Printing device, control method and program

Abstract

To reduce a useless margin that is generated in a leading edge of a printed medium.SOLUTION: A printing device includes: a transportation section for transporting a printed medium M; a thermal head for performing printing on the printed medium M; and a processor for controlling the transportation section and the thermal head. When being input with a first printing command for instructing printing of first information, the processor controls the thermal head to perform preliminary printing on the basis of the first information after the thermal head prints the first information and before the transportation section finishes transportation of the printed medium M.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosure of this specification relates to a printing device, a print control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a printer that uses tape as a printing medium to create a strip-shaped printed matter (hereinafter referred to as a label) on which information such as characters and figures is printed. Such a printer is also called a label printer or a label writer.

[0003] In a label printer, both the print head and the cutter are provided on the tape transport path, but due to spatial constraints, the cutter is located downstream of the print head in the transport direction and at a certain distance from the print head. Therefore, when the platen roller rotates only in the forward direction, a wasteful margin of a length corresponding to the distance between the print position and the cut position is generated at the leading end of the tape due to the difference between the print position and the cut position in the label printer.

[0004] Technology related to such issues is described, for example, in Patent Document 1. The label printer described in Patent Document 1 can reverse the tape feed by rotating the platen roller in the reverse direction before the print head starts printing, thereby reducing wasted margins. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-179882 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot be applied to label printers that can only transport in the forward direction. For this reason, there is a demand for technology that can be applied to any label printer and that can reduce the wasted margin that occurs depending on the distance between the printing position and the cutting position.

[0007] Although the above description has been given taking a label printer with a cutting device as an example, the same problem occurs in label printers that do not have a cutting device. In label printers that do not have a cutting device, the user manually cuts the tape discharged from the outlet using scissors or the like, but in this case, an unnecessary margin of a length corresponding to the distance between the printing position and the outlet is generated at the tip of the tape.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, an object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a new technique for reducing the wasted margin that occurs at the leading edge of a print medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A printing device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a transport unit which transports a printed medium, a print head which prints on the printed medium, and a controller which controls the transport unit and the print head, wherein when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the controller controls the print head to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the print head has printed the first information and before the transport unit has finished transporting the printed medium.

[0010] A control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for a printing device having a transport unit that transports a printed medium and a print head that prints on the printed medium, wherein when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the printed medium and the print head is controlled to print the first information, and the print head is controlled to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing of the first information and before transport of the printed medium is completed.

[0011] A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer of a printing device, which has a transport unit for transporting a printed medium and a print head for printing on the printed medium, to execute a process that, when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input to the computer, controls the transport unit to transport the printed medium and controls the print head to print the first information, and controls the print head to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing of the first information and before transport of the printed medium is completed. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the above aspect, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary margin that occurs at the leading edge of the print medium. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing device 1. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view of a tape cartridge 30 housed in the printing device 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view of a cartridge storage unit 14 of the printing device 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing device 1. [Figure 6] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing the state of a print medium M at each stage of print control in a conventional printing device. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 8] 8A to 8C are diagrams showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of the print control shown in FIG. 7 in the printing device 1. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the print control method performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of the print control shown in FIG. 9 in the printing device 1. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing another example in which the second information matches the preliminary information at the beginning. FIG. [Figure 12] 13A to 13C are diagrams for explaining a modified example of preliminary printing in the printing device 1. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system including a printing device 100 and an information processing device 200. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] [First embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing device 1 is a thermal printer using a thermal transfer method, and also a label writer that creates labels by printing information such as characters on a printing medium, namely, tape. However, the printing method of the printing device 1 is not limited to the thermal transfer method. The printing device 1 may be a thermal printer using another method, such as a thermal method using a thermal tape. Furthermore, the printing device 1 is not limited to a thermal printer, and may be, for example, an inkjet printer or the like.

