Printing control device, printing control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a printing control device, a printing control method, and a program which cope with deterioration in strength of a packing material caused by printing using ink.SOLUTION: A printing control device 1 includes: a deteriorating strength state discriminating part 11 (step S11) of discriminating a deteriorating strength state of a packing material P caused by printing, on the basis of an ink used amount used in printing of the packing material P by a printing part 111; and a printing related processing control part 12 for performing printing related processing (steps S13, S15, and S17) related to the printing of the packing material P, on the basis of the deteriorating strength state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print control device, a print control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to accurately predict the degree of curling of a recording medium caused by ejecting liquid, a liquid droplet ejection device has been proposed that calculates the degree of curling based on the amount of liquid, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-158062 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, when printing is performed on packaging materials such as cardboard using inks such as water-based inks, the ink penetrates the packaging material, causing the strength of the packaging material to decrease. For example, when the packaging material is cardboard, if moisture adheres to the adhesive portion between the corrugated core and the flat-shaped liner disposed on the front and back of the core, the adhesive portion will peel off, causing the strength of the packaging material to decrease. If the strength of the packaging material decreases, the packaging material may be crushed, causing damage or soiling of the contents contained in the packaging material, or packaging materials stacked on top of the crushed packaging material may fall, causing damage or soiling of the contents in the same manner.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a print control device, a print control method, and a program that can address the reduction in strength of packaging materials caused by printing with ink. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect, the printing control device includes a strength reduction state determination unit that determines a state of reduced strength of the packaging material caused by the printing based on the amount of ink used by the printing unit to print the packaging material, and a printing-related processing control unit that performs printing-related processing related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the above aspect, it is possible to address the reduction in strength of the packaging material caused by printing with ink. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing system including a print control device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating printing on a packaging material according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 13 is an example of correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the ink usage amount and the type of packaging material and a strength deterioration state according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a print control method according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a change in print content according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a print control method according to a first modified example of an embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a print control method according to a second modified example of an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A print control device, a print control method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing system 100 including a print control device 1 according to an embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining printing on the packaging material P. As shown in FIG.

[0012] The printing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a print control device 1, a printing device 110, and a dryer 120.

[0013] The print control device 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, an interface unit 30, a display unit 40, and an input unit 50. The print control device 1 is, for example, a device that executes a printer driver, such as a dedicated terminal for controlling printing by the printing device 110, or a user terminal that issues print instructions to the printing device 110.

[0014] The control unit 10 has, for example, one or more processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit) that function as an arithmetic processing device that controls the operations of each unit of the print control device 1, the printer 110, and the dryer 120. This processor functions as the strength reduction state determination unit 11 and the print-related process control unit 12 by, for example, reading and executing a predetermined program from the storage unit 20 or from a storage medium (non-transient computer-readable recording medium) that is detachable from the print control device 1. In this way, the control unit 10 (or the print control device 1) functions as an example of a computer that executes a program.

[0015] The strength reduction state determination unit 11 determines the strength reduction state of the packaging material P caused by printing based on the ink usage amount used for printing on the packaging material P by the printing unit 111 of the printing device 110. The ink usage amount corresponds to the printing rate, so it is preferable to consider one or more of the printing rate in the entire printing area, the printing rate in specific locations (such as the four corners of the packaging material P and the ridge line portion connecting two corners), the printing rate weighted to the specific location, and the printing rate per specified area. The strength reduction state is a state represented by whether or not the strength (e.g., compressive strength) of the packaging material P has decreased below a specified standard (reduced state or non-reduced state), a state represented by a numerical value such as the reduction rate of strength, etc. The packaging material P is, for example, a paper box such as a corrugated cardboard having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, or a paper bag such as an envelope having a rectangular shape. Therefore, when printing is performed on paper packaging material P using ink with a high water content, such as water-based ink, the ink penetrates into the packaging material P, reducing the strength of the packaging material P. In particular, if the strength of the corners and ridges of the packaging material P is reduced, the packaging material P becomes more likely to be crushed.

