Information processing apparatus, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a printing system, an information processing apparatus, a control method, and a program that implement color adjustment function, which is a function unique to a manufacturer, in printing using general purpose printing software.SOLUTION: A host computer 101 includes a standard driver, and an extended application which extends functions of the standard driver for implementing color adjustment function unique to a manufacturer. The extended application is configured to: add a control to receive settings for the color adjustment function from a user, to a detailed setting screen generated by the standard driver; and convert, when the host computer 101 is connected to a printer 102 having a color adjustment module that uses the color adjustment function to perform color adjustment processing on print data, based on the settings for the color adjustment function received by the control, intermediate data generated by the standard driver into print data for which the color adjustment processing can be performed by the printer 102.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to an information processing device, a control method, and a program having an extended application. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a configuration is known in which a printer driver is installed in a host computer as control software for a printing device, and the printer driver is used to issue print instructions to a printing device connected to the host computer.

[0003] An operating system (OS), which is the basic software, is installed on a host computer, and a printer driver is configured according to the specifications defined by the OS and runs when called up by the OS. By providing a printer driver that conforms to the OS specifications to the user of the host computer, a manufacturer that provides a printing device can provide a means for the user to instruct the printing device to print using the OS on the host computer.

[0004] In recent years, Windows (registered trademark) has been provided with general-purpose printing software (hereinafter also referred to as "standard driver") that can be commonly used by printing devices provided by multiple manufacturers. Such standard driver is included in the OS package, and by simply connecting any printing device to the host computer, the host computer can immediately issue a print instruction to that printing device. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately install a model-specific printer driver suitable for the printing device, and it is highly convenient. In addition, the standard driver is configured to be able to specify printing functions according to PrintDeviceCapabilities (hereinafter "PDC") generated based on information acquired from the connected printing device. As a result, a user who uses the standard driver can specify printing functions according to the capabilities of the connected printing device even though he or she is using one standard driver. However, the printing functions that can be specified in this case are limited to simple functions that can be realized only by the standard driver. For this reason, even if a function can be executed by a printing device connected to a host computer, there are manufacturer-specific functions that cannot be realized by the standard driver.

[0005] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for extending the functions of a standard driver by using an extension application for the standard driver so that a manufacturer's unique functions can be realized.

[0006] Here, there is a color adjustment function that is unique to the manufacturer. Color adjustment functions include brightness adjustment to adjust the brightness of the print data, saturation adjustment to adjust the vividness, hue adjustment to adjust the color tone, and contrast adjustment to adjust the contrast. Not only can each adjustment be made individually, but multiple adjustments can also be combined. This allows the print data to be printed in the colors that the user prefers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-33526 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, although the extended application of Patent Document 1 enables functions such as double-sided printing and bookbinding printing when printing using a standard driver, it cannot realize a color adjustment function. On the other hand, if the color adjustment function cannot be used when printing, the user cannot adjust the print data to the intended color, which causes inconvenience to the user.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for realizing a color adjustment function, which is a manufacturer's unique function, in printing using general-purpose printing software. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, an information processing device according to the present invention is an information processing device having general-purpose printing software that can be commonly used on printing devices provided by multiple manufacturers, and an extension application that extends the functions of the general-purpose printing software to realize a color adjustment function unique to the manufacturer, wherein the extension application is characterized in that it comprises: an addition means for adding a control that accepts settings of the color adjustment function from a user to a display screen generated by the general-purpose printing software on which the user instructs print settings; a conversion means for converting intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software into print data that can be color adjusted by the first printing device based on the settings of the color adjustment function accepted from the user by the control when the information processing device is connected to a first printing device having a color adjustment module that performs color adjustment processing of print data using the color adjustment function; and a transmission means for transmitting the converted print data to the first printing device. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, in printing using general-purpose printing software, a color adjustment function that is a manufacturer's unique function can be realized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a host computer as an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen displayed by a print setting screen expansion unit in FIG. 2; [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart of a PDC editing process according to the first embodiment, which is executed by a print function extension unit. [Diagram 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of capability information that a host computer acquires from a printing device in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 3 is a diagram showing an example of print functions supported by the extension application in FIG. 2 and their setting values. [Figure 7] 3 is a diagram showing an example of print functions supported by the general-purpose printing software in FIG. 2 and their setting values. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of a print process according to the first embodiment that is executed by the editing application, general-purpose printing software, an extension application, and a printing device after the editing application accepts print settings. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of a printing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart of a PDC editing process according to the second embodiment, which is executed by a print function extension unit. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing an example of capability information that a host computer acquires from a printing device in a second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 12]FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of a print process according to a second embodiment that is executed by the editing application, general-purpose printing software, an extension application, and a printing device after the editing application accepts print settings. [Figure 13] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of tone curves for adjusting brightness and contrast in the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of a print process according to a third embodiment that is executed by the editing application, general-purpose printing software, an extension application, and a printing device after the editing application accepts print settings. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of a print process according to a fourth embodiment that is executed by the editing application, general-purpose printing software, an extension application, and a printing device after the editing application accepts print settings. [Figure 16] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of a detailed setting screen and a preview screen displayed by a print setting expansion unit according to a fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention.

[0014] The same components are given the same reference numbers and their explanations are omitted.

[0015] <<First embodiment>> <Printing system hardware configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a host computer 101 serving as an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0016] 1, the host computer 101 has an input interface 110, a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, an external storage device 114, an output interface 115, an input / output interface 116, and a NETIF 120. Input devices such as a keyboard 118 and a pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110, and display devices such as a display unit 119 are connected to the output interface 115. Devices such as a printer 102 are connected to the input / output interface 116. The NETIF 120 is a network interface, and performs control for transferring data to and from external devices via a network.

[0017] An initialization program is stored in the ROM 112. Application programs, an operating system (OS), print data generation software, and various other data are stored in the external storage device 114. The RAM 113 is used as a work memory or the like when the various programs held in the external storage device 114 are executed, and the various programs can run within the host computer 101.

[0018] In this embodiment, the CPU 111 executes processes according to the procedures of a program stored in the ROM 112, thereby executing functions of the host computer 101, which will be described later, and processes related to flowcharts, which will be described later.

[0019] In this embodiment, the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are configured separately, but they may be configured as a single information processing device. In addition, a print setting screen and a detailed setting screen, which will be described later, are displayed on a display unit 119.

[0020] In this embodiment, an electrophotographic digital multifunction device having multiple functions such as copying, printing, and faxing will be described as an example of a printing device. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and can also be applied to devices using other processes such as inkjet printing. The host computer 101 may be a desktop personal computer, a smartphone, or a notebook computer.

[0021] <Software-centric printing system configuration> 2 is a diagram for explaining the software configuration of the printing system 1-1. Here, the printing system 1-1 will be explained as including a host computer 101 equipped with Windows 11 by Microsoft (registered trademark) as the OS.

[0022] First, the software configuration of a conventional printing system in which an extension application 204 is not associated with the general-purpose printing software 202 and the printing device 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0023] FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the software configuration of a conventional printing system in which an extension application 204, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 2B, is not associated with general-purpose printing software 202 and the printing device 102. As shown in FIG.

[0024] In FIG. 2A, the conventional printing system includes an editing application 201, general-purpose printing software 202, a PDC 203, and a printing device 102.

[0025] The editing application 201 and the general-purpose printing software 202 are stored in the external storage device 114 in Fig. 1. The CPU 111 reads them from the external storage device 114 to the RAM 113 and executes them to perform the following processing.

[0026] The editing application 201 is software that creates content (drawing data) to be printed. Examples of such applications include a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, and a presentation application. When the editing application 201 receives a print request from a user, it issues a print instruction to the OS. The print instruction includes print setting information for instructing the operation of the general-purpose printing software 202 and the printing device 102. Hereinafter, the print setting information will be referred to as a PrintTicket (hereinafter, "PT").

[0027] In order to generate a PT to be included in a print instruction, the editing application 201 causes the general-purpose printing software 202, the OS, or the editing application 201 (hereinafter simply referred to as the general-purpose printing software 202) to display a print setting screen (FIG. 3(a)). When a control 305 in the print setting screen is pressed, the general-purpose printing software 202 additionally displays a detailed setting screen (FIG. 3(b)). The screen configurations of the print setting screen and the detailed setting screen will be described later with reference to FIG. 3. The detailed setting screen includes setting items (hereinafter also referred to as "controls") indicating configurable printing functions and their setting values ​​according to the capability information (configurable information) of the general-purpose printing software 202. The capability information is also referred to as PrintCapabilities (hereinafter "PC").

