Image formation device, control method for image formation device, and program

Abstract

To make a paper feed stage as an object to be exclusively used available while preventing erroneous use of the paper feed stage, at the time of operation control of target printing.SOLUTION: An operation display part 210 receives specification of a paper feed stage for feeding paper used in printing. When permission information indicating permission of paper feed from a reservation paper feed stage is not added to a printing job, a CPU 202 restricts paper feed from the reservation paper feed. When a target printing job is a printing job for executing adjustment processing of operation control relating to printing, the CPU 202 excludes a paper feed stage specified to the printing job from the target of the restriction of the paper feed, even if the permission information is not added to the printing job.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 18

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method for an image forming apparatus, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, due to the high functionality and image quality of multifunction machines, the improvement of finishing devices, and the expansion of the types of paper available, there are an increasing number of cases where printed materials that were previously output at printing factories are in-house produced using multifunction machines installed in offices. Multifunction machines used in such printing environments are often shared with printing of normal office documents, and multiple types of paper, such as plain paper for normal printing and special printing paper for in-house printing, may be temporarily installed in the paper feed tray at the same time. Under such circumstances, for example, a user who performs in-house printing obtains a product by setting an occupyable paper feed tray and printing so that the paper used by the user is not used by other users. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to the occupancy of a paper feed tray. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-175342 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When an occupatable paper feed tray is used, in order to indicate that a user or job can use the paper feed tray to be occupied, for example, a setting is made for using the occupatable paper feed tray for a print job. On the other hand, image forming devices may be provided with adjustment functions such as color shift correction, gradation correction, and image printing position adjustment, and these conditions can be checked by printing a chart. When printing using special paper, a situation in which such a chart is output is also assumed, and in such a situation, even if an occupatable paper feed tray is used to feed the paper, it is desirable to be able to output the chart separately from the output of the actual printed matter. In this context, there is a demand for the realization of a mechanism that allows an occupatable paper feed tray to be used when an adjustment is made to the operation control related to the printing of the printed matter, even in a situation in which an occupatable paper feed tray is used to print the target printed matter.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to prevent misuse of a paper feed tray to be occupied, while making the paper feed tray available when adjusting operational control of a printing operation to be occupied. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in having an accepting means for accepting designation of a first paper feeding unit for feeding paper to be used for printing, a restricting means for restricting paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit for which settings related to usage restrictions have been made is not added to the print job, and a control means for excluding the first paper feeding unit specified for the first print job from the paper feeding restriction by the restricting means when the target print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the erroneous use of a paper feed tray to be occupied, while making it possible to use the paper feed tray when adjusting the operation control of the printing to be occupied. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a paper feed unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 14] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 19] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 20]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 22] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Diagram 23] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 24] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 25] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by an image forming apparatus. [Figure 26] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 27] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0010] <First embodiment> An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Note that the image forming apparatus in the present disclosure includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and a multifunction machine that combines these functions, and has a function of forming an image on a sheet that is a recording medium (printing function).

[0011] An example of a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. First, FIG. 1(a) will be described. The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1(a) is a multifunction machine that forms an image on a sheet. However, the sheet includes paper such as paper and envelopes, plastic film such as sheets for overhead projectors (OHP), and cloth. Furthermore, although terms such as "paper" or "paper feed" are used in the drawings, etc., they are treated as generally referring to sheets including sheets other than paper unless otherwise specified. Image forming apparatus 100 includes devices such as printer unit 101, scanner unit 108, multiple paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, and 105, manual feed tray 106, and discharge tray 107. Hereinafter, paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, and 105 and manual feed tray 106 will be referred to as paper feed stages unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 will be referred to with numbers, such as paper feed cassette 1 to paper feed cassette 4, when they are to be distinguished from one another.

[0012] The scanner unit 108 as an image reading device optically scans an original and converts it into electronic image information by a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type. The printer unit 101 forms an image on a sheet based on image information input from the scanner unit 108 or an external host computer by a printer engine 110, which is an example of an image forming unit. Each of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 stores sheets. The manual feed tray 106 supports sheets placed on the tray. The sheets held in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are fed to the printer engine 110 while being separated one by one by a paper feed unit (not shown). Each of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 corresponds to an example of a paper feed stage that holds sheets to be supplied to the image forming unit. The sheet on which the image is formed by the printer engine 110 is discharged to a discharge tray 107, which is a discharge unit.

[0013] Next, an example of a schematic configuration of the printer engine 110 will be described with reference to FIG. 1(b). The printer engine 110 has an electrophotographic image forming unit PU. The image forming unit PU includes a photosensitive drum 111, which is a drum-shaped photosensitive member, a charging device 112, an exposure device 113, a developing device 114, and a cleaning device 116. When the printer engine 110 is requested to start an image forming operation, the charging device 112 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 111, and the exposure device 113 scans the photosensitive drum 111 with a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum surface. The developing device 114 supplies charged toner to the photosensitive drum 111 to develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 111 is transferred to a sheet by a transfer device 115. The toner image transferred to the sheet is fixed to the sheet by, for example, a fixing device 117 of a thermal fixing type.

[0014] 2, an example of the configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus 100 will be described, focusing in particular on the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a wired or wireless network via a network interface (I / F) 212, and communicates with an information processing apparatus such as a PC (Personal Comput) 200.

[0015] It is assumed that a printer driver is installed in the PC 200 as driver software that generates a job (hereinafter also referred to as a print job) that commands the image forming apparatus 100 to form an image. The printer driver generates a print job described in a PDL based on document data received from, for example, a document creation application of the PC 200. Here, PDL is an abbreviation of Page Description Language, examples of which include PS, PCL, and LIPS (registered trademark). It is also assumed that the PC 200 includes a control means such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a storage means such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Rewritable Memory), and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The printer driver transmits the generated print job to the image forming apparatus 100 via a network.

[0016] The operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU) 202. The CPU 202 operates based on a program stored in a random access memory (RAM) 204. A read only memory (ROM) 203 is a boot ROM, and stores a boot program for the system. A storage unit 205 stores system software, image data, a program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 100, and the like. The program stored in the storage unit 205 is loaded into the RAM 204, and the CPU 202 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 based on the program loaded into the RAM 204. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, each step of the control process of the image forming apparatus 100 is executed by the CPU 202.

[0017] The image processing unit 209 performs image processing on image data received via the network I / F 206. The image processing unit 209 may also perform image processing on image data input / output via the device I / F 207. The image data transmitted from the PC 200 is converted by the image processing unit 209 into raster format image data and stored in the storage unit 205. The stored image data is transmitted to the printer engine 110 as a video signal via the device I / F 207 and is used in the image forming operation by the printer engine 110.

