Support program

Abstract

To provide a technique for performing printing in color tones that a user prefers, in an information processing apparatus with OS-standard general-purpose printing program.SOLUTION: An auxiliary program 42 is configured to cause, when a print instruction output from an editing application 43 to cause a printer 2 to print an image is issued to a general-purpose printing program 41 of an OS 21, and when intermediate data is input from the general-purpose printing program 41 to the auxiliary program 42, a CPU 11 to display a preview image corresponding to an image to be printed based on the intermediate data on a user IF 13 and receive a modification of a setting value for an item related to color balance in print settings while the preview image is being displayed. The auxiliary program 42 is configured to perform, in a case that the setting value is modified, a process of causing the printer 2 to print the image to be printed, according to the modified setting value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program that supports control of a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] As a technology for controlling a printer from an information processing device such as a personal computer, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a printer driver provided by a printer vendor displays a screen for adjusting colors, and the screen accepts changes to the settings of items such as hue, saturation, and brightness. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-89119 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use that controls a printer using a general-purpose print program that is part of the operating system (OS) and does not use the printer driver provided by the printer vendor mentioned above. With this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates it with the general-purpose print program that is standard to the OS, and thereafter, when a print instruction is received for that printer, the general-purpose print program that is standard to the OS generates print data without using a printer driver provided by the printer vendor, making it possible to print using the general-purpose print program that is standard to the OS.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned OS standard general-purpose printing program does not have a color adjustment function that accepts changes to the settings of items related to color balance, as has been the case in printer drivers provided by printer vendors up until now. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust the color balance as described above, and the result may not be printed in the color tone that the user prefers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A support program devised for solving the above-mentioned problems is executable by a computer of an information processing device, and is a support program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device, the information processing device being equipped with an operating system having a general-purpose printing program, and the computer is configured to execute a preview process for displaying a preview image corresponding to the image to be printed based on the intermediate data using a user interface of the information processing device when a print instruction is output from an application program incorporated in the information processing device, the print instruction being to cause the printer to print an image to the general-purpose printing program, and intermediate data indicating an image to be printed by the print instruction is input from the general-purpose printing program to the support program, and a setting change process for accepting a change in a setting value of an item related to color balance among print settings for the print instruction while the preview image is displayed in the preview process, and further, when the setting value is changed by the setting change process, to cause the computer to perform a process for causing the printer to print the image to be printed in accordance with the changed setting value.

[0007] The support program disclosed in this specification, when a print instruction is given to the general-purpose print program, displays a preview image corresponding to the image to be printed by the print instruction, and accepts changes to the settings of the items related to color balance while the preview image is being displayed. Furthermore, when the settings are changed, the support program causes the printer to print according to the changed settings. This makes it possible to print an image with the color tone adjusted to the user's preference.

[0008] An information processing device incorporating the above-mentioned support program, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology that enables printing in a color tone preferred by a user in an information processing device in which a general-purpose print program that is standard for the OS is installed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a print setting procedure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detailed setting screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a printing execution procedure. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a color adjustment preview process. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a preview screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a storage selection screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a storage selection screen. [Figure 9]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a color adjustment value storage table. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a preview screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a "PC") using the support program of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses a support program executed on a PC.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the PC1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Fig. 1 is a collective term for hardware and software used to control the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the PC1.

[0013] The CPU 11 of the PC 1 executes various processes according to the programs read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operation. The memory 12 stores various programs and various data. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of a memory. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC 1, but may be a storage medium that can be read and written by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes a display 13a, which is hardware that displays a screen for notifying the user of information, and hardware that accepts operations by the user. The user IF 13 may be a combination of the display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, or the like having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel having the function of the display 13a and the input acceptance function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as the printer 2. The communication standards of the communication IF 14 include Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The PC 1 may be connectable to the Internet via the communication IF 14. The PC 1 may include multiple communication IFs 14 compatible with multiple communication standards.

[0016] 1, the memory 12 of the PC 1 stores various programs and data including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose print program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and an editing application 43. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program. The editing application 43 is an example of an application program.

[0017] The OS 21 is a multitasking OS that can process multiple tasks in parallel by managing and switching between multiple tasks. Examples of the OS 21 include Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), and Android (registered trademark).