[0015] In this specification, a tape is a long, thin member made of plastic, paper, or any other material. A tape typically has an adhesive layer and is attachable. However, a tape does not have to have an adhesive layer. A label is a piece of tape on which some information is printed, using the tape as a print medium. A label is typically a portion (of the tape) on which information is printed that is separated from a portion (of the tape) on which information is not printed. However, a label is not limited to a cut piece.

[0016] 1, the printing device 1 includes a device housing 2, an input unit 3, a display unit 4, and a lid 5, and further includes a cartridge storage unit 14 inside the device housing 2. The input unit 3, the display unit 4, and the lid 5 are disposed on the top surface of the device housing 2. In addition, although not shown, the device housing 2 may be provided with a power cord connection terminal, an external device connection terminal, a storage medium insertion port, etc.

[0017] The input unit 3 includes various keys such as an input key, a cross key, a conversion key, and a decision key. The display unit 4 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display. The display unit 4 may be provided with a touch panel unit. In this case, the display unit 4 may be regarded as a part of the input unit 3.

[0018] The lid 5 is disposed on the top of the cartridge storage section 14 so as to be able to open and close. The lid 5 is opened by pressing a button 5a. A window 5b is formed in the lid 5 so that it is possible to visually check whether or not a tape cartridge 30 (see FIG. 2) is stored in the cartridge storage section 14 even when the lid 5 is closed. In addition, an outlet 2a is formed in the side of the device housing 2. The print medium M that has been printed in the printing device 1 is discharged from the device through the outlet 2a.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tape cartridge 30 stored in the printing device 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cartridge storage unit 14 of the printing device 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1. The tape cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 2 is detachably stored in the cartridge storage unit 14 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the tape cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 14. An example of the internal mechanism of the printing unit 23 (see FIG. 5) of the printing device 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0020] 2, the tape cartridge 30 has a cartridge case 31 that houses a print medium M and an ink ribbon R. The cartridge case 31 is provided with a tape core 32, an ink ribbon supply core 34, and an ink ribbon take-up core 35. In addition, a thermal head insertion portion 36 and an engagement portion 37 are also formed.

[0021] The print medium M is wound in a roll on a tape core 32 inside the cartridge case 31. The print medium M is, for example, a tape having a substrate with an adhesive layer and a release paper removably attached to the substrate so as to cover the adhesive layer. The ink ribbon R for thermal transfer is wound in a roll on an ink ribbon supply core 34 inside the cartridge case 31 with its tip wound around an ink ribbon take-up core 35.

[0022] 3, the cartridge storage section 14 of the device housing 2 is provided with a plurality of cartridge receiving sections 15 for supporting the tape cartridge 30 at a predetermined position. In addition, the cartridge receiving sections 15 are provided with tape width detection switches 19 for detecting the width of the tape (print medium M) accommodated in the tape cartridge 30.

[0023] The tape width detection switch 19 is a switch for detecting the width of the print medium M based on the shape of the tape cartridge. A plurality of tape width detection switches 19 are provided in the cartridge storage section 14. Tape cartridges with different tape widths are configured to press the plurality of tape width detection switches 19 in different combinations. This allows the processor 21 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, to identify the type of tape cartridge from the combination of pressed tape width detection switches 19 and detect the width (tape width) of the print medium M.

[0024] The cartridge storage section 14 further includes a thermal head 10, which is a print head having a plurality of heat generating elements 23a (see FIG. 5) and which prints on the print medium M, a platen roller 16, which is an example of a transport section that transports the print medium M, a tape core engagement shaft 17, and an ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18. A thermistor 11 is embedded in the thermal head 10. The thermistor 11 measures the temperature of the thermal head 10.

[0025] 4, when the tape cartridge 30 is stored in the cartridge storage section 14, the engagement portion 37 of the cartridge case 31 is supported by the cartridge receiving portion 15 of the cartridge storage section 14. Also, the thermal head 10 is inserted into a thermal head insertion portion 36 formed in the cartridge case 31. Also, the tape core 32 of the tape cartridge 30 engages with the tape core engagement shaft 17, and further, the ink ribbon take-up core 35 engages with the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18.