[0028] The generic printing software 202 is a standard driver, and determines the PC based on PDC (Print Device Capabilities) 203. Here, the PDC 203 is printing function information indicating all printing functions that can be set by the generic printing software 202, their setting values, and the printing functions of the printing device 102 in which the exclusive relationships between the setting values ​​are described. The PDC 203 may be included in a configuration file of the generic printing software 202 and placed in the external storage device 114 as an unchangeable file, or the PDC 203 may be dynamically generated by the generic printing software 202. Specifically, the generic printing software 202 or the OS may be configured to acquire attribute data from the printing device 102 and generate the PDC 203 according to attribute information in the acquired attribute data. Note that when the PDC 203 is dynamically generated, the generated PDC 203 is editable. The attribute data acquired from the printing device 102 is a response acquired by issuing a Get-Printer-Attributes operation of IPP (Internet Print Protocol) to the printing device 102. The response includes attribute information indicating functions that can be specified in the printing device 102 (the capabilities of the printing device 102) and setting values ​​related to that attribute information. This response is stored in the RAM 113.

[0029] By configuring in this way, the general-purpose printing software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the print functions available in the printing device (here, the printing device 102) connected to the host computer 101. In other words, even if printing devices with different functions or printing devices developed by different manufacturers are connected to the host computer 101, the general-purpose printing software 202 can be configured so that the user can specify the print functions available in the connected printing device. Note that here, a configuration using an IPP Class Driver installed in the OS Windows (registered trademark) 11 will be described as the general-purpose printing software 202. The IPP Class Driver is a printer driver that executes print processing according to the specifications of a standard printing protocol called IPP (Internet Print Protocol), and is included in the OS package. The IPP Class Driver is not a specific printer driver according to the model of the printing device 102, but a standard class driver that can be commonly used by multiple printing devices. In addition, the IPP Class Driver acquires capability information from the printing device 102 so that the user can specify the print functions supported by the printing device 102 connected to the host computer 101, and generates a PDC 203 based on the acquired capability information. However, the IPP ClassDriver does not support the color adjustment function because the color adjustment function is a function unique to the manufacturer that provides the printing device 102 (first printing device).

[0030] Here, a description will be given of a color adjustment function, which is a function unique to the manufacturer that provides the printing device 102, and its use cases. First, the color adjustment function will be described.

[0031] <Color adjustment function> The color adjustment function is a function that can adjust colors by adjusting the brightness, vividness, color tone, contrast, etc. of print data, and has at least four functions: brightness adjustment function, saturation adjustment function, hue adjustment function, and contrast adjustment function.

[0032] The brightness adjustment function is a function for adjusting the brightness of the print data, and can make the print data brighter or darker.

[0033] The saturation adjustment function adjusts the vividness of the image, allowing you to make the print data more vivid, or to reduce the vividness to create a more subdued impression.

[0034] The hue adjustment function is a function for adjusting the color tone, and can change the color tone, for example, from blue to light blue, or from yellow-green to green.

[0035] The contrast adjustment function adjusts the contrast, allowing you to create a sharper impression by increasing the contrast, or conversely, to create a softer, more natural impression by decreasing the contrast.

[0036] These features can be adjusted individually or in combination.

[0037] In addition, the color adjustment function may also include a function for adjusting the white balance of the print data and a function for adjusting the density.

[0038] <Example of color adjustment function processing> As processing examples of the color adjustment function, the brightness adjustment function, contrast adjustment function, saturation adjustment function, and hue adjustment function of the present invention will be described. In the description, the color of the input print data is generally used RGB data composed of three channels of RGB, and takes 8-bit values ​​of 0 to 255, but is not limited to this.

[0039] First, the brightness adjustment function will be described. In the brightness adjustment function, tone curve correction is performed for each RGB channel. A tone curve is a link between an input signal value and an output signal value, and for example, when an input signal value is 10, 20 is output, and this link is performed for values ​​from 0 to 255. In this embodiment, a tone curve (LUT for brightness adjustment) such as that shown in FIG. 13(a) is used. FIG. 13(a) is a graph showing a tone curve in brightness adjustment, with the horizontal axis representing the input signal value and the vertical axis representing the output signal value. The brightness adjustment setting value will be described later, but for example, among the brightness adjustment setting values, a tone curve 1301 indicates an adjustment setting value for adjusting to be brighter, and a tone curve 1302 indicates an adjustment setting value for adjusting to be darker.

[0040] Tone curve 1301 is linked to signal values ​​so that the output signal value becomes larger relative to the input signal value. Conversely, tone curve 1302 is linked to signal values ​​so that the output signal value becomes smaller relative to the input signal value. Since the RGB signal value becomes brighter as the signal value becomes larger and darker as the signal value becomes smaller, adjusting the brightness with tone curve 1301 brightens the print data, and adjusting the brightness with tone curve 1302 darkens the print data.

[0041] Next, the contrast adjustment function will be described. In the contrast adjustment function, as in the brightness adjustment function, tone curve correction is performed for each RGB channel. In this embodiment, a tone curve (LUT for contrast adjustment) such as that shown in FIG. 13(b) is used. FIG. 13(b) shows a graph of a tone curve in contrast adjustment, with the horizontal axis representing the input signal value and the vertical axis representing the output signal value. The contrast adjustment setting values ​​will be described later, but for example, among the contrast adjustment setting values, a tone curve 1303 represents an adjustment setting value that emphasizes the contrast, and a tone curve 1304 represents an adjustment setting value that adjusts the contrast to be weak.

[0042] In tone curve 1303, the output signal value is smaller than the input signal value in the low signal range of 0 to 127, and the output signal value is larger than the input signal value in the high signal range of 128 to 255. This increases the difference in signal values ​​between the low and high signal ranges, resulting in a visually larger color difference and a sharper impression. Conversely, tone curve 1304 reduces the difference between the low and high signal ranges, resulting in a visually smaller color difference and a natural, softer impression.

[0043] Next, the hue adjustment function and saturation adjustment function will be explained. Hue adjustment and saturation adjustment are calculated (adjusted) at the same time, so hereafter they will be referred to as the hue / saturation adjustment function. The hue / saturation adjustment setting value will be explained later, but the user specifies the adjusted hue, such as yellow or red, for hue, and specifies strong / weak vividness for saturation.

[0044] In the hue / saturation adjustment function, a conversion matrix is ​​first obtained based on the hue / saturation adjustment setting value specified by the user. In this embodiment, a 3x6 matrix as shown below that is predetermined in association with the hue / saturation adjustment setting value is obtained.

[0045]

number

[0046] Next, the input RGB signal value is decomposed into six colors: c, m, y, r, g, and b using the following formula.

[0047]

number

[0048] Using the obtained c, m, y, r, g, and b values ​​and the obtained matrix, the R, G, and B correction amounts ΔR, ΔG, and ΔB are calculated using the following formulas.

[0049]

number

[0050] Finally, the correction amounts ΔR, ΔG, and ΔB are added to the input RGB values ​​using the following formula to calculate the RGB values ​​R', G', and B' after hue and saturation adjustment.

[0051]

number

[0052] In this embodiment, the brightness adjustment function, contrast adjustment function, and hue / saturation adjustment function are implemented as described above, but are not limited to this, and any method may be used as long as it is possible to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation, respectively.

[0053] <Use cases for color adjustment function> Next, a use case of the color adjustment function will be described. In printing, various image processing including color conversion is performed on print data to improve the visual impression of the printed matter. However, preferences for the appearance of color vary from person to person. In particular, for images including photographic images and graphics, and office document images in which photographs such as presentation materials and objects such as graphs are arranged, the preferred colors change depending on the person and the situation at the time. Therefore, the color adjustment function needs not only the basic color conversion and image processing, but also a function that can adjust colors according to the user's preferences.

[0054] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2(a), when a print instruction is issued from the editing application 201, an OS module in the general-purpose printing software 202 generates intermediate data (also called input data). The data output by the editing application 201 for printing is data in Graphic Device Interface format (GDI format data) or data in XML Paper Specification format (XPS format data). When the general-purpose printing software 202 is an IPP Class Driver, if the data output by the editing application 201 is GDI format data, the OS converts the GDI format data output from the editing application 201 into XPS format data. The intermediate data includes drawing data, which is information on the picture to be formed on paper, and a PT set by the user.