[0018] The OS 21 includes a generic printing program 41. The generic printing program 41 is a standard OS program prepared by the OS 21 vendor and provided as part of the OS 21. In other words, the PC 1 is equipped with the OS 21 having the generic printing program 41. The generic printing program 41 is not configured to use a printer driver specific to each printer.

[0019] The generic printing program 41 is a program that has the function of printing on multiple models of printers provided by multiple vendors based on user instructions. The generic printing program 41 supports generic functions that allow printing on many printers. Unlike printer drivers specific to each printer, the generic printing program 41 does not support functions specific to each printer or printer driver, particularly functions that require complex processing.

[0020] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program including a function of receiving image data designated as a print target in a print instruction output from various applications based on a user instruction, and generating intermediate data based on the image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general-purpose printing program 41 further has a function of generating print data in a format that can be used for printing by various printers based on the intermediate data. The print data is, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. The general-purpose printing program 41 also has a function of transmitting the generated print data to a printer designated as a device to execute printing via a communication function of the OS 21.

[0021] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in association with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is provided, for example, by the vendor of the printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 when the printer 2 is selected as the device that will execute printing, when an instruction for detailed print settings is received while the printer 2 is selected, when an instruction to execute printing on the printer 2 is received, etc. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support app (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support app (abbreviated as HSA).

[0022] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs that each accept an execution command, or a single program that can execute different processes according to commands. The auxiliary program may also be a program prepared by a printer vendor for each printer type. For example, an auxiliary program for inkjet printers and an auxiliary program for laser printers may be prepared. There may be an auxiliary program prepared not only for each printer type, but also for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0023] For example, when a new printer is connected to the PC 1, the OS 21 of the PC 1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program according to the type and model of the connected printer from a server of the printer vendor or the like and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 stores in the memory 12 the identification information of the installed auxiliary program in association with the printer information of the newly connected printer.

[0024] The editing application 43 is, for example, a program for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft's Word (registered trademark) or PowerPoint (registered trademark), or may be a program provided by the vendor of the printer 2. The editing application 43 can receive, for example, a print instruction for causing the printer 2 to execute printing via the user IF 13. Note that the editing application 43 is not limited to a program for creating and editing data, and may be a program having a function of receiving a display instruction or a print instruction for various information such as map information and web pages in response to a user request.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2 via the communication IF 14. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. For example, when the printer 2 receives print data from the PC 1 or the like, it can execute printing based on the received print data. The printer 2 of this embodiment is a device capable of color printing.

[0026] Next, the procedure for causing the printer 2 to print in the PC 1 of this embodiment will be described. Note that each process in this embodiment basically indicates processing by the CPU 11 according to commands written in a program such as the auxiliary program 42. Processing by the CPU 11 also includes control of hardware using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the operation of each program will be described without a detailed description of the OS 21. Also, "obtain" is used as a concept that does not require a request.

[0027] As a procedure for printing, first, a print setting procedure for accepting print settings will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 2. The editing application 43 accepts creation and editing of text and images based on user instructions. When the user wants to print the text or image being displayed, the user selects print in the editing application 43 (A01). The user can select print from a menu of operation items provided in the editing application 43, for example.

[0028] When the editing application 43 accepts the selection of printing, it notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the OS 21 that it has accepted an instruction regarding printing (A02). Upon receiving the notification from the editing application 43, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays a print setting screen on the user IF 13 (A03). The print setting screen is a screen that accepts user instructions regarding various print settings that can be accepted by the general-purpose printing program 41. The print setting screen may be displayed by the editing application 43.

[0029] The general-purpose printing program 41 can receive an instruction to select a device to execute printing on the displayed print setting screen and an instruction to start detailed print setting. When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives an instruction to start detailed print setting with the printer 2 selected as the device to execute printing (A11), the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 and passes an instruction to start accepting detailed print setting (A12).

[0030] When the auxiliary program 42 is started in response to the instruction of A12, it acquires the capability information of the printer 2. For example, the auxiliary program 42 requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire the capability information (A13). The general-purpose printing program 41 sends a command requesting the capability information to the printer 2 and acquires the capability information from the printer 2 (A14). The general-purpose printing program 41 passes the acquired capability information to the auxiliary program 42 (A15). This allows the auxiliary program 42 to acquire the capability information of the printer 2.