[0026] When a user operates the input unit 3 to input a label creation instruction (print command) to the printer 1, the print medium M is unwound from the tape core 32 by the rotation of the platen roller 16. At this time, the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18 rotates in synchronization with the platen roller 16, so that the ink ribbon R is unwound from the ink ribbon supply core 34 together with the print medium M. As a result, the print medium M and the ink ribbon R are transported in an overlapping state. Then, the ink ribbon R is heated by the thermal head 10 as it passes between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16, and the ink is transferred to the print medium M, thereby performing printing.

[0027] The used ink ribbon R that has passed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16 is taken up onto the ink ribbon take-up core 35. Meanwhile, the printed medium M that has passed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16 is cut by the half cutter 12 or full cutter 13 and discharged from the discharge port 2a. The half cutter 12 and full cutter 13 are examples of cutting devices that cut the printed medium M, and as shown in FIG. 4, they are each disposed downstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction of the printed medium M.

[0028] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the printing device 1. As shown in Fig. 5, the printing device 1 includes one or more processors 21, one or more storage devices 22, a printing unit 23, an input device 24, a display device 25, and a communication device 26, which are connected via a bus 27.

[0029] Each of the one or more processors 21 is, for example, hardware including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program 22a stored in a storage device 22. The one or more processors 21 are an example of a controller of the printing device 1 that controls at least the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 10.

[0030] Each of the one or more storage devices 22 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium and is an example of a storage unit of the printing device 1. The one or more processors 21 and the one or more storage devices 22 constitute a computer of the printing device 1. At least one of the storage devices 22 stores a program 22a. The one or more processors 21 are controllers that execute a printing control method, which will be described later, by executing the program 22a stored in the storage device 22, and the printing unit 23 prints on the print medium M to create a label.

[0031] The printing unit 23 is a structure for printing on the print medium M using the thermal head 10. The input device 24 and the display device 25 may be the above-mentioned input unit 3 and display unit 4, respectively. The communication device 26 is, for example, a wireless communication device such as a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) module or a BLE module, but may also be a wired communication device.

[0032] In the following, a print control method for reducing the unnecessary margin generated at the leading edge of the print medium M, which is performed by the printing device 1 configured as above, will be described.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of print control in a conventional printing device. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of print control shown in FIG. 7 in the printing device 1. First, with reference to FIG. 6, a margin generated at the leading edge of the print medium M in a conventional printing device will be described, and then with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a print control method according to a first embodiment of the printing device 1 will be specifically described.

[0034] In a conventional printing device, in print control executed in response to a print command, when printing of information in response to the command by the thermal head 10 is completed, transport of the print medium M continues until the printed area of ​​the print medium M passes the full cutter 13 located downstream of the thermal head 10, and is then cut by the full cutter 13. In this way, in a conventional printing device, transport without printing occurs after printing of information in response to a print command. Therefore, when a series of print controls including printing and transport executed in response to a print command is completed, a wasted margin that cannot be printed is generated between the leading edge of the print medium M (full cutter 13) and the thermal head 10, as shown in FIG. 6(a).

[0035] Thereafter, when print control is started in response to a new print command, as shown in Fig. 6(b), part of the wasted margin at the leading edge of the print medium M is utilized as the necessary margin (leading margin) between the leading edge of the newly created label (the cut made by the half cutter 12) and the printed information, but much of the remaining margin remains as wasted margin. Specifically, when printing in response to the print command is completed and the printed area passes the full cutter (see Fig. 6(c)), the print medium M is cut (see Fig. 6(d)) and print control ends, but the necessary portion of the created label (tape piece TP) is only the part behind the cut made by the half cutter 12, and the part ahead of the cut is wasted.

