background objects among the one or more objects that satisfy predetermined conditions to protrude into the protrusion area of ​​the printable area and protrusion area of ​​the page during borderless printing, and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area; A program characterized by functioning as

2. When the instruction is received by the receiving means, the computer is further caused to function as an acquisition means for acquiring a printable area and an overflow area of ​​the page during borderless printing; the relayout means executes the relayout process based on the information acquired by the acquisition means; 2. The program according to claim 1 .

3. The relayout means relays out the one or more objects by changing the positions or sizes of the one or more objects.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

4. By the relayout processing, an object other than a background object among the one or more objects and that does not satisfy the predetermined condition is scaled by a first scale factor so that the object fits within the printable area; a specific object among the one or more objects other than a background object that satisfies the predetermined condition is scaled by a second scaling factor that is larger than the result of scaling by the first scaling factor so that the specific object protrudes into the protrusion area; 2. The program according to claim 1 .

5. The specific object is an object that satisfies the predetermined condition and is in a predetermined positional relationship with the periphery of the printable area.

5. The program according to claim 4.

6. The predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship in which the object is in contact with the outer periphery of the printable area.

6. The program according to claim 5.

7. The relayout process includes a reduction process for reducing objects other than background objects among the one or more objects so that they fit within the printable area, and an expansion process for expanding specific objects among the reduced objects that satisfy the predetermined conditions to the overflow area.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

8. In the relayout process, the reduction process is not performed on any of the one or more objects that protrude outside the protrusion area before the relayout, even if the object is an object other than the background object.

8. The program according to claim 7,

9. The predetermined condition is a condition based on whether the object type is one of a plurality of types including an image, text, or graphic.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

10. If the type of object is text, the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

10. The program according to claim 9.

11. If the type of object is an image and includes a facial image, the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

10. The program according to claim 9.

12. The predetermined condition is a condition based on information relating to a type of object and whether or not the object is allowed to protrude into the protrusion area.

10. The program according to claim 9.

13. The computer is further configured to function as a setting means capable of setting whether or not the one or more objects are allowed to protrude into the protrusion area, The predetermined condition is a condition based on the content set by the setting means.

2. The program according to claim 1 .

14. An information processing device characterized by having each means of the program described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A control method for an information processing device, comprising: receiving instructions for re-layouting one or more objects included in a page printable by the printing device for borderless printing; a relayout step of executing a relayout process for the one or more objects, when the instruction is accepted by the accepting step, which includes a process of reducing at least a predetermined object that does not satisfy the predetermined condition relative to the background object, so as to allow objects other than background objects among the one or more objects that satisfy a predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area of ​​the printable area and protrusion area of ​​the page during borderless printing, and not allow objects that do not satisfy the predetermined condition to protrude into the protrusion area; 1. A method for controlling an information processing device, comprising:

Images