[0016] The strength reduction state determination unit 11 may determine the strength reduction state based not only on the amount of ink used, but also on parameters including at least one of the type of packaging material P (for example, the structure and material of cardboard such as A-stage, B-stage, AA-stage, AB-stage, etc.), size, shape, area of ​​the printed area, type of ink (water content, etc.), and time until the next process after printing (a process in which force from cargo or the like is applied).

[0017] The print-related process control unit 12 performs print-related processes related to printing on the packaging material P based on the strength reduction state determined by the strength reduction state determination unit 11. The print-related processes are not particularly limited as long as they are processes related to printing, and include, for example, at least one of the following processes: changing the print content Pa of the packaging material P, controlling notification to a user of a strength reduction state caused by printing, controlling the dryer 120 after printing, determining the time for natural drying after printing (such as the time until a process in which a force such as a load is applied after printing), and determining whether or not to recommend drying using the dryer 120 or drying by natural drying. The print-related processes may also be other processes such as controlling the printing device 110.

[0018] The storage unit 20 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a specific control program is pre-recorded, a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time and is used as a working memory area as needed when the processor executes various control programs, and a hard disk device.

[0019] The storage unit 20 stores correspondence information that indicates a correspondence relationship between at least the ink usage amount and the type of packaging material P and the strength reduced state as a strength reduced state table 21. By storing the strength reduced state table 21, the storage unit 20 functions as a strength reduced state database.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, for example, the ink usage is divided into five printing rates (0-20%, 21-40%, 41-60%, 61-80%, 81% or more) in the entire printing area, and the types of packaging material P are divided into four classes, A, B, AA, and AB, and a reduction rate (X11-X15, X21-X25, X31-X35, X41-X45) is assigned as a strength reduction state to each of them. This reduction rate may be determined for each ink usage and each type of packaging material P by performing a compression test defined by standards such as the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). As shown in Fig. 3, the higher the printing rate, the easier it is for ink to penetrate into the packaging material P, and therefore the reduction rate of the strength of the packaging material P is higher. Note that, similar to the above-described case where the strength reduction state determination unit 11 determines the strength reduction state of the packaging material P, the correspondence relationship information in the strength reduction state table 21 may represent the correspondence relationship between the strength reduction state and parameters including at least one of the following, not limited to the ink usage amount and the type of packaging material P: the size, shape, area of ​​the printed area, type of ink (water content, etc.), time until the next process after printing (process in which force from cargo, etc. is applied), etc. Also, the strength reduction rate does not have to be divided into, for example, five categories according to the printing rate, and may be a value that varies in proportion to the printing rate.

[0021] The interface unit 30 transmits and receives various information to and from external devices such as the printing device 110 and the dryer 120. The display unit 40 is a display that displays various information. The display unit 40 functions as an example of a notification unit that notifies the user. This notification unit may be a voice output unit that outputs voice. The input unit 50 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that accepts input of various information. In the case where the display unit 40 has a touch panel, the touch panel functions as the input unit 50.

[0022] The printing device 110 includes a printing unit 111 , a control unit 112 , a storage unit 113 , and an interface unit 114 .

[0023] 2, the printing unit 111 prints print content Pa in the horizontal direction on the side of the packaging material P being transported on the conveyor C. Here, the horizontal direction is a direction intersecting the vertical direction and the transport direction (leftward in FIG. 2) of the packaging material P. The printing unit 111 ejects ink of multiple colors, for example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, using an inkjet method.

[0024] The print content Pa is, for example, a printed image with only the background portion blanked out with text such as "XX apple," "Harvest date * month * day" (where * is variable printing), and areas such as the pattern of two apples. When such background portions are printed with multiple colors of ink, or when most of the print area is printed with multiple colors of ink, the print rate may exceed 100%.

