Image forming system, driver, and job instruction method

Abstract

To determine an appropriate scale factor and cutting position without burdening a user in the case where settings are configured to cut fore edges of sheets bound by middle-folding for borderless printing.SOLUTION: A system includes: an image forming apparatus comprising a binding mechanism for binding sheets in the middle and a cutting mechanism for cutting fore edges of the bound sheets; and a driver which receives settings for a job related to image forming and transmits the settings to the image forming apparatus. The cutting mechanism can cut the fore edges at a width of a predetermined range. The driver includes: a setting receiving unit which receives a selection of a sheet to be used, and settings for a function for binding the sheets in the middle, vertical borderless printing and fore-edge cutting; a scale factor determination unit which determines a scale factor of a printing document for vertical borderless printing; and a cutting position determination unit which determines a cutting position so that no border is formed in the fore edges when an image is formed on the selected sheet at the scale factor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming system including an image forming apparatus capable of printing by folding a sheet in the middle and cutting the edge of the sheet to be bound and printing by enlarging or reducing the size of the sheet, and a driver that is installed in an information processing apparatus and accepts job settings related to image formation and transmits them to the image forming apparatus, and a method of specifying the driver and the job. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known an image forming apparatus that folds a printed sheet in the middle and saddle-stitches or flat-stitches the sheet to finish and output it in a booklet shape. There is also known an image forming apparatus that enlarges or reduces the document image to be printed to fit the size of the sheet. However, even after enlarging or reducing the image to fit the size of the sheet, a certain margin is usually provided around the image. This is to prevent paper jams when the sheet is conveyed and also to prevent the edges of the following sheets from being soiled. However, in some cases, a user may wish to finish the image without margins around the image. For this reason, there is also an apparatus that allows the user to set borderless printing. Even in borderless printing, a minimum margin that does not cause paper jams is usually secured at the front end of the sheet conveying direction (hereinafter also referred to as the sub-scanning direction in this specification). In double-sided printing, the sheet is switched back, so margins are required at the front and rear ends of the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is only at both ends in the width direction (hereinafter also referred to as the main scanning direction in this specification) perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction that the image can be made borderless. Regarding saddle-stitched borderless printing, there is known an image output system that includes a cutting unit that cuts one side of the fore-edge of a recording medium that has been saddle-stitched after borderless printing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-081829 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a sheet is folded in the middle, a crease is usually made along the main scanning direction, and when the sheets are bound, both ends in the main scanning direction corresponding to the top and bottom can be made strictly borderless by setting top and bottom borderless printing. When the sheets are bound, margins are secured at both ends in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to the fore edge. However, if the image forming device is equipped with a mechanism for cutting to align the fore edge, the fore edge after cutting can be finished without borders if the cutting position can be aligned with the margins. However, in the past, the settings of the enlargement / reduction ratio and the cutting position (cutting width) related to top and bottom borderless printing were not linked, and when setting a job that combined the two, the user had to correctly specify the settings of the magnification and the cutting width, respectively.

[0005] However, even if the print document is enlarged or reduced to match the size of the sheet as described above, a margin of a predetermined width (for example, 2 mm at both ends in the main scanning direction and 2 mm at both ends in the sub-scanning direction) is created around the periphery. However, the user does not necessarily recognize such detailed specifications. Even if the user recognizes the specifications, it is cumbersome and prone to errors for the user to recognize detailed information such as the enlargement / reduction ratio applied to the print document and whether or not margins are forcibly created at both ends in the sub-scanning direction to prevent paper jams after the enlargement / reduction ratio is applied and to set an appropriate cutting position. Furthermore, if the setting is incorrect, a margin will remain at the fore-edge portion or the image will be cut off unintentionally, resulting in wasteful printing. Furthermore, there are upper and lower limits to the width that can be cut due to mechanical constraints, and the position at which the fore-edge portion should be cut may not necessarily fall within the range of the upper and lower limits described above depending on the size of the print document and the size of the sheet.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides an image forming system that can determine an appropriate enlargement / reduction ratio and cutting position without bothering the user when a setting is made to cut the edge of a center-folded and bound sheet to make it borderless. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present disclosure provides an image forming system including an image forming device having an image forming unit that forms an image on sheets, a binding mechanism that folds and binds the sheets, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the edge of the bound sheets, and a driver that is installed in an information processing device that can communicate with the image forming device, accepts job settings related to image formation, and sends instructions to the image forming device, wherein the cutting mechanism is capable of cutting the edge to a width within a predetermined range, and the driver includes a setting receiving unit that accepts settings for selection of sheets to be used, a function for folding and binding the sheets, borderless printing at the top and bottom, and fore-edge cutting, a magnification determination unit that determines a scaling ratio of a print document to be printed to achieve borderless printing in accordance with the received selection and settings, and a cutting position determination unit that determines a cutting position so that the edge will be borderless when an image is formed on a selected sheet at the scaling ratio.

[0008] Furthermore, from a different viewpoint, the present disclosure provides a driver that is installed in an information processing device, accepts job settings related to image formation, and sends instructions to an image forming device, the image forming device having an image forming unit that forms images on sheets, a binding mechanism that folds and binds the sheets in the middle, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the edge of the bound sheets, the cutting mechanism being capable of cutting the edge to a predetermined range of widths, the driver including: a setting receiving unit that accepts selection of sheets to be used, a function for folding and binding the sheets in the middle, settings for borderless printing and fore-edge cutting; a magnification determination unit that determines a scaling factor of a print document to be printed to achieve borderless printing in accordance with the received selection and settings; and a cutting position determination unit that determines a cutting position so that the edge will be borderless when an image is formed on a selected sheet at the scaling factor.

