Printer, control method of printer, and program

Abstract

To efficiently execute calibration processing while reducing adverse effects of the calibration processing.SOLUTION: A printer performs printing in accordance with a printing job including PDL data designating printing content page by page. The printer includes: registration means for registering an input printing job; analysis means for analyzing a plurality of printing jobs registered by the registration means; and changing means for changing a printing order by the page unit in the plurality of printing jobs so as to avoid execution of prescribed calibration processing when execution of the prescribed calibration processing is required because width direction sizes of printing media designated in the plurality of printing jobs are different as a result of the analysis. The width direction size is a size in a direction crossing a direction in which the printing media are conveyed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to calibration of a printing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In an inkjet printing apparatus, ink is ejected from ejection nozzles provided in a print head toward a printing medium. As an example of the printing medium, when printing an image on printing paper which is cut paper, for example, depending on whether the A4-sized printing paper is printed vertically or horizontally, the range of use of the ejection nozzles of the print head changes. For this reason, for ejection nozzles in a range that has not been used for a long time, ink may not be ejected appropriately, and the print quality may deteriorate. Therefore, calibration processing is performed so that the print quality does not deteriorate.

[0003] Here, the calibration processing includes a preliminary ejection process for performing preliminary ejection of the print head and a temperature equalization process for equalizing the temperature of a conveyance unit that conveys the printing paper. In the preliminary ejection process, since ink is actually ejected from the target ejection nozzles onto the printing paper, waste paper is generated. Furthermore, downtime for the time required for the preliminary ejection process also occurs. This downtime also occurs when performing the temperature equalization process. As a technique for reducing such adverse effects of the calibration processing, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for eliminating the bias in the use area of the print head by changing the conveyance position of the printing paper and performing printing.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1 described above, hardware for changing the conveyance position of the printing paper and software for controlling the hardware are required.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to efficiently perform calibration processing while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration processing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A printing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a printing apparatus that performs printing according to a printing job including PDL data specifying printing content in page units, and includes a registration unit that registers an input printing job, an analysis unit that analyzes a plurality of printing jobs registered by the registration unit, and a change unit that changes the printing order in page units in the plurality of printing jobs so as to avoid performing a predetermined calibration process when it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widthwise sizes of the printing media specified in the plurality of printing jobs are different, and the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the printing media is conveyed.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to efficiently perform calibration processing while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration processing.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Also, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution means of the invention. Also, the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

[0011] <<Embodiment 1>> <Configuration of the Printing System> FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a printing system (image forming apparatus) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 includes client computers 11 and 12 and an inkjet printing apparatus 100. The client computers 11 and 12 and the printing apparatus 100 are interconnected by a network 20 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The client computers 11 and 12 have standard components (CPU, memory, network interface, keyboard, etc.) mounted on general-purpose computers. The client computers 11 and 12 generate a print job including PDL data specifying print content in page units using a predetermined application (printer driver), and transmit the print job to the printing apparatus 100 via the network 20. Note that the PDL data is data described using a page description language (PDL: Page Description Language). The printing apparatus 100 interprets and renders the PDL data included in the print job received from the client computers 11 and 12 to generate print data, and performs printing processing. In the printing processing, an image is printed on a print medium by an inkjet method and then output to the outside.

[0012] Note that the number of the client computers 11 and 12 and the printing apparatus 100 constituting the printing system 1 may be any number. For example, three or more client computers may be connected to the network 20, or two or more printing apparatuses may be connected to the network 20. Further, although an example having only a printing function is shown as the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The printing apparatus 100 may further include, for example, a reading device that reads an image on a document and has a function as a copying machine. Further, the printing apparatus 100 may be a multifunction peripheral (MFP) with other functions added.

[0013] <Configuration of Printing Apparatus> As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a paper feeding unit 110, a printing and fixing unit 120, an image inspection unit 130, and a paper discharging unit 140. In the present embodiment, a printing apparatus 100 that performs printing on cut paper, which is an example of printing media, will be described. Note that the printing media is not limited to cut paper for printing. For example, the printing media may be label paper, envelope paper, or a plastic sheet. The plastic sheet may be, for example, an OHP sheet.