[0031] The general-purpose printing program 41 communicates with the printer 2 in A14 via the OS 21, for example, by communication according to IPP (abbreviation of internet printing protocol). The auxiliary program 42 may obtain capability information directly from the printer 2, for example, by using MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base), instead of making a request to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0032] The capability information acquired from the printer 2 includes information on parameters that can be set as print settings. The capability information may further include, for example, information on remaining amounts of consumables, information on selectable trays, paper information on paper set in each tray, and information on available print resolutions. The printer 2 may also have a function of performing image processing based on a received print instruction and printing based on data after image processing, such as a function of performing aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermarks, and economical printing that saves on coloring materials. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that can be executed by the printer 2, the printer 2 may pass capability information including information on the function. The printer 2 may also pass capability information including information indicating its own status.

[0033] The auxiliary program 42 displays a detailed setting screen for accepting detailed print settings on the user IF 13 based on the acquired capability information (A17). For example, as shown in Fig. 3, a detailed setting screen 50 displayed by the auxiliary program 42 includes, as options, parameters that can be executed by the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 can accept various print settings by user operations on the displayed detailed setting screen 50 (A21).

[0034] The detailed setting screen 50 includes, for example, a radio button 51 for accepting a selection of displaying a preview image before printing, and an OK button 52 for accepting an instruction to end the setting. The process of accepting an operation on the radio button 51 is an example of a selection process.

[0035] Although details will be described later, the auxiliary program 42 can accept changes to the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance while the preview image is displayed. In this case, operation of the radio button 51 may be enabled when "color printing" is selected in the color settings. The auxiliary program 42 may also be capable of accepting settings of the items related to color balance on the detailed settings screen 50, for example.

[0036] When an operation on the OK button 52 is accepted (A22), the auxiliary program 42 stores the accepted print settings (A23) and notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of acceptance of the detailed print settings (A25). Based on the notification from the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41 notifies the editing application 43 of the end of the print settings (A26). The auxiliary program 42 may also notify the editing application 43 of the end of acceptance of the print settings. The editing application 43 becomes available to accept user instructions, such as an instruction to execute printing or an instruction to cancel printing.

[0037] The print setting screen displayed in A03 by the general-purpose printing program 41 may include an information display field capable of displaying an image prepared by the auxiliary program 42. When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives an operation on the information display field, the program may pass information on the operation to the auxiliary program 42. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may display, for example, a radio button in the information display field for receiving a selection of whether or not to display a preview before printing, and may be capable of receiving the selection.

[0038] Next, the print execution procedure will be described with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 4. After the user determines the image to be printed and the print settings, the user inputs an instruction to execute printing in the editing application 43 (B01). If the OS 21 includes a general-purpose printing program 41, the editing application 43 can receive an execution instruction to the general-purpose printing program 41 to cause the printer 2 to print the selected image.

[0039] The editing application 43 passes the received print instruction information to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B02). The general-purpose printing program 41 acquires, from the editing application 43, image data indicating an image to be printed and information indicating print settings as the print instruction information.

[0040] The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data by converting the format of the image data of the image to be printed into the format of intermediate data based on the information acquired from the editing application 43 (B03). The image data included in the editing application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate data suitable for generating print data. Note that if the image data to be printed is suitable for generating print data, the generation of the intermediate data may be omitted and the intermediate data may be used as is.

[0041] Note that, before generating the intermediate data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may start an auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2, which is the designated device, and notify the printer 2 of the start of processing of a print job corresponding to a print instruction output from the editing application 43. When started from the general-purpose printing program 41, the auxiliary program 42 can pass information indicating various instructions used when generating the intermediate data to the general-purpose printing program 41 as necessary.

[0042] After generating the intermediate data, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 and notifies it of the generation of the intermediate data (B05). The auxiliary program 42 can obtain the intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 and information on print settings associated with the print job, for example, by making a request to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B06).

[0043] Then, the auxiliary program 42 checks the intermediate data and print setting information received from the general-purpose printing program 41 based on the accepted print settings (for example, the print settings stored in A23 of FIG. 2) and the capabilities of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 edits the intermediate data as necessary (B07).

[0044] 2 is not executed, such as when an instruction to execute printing is received without an instruction for print settings from the user, the procedure for acquiring the capability information of the printer 2 (A13 to A15 in FIG. 2) may not be executed. If the capability information of the printer 2 is not acquired, the auxiliary program 42 may, for example, receive a notification of B05 and request the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire the capability information of the printer 2.