[0009] From a different perspective, the present disclosure provides a method in which a processor, as a driver installed in an information processing device, accepts job settings related to image formation and sends instructions to an image forming device, the image forming device having an image forming unit that forms images on sheets, a binding mechanism that folds and binds the sheets in the middle, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the fore-edge of the bound sheets, the cutting mechanism being capable of cutting the fore-edge to a predetermined range of widths, the method including the steps of: accepting selection of sheets to be used, a function for folding and binding the sheets in the middle, borderless printing and fore-edge cutting settings; determining a scaling ratio of a print document to be printed to achieve borderless printing in accordance with the accepted selection and settings; determining a cutting position so that the fore-edge will be borderless when an image is formed on the selected sheet at the scaling ratio; and sending instructions related to the job to the image forming device. Effect of the Invention

[0010] In the image forming system according to the present disclosure, the driver includes a magnification determination unit that determines the magnification ratio of the print document to make it borderless at the top and bottom, and a cutting position determination unit that determines the cutting position so that the edge will be borderless when an image is formed on a selected sheet at that magnification ratio. Therefore, when a setting is made to cut the edge of a center-folded and bound sheet to make it borderless, an appropriate magnification ratio and cutting position can be determined without bothering the user. The driver and job instruction method according to the present disclosure also achieves the same advantageous effects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the external appearance of a multifunction peripheral as an example of a printing device according to the present disclosure, viewed diagonally from the left front side; [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the multifunction peripheral shown in FIG. 1 and an information processing device capable of communicating with the multifunction peripheral. [Diagram 3]2 is a perspective view showing an example of a saddle-stitched booklet created by the multifunction machine shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4A] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a saddle-stitched booklet according to the present disclosure, showing a binding method; [Figure 4B] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a binding method of a flat-stitched booklet according to the present disclosure. [Figure 4C] 4C is a cross-sectional view showing a side-stitched booklet according to the present disclosure, the booklet being bound in a different manner from that shown in FIG. 4B. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between a print document and a sheet in normal printing in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a driver screen that a driver causes to be displayed on a PC operation unit in an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 7] 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a driver screen that is different from that shown in FIG. 6 and that is displayed on a PC operation unit by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a driver screen that is displayed on a PC operation unit by a driver, which is different from those in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 9] 4 is a first flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 11 is a second flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 11 is a third flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 13 is a fourth flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 13 is a fifth flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 13 is a sixth flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by a driver in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a first mode when a driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a second mode when the driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a third mode when the driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a fourth mode when the driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a fifth mode when the driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a sixth mode when the driver accepts settings for cutting and borderless printing (top and bottom) in the embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The present disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the appearance of a multifunction peripheral as an example of an image forming device included in an image forming system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system according to the present disclosure. The image forming system 20 includes the multifunction peripheral 10 shown in FIG. 1, an information processing device 24 capable of communicating with the multifunction peripheral 10, and a driver 26 installed in the information processing device 24.

[0013] The multifunction machine 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a main unit 10B connected to peripheral devices. The main unit 10B includes a main feed tray 11B, a document feeder 16, an image forming unit 17 for forming an image, a scanner unit 18 for reading an image of a document, and an operation unit 19. A large-capacity feed tray 11L, a manual feed tray 11M, and a transport unit 11T are connected to the right side of the main unit 10B when viewed from the front. Sheets are fed from one of the main feed tray 11B, the large-capacity feed tray 11L, and the manual feed tray 11M. A curl correction unit 12, an inserter 13, a paper folding unit 14, and a finisher 15 are connected to the left side of the main unit 10B when viewed from the front. The paper folding unit 14 can crease and fold a sheet. The finisher 15 can crease the sheet along the main scanning direction, and can further staple the sheet into a booklet in a saddle stitching or side stitching manner using a stapler, and can cut off the fore-edge portion. That is, the finisher 15 includes the binding mechanism and cutting mechanism of the present disclosure.

[0014] The main body 10B includes a control unit 21 that controls the operation and processing of the multifunction device 10. The control unit 21 is mainly configured with a processor as hardware, and includes a storage unit configured with RAM and non-volatile memory, an input / output circuit, a timer circuit, etc. Furthermore, the main body 10B includes a communication circuit 22 that communicates with external devices such as an information processing device 24, and an operation unit 19 related to a user interface.

[0015] The processor of the control unit 21 executes a control program prestored in the storage unit to realize the functions of the operation control unit 21U, job control unit 21J, peripheral device control unit 21P, and image control unit 21M shown in Fig. 2. The operation control unit 21U displays an operation screen on the operation unit 19, recognizes user operations performed on the operation screen, and performs processing according to the operations. The job control unit 21J controls the execution of jobs using, for example, the scanner unit 18 and the image forming unit 17.

[0016] The peripheral device control unit 21P controls peripheral devices such as the large-capacity paper feed tray 11L, the paper folding unit 14, and the finisher 15 connected to the main body 10B. The image control unit 21M processes an image of an original read by the scanner unit 18. It also processes print data to generate image data to be printed by the image forming unit 17. In the case of a print job, for example, the print data is received from a driver 26 of the information processing device 24 connected via the communication circuit 22.

[0017] The information processing device 24 shown in Fig. 2 is a device communicatively connected to the multifunction device 10. The information processing device 24 shown in Fig. 2 is assumed to be a PC (personal computer) as a specific embodiment. However, the information processing device of the present disclosure is not limited to a PC, and may be an information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The information processing device 24 includes a PC operation unit 24U, a PC control unit 25, a PC storage unit 24M, and a network communication unit 24N.