[0036] Therefore, in order to reduce such waste of the print medium M, the printer 1 performs print control as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Note that Fig. 8 illustrates a state in which a brand new tape cartridge 30 is inserted into the printer 1 with the leading edge of the print medium M pulled out to the full cutter 13, and then a print command is input for the first time. In the following, an example will be described in which a print command (first print command) instructing printing of information "ABCDEF" is input. Note that the information "ABCDEF" is an example of the first information, and the print command is an example of the first print command.

[0037] When a user inputs a print command to the printer 1 using the input unit 3, the processor 21 starts the print control shown in Fig. 7. First, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in Fig. 8(a) (step S1). Furthermore, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to start printing corresponding to the print command (step S2). Note that the processes of steps S1 and S2 may be executed in parallel in time, or the process of step S2 may be started after the process of step S1 according to the print information specified by the print command.

[0038] Then, during printing, the processor 21 controls the half cutter 12 to make a cut at the front of the printing area as shown in Figure 8(b), and when all of the information "ABCDEF" specified in the print command has been printed as shown in Figure 8(c), printing corresponding to the print command by the thermal head 10 is terminated.

[0039] After printing corresponding to the print command, the processor 21 again controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing to print the information "AB" on the print medium M based on the information "ABCDEF" specified in the print command, as shown in Figure 8(d) (step S3), and then controls the platen roller 16 to finish transporting the print medium M (step S4).

[0040] That is, when a first print command instructing printing of the first information (information "ABCDEF") is input, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the thermal head 10 has printed the first information and before the platen roller 16 has finished transporting the print medium M. The information "AB" is an example of preliminary information. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8(d), the processor 21 performs preliminary printing in the area of ​​the print medium M that remains between the full cutter 13 and the thermal head 10 at the end of transport, that is, in the area that would be wasted blank space in a conventional printing device.

[0041] Note that the preliminary printing in step S3 is performed based on the first information, but more specifically, the processor 21 may create preliminary information based on the first information so that the first information (information "ABCDEF") matches the beginning of the preliminary information (information "AB") to be printed in the preliminary printing, as shown in Fig. 8(d), for example. Note that "matching the beginning" means that a word or phrase whose beginning matches the search term is found as a result of the search.

[0042] Then, the processor 21 may further control the full cutter 13, as shown in Figure 8 (e), to cut the printing medium M between the information "ABCDEF" (first information) specified in the printing command and the preliminary information "AB", and create a piece of tape TP (label) on which the information specified in the printing command is printed.

[0043] As described above, the printing device 1 can perform preliminary printing after printing according to a print command and before the conveyance is completed by performing the print control shown in FIG. 7. The printing device 1 cannot print on the area of ​​the print medium M that has progressed to an area downstream of the thermal head 10, but by performing preliminary printing, it is possible to print in advance on the area of ​​the print medium M that will progress downstream of the thermal head 10 before the conveyance is completed. Therefore, by printing useful information by preliminary printing, it is possible to reduce unnecessary margins. In addition, by performing preliminary printing based on the first information, it is possible to increase the possibility that useful information is printed compared to the case of random printing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary margins with a high probability.

[0044] In particular, the printing device 1 can perform preliminary printing on the area of ​​the print medium M that remains between the full cutter 13 and the thermal head 10 when transport is completed. This makes it possible to reduce wasted margins that may occur at the leading edge of the print medium M due to structural constraints of the printing device.

[0045] Generally, when certain information is printed in a printing device, there is a high possibility that the information printed next will be the same information. In the printing device 1, preliminary information is created so that the first information matches the beginning of the preliminary information, so that when the same information, which is generally likely to be the same, is continuously printed, it is possible to reduce wasted blank space that may occur at the leading edge of the print medium M. More specifically, the leading portion of the information to be printed next can be printed in advance in preliminary printing, so that the area printed in preliminary printing can be used as part of the label to be created with the next print command.

[0046] In the printer 1, the preliminary information is printed in a portion that would otherwise be discarded as unnecessary white space. Therefore, even if the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing is different from the leading portion of the information printed in the next printing and cannot be used as part of the label to be created with the next print command, there is no disadvantage in that even more unnecessary white space is generated.