[0055] The general-purpose printing software 202 converts the acquired intermediate data into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 102, and transmits it to the printing device 102. Here, the print data in this embodiment is Page Description Language (PDL) data that complies with IPP. The PDL data that complies with IPP is, for example, data in PDF (Portable Document Format) or PWG-Raster format. The print data includes drawing data, which is information on a picture to be formed on a sheet of paper, and print setting attribute information (attribute information that specifies print settings) that is generated based on a PT set by a user. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information that indicates functions that can be specified by the printing device 102 (capabilities of the printing device) and setting values ​​related to the attribute information. However, as described above, in the case of the configuration of FIG. 2(a), setting values ​​for functions unique to the manufacturer that provides the printing device 102, such as a color adjustment function, are not included.

[0056] The printing device 102 prints on paper based on the print data sent from the general-purpose printing software 202. At this time, the printing device 102 forms the drawing data included in the print data on paper in accordance with the print setting attribute information included in the print data. The print setting attribute information includes attribute information and its setting value for specifying the print quality (priority on image quality, priority on speed, etc.) and double-sided printing, etc. For example, if the print setting attribute information includes attribute information specifying double-sided printing and a setting value indicating that it is to be performed, the printing device 102 executes double-sided printing.

[0057] <Configuration of a software-centric printing system in the first embodiment (when the extension application 204 is associated)> Next, the configuration of the print system 1-1 according to the present invention, which is associated with the extended application 204, will be described with reference to Fig. 2(b). Note that configurations and processes that are not specifically mentioned below are the same as those in Fig. 2(a).

[0058] FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the software configuration of the printing system 1-1 in which the extension application 204 is associated with the general-purpose printing software 202 and the printing device 102.

[0059] 2B, the printing system 1-1 has an editing application 201, a PDC 203, and a printing device 102, as in FIG. 2A, and also has general-purpose printing software 202.

[0060] The editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, and the extension application 204 are stored in the external storage device 114 in Fig. 1. The CPU 111 reads them from the external storage device 114 to the RAM 113 and executes them, thereby performing the processes shown in the flowcharts and sequence diagrams described below.

[0061] The extension application 204 is software for extending the functions of the general-purpose printing software 202, and is software that is not included (bundled) in advance in the OS. Therefore, the extension application 204 needs to be downloaded from a server via the Internet and installed. This installation method may be a manual method by a user operation on the host computer 101, or an automatic method based on the connection of the printing device 102 to the host computer 101. In the latter method, the extension application 204 is specifically installed in the following manner. First, when the printing device 102 is connected to the host computer 101, the OS acquires device identification information from the printing device 102. The OS downloads the extension application 204 corresponding to the acquired device identification information from the server via the Internet and installs it.

[0062] The general-purpose printing software 202 and the extension application 204 are stored in the host computer 101 as separate files. The general-purpose printing software 202 and the extension application 204 may be updated and upgraded, but these update processes are also performed at different times. That is, the timing at which the host computer 101 acquires the general-purpose printing software 202 is different from the timing at which the extension application 204 is acquired. The trigger at which the host computer 101 acquires the general-purpose printing software 202 is also different from the trigger at which the host computer 101 acquires the extension application 204. When the extension application 204 is installed, the OS associates the extension application 204 with the general-purpose printing software 202 and the printing device 102.

[0063] 2(b), the extension application 204 includes a print setting extension unit 205, a print function extension unit 206, an intermediate data editing unit 207, and a notification unit 208 (hereinafter also referred to as units 205 to 208). The extension application 204 also includes shared information 209 that can be commonly accessed by each of the units 205 to 208. The shared information 209 is actually a file saved in the external storage device 114, or information stored in the RAM 113. The extension application 204 writes and reads information to and from the shared information 209 by using an API (Application Program Interface) provided by the OS.

[0064] The extension application 204 may terminate its operation each time the processing of each of the units 205 to 208 is completed. In this case, the OS will start up the extension application 204 each time a request to use each of the units 205 to 208 is received.

[0065] Furthermore, the extension application 204 may cancel processing during the processing of each of the units 205 to 208. When the processing is canceled, the job being processed in the print queue is deleted by the OS.

[0066] When the editing application 201 receives a print request from a user, it issues a print instruction to the OS. In this embodiment, as in the configuration of FIG. 2(a), the editing application 201 displays a print setting screen, but in this embodiment, the extension application 204 also displays a detailed setting screen for making detailed print settings in the print setting extension unit 205. In addition, the print setting extension unit 205 can save the detailed settings set by the user in the shared information 209. Details of the print setting extension unit 205 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 8.

[0067] The intermediate data editing unit 207 acquires and edits intermediate data from the general-purpose printing software 202, converts it into print data, and then passes the print data to the printing device 102. Furthermore, the intermediate data editing unit 207 acquires detailed setting information from the shared information 209 and adds detailed settings to the print data. The printing device 102 prints on paper based on the accepted print data. The method of converting intermediate data into print data is not limited to the above. The extension application 204 may be configured to acquire print data generated by the general-purpose printing software 202 and add detailed settings to the print data. Also, even in the configuration of the printing system 1-1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 2(b), there are cases where color adjustment settings are not performed by the user. In that case, similar to the configuration of the conventional printing system shown in FIG. 2(a), the general-purpose printing software 202 may pass print data to the printing device 102 without going through the extension application 204.

[0068] The print function extension unit 206 can edit the PDC 203 generated by the general-purpose printing software 202 or the OS. This allows the print function extension unit 206 to add functions provided by the extension application 204. Specifically, the print function extension unit 206 can add functions (e.g., color adjustment functions) that are supported by the printing device 102 but not supported by the general-purpose printing software 202, and can add exclusive relationships between setting values ​​of printing functions. The OS starts the print function extension unit 206 when the extension application 204 is first associated with the printing device 102 and the general-purpose printing software 202. Furthermore, the OS may start the print function extension unit 206 at other times, such as when the OS is started. In this way, in a case where an optional device (e.g., a finisher, etc.) is added to the printing device 102 later and functions related to printing are extended, the print function extension unit 206 can detect the extended function and add it to the PDC 203.

[0069] The notification unit 208 can display a notification to the user in response to an error occurring in the printing device 102. For example, when an out-of-paper error occurs in the printing device 102, the general-purpose printing software 202 detects it, and the OS uses a notification function of the OS called a toast notification to display a message on the display unit 119. When the user presses this toast notification, the OS calls the notification unit 208 of the extension application 204, and the UI screen of the notification unit 208 is displayed. On the UI screen of the notification unit 208, for example, a detailed message of the out-of-paper error and a method for loading paper can be displayed.

[0070] Once the extension application 204 has sent print data to the printing device 102, it is no longer possible to display on the screen a guide or the like associated with the print data during processing by each of the units 205 to 208.

[0071] Furthermore, the configuration of the extension application 204 for realizing this embodiment is not limited to having all the functions of the above-mentioned units 205 to 208, and may have only some of the functions or other functions. Also, the extension application 204 may simply be called printing software. As described above, the extension application 204 has at least one of the following functions: a function for displaying a detailed setting screen, a function for adding detailed settings to print data, a function for extending the functions of the general-purpose printing software 202, and a function for displaying a screen in response to the occurrence of an error in the printing device 102.

[0072] <An example of the print settings screen / detailed settings screen> Next, an example of the print setting screen and the detailed setting screen in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0073] FIG. 3(a) is a print setting screen 300a displayed by the editing application 201. FIG. 3(b) is a detailed setting screen 300b displayed in the case of a conventional printing system that does not have the extended application 204 shown in FIG. 2(a). FIG. 3(c) is a detailed setting screen 300c displayed in the case of the printing system 1-1 that has the extended application 204 shown in FIG. 2(b). Note that the functions of the units and modules that display the print setting screen 300a are not limited to those described above. For example, the function of the print setting extension unit 205 may be only a function of generating a display screen. In that case, the print setting extension unit 205 may transmit the generated display screen to the editing application 201 via the general-purpose printing software 202, and the editing application 201 may display the acquired display screen.

[0074] <FIG. 3(a): Print setting screen displayed by the editing application 201> First, the print setting screen 300a shown in FIG.

[0075] In FIG. 3(a), a print setting screen 300a has controls 301 to 304.

[0076] The control 301 includes a printer selection pull-down menu 301a, a print orientation selection pull-down menu 301b, and a number of copies to be printed setting section 301c.

[0077] Printer selection pull-down menu 301a displays a list of printers that can be used for printing when clicked (depressed) by the user, and allows the user to select one of them to set the printer to be used for printing.