[0018] The PC operation unit 24U is a device related to the user interface, and includes a display device such as a monitor that displays a screen, and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse that accept user operations. The PC storage unit 24M is composed of RAM and non-volatile memory, and stores programs and data such as an operation system, applications, and drivers. The PC control unit 25 is composed of hardware circuits centered around a processor, and executes programs stored in the PC storage unit 24M to perform processing as the operation system, applications, drivers, etc. The network communication unit 24N is hardware and software related to communication for the information processing device 24 to communicate with external devices such as the multifunction device 10.

[0019] The PC control unit 25 includes a PC operation control unit 25U and a driver 26. The PC operation control unit 25U displays an operation screen on the PC operation unit 24U, recognizes user operations performed on the operation screen, and performs processing according to the operations. The driver 26 includes a setting reception unit 26R. In addition, the driver 26 includes a magnification determination unit 26Z, a cutting position determination unit 26C, and a print data generation unit 26G as a printer driver.

[0020] The setting reception unit 26R displays the driver operation screen on the PC operation unit 24U via the PC operation control unit 25U and receives the user's settings related to the job to be executed by the multifunction device 10. For the print job, the printer driver operation screen is displayed on the PC operation unit 24U to receive the user's settings. In this embodiment, the user's settings include the selection of the sheet to be used, the function of folding the sheet in the middle and binding, the setting of borderless printing and cutting the fore-edge portion. The magnification determination unit determines the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document according to the settings. When the function of folding the sheet in the middle and binding, the function of borderless printing and cutting the fore-edge portion are set, the magnification determination unit determines the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document for borderless printing. The cutting position determination unit determines the cutting position according to the settings. When the function of folding the sheet in the middle and binding, the function of borderless printing and cutting the fore-edge portion are set, the cutting position determination unit determines the cutting position such that the fore-edge portion of the sheet on which the image is formed is borderless at the enlargement / reduction ratio for borderless printing. The print data generating unit 26G generates data for causing the image forming unit 17 of the multifunction device 10 to form an image and print it on a sheet, i.e., print data, based on the data received by the setting receiving unit 26R. Then, the generated print data is sent to the multifunction device 10 via the network communication unit 24N.

[0021] 1 and 2 show a configuration in which peripheral devices such as the paper folding unit 14 and the finisher 15 are connected to the main body 10B, which is the main device, but they may be configured as a single device. This is a device in which the printing unit and the finisher are integrated.

[0022] <Binding example> FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of binding performed by the finisher 15 of the multifunction device 10. The booklet 30 shown in FIG. 3 is obtained by stacking and center-folding a plurality of sheets by the finisher 15, and saddle-stitching the sheets by driving a staple 32 into the spine 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the folded portion of the closed sheets is the spine 31, and the opposite end of the spine 31 is the fore-edge 33. In the example of the booklet 30 shown in FIG. 3, the spine 31 and the fore-edge 33 are at one end side and the other end side of the long side of the booklet 30. In contrast, both ends of the short side of the booklet 30 are the top 34 and the bottom 35. The finisher 15 of the present disclosure can cut and align the fore-edge 33 at a position within a predetermined range (for example, 2 to 20 mm range) from the edge. A finisher that creates a saddle-stitched booklet is called a saddle finisher, and is widely used as a peripheral device of an image forming apparatus. Saddle stitching is the most common method of binding a booklet, but other binding methods such as flat stitching and perfect binding are also known.

[0023] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing a saddle-stitched booklet 30. Saddle-stitching is a binding method in which all sheets are stacked, a staple is driven in the center of the spine, and the booklet is folded in the middle. Staples 32 are often driven in two places, but depending on the length of the spine 31, staples 32 may be driven in three places. As shown in FIG. 4A, the driven staples 32 are exposed in the spine 31. In contrast, flat stitching is a stack in which several sets of folded sheets are stacked, and staples 32 are driven in the stack. FIG. 4B shows an example of flat stitching in which multiple sheets are stacked and folded in the middle. FIG. 4C shows an example of flat stitching in which one sheet is folded in the middle and stacked. In both FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C, the staples 32 are exposed in the flat (flat) part close to the spine 31, not in the spine 31.

[0024] As shown in Figures 4B and 4C, in side binding, staples are driven into the bundle of sheets other than the cover. In contrast, perfect binding is a binding method in which center-folded sheets and the cover are glued at the spine 31, as in Figure 4C. Glue is used to bind the sheets together instead of staples 32. Although side binding and perfect binding have been described as examples of binding methods other than saddle stitching, this is not intended to limit the binding methods to these, and is intended to show that the present disclosure can be applied to booklet binding methods other than saddle stitching.

[0025] <Driver processing for borderless and edge cutting> Next, the process executed by the driver when borderless printing and edge trimming are set will be described. To explain the process of borderless printing, it is necessary to first explain the process. In simple normal printing, the size of the print manuscript is equal to the size of the sheet. Even if the size of the print manuscript is different from the size of the sheet, if the aspect ratio of the two is the same, the print manuscript can be enlarged or reduced to be equal to the size of the sheet. In either case, the printer driver creates a margin of a specified width at the edge of the print manuscript. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the print manuscript and the sheet in normal printing. In Figure 5, the outer rectangle shows the outline of the sheet 51 used for image formation. The size of the sheet is A3 size as an example. The long side is aligned in the sub-scanning direction, and the short side is aligned in the main scanning direction. The size of the print manuscript 50 used for image formation on the sheet 51 is set to A3 size, which is the same as the size of the sheet.