[0018] The image forming apparatus 100 also includes an operation display unit 210 as a display unit for displaying information to a user and an input unit for receiving instructions from a user. The operation display unit 210 includes a screen display unit realized by a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The operation display unit 210 also includes a touch panel that is installed on the display and functions as a soft key based on the operated positional relationship with an operation target displayed on the display, and an operation input unit including hard keys such as a numeric keypad.

[0019] Furthermore, the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 controls a paper feed unit 208 having paper feed stages such as the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106. Details of this paper feed unit 208 will be described separately below.

[0020] 3, an example of the functional configuration of the paper feed unit 208 of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. The paper feed unit 208 supplies paper to the printer engine 110. The CPU 202 controls the paper feed cassettes 1 (102) to 4 (105) and the manual feed tray 106 in the paper feed unit 208 to feed paper from the paper feed cassettes or the manual feed unit, which are the paper feed stages. Each paper feed cassette (102, 103) is provided with a paper load sensor (301, 302) that detects how much paper is loaded in the paper feed cassette. This allows the CPU 202 to detect, within a range of several levels, whether there is currently no paper in the paper feed cassette or, if there is, how much paper is loaded. Similarly, each paper feed cassette (102, 103) is provided with an open / close detection sensor (304, 305) for detecting the open / closed state of the paper feed cassette. This allows the CPU 202 to detect in real time when the paper feed cassette is opened or closed as an event from the open detection sensor. Similarly, a paper load sensor and an open / close detection sensor are provided for each of the paper feed cassettes 3 (104) and 4 (105), but these are omitted from FIG. A tray paper presence / absence detection sensor 303 that detects whether paper is placed on the tray is provided on the manual feed tray 106. This allows the CPU 202 to detect in real time the placement or removal of paper on the manual feed tray 106 as an event from the tray paper presence / absence detection sensor.

[0021] (Image formation flow) The flow of image formation in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a paper feed tray reservation process is performed before image formation is performed. A paper feed tray reservation is a setting for restricting the use of each paper feed cassette and manual feed tray in which paper to be used for image formation is placed (for example, prohibiting use by other users), and the details will be described later. After that, PC 200 generates a print job by printer driver processing, and outputs the print job to image forming device 100. When a print job is input to image forming device 100, image forming device 100 executes printer processing to process the print job. Next, each process will be described in detail below.

[0022] (Paper feed tray reservation) The paper setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. Here, the description will be made on the assumption that the user places the following special paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and makes a reservation for that paper feed cassette 102. Sheet size: A4 Sheet type: Coated paper First, the user places the special paper in paper feed cassette 102. Next, the user operates operation display unit 210 of image forming apparatus 100 to set the size and type of the placed paper.

[0023] In S401, the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 displays the home screen 501 shown in FIG. 5 on the operation display unit 210, and waits for an operation from the user. On the home screen 501, there are arranged a button 502 to be selected when using the copy function, a button 503 to be selected when using the send function, and a button 504 to be selected when using the box function. Also, a button 505 is a button to be selected when using the reservation print function. A button 506 is a button for performing various settings of the image forming apparatus 100, and this setting button 506 is also pressed when reserving a paper feed tray by setting the size and type of paper installed by the user. When the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the button 506 for performing various settings has been pressed, it displays a setting screen 601 shown in FIG. 6. The setting screen 601 is a screen for accepting selection of various setting items from the user. The setting screen 601 includes buttons 602 to 607 linked to functions related to setting and updating various setting information, and a button 608 for accepting an instruction from the user to return to the original screen. For example, the button 602 is linked to a function for setting and updating paper. Also, the button 603 is linked to a function for making various settings related to reserving paper feed locations.

[0024] In S402, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the button 602 associated with a setting item for setting paper among various setting items has been pressed. If the CPU 202 determines in S402 that the button 602 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S403. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in S402 that the button 602 has not been pressed (for example, a button linked to another setting item has been pressed), the process proceeds to S404.

[0025] In S403, the CPU 202 displays a setting screen 701 shown in FIG. The setting screen 701 is a screen for setting paper. Buttons 702 to 706 for receiving instructions from the user regarding the selection of a paper feed tray are displayed on the setting screen 701. Each of the buttons 702 to 706 displays various information related to the paper feed tray associated with the button (for example, setting information such as paper size and type, remaining amount of paper, etc.). The displayed contents will be described separately later. Also displayed on the setting screen 701 are a button 707 for changing the paper type, and buttons 708 and 709 for changing the paper size (for example, to set a special size such as an envelope or postcard). Each of the buttons 707 to 709 is operated when one of the buttons 702 to 706 for selecting a paper feed tray is selected. It should be noted that a paper feed tray selected to be used for paper feeding during printing, such as a paper feed tray selected via buttons 707 to 709, corresponds to an example of a first paper feed tray.

[0026] In S404, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the button 603 for making settings related to the reservation of the paper feed location has been pressed. If the CPU 202 determines in S404 that the button 603 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S405. Note that the details of the paper feed tray reservation operation in S405 will be described separately below. On the other hand, if CPU 202 determines in S404 that button 603 has not been pressed (for example, a button linked to another setting item has been pressed), CPU 202 advances the process to S406. In this case, CPU 202 recognizes that each process has ended or that no particular process is being executed, and ends the setting process related to the sheet. At this time, CPU 202 may return the operation screen in S406 to the screen from which various processes are read out.

[0027] Here, an example of information indicating the setting status of each paper feed tray displayed on each of buttons 702 to 706 on setting screen 701 related to sheet setting displayed in S403 will be described. The setting status of each paper feed tray is stored as paper feed tray information in storage unit 205 of image forming apparatus 100.

[0028] An example of paper feed tray information is shown in Table 1 below. Item 2801 reflects information indicating the target paper feed tray. Information indicating the size of paper set in the target paper feed tray is reflected in item 2802. For example, this information indicating the size of paper may reflect information on the size of the paper detected by an automatic paper detection function that is called up by pressing button 707 with paper placed in each paper feed tray, or information on the size of paper set in response to an instruction from the user. Information indicating the type of paper set for the target paper feed tray is reflected in item 2803. For example, this information indicating the type of paper reflects information on the type of paper detected by an automatic paper detection function that is called up by pressing button 707, or information on the type of paper set in response to an instruction from the user. Information indicating the remaining amount of paper placed in each paper feed tray is reflected in item 2804. As a specific example, in the example shown in Table 1, the information indicating the remaining amount of paper is reflected as information indicating the remaining amount of paper, which is represented in five stages based on the detection result of the remaining amount of paper placed in each paper feed tray by a sensor provided in the paper feed tray. Information indicating the reservation status for each paper feed tray is reflected in item 2805. The reservation status for each paper feed tray is set, for example, by a function related to reserving a paper feed location that is called up by button 603 on setting screen 601 shown in Fig. 6. Note that in the example shown in Table 1, no information is set in item 2805 for any of the paper feed trays, indicating that no reservation has been made for any of the paper feed trays. In other words, in the example shown in Table 1, each paper feed tray is in a state where anyone can use it.