[0078] Print orientation selection pull-down menu 301b displays a list of print orientations that can be set by the user's click, and allows the user to select one of them to set the print orientation.

[0079] The number of copies to be printed setting section 301c displays the default number of copies to be printed (1 copy), and the user can change the number of copies to +1 by clicking the up arrow in the upper right corner once, or to -1 by clicking the down arrow in the lower right corner once.

[0080] Control 302 is a preview screen, control 303 is a button that the user clicks to start printing, and control 304 is a button that the user clicks to cancel printing. Control 305 is a button that the user clicks to display a detailed settings screen and enable the user to set detailed printing settings.

[0081] Control 305 When the user clicks on this button, in the case of a conventional printing system, the general-purpose printing software 202 displays a detailed setting screen 300b (FIG. 3(b)). On the other hand, in the case of the printing system 1-1 according to the present invention, the print setting expansion unit 205 displays a detailed setting screen 300c (FIG. 3(c)).

[0082] <FIG. 3(b): Detailed setting screen displayed by the general-purpose printing software 202> 3B, a detailed setting screen 300b will be described. The detailed setting screen 300b is an additional setting screen displayed by the general-purpose printing software 202 in a conventional printing system that does not have the extension application 204.

[0083] In FIG. 3(b), a detailed setting screen 300b has controls 306 to 308.

[0084] Control 306 is a pull-down menu for selecting the paper type, which displays a list of paper types that can be set by the user by clicking it, and allows the user to select one to set the type of paper to be used for printing. In this example, the paper type set in control 306 is plain paper.

[0085] Control 307 is a pull-down menu for selecting a paper size, which displays a list of paper sizes that can be set by the user by clicking on it, and allows the user to select one to set the size of the paper to be used for printing. In this example, the paper size set in control 307 is A4.

[0086] Control 308 is a pull-down menu for specifying a paper feed slot, and when clicked by the user, displays a list of paper feed slots from which paper can be fed for printing, and the user selects one to specify the paper feed slot for printing. In this case, the paper feed slot specified by control 308 is automatic.

[0087] A control 309 is a button that, when clicked by the user, confirms the settings on the detailed setting screen 300b and ends the screen. When the control 309 is clicked, the screen returns to the print setting screen 300a in FIG. 3(a).

[0088] <FIGS. 3(c) to 3(e): Print setting screen displayed by the print setting expansion unit 205> Next, a detailed setting screen 300c shown in FIG.

[0089] The detailed setting screen 300c in Fig. 3(c) is an additional setting screen displayed by the print setting extension unit 205 (additional means) in the printing system 1-1 having the extension application 204. In addition to having the same controls 306-308 as the detailed setting screen 300b in Fig. 3(b), the detailed setting screen 300c also has controls 310-313 that allow the user to select setting values ​​for color adjustment, and a control 319 that displays an image of the adjusted color.

[0090] Control 310 is a pull-down menu for adjusting brightness, which displays a list of adjustable brightness levels when clicked by the user, and allows the user to select one of them to adjust the brightness when printing. In this example, the brightness adjusted by control 310 is one level brighter than the default brightness level of 0, which is +1.

[0091] Control 311 is a pull-down menu for adjusting contrast, which displays a list of contrasts that can be adjusted by the user's click and allows the user to select one to adjust the contrast when printing. In this example, the contrast adjusted by control 311 is the default 0.

[0092] Control 312 is a pull-down menu for adjusting saturation, which displays a list of adjustable saturations when clicked by the user, and allows the user to select one to adjust the saturation when printing. In this example, the saturation adjusted by control 311 is the default 0.

[0093] Control 313 is a pull-down menu for adjusting the hue, which displays a list of adjustable hues when clicked by the user, and allows the user to select one to adjust the hue when printing. In this example, the hue adjusted by control 311 is the default 0.

[0094] A control 319 is a screen that displays an image of the adjusted color. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0095] FIG. 3(d) shows, as an example, a case where the control 310 on the detailed setting screen 300c is pressed, and a list 314 displaying a list of adjustable brightness (setting value) is displayed. The list 314 shows that in addition to the currently selected "+1", there are "-2", "-1", "0", and "+2". The brightness adjustment setting "0" indicates that brightness adjustment processing is not performed (default). The brightness adjustment settings "+1" and "+2" are settings for adjusting the print data to be brighter, with "+2" being brighter than "+1". The brightness adjustment settings "-1" and "-2" are settings for adjusting the print data to be darker, with "-2" being darker than "-1". The user can switch the brightness and perform printing by selecting a setting value that results in the desired brightness from the list 314.

[0096] Also, instead of a UI in which the user selects a setting value to adjust the color as in the list 314 shown in FIG. 3(d), a UI in which the color is adjusted visually as in slide bars 315a and 315b and a pointer 317 as in FIG. 3(e) may be used. That is, the area enclosed by the dotted line in the detailed setting screen 300c may be replaced with a setting image 300e (FIG. 3(e)). The slide bar 315a in FIG. 3(e) is an example in which the brightness adjustment is set to "+1", and the slide bar 315b in FIG. 3(e) is an example in which the contrast is set to "0". The hue and saturation adjustment display 316 is an example in which the pointer 317 is moved to the position of the hue and saturation to be set. For example, by moving the pointer 317 to the position 318, the hue can be set to "+2" toward yellow, and the saturation to "+1". That is, the center of the hue / saturation adjustment display 316 is set as the origin, no hue / saturation setting is made, the hue is set at an angle according to the position of the pointer 317, and the saturation is set according to the distance from the origin.

[0097] 3(e) is a screen that displays an image of the adjusted colors, and may be configured to display an image of the adjusted colors so that the results of the brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation adjustments can be visually understood. Also, here, an image of the entire print data is displayed on the control 319, but it is also possible to select and display an object to be color adjusted, such as a photo / text / graphics, or to display a separate image that makes it easy to see the results of color adjustments.

[0098] Here, the reason why the print setting items are different between the detailed setting screen 300b in FIG. 3(b) and the detailed setting screen 300c in FIGS. 3(c) and 3(d) will be described.

[0099] Both of the detailed setting screens 300b and 300c are generated by referring to a PC generated based on the printing function information. However, the general-purpose printing software 202 does not support the color adjustment functions of brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue adjustment, and therefore cannot add a color adjustment function to the printing function information. Even if the printing function information originally includes a color adjustment function, the general-purpose printing software 202 cannot interpret the color adjustment function included in the printing function information, and therefore cannot display print setting items related to color adjustment on the detailed setting screen 300b. On the other hand, in the printing system 1-1, the printing function extension unit 206 is configured to add a color adjustment function to the PDC 203, and the printing setting extension unit 205 refers to the PC to display print setting items related to color adjustment on the detailed setting screen 300c. This allows the extension application 204 to display color adjustment settings on the detailed setting screen in the printing system 1-1.

[0100] <Flowchart of the print function extension unit 206 for editing the PDC 203 in the first embodiment> Here, the PDC editing process according to the first embodiment executed by the print function extension unit 206 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. Each step in Fig. 4 is performed by the CPU 111 controlling the print function extension unit 206. Also, although an example of brightness adjustment using a brightness adjustment function, which is one of the color adjustment functions, will be described here, other color adjustment functions can be implemented by a similar process.

[0101] First, in step S401, the print function extension unit 206 (acquisition means) acquires capability information from the printing device 102. The capability information is attribute information indicating functions that can be specified on the printing device 102 and setting values ​​related to that attribute information, which is included in a response acquired by issuing an IPP Get-Printer-Attributes operation to the printing device 102. Table 501 in Fig. 5 is an example of a list of capability information acquired from the printing device 102. As shown in table 501, it is possible to acquire from the printing device 102 options (setting values) that can be set for each function, such as a color adjustment function (brightness adjustment function in this case) and a paper size selection function.

[0102] Next, in step S402, the print function extension unit 206 obtains a list of print functions supported by the extension application 204 from the shared information 209. The list of print functions supported by the extension application 204 is stored in the shared information 209, and lists all print functions that can be processed by the extension application 204 and their setting values. Table 601 in Fig. 6 is an example of print functions supported by the extension application 204 and their setting values. The list of print functions supported by the extension application 204 may be updated by updating the extension application 204, etc.

