Print control device, print control system, and print control program

Abstract

To reduce generation of waste sheets.SOLUTION: A print control device 100 includes a control unit 50 that causes a roll printing machine 200 to print a color adjustment chart. The control unit 50, on receipt of a first print instruction P1 to print a first color adjustment chart 201, temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart 201 and suspends printing. The control unit 50, on receipt of a second print instruction P2 to print a second color adjustment chart 201, causes the roll printing machine 200 to collectively print the first color adjustment chart 201 temporarily stored and the second color adjustment chart 202.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print control device, a print control system, and a print control program, and more particularly to a print control device that causes a roll press to perform printing. [Background technology]

[0002] When reproducing the color of a printed matter with a printer, color management is automatically performed according to the reproducibility specific to the printer. On the other hand, depending on the user, when the user wants to match the print color closely to the color sample, the reproducibility of the automatically converted color may not match the user's desire. To solve this problem, printers have spot color and alternative color functions. For spot colors, the gradation of YMCK is specified, and the printer prints with the toner amount or ink amount that matches the specified gradation. However, since the color reproducibility differs depending on the printer, the desired color may not match even if the user specifies the gradation. When the desired color does not match, the user adjusts the color using a color management application. This color management application can make the printer print a color sample for color adjustment (color adjustment chart). Here, the color adjustment chart is a two-dimensional array of multiple color patches with the spot color as the center value and the color shifted. When a print command is issued by the application, the controller generates a print image (color adjustment chart) internally and makes the printer print it immediately. The user then selects a color patch of the appropriate color.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a color selection support device and an image processing device that, when a user issues a print instruction, generates a color adjustment chart and causes a printing machine to print the generated color adjustment chart. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-70298 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Roll presses require a certain braking distance to stabilize the paper's oscillation before and after printing and to stop it safely. This braking distance results in unprinted paper = wasted paper for each print job. For example, even if the color adjustment chart is A4 size (approximately 0.2 m), paper waste of the braking distance (e.g., approximately 7 m) will occur. In addition, when there are multiple spot colors, it is necessary to output color adjustment charts for multiple colors. With conventional color adjustment chart printing, printing is performed for each print instruction for the color adjustment chart, which creates an issue of wasted paper each time a color adjustment chart is printed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a print control device, a print control system, and a print control program that can reduce the occurrence of paper waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The above-mentioned object of the present invention can be achieved by the following means.

[0008] (1) A print control device having a control unit that causes a roll press to print a color adjustment chart, wherein when the control unit receives a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart, the control unit temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart and suspends printing.

[0009] (2) When the control unit receives a second print instruction different from the first color adjustment chart, the control unit consolidates the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart, and the control unit causes the roll press to print the consolidated first color adjustment chart and second color adjustment chart.

[0010] (3) The print control device described in (2) above, characterized in that the roll machine is configured to control the rotation of a bobbin of roll paper, including before and after printing, when it receives a third print instruction for printing the first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart together, and either the first print instruction or the second print instruction.

[0011] (4) The print control device according to (2) above, wherein the control unit causes the first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart to be printed together, and controls the rotation of a bobbin of roll paper, including before and after printing.

[0012] (5) The print control device according to (1) above, wherein the color adjustment chart is composed of a plurality of color patches in which the hues (hue, saturation, brightness) are changed from spot colors.

[0013] (6) The print control device according to (5) above, characterized in that the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart is combined with a job including the spot color and printed on the roll press.

[0014] (7) The printing control device described in (5) is characterized in that the control unit adds the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart to the end of the previous job (one or more) and causes the roll press to print it.

[0015] (8) The print control device according to (6) above, wherein the control unit combines the jobs with matching print conditions and causes them to be printed.

[0016] (9) The print control device according to (7) above, wherein the printing conditions include paper type, screen settings, the presence or absence of white toner, and continuous printing distance.

[0017] (10) A roll press printing system comprising a roll press and a print control device that causes the roll press to print a color adjustment chart, wherein the print control device, when receiving a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart, temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart and suspends printing, and the roll press, when receiving an instruction to print the first color adjustment chart, rotates a bobbin of roll paper.