[0045] The auxiliary program 42 passes the intermediate data confirmed and edited in B07 to the general-purpose printing program 41, and requests the general-purpose printing program 41 to rasterize (B11). The general-purpose printing program 41 rasterizes the intermediate data and generates raster data, which is bitmap data (B12). Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated raster data to the auxiliary program 42 (B13). As a result, the auxiliary program 42 obtains the raster data. B11 to B13 are an example of a rasterization process.

[0046] Note that the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization instead of the general-purpose printing program 41. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 executes rasterization based on the intermediate data to generate raster data. The rasterization process by the auxiliary program 42 in this case is an example of a rasterization process.

[0047] Rasterization by the auxiliary program 42 allows greater freedom than rasterization by the general-purpose printing program 41, and is more likely to generate raster data suitable for printing by the printer 2. On the other hand, if rasterization is performed by the general-purpose printing program 41, the processing by the auxiliary program 42 is less, and the program size of the auxiliary program 42 can be reduced.

[0048] If the accepted print settings include information indicating a selection to display a preview image (opt:[Preview]), the auxiliary program 42 executes a color adjustment preview process (B21). The color adjustment preview process displays a preview image and accepts changes to the settings of items related to color balance in this state.

[0049] For example, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an operation on the OK button 52 while the radio button 51 indicating the selection of preview display is selected on the detailed setting screen 50 shown in Fig. 3, the auxiliary program 42 determines that the display of a preview image has been selected. On the other hand, when the auxiliary program 42 receives an operation on the OK button 52 while the radio button 51 is not selected, the auxiliary program 42 determines that the display of a preview image has not been selected and does not execute the color adjustment preview process.

[0050] If a preview is displayed every time a print command is issued, the user may find it annoying. In this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 accepts a selection of whether or not to display a preview image before printing, and displays a preview image when the selection of displaying a preview image is accepted, whereas if the selection of displaying a preview image is not accepted, the auxiliary program 42 performs processing for printing without displaying a preview image or accepting changes to the settings of the items related to color balance. This allows printing to be completed quickly without bothering users who do not need a preview display.

[0051] The color adjustment preview process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. The color adjustment preview process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the description of the auxiliary program 42. In the color adjustment preview process, the CPU 11 first acquires the setting values ​​of each item related to color balance included in the print settings set for the print instruction (C01). Items related to color balance include, for example, brightness, contrast, saturation, and color intensity of each RGB color. The CPU 11 acquires the setting value for each item. The auxiliary program 42 may further be able to accept the setting value of the item of black intensity. The CPU 11 sets the setting value acquired in C01 as the default value thereafter.

[0052] The print settings may be, for example, included in the information acquired from the general-purpose print program 41 in B06 of the print execution procedure shown in Fig. 4. Also, for example, when the print setting procedure shown in Fig. 2 is executed and the accepted print settings are stored in A23, the CPU 11 may acquire setting values ​​of items related to color balance from the stored print settings in C01. Also, if the print settings do not include information on setting values ​​of items related to color balance, the CPU 11 may acquire setting values ​​of standard items related to color balance that the auxiliary program 42 has.

[0053] CPU 11 generates a preview image of the raster data of the image to be printed using the obtained setting values ​​for the items related to color balance (C02). The raster data of the image to be printed is data obtained from general-purpose printing program 41 in B13 of the print execution procedure in FIG. 4. The raster data generated by general-purpose printing program 41 is, for example, bitmap data in which each dot is expressed by an RGB value. The color tone of the image to be printed may change depending on the rasterization method. In this embodiment, CPU 11 displays a preview image corresponding to the raster data, so that it is possible to preview an image that is close to the printed result.

[0054] Note that the general-purpose printing program 41 may or may not support some of the color balance items. If raster data is generated that takes into account the settings of the color balance items during rasterization using the general-purpose printing program 41, the CPU 11 may generate a preview image in C02 by directly using the raster data acquired from the general-purpose printing program 41. On the other hand, if at least one setting of the color balance items is not taken into account during rasterization using the general-purpose printing program 41, the CPU 11 may adjust the raster data acquired from the general-purpose printing program 41 by using the setting values ​​of the color balance items acquired in C01, and generate a preview image in C02 based on the adjusted raster data.