[0103] Next, in step S403, the print function extension unit 206 acquires the PDC 203 created by the general-purpose printing software 202 from the OS. The PDC 203 created by the general-purpose printing software 202 is created based on a table 501 indicating the capability information acquired by the general-purpose printing software 202 from the printing device 102. The PDC created by the general-purpose printing software 202 describes only the printing functions supported (interpreted) by the general-purpose printing software 202 from the capability information acquired from the printing device 102, so the functions of the PDC are limited. Table 701 in FIG. 7 is an example of the printing functions supported by the general-purpose printing software 202 and their setting values. For example, table 501 acquired from the printing device 102 includes sizes such as 7x10 inches and Western style No. 6, but the general-purpose printing software 202 does not support these sizes, so the corresponding sizes are not described in the PDC. The color adjustment function is also not supported, so it is not described in the PDC. The print function extension unit 206 adds functions and options to the PDC, which enables the extension application 204 to compensate for lack of functions in the general-purpose printing software 202. The print function extension unit 206 can also delete unnecessary functions and options from the PDC created by the general-purpose printing software 202.

[0104] The subsequent steps S404, S405, and S406 are processes that are repeatedly performed for the list of functions included in the capability information acquired in step S401 from the printing device 102. In this embodiment, these processes are repeatedly performed for 16 types included in table 501, from size: A4 to color adjustment: +2.

[0105] In step S404, the print function extension unit 206 determines whether the item (function / option) currently being processed among the capability information acquired from the printing device 102 in step S401 exists in the PDC generated by the general-purpose printing software 202. If it exists in the PDC (Yes in step S404), the next item is selected among the functions / options contained in the capability information acquired from the printing device 102, and the process returns to step S404. Note that if the item currently being processed in step S404 is the last item among the functions / options contained in the capability information acquired from the printing device 102, the process of FIG. 4 ends. On the other hand, if it does not exist in the PDC (No in step S404), the process proceeds to step S405. For example, if the size: A4 shown in table 501, which is the capability information of the printing device 102, is the item currently being processed in step S404, this item also exists in table 701, which is the capability information of the general-purpose printing software 202. In this case, the result of step S404 is Yes, and the process proceeds to the determination process of step S404 for the next item to be processed (size: A5). On the other hand, if the item to be processed currently is Brightness: +1 shown in table 501, this item does not exist in table 701. In this case, the result of step S404 is No, and the process proceeds to step S405.

[0106] In step S405, the print function extension unit 206 judges whether the item (function / option) currently being processed is present in the functions / options supported by the extension application 204 acquired in step S402. That is, it judges whether the item currently being processed is an item supported by the extension application 204. If it is a supported item (Yes in step S405), the process proceeds to step S406. On the other hand, if it is not a supported item (No in step S405), the process proceeds to step S406 in the same manner as when it is judged as Yes in step S404. That is, if the item currently being processed is not the last item, the next item is selected, and the process returns to step S404, and if the item currently being processed is the last item, the process of FIG. 4 is terminated. For example, if the item currently being processed is brightness: +1, this item also exists in table 601, which is the capability information of the extension application 204. In this case, it is judged as Yes in step S405, and the process proceeds to step S406.

[0107] In step S406, the print function extension unit 206 adds the item (function / option) currently being processed to the PDC 203. After the process in step S406, the same process as when the result of the determination in step S404 is Yes is performed.

[0108] As described above, the print function extension unit 206 adds functions / options that are not supported by the general-purpose printing software 202 but are supported by the printing device 102 and the extension application 204 to the PDC 203. Of the PDC 203 edited by this process, for those that are supported by the general-purpose printing software 202, a PC is generated by the general-purpose printing software 202, and for those that are not supported by the general-purpose printing software 202, a PC is generated by the print setting extension unit 205. Furthermore, by generating a display screen based on the generated PC, the print setting extension unit 205 can extend functions that are not supported by the general-purpose printing software 202 and display a detailed setting screen 300c shown in FIGS. 3(c) and (d).

[0109] <Sequence after the editing application 201 accepts print settings in the first embodiment> Next, the print processing according to this embodiment, which is executed by the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, the extension application 204, and the printing device 102 after the editing application 201 accepts print settings, will be described using the sequence in Fig. 8. Note that each step other than that for the printing device 102 in Fig. 8 is performed by the CPU 11 controlling the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, and the extension application 204. Each step for the printing device 102 in Fig. 8 is performed by a CPU (not shown) in the printing device 102.

[0110] First, in step S801, the editing application 201 accepts print settings from the user. The user can instruct the editing application 201 to set print settings by operating the pointing device 117 or the keyboard 118.

[0111] Next, in step S802, the editing application 201 displays on the display unit 119 a print setting screen 300a shown in FIG.

[0112] Next, in step S803, the editing application 201 accepts a detailed setting instruction. The user can issue a detailed setting display request by operating the pointing device 117 or the keyboard 118 to select the control 305. Specifically, when the control 305 on the print setting screen 300a is pressed, the process proceeds to step S804.

[0113] Next, in step S804, the editing application 201 requests the general-purpose printing software 202 to display detailed settings.

[0114] Next, in step S805, the general-purpose printing software 202 makes a detailed setting display request to the extension application 204. As described above, in the conventional printing system of FIG. 2A, the general-purpose printing software 202 displays the detailed setting screen 300b of FIG. 3B.

[0115] Next, in step S806, the print setting extension unit 205 of the extension application 204 displays the detailed setting screen 300c in Fig. 3(c) . This is because the brightness setting is added to the PDC by the print function extension unit 206, as described in Fig. 4. The print setting extension unit 205 displays the detailed setting screen 300c in Fig. 3(c) by referring to the PC generated based on the PDC after the brightness setting has been added.

[0116] Next, in step S807, the print setting expansion unit 205 accepts detailed settings. For example, as shown in the detailed setting screen 300c in FIG. 3C, when the user selects Paper Type: Plain Paper, Paper Size: A4, Paper Feed: Automatic, and Brightness: +1, these are accepted as detailed settings.

[0117] Next, in step S808, the print setting expansion unit 205 accepts a detailed setting end instruction. Specifically, the user operates the pointing device 117 or the keyboard 118 to select the control 309 and issue a detailed setting end instruction to the print setting expansion unit 205.

[0118] Next, in step S809, the extension application 204 notifies the general-purpose printing software 202 that the detailed settings have been completed.

[0119] Next, in step S810, the general-purpose printing software 202 notifies the editing application 201 that the detailed settings have been completed.

[0120] Next, in step S811, the editing application 201 accepts a print instruction. Specifically, the user operates the pointing device 117 or the keyboard 118 to select the control 303 to instruct printing.

[0121] Next, in step S 812 , the editing application 201 sends a print instruction to the general-purpose printing software 202 .

[0122] Next, in step S813, the general-purpose printing software 202 uses a module of the OS to generate intermediate data.

[0123] Next, in step S814, the general-purpose printing software 202 saves in the shared information 209 the PT included in the print instruction sent in step S812.

[0124] Next, in step S815, the general-purpose printing software 202 passes the drawing data, which is part of the intermediate data generated in step S813, to the extension application 204.

[0125] Next, in step S816, the intermediate data editing unit 207 of the extension application 204 obtains the PT stored in step S814 from the shared information 209.

[0126] Next, in step S817, the intermediate data editing unit 207 (conversion means) of the extension application 204 generates print data using the drawing data passed from the general-purpose printing software 202 in step S815 and the PT acquired in step S816.

[0127] Next, in step S818, the intermediate data editing unit 207 (transmission means) of the extension application 204 transmits the print data generated in step S817 to the printing device 102.

[0128] Next, in step S819, the printing device 102 interprets the print data and performs the necessary image processing on the image of the print data. For example, if the print settings shown on the detailed setting screen 300c in Fig. 3(c) are configured in step S807, image processing with a brightness of +1 is performed. In other words, brighter image data is generated compared to when the brightness adjustment processing is not performed.

[0129] Next, in step S820, the printing device 102 prints the print data including the image after the image processing in step S819, and ends this sequence. For example, if image processing with a brightness of +1 is performed in step S819, a brighter image is printed compared to the case where the brightness adjustment processing is not performed.

[0130] As described above, according to this embodiment, the print setting extension unit 205 modifies the PDC 203 based on the general-purpose printing software 202, the extension application 204, and the capability information of the printing device 102. Furthermore, when a detailed setting screen is requested by the user, the detailed setting screen 300c is displayed based on the PC generated from the PDC 203. This allows the user to adjust the color of the image of the print data. Furthermore, since the intermediate data editing unit 207 generates print data based on the color adjustment set based on the detailed setting screen 300c, the color adjustment setting can be reflected in the print data. After that, when the printing device 102 receives the print data reflecting the color adjustment setting from the intermediate data editing unit 207, the color adjustment module in the printing device 102 performs color adjustment processing on the image data based on the color adjustment setting. Through the above series of processes, the printing device 102 can realize the color adjustment function, and the color adjustment function can be provided to the user.