[0018] (11) A print control program to be executed by a computer of a print control device that causes a color adjustment chart to be printed on a roll press, the print control program being characterized in that, when a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart is received, the received color adjustment chart is temporarily stored and printing on the roll press is put on hold. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, the occurrence of paper waste can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a roll-type printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the roll press printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a roll-type printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a print result printed by a roll press according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a roll-type printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a roll press printing system that is a comparative example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] In the following embodiments, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each drawing is merely a schematic illustration to allow a sufficient understanding of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. In each drawing, common or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0022] The printing control device of the present invention has a control unit that causes a roll press to print a color adjustment chart. When the control unit receives a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart, the control unit temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart and suspends printing.

[0023] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a roll-type printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the roll press printing system 500, a first print control device 100, a roll press 200, and a second print control device 300 are communicatively connected. The second print control device 300 is a PC (Personal Computer) and has a color application 310 installed. The first print control device 100 and the second print control device 300 are connected via a network such as a wired LAN or a wireless LAN. The color application 310 of this embodiment generates a plurality of color adjustment charts (a first color adjustment chart 201 and a second color adjustment chart 202). The second print control device 300 first outputs a first print instruction P1 (broken line) to the first print control device 100 to print the first color adjustment chart 201. Next, the second print control device 300 outputs a second print instruction P2 (solid line) to the first print control device 100 to print the second color adjustment chart 202.

[0024] The first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202 are two-dimensional arrays of multiple color patches with shifted hues centered around a spot color (specific color). The multiple color patches are, for example, those in which the YMCK gradation of the spot color is shifted, or the hue, saturation, and brightness are shifted. A typical example of a spot color is a corporate color.

[0025] The first print control device 100 outputs a third print instruction P3 (dash-dotted line) to the roll press 200 based on the first print instruction P1 and the second print instruction P2. The roll press 200 uses toner and ink to print an image based on the third print instruction P3 onto roll paper 250.

[0026] The first print control device 100 includes a volatile storage unit 10, a non-volatile storage unit 20, a network IF 30, and a control unit 50. The volatile storage unit 10 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) and is used as a working memory. The non-volatile storage unit 20 is a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Disk). The non-volatile storage unit 20 temporarily stores a first color adjustment chart 201 and a second color adjustment chart 202 received as print instructions (first print instruction P1 and second print instruction P2) from the second print control device 300. The network IF 30 receives the first print instruction P1 and the second print instruction P2) from the second print control device 300 via a network.

[0027] The control unit 50 is a computer composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an image generation device (not shown). The CPU controls each part by executing a print control program stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20. The image generation device (not shown) generates and modifies a print image based on instructions from the CPU.

[0028] Specifically, the control unit 50 temporarily stores the first color adjustment chart 201 included in the first print instruction P1 in the non-volatile storage unit 20. The control unit 50 also temporarily stores the second color adjustment chart 202 included in the second print instruction P2 in the non-volatile storage unit 20. This suspends control of the roll press to print. Then, the control unit 50 transmits a third print instruction P3 to the roll press 200 to print the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202 temporarily stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20 together. Then, the roll press 200 prints multiple color adjustment charts (the first color adjustment chart 201, the second color adjustment chart 202) as one job.

[0029] The roll machine 200 comprises a volatile memory unit 110, a printing unit 120, a display unit 130, and a control unit 150. The volatile memory unit 110 is RAM and is used as a working memory. The printing unit 120 is a mechanical device that prints on roll paper 250 with toner and ink. The printing unit 120 is configured to rotate the bobbin of the roll paper 250 during printing. As a result, the roll machine 200 generates waste paper 251, 252 before and after printing. The display unit 130 is a liquid crystal display panel that displays the printing status and errors. The control unit 150 is a CPU that controls each unit.