[0055] Then, the CPU 11 displays a preview screen including the generated preview image and accepting changes to the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance on the display 13a of the user IF 13 (C03). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the preview screen 60 includes a color setting field 61, a preview image 62, and a number of buttons 63-65 for accepting user instructions. The color setting field 61 is a field for accepting changes to the setting values ​​of each item related to color balance included in the print settings. The CPU 11 can accept a setting value indicating the degree of deviation from the standard setting value of the auxiliary program 42 for each item in the color setting field 61 of the preview screen 60, for example, within a range from -20 to +20.

[0056] Preview image 62 is an image showing an image to be printed. Auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment displays preview screen 60 including two preview images, preview image 621 using the default values ​​of the items related to color balance acquired in C01, and preview image 622 using the latest setting values ​​of the items related to color balance displayed in color setting field 61 of preview screen 60. However, in the first C03 before accepting an operation on color setting field 61, preview image 621 and preview image 622 are the same preview image. In other words, preview image 621 is an image generated in C02, and preview image 622 in this case is a copy of preview image 621. C03 is an example of a preview process.

[0057] The "Print" button 63 is a button that accepts an instruction to execute printing using the setting values ​​that are set in the currently displayed color setting field 61. The "Cancel Print" button 64 is a button that accepts an instruction to cancel printing of the image to be printed. The "Restore Default" button 65 is a button that accepts an instruction to restore the setting values ​​that are displayed in the color setting field 61 to the default values ​​that are the setting values ​​acquired in C01.

[0058] In the preview screen 60 shown in FIG. 6, the color setting field 61 and the preview image 62 are displayed on the same screen, but they may be displayed on separate screens. For example, the CPU 11 may display only the preview image 622 first, and then display the preview image 621 and the color setting field 61 upon receiving a user operation. In this way, the display of the preview screen 60 becomes simple and easy for the user to view. On the other hand, if the color setting field 61 and the preview image 62 are displayed on the same screen as in the preview screen 60 shown in FIG. 6, the user can easily grasp the current setting value and the preview image based on the setting value at a glance, and adjust the color balance more easily.

[0059] Then, CPU 11 accepts a user operation on preview screen 60 being displayed. CPU 11 determines whether or not an instruction to change a setting value for any item in color setting field 61 has been accepted (C11). If it is determined that an instruction to change a setting value has been accepted (C11: YES), CPU 11 uses the changed setting value to generate a preview image showing the image to be printed (C12), and proceeds to C03 to redisplay preview screen 60. In other words, if a change in a setting value for an item related to color balance has been accepted, CPU 11 also changes preview image 622 in accordance with the change.

[0060] For example, when the setting value of the brightness item is changed to be larger, CPU 11 generates preview image 622 in which the RGB values ​​of each dot are generally larger. Also, when the setting value of the red item is changed to be smaller, CPU 11 generates preview image 622 in which the R value of each dot is smaller.

[0061] In this case, CPU 11 changes only preview image 622, and does not change preview image 621. In this case, C11 is an example of a setting change process, and C12 and C03 are examples of a preview change process. When an instruction to change a setting value is received, CPU 11 changes and displays one of the preview images 622 in accordance with the instruction, and displays the other preview image 621 with the default value unchanged. This makes it easier for the user to grasp the changes in the print result and color tone that accompany the change in the setting value, and makes it easier to adjust the color balance.

[0062] When it is determined that an instruction to change the setting value has not been received (C11: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether a print instruction has been received by operating the "Print" button 63 (C21). When it is determined that a print instruction has been received (C21: YES), the CPU 11 pops up a screen on the user IF 13 to receive a user selection of whether or not to store the setting value of the item related to the color balance used in the current print as a default value for the next print (C22). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 11 displays a storage selection screen 70 including a "Store" button 71 and a "Do not store" button 72. Then, the CPU 11 waits until an operation on the button 71 or 72 is received (C23). C22 and C23 are examples of a storage instruction process.

[0063] When it is determined that an operation on the "Store" button 71 has been accepted (C23: Store), the CPU 11 stores the setting value displayed in the color setting field 61 in the memory 12 as the default value for the next print instruction (C24). C24 is an example of a storage process. Note that the CPU 11 may not execute C22 to C24 if it has never accepted an instruction to change the setting value (YES in C11) or if the setting value at the time when the operation on the "Print" button 63 was accepted matches the default value. Also, if the previous default value of the item related to color balance has already been stored in the memory 12, the CPU 11 may overwrite and update the setting value of the item related to color balance to be used for the current print in C24.