[0025] The control unit 112 has a processor (e.g., a CPU) that functions as an arithmetic processing device that controls the overall operation of the printing device 110. This processor reads and executes a predetermined program, for example, from the storage unit 113 or from a storage medium (non-transient computer-readable recording medium) that is detachable from the printing device 110. When the control unit 112 functions as the strength reduction state determination unit 11 and the print-related process control unit 12 described above, the printing device 110 itself functions as a print control device.

[0026] The storage unit 113 has, for example, a memory such as a ROM, which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a specific control program is pre-recorded, and a RAM, which is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time and is used as a working memory area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs.

[0027] The interface unit 114 transmits and receives various types of information to and from external devices such as the print control device 1.

[0028] The dryer 120 includes a drying unit 121, a control unit 122, a storage unit 123, and an interface unit .

[0029] The drying unit 121 dries the packaging material P, for example, by blowing hot air for a specified time onto a printing area of ​​the packaging material P after printing by the printing device 110. When the drying unit 121 is integrally disposed inside the printing device 110, the drying unit 121 itself in the printing device 110 functions as a dryer.

[0030] The control unit 122 has a processor (e.g., a CPU) that functions as an arithmetic processing device that controls the overall operation of the dryer 120. The storage unit 123 has memories such as a ROM, which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and a RAM, which is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time and is used as a working storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs. The interface unit 124 transmits and receives various types of information to and from external devices such as the print control device 1.

[0031] Next, a print control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, while omitting matters that overlap with the above description.

[0032] The process shown in FIG. 4 is performed by the control unit 10 of the print control device 1 based on a print instruction (such as a print job transmission) from the print control device 1 or a user terminal, for example.

[0033] First, the strength reduction state determination unit 11 acquires the print content Pa to be printed on the packaging material P, and determines the strength reduction state of the packaging material P caused by printing, for example, based on whether the ink usage amount used in printing the packaging material P is equal to or greater than a specified amount (step S11). This print content Pa corresponds to, for example, a print setting condition, and the print rate, ink usage amount, etc. can be calculated from the print setting condition. Here, the specified ink usage amount is, for example, an arbitrary print rate (e.g., a value such as 81%, 100%) on the side surface (printed surface) of the packaging material P. The strength reduction state determination unit 11 may determine the strength reduction state by referring to the above-mentioned strength reduction state table 21.

[0034] If the ink usage amount is not equal to or greater than the specified amount (step S11: NO), the print-related process control unit 12 controls the printing unit 111 to print the print content Pa as normal (step S12), and the process shown in FIG. 4 ends.

[0035] If the ink usage is equal to or greater than the specified amount (step S11: YES), the print-related process control unit 12 notifies the user of the reduced strength state (for example, the strength of the packaging material P is reduced) and a guide to change the print content Pa by controlling the display of the display unit 40 (step S13). The guide to change the print content Pa includes, for example, thinning the initial print content Pa shown in FIG. 5(a) to print content Pa-1 with a lower density (for example, thinning the print dots, thinning the number of droplets discharged from the nozzle, and thinning the print rate), trimming the print content Pa-2 by deleting a region (trimmed portion) of a specific portion (for example, near the edge portion) as shown in FIG. 5(c), changing the print position by moving from a specific portion (for example, near the edge portion) as shown in FIG. 5(d) (print content Pa-3), and guidance on changing the print method such as reducing the print content Pa (not shown). Alternatively, the guidance for changing the print content Pa is guidance for additionally printing handling information Pb such as "Handle with care" (or "Do not stack") on the packaging material P (at the top right or top left corner of the printed surface) as shown in Fig. 5(e). The guidance is provided, for example, by displaying a screen on the display unit 40.

[0036] Then, when the user (or prior setting) who has confirmed the guidance for changing the print content Pa selects a change in the printing method (thinning, trimming, or position change) in the input unit 50 (step S14: YES), the print-related process control unit 12 controls the printing unit 111 to print using the changed printing method (step S15), and the process shown in FIG. 4 ends.