[0131] In this embodiment, the printing system 1-1 shown in FIG. 2B provides the detailed setting screen 300c shown in FIG. 3C. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a detailed setting display request is made to the general-purpose printing software 202 in step S804, the general-purpose printing software 202 may display the detailed setting screen 300b shown in FIG. 3B. Next, after the detailed setting is completed on the detailed setting screen 300b in FIG. 3B, the general-purpose printing software 202 requests the extension application 204 to display an additional detailed setting screen (the area surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 3C). Next, in response to this display request, the extension application 204 additionally displays the area surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 3C so that color adjustment setting can be performed on the detailed setting screen 300b.

[0132] In the present embodiment, the extension application 204 generates print data based on the intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software 202. However, the extension application 204 itself may generate the intermediate data.

[0133] <<Second embodiment>> The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the first embodiment, first, the extension application 204 generates print data including color adjustment settings and transmits it to the printing device 102. Next, the printing device 102 interprets the print data including the color adjustment settings and performs color adjustment processing in a color adjustment module in the printing device 102.

[0134] However, instead of the printing device 102, a printing device 901 (second printing device) that does not include a color adjustment module due to cost considerations and the like may be connected to the host computer 101. In this case, even if the extension application 204 generates print data that includes color adjustment settings, the printing device 901 cannot perform color adjustment processing based on the color adjustment settings.

[0135] Therefore, in the second embodiment, when a printing device 901 without a color adjustment module is connected to a host computer 101, an extension application 902 generates print data including an image after color adjustment processing and passes it to the printing device 102.

[0136] Specifically, in the second embodiment, the extended application 902 first acquires capability information of the printing device connected to the host computer 101. Next, from the acquired capability information, it is determined whether the printing device connected to the host computer 101 is the printing device 102 equipped with a color adjustment module or the printing device 901 equipped with no color adjustment module. Next, if it is determined that the printing device is the printing device 102 equipped with a color adjustment module, print data reflecting the color adjustment setting is generated and passed to the printing device 102, as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, if it is determined that the printing device is the printing device 901 equipped with no color adjustment module, the extended application 204 performs color adjustment processing on the image of the drawing data. Next, print data including the image after the color adjustment processing is generated and passed to the printing device 901. As a result, even if the printing device 901 equipped with no color adjustment module is connected to the host computer 101, it is possible to provide the color adjustment function to the user.

[0137] In the following description, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it has an extended application 902, which has an internal configuration different from the extended application 204 in FIG. 2B, and in that a printing device 901 that does not include a color adjustment module is connected to a host computer 101. In addition, the PDC editing process and the printing process after the editing application 201 accepts print settings, which are associated with this difference, also differ from the first embodiment (FIGS. 4 and 8).

[0138] <Configuration of a Software-Centered Printing System in the Second Embodiment (When an Extended Application 902 is Associated)> First, the configuration of a print system 1-2 according to the present invention, to which an extended application 902 is associated, will be described with reference to Fig. 9. In Fig. 9, blocks with the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 2(b) are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0139] 9, there are four blocks different from those in FIG. 2(b): a printing device 901, an extension application 902, a print function extension unit 903, and a color adjustment processing unit 904. The printing device 901 in the second embodiment is a printing device that does not have a color adjustment module, unlike the printing device 102 in the first embodiment. The extension application 902 has a different configuration from the extension application 204 in the first embodiment. Unlike the first embodiment, when the capability information acquired from the printing device 901 does not include a color adjustment function, the print function extension unit 903 adds the color adjustment function of the color adjustment processing unit 904 in the extension application 902 to the PDC 203. The color adjustment processing unit 904 performs color adjustment processing on the image of the intermediate data (drawing data) received from the general-purpose printing software 202 based on the color adjustment setting by the user. Details will be described later.

[0140] <Flowchart of the print function extension unit 903 for editing the PDC 203 in the second embodiment> Here, the PDC editing process according to the second embodiment executed by the print function expansion unit 903 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. Note that each step in Fig. 10 is performed by the CPU 111 controlling the print function expansion unit 903. Also, steps with the same reference numbers in Fig. 4 and Fig. 10 are the same processes as in Fig. 4, so their description will be omitted. Also, in this description, an example will be described in which brightness adjustment is performed using a brightness adjustment function, which is one of the color adjustment functions, but other color adjustment functions can be implemented using similar processing.

[0141] After the processing of steps S401 to S403, when the repeated processing of steps S404 to S406 ends, the print function extension unit 903 proceeds to step S1001. Unlike the printing device 102, the printing device 901 in the second embodiment does not have a color adjustment module, and the capability information acquired from the printing device 901 in step S401 does not include a brightness adjustment function, as shown in table 1101 in Fig. 11. Therefore, the brightness adjustment function has not been added to the edited PDC 203 after the repeated processing of steps S404 to S406 ends.

[0142] In step S1001, the print function extension unit 903 determines whether the extension application 204 has a color adjustment function (particularly a brightness adjustment function in this case) that is included in the color adjustment module installed in the printing device 102. If the extension application 204 has the brightness adjustment function (Yes in step S1001), the process proceeds to step S1002, whereas if the extension application 204 does not have the brightness adjustment function (No in step S1001), the process ends. Since the extension application 204 in the second embodiment is equipped with a color adjustment processing unit 904 that has a brightness adjustment function, the process proceeds to step S1002. The color adjustment processing unit 904 adjusts the brightness in five stages: -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2.

[0143] Next, in step S 1002 , the print function expansion unit 903 adds the brightness adjustment function / options (brightness adjustment: −2, −1, 0, +1, +2) of the color adjustment processing unit 904 to the PDC 203 .

[0144] As described above, the print function extension unit 903 first adds functions / options that are not supported by the general-purpose printing software 202 but are supported by the printing device 901 to the PDC 203. Then, if the extension application 902 has a color adjustment processing unit 904, it adds capability information (functions / options) that the color adjustment processing unit 904 has to the PDC 203. This makes it possible for the print setting extension unit 205 to display the detailed setting screen shown in FIG. 3C even when a printing device 901 without a color adjustment module is connected to the host computer 101.

[0145] <Sequence after the editing application 201 accepts print settings in the second embodiment> Next, the print processing executed by the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, the extension application 902, and the printing device 901 after the editing application 201 accepts the print settings will be described using the sequence in Fig. 12. Each step other than the printing device 901 in Fig. 12 is performed by the CPU 111 controlling the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, and the extension application 902. Each step of the printing device 901 in Fig. 12 is performed by a CPU (not shown) in the printing device 901. Also, steps with the same reference numerals in Fig. 12 and Fig. 8 are the same process, so description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, as an example, a case will be described where the user selects Brightness Adjustment: +1 as the brightness adjustment setting on the detailed setting screen and the editing application 201 accepts the print settings.

[0146] After the processes of steps S801 to S815 are completed, in step S1201, the color adjustment processing unit 904 of the extension application 902 acquires the PT and acquires the brightness adjustment setting. If the acquired brightness adjustment setting is brightness adjustment: 0, the brightness adjustment process is not performed, so the subsequent steps S1202 to S1204 are skipped and the process proceeds to step S817 to generate print data. On the other hand, if the acquired brightness adjustment setting is a brightness adjustment setting value other than 0, the brightness adjustment process is performed, so the process proceeds to step S1202.

[0147] Next, in step S1202, the color adjustment processing unit 904 acquires capability information of the printing device 901 from the shared information 209. If the shared information 209 does not hold capability information of the printing device 901, the print function extension unit 903 requests capability information from the printing device 901 and stores it in the shared information 209, and then the process of step S1202 is executed.