[0030] When the roll machine 200 executes the third print instruction P3, at the start of printing, waste paper 251 is generated to stabilize the oscillation of the roll paper 250. When the oscillation of the roll paper 250 has stabilized, the roll machine 200 prints the first color adjustment chart 201 on the roll paper, and immediately prints the second color adjustment chart 202 on the roll paper. In addition, at the end of printing, waste paper 252 is generated, which corresponds to the braking distance required to safely stop the roll paper 250.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the roll press printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 50 (FIG. 1) receives a print instruction (first print instruction P1 (FIG. 1)) from the second print control device 300 to cause the roll-type press 200 to print the first color adjustment chart 201 (S1). After processing S1, the control unit 50 stores the received first color adjustment chart 201 in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (FIG. 1) (S2). After processing S2, the control unit 50 receives a print instruction (second print instruction P2 (FIG. 1)) from the second print control device 300 to cause the roll-type press 200 to print the second color adjustment chart 202 (S3).

[0032] After the process of S3, the control unit 50 stores the received second color adjustment chart 202 in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (S4). After the process of S4, the control unit 50 transmits a print instruction (third print instruction P3) to the roll-type press 200 to print the stored (temporarily stored) color adjustment charts together (S5). This third print instruction P3 causes the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202 to be printed together. This ends the process. The roll-type press 200 receives the print instruction (third print instruction P3) (S6) and completes printing (S7). This ends the process.

[0033] As described above, according to the roll press printing system 500 of this embodiment, multiple color adjustment charts temporarily stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20 are printed together. In other words, multiple color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202) are printed together as one job. Therefore, although waste paper 251, 252 occurs before and after printing on the roll paper 250, no waste paper occurs between the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202.

[0034] Second embodiment In the first embodiment, a plurality of color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202) are printed together. In this embodiment, the color adjustment charts and a print image other than the color adjustment charts are printed together.

[0035] 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a roll press printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Here, the configuration of the roll press printing system is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the print control program is different. Also, it is assumed that there is no second print instruction P2 for printing the second color adjustment chart 202, and that a print job is stored in advance in the non-volatile storage unit 20.

[0036] In the second print control device 300, the user sets the spot color name (S11). Here, the spot color name is the name of the spot color. Also, a spot color is an ink color that is mixed (mixed) in advance to express a color that cannot be reproduced by process colors. A spot color is also called a spot color or a special blend color, and an example of such a color is a corporate color.

[0037] After the process of S11, the second print control device 300 transmits a print instruction (first print instruction P1 (FIG. 1)) to print the first color adjustment chart 201 with the specified spot color to the first print control device 100 (S12). After the process of S12, the control unit 50 of the first print control device 100 receives a print instruction (first print instruction P1) to print the first color adjustment chart 201 from the second print control device 300 (S13). After the process of S13, the control unit 50 stores the first color adjustment chart 201 in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (FIG. 1) (S14). Furthermore, the control unit 50 assigns the spot color name to the job name (S14).

[0038] After the process of S14, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a saved job with the same spot color name exists in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (S15). If there is no saved job with the same spot color name ("No" in S15), the control unit 50 ends the process to wait for the next user instruction.

[0039] On the other hand, when there is a stored job for the same spot color ("Yes" in S15), the control unit 50 reads out both the stored job for the same spot color and the first color adjustment chart 201 from the non-volatile storage unit 20. Furthermore, the control unit 50 issues a print instruction (third print instruction P3 (FIG. 1)) to the roll-type press 200 to print the stored job for the same spot color and the first color adjustment chart 201 together (S16), and ends the process. The roll-type press 200 receives a print instruction (third print instruction P3) from the first print control device 100 (S17). After the process of S17, the roll-type press 200 completes printing (S18).

[0040] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a print result printed by a roll press according to a second embodiment of the present invention. When the roll press 200 starts printing, waste paper 251 occurs on the roll paper 255. After that, the image 205 of the saved job with the same spot color name and the first color adjustment chart 201 are printed together. Furthermore, waste paper 252 occurs when printing stops.

[0041] The image 205 of the saved job can be used for positioning and misalignment adjustment when printing specific images continuously. In other words, since the first color correction chart 201 and the image 205 are printed at the same time, the operator can adjust the color and misalignment at the same time.