[0037] On the other hand, if the user does not select to change the printing method (step S14: NO), when the addition of handling information Pb is selected in the input unit 50 by the user (or by prior setting) who has confirmed the instruction to add handling information Pb (step S16: YES), the print-related processing control unit 12 controls the printing unit 111 to add handling information Pb and perform printing (step S17), and the processing shown in Figure 4 ends.

[0038] If the user does not select to add the handling information Pb (step S16: NO), the printing unit 111 is controlled to print the print content Pa as usual (step S18), and the process shown in FIG. 4 ends.

[0039] In the above description, the print-related process control unit 12 performs only one of the processes of changing the printing method (step S15) and adding handling information Pb (step S17) as a change to the print content Pa, but if both are selected by the user, it may perform both processes. Also, the process in the flowchart of Fig. 4 (determining the strength reduction state and the print-related process) may be performed based on the user's settings under specific conditions, such as when the packaging material P contains a heavy object.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a print control method according to a first modified example of the present embodiment.

[0041] The flowchart shown in Fig. 6 can be the same as the flowchart shown in Fig. 4, except that a reduction rate of the strength of the packaging material P caused by printing is obtained (step S23) and this reduction rate is notified to the user (step S24). Therefore, the description of the processes of steps S21, S22, S25 to S29 shown in Fig. 6, which can be the same as the processes of steps S11, S12, S14 to S18 shown in Fig. 4, will be omitted.

[0042] If the strength reduction state determination unit 11 determines that the amount of ink used is greater than or equal to the specified amount (step S21: YES), the print-related processing control unit 12 obtains the strength reduction rate from the strength reduction state table 21 based on the above-mentioned ink usage amount, type of packaging material P, etc. (step S23).

[0043] The print-related process control unit 12 notifies the user of the rate of decrease in strength of the packaging material P and a guide to change the printed content Pa by controlling the display of the display unit 40 (step S24). The print-related process control unit 12 may change or adjust the printing method, such as the amount of thinning, trimming, or movement of the printed content Pa, based on the acquired rate of decrease in strength. Examples of the change or adjustment of the printing method include increasing the amount of thinning or trimming as the strength of the packaging material P decreases, or moving the packaging material P to increase the distance from specific points such as corners and ridges. Examples of the adjustment of the contents of the handling information Pb include increasing the handling information Pb as the strength of the packaging material P decreases, or changing the contents of the handling information Pb.

[0044] Fig. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a print control method according to a second modified example of the present embodiment. The flowchart shown in Fig. 7 shows a process in which the printed packaging material P is dried by the dryer 120 or naturally dried.

[0045] The process shown in FIG. 7 is also performed by the control unit 10 of the print control device 1 based on a print instruction from the print control device 1 or a user terminal, for example.

[0046] First, the strength reduction state determination unit 11 acquires the print content Pa to be printed on the packaging material P, and determines the strength reduction state of the packaging material P caused by the printing, for example, based on whether the amount of ink used in printing on the packaging material P is equal to or greater than a specified amount (step S31). The process of this step S31 can be the same as the process of step S11 shown in FIG.

[0047] If the ink usage amount is not equal to or greater than the specified amount (step S31: NO), the print-related process control unit 12 controls the printing unit 111 to print the print content Pa as normal (step S32), and the process shown in FIG. 7 ends.

[0048] If the ink usage amount is equal to or greater than the specified amount (step S31: YES), the print-related process control unit 12 notifies the user of a weakened strength state (for example, that the strength of the packaging material P is weakened) by controlling the display of the display unit 40 (step S33).

[0049] Then, the print-related process control unit 12 controls the printing unit 111 to print the print content Pa as usual (step S34). Alternatively, the print-related process control unit 12 may also notify the user of a change guide for the print content Pa as in step S13 shown in FIG. 4, and perform a process for changing the print content Pa (steps S15 and S17).