[0047] [Second embodiment] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of the print control method performed by the printing device 1. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of the print control shown in Fig. 9 in the printing device 1. Hereinafter, the print control method according to the second embodiment of the printing device 1 will be specifically described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10.

[0048] This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the printing device 1 determines whether preliminary printing can be effectively utilized based on the print command input after preliminary printing, and performs processing according to the determination result.

[0049] Note that, like FIG. 8, FIG. 10 illustrates the state when a new tape cartridge 30 is inserted into the printing device 1 with the leading edge of the printing medium M pulled out to the full cutter 13, and then a print command is input for the first time.

[0050] 9, processor 21 first determines whether a print command has been input (step S11). If it is determined that a print command has not been input (step S11 NO), processor 21 further determines whether an instruction to end printing has been input (step S12), and if an instruction to end printing has not been input (step S12 NO), the processes of steps S11 and S12 are repeated until a print command is input.

[0051] When a print command is input (step S11 YES), processor 21 compares the print information, which is information on printing instructed by the print command, with the preliminary information, which is information preliminarily printed in the previous printing (step S13). Then, processor 21 compares the print information with the preliminary information and determines whether the print information matches the preliminary information in the beginning (step S14). Note that the print information is, for example, information "ABCDEF." Also, when printing is performed for the first time, there is no preliminary information. Therefore, in this case, processor 21 determines that the print information does not match the preliminary information in the beginning (step S14 NO).

[0052] If it is determined that the fronts do not match (step S14 NO), the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in FIG. 10(a) (step S17), and controls the thermal head 10 to print the print information from the beginning (here, "A") (step S18). Then, when the front of the print information printed on the print medium M reaches the position of the full cutter 13, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M in front of the print information (step S19). This cuts off the unnecessary margin (tape piece TP1) as shown in FIG. 10(b). The cutting in step S19 may be performed using the half cutter 12 instead of the full cutter 13.

[0053] Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 10(c), when printing of the print information instructed by the print command is completed, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing to print preliminary information based on the print information (step S20). Here, the processor 21 may create preliminary information based on the print information such that the print information (information "ABCDEF") matches the preliminary information (information "AB") in a forward manner, for example, as in the first embodiment, and may perform preliminary printing based on the created preliminary information, as shown in Fig. 10(d).

[0054] When the preliminary printing is completed, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to end the transport of the print medium M (step S21). After the transport is completed, the processor 21 may control the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M as shown in Fig. 10(e) and create a label (tape piece TP2) on which the print information is printed.

[0055] When a series of print control operations associated with the print command is completed, processor 21 again monitors input of a print command (step S11). Then, when a new print command is input, processor 21 compares the new print information with the preliminary information printed in step S20 (step S13), and determines whether the print information matches the preliminary information in the beginning (step S14).

[0056] Here, if the information "ABCDEF" is specified as the printing information in the new print command, that is, if the same printing information as the previous time is specified, the beginning of the printing information matches the preliminary information (YES in step S14). In this case, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in FIG. 10(e) (step S15), and controls the thermal head 10 to print from the middle of the printing information (here, "C") (step S16). As a result, as shown in FIG. 10(f), the information "AB" printed in the preliminary printing can be used as part of the label, making it possible to create a new label while reducing wasted white space.

[0057] On the other hand, when, for example, information "123456" is specified as the printing information in a new print command, that is, when printing information completely different from the previous time is specified, the front of the printing information does not match the preliminary information (step S14 NO). In this case, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start conveying the print medium M (step S17), and controls the thermal head 10 to print the printing information from the beginning (here, "1") (step S18). Then, when the front of the printing information (information "123456") reaches the position of the full cutter 13 on the print medium M, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M in front of the printing information (step S19). In other words, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M between the preliminary information and the printing information, as shown in FIG. 10(g). As a result, the portion (tape piece TP3) on which the information (preliminary information) that cannot be effectively used is printed is removed from the print medium M. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10(h), even if print information that is completely different from the previous time is specified, a label is created with the print information correctly printed.