[0148] Next, in step S1203, the color adjustment processing unit 904 determines whether the printing device 901 has a module related to color adjustment included in the print settings (here, a brightness adjustment module) from the capability information acquired in step S1202. The printing device 901 is not equipped with a brightness adjustment module. For this reason, in the case of this embodiment, it is determined that the printing device does not have a brightness adjustment module (No in step S1203), and the process proceeds to step S1204. On the other hand, if it is determined that the printing device has a brightness adjustment module (Yes in step S1203), the process skips step S1204 and proceeds to step S817 to generate print data. This is because, in general, when a printing device has a color adjustment module, it is configured with a dedicated module capable of high-speed processing, while the extended application 902 (color adjustment processing unit 904) is configured with a general-purpose processing module. For example, the brightness adjustment module in the printing device 102 is configured to be able to process at high speed by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0149] Next, in step S1204, the color adjustment processing unit 904 (color adjustment processing means) performs brightness adjustment processing on the drawing data passed from the general-purpose printing software 202 in step S815, based on the brightness adjustment setting acquired in step S1201. The color adjustment processing unit 904 then stores the adjusted drawing data in the shared information 209. Also, it edits the brightness adjustment setting of the PT to "0". Alternatively, it deletes the brightness adjustment setting from the PT. Then, the process proceeds to step S817, where print data is generated.

[0150] As described above, in the first embodiment, the intermediate data editing unit 207 generates print data reflecting the color adjustment settings and transmits the print data to the printing device 102, thereby making it possible to provide the user with a color adjustment function. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the color adjustment processing unit 904 first determines whether the printing device 901 has a color adjustment module. If the printing device 901 does not have a color adjustment module, the color adjustment processing unit 904 performs color adjustment processing on the drawing data. On the other hand, if the printing device 901 has a color adjustment module, the color adjustment processing unit 904 does not perform color adjustment processing, and the intermediate data editing unit 207 generates print data reflecting the color adjustment settings and transmits the print data to the printing device 102, as in the first embodiment. In this way, in the second embodiment, even if the printing device does not have a color adjustment module, it is possible to provide the user with a color adjustment function.

[0151] <<Third embodiment>> A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0152] In the first embodiment, a case has been described in which a printing device 102 having a color adjustment function is connected to a host computer 101, and all color adjustments are performed by the printing device 102. In the second embodiment, a case has been described in which a printing device 901 having no color adjustment function is connected to the host computer 101, and an extension application 902 performs all color adjustments instead of the printing device 901.

[0153] On the other hand, in this embodiment, a case will be described in which a printing apparatus 901′ (third printing apparatus) having some color adjustment functions is connected to the host computer 101.

[0154] There are cases where only a part of the color adjustment functions can be performed, such as the printing device 901'. Specifically, the printing device 901' can only perform saturation adjustment among brightness adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, and hue adjustment. In this case, it is possible to perform all the color adjustment functions with the extension application 902 as in the second embodiment. However, when a printing device has a color adjustment module, the module is generally configured with a dedicated module capable of high-speed processing, while the extension application 902 (color adjustment processing unit 904) is configured with a general-purpose processing module. For this reason, there is a high possibility that color adjustments that can be performed by the printing device can be processed faster by the printing device than by the extension application. Therefore, in consideration of printing performance, it is preferable to perform color adjustments that can be performed by the printing device 901' (here, saturation adjustment) on the printing device 901'.

[0155] In the third embodiment, therefore, a method will be described in which color adjustments that can be performed on the printing device 901' are performed on the printing device 901', and color adjustments that cannot be performed on the printing device 901' are performed by the extension application 902.

[0156] In the following description, only the differences from the second embodiment will be described. The printing system 1-3 of this embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that a printing device 901′ equipped with only a saturation adjustment module among color adjustment modules is connected to a host computer 101. In addition, due to this difference, the sequence after the editing application accepts print settings also differs from the second embodiment (FIG. 12).

[0157] <Sequence after the editing application 201 accepts print settings in the third embodiment> Using the sequence of FIG. 14, the print processing executed by the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, the extension application 902, and the printing device 901' after the editing application 201 accepts the print settings will be described. Each step other than the printing device 901' in FIG. 14 is performed by the CPU 111 controlling the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, and the extension application 902. Each step of the printing device 901' in FIG. 14 is performed by a CPU (not shown) in the printing device 901'. Also, steps with the same reference numerals in FIG. 14 and FIG. 12 are the same process, so their description will be omitted. In this embodiment, as an example, a case will be described where the user selects brightness adjustment: +1 as the brightness adjustment setting and saturation adjustment: +1 as the saturation adjustment setting on the detailed setting screen, and the editing application 201 accepts the print settings.

[0158] After the processes of steps S801 to S815, S1201, and S1202, in step S1401, the color adjustment processing unit 904 determines whether or not the printing device 901' has a module related to color adjustment included in the print settings from the capability information acquired in step S1202. Specifically, it determines whether or not the printing device 901' has a brightness adjustment module and a saturation adjustment module. The printing device 901' has a saturation adjustment module but does not have a brightness adjustment module. For this reason, in the case of this embodiment, it is determined that the printing device 901' does not have the brightness adjustment module among the modules related to color adjustment included in the print settings (No in step S1401), and proceeds to step S1402. On the other hand, it is determined that the printing device 901' has the saturation adjustment module among the modules related to color adjustment included in the print settings (Yes in step S1401), and proceeds to step S817.

[0159] Next, in step S1402, the color adjustment processing unit 904 performs brightness adjustment processing on the drawing data based on the brightness adjustment setting in the PT acquired in step S1201, and stores the result in the shared information 209. Then, after print data is generated in step S817, the brightness adjustment setting of the PT is edited to "0" in step S1403, or the brightness adjustment setting is deleted from the PT. After that, the process proceeds to step S818, and the print data is sent to the printing device 901'.

[0160] By doing the above, even if the printing device 901' connected to the host computer 101 does not have some of the functions of the color adjustment module, it is possible to provide the user with color adjustment functions and improve printing performance.

[0161] <<Fourth embodiment>> The fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0162] When multiple processes are combined, such as a color adjustment function, it is convenient to know the results of adjustment before printing. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, a method of previewing the results of adjustment made in the extension application 902 before printing (here, the color adjustment results) will be described.

[0163] In the following, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. The printing system 1-4 of this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it has an extended application 902 (FIG. 9) that has an internal configuration different from the extended application 204 (FIG. 2(b)). In addition, due to this difference, the printing process after the color adjustment processing unit editing application accepts the print settings also differs from the first embodiment (FIG. 8).

[0164] <Sequence after the editing application 201 accepts print settings in the fourth embodiment> The sequence of the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, the extension application 902, and the printing device 102 after the editing application 201 accepts print settings will be described using the sequence in Fig. 15. Note that each step other than that of the printing device 102 in Fig. 8 is performed by the CPU 111 controlling the editing application 201, the general-purpose printing software 202, and the extension application 902. Each step of the printing device 102 in Fig. 8 is performed by a CPU (not shown) in the printing device 102. Note that the steps with the same reference numerals in Fig. 8 are the same process, so their description will be omitted.

[0165] After the processing of steps S801 to S805 is completed, in step S1501, the print setting extension unit 205 of the extension application 902 displays the detailed setting screen of Fig. 16(a). The detailed setting screen in the fourth embodiment is obtained by adding a control 1601 for selecting whether or not to display a preview to the detailed setting screen 300c of Fig. 3(c). The subsequent steps S807 to S816 are the same as those of the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

[0166] Next, in step S1502, the print setting extension unit 205 of the extension application 902 determines whether or not the preview display is set to "Yes" in the control 1601 (FIG. 16A). If the preview display is set to "Yes" in the control 1601 (Yes in step S1502), the process proceeds to step S1503; if not (No in step S1502), the process proceeds to step S817.

[0167] In step S1503, the color adjustment processing unit 904 of the extension application 902 performs color adjustment processing on the drawing data. Specifically, the color adjustment processing unit 904 performs color adjustment processing on the drawing data in accordance with the color adjustment settings (here, brightness adjustment: +1) selected by the user using the controls 310 to 313 on the detailed setting screen in Fig. 16(a).

[0168] Next, in step S1504, the print setting extension unit 205 of the extension application 902 displays the drawing data after the color adjustment process in step S1503 on screen 1603 in Fig. 16(c). If the user presses OK button 1604, the screen returns to the original detailed setting screen in Fig. 16(a). After returning to the original detailed setting screen, if the preview display "Yes" is released in control 1601 and control 309 (end setting button) is pressed, the process proceeds to step S817.

[0169] Note that a printing device 901 may be connected to the host computer 101 instead of the printing device 102. In this case, if it is determined in step S1502 that the preview display is not set to "Yes", the same process as in the second embodiment shown in Fig. 12 is performed. That is, steps S1202 to S1204 are performed, and the color adjustment processing unit 904 of the extension application 902 performs color adjustment according to the capability information, etc.