[0026] The driver 26 provides a margin of a predetermined width at both ends of the print document 50 in the main scanning direction and at both ends of the sub-scanning direction. As shown in FIG. 5, an example of the predetermined width is 2 millimeters. The size of an A3 size sheet in the main scanning direction is 297 millimeters. Therefore, the 293 millimeters inside the margins are the image area of ​​the print document in the main scanning direction. Also, the size of an A3 size sheet in the sub-scanning direction is 420 mm. Therefore, the 416 millimeters inside the margins are the image area of ​​the print document in the sub-scanning direction. Since the top and bottom borderless printing is a state in which the size of the image area of ​​the print document is matched to the size of the sheet in the main scanning direction, the image is enlarged by a factor of 297 (mm) / 293 (mm) (approximately 101.4%) from the center in the main scanning direction. Note that if the data of the image to be printed, such as JPEG data, does not contain information on the image size, a value calculated from the number of dots of the image and the print resolution can be used as the image size. Since the print resolution is a device-specific value such as 600 DPI that is previously determined in the driver, that value can be applied. For example, if the number of dots in the original image is 2160 vertically and 3840 horizontally, and the print resolution is 600 DPI, the image size can be calculated as follows. First, the vertical image size is calculated by dividing the number of dots in the vertical direction by the print resolution. That is, the calculation is 2160 / 600 = 3.6 (inches) = 91.44 (mm). Similarly, the horizontal image size is calculated as 3840 / 600 = 6.4 (inches) = 162.6 (mm).

[0027] If the print document is enlarged at the same rate in the sub-scanning direction to maintain its aspect ratio, the size of the print document's image area in the sub-scanning direction will be approximately 421.7 mm, which will extend beyond the 420 mm sheet. Also, the margins on both sides of the sub-scanning direction are there to prevent paper jams and cannot be eliminated. This is why borderless printing has a "top and bottom" notation. Therefore, the original image in the sub-scanning direction will be missing approximately 5.7 mm of the original image area, which is 416 mm in size. Even if the margins on both sides of the sub-scanning direction can be cut away and eliminated, there is nothing that can be done about the missing approximately 5.7 mm of the image area. It should be clear that in order to achieve borderless printing, it is necessary to prepare a print document of a size that takes into account the margins added by the driver.

[0028] 6 to 8 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of a driver screen that the setting reception unit 26R of the driver 26 displays on the PC operation unit in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The driver screen 60 shown in FIG. 6 is a screen of the "Layout" tab 61. A check box for borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 is prepared on the screen of the "Layout" tab 61. By checking this check box, the driver 26 determines the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document to make it borderless at the top and bottom. However, it is also possible for the user to calculate and set the magnification of the print document to make it borderless at the top and bottom. The driver screen 70 shown in FIG. 7 is a screen of the "Main" tab 71. When the "Zoom setting" key 72 is operated on the screen of the "Main" tab 71, the setting reception unit 26R displays a zoom setting screen 73 in response to the operation. As shown in FIG. 7, the user can set a zoom magnification 74 on the zoom setting screen 73. The zoom magnification 74 is the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document. When borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 and zoom magnification 74 are set, driver 26 applies the set zoom magnification with priority. If the user sets an appropriate zoom magnification, it is possible to achieve a top and bottom borderless state. As mentioned above, in the sub-scanning direction, borderless printing will not be achieved unless a print manuscript of a size that takes margins into consideration is prepared in advance. When a print manuscript of an appropriate size is prepared and borderless printing (top and bottom) 62, zoom magnification 74, and cutting of the fore-edge portion, which will be described later, are set, driver 26 determines the cutting position to make the fore-edge borderless and cuts it. Details will be described later.

[0029] In addition to the settings related to the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document, the driver 26 accepts settings related to cutting. The driver screen 80 shown in FIG. 8 is the screen of the "Finishing" tab 81. When the "Cut" key 82 is operated on the screen of the "Finishing" tab 81, the setting reception unit 26R displays a cutting setting screen 83 in response to the operation. As shown in FIG. 8, the user can set the cutting 84 on the cutting setting screen 83, and can also set the cutting width 85, that is, the position where the edge of the bound sheets is to be cut by inputting the distance (width) from the edge of the sheets. However, there is a range of the settable cutting width, and in the example shown in FIG. 8, it is in the range of 2.0 mm or more and 20.0 mm or less. Cutting cannot be performed neatly if it is less than 2.0 mm, and cutting with a width of 20.0 mm or more is not planned, and there is no mechanism for cutting it. Although the settings related to the enlargement / reduction ratio and the settings related to cutting are separate setting items, the driver 26 processes those settings as follows. 9 to 14 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing executed by the driver 26 in this embodiment. The flow of processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 9, the driver 26 determines whether the settings accepted by the setting acceptance unit 26R include the settings of the cutting 84 and the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 shown in Fig. 8 (step S100). If either the cutting 84 or the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 has not been set (No in step S100), the driver 26 proceeds to step S109. Then, the print data generation unit 26G generates print data according to the settings accepted by the setting acceptance unit 26R, and sends the print job data to the multifunction device 10 together with information related to the job settings accepted by the setting acceptance unit 26R (step S109), and the process ends. On the other hand, if both the cutting 84 and the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 are set (Yes in step S100), the driver 26 further judges whether the setting includes the zoom magnification 74 shown in FIG. 6 or the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 shown in FIG. 7 (step S101). If either of the settings is set and the enlargement / reduction magnification of the print document is specified (Yes in step S101), the driver 26 then judges whether the fore-edge cutting is set and the cutting width is specified (step S102). If the cutting width of the fore-edge cutting is specified (Yes in step S102), the driver 26 executes the "user specification" process shown in FIG. 10 (S104). The specific contents of the process will be described later. If the cutting width of the fore-edge cutting is not specified in the determination in the above-mentioned step S102 (No in step S102), the driver 26 executes the "top and bottom borderless priority" process shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 (S105). The specific contents of the process will be described later.