[0029] [Table 1]

[0030] Next, an example of the operation when some of the paper feed trays are selected on the setting screen 701 and the automatic paper detection function is called by pressing the button 707 will be described. For convenience, it is assumed here that the button 707 is pressed when the paper feed cassette 102 is selected by pressing the button 702. When the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the button 707 is pressed, it displays a sheet type setting screen (not shown) on the operation display unit 210 and waits for the user to select the paper type via the setting screen. For convenience, it is assumed here that coated paper is selected. When the paper type is determined in response to the user's selection, the CPU 202 updates the paper feed tray information based on the result of the paper type determination and completes the paper type setting.

[0031] Next, a description will be given of an example of an operation related to reserving a paper feed tray in the process of S405 in Fig. 4. For convenience, it is assumed here that a reservation is made for the paper feed cassette 102. The function relating to reserving a paper feed tray is called by pressing a button 603 on a setting screen 601 shown in Fig. 6. When the CPU 202 detects that the button 603 on the setting screen 601 has been pressed, the CPU 202 causes a reservation setting screen 1501 shown in Fig. 15 to be displayed on the operation display unit 210. A button 1502 for making a reservation for each feed tray and a button 1503 for canceling the reservation for that feed tray are displayed on the reservation setting screen 1501. The reservation setting screen 1501 also displays a button 1504 for canceling an operation related to the reservation for the feed tray and a button 1505 for finalizing the operation related to the reservation for each feed tray. 15, when a button 1502 for reservation corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is pressed, the paper feed cassette 102 is placed in a reserved state. In this state, when the CPU 202 detects that a button 1505 has been pressed, the CPU 202 reflects information indicating that the paper feed cassette 102 is being reserved in information indicating the reservation state of the paper feed cassette 102 in the paper feed stage information stored in the storage unit 205. As a result, paper feeding from the paper feed cassette 102 is limited to jobs for which a setting to use the reserved paper feed stage has been made by the process of S805, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 8. A reservation can be cancelled by pressing a reservation cancel button 1503 associated with the paper feed tray to be cancelled on the setting screen 1501. In this case, the CPU 202 reflects information indicating that the paper feed tray is not currently reserved in information indicating the reservation status of the target paper feed tray in the paper feed tray information stored in the storage unit 205 (for example, clears information indicating that the target paper feed tray is currently reserved). Details of operations related to paper feeding for a reserved paper feed tray will be described separately below.

[0032] Table 2 below shows the state where the result of the change in paper type and the result of the reservation process for the paper feed tray are reflected in the paper feed tray information shown in Table 1. In the example shown in Table 2, the parts with inverted colors show the parts that have been changed from the state shown in Table 1.

[0033] [Table 2]

[0034] (Printer driver processing) An example of the printer driver processing will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The series of processing shown in Fig. 8 is realized, for example, by a control means such as a CPU mounted on PC 200 executing a program constituting the printer driver. Also, the series of processing shown in Fig. 8 is started, for example, when a user performs an operation via PC 200 or the like to instruct a document creation application to execute printing. In the example shown in FIG. 8, for the sake of convenience, each process will be described assuming that the subject is the printer driver, but in reality, the subject of the process is a control means such as a CPU that executes a program that constitutes the printer driver. As shown as the process of S801, it is assumed that document data indicating a print target (for example, a document, a figure, etc.) has been generated in advance using a word processing application or the like.

[0035] In S802, the printer driver sets attribute information of the print job based on an operation that the PC 200 has accepted from the user. For example, Fig. 9 shows an example of a setting screen 901 that is presented to a user via a display of PC 200 or the like and that accepts designation of printing conditions from the user. A tab 902 indicates that this is a screen for making print settings. A paper size setting field 903 is an input area for presenting a setting value for paper size to the user and accepting a designation of the paper size from the user. A paper type setting field 904 is an input area for presenting a setting value for paper type to the user and accepting a designation of the paper type from the user. A paper feed stage setting field 905 is an input area for displaying to the user the paper feed stage from which paper is fed and accepting a designation of the paper feed stage from the user. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 9, the paper size can be selected from "original size" which specifies the same size as the document data, standard sizes such as "A4", and user-defined sizes which the user inputs numerical values. The paper type can be selected from "plain paper 1", "plain paper 2" which has a larger basis weight than "plain paper 1", and "coated paper". The paper feed tray can be selected from any of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106. The tab 902 of the setting screen 901 may include options such as "automatic selection" which leaves the selection to the image forming apparatus for each of the paper type and paper feed tray. Furthermore, in tab 902 of setting screen 901, an input area 906 is displayed for receiving designation from the user as to whether or not to use paper placed in a reserved paper feed tray. In this input area 906, it is possible to designate either "Yes" or "No" as a setting value, and designating "Yes" makes it possible to perform printing using paper placed in a reserved paper feed tray, which will be described separately below. Based on instructions received from the user via the setting screen 901 illustrated above, the driver software sets information for specifying the paper size, paper type, and paper feed tray from which the paper will be fed, as well as settings related to the use of reserved paper feed trays.

[0036] Next, the printer driver sets an owner name for the print job in S803, and sets a document name for the document, drawing, or the like to be printed in S804. The owner name is information for identifying the user who created the print job, and in this embodiment, the ID of the user currently logged in to PC 200 is used as the owner name. The document name is information for identifying a data file, such as a document or drawing, to be printed, and is obtained, for example, from the application that generated the document data. In S805, the printer driver generates PDL data conforming to the PDL format based on the document data and various setting information. The PDL data includes page data representing the drawing contents of each page and setting information of the print job (paper size, paper type, paper feed tray, owner name, document name, etc.). The page data is image information generated by the printer driver from the document data in accordance with the PDL format. In S806, the printer driver transmits the PDL data generated in S805 to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network.

[0037] (Printer processing) An example of printer processing by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described below. When the image forming apparatus 100 receives PDL data transmitted from the PC 200 or the like, the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 starts the printer processing. For example, Fig. 10 shows an example of a rough flow of the printer processing. As shown in Fig. 10, the printer processing roughly includes a page generation process shown as S1001 for generating image data for each page, and a print process shown as S1002 for forming an image on paper based on the image data.

[0038] First, an example of the page generation process shown as S1001 in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In S1101, the CPU 202 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives a print job transmitted from the PC 200 and temporarily stores the print job in the storage unit 205. The print job stored in the storage unit 205 includes page data as image information conforming to the PDL format. In S1102, the CPU 202 analyzes the page data included in the print job stored in the storage unit 205, and in S1103 converts the page data into intermediate data based on the analysis results. Note that intermediate data is a general term for drawing objects such as bitmaps, run lengths, trapezoids, boxes, and high-speed boundary encoded bitmaps, background patterns, and drawing logic for drawing raster format images from them. In addition, setting information for the print job, such as paper size, included in the PDL data is also extracted by the analysis by the CPU 202 and stored in the storage unit 205.