[0170] Also, instead of the printing device 102, a printing device 901' may be connected to the host computer 101. In this case, if it is determined in step S1502 that the preview display is not set to "Yes", the same processing as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 15 is performed. That is, steps S1202, S1401, S1402, and S1403 are performed, and the color adjustment processing unit 904 of the extension application 902 or the printing device 901' performs color adjustment according to the capability information, etc. In this case, the color adjustment performed by the printing device 901' (saturation adjustment in the third embodiment) is also included in the color adjustment in step S1503 if the preview display is set to "Yes" in step S1502.

[0171] In the fourth embodiment, the preview display is displayed on a separate screen, but it may be incorporated in the detailed setting screen, and any format may be used as long as the preview display is possible. In the fourth embodiment, the preview display is switched on and off with the control 1601, but the processing from steps S807 to S1504 may be performed when the preview button 1602 shown in Fig. 16(b) is pressed.

[0172] By performing the above steps, the drawing data after color adjustment can be previewed in the extension application 902, and the color adjustment results can be checked before printing.

[0173] (Other embodiments) In this embodiment, a program for implementing one or more functions may be provided to a computer of the system or device via a network or storage medium, and the system controller of the system or device may read and execute the program. The system controller may have one or more processors or circuits, and may include multiple separate system controllers or a network of multiple separate processors or circuits to read and execute the executable instructions.

[0174] The processor or circuitry may include a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a data flow processor (DFP), or a neural processing unit (NPU).

[0175] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0176] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration, method, and program. (Configuration 1) An information processing device having general-purpose printing software that can be commonly used on printing devices provided by multiple manufacturers, and an extension application that extends the functions of the general-purpose printing software to realize a color adjustment function unique to the manufacturer, wherein the extension application comprises: an addition means for adding a control that accepts settings of the color adjustment function from a user to a display screen generated by the general-purpose printing software on which the user instructs print settings; a conversion means for converting intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software into print data that can be color adjusted by the first printing device based on the settings of the color adjustment function accepted from the user by the control when the information processing device is connected to a first printing device having a color adjustment module that performs color adjustment processing of print data using the color adjustment function; and a transmission means for transmitting the converted print data to the first printing device. (Configuration 2) The information processing device described in configuration 1, characterized in that the extended application further includes a color adjustment processing means for performing color adjustment processing on drawing data included in the intermediate data, and when a second printing device not having the color adjustment module is connected to the information processing device, the color adjustment processing is performed on the drawing data by the color adjustment processing means based on the setting of the color adjustment function accepted from the user by the control, and the transmission means transmits print data including the drawing data on which the color adjustment processing has been performed to the second printing device. (Configuration 3) When a third printing device having only a portion of the functions of the color adjustment module is connected to the information processing device, the conversion means converts the intermediate data into print data for which color adjustment processing can be performed on the third printing device using the extended application based on settings of the portion of the functions among the settings of the color adjustment function received from the user at the control, and the color adjustment processing means performs the color adjustment processing on the drawing data based on settings other than the portion of the functions among the settings of the color adjustment function received from the user at the control. (Configuration 4) The information processing device described in configuration 3, wherein the extension application further includes an acquisition means for acquiring capability information from a printing device connected to the information processing device, and based on the acquired capability information, determines, among the multiple functions of the color adjustment module, the functions that can be implemented on the third printing device and the functions that cannot be implemented on the third printing device. (Configuration 5) An information processing device as described in any one of configurations 2 to 4, characterized in that when a preview display is set on the display screen, the extended application performs the color adjustment processing on the drawing data using the color adjustment processing means based on the setting of the color adjustment function accepted on the display screen, and displays the drawing data after the color adjustment processing is performed on the preview screen. (Configuration 6) The information processing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the adding means displays on a screen an image of the color after adjustment based on the setting of the color adjustment function received from the user by the control. (Configuration 7) The information processing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the control is a UI that allows a user to select a setting value for color adjustment. (Configuration 8) The information processing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the control is a UI for visually setting color adjustment settings. (Configuration 9) The information processing device according to configuration 4, wherein the adding means adds the control to the display screen in accordance with the capability information acquired by the acquiring means. (Configuration 10) The information processing device described in Configuration 4, characterized in that when the extension application has the color adjustment processing means, the adding means adds the control to the display screen in accordance with the capability information acquired by the acquisition means and the capability information possessed by the color adjustment processing means. (Method 1) A control method for an information processing device having general-purpose printing software that can be commonly used on printing devices provided by multiple manufacturers, and an extension application that extends the functions of the general-purpose printing software to realize a color adjustment function unique to the manufacturer, the control method comprising the steps of: adding, by the extension application, an addition step of adding a control that accepts settings of the color adjustment function from a user to a display screen generated by the general-purpose printing software on which the user instructs print settings; when a first printing device having a color adjustment module that performs color adjustment processing of print data using the color adjustment function is connected to the information processing device, a conversion step of converting intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software into print data that can be subjected to color adjustment processing by the first printing device, based on the settings of the color adjustment function accepted from the user by the control; and a transmission step of transmitting the converted print data to the first printing device. (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the information processing device described in any one of configurations 1 to 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0177] 1-1,1-2 Printing system 101 Host Computer 202 General-purpose printing software 204,902 Extended Applications 102,901 Printing equipment 310~313 Control

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus having general-purpose printing software that can be used in common with printing devices provided by a plurality of manufacturers, and an extension application that extends the function of the general-purpose printing software to realize a color adjustment function unique to the manufacturer, The extension application includes: an adding means for adding a control for receiving settings of the color adjustment function from a user to a display screen generated by the general-purpose printing software and used by the user to specify print settings; a conversion means for converting intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software into print data that can be color-adjusted by the first printing device, based on a setting of the color adjustment function received from a user by the control, when a first printing device having a color adjustment module that performs color adjustment processing on print data by the color adjustment function is connected to the information processing device; a transmitting means for transmitting the converted print data to the first printing device; An information processing device comprising:

2. The extension application includes: a color adjustment processing unit that performs color adjustment processing on the drawing data included in the intermediate data; When a second printing device not having the color adjustment module is connected to the information processing device, the color adjustment processing unit performs the color adjustment process on the drawing data based on a setting of the color adjustment function received from a user by the control unit; 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting means transmits print data including the drawing data on which the color adjustment process has been performed to the second printing device.

3. When a third printing device having only a part of the functions of the color adjustment module is connected to the information processing device, the conversion means converts the intermediate data into print data that can be color adjusted by the third printing device, based on the setting of the part of the color adjustment functions among the settings of the color adjustment functions received from the user by the control, using the extension application; 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the color adjustment processing means performs the color adjustment processing on the drawing data based on settings of the color adjustment functions received from the user via the control, other than the certain functions.

4. The extension application includes: The information processing device according to claim 3, further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring capability information from a printing device connected to the information processing device, and based on the acquired capability information, determining, among the multiple functions of the color adjustment module, the part of functions that can be implemented by the third printing device and the functions that cannot be implemented by the third printing device.

5. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that when a preview display is set on the display screen, the extended application performs the color adjustment processing on the drawing data using the color adjustment processing means based on the setting of the color adjustment function accepted on the display screen, and displays the drawing data after the color adjustment processing is performed on the preview screen.

6. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adding means displays on a screen an image of colors after adjustment based on the settings of the color adjustment function received from the user through the control.

7. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control is a UI that allows a user to select a setting value for color adjustment.

8. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control is a UI for visually setting color adjustment settings.

9. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said adding means adds said control to said display screen in accordance with the capability information acquired by said acquiring means.

10. The information processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that, when the extension application has the color adjustment processing means, the adding means adds the control to the display screen in accordance with the capability information acquired by the acquisition means and the capability information possessed by the color adjustment processing means.

11. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus having general-purpose printing software that can be used in common with printing apparatuses provided by a plurality of manufacturers, and an extension application that extends a function of the general-purpose printing software in order to realize a color adjustment function unique to the manufacturer, comprising: The extension application an additional step of adding a control for receiving settings of the color adjustment function from a user to a display screen generated by the general-purpose printing software and used by the user to specify print settings; a conversion step of converting intermediate data generated by the general-purpose printing software into print data that can be color-adjusted by the first printing device based on a setting of the color adjustment function received from a user by the control when a first printing device having a color adjustment module that performs color adjustment processing on print data by the color adjustment function is connected to the information processing device; a transmitting step of transmitting the converted print data to the first printing device; A control method comprising the steps of:

12. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the information processing device according to claim 1.

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