[0031] On the other hand, if neither the zoom magnification 74 nor the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 has been set in step S101 (No in step S101), the driver 26 then determines whether or not edge cutting has been set and the cutting width has been specified (step S103). If the cutting width for edge cutting has been specified (Yes in step S103), the driver 26 executes the "cutting position priority" process shown in FIG. 13 (S106). The specific contents of the process will be described later. If the cutting width for edge cutting has not been specified in the determination in step S103 above (No in step S103), the driver 26 executes the "automatic setting" process shown in FIG. 14 (S107). The specific contents of the process will be described later.

[0032] As described above, as a result of executing any one of the processes of "user specification", "borderless top and bottom priority", "cutting position priority" and "automatic setting" according to the setting, it is determined whether the user has selected to cancel the instruction of the job related to the accepted setting and not to send it to the multifunction device 10 (step S108). If the user has selected not to issue an instruction of the job related to the accepted setting (Yes in step S108), the process ends. If the setting acceptance unit 26R accepts a new setting, the process from step S100 described above is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that the user has not selected not to issue an instruction of the job related to the setting (No in step S108), the driver 26 advances the process to the above-mentioned step S109. Then, the print data generation unit 26G generates print data according to the setting accepted by the setting acceptance unit 26R, and sends the print job data to the multifunction device 10 together with the information related to the job setting accepted by the setting acceptance unit 26R, and the process ends.

[0033] Next, the contents of the "user specification" process (S104) shown in FIG. 10 will be described. This process is performed when both the zoom magnification 74 and the cutting width 85 are set by the user. In this case, the driver 26 as the magnification determining unit 26Z applies the enlargement / reduction magnification A set by the zoom magnification 74 (step S201). The driver 26 as the cutting position determining unit 26C applies the cutting width (D millimeters) set by the cutting width 85 to the position of the fore-edge cutting (step S202). Then, the print job is set so that the sheets are printed at the enlargement / reduction magnification A (step S203). Furthermore, the print job is set so that the sheets are folded in the middle and bound, and the fore-edge portion is cut at the cutting width D millimeter position (step S204), and the process is completed. This is the "user specification" process.

[0034] Next, the contents of the "Top and Bottom Borderless Priority" process (S105) shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 will be described. This process is performed when the zoom magnification 74 is set by the user and the cutting width 85 is not set. In this case, the driver 26 as the magnification determining unit 26Z applies the enlargement / reduction magnification A set by the zoom magnification 74 (step S301). Furthermore, the same enlargement / reduction magnification A is applied to the sub-scanning direction (step S302). The driver 26 as the cutting position determining unit 26C determines the cutting width at which the same fore-edge portion will be borderless from the difference (the difference is X) between the sheet size in the sub-scanning direction and the image size of the print document (step S303). If the cutting width is D, it can be calculated as D=X / 2. Furthermore, the cutting position determining unit 26C determines whether the obtained cutting width D is within the range in which cutting is possible (step S304). In this embodiment, the range is 2.0 to 20.0 mm. If the obtained cutting width D is within the range (Yes in step S304), the cutting position determination unit 26C adopts the obtained cutting width. The driver 26 sets the print job so that printing is performed on the sheets at the above-mentioned enlargement / reduction ratio A (step S305). Furthermore, the print job is set so that the sheets are folded in half and bound, and the fore-edge portion is cut at the position of the obtained cutting width D (step S306), and the process ends. According to this embodiment, the driver determines the cutting position where the fore-edge portion will be borderless while giving priority to the enlargement / reduction ratio of the print document set by the user, and the top, bottom, and fore-edge portions can be made borderless without bothering the user.

[0035] If the determined cutting width D is not within the cuttable range in the judgment of step S304 described above (No in step S304), the cutting position determination unit 26C judges whether the determined cutting width D exceeds the upper limit or the lower limit of the range (step S307). If it exceeds the upper limit (Yes in step S307), the driver 26 displays a message on the driver screen indicating that the print cannot be finished borderless. Then, the driver 26 displays options to send a print job to the multifunction device 10 without cutting the edge and maintaining other settings, or to cancel the instruction for the job whose settings have been accepted, and accepts the user's selection (step S308). According to this embodiment, if the application of the enlargement / reduction ratio set by the user does not achieve both the borderless top and bottom and the cutting position that makes the edge borderless, the user can select whether to continue the job without cutting by the cutting mechanism, or to prevent the image forming device from starting the job to suppress the execution of a useless job.