[0039] In S1104, the image processing unit 209 performs RIP processing on the intermediate data and stores the data in the storage unit 205. RIP is an abbreviation for Raster Image Processing, and refers to processing for generating image data in a raster format from image data such as a vector image.

[0040] Next, an example of the print process shown as S1002 in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. When the print process is started, the CPU 202 initializes a parameter P indicating the page being processed (current paper) in step S1201. The parameter P is an integer value that satisfies P≧1. In S1202, the CPU 202 determines whether the parameter P exceeds a variable Pmax indicating the total number of pages (the number of sheets specified by the print job). Note that the variable Pmax is assumed to be extracted by analyzing the PDL data and stored in the storage unit 205. If the CPU 202 determines in S1202 that the parameter P is equal to or smaller than the variable Pmax indicating the total number of pages, the CPU 202 advances the process to S1203. As long as the condition P≦Pmax is satisfied, the CPU 202 repeatedly executes a series of processes described below as S1203 to S1208. If the CPU 202 determines in S1202 that the parameter P exceeds the variable Pmax indicating the total number of pages, the CPU 202 ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

[0041] Next, the processes in S1203 to S1208 will be described below. In S1203, the CPU 202 refers to the storage unit 205, acquires the paper feed stage setting information stored in S1103, and executes a paper feed determination process to determine whether or not a sheet can be fed from the designated paper feed stage. Details of the paper feed determination process will be described separately later. If it is determined in the paper feed determination process in S1203 that paper can be fed, the CPU 202 controls in S1204 so that one sheet of paper is fed. In S1205, the CPU 202 reads out from the storage unit 205 the image data of the page being processed. In S 1206 , the CPU 202 converts the image data read in S 1205 into video data and transfers it to the printer engine 110 . In S1207, the printer engine 110 executes print processing (image formation processing) on ​​paper based on the video data transferred in S1206. In S1208, the CPU 202 increments the parameter P and proceeds to S1202.

[0042] In the example shown in Fig. 12, a case is shown in which paper is fed and printed one by one, and then paper is fed again, but this does not necessarily limit the contents of the printing process. As a specific example, paper feeding and printing may be controlled independently.

[0043] (Paper feed determination process) An example of the paper feed determination process shown as S1203 in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG. In S1301, the CPU 202 acquires the setting information of the print job stored in the storage unit 205 in S1102. The setting information of the print job includes setting information related to the size, type, and feed tray of paper to be used when printing, and setting information indicating whether or not to use a reserved feed tray. In this embodiment, the reserved feed tray corresponds to an example of a second feed tray for which a setting related to a usage restriction has been made. Also, the setting information indicating whether or not to use the reserved feed tray among the setting information added to the print job corresponds to an example of permission information indicating whether or not to feed paper from the second feed unit. Note that this setting information may be information indicating that feeding paper from the second feed unit is possible. In that case, if this setting information is included in the print job, it is determined that feeding paper from the second feed unit is permitted, and if the setting information is not included in the print job, it is determined that feeding paper from the second feed unit is not permitted. In S1302, the CPU 202 acquires the paper feed stage information stored in the storage unit 205. The paper feed stage information is setting information for each paper feed stage, an example of which is shown in Table 2. In step S1303, the CPU 202 copies the paper feed stage information acquired in step S1302 to create a paper feed stage candidate list, which is used to determine paper feed stages that are to be paper feed candidates in the subsequent processing.

[0044] In S1304, the CPU 202 switches the subsequent operation based on setting information on whether or not to use the reserved paper feed tray included in the print job acquired in S1301. If the CPU 202 determines in step S1304 that a setting has been made to use the reserved paper feed tray for the print job in question, the process proceeds to step S1305. On the other hand, if CPU 202 determines in S1304 that the reserved paper feed tray is not set to be used for the target print job (the reserved paper feed tray is not set to be used), CPU 202 proceeds to S1306.

[0045] In S1305, CPU 202 increases the search priority of the paper feed tray candidate list created in S1303 for the paper feed tray whose reservation status (item 2805 in Table 2) is set to reserved, compared to other paper feed trays. As a specific example, CPU 202 rearranges the paper feed tray candidate list so that the paper feed tray whose reservation status is set to reserved is positioned at the top (e.g., at the beginning) of the paper feed tray candidate list. This makes it possible to control the selection of the optimal paper feed tray, which will be described later as the process in S1308, so that the reserved paper feed tray is given priority.

[0046] In S1306, the CPU 202 deletes from the paper feed stage candidate list any paper feed stage whose reservation status (item 2805 in Table 2) is set to reserved. As a specific example, when the reservation status of each paper feed stage is as shown in Table 2, the paper feed cassette 102 whose reservation status is set to reserved is deleted from the paper feed stage candidate list. On the other hand, as described in the process of S1305, if a setting is made for the print job to use a reserved feed tray, the feed tray will not be deleted from the feed tray candidate list. By applying the above-described control, it is possible to limit paper feeding from a reserved paper feed tray to a job for which a setting has been made to use the reserved paper feed tray.

[0047] In S1307, CPU 202 refers to the paper feed stage setting information from the setting information of the print job acquired in S1301, and if a paper feed stage has been specified, deletes all paper feed stages other than the specified paper feed stage from the paper feed stage candidate list. Paper feed stage setting information is information specified via paper feed stage setting field 905 of setting screen 901. In other words, if a specific paper feed stage has been specified via paper feed stage setting field 905, CPU 202 deletes all paper feed stages other than the specified one from the paper feed stage candidate list. On the other hand, if automatic selection has been specified via paper feed stage setting field 905, CPU 202 does not delete any paper feed stages from the paper feed stage candidate list.

[0048] In S1308, the CPU 202 selects the optimal paper feed tray from among the paper feed trays remaining in the paper feed tray candidate list. Specifically, the CPU 202 searches the paper feed tray candidate list, starting from the top, for a paper feed tray that holds paper that matches the size and type of paper applied to printing indicated in the setting information of the print job. In S1309, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the optimal paper feed tray was found in S1308. If CPU 202 determines in S1309 that the optimal paper feed tray has been found, CPU 202 advances the process to S1310. In this case, CPU 202 determines in S1310 that the paper feed tray determined to have been found is the paper feed tray to be used for paper feeding, notifies the subsequent flow, and ends the series of processes shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the PU 202 determines in S1309 that the optimal paper feed tray has not been found, the process proceeds to S1311.