[0042] As described above, the first color adjustment chart 201 and the image 205 of the print job temporarily stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20 of this embodiment are printed together. Therefore, although waste paper 251, 252 occurs before and after printing on the roll paper 255, no waste paper occurs between the first color adjustment chart 201 and the image 205 of the print job. In addition, the amount of waste paper is reduced when color adjustment and positional misalignment adjustment are performed simultaneously.

[0043] Third embodiment In the second embodiment, the first color adjustment chart 201 and the image 205 of the third print instruction P3 having the same spot color name were printed together. In this embodiment, an image of a job (previous reserved job) different from the job to be printed is printed together with the first color adjustment chart 201. For the previous reserved job, there are cases where the job for the actual print is not saved in the first print control device 100 (FIG. 1) or settings other than color tone are not completed.

[0044] 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of a roll press printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the configuration of the roll press printing system is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the print control program is different. Also, as in the second embodiment, there is no second print instruction P2 for printing the second color adjustment chart 202, and the previous job is stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20 in advance.

[0045] The control unit 50 of the first print control device 100 (FIG. 1) receives a first print instruction P1 (FIG. 1) for the first color adjustment chart 201 from the second print control device 300 (S21). After processing S21, the control unit 50 stores (temporarily stores) the received first color adjustment chart 201 in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (S22). After processing S22, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a reserved previous job (S23). That is, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the previous job whose printing has been put on hold is stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20 (S23).

[0046] If there is a reserved previous job ("Yes" in S23), the control unit 50 determines whether the printing conditions of the previously saved first color adjustment chart 201 and the reserved previous job match (S25). Here, the printing conditions include paper type, screen settings, number of toner colors, and continuous printing distance. The number of toner colors varies depending on the presence or absence of white toner in addition to the four colors of YMCK, for example. When there is no white toner, there are four colors, and when there is white toner, there are five colors. Also, roll presses have a limit to the distance over which continuous printing is possible. The continuous printing distance refers to the limit distance over which continuous printing is possible.

[0047] When the printing conditions match ("Yes" in S24), the control unit 50 determines whether the limit distance is exceeded (S25). When a print instruction (third print instruction P3 (FIG. 1)) is issued to print the first color adjustment chart 201 and the reserved previous job together, the image conditions (e.g., printing rate) change. Therefore, the control unit 50 checks that the limit distance condition of the previous job remains unchanged.

[0048] If the limit distance is not exceeded ("Yes" in S25), the control unit 50 automatically combines the first color adjustment chart 201 and the reserved previous job (S26). At this time, the control unit 50 places the first color adjustment chart 201 at the end of the reserved previous job. Furthermore, the control unit 50 instructs the roll-type printing machine 200 to print both the combined first color adjustment chart 201 and the reserved previous job (S26), and ends the process.

[0049] On the other hand, when S23 is "No", S24 is "No", and S25 is "No", the control unit 50 executes the process of S28. In S28, the control unit 50 judges whether or not all reserved jobs have been confirmed (S28). If all jobs have not been confirmed (S28 is "No"), the control unit 50 returns the process to S23 and judges whether or not there is a previous reserved job. On the other hand, if all jobs have been confirmed (S28 is "Yes"), the control unit 50 waits for a user instruction and ends the process.

[0050] As described above, according to this embodiment, the first color adjustment chart 201 and a reserved previous job that matches the printing conditions (paper type, screen settings, number of toner colors, and limit distance) are printed together. Therefore, although waste paper 251, 252 occurs before and after printing on the roll paper 255 (FIG. 4), no waste paper occurs between the first color adjustment chart 201 and the image 205 of the previous job.

[0051] (Comparative Example) In the first embodiment, multiple color adjustment charts are temporarily stored in the non-volatile storage unit 20, and are then collectively printed as a single job by the roll press 200. In this comparative example, multiple color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202) are each printed as an individual job by the roll press 200.

[0052] FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a roll press printing system that is a comparative example of the present invention. The roll press printing system 501, like the roll press printing system 500 (FIG. 1) of the first embodiment, includes a roll press 200 and a second print control device 300. However, the roll press printing system 501 differs in that it includes a first print control device 101 instead of the first print control device 100.