[0036] 15 to 20 are explanatory diagrams showing various aspects when the driver 26 receives the settings of the cutting 84 and the borderless printing (top and bottom) 62. FIG. 15 shows a case where a print manuscript of an ideal size for borderless printing is provided, and borderless printing is possible with the lower limit cutting width of the possible cutting range. FIG. 16 shows a case where borderless printing is possible within the range of the set cutting width or the determined cutting width. And FIG. 17 shows an example where the determination in the above-mentioned step S307 corresponds to Yes. The solid-line rectangular frame in the illustration shown on the left side of FIG. 15 indicates the outer edge of the print manuscript 150, and the two triangles indicate the image to be printed out of the print manuscript 150. In addition, the dashed-line rectangular frame indicates the outline of the sheet 151 on which the print manuscript 150 is printed. The top and bottom of the image of the print manuscript 150 match the outline of the sheet 151, and printing without top and bottom borders is realized. Both ends of the image of the printed manuscript 150 in the sub-scanning direction are located inward by the margins that should be on both ends of the sheet 151 in the sub-scanning direction. The illustration shown in the center of FIG. 15 shows an uncut booklet 152 in which the sheet 151 shown in the illustration on the left edge is folded in half. The left edge is the fold of the sheet, i.e., the spine of the booklet, and the right edge is the fore-edge. The right edge of the image of the printed manuscript 150 in the uncut booklet 152 coincides with the lower limit width of the cuttable range (2.0 mm in this embodiment). The lower limit width of the cuttable range is the target cutting position. The illustration shown on the right edge of FIG. 15 shows a cut booklet 153 in which the uncut booklet 152 in the center has been cut at the target cutting position. The cut booklet 153 is borderless at the top, bottom, and fore-edge.

[0037] Like FIG. 15, FIG. 16 shows a print manuscript 160 and a sheet 161 on the left side, an uncut booklet 162 in the center, and a cut booklet 163 on the right side. What differs from FIG. 15 is that the size of the print manuscript 160 in the sub-scanning direction is slightly smaller than that in FIG. 15. However, the size of the print manuscript 160 in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction is the same as that in FIG. 15. Therefore, the cutting width at the target cutting position where the fore-edge portion will be borderless is larger than that in FIG. 15. However, the target cutting position is within the range where cutting is possible.

[0038] FIG. 17 shows a print manuscript 170 and a sheet 171 on the left side, a pre-cut booklet 172 in the center, and a cut booklet 173 on the right side, similarly to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16. The size of the print manuscript 170 in the sub-scanning direction is smaller than that in FIG. 16. The size of the print manuscript 170 in the main scanning direction is the same as that in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16. The cutting width of the target cutting position where the edge portion is borderless exceeds the upper limit of the cuttable range, and even if cutting is performed at the upper limit of the cuttable range, a margin remains on the edge portion. This is an example of a case where the determination in the above-mentioned step S307 corresponds to Yes. FIG. 17 shows an example of a message screen 174 that the driver 26 displays on the driver screen in the above-mentioned step S308. The message screen 174 shows operation keys for accepting a selection to cancel the job instruction and a selection to print without cutting the edge, assuming that cutting will be performed manually later.

[0039] Returning to the description of Fig. 11, the driver 26 accepts an operation to select one of the options on the message screen 174 (step S309). If a selection is made to print without edge trimming (Yes in step S309), the print job is set to apply the enlargement / reduction ratio A to perform borderless printing, fold the sheets in the middle and bind them, but not trim the edges (step S310), and the process ends. On the other hand, if a selection is made to cancel the job instruction (No in step S309), the print job settings accepted up to that point are discarded, the job instruction is canceled (step S311 shown in Fig. 12), and the process ends.

[0040] In addition, in the judgment of step S307 described above, there may be cases where the cutting width of the target cutting position where the fore-edge portion is borderless exceeds the lower limit of the cuttable range (No in step S307). This corresponds to the case where the size of the print manuscript including the margin is the same as the size of the sheet. FIG. 18 shows an example of this case. FIG. 18 shows a print manuscript 180, a sheet 181 on the left, a booklet before cutting 182 in the center, and a cut booklet 183 on the right, as in FIGS. 15 to 17. The target cutting width where the fore-edge portion is borderless becomes a negative value and exceeds the lower limit of the cuttable range. However, margins are provided on both ends in the sub-scanning direction to prevent paper jams. As mentioned above, the width of the margin is, for example, 2 millimeters. Therefore, the driver 26 applies the enlargement / reduction magnification A to perform borderless printing (step 312), and then folds the sheet in the middle to cut the bound fore-edge portion. The target cutting position of the fore edge in this case is the margins created on both ends in the sub-scanning direction, and the cutting width coincides with the lower limit of the range that can be cut in this embodiment. In this way, the margins created to prevent paper jams are cut and removed (step S313). Then, the process ends. However, the fore edge is not borderless because some image is missing. This completes the "top and bottom borderless priority" process.

[0041] Next, the contents of the "cutting position priority" process (S106) shown in FIG. 13 will be described. This process is performed when the cutting width 85 is set by the user and the zoom magnification 74 is not set. In this case, the driver 26 as the cutting position determination unit 26C applies the cutting width (D millimeters) set in the cutting width 85 to the position of the fore-edge cutting (step S401). Next, the driver 26 as the magnification determination unit 26Z determines the enlargement / reduction magnification A at which the size of the image of the print document in the sub-scanning direction is shorter than the sheet size by the cutting width (D)×2 (step S402). The obtained enlargement / reduction magnification A is the enlargement / reduction magnification at which the fore-edge portion after cutting becomes borderless. Then, the same enlargement / reduction magnification A is applied not only to the sub-scanning direction but also to the main scanning direction (step S403). Then, the difference (Y) is obtained by subtracting the sheet size from the image size of the print document to which the enlargement / reduction magnification A is applied in the main scanning direction (step S404). It is determined whether the absolute value of the calculated difference Y is equal to or smaller than a predetermined allowable value (step S405). The allowable value is, for example, 1.0 millimeter.