[0049] 14 on the operation display unit 210 of the image forming apparatus 100. A display area 1409 of the error screen 1401 displays information about the paper requested to continue the print job (e.g., the size and type of the paper) and information about a paper feed tray in which the paper can be placed. A paper feed tray in which the target paper can be placed is searched for from the paper feed tray candidate list after the processing of S1307. In addition, at this time, the user can perform any of the following operations on the error screen 1401. The error is resolved by placing paper that satisfies the conditions presented in the display area 1409 in the paper feed tray shown in the display area 1409. By pressing any one of the buttons 1402 to 1406, a paper sheet other than the paper sheet having the conditions presented in the display area 1409 is fed, thereby forcibly continuing the process. Pressing the Stop button 1407 stops the print job. The CPU 202 waits for any of the operations exemplified above to be performed by the user.

[0050] In S1312, the CPU 202 determines whether the state of the paper feed tray has changed. If the CPU 202 determines in S1312 that the state of the paper feed tray has changed, it recognizes that the user may have placed paper, and proceeds to S1302. In this case, a process for searching for the optimal paper feed tray is executed again. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S1312 that the state of the sheet feed tray has not changed, the process proceeds to step S1313. In S1313, the CPU 202 determines whether or not an instruction from the user via the operation display unit 210 has been detected. If the CPU 202 determines in S1313 that an instruction from the user via the operation display unit 210 has not been detected, the CPU 202 advances the process to S1312. In this manner, the CPU 202 sequentially executes the determination processes of S1312 and S1313. Furthermore, if the CPU 202 determines in S1313 that an instruction from the user via the operation display unit 210 has been detected, it advances the process to S1314.

[0051] In S1314, the CPU 202 switches the subsequent processing in accordance with the instruction received from the user. If CPU 202 determines in S1314 that a paper feed tray has been selected by pressing any of buttons 1402-1406, CPU 202 advances the process to S1310. In this case, in S1310, CPU 202 determines the paper feed tray determined to have been found as the paper feed tray to be used for paper feeding, notifies the subsequent flow, and then ends the series of processes shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S1314 that the stop button 1407 has been pressed, it ends the series of processes shown in FIG. 14, and then ends the series of processes shown in FIG. 13 as the print process.

[0052] By applying the above control, paper from a paper feed tray whose reservation status (item 2805 in Table 2) is set to reserved is limited to cases where the reserved paper feed tray is set to be used for the target job, which is expected to have the effect of preventing the misuse of paper.

[0053] (Adjustment function of image forming device) The adjustment functions of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, such as color shift correction, gradation correction, and image print position adjustment, will be described. Repeated use of the image forming apparatus may cause variations in the color and density during printing, the position at which the image is printed, etc. In view of such circumstances, various adjustment functions may be provided for the image forming apparatus in order to keep the color and density during printing, the position at which the image is printed, etc. constant. One example of such an adjustment function is an adjustment function that outputs a dedicated chart (hereinafter also referred to as an adjustment chart), recognizes the status of the image forming device by reading the adjustment chart, and performs various adjustments based on the results of the recognition. Specifically, the adjustment process includes image position adjustment for adjusting the print position of the image, color shift correction for correcting color shift of toner of each color, gradation correction for correcting gradation, etc. In any adjustment process, the image forming apparatus 100 prints a dedicated chart stored in the storage unit 205 and performs adjustment by scanning the chart with the scanner 108. In executing this adjustment process, the user selects the paper feed tray to be used for printing the chart via the operation display unit 210 and inputs an execution instruction. As a result, paper is transported from the selected paper feed tray, and the chart for the adjustment process is executed and printed on the paper. The content printed on such an adjustment chart varies depending on the adjustment function being implemented, but generally, patches of a single color or multiple colors are printed. Furthermore, adjustments to the position where an image is printed and adjustments to color tone and density may be performed for each type of paper, for example, since appropriate values ​​differ depending on the type of paper.

[0054] Here, an example will be considered in which tone correction is also performed on the paper stored in the reserved paper feed tray. As described above, printing using the reserved paper feed tray is permitted for print jobs in which the printer driver has been set to use paper placed in the reserved paper feed tray via button 906 on setting screen 901. Therefore, use of the reserved paper feed tray is restricted for print jobs of adjustment charts that do not use the printer driver. In consideration of such a situation, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment performs control so as to permit use of the reserved paper feed tray when the target print job is a job for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing, such as a print job for an adjustment chart. Specifically, when the image forming apparatus confirms that the target job is a job for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing (for example, a print job for an adjustment chart), it performs control so as to permit use of the reserved paper feed tray even if no settings are made regarding use of the reserved paper feed tray.

[0055] An example of a process relating to tone correction using a reserved sheet feed stage will be described with reference to FIG. In S1601, when the CPU 202 detects that the button 604 associated with a function related to gradation correction on the setting screen 601 shown in FIG. 6 has been pressed, the CPU 202 displays a setting screen 1901 for gradation correction shown in FIG. 19 on the operation display unit 210. The setting screen 1901 displays buttons 1902, 1903, and 1904 for accepting a designation of the type of paper to be used for gradation correction. In the example shown in FIG. 19, plain paper, thick paper, and coated paper are associated with the buttons 1902, 1903, and 1904. When any of the buttons 1902, 1903, and 1904 is pressed, the CPU 202 performs gradation correction adjusted according to the paper associated with the button. It is assumed here that plain paper is selected by pressing the button 1902.

[0056] In S1602, the CPU 202 causes the operation display unit 210 to display a selection screen 2001 for selecting a paper feed tray to be used for tone correction, as shown in FIG. In the selection screen 2001, information such as the type of paper used for printing and the size of available paper is displayed in a display area 2007. In addition, buttons 2002 to 2006 are buttons for accepting the selection of a paper feed tray used for gradation correction, and each button is associated with a paper feed tray to be selected. In addition, of the buttons 2002 to 2006, the button associated with the paper feed tray corresponding to the type of paper selected via the setting screen 1901 shown in FIG. 19 is enabled, and the other buttons are disabled. In addition, in the selection screen 2001, a button 2009 for returning the operation screen to the previous screen (in this case, the setting screen 1901) and a button 2008 for canceling the gradation correction itself are displayed. In addition, in the selection screen 2001, a button 2010 for accepting an instruction from the user to print an adjustment chart for gradation correction is displayed. When the button 2010 is pressed, printing of an adjustment chart for gradation correction is started using the paper feed tray selected by pressing any of the buttons 2002 to 2006. In this way, on the selection screen 2001, the selectable paper feed trays are limited according to the paper type selected via the setting screen 1901. The restriction on the selectable paper feed trays according to the paper type is controlled based on the setting value of the paper type set in the item 2803 of Table 1. It is assumed here that the paper feed cassette 1 reserved on the reservation setting screen 1501 is selected by pressing the button 2002.