[0064] When a new print instruction is received with the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance stored in memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 reads out the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance stored in memory 12 and sets them as the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance included in the print settings. For example, when displaying the detailed setting screen in A17 of the print setting procedure shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary program 42 can read out the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance from memory 12 and apply them as part of the print settings. A17 in this case is an example of a changed setting value reading process. The setting values ​​of the items related to color balance used in the current print are stored and set as default values ​​for the print settings for the next print, so that the same color balance can be used for the next print.

[0065] After C24, or when the "Do not remember" button 72 is operated (C23: do not remember), the CPU 11 decides that the setting value being displayed in the color setting column 61 is the setting value for the item related to color balance for the current print (C25). In other words, the CPU 11 remembers the setting value for the item related to color balance in response to receiving an instruction to remember the changed setting value for the item related to color balance, but can also accept an instruction not to remember if the user wishes to change the color balance temporarily, providing a high degree of freedom in changing the color balance.

[0066] The auxiliary program 42 may be capable of storing not only the current set value but also a plurality of sets of set values. In this case, the CPU 11 may pop up a storage selection screen 80 on the user IF 13 in C22, which accepts three options, "overwrite and store," "store as," and "don't store," as shown in Fig. 8. If "store as" is selected, the CPU 11 further accepts input of a name, and stores the current set value and the input name in association with each other as a set of set values ​​in the memory 12, as shown in Fig. 9.

[0067] When multiple sets of setting values ​​are stored in memory 12, CPU 11 may provide a selection field 66 for accepting selection of each set of setting values ​​for items related to color balance on preview screen 60 as shown in Fig. 10, and may accept selection of a set of default values ​​from among the multiple sets of stored setting values. If multiple sets of setting values ​​can be stored and selection of one of the stored sets of setting values ​​can be accepted in setting color balance when issuing a print instruction, the user can selectively reuse a set of setting values ​​that was changed in the past, making it easy to adjust to a preferred color tone.

[0068] If it is determined that a print instruction has not been accepted (C21: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether or not an instruction to cancel printing has been accepted by operating the "Cancel printing" button 64 (C31). If it is determined that an instruction to cancel printing has been accepted (C31: YES), the CPU 11 decides not to print (C32) and ends the color adjustment preview process.

[0069] If it is determined that an instruction to cancel printing has not been accepted (C31: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether or not operation of the "Restore Default" button 65 has been accepted (C41). If it is determined that an instruction to restore the setting value to the default value has been accepted by operation of the "Restore Default" button 65 (C41: YES), the CPU 11 restores the setting value displayed in the color setting column 61 to the default value (C42).

[0070] Furthermore, CPU 11 generates a preview image using default values ​​as setting values ​​for items related to color balance (C43), proceeds to C03, and displays this as preview image 622. In this case, CPU 11 may copy preview image 621 to generate preview image 622. The operation of "restore to default" button 65 is an example of an initialization instruction, and C43 and C03 in this case are an example of setting initialization processing.

[0071] Even if the user changes the setting value in the color setting field 61 of the preview screen 60, there are cases where the user thinks that the default color balance is better, and there are also cases where multiple changes make it impossible to return to the default color balance. By accepting an operation on the "return to default" button 65, the setting value can be easily returned to the default value, making it easier for the user to adjust the color balance.

[0072] If it is determined that the operation of the "Restore Default" button 65 has not been accepted either (C41: NO), the CPU 11 waits until the user's operation results in YES in any of C11, C21, C31, and C41. Then, after C25 or C32, the CPU 11 ends the color adjustment preview process and returns to the print execution procedure of FIG.

[0073] Returning to the description of the print execution procedure in Fig. 4, if a color adjustment preview process is executed in B21 and it is decided to print in C25, or if a setting not to preview is accepted (alt: [Print]), the auxiliary program 42 encodes the raster data into PDL data to generate print data (B31). The print data generated in B31 may be data in a format that can be printed by the printer 2. Note that the PDL data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may also be data in a format that can be used for printing on printers other than the model of the printer 2.

[0074] When the color adjustment preview process is executed in B21, the auxiliary program 42 generates PDL data with color balance adjusted using the setting values ​​determined in C25 of the color adjustment preview process. The auxiliary program 42 may process raster data based on the setting values ​​of items related to color balance, or may process CMYK data in which RGB values ​​are converted to CMYK values. As a result, when a change in the setting value of an item related to color balance is accepted, PDL data is generated based on the changed raster data.