[0014] The paper feeding unit 110 includes a plurality of paper feeding trays 111. The paper feeding tray 111 can accommodate a plurality of sheets of printing paper (for example, about 500 sheets). Before the printing process starts, the printing paper is loaded by the user into the paper feeding tray 111. After the printing process starts, the paper feeding tray 111 that contains the printing paper corresponding to the printing job is selected, and the printing paper is taken into the conveyance path 105 from the paper feeding tray 111. The printing paper taken into the conveyance path 105 is conveyed along the conveyance path 105 by a conveyance belt 150 or the like. In the present embodiment, a paper feeding direction in which the conveyance direction of the printing paper is orthogonal to the long side of the printing paper is referred to as LEF (Long Edge Feed). A paper feeding direction in which the conveyance direction of the printing paper is orthogonal to the short side of the printing paper is referred to as SEF (Short Edge Feed). The plurality of paper feeding trays 111 includes, for example, a paper feeding tray that accommodates A4-size printing paper with a paper feeding direction of SEF and a paper feeding tray that accommodates A3-size printing paper with a paper feeding direction of SEF. Further, the plurality of paper feeding trays 111 may further include a paper feeding tray that accommodates A4-size printing paper with a paper feeding direction of LEF. The plurality of paper feeding trays 111 may include a paper feeding tray that accommodates B5-size printing paper with a paper feeding direction of SEF, and may include a paper feeding tray that accommodates B4-size printing paper with a paper feeding direction of SEF.

[0015] The conveyance belt 150 is disposed in a rectangular ring shape inside the printing and fixing unit 120 and the image inspection unit 130. The conveyance belt 150 is driven by a driving device (not shown) composed of an electric motor or the like, and circulates inside the printing and fixing unit 120 and the image inspection unit 130. Incidentally, the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 1 indicates the conveyance direction of the printing paper by the conveyance belt 150 or the like. The broken line arrow in FIG. 1 indicates the moving direction of the conveyance belt 150.

[0016] Based on the print job to be printed, the printing and fixing unit 120 forms and fixes an image on the printing paper on the conveyance path 105 using the printing and fixing module 121. Incidentally, the image formed on the printing paper does not necessarily have only significant information such as characters and graphics. The printing and fixing module 121 includes a print head 122 provided with a plurality of ejection nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink onto the printing paper. The print head 122 is a one-pass type print head having a length corresponding to the width direction size of the printing paper. The ejection nozzles of the print head 122 are arranged over the entire side of the print head 122 facing the printing paper. Incidentally, the width direction size of the printing paper is the size in the direction intersecting the direction in which the printing paper is conveyed, for example, the size in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the printing paper is conveyed.

[0017] The image inspection unit 130 reads the surface of the printing paper on the conveyance path 105 using the imaging module 131 and acquires it as electronic image data. The imaging module 131 outputs the acquired image data to an image inspection device 205 (see FIG. 2) described later.

[0018] The paper discharge unit 140 discharges the printing paper conveyed along the conveyance path 105 to the paper discharge tray 141. The paper discharge unit 140 includes a plurality of paper discharge trays 141. When a plurality of print jobs are executed in parallel, the paper discharge unit 140 separates and discharges the printing papers printed based on each print job to separate paper discharge trays 141.

[0019] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus 100. As shown in Figure 2, the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment further includes a controller 200 and a liquid crystal display 160. The controller 200 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a storage device 204, an image inspection device 205, a general-purpose I / F (interface) 206, a user I / F (interface) 207, and a device I / F (interface) 208. Each part of the controller 200 is connected via a main bus 209.

[0020] The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 is a processor that comprehensively controls each part of the printing apparatus 100. The CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 100 while using the RAM 202 as a work area according to the program group and various data stored in the ROM 203. The RAM (Random Access Memory) 202 functions as the main memory, work area, etc. of the CPU 201. The ROM (Read Only Memory) 203 stores the program group executed by the CPU 201 and various data necessary for the operation of the printing apparatus 100. The storage device 204 stores the application software executed by the CPU 201, the image data and setting information, etc. included in the print job.

[0021] The image inspection device 205 controls the imaging module 131 of the image inspection unit 130 to image a printed matter (printing paper with an image printed thereon). The image inspection device 205 performs an inspection of the printed matter based on the image data output from the imaging module 131. When performing the inspection of the printed matter, the image inspection device 205 compares the image data of the printed matter output from the imaging module 131 with a reference image such as the image data of a good printed matter or a raster image to determine whether the image of the printed matter is a normal good-quality image.

[0022] The general-purpose I / F 206 receives print jobs transmitted from the client computers 11 and 12 via a network 20 such as a LAN. As a result, print jobs set by the user using the client computers 11 and 12 are input to the general-purpose I / F 206. Further, with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory connected to the general-purpose I / F 206, the general-purpose I / F 206 may read out a print job stored in the USB memory. The user I / F 207 notifies the user by displaying the status and settings of the printing apparatus 100 on the liquid crystal display 160. Further, the user I / F 207 receives from the user instructions regarding print settings of a print job and instructions regarding inspection settings of the image inspection apparatus 205, which are input by operating an input device (not shown) such as a hard key or a touch panel. The device I / F 208 requests processing from each hardware component (paper feed unit 110, printing and fixing unit 120, paper discharge unit 140, etc.) of the printing apparatus 100 and synchronizes the processing timings of the respective hardware components.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller 200 in the printing apparatus 100. The controller 200 includes a registration unit 301, an analysis unit 302, an acquisition unit 303, a determination unit 304, and a modification unit 305. These functions are realized by the CPU 201 of the controller 200 executing a program group stored in the ROM 203. Therefore, it can be said that the CPU 201 has each function of the controller 200 shown in FIG. 3, but it is not necessary to have all of these functions. For example, the controller 200 may include a dedicated processing circuit that performs processing corresponding to at least one of the functions of the controller 200. In the present embodiment, at least one of the functions of the controller 200 may transfer information to other functions by any method. For example, at least one of the functions of the controller 200 may save the acquired information or the created information in the RAM 202 so that other functions can acquire this information. That is, in the present embodiment, information transfer between the functions of the controller 200 may be performed via the RAM 202. Also, at least one of the functions of the controller 200 may output the acquired information or the created information to other functions without saving it in the RAM 202.

[0024] The registration unit 301 registers the print job input to the general-purpose I / F 206. The print job registered by the registration unit 301 is stored in the RAM 202. The registration unit 301 can register not only one print job but also a plurality of print jobs. The print job includes image data related to printing and setting information related to printing set by the user. Hereinafter, the setting information and the like included in the print job are referred to as job information.

[0025] The analysis means 302 acquires job information regarding all the print jobs stored in the RAM 202. Further, the analysis means 302 analyzes the acquired job information. By analyzing the job information, the analysis means 302 acquires the size information of the printing paper, the paper feed direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, and the print schedule information. Here, the size information of the printing paper is information regarding the size of the printing paper used for printing. The paper feed direction information of the printing paper is information regarding the direction in which the printing paper is conveyed for printing. Note that the information regarding the direction in which the printing paper is conveyed may be referred to as the direction information of the printing paper. In the present embodiment, the direction in which the printing paper is conveyed is referred to as the paper feed direction, and the paper feed direction is indicated using the aforementioned LEF and SEF. The number of printed sheets information of the printing paper is information regarding the number of printed sheets of the printing paper used for printing. The print schedule information is information regarding the print order in page units in the print job. For example, the print schedule information indicates the print order in printing paper units when the printing process is executed according to the print job. As printing methods for the printing paper, there are single-sided printing and double-sided printing. Whether it is the case of single-sided printing or double-sided printing, the print order in printing paper units when the printing process is executed according to the print job indicates the print order in page units in the print job.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of job information analyzed by the analysis means 302. In the table shown in FIG. 4, the item of "size information" indicates the size of the printing paper used for printing. The item of "paper feed direction information" indicates the paper feed direction of the printing paper used for printing. The item of "number of printed sheets information" indicates the number of printed sheets of the printing paper used for printing. The item of "printing schedule information" indicates the printing order per printing paper when the registered printing job is executed. In the printing job of the example shown in FIG. 4, A4-sized printing paper and A3-sized printing paper are used for printing. The paper feed direction of the A4-sized printing paper is LEF, and the paper feed direction of the A3-sized printing paper is also LEF. 1000 sheets of A4-sized printing paper are printed, and 50 sheets of A3-sized printing paper are printed. The printing paper from the 1st sheet to the 1000th sheet is A4-sized printing paper, and the printing paper from the 1001st sheet to the 1050th sheet is A3-sized printing paper.

[0027] The acquisition means 303 acquires the implementation conditions for performing a predetermined calibration process accompanying a change in the width direction size of the printing paper. The acquisition means 303 may acquire, for example, data on the implementation conditions of the calibration process stored in advance in the ROM 203 of the controller 200. The acquisition means 303 may acquire data on the implementation conditions of the calibration process set by the user via the user I / F 207. Hereinafter, the predetermined calibration process accompanying a change in the width direction size of the printing paper is simply referred to as the "calibration process". When executing a printing job in which printing papers of different sizes are mixed, when the printing job is switched, or when the paper feed direction changes even for printing papers of the same size, a change in the width direction size of the printing paper occurs for which the calibration process is required.

[0028] The user can arbitrarily set the execution conditions of the calibration process. For example, the execution conditions of the calibration process may be set to the number of printed sheets (i.e., 1000 sheets) when printing a larger-sized printing paper after printing 1000 sheets of a certain printing paper. The execution conditions of the calibration process may be set to the printing time (i.e., 2 hours) when printing a larger-sized printing paper after printing a certain printing paper for 2 hours. It can be said that the execution conditions of the calibration process are the intervals in units of the number of printed sheets from a certain size of printing paper to when changing to a larger-sized printing paper. Also, it can be said that the execution conditions of the calibration process are the intervals in units of printing time from a certain size of printing paper to when changing to a larger-sized printing paper. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned intervals in units of the number of printed sheets and intervals in units of printing time may be collectively referred to as size change intervals. In this embodiment, the case where the size change interval, which is the execution condition of the calibration process, is an interval in units of the number of printed sheets will be described.

[0029] Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining the calibration process. With reference to the explanatory diagram shown in Figure 5, the calibration process will be described. The calibration process includes a preliminary discharge process and a temperature equalization process. First, the preliminary discharge process for performing the preliminary discharge of the print head 122 will be described. As shown in Figure 5, after printing a predetermined number of sheets of printing paper 501 with the first width direction size, there may be a case of printing printing paper 502 with a second width direction size that is larger in the width direction than the printing paper 501 with the first width direction size. For example, in the print job of the example shown in Figure 4, the A4-sized printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF is the printing paper 501 with the first width direction size, and the A3-sized printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF is the printing paper 502 with the second width direction size.

[0030] In this case, in the print head 122 of the printing and fixing module 121, there is a region where the ejection nozzles have not been used for a long time. In the present embodiment, the region where the ejection nozzles in the print head 122 have not been used for a long time is referred to as the unused region 125. The unused region 125 occurs in the end-side region of the print head 122. Due to factors such as drying because the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125 have not been used for a long time, the ink may not be ejected properly. Therefore, when the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125 are used, the print quality may deteriorate. Thus, before using the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125 in the printing process of the printing paper 502 with the second width-direction size, a process is performed to restore the function of the ejection nozzles by ejecting a small amount of ink to the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125. In this way, before starting the printing process, the print head 122 performs preliminary ejection of ejecting ink to the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125. When performing the preliminary ejection process, in order not to stain the conveyance belt 150, the printing paper 502A for preliminary ejection having the second width-direction size is used. At this time, the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125 eject ink to the preliminary ejection region 503A in the printing paper 502 for preliminary ejection. The preliminary ejection region 503A is a region facing the ejection nozzles in the unused region 125 in the printing paper 502 for preliminary ejection. After performing the preliminary ejection process, the printing paper 502A for preliminary ejection is discharged as waste paper. In this way, waste paper is generated when performing the preliminary ejection process. Also, when performing the preliminary ejection process, a downtime corresponding to the time required for the preliminary ejection process also occurs.

[0031] Next, a temperature equalization process for equalizing the temperature of the conveyance belt 150, which is a conveyance unit for conveying printing paper, will be described. In the printing and fixing unit 120, the area of the conveyance belt 150 where the printing paper is not being conveyed is hotter than the area where the printed printing paper on the conveyance belt 150 is being conveyed. Subsequently, when a part of a larger-sized printing paper comes into contact with an area that is hotter than the appropriate temperature, deformation of the printing paper or the like may occur. To prevent such a phenomenon, the printing and fixing unit 120 performs a temperature equalization process for equalizing the temperature of the conveyance belt 150. When performing the temperature equalization process, the controller 200 controls to stop the supply of printing paper from the paper feeding unit 110 for a certain period (for example, about 1 minute) without stopping the operation of the conveyance belt 150. During the execution of the temperature equalization process, since no printing paper is supplied from the paper feeding unit 110, the controller 200 cannot execute the printing process. Thus, when the temperature equalization process is performed, a downtime corresponding to the time required for the temperature equalization process occurs. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the interval between the preliminary discharge printing paper 502A and the printing paper 502 of the second width direction size represents that printing is started on the printing paper 502 of the second width direction size after the completion of the temperature equalization process. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the temperature equalization process may be performed after the preliminary discharge process.

[0032] When the determination means 304 executes the print job registered by the registration means 301, it determines whether it is necessary to perform a calibration process. The determination means 304 determines that it is necessary to perform a calibration process when the conditions for performing the calibration process acquired by the acquisition means 303 are satisfied based on the analysis result of the print job by the analysis means 302. For example, when the size information of the printing paper, the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, etc. satisfy the conditions for performing the calibration process acquired by the acquisition means 303, it is determined that it is necessary to perform a calibration process.

[0033] When the determination means 304 determines that calibration processing is necessary, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in units of the number of printed sheets in a plurality of print jobs, that is, the printing order in units of pages in a plurality of print jobs. In this case, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in units of pages in a plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the calibration processing based on the information acquired by the analyzing means 302. The information acquired by the analyzing means 302 includes the above-described paper size information, paper feeding direction information, number of printed sheets information, and print schedule information of the printing paper.

[0034] <Control Method of Printing Apparatus> Next, a control method of the printing apparatus 100 will be described. When a plurality of print jobs are registered by the registering means 301 or when a predetermined time has elapsed after one print job is registered by the registering means 301, the controller 200 starts the printing process. In the present embodiment, when a plurality of print jobs are registered by the registering means 301, the controller 200 can execute a process of changing the printing order in units of pages in a plurality of print jobs.

[0035] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of determining a printing order when a plurality of print jobs are registered. With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, a process of determining a printing order when a plurality of print jobs are registered will be described. Each process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is executed when the CPU 201 executes a control program stored in the ROM 203 of the controller 200.

[0036] In step S101, the registering means 301 of the controller 200 performs a process of registering a print job input to the general-purpose I / F 206. The print job registered by the registering means 301 is stored in the RAM 202. At this time, the user can register a plurality of print jobs via the general-purpose I / F 206 and the registering means 301.

[0037] In step S102, the user I / F 207 controls to display a mode selection dialog for the user to select a printing mode on the liquid crystal display 160. At this time, the user I / F 207 receives an operation by which the user selects a printing mode using the aforementioned input device (not shown).

[0038] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mode selection dialog 161 displayed on the liquid crystal display 160. An image 162 showing the character string "Please select a printing mode" is displayed at the upper part of the mode selection dialog 161. An image 163 showing the character string "Normal printing mode" surrounded by a square is displayed at the middle part of the mode selection dialog 161. An image 164 showing the character string "Printing schedule change mode" surrounded by a square is displayed at the lower part of the mode selection dialog 161. As can be seen from FIG. 7, as printing modes selectable by the user, a normal printing mode and a printing schedule change mode are set. The user performs an operation of selecting one of the normal printing mode and the printing schedule change mode while viewing the mode selection dialog 161 displayed on the liquid crystal display 160.

[0039] In the present embodiment, when the printing schedule change mode is selected by the user, the determination process of the printing order when a plurality of print jobs are registered is continued. The controller 200 determines whether or not the printing schedule change mode is selected based on the operation of selecting a printing mode by the user received by the user I / F 207. If the printing schedule change mode is selected, that is, if the determination in step S102 is YES, the process proceeds to the next step S103. On the other hand, if the normal printing mode is selected, that is, if the determination in step S102 is NO, the process ends. In this case, the controller 200 performs printing processing according to the plurality of print jobs registered by the registration means 301 in which the printing order has not been changed.

[0040] In step S103, the acquisition means 303 of the controller 200 performs a process of acquiring the implementation conditions for performing the calibration process. As described above, the acquisition means 303 may acquire the data of the implementation conditions of the calibration process stored in advance in the ROM 203 of the controller 200. The acquisition means 303 may acquire the data of the implementation conditions of the calibration process set by the user via the user I / F 207.

[0041] In step S104, the analysis means 302 of the controller 200 performs a process of acquiring job information regarding all print jobs stored in the RAM 202. Further, the analysis means 302 analyzes the acquired job information. As described above, by analyzing the job information, the analysis means 302 acquires the size information of the printing paper, the paper feed direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, and the print schedule information.

[0042] In step S105, the determination means 304 of the controller 200 determines whether it is necessary to perform the calibration process when executing the printing process according to the plurality of print jobs registered by the registration means 301 as a result of the analysis by the analysis means 302. If it is determined by the determination means 304 that the calibration process is necessary, that is, if the determination in step S105 is YES, the process proceeds to the next step S106. If it is determined by the determination means 304 that the calibration process is unnecessary, that is, if the determination in step S105 is NO, the process ends. In this case, the controller 200 performs the printing process according to the plurality of print jobs registered by the registration means 301 in which the printing order has not been changed.

[0043] In step S106, the changing means 305 of the controller 200 performs a process of changing the printing order in page units in a plurality of print jobs registered by the registering means 301 so as to avoid performing the calibration process. Note that the changing means 305 may change the printing order in page units in a plurality of print jobs registered by the registering means 301 so as to minimize the number of times of performing the calibration process. Hereinafter, the process of changing the printing order by the changing means 305 is referred to as a printing order changing process. The changing means 305 requests a printing process for executing a plurality of print jobs in parallel based on the changed printing order, and ends the process. In this case, the controller 200 performs a printing process according to a plurality of print jobs whose printing order has been changed by the changing means 305.

[0044] In the present embodiment, as a result of analyzing the print jobs, when it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widthwise sizes of the printing papers specified in the plurality of print jobs are different, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in page units in the plurality of print jobs. In this case, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the calibration process. Thereby, it is not necessary to provide hardware or the like for changing the conveyance position of the printing paper, and an efficient printing order in page units for reducing the number of times of performing the calibration process can be determined. Specifically, by executing in parallel a plurality of print jobs whose printing order in page units has been changed by the changing means 305, the number of times of performing the calibration process can be reduced. Therefore, the number of times of performing the calibration process, which is accompanied by the occurrence of waste paper and downtime, can be suppressed to the minimum necessary. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the calibration process can be efficiently performed while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration process.

[0045] Further, the analysis means 302 analyzes job information regarding a print job to obtain the size information of the printing paper, the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, and the print schedule information. Using the size information of the printing paper, the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, etc. obtained by the analysis means 302, it is possible to determine whether it is necessary to perform calibration processing. For example, when the size information of the printing paper, the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper, the number of printed sheets information of the printing paper, etc. satisfy the execution conditions of the calibration process obtained by the acquisition means 303, it is determined that it is necessary to perform the calibration process.

[0046] Also, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in page units in a plurality of print jobs so that the width direction size of the printing paper changes at an arbitrary interval that can avoid performing the calibration process. The arbitrary interval that can avoid performing the calibration process is, for example, the interval in units of the number of printed sheets of the printing paper from a printing paper of a certain size to a printing paper of a larger size, and can be set by the user. Thereby, considering the print job that is desired to be completed preferentially among the plurality of print jobs, it is possible to set the interval in units of the number of printed sheets (that is, the above-mentioned size change interval) that can avoid performing the calibration process. Therefore, the changing means 305 can change the printing order in page units in a plurality of print jobs so that the print job that is desired to be completed preferentially among the plurality of print jobs is completed earlier than other print jobs.

[0047] <First Embodiment> Next, a first embodiment of the print order change process will be described. FIG. 8(a) is a table showing job information regarding a plurality of print jobs in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8(a), in the first embodiment, it is assumed that two print jobs are registered by the registration means 301. In the table shown in FIG. 8(a), the item "Print Job" indicates the name of the print job. The items "Size Information", "Paper Feeding Direction Information", "Number of Printed Sheets Information", and "Print Schedule Information" are the same as the respective items in the table shown in FIG. 4. In the first print job X of the first embodiment, A4-size printing paper and A3-size printing paper are used for printing. The paper feeding direction of the A4-size printing paper is LEF, and the paper feeding direction of the A3-size printing paper is also LEF. 1000 sheets of A4-size printing paper are printed, and 50 sheets of A3-size printing paper are printed. In the second print job Y of the first embodiment, A3-size printing paper is used for printing. The paper feeding direction of the A3-size printing paper is LEF. 200 sheets of A3-size printing paper are printed. In the first print job X and the second print job Y, the first 1000 sheets of printing paper printed according to the first print job X are A4-size printing paper. The 1001st to 1050th sheets of printing paper printed according to the first print job X are A3-size printing paper. The 1051st to 1250th sheets of printing paper printed according to the second print job Y are A3-size printing paper.

[0048] Also, in the first embodiment, as an execution condition of the calibration process, it is assumed that the interval (size change interval) in units of the number of printed sheets until the size of the printing paper changes from a certain size to a larger size is set to 200 sheets. In this case, when the printing process is executed in the normal printing mode, it is necessary to perform the calibration process during the printing of the 1001st sheet in the first print job X.

[0049] The change means 305 calculates the minimum value that the size change interval can take based on the job information analyzed by the analysis means 302. It is expected that the smaller the size change interval, the smaller the impact on the image quality of the image printed on the printing paper. When the value of the size change interval becomes the minimum, the number of times the size of the printing paper changes from a certain size to a larger size is maximized. In the example shown in FIG. 8(a), when all (1000 sheets) of the A4-sized printing paper of the first printing job X are printed and in parallel all (200 sheets) of the A3-sized printing paper of the second printing job Y are printed, the number of times the size of the printing paper changes is maximized. The minimum value of the size change interval at this time is 1000 / 200 = 5.

[0050] FIG. 8(b) is a table showing job information regarding a plurality of printing jobs in a modification of the first embodiment. Each item in the table shown in FIG. 8(b) is the same as each item in the table shown in FIG. 8(a). The first printing job X in the modification is the same as the first printing job X in the first embodiment. In the second printing job Ya in the modification, A3-sized printing paper is used for printing. The paper feed direction of the A3-sized printing paper is LEF. 10 sheets of A3-sized printing paper are printed. In the first printing job X and the second printing job Ya, the 1051st to 1060th printing papers printed according to the second printing job Ya are A3-sized printing papers. In the example shown in FIG. 8(b), the minimum value of the size change interval is 1000 / 10 = 100.

[0051] Also, the user can set the value of the size change interval via the user I / F 207. Furthermore, the user can also set the printing job that the user wants to complete preferentially via the user I / F 207. The user I / F 207 performs control to display a setting dialog for the user to set the value of the size change interval on the liquid crystal display 160. At this time, the user I / F 207 receives an operation for the user to set the value of the size change interval using the aforementioned input device (not shown). Also, the user I / F 207 receives an operation for the user to set the printing job that the user wants to complete preferentially using the input device.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a setting dialog 171 for the size change interval displayed on the liquid crystal display 160. At the upper part of the setting dialog 171, an image 172 showing the character string "Please set the size change interval" is displayed. At the upper side of the middle part of the setting dialog 171, images 173 showing the minimum value and the maximum value of the size change interval are displayed. In the first embodiment, as the minimum value of the size change interval, an image showing the minimum value of the size change interval (=5) calculated by the changing means 305 is displayed. As the maximum value of the size change interval, an image showing a value (=199) obtained by subtracting 1 from the size change interval (=200) which is the calibration condition is displayed. At the lower side of the middle part of the setting dialog 171, an image 174 showing the character string "Size change interval" and an image 175 showing the value of the size change interval set via the user I / F 207 are displayed. At the lower part of the setting dialog 171, an image 176 showing the character string "Priority execution job", an image 177 showing the character string such as "None", and an image 178 showing the character string "OK" surrounded by a square are displayed. The image 177 showing the character string such as "None" shows the character string "None" selected and set via the user I / F 207, or the name (character string) of the print job to be preferentially completed.

[0053] The changing means 305 changes the printing order in page units in the two print jobs X and Y so as to avoid the execution of the calibration process based on the size change interval calculated based on the job information or the size change interval specified by the user. Incidentally, when the changing means 305 cannot avoid the execution of the calibration process even by using a print job other than the first print job X among the two print jobs X and Y, the changing means 305 does not change the printing order in page units in the two print jobs X and Y.

[0054] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the size change interval in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the value of the size change interval specified by the user is 9. Also, it is assumed that no print job that the user wants to complete preferentially is specified. In this case, the size of the printing paper is changed at a frequency of once every 10 prints. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, after 9 sheets of printing paper 501 with the first widthwise size specified in the first print job X are printed out of 10 prints, 1 sheet of printing paper 502 with the second widthwise size specified in the second print job Y is printed. The printing paper 501 with the first widthwise size is A4-size printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF. The printing paper 502 with the second widthwise size is A3-size printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF.

[0055] FIG. 11(a) is a table showing the print order after the change by the changing means 305 in the first embodiment. In the table shown in FIG. 11(a), the item of "schedule" shows the print order after the change by the changing means 305. The item of "page number" shows the print order before the change in the first print job X or the second print job Y. The items of "print job" and "size information" are the same as the items of "print job" and "size information" in the table shown in FIG. 8(a).

[0056] As shown in FIG. 11(a), in the prints from the 1st to the 9th time, the A4-size printing papers from the 1st to the 9th sheets specified in the first print job X are printed. In the 10th print, the 1st sheet of A3-size printing paper specified in the second print job Y is printed. In the prints from the 11th to the 19th time, the A4-size printing papers from the 10th to the 18th sheets specified in the first print job X are printed. In the 20th print, the 2nd sheet of A3-size printing paper specified in the second print job Y is printed. Thereafter, in the same manner as in the prints from the 1st to the 10th time, from the 21st print to the 1110th print, after 9 sheets of A4-size printing paper specified in the first print job X are printed, 1 sheet of A3-size printing paper specified in the second print job Y is printed.

[0057] In the 1111th printing, the 1000th A4-sized printing paper specified in the first printing job X is printed. In the printings from the 1112th to the 1119th, the 1001st to 1008th A3-sized printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed. In the 1120th printing, the 112th A3-sized printing paper specified in the second printing job Y is printed. In the printings from the 1121st to the 1129th, the 1009th to 1017th A3-sized printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed. In the 1130th printing, the 113th A3-sized printing paper specified in the second printing job Y is printed. Thereafter, from the 1131st printing to the 1160th printing, after 9 A3-sized printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed, 1 A3-sized printing paper specified in the second printing job Y is printed.

[0058] In the printings from the 1161st to the 1166th, the 1045th to 1050th A3-sized printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed. And in the printings from the 1167th to the 1250th, the 117th to 200th A3-sized printing papers specified in the second printing job Y are printed. Thus, in the printings from the 1st to the 1160th, after 9 printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed, 1 printing paper specified in the second printing job Y is printed. In the printings from the 1161st to the 1166th, the printing papers specified in the first printing job X are printed. In the printings from the 1167th to the 1250th, the printing papers specified in the second printing job Y are printed. Also, in the printings after the 1112th, regardless of the type of printing job, A3-sized printing papers are printed.

[0059] According to the first embodiment, by executing in parallel two print jobs X and Y whose page-by-page print order has been changed by the change means 305, the number of times of calibration processing can be reduced. Therefore, the number of times of calibration processing accompanied by the occurrence of waste paper and downtime can be minimized. For this reason, the calibration processing can be efficiently performed while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration processing.

[0060] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the print order change process will be described. The second embodiment has the same settings as the first embodiment, except that a print job that the user wants to complete preferentially is specified. The description of the same settings as the first embodiment will be omitted. In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the user has specified the first print job X as the print job to be completed preferentially.

[0061] FIG. 11(b) is a table showing the print order after the change by the change means 305 in the second embodiment. Each item in the table shown in FIG. 11(b) is the same as each item in the table shown in FIG. 11(a). As shown in FIG. 11(a), the printing from the first time to the 1111th time in the second embodiment is the same as the printing from the first time to the 1111th time in the first embodiment. In the printing from the 1112th time to the 1162nd time, the A3-sized printing paper from the 1001st sheet to the 1050th sheet specified by the first print job X is printed. And in the printing from the 1163rd time to the 1250th time, the A3-sized printing paper from the 113th sheet to the 200th sheet specified by the second print job Y is printed. Thus, in the second embodiment, the first print job X ends earlier than in the case of the first embodiment.

[0062] According to the second embodiment, by executing in parallel two print jobs X and Y in which the print order in page units is changed by the changing means 305, the number of times of performing the calibration process can be reduced. Therefore, the number of times of performing the calibration process, which is accompanied by the occurrence of waste paper and downtime, can be minimized. For this reason, the calibration process can be efficiently performed while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration process. Further, the changing means 305 can change the print order in page units in the two print jobs X and Y in consideration of the print job that is desired to be completed preferentially.

[0063] <Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the print order change process will be described. The third embodiment has the same settings as the first embodiment except that the job information is different. The description of the same settings as the first embodiment will be omitted. FIG. 12 is a table showing job information regarding a plurality of print jobs in the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that two print jobs are registered by the registration means 301 in the third embodiment. Each item in the table shown in FIG. 12 is the same