[0050] Next, the print-related process control unit 12 determines whether the dryer 120 is set to be used (step S35), and if the dryer 120 is set to be used (step S35: YES), the print-related process control unit 12 controls the dryer 120 or determines whether or not it is necessary to recommend drying using the dryer 120, and notifies the user of the determined necessity via the display unit 40 (step S36). Then, the process shown in FIG. 7 ends. The control of the dryer 120 may be, for example, to control the dryer 120 so as to dry only the packaging material P in a strength-reduced state, or to control the dryer 120 so as to increase the drying time or drying air volume of the packaging material P in a strength-reduced state. The recommendation to dry using the dryer 120 is, for example, a recommendation to the user to set the packaging material P in the dryer 120.

[0051] If the setting to use the dryer 120 is not set (step S35: NO), the print-related process control unit 12 determines the natural drying time so as to increase the natural drying time (the time until the next process in which the force of the load or the like is applied after printing) of the packaging material P in a state of reduced strength, or determines that only the packaging material P in a state of reduced strength requires natural drying, and notifies the user of the determined natural drying time or the necessity of natural drying via the display unit 40 (step S37). Then, the process shown in FIG. 7 ends.

[0052] The drying time of the dryer 120 or the natural drying time may be determined based on the moisture content of the target object (packaging material P) measured by a known measuring device.

[0053] Here, with regard to the memory unit 20 of the print control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 above, the strength reduction state table 21 is stored in the memory unit 20 of the print control device 1, but it may also be stored in a storage device other than the print control device 1.

[0054] In the above description, the printing unit 111 ejects ink of multiple colors, but printing may be performed using ink of a single color. The printing method of the printing unit 111 may be a printing method using ink other than the inkjet method. The printing unit 111 prints on the packaging material P in the horizontal direction, but the printing direction of the printing unit 111 may be another direction, such as vertically downward.

[0055] The printing control device 1 according to the present embodiment described above includes a strength reduction state discrimination unit 11 (step S11) that discriminates the state of reduced strength of the packaging material P caused by printing based on the amount of ink used by the printing unit 111 to print the packaging material P, and a printing-related processing control unit 12 that performs printing-related processing related to the printing of the packaging material P based on this reduced strength state (changing the printing content Pa (steps S15, S17), controlling notification of the user of the reduced strength state caused by printing (step S13), controlling the dryer 120, etc.).

[0056] The printing control method of this embodiment is a printing control method performed by a computer (e.g., the control unit 10 or the printing control device 1), and includes determining a state of reduced strength of the packaging material P caused by printing based on the amount of ink used by the printing unit 111 to print the packaging material P (step S11), and performing printing-related processes (steps S13, S15, S17) related to the printing of the packaging material P based on the reduced strength state.

[0057] The program of this embodiment is a program that enables a computer (e.g., the control unit 10 or the printing control device 1) to realize the function of determining a state of reduced strength of the packaging material P caused by printing (step S11) based on the amount of ink used by the printing unit 111 to print the packaging material P, and the function of performing printing-related processes (steps S13, S15, S17) related to the printing of the packaging material P based on the state of reduced strength.

[0058] In these printing control device 1, printing control method, and program, based on the strength reduction state of the packaging material P caused by printing, for example, processing such as changing the print content Pa of the packaging material P, controlling notification to the user of the strength reduction state caused by printing, controlling the dryer 120 after printing, determining the natural drying time after printing, and determining whether drying using the dryer 120 or natural drying is necessary can be performed. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to deal with the reduction in strength of the packaging material P caused by printing using ink. This makes it possible to prevent the packaging material P with reduced strength from being crushed during transportation or packaging where compressive strength is required, causing damage or soiling of the contents contained in the packaging material P, or the packaging material P stacked on top of the crushed packaging material P from falling and causing damage or soiling of the contents in the same manner.