[0042] If the absolute value of the difference Y is equal to or less than the allowable width (Yes in step S405), the driver 26 sets the print job so that the sheets are printed without top and bottom borders at the determined enlargement / reduction magnification A (step S406). Furthermore, the print job is set so that the sheets are folded and bound, and the edge portion is cut at the position of the set cutting width D (step S407), and the process ends. According to this aspect, the driver determines the enlargement / reduction magnification according to the cutting position set by the user with priority, and the edge portion after cutting can be made borderless without bothering the user. On the other hand, if the absolute value of the difference Y exceeds the allowable width in the determination in step S405, the driver 26 determines whether the image of the print document is larger than the size of the sheet in the main scanning direction (step S408). If the image of the print document is larger than the size of the sheet (Yes in step S408), a message is displayed on the driver screen to the effect that there is a possibility that the image may be cut off in the finished print. Then, the user selects whether to send the print job, for which the settings have been accepted, to the multifunction device 10 or to cancel the print job (step S409).

[0043] FIG. 19 shows an example of this case. Then, the process proceeds to the determination of step S411 described later. FIG. 19 shows the print manuscript 190 and the sheet 191 on the left side, the uncut booklet 192 in the center, and the cut booklet 193 on the right side, as in FIGS. 15 to 18. The print manuscript 190 is different from FIG. 15 in that the size of the print manuscript 190 in the main scanning direction is larger than that of the print manuscript 150 in FIG. 15. The size of the print manuscript 190 in the sub-scanning direction is the same as that of the print manuscript 150 in FIG. 15. Therefore, if the enlargement / reduction magnification A that makes the fore-edge portion borderless is applied, the image in the main scanning direction does not fit on the sheet, and the top and bottom of the image are missing. FIG. 19 shows an example of a message screen 194 that the driver 26 displays on the driver screen in the above-mentioned step S409.

[0044] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S408 that the image of the print document is smaller than the size of the sheet (No in step S408), a message is displayed on the driver screen to the effect that there is a possibility that the image may be cut off in the finished print. Then, a selection is accepted as to whether to send the print job for which the setting has been accepted to the multifunction device 10 or to cancel it (step S410). FIG. 20 shows an example of this case. Then, the process proceeds to the judgment in step S411, which will be described later. FIG. 20 shows the print document 200, the sheet 201, the uncut booklet 202 in the center, and the cut booklet 203 on the right side, as in FIGS. 15 to 19. The difference between the print document 200 in FIG. 15 is that the size of the print document 200 in the main scanning direction is smaller than that of the print document 150 in FIG. 15. Note that the size of the print document 200 in the sub-scanning direction is the same as that of the print document 150 in FIG. 15. Therefore, if the enlargement / reduction magnification A that makes the fore-edge portion borderless is applied, there will be areas without images on both ends in the main scanning direction.

[0045] FIG. 20 shows an example of the message screen 204 that the driver 26 displays on the driver screen in step S410. The options presented on the message screen 194 and the message screen 204 are the same. That is, the print job for which the settings have been accepted is either sent to the MFP 10 or canceled. When any of the options is accepted, the driver 26 judges whether the selection is to send the print job for which the settings have been accepted to the MFP 10 or to cancel (step S411). If the selection is to cancel (No in step S411), the settings of the print job accepted up to that point are discarded, the job instruction is canceled (step S412), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the selection is to send the print job for which the settings have been accepted to the MFP 10 (Yes in step S411), the process proceeds to the above-mentioned step S406. Then, the driver 26 sets the print job so that the top and bottom borderless printing is performed on the sheet at the determined enlargement / reduction ratio A (step S406). Furthermore, the print job is set so that the sheets are folded and bound, and the edge is cut at the position of the set cutting width D (step S407), and the process ends. According to this aspect, if applying the cutting position set by the user and the corresponding scaling factor does not allow both cutting to make the edge borderless and achieving borderless printing, the user can select whether to continue the job with the cutting position and scaling factor settings even if the printing does not achieve borderless printing, or to prevent the image forming apparatus from starting the job and suppress the execution of unnecessary jobs. This is the "cutting position priority" process.

[0046] Finally, the contents of the "automatic setting" process (S107) shown in Fig. 14 will be described. This process is for the case where borderless printing (top and bottom) 62 and cutting 84 are both set, but zoom magnification 74 and cutting width 85 are not set. In this case, the driver 26 as the magnification determination unit 26Z determines the enlargement / reduction magnification A so that the size of the image excluding the margins of the print document in the main scanning direction matches the size of the sheet (step S501). In other words, it determines the enlargement / reduction magnification A that results in top and bottom borderless printing. Then, it calculates the size of the image of the photo document in the sub-scanning direction when the determined enlargement / reduction magnification A is applied not only to the main scanning direction but also to the sub-scanning direction (step S502).

[0047] The driver 26 as the cutting position determination unit 26C determines the cutting width at which the same fore-edge portion is borderless from the difference (the difference is X) between the sheet size in the sub-scanning direction and the image size of the print document (step S503). If the cutting width is D, it is obtained by D=X / 2. Furthermore, the cutting position determination unit 26C judges whether the obtained cutting width D is within the range where cutting is possible (step S504). In this embodiment, the range is 2.0 to 20.0 mm. If the obtained cutting width D is within the range (Yes in step S504), the cutting position determination unit 26C adopts the cutting width. The driver 26 sets the print job so that the sheet is printed at the aforementioned enlargement / reduction ratio A (step S505). Furthermore, the print job is set so that the sheet is folded in the middle and bound, and the fore-edge portion is cut at the position of the obtained cutting width D (step S506), and the process ends. If it is determined in step S504 above that the determined cutting width D is not within the possible cutting range (No in step S504), the driver 26 discards the print job settings received up to that point, cancels the job instructions (step S507), and ends the process. According to this aspect, when a setting is made that does not allow for both borderless printing and the range of the cutting position for making the fore-edge borderless, the image forming apparatus is not caused to start the set job, thereby preventing unnecessary job execution. This is the "automatic setting" process.