[0058] 9, the printer 1 controls the thermal head 10 so that when a print command (second print command) is input after a print command (first print command) and the information to be printed (second information) specified by the other print command does not match the beginning of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing of the previous printing, the processor 21 prints the information to be printed (second information) from the beginning. On the other hand, when the information to be printed (second information) matches the beginning of the preliminary information, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 so that the information to be printed (second information) is printed from the middle.

[0059] As a result, when the preliminary information printed on the print medium M can be utilized, the printed preliminary information is utilized to create a label. As a result, it is possible to reduce wasted white space. Furthermore, when the preliminary information printed on the print medium M cannot be utilized, the information to be printed is reprinted from behind the preliminary information. As a result, even when the wasted white space cannot be reduced, the information to be printed can be correctly printed to create a label. In this way, the printing device 1 can contribute to reducing wasted white space while correctly creating a label regardless of the information to be printed.

[0060] Furthermore, in the printing device 1, by performing the printing control shown in Figure 9, when a printing command (second printing command) is input after a certain printing command (first printing command), the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 or half cutter 12 so that, if the information to be printed (second information) instructed by the other printing command does not match the beginning of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing in the previous printing, the full cutter 13 or half cutter 12 cuts the printing medium M between the area where the preliminary information on the printing medium M is printed and the area where the second information on the printing medium M is printed.

[0061] This makes it possible to separate the spare information that cannot be effectively used from the label on which the printed information is printed, and therefore prevents the user from being disadvantaged by being required to perform additional work to remove the spare information even when the spare information cannot be used.

[0062] Therefore, by performing the printing control of this embodiment, the printing device 1 can reduce the wasted margins that occur at the leading edge of the printing medium, just as when performing the printing control of the first embodiment.

[0063] The above-mentioned embodiments are illustrative examples for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and should be understood as including various modifications and alternative forms of the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, it will be understood that each embodiment can be embodied by modifying the components within the scope of the invention. It will also be understood that various embodiments can be implemented by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various embodiments can be implemented by deleting some components from all the components shown in the embodiments, or by adding some components to the components shown in the embodiments. That is, the printing device, the control method, and the program can be modified and changed in various ways within the scope of the claims.

[0064] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which unnecessary blank spaces are reduced when the same information is printed, but the reduction of unnecessary blank spaces can be achieved in cases other than the case in which the same information is printed. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, even if a print command to print information "ABCDEF" is input first and then a print command to print information "ABABA" is input, a label can be created using the information "AB" printed in preliminary printing. In this way, as long as the information printed after preliminary printing matches the preliminary information in the beginning, the preliminary information can be effectively used, and unnecessary blank spaces can be reduced.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the information at the beginning of the already printed print information is used as the preliminary information, but the preliminary information may be created by another method. The processor 21 may predict the information (second information) to be printed in the next print command (second print command) based on the already printed information (first information), and create the preliminary information based on the prediction result. For example, when the information "ABCDEF" is printed in the first print command, the alphabet may be printed in order. For this reason, it may be possible to predict that the next print command will instruct the printing of "GHIJK...", and print the information "GH" as the preliminary information, as shown in FIG. 12. In this case, as in the case of creating the preliminary information by a leading match, it is possible to contribute to reducing unnecessary blank spaces.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the printing device 1 including the input unit 3 and the display unit 4 is illustrated as an example, as shown in Fig. 1, but the printing device is not limited to a so-called stand-alone type printing device including the input unit 3 and the display unit 4. For example, as shown in Fig. 13, the printing device may be a printing device 100 that performs printing according to a print command issued from an information processing device 200.

[0067] In the above embodiment, a printing device having a cutting device is exemplified, but a cutting device is not necessarily required. By performing the above-described print control in a printing device that does not have a cutting device, it is possible to reduce unnecessary blank space.