[0057] In S1603, the CPU 202 adds information indicating that the job is related to printing an adjustment chart (hereinafter, also referred to as adjustment chart print job information) to the setting information of the print job. In S1604, the CPU 202 performs printing processing of the adjustment chart using the paper feed tray selected in S1602. Details of the processing in S1604 will be described separately below. In S1605, the CPU 202 causes the operation display unit 210 to display information indicating an instruction to scan the output adjustment chart using the scanner unit . Then, the CPU 202 waits for scanning of the adjustment chart to be performed in S1606. When the CPU 202 recognizes that the adjustment chart has been scanned in S1606, it executes an adjustment process (e.g., a gradation correction process) based on the contents of the scanned adjustment chart in S1607. Note that since a known technique can be applied to this adjustment process, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In S1608, the CPU 202 causes the operation display unit 210 to display information indicating that the adjustment process has been completed, and then ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

[0058] Next, an example of a process related to printing an adjustment chart will be described with reference to Fig. 17 and Fig. 18. Note that the series of processes shown in Fig. 17 is substantially similar to the printing process described with reference to Fig. 12, except for the paper feed determination process for the adjustment chart shown as S1703. Fig. 18 shows the paper feed determination process for the adjustment chart shown as S1703. Therefore, the series of processes shown in Fig. 18 will be mainly described here, and a detailed description of the process shown in Fig. 17 will be omitted.

[0059] In the series of processes shown in Fig. 18, the processes of S1804 and S1805 are different from the paper feed determination process described with reference to Fig. 13, but the other processes are substantially similar to the paper feed determination process. Therefore, the series of processes shown in Fig. 18 will be described focusing on the parts that are particularly different from the paper feed determination process shown in Fig. 13, and detailed descriptions of the parts that are substantially similar to the paper feed determination process will be omitted.

[0060] In S1804, the CPU 202 determines whether or not adjustment chart print job information has been added to the setting information of the print job. If the CPU 202 determines in S1804 that the adjustment chart print job information is not added to the setting information of the print job, the process proceeds to S1806. Note that the process from S1806 onwards is substantially similar to the process from S1304 onwards in the example shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S1804 that the adjustment chart print job information has been added to the setting information of the print job, the process proceeds to step S1805.

[0061] In S1805, the CPU 202 selects the paper feed tray selected in S1803 as the paper feed tray to be used in the target print job, and proceeds to S1812. That is, in this case, the selected paper feed tray is excluded from the target for deletion from the paper feed tray candidate list (in other words, it is excluded from the target of paper feed restriction). In S1812, the CPU 202 determines the paper feed tray selected in S1805 as the paper feed tray to be used for printing the adjustment chart, and ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

[0062] By applying the above-mentioned control, it is possible to print using the reserved paper feed tray even in the case of a print job for printing an adjustment chart, which is submitted without going through a printer driver and therefore does not have reserved paper feed tray usage information. Therefore, even when printing an adjustment chart, it is possible to perform printing that makes the most of the capabilities of the image forming device in order to achieve high-quality printing. For example, if paper feed cassette 1 is reserved and an instruction to execute a copy job is given via operation display unit 210 of the image forming apparatus specifying paper feed cassette 1 as the paper feed unit, an error occurs because reserved paper feed tray usage information is not provided in the setting information for the print job. Note that if a user issues a specific instruction to use the reserved paper feed tray before executing a copy job, it is possible to use the reserved paper feed tray even for a copy job.

[0063] Next, an example of another process that allows a reserved paper feed tray to be used for a similar print job by a different means than the process that allows a reserved paper feed tray to be used for a print job that does not use a printer driver, as described with reference to Fig. 16, will be described below with reference to Fig. 21. Note that in the series of processes shown in Fig. 21, the processes of S2101, S2102, and S2104 to S2107 are substantially similar to S1601, S1602, and S1604 to S1607 shown in Fig. 16. Therefore, the series of processes shown in Fig. 21 will be described by focusing on parts that are particularly different from the example shown in Fig. 16, and detailed description of parts that are substantially similar to the example shown in Fig. 16 will be omitted.

[0064] In step S2103, the CPU 202 sets the reserved paper feed tray to be used as usage information for the setting information of the print job of the adjustment chart. Next, in S2104, CPU 202 executes paper feed determination processing similar to the processing of S1203 shown in Fig. 12. At this time, when checking the setting information of the print job in S1304 shown in Fig. 13, CPU 202 refers to the usage information of the reserved paper feed tray set in S2103, determines that the target print job is a job that uses the reserved paper feed tray, and proceeds to processing S1305. Note that the subsequent processing is substantially the same as the paper feed determination processing shown in Fig. 13. By applying such control, adjustment processing using the paper feed tray selected in S2103 becomes possible. As described above, in the case of a job related to printing an adjustment chart, by setting the use of a reserved paper feed tray, it is possible to apply the paper feed determination process in the same way as for jobs submitted via the printer driver.

[0065] <Second embodiment> As a second embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of control applied to printing that does not require special paper will be described. In the above-mentioned first embodiment, an example of a mechanism that allows a reserved paper feed tray to be used even in the case of a print job that does not go through a printer driver, such as an adjustment chart print job, if the job is for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing. On the other hand, there are other print jobs that do not go through a printer driver besides the above-mentioned adjustment chart print job. Specific examples include a print job related to reception printing when a FAX is received, and a counter report print job for checking the cumulative number of printed sheets and the amount of toner used by the image forming device 100. For such print jobs, it is considered that there is little possibility that high-quality printing or paper is required as long as the output contents can be confirmed, and the type of paper used for output is often not important. For this reason, for example, it may be desirable not to use a reserved paper feed tray for such print jobs.

[0066] An example of print processing based on a received print job when a FAX is received (FAX reception print) will be described with reference to FIG. In S2201, the CPU 202 waits for reception of a FAX. If the CPU 202 determines in S2201 that a FAX has been received, the CPU 202 advances the process to S2202. In step S2202, the CPU 202 sets information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray will not be used as usage information for the setting information of the print job received in step S2201. In S2203, CPU 202 executes print processing based on the print job received in S2201. For example, the print processing described with reference to FIG. 12 is applied to the print processing shown as S2203. Then, CPU 202 determines that a setting has been made in S1304 to not use the reserved paper feed tray, and selects a paper feed tray to be used for printing from the list in which the reserved paper feed tray has been deleted from the paper feed target. As a specific example, when a FAX is received in the reserved state illustrated as the reservation setting screen 1501 in FIG. 15, one of paper feed cassettes 2 to 5 is selected as the paper feed tray to be used for printing.