[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the print-related process controlled by the print-related process control unit 12 includes a process for changing the print content Pa of the packaging material P printed by the printing unit 111, and the print-related process control unit 12 performs a process for changing the print content Pa based on a strength reduction state. For example, the change in the print content Pa includes at least one of a change in the printing method, which includes at least one of thinning out the print content Pa, trimming the print content Pa, and changing the position of the print content Pa, and adding handling information Pb for the packaging material P. The print-related process control unit 12 receives a user's selection of at least one of a change in the print method and an addition of handling information Pb, and performs the process in response to the selection.

[0060] Therefore, ink usage can be reduced by thinning out or trimming the printed content Pa according to the user's wishes. In addition, by trimming or changing the position of the printed content Pa, the printing position can be moved away from areas where strength needs to be ensured, such as corners and ridges of the packaging material P. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in the strength of the packaging material P. Furthermore, by adding the printing of handling information Pb according to the user's wishes, the person in charge of handling the packaging material P can handle the packaging material P carefully, thereby preventing damage or soiling of the contents of the packaging material P.

[0061] In addition, in this embodiment, the printing control device 1 further includes a display unit 40 which is an example of a notification unit that notifies the user, and the printing-related processing includes a process (step S13) of controlling the display unit 40 to notify the user of a reduced strength state caused by printing, and the printing-related processing control unit 12 performs a process of controlling the display unit 40 based on the reduced strength state to notify the user of this reduced strength state.

[0062] This allows the user of the print control device 1 who has been notified of the weakened strength to cancel printing. Also, the user of the print control device 1 or the person in charge of handling the packaging material P who has been notified of the weakened strength by the user can handle the packaging material P with care, thereby preventing damage or soiling of the contents.

[0063] In addition, in this embodiment, the printing-related process includes at least one of a process of controlling the dryer 120 that dries the packaging material P after printing by the printing unit 111 (step S36), a process of determining the time for natural drying of the packaging material P after printing by the printing unit 111 (step S37), and a process of determining whether or not to recommend drying using the dryer 120 or natural drying (steps S36, S37), and the printing-related process control unit 12 performs at least one of a process of controlling the dryer 120 (step S36), a process of determining the time for natural drying (step S37), and a process of determining whether or not to recommend it (steps S36, S37) based on the strength reduction state.

[0064] As a result, when drying of the packaging material P is required, the moisture that has permeated the packaging material P due to printing can be removed from the packaging material P. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in the strength of the packaging material P. Furthermore, when drying of the packaging material P is not required, drying can be omitted or the drying time can be shortened.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the strength reduction state determination unit 11 determines the strength reduction state of the packaging material P by referring to a strength reduction state table 21, which is an example of correspondence information that represents the correspondence between at least the amount of ink used and the type of packaging material P and the strength reduction state.

[0066] This makes it possible to determine the strength reduction state by a simple process of referring to the strength reduction state table 21. Also, since it becomes easier to include information such as the strength reduction rate as the strength reduction state in the strength reduction state table 21, this information can be notified to the user or used to change the print content Pa, etc.

[0067] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, all the components shown in the embodiment may be appropriately combined. Of course, various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Below, a part of the invention described in the specification of this application is added.

[0068] [Appendix 1] a strength reduction state determination unit that determines a strength reduction state of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; a print-related process control unit that performs a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A print control device comprising:

[0069] [Appendix 2] the print-related process includes a process for changing the print content of the packaging material printed by the printing unit, The print-related process control unit performs a process for changing the print content based on the intensity reduction state. 2. A print control device according to claim 1.

[0070] [Appendix 3] the change in the print content includes at least one of a change in the printing method, which includes at least one of thinning out the print content, trimming the print content, and changing the position of the print content, and adding handling information for the packaging material; The print-related process control unit receives a user's selection of at least one of the processes of changing the print method and adding the handling information, and performs the process in accordance with the received selection. 3. A print control device as described in claim 2.