[0068] In this specification, the expression "based on A" does not mean "based only on A" but means "based on at least A." That is, "based on A" may be based on B in addition to A.

[0069] As used herein, the terms "first," "second," and the like, modifying a noun do not limit the quantity or order of the elements described by the noun. These terms are used to distinguish between two or more elements, not less, not more. Thus, the specification of a "first" and a "second" element does not imply that the "first" element precedes the "second" element, nor does it negate the presence of a "third" element.

[0070] The invention as described in the claims of the original application is set forth below. [Appendix 1] A conveying unit that conveys the print medium; A print head that prints on the print medium; a controller for controlling the transport unit and the print head; When a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the controller controls the print head so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the print head prints the first information and before the transport unit finishes transporting the print medium. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 2] 2. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cutting device that is disposed downstream of the print head in a transport direction of the print medium and cuts the print medium; The controller performs the preliminary printing on an area of ​​the print medium that remains between the cutting device and the print head at the end of the conveyance. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 3] 3. The printing device according to claim 2, When a second print command instructing printing of second information is input after the first print command, the controller controlling the print head to print the second information from the beginning when the second information does not match the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing; When the second information matches the preliminary information at a beginning, the print head is controlled so as to print the second information from a middle of the second information. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 4] 4. The printing device according to claim 3, When the second print command is input after the first print command, the controller controls the cutting device to cut the print medium between an area of ​​the print medium where the preliminary information is printed and an area of ​​the print medium where the second information is printed or will be printed, if the second information does not match the beginning of the preliminary information. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 5] In the printing device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 4, The controller creates the preliminary information based on the first information such that the first information matches a prefix of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 6] In the printing device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 4, The controller: predicting second information to be printed in a second print command following the first print command based on the first information; Based on the prediction result, preliminary information to be printed in the preliminary printing is generated. A printing device comprising: [Appendix 7] A method for controlling a printing device including a transport unit that transports a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, comprising: when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the transportation of the print medium is completed. A control method comprising: [Appendix 8] A computer of a printing device including a conveying unit that conveys a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the transportation of the print medium is completed. A program characterized by executing a process. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1,100 printing equipment 10 Thermal head 12 Half cutter 13 Full Cutter 16 Platen roller 21 Processors 22 Storage device 22a Program M Printing medium TP Tape Piece

Claims

1. A conveying unit that conveys the print medium; A print head that prints on the print medium; a controller for controlling the transport unit and the print head; When a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the controller controls the print head so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the print head prints the first information and before the transport unit finishes transporting the print medium. A printing device comprising:

2. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cutting device that is disposed downstream of the print head in a transport direction of the print medium and cuts the print medium; The controller performs the preliminary printing on an area of ​​the print medium that remains between the cutting device and the print head at the end of the conveyance. A printing device comprising:

3. 3. The printing device according to claim 2, When a second print command instructing printing of second information is input after the first print command, the controller controlling the print head to print the second information from the beginning when the second information does not match the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing; When the second information matches the preliminary information at a beginning, the print head is controlled so as to print the second information from the middle. A printing device comprising:

4. 4. The printing device according to claim 3, When the second print command is input after the first print command, the controller controls the cutting device to cut the print medium between an area of ​​the print medium where the preliminary information is printed and an area of ​​the print medium where the second information is printed or will be printed, if the second information does not match the preliminary information in a forward direction. A printing device comprising:

5. 5. The printing device according to claim 1, The controller creates the preliminary information based on the first information such that the first information matches a prefix of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing. A printing device comprising:

6. 5. The printing device according to claim 1, The controller: predicting second information to be printed in a second print command following the first print command based on the first information; Based on the prediction result, preliminary information to be printed in the preliminary printing is generated. A printing device comprising:

7. A method for controlling a printing device including a transport unit that transports a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, comprising: when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the transportation of the print medium is completed. A control method comprising:

8. A computer of a printing device including a conveying unit that conveys a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, when a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the transportation of the print medium is completed. A program characterized by executing a process.

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