[0067] <Third embodiment> As a third embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of control when special paper is not required when using an adjustment function will be described. In the above-mentioned first embodiment, an example of a case where a reserved paper feed tray is used when an adjustment process of operation control related to printing is executed is described. On the other hand, some adjustment processes of operation control related to printing may not need to be executed for each paper (for example, there is no effect due to differences in paper type). When such an adjustment process is executed, there is no need to use special paper stored in a reserved paper feed tray, so it may be desirable to control so that the reserved paper feed tray is not used. Therefore, in this embodiment, an example of a case where control is performed to avoid using the reserved paper feed tray according to the adjustment process to be executed even under a situation where an adjustment process of operation control related to printing is executed will be described. Note that, in this embodiment, for convenience, it is assumed that control to avoid using the reserved paper feed tray is applied when color misregistration correction is performed as an adjustment process.

[0068] An example of a setting screen for setting whether or not to use a reserved paper feed tray when performing adjustment processing will be described with reference to Fig. 24. The setting screen 2401 shown in Fig. 24 is displayed on the operation display unit 210 when, for example, a button 605 linked to a setting function related to the use of a reserved paper feed tray during adjustment is pressed on the setting screen 601 shown in Fig. 6. A list of adjustment processes is displayed on the setting screen 2401, and for each adjustment process, a button 2402 for applying a setting that enables the use of a reserved paper feed tray and a button 2403 for applying a setting that restricts the use of a reserved paper feed tray are displayed in association with each other. Also, the setting screen 2401 displays a button 2504 for returning the operation screen to the setting screen 601 that was called up. With this configuration, by pressing either button 2402 or 2403 for the target adjustment process, whether or not the reserved feed tray is used when the adjustment process is executed is switched. This makes it possible for the user to change, at their convenience, whether or not to use the reserved feed tray when an adjustment chart is output when the adjustment process is executed.

[0069] Next, with reference to FIG. 23, an example of adjustment processing of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing on a case where color misregistration correction processing is executed. In S2301, when CPU 202 detects that button 605 associated with color misregistration correction has been pressed on setting screen 601 shown in Fig. 6, CPU 202 displays a setting screen (not shown) related to color misregistration correction on operation display unit 210. The setting screen displayed at this time displays, for example, a start button for starting the color misregistration correction process and a cancel button for canceling the color misregistration correction process. Furthermore, when CPU 202 detects that the start button has been pressed, CPU 202 advances the process to S2302. On the other hand, when CPU 202 detects that the cancel button has been pressed, CPU 202 returns the operation screen to setting screen 601 that was the calling point.

[0070] In S2302, the CPU 202 determines whether or not a setting has been made to use a reserved paper feed tray when performing adjustment processing (color shift correction). Specifically, when button 2402 has been pressed on setting screen 2401 for color shift correction, the CPU 202 determines that a setting has been made to use a reserved paper feed tray. On the other hand, when button 2403 has been pressed for color shift correction, the CPU 202 determines that a setting has been made not to use a reserved paper feed tray. If the CPU 202 determines in step S2302 that a setting has been made to use the reserved paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S2303. Furthermore, if the CPU 202 determines in step S2302 that a setting has been made to not use the reserved paper feed tray, the CPU 202 advances the process to step S2304.

[0071] In step S2303, the CPU 202 sets information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray is to be used as usage information in the setting information of the print job. On the other hand, in step S2304, the CPU 202 sets information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray is not to be used as usage information in the setting information of the print job.

[0072] In step S2305, the CPU 202 executes a print process for an adjustment chart used for color shift correction. The print process is substantially the same as the print process described with reference to FIGS. In step S1304 of FIG. 13, when checking the setting information of the print job, the CPU 202 determines whether or not to use the reserved feed tray by referencing the usage information of the reserved feed tray set in step S2303 or S2304. Specifically, when information indicating that the reserved feed tray is to be used is set as the usage information in step S2303, the CPU 202 advances the process to step S1305. In this case, the search priority of the reserved feed tray is set higher than that of other feed trays, and the reserved feed tray is used when printing the adjustment chart. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S2304 that the reserved feed tray will not be used, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1306. In this case, the reserved feed tray is deleted from the feed tray candidate list. Therefore, even if the print job is an adjustment chart print job, the use of the reserved feed tray is restricted, and a feed tray other than the reserved feed tray is used when printing the adjustment chart. As described above, in this embodiment, the reserved paper feed tray is set not to be used for color misregistration correction, so the paper feed tray to be used for printing the adjustment chart is selected based on the list in which the reserved paper feed tray has been deleted from the candidates for the paper feed tray.

[0073] Next, in the processes of S2306 and S2307, the CPU 202 scans the adjustment chart output in the process of S2305, similarly to the processes of S1605 and S1606 shown in FIG. In S2308, the CPU 202 executes color shift correction based on the contents of the scanned adjustment chart (in other words, image data according to the scan result). In S2309, the CPU 202 displays a color misregistration correction end screen, and ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

[0074] As described above, the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment makes it possible to apply control to avoid using the reserved paper feed tray when outputting the adjustment chart in response to an instruction from the user, even in a situation where the adjustment function is being used. Note that the use of the reserved paper feed tray for each adjustment process is not limited to being controlled based on settings in response to instructions from the user via the setting screen 2401, and may be controlled based on initial settings stored in a storage area such as the storage unit 210, for example.

[0075] <Fourth embodiment> As a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of exception processing in the case of targeting print jobs other than print jobs that execute adjustment processing of operation control related to printing among print jobs that do not go through a printer driver will be described. In the above-mentioned second embodiment, an example of the case where the use of the reserved paper feed tray is restricted for print jobs that do not go through a printer driver and do not attach importance to the paper used for output is described. On the other hand, in such print jobs (for example, a received content output print when a FAX is received, etc.), a situation where it is desirable to print using special paper stored in the reserved paper feed tray may be assumed. Therefore, in this embodiment, an example of print job processing under such a situation will be described with reference to Figs. 25 to 27. Note that, in this embodiment, for convenience, various explanations will be given focusing on the case where a received print job when a FAX is received is the target.

[0076] When button 607 linked to a setting function related to FAX is pressed on setting screen 601 shown in Fig. 6, FAX setting screen 2601 shown in Fig. 26 is displayed. Button 2602 linked to a setting function related to the use of a reserved paper feed tray is displayed on FAX setting screen 2601. When button 2602 is pressed on FAX setting screen 2601, setting screen 2701 related to the use of a reserved paper feed tray when printing received FAX data shown in Fig. 27 is displayed. A button 2702 linked to a setting for using the reserved paper feed tray and a button 2703 linked to a setting for not using the reserved paper feed tray are displayed on the setting screen 2701. Also displayed on the setting screen 2701 is a button 2704 for returning the operation screen to the screen from which it was called (in this case, the FAX setting screen 2601). When the button 2702 is pressed on the setting screen 2701, the reserved paper feed tray can be used when printing received FAX data.