[0048] It should be understood that the present disclosure also includes any combination of the above-described aspects. In addition to the above-described embodiment, various modifications of the present disclosure are possible. These modifications should not be interpreted as not belonging to the scope of the present disclosure. The invention according to the present disclosure should include all modifications that are equivalent to the scope of the claims and that belong to the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 10: multifunction device, 10B: main body, 11B: main body paper feed tray, 11L: large capacity paper feed tray, 11M: manual feed tray, 11T: transport unit, 12: curl correction unit, 13: inserter, 14: paper folding unit, 15: finisher, 16: document feeder, 17: image forming unit, 18: scanner unit, 19: operation unit, 20: image forming system, 21: control unit, 21J: job control unit, 21M: image control unit, 21P: peripheral device control unit, 21U: operation control unit, 22: communication circuit, 24: information processing device, 24M: PC storage unit, 24N: network communication unit, 24U: PC operation unit, 25: PC control unit, 25U: PC operation control unit, 26: driver, 26C: cutting position determination unit, 26G: print data generation unit, 26R: Setting reception section, 26Z: Magnification determination section 30: Booklet, 31: Spine, 32: Staple, 33: Edge, 34: Top, 35: Bottom 50,150,160,170,180,190,200: Print manuscript, 51,151,161,171,181,191,201: Sheet, 60,70,80: Driver screen, 61: "Layout" tab, 62: Borderless printing (top and bottom), 71: "Main" tab, 72: "Zoom setting" key, 73: Zoom setting screen, 74: Zoom magnification, 81: "Finishing" tab, 82: "Cutting" key, 83: Cutting setting screen, 84: Cutting, 85: Cutting width, 152,162,172,182,192,202: Booklet before cutting, 153,163,173,183,193,203: Booklet after cutting, 174, 194, 204: Message screen

Claims

1. an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a binding mechanism that folds the sheet in the middle and binds it, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the edge of the bound sheet; a driver installed in an information processing device capable of communicating with the image forming device, receiving job settings related to image formation and sending instructions to the image forming device, The cutting mechanism is capable of cutting the edge portion to a width within a predetermined range, The driver includes: a setting reception section for receiving settings for selecting the sheet to be used, a function for folding and binding the sheet, borderless printing, and cutting the fore-edge portion; a magnification determination unit that determines a magnification or reduction ratio of a print document to be borderless in accordance with the received selection and setting; a cutting position determination unit that determines a cutting position so that the edge of the selected sheet will be borderless when an image is formed on the selected sheet at the enlargement / reduction magnification; An image forming system comprising:

2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the driver prevents the image forming device from starting the set job if the cutting position for making the edge borderless exceeds the cutting range of the cutting mechanism when a scaling factor is applied to make the top and bottom borderless.

3. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the driver is capable of accepting a user's setting of a magnification / reduction ratio for a print document, and when the magnification / reduction ratio is set by the user, the magnification determination unit applies the accepted magnification / reduction ratio, and the cutting position determination unit determines a cutting position so that the edge portion is borderless.

4. The image forming system of claim 3, wherein the driver accepts a selection of whether to not cut the edge portion or to prevent the image forming device from starting the set job if the cutting position at which the edge portion will be borderless at the applied zoom ratio exceeds the cutting range of the cutting mechanism.

5. The image forming system of claim 1, wherein the driver is capable of accepting a cutting position set by a user, and when the cutting position is set by the user, the cutting position determination unit applies the accepted cutting position, and the magnification determination unit determines the enlargement / reduction magnification of the printed document so that the edge portion is borderless after cutting.

6. 6. The image forming system of claim 5, wherein if the scaling factor of the print document is determined so that the edge portion is borderless at the applied cutting position, and the print document is not borderless at the top and bottom, the driver accepts a choice of whether to continue the job to which the cutting position and scaling factor are applied or to prevent the image forming device from starting the set job.

7. A driver that is installed in an information processing apparatus, receives job settings related to image formation, and sends instructions to an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a binding mechanism that folds the sheet in the middle and binds it, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the edge of the bound sheet, the cutting mechanism being capable of cutting the edge to a width within a predetermined range; a setting reception section for receiving settings for selecting the sheet to be used, a function for folding and binding the sheet, borderless printing, and cutting the fore-edge portion; a magnification determination unit that determines a magnification or reduction ratio of a print document to be borderless in accordance with the received selection and setting; a cutting position determining section that determines a cutting position so that the edge portion will be borderless when an image is formed on a selected sheet at the enlargement / reduction magnification.

8. A method in which a processor, as a driver installed in an information processing apparatus, receives job settings related to image formation and sends instructions to an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a binding mechanism that folds the sheet in the middle and binds it, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the edge of the bound sheet, the cutting mechanism being capable of cutting the edge to a width within a predetermined range; A step of accepting the selection of the sheets to be used, the function of folding and binding the sheets, the setting of borderless printing and the setting of cutting the fore-edge portion; determining a magnification or reduction ratio for the print document to be borderless in accordance with the received selections and settings; determining a cutting position so that the edge of the selected sheet will be borderless when an image is formed on the selected sheet at the enlargement / reduction magnification; sending a job-related instruction to the image forming device; A job instruction method comprising:

Images