[0053] The first print control device 101, like the first print control device 100 of the first embodiment, includes a volatile storage unit 10, a nonvolatile storage unit 21, a network IF 30, and a control unit 50. However, the nonvolatile storage unit 21 differs from the nonvolatile storage unit 20 of the first embodiment in that it does not temporarily store multiple color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202).

[0054] As in the first embodiment, the second print control device 300 uses a color application 310 to generate multiple color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202). A first print instruction P1 (dashed line) for printing the second color adjustment chart 202 is sent to the roll press 200 via the first print control device 101. As a result, the roll press 200 generates waste paper 251 before printing the first color adjustment chart 201. Furthermore, the roll press 200 generates waste paper 253 to safely stop the roll paper 256.

[0055] Next, a second print instruction P2 (solid line) for printing the second color adjustment chart 202 is sent to the roll press 200 via the first print control device 101. As a result, the roll press 200 generates waste paper 254 before printing the second color adjustment chart 202. Furthermore, the roll press 200 generates waste paper 252 in order to safely stop the roll paper 256.

[0056] As described above, according to the roll press printing system 501 of this comparative example, multiple color adjustment charts (first color adjustment chart 201, second color adjustment chart 202) are printed separately. Therefore, in addition to waste sheets 251, 252 that occur before and after printing, waste sheets 253, 254 occur on the roll paper 256 between the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202.

[0057] (Modification) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following modifications (a) and (b) are possible. (a) In the first embodiment, two color adjustment charts, the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202, are printed, but three or more color adjustment charts may be printed.

[0058] (b) In the above embodiment, the first print control device 100 and the second print control device 300 are separated. In this respect, the two may be combined into a print control device. This print control device causes the roll machine 200 to print using a print instruction that compiles the first color adjustment chart 201 and the second color adjustment chart 202. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 10,110 Volatile memory unit 20,21 Non-volatile memory unit 30 Network Interface 50,150 Control section 100, 101 First print control device (controller) 120 Printing Department 130 Display section 200 Roll Machine 201 1st Color Adjustment Chart 202 2nd Color Adjustment Chart 205 images 250,255 roll paper 251,252,253,254 Waste paper 300 Second print control device (PC) 310 Color App 500,501 Roll press printing system P1 1st printing instruction P2 2nd printing instruction P3 3rd printing instruction

Claims

1. A print control device having a control unit that causes a roll press to print a color adjustment chart, When the control unit receives a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart, the control unit temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart and suspends printing. Print control device.

2. When the control unit receives a second print instruction to print a second color adjustment chart different from the first color adjustment chart, the control unit causes the roll press to print the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart together. The print control device according to claim 1 .

3. The roll machine is configured to rotate a bobbin of roll paper including before and after printing when receiving a third printing instruction for printing the first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart collectively, the first printing instruction, or the second printing instruction. The print control device according to claim 2 .

4. The control unit causes the roll machine to print the first color adjustment chart and the second color adjustment chart together, and rotates a bobbin of roll paper before and after printing. The print control device according to claim 2 .

5. The color adjustment chart is made up of a plurality of color patches in which the hues of the spot colors are changed. The print control device according to claim 1 .

6. The control unit combines the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart with a job including the spot color, and controls the roll press to print the combined first color adjustment chart.

6. The print control device according to claim 5,

7. The control unit adds the temporarily stored first color adjustment chart to the end of a previous job and causes the roll press to print the chart. The print control device according to claim 5 .

8. The control unit combines the jobs having the same printing conditions and prints them. The print control device according to claim 5 .

9. The printing conditions are the paper type, the screen setting, the presence or absence of white toner, and the continuous printing distance. The print control device according to claim 8.

10. A roll press printing system including a roll press and a print control device that causes the roll press to print a color adjustment chart, when the print control device receives a first print instruction to print a first color adjustment chart, the print control device temporarily stores the received color adjustment chart and suspends printing; The roll machine rotates a bobbin of roll paper when it receives an instruction to print the first color adjustment chart. Roll press printing system.

11. A printing control program to be executed by a computer of a printing control device that causes a roll press to print a color adjustment chart, When a first print instruction for printing the first color adjustment chart is received, the received color adjustment chart is temporarily stored and printing is put on hold. Print control program.

Images