[0071] [Appendix 4] Further comprising a notification unit for notifying a user, the printing-related process includes a process of controlling the notification unit to notify a user of the strength reduction state caused by the printing; The print-related process control unit performs a process of controlling the notification unit to notify a user of the intensity reduction state based on the intensity reduction state. 4. A print control device according to claim 1, wherein the print control device comprises:

[0072] [Appendix 5] The printing-related process includes at least one of a process of controlling a dryer that dries the packaging material after printing by the printing unit, a process of determining a time for natural drying of the packaging material after printing by the printing unit, and a process of determining whether or not it is necessary to recommend drying using the dryer or drying by natural drying, The print-related process control unit performs at least one of a process of controlling the dryer, a process of determining a time for natural drying, and a process of determining whether or not the recommendation is necessary, based on the strength reduction state. 5. A print control device according to claim 1,

[0073] [Appendix 6] The strength reduction state determination unit determines the strength reduction state by referring to correspondence relationship information that indicates a correspondence relationship between at least the ink usage amount and the type of the packaging material and the strength reduction state. 6. A print control device according to claim 1,

[0074] [Appendix 7] A printing control method performed by a computer, comprising: determining a state of a decrease in strength of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; performing a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A printing control method comprising:

[0075] [Appendix 8] a function of determining a state of a decrease in strength of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; a function of performing a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A program that enables a computer to achieve the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1 Printing control device 10 Control section 11 Strength reduction state detection unit 12 Print-related processing control unit 20 Memory section 21 Strength Degradation Status Table 30 Interface section 40 Display section 50 Input section 100 Printing System 110 Printing device 111 Printing Department 112 Control section 113 Storage section 114 Interface section 120 Dryer 121 Drying section 122 Control section 123 Storage section 124 Interface section C Conveyor P Packaging material Pa Print content Pb handling information

Claims

1. a strength reduction state determination unit that determines a strength reduction state of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; a print-related process control unit that performs a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A print control device comprising:

2. the printing-related process includes a process for changing the printing content of the packaging material printed by the printing unit, The print-related process control unit performs a process for changing the print content based on the intensity reduction state.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

3. the change in the print content includes at least one of a change in the printing method, which includes at least one of thinning out the print content, trimming the print content, and changing the position of the print content, and adding handling information for the packaging material; The print-related process control unit receives a user's selection of at least one of the processes of changing the print method and adding the handling information, and performs the process in accordance with the received selection.

3. The print control device according to claim 2.

4. Further comprising a notification unit for notifying a user, the printing-related process includes a process of controlling the notification unit to notify a user of the strength reduction state caused by the printing; The print-related process control unit performs a process of controlling the notification unit to notify a user of the intensity reduction state based on the intensity reduction state.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

5. The printing-related process includes at least one of a process of controlling a dryer that dries the packaging material after printing by the printing unit, a process of determining a time for natural drying of the packaging material after printing by the printing unit, and a process of determining whether or not it is necessary to recommend drying using the dryer or drying by natural drying, The print-related process control unit performs at least one of a process of controlling the dryer, a process of determining a time for the natural drying, and a process of determining whether or not the recommendation is necessary, based on the strength reduction state.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

6. The strength reduction state determination unit determines the strength reduction state by referring to correspondence relationship information that indicates a correspondence relationship between at least the ink usage amount and the type of the packaging material and the strength reduction state.

6. The print control device according to claim 1,

7. A printing control method carried out by a computer, comprising: determining a state of a decrease in strength of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; performing a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A printing control method comprising:

8. a function of determining a state of a decrease in strength of the packaging material caused by printing on the packaging material based on an amount of ink used by a printing unit; a function of performing a print-related process related to the printing of the packaging material based on the strength reduction state; A program that enables a computer to achieve the above.

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