[0075] On the other hand, if a selection not to perform a preview is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 does not execute a color adjustment preview process, and starts processing for printing without displaying a preview image or changing the color balance. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 executes processing for causing the printer 2 to print according to the print settings acquired in B06 and the setting values ​​set in the print settings stored in A23 of Fig. 2. Therefore, printing can be completed quickly.

[0076] The auxiliary program 42 passes the generated print data to the general-purpose print program 41 and instructs it to send it to the printer 2 (B32). B32 is an example of a process for causing the printer 2 to print the image to be printed. In response to the instruction from the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose print program 41 sends the print data to the printer 2 and instructs it to print (B33). The printer 2 executes printing based on the received print data (B34). This generates a printed matter. The auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose print program 41 that the processing related to this print has ended in response to the print instruction from B32 (B35).

[0077] Instead of passing the print data to the general-purpose printing program 41 and having the general-purpose printing program 41 send it to the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may send a print command instructing the printer 2 to execute printing and the print data. This procedure is also an example of a process for making the printer 2 print the image to be printed. For example, when the print settings include settings related to image processing that can be executed by the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may generate a print command that also includes information on that processing. In this case, too, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of completion information after completing transmission of the print data.

[0078] On the other hand, if the color adjustment preview process is executed in B21 and it is decided not to print in C32, that is, if the operation of the "Cancel Print" button 64 on the preview screen 60 is accepted, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of a notification to cancel printing (B41). As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 cancels the processing of the print job and does not cause the printer 2 to print.

[0079] As described above in detail, when a print instruction is output from the editing application 43 to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B02 in FIG. 4) and intermediate data is input from the general-purpose printing program 41 (B06 in FIG. 4), the auxiliary program 42 in this embodiment displays a preview image corresponding to the image to be printed (C03 in the color adjustment preview process in FIG. 5). Furthermore, while the preview image is being displayed, the auxiliary program 42 accepts changes to the setting values ​​of items related to color balance. When the setting values ​​are changed, the auxiliary program 42 causes the printer 2 to print according to the changed setting values. This makes it possible to print an image adjusted to the user's preferred color tone.

[0080] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can be naturally improved and modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the technology. For example, the device connected to PC1 to perform printing is not limited to a printer with a single printing function, but may be a multifunction device, a copier, a fax machine, or any other device with a printing function. In addition, the number of printers connected to PC1 may be two or more.

[0081] 3, radio button 51 is displayed to accept the selection of whether or not to display a preview image, but this selection does not have to be accepted. For example, when color printing is selected, auxiliary program 42 may automatically display a preview image and accept changes to the setting values ​​of items related to color balance.

[0082] Also, for example, when a print instruction is received, a pop-up is displayed to accept the selection of whether or not to store the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance, but the preview screen 60 may have a button to accept the instruction to store the setting values. Also, the selection of whether or not to store the setting values ​​may not be accepted. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may be configured to always store only the most recent setting values.

[0083] Also, the preview image 621 on the preview screen 60 does not have to be displayed. That is, the auxiliary program 42 may be configured to display only the preview image 622 as the preview image 62. Also, the preview screen 60 may be capable of accepting changes to print settings other than the color balance. Also, the "restore to default" button 65 may not be present.

[0084] The auxiliary program 42 may also be able to accept changes to the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance on the detailed setting screen 50 (FIG. 3) displayed in A17 of the print setting procedure shown in FIG. 2. In that case, if the setting values ​​of the items related to color balance are stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 may apply the stored setting values ​​as default values.

[0085] Furthermore, when the user changes the normally used printer from another printer to printer 2 via OS 21 after the print setting screen is displayed by the general-purpose printing program 41, the general-purpose printing program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may also display an information screen that can accept changes to the setting values ​​of items related to color balance, for example. In this case, too, if default values ​​for items related to color balance are stored in memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 may read out the stored setting values ​​and display them as default values.

[0086] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may be started not only when printing is selected, but also when, for example, printer 2 is selected as a device setting. Even in this case, the auxiliary program 42 may display a setting screen that can accept setting values ​​for items related to color balance. When a setting value for an item related to color balance is accepted as a device setting, the auxiliary program 42 stores information on the accepted setting value as a default print setting.

