Application program

Abstract

To provide an application program configured to print a spine image without loss even if a print job for adhesive binding is converted to a print job for booklet.SOLUTION: An application program (PM) causes a computer (11) to execute: a job conversion process (S5) to convert a print job for adhesive binding to a print job for booklet binding when the number of sheets of the body text of document data is less than a predetermined number of sheets (m) or when the thickness of the body test is less than a predetermined threshold, based on the document data included in the print job for adhesive binding; and a cover creation process (S6) to synthesize image data of a cover included in the document data with image data of a spine to generate image data of the cover of the print job for booklet binding.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an application program. [Background technology]

[0002] Case binding and booklet binding are known as methods for binding printed materials executed by a print job. Case binding has a problem in that gluing is not always good when the number of sheets to be bound is small and the thickness is thin. For this reason, Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which a print job for case binding is converted into a print job for booklet binding when the number of sheets is small, and booklet binding is performed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-136180 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that when a print job for case binding is converted into a print job for a booklet, the data of the spine image included in the print job for case binding is deleted, resulting in the loss of the spine image, and improvement is desired.

[0005] To provide an application program that enables printing without losing a spine image even when a print job for case binding is converted into a print job for booklet binding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration 1). 1) Based on the manuscript data included in the print job for perfect binding, a job conversion process for converting the print job into a print job for booklet binding when the number of sheets of the body of the manuscript data is less than a predetermined number or when the thickness of the body is less than a predetermined threshold value; a cover creation process for synthesizing the cover image data and the spine image data included in the manuscript data to generate cover image data for the booklet binding print job; is an application program that causes a computer to execute the above. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, even when a print job for case binding is converted into a print job for booklet binding, the spine image is printed without being lost. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a printing system ST that executes printing and bookbinding based on an application program PM according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the first print area AR1 in a print job for case binding. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the second print area AR2 in a print job for case binding. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram explaining options for the placement process of the spine image G2 in the converted cover printing area BR1 when converting a print job for case binding into a print job for booklet binding, where Figure 4(a) shows overwrite processing, Figure 4(b) shows overlay processing, and Figure 4(c) shows original image reduction processing. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of the bookbinding method conversion process executed based on the application program PM. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows an input image F1 that prompts the user to select a layout process for the spine image G2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An application program according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The same or equivalent parts and components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals throughout the drawings.

[0010] The embodiment shown below is an example of an apparatus for embodying the technical idea of ​​this invention, and the technical idea of ​​this invention does not limit the material, shape, structure, arrangement, etc. of each component to those described below. The technical idea of ​​this invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims.

[0011] The application program PM (hereinafter also referred to as the app PM) is stored in, for example, a control unit 11 provided in a terminal 93 in the printing system ST shown in Fig. 1. The printing system ST executes printing and bookbinding in accordance with the app PM under the control of the control unit 11.

[0012] The printing system ST includes a terminal 93, a first printing machine 21, a second printing machine 22, a case binding finisher 31, and a booklet binding finisher 32. The terminal 93 has a control unit 11, a first printer driver 12, and a second printer driver. The control unit 11 stores an application program PM, and has a CPU 111, which is a central processing unit, a storage unit 112, an operation unit 114, and a display unit 115, and functions as a computer that processes a print job input from the outside. The operation unit 114 allows an operator or the like to input operational instructions, and the display unit 115 outputs images or sounds that enable the operator to grasp the operational state, etc., of the printing system ST.

[0013] A case binding printing system 91 is configured including the first printer driver 12, the first printing machine 21, and the case binding finisher 31. A booklet binding printing system 92 is configured including the second printer driver 13, the second printing machine 22, and the booklet binding finisher 32. The control unit 11 controls the operation of the case binding printing system 91 and the booklet binding printing system 92.

[0014] With this configuration, the printing system ST executes the following printing and bookbinding as basic processing under the control of the control unit 11, based on a print job input from the outside. Specifically, when the incoming print job is a case binding print job, the control unit 11 instructs the first printer driver 12 to convert manuscript data, including image data for case binding, included in the print job into raster data and send it as print data to the first printing machine 21. Also, when the input print job is a booklet print job, the control unit 11 instructs the second printer driver 13 to convert manuscript data, including image data for booklet binding, included in the print job into raster data and send it as print data to the second printing machine 22.

[0015] The first printing machine 21 prints the print data for case binding sent from the first printer driver 12 onto paper and sends the printed paper to the case binding finisher 31. The second printing machine 22 prints the print data for booklet binding sent from the second printer driver 13 onto paper and sends the printed paper to the booklet binding finisher 32.

[0016] The case binding finisher 31 wraps the edges of the multiple body sheets sent from the first printing machine 21 in a U-shape with cover paper, presses them together with glue, and cuts off the excess area of ​​the cover paper to produce a product P1. The booklet binder finisher 32 saddle-stitches and integrates the plurality of body sheets sent from the second printing machine 22 into a product P2.

[0017] In the above-mentioned case binding, the control unit 11 arranges a plurality of images for the cover included in the case binding job in the print area of ​​the cover sheet as described below, and converts the images into raster data by the second printer driver 13.

[0018] 2 and 3, the printing area of ​​the cover sheet is composed of a first printing area AR1 on the outer side and a second printing area AR2 on the inner side. As shown in Fig. 2, the first printing area AR1 is composed of a first cover area AR11 which becomes the front cover (cover C1) of the book, a spine area AR12 which becomes the spine, a fourth cover area AR13 which becomes the back cover (cover C4), and a cutting area AR14. Of these, a first cover image G1 is arranged in the first cover area AR11, a spine image G2 is arranged in the spine area AR12, and a fourth cover image G3 is arranged in the fourth cover area AR13.

[0019] The first cover image G1 has a background image G1c, a first object image G1a, and a second object image G1b. The spine image G2 has a background image G2c and a title image G2a. The fourth cover image G3 has a background image G3c and an object image G3a.

[0020] As shown in Figure 3, the second printing area AR2 is composed of a cutting area AR21 corresponding to the cutting area AR14, a third cover area AR22 which becomes the cover C3 on the inner side of the fourth cover area AR13, a gluing area AR23 which becomes the inner side of the spine area AR12, and a second cover area AR24 which becomes the cover C2 on the inner side of the first cover area AR11. Of these, the third cover image G4 is arranged in the third cover area AR22, and the second cover image G5 is arranged in the second cover area AR24.

[0021] The third cover image G4 includes a background image G4c and an object image G4a. The second cover image G5 includes a background image G5c and an object image G5a.

[0022] When the number of printing sheets of the case binding job input by the application PM is equal to or greater than a predetermined number m (m is a positive integer) set in advance, or when the thickness of the printing paper of the body is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 executes the above-mentioned process of case binding, and when the number of printing sheets is less than the predetermined number m, or when the thickness of the printing paper of the body is less than the predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 executes a job conversion process of converting the case binding job to a booklet binding job. At that time, since booklet binding does not have a spine and a gluing area on its inner side, the control unit 11 executes a cover creation process by the application PM to include a spine image in case binding in a printing area that becomes the front cover of the booklet binding. This will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The predetermined number m is set in advance as a number at which gluing is performed stably and well according to the thickness of the paper, etc. Below, an example of executing the job conversion process when the number of printing sheets of the body is less than the predetermined number m will be described.

[0023] Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining options for the arrangement process of the spine image G2 in the post-conversion cover printing area BR1 when converting a print job for case binding into a print job for booklet binding, where Fig. 4(a) shows the overwriting process, Fig. 4(b) shows the overlapping process, and Fig. 4(c) shows the original image reduction process. Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of the binding method conversion process executed based on the application program PM. The post-conversion cover print area BR1 corresponds to the print area of ​​the front cover in booklet binding, for example.

[0024] In the binding method conversion process shown in FIG. 5, when a print job is input (S1), the control unit 11 determines whether the binding method of the print job is A: a case binding job or B: a booklet binding job (S2). If it is determined to be B, the control section 11 handles the input print job as it is as a booklet binding job and outputs it to the second printer driver 13 (S21).

[0025] If it is determined to be A, the control unit 11 determines whether the number of sheets of paper for the body of the document data included in the print job is equal to or greater than a predetermined number m (S3). If it is determined that the number of sheets is equal to or greater than the predetermined number m (Yes), the control unit 11 handles the input print job as it is as a case binding job and outputs it to the first printer driver 12 (S4). If it is determined that the number of sheets is less than the predetermined number m (No), the control unit 11 converts the layout of the case binding job into a layout of the booklet binding job (S5). At that time, the image data is synthesized so that the spine image G2 is included in the converted cover printing area BR1, which is the front cover printing area of ​​the booklet binding layout, to generate image data for the converted cover printing area BR1 (S6). This step (S5) that the application program (PM) causes the control unit 11, which is a computer, to execute is the job conversion process, and step (S6) is the cover creation process.

[0026] Once the image data of the post-conversion cover printing area BR1 has been generated, it is output to the second printer driver 13 as a booklet job including the generated image data (S7).

[0027] The application PM can execute a number of different processing methods as a processing method for compositing image data so that the spine image G2 is included in the post-conversion cover printing area BR1 in step (S6). For example, there are three types of processing methods: (a) overwriting processing, (b) superimposing processing, and (c) original image reduction processing, which will be described below, and the user can select which processing method to use.

[0028] (a) Overwriting process 4(a), the overwriting process places the first cover image G1, which is the image of the front cover in the original case binding, over the entire surface of the converted cover printing area BR1. Then, the image data of the first cover image G1 and the image data of the spine image G2 are combined so that a part of the placed first cover image G1 is overwritten onto the spine image G2, to generate image data for the converted cover printing area BR1.

[0029] In the example shown in Figure 4(a), a vertically long rectangular area on the left edge, which is part of the first cover image G1, is overwritten with the background image G2c of the spine image G2, so that the first object image G1a and part of the background image G1c are not printed. The spine image G2 is printed without missing any image data, including the background image G2c and the title image G2a.

[0030] (b) Overlay processing In the overlay process, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the first cover image G1 is placed over the entire surface of the converted cover printing area BR1, and the image data of the first cover image G1 and the image data of the spine image G2 are then combined to generate image data for the converted cover printing area BR1 so that the spine image G2 is overlaid on the first cover image G1. Specifically, the overlapping area D, which is the overlapping range, is the range of the spine image G2, and the image data of the first cover image G1 and the image data of the spine image G2 corresponding to the overlapping area D are thinned out to form the image data of the converted cover printing area BR1. Therefore, in the overlapping area D, both the first cover image G1 and the spine image G2 can be visually recognized, but the image quality changes compared to the respective original images. The thinning ratio of the image data of the first cover image G1 and the spine image G2 in the overlapping area D is, for example, equal to 50:50. Of course, this is not limited to this, and the ratio may be changed by weighting according to the content of the image. The thinning process may be a process of making the image transparent.

[0031] (c) Original image reduction process 4(c), the original image reduction process is a process in which the spine image G2 is placed as is in the converted cover printing area BR1, and the first cover image G1 is reduced and placed so that the entire image is displayed in the display area that has become narrower due to the placement of the spine image G2. In other words, the image data is thinned out so as to reduce the first cover image G1, and the image data is combined with the image data of the spine image G2 to create the image data of the converted cover printing area BR1. In this process, the entire page is displayed without any part hidden by the first cover image G1. In addition, the area other than the spine image G2 and the reduced first cover image G1 becomes a blank area BGa, which is not printed. Of course, an image such as a preset texture pattern may be placed in the blank area BGa.

[0032] In this way, the application PM has a number of types of spine combining processes for printing the spine image G2 in the post-conversion cover printing area BR1, and allows the user to select one of them.

[0033] Furthermore, the application PM causes the display unit 115 to display an input image F1, which is a user interface image (UI image) for supporting the user in selecting a type of spine synthesis process. The application PM has an image generation function for generating the input image F1. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the application PM includes an image generation unit 113.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows an example of an input image F1. The input image F1 has an operation instruction display section F1a, an option display section F1b, and an image display section F1c. In this example, the operation instruction display section F1a is a character string for explaining the selection operation to the user. The option display section F1b is a set of check buttons and character strings that the user selects and inputs by operating the mouse. The image display section F1c is an image for allowing the contents of the options to be visually grasped. Specifically, the image display section F1c is a schematic image that allows the user to visually grasp the overwriting process (a), the superimposition process (b), and the original image reduction process (c) in accordance with the above example.

[0035] The operation instruction display section F1a, the option display section F1b, and the image display section F1c are not limited to these formats, and may use icons instead of character strings.

[0036] The application PM displays the above-mentioned input image F1, which increases user convenience and prevents erroneous selection when selecting from a number of processes for printing the spine image G2 in the cover printing area in booklet binding.

[0037] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the components can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the components disclosed in the above-described embodiment.

[0038] As described above in detail, the application program PM according to one aspect of the present invention places the spine image in the post-conversion print area, which is the cover print area in booklet binding, when converting a print job for case binding into a print job for booklet binding. This allows the spine image to be printed without being lost even when the print job for case binding is converted into a print job for booklet binding.

[0039] [Appendix 1] This application discloses the following inventions. An application program that causes a computer to execute a job conversion process that converts a print job for case binding to a print job for booklet binding when the number of sheets of paper in the body of the manuscript data is less than a predetermined number or when the thickness of the body is less than a predetermined threshold, based on manuscript data included in the print job for case binding, and a cover creation process that combines image data of a cover and image data of a spine included in the manuscript data to create image data of the cover of the print job for booklet binding. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 11 Control section 111 CPU 112 Storage section 113 Image Generation Unit 114 Operation section 115 Display section 12 First printer driver 13 Secondary Printer Driver 21 1st printing press 22 Second printing press 31 Perfect Binding Finisher 32 Booklet Finisher 91 Perfect binding printing system 92 Booklet Binding Printing System 93 Terminals AR1 1st printing area AR11 First Cover Area AR12 Spine Area AR13 4th Cover Area AR14 cutting area AR2 2nd printing area AR21 Cutting area AR22 Third Cover Area AR23 Gluing area AR24 Second Cover Area BR1 Cover print area after conversion D Superimposed part G1 1st cover image G1a 1st object image G1b 2nd object image G1c Background Image G2 Spine image G2a title image G2b Background Image G3 4th cover image G3a Object Image G3c Background Image G4 3rd cover image G4a Object Image G4c Background Image G5 2nd cover image G5a Object Image G5c Background Image F1 Input image F1a Operation instruction display section F1b Option display section F1c Image display section m specified number PM Application Program (APP) P1,P2 Products ST Printing System

Claims

[Claim 1] Based on the manuscript data included in the print job for perfect binding, a job conversion process for converting the print job into a print job for booklet binding when the number of sheets of the body of the manuscript data is less than a predetermined number or when the thickness of the body is less than a predetermined threshold value; a cover creation process for synthesizing the cover image data and the spine image data included in the manuscript data to generate cover image data for the booklet binding print job; An application program that causes a computer to execute the above.

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