[0077] Next, with reference to FIG. 25, an example of the process of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing on the case where a FAX reception print process is executed. In S2501, the CPU 202 waits for reception of a FAX. When the CPU 202 recognizes that a FAX has been received, the process proceeds to S2502.

[0078] In S2502, the CPU 202 determines whether or not a setting has been made to use a reserved paper feed tray in printing received FAX data. When CPU 202 determines in S2502 that a setting has been made to use a reserved paper feed tray in the printing of received FAX data, CPU 202 advances the process to S2503. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in S2502 that the setting to use the reserved paper feed tray for printing received FAX data has not been made, the process proceeds to S2504.

[0079] In step S2503, the CPU 202 sets information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray is to be used as usage information in the setting information of the print job. On the other hand, in step S2504, the CPU 202 sets information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray is not to be used as usage information in the setting information of the print job.

[0080] In S2505, the CPU 202 executes a print process for printing the received fax data, which is substantially the same as the print process described with reference to Figs. In step S1304 of FIG. 13, when checking the setting information of the print job, the CPU 202 determines whether or not to use the reserved feed tray by referencing the usage information of the reserved feed tray set in step S2503 or S2504. Specifically, when information indicating that the reserved paper feed tray is to be used is set as the usage information by the processing in S2503, CPU 202 advances the processing to S1305. In this case, the search priority of the reserved paper feed tray is set higher than that of other paper feed trays, and the reserved paper feed tray is used when printing the adjustment chart even if the target print job is a print job related to the print processing of a fax reception print. On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S2504 that the reserved feed tray will not be used, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1306. In this case, the reserved feed tray is deleted from the feed tray candidate list. This limits the use of the reserved feed tray, and a feed tray other than the reserved feed tray is used when printing received faxes.

[0081] By applying the above-described control, even in the case of a print job that does not go through a printer driver and does not place importance on the paper used for output, it is possible to use special paper stored in a reserved paper feed tray for printing by setting an exception setting.

[0082] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0083] The disclosure of the present embodiment also includes the following configurations, methods, and programs. (Configuration 1) An image forming apparatus characterized by having: an accepting means for accepting designation of a first paper feeding unit for feeding paper used for printing; a restricting means for restricting paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit set for usage restriction is not added to the print job; and a control means for excluding the first paper feeding unit designated for the first print job from the paper feeding restriction by the restricting means when the target print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operational control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job. (Configuration 2) The image forming apparatus according to configuration 1, wherein the adjustment process is at least one of adjustment of the print position of the image, correction of color shift in the print result, and correction of gradation in the print result. (Configuration 3) An image forming apparatus as described in configuration 1 or 2, further comprising an addition means for, when a target print job is the first print job, adding permission information to the first print job that allows paper feeding from the first paper feeding unit specified in the first print job, and the control means, when a target print job is the first print job, excludes the first paper feeding unit from the paper feeding restriction by the restriction means based on the permission information added to the first print job by the addition means, even if the acceptance means accepts the designation of the second paper feeding unit as the first paper feeding unit. (Configuration 4) The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, characterized in that the control means subjects the target print job to paper feeding restriction by the restriction means in response to instructions from a user, even when the target print job is the first print job. (Configuration 5) An image forming apparatus as described in any one of configurations 1 to 4, characterized in having a determination means for determining whether a target print job is a second print job of a predetermined type different from the first print job when the permission information is not added to the target print job, and an assignment means for assigning the permission information indicating a restriction on paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit to the print job when the determination means determines that the print job is the second print job. (Configuration 6) The image forming apparatus according to configuration 5, wherein the second print job is a print job to which a setting that does not limit the type of paper used for printing is applied. (Configuration 7) The image forming apparatus according to configuration 5 or 6, wherein the control means excludes the target print job from the paper feed restriction by the restriction means in response to an instruction from a user, even if the target print job is the second print job. (Method 1) A control method for an image forming device, comprising: a receiving step for receiving designation of a first paper feeding unit for feeding paper to be used for printing; a restriction step for restricting paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit set for usage restriction when permission information indicating that paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit set for usage restriction is not added to the print job; and a control step for excluding the first paper feeding unit specified for the first print job from the paper feeding restriction in the restriction step when the target print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operational control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job. (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to function as an image forming apparatus, comprising: an accepting means for accepting designation of a first paper feeding unit for feeding paper used for printing; a restricting means for restricting paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from a second paper feeding unit set for usage restriction is not added to the print job; and a control means for excluding the first paper feeding unit designated for the first print job from the paper feeding restriction by the restricting means when the target print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operational control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 100 Image forming device 102~105 Paper feed cassette 106 Manual feed tray 202 CPU 210 Operation display section

Claims

1. a receiving unit for receiving a designation of a first paper feed unit for feeding paper to be used for printing; a restriction means for restricting paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit, for which a setting related to the restriction on use is set, is not added to the print job; a control means for excluding the first paper feed unit designated for the first print job from the paper feed restriction by the restriction means when the print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment process is a process related to at least one of adjustment of a print position of an image, correction of color shift in a printed result, and correction of gradation in a printed result.

3. an adding unit for adding, when the target print job is the first print job, permission information for allowing paper feeding from the first paper feeding unit specified in the first print job to the first print job; When the target print job is the first print job, even if the receiving means receives a designation of the second paper feed unit as the first paper feed unit, the control means excludes the first paper feed unit from the paper feed restriction target imposed by the restriction means based on the permission information added to the first print job by the adding means.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises:

4. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit limits paper feeding by the limiting unit in response to an instruction from a user even when the target print job is the first print job.

5. a determination unit that, when the permission information is not added to the target print job, determines whether the print job is a second print job of a predetermined type different from the first print job; an assignment means for assigning the permission information indicating a restriction on paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit to the print job when the determination means determines that the print job is the second print job; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

6. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second print job is a print job to which a setting that does not limit the type of paper used for printing is applied.

7. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control means excludes the target print job from the paper feed restriction by the restriction means in response to an instruction from a user even when the target print job is the second print job.

8. A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a designation of a first paper feed unit for feeding paper to be used for printing; a restricting step of restricting paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit set with respect to the restriction of use is permitted is not added to the print job; a control step of excluding the first paper feed unit specified for the first print job from the paper feed restriction target in the restriction step when the print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process of operation control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job; 2. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus, comprising:

9. Computer, a receiving unit for receiving a designation of a first paper feed unit for feeding paper to be used for printing; a restriction means for restricting paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit when permission information indicating that paper feeding from the second paper feeding unit, for which a setting related to the restriction on use is set, is not added to the print job; a control means for excluding the first paper feed unit designated for the first print job from the paper feed restriction by the restriction means when the print job is a first print job for executing an adjustment process for operation control related to printing, even if the permission information is not added to the print job; 2. A program for causing an image forming apparatus to function as an image forming apparatus, comprising:

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