[0087] In the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles. The program that executes the process of the present embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, but may be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when printing is performed using the general-purpose printing program 41. For example, it may be a print workflow application (Print workflow) whose specifications have been published by Microsoft.

[0088] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may be executed in response to a direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or the auxiliary program 42 may be resident. If the auxiliary program 42 is resident, it is sufficient that the auxiliary program 42 performs the above-mentioned operation upon receiving an execution command.

[0089] In addition, in any of the flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments, the order of execution of multiple processes in any of the steps can be arbitrarily changed or the processes can be executed in parallel as long as no contradiction occurs in the process content.

[0090] The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as ASIC, or a combination of these. The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be realized in various forms, such as a recording medium having a program for executing the processes recorded thereon, or a method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU 12. Memory 13 User Interface

Claims

1. A support program executable by a computer of an information processing device and corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device, the information processing device being equipped with an operating system having a general-purpose printing program; The computer includes: When a print instruction is output from an application program installed in the information processing device, the print instruction is for causing the general-purpose print program to print an image on the printer, and intermediate data indicating an image to be printed in accordance with the print instruction is input from the general-purpose print program to the support program, a preview process for displaying a preview image corresponding to the image to be printed based on the intermediate data using a user interface of the information processing device; a setting change process for accepting a change in a setting value of an item related to color balance among print settings for the print instruction while the preview image is being displayed in the preview process; Run the command, The computer further comprises: When the setting value is changed by the setting change process, a process is performed to cause the printer to print the image to be printed in accordance with the changed setting value. A support program configured to:

2. 2. A support program as claimed in claim 1, The computer includes: executing a preview change process for changing the preview image displayed by the preview process in accordance with the changed setting value when the setting value is changed by the setting change process; A support program configured to:

3. A support program according to claim 2, In the preview process, displaying the preview image corresponding to the image to be printed and the setting values ​​of the items related to the color balance on the same screen; A support program configured to:

4. A support program according to claim 2, The setting change process includes: a setting initialization process of receiving an initialization instruction for resetting the setting value to a default value while the preview image is being displayed in the preview process; A support program configured to:

5. A support program according to claim 2, In the preview process, displaying two of the preview images corresponding to the image to be printed; In the preview change process, when the setting value is changed by the setting change process, one of the two preview images displayed by the preview process is changed in accordance with the changed setting value, and the other is not changed; A support program configured to:

6. A support program according to claim 2, The computer includes: When the setting value is changed by the setting change process, a storage process is executed to store the changed setting value in a memory of the information processing device, and in the storage process, when the setting value has already been stored by the previous storage process, the setting value is overwritten and updated by the current storage process; The computer further comprises: and executing a changed setting value reading process for reading out the stored setting value and setting it as the setting value of the item related to the color balance when the setting value of the item related to the color balance is stored in the memory for the print setting of a new print that is accepted after the print instruction for which the setting change process is executed. A support program configured to:

7. A support program according to claim 6, The computer includes: executing a storage instruction process for receiving an instruction to store the changed setting value, and executing the storage process when the instruction to store the changed setting value is received in the storage instruction process; A support program configured to:

8. A support program according to claim 2, The computer includes: When the setting value is changed by the setting change process, a storage process is executed to store the changed setting value in a memory of the information processing device, and the storage process is capable of storing a plurality of the setting values; In the setting change process, one of the setting values ​​stored in the memory is selectable, and when one of the setting values ​​stored in the memory is selected, a change to the selected setting value is accepted; A support program configured to:

9. 2. A support program as claimed in claim 1, The computer includes: When the print instruction is received and the intermediate data is input from the general-purpose print program to the support program, executing a rasterization process for rasterizing the intermediate data to generate raster data; In the preview process, displaying the preview image corresponding to the raster data generated by the rasterization process; A support program configured to:

10. 2. A support program as claimed in claim 1, The computer includes: executing a selection process for accepting a selection of whether or not to display the preview image by the preview process; The computer further comprises: When the print instruction is received and the intermediate data is input from the general-purpose print program to the support program, if the selection of preview display has been made in the selection process, executing the preview process and the setting change process, and then executing the process of causing the printer to print the image to be printed in accordance with the setting value; if the selection process has been made not to display a preview, the preview process and the setting change process are not executed, and the process of causing the printer to print the image to be printed is executed in accordance with each setting value of the print setting for the print instruction. A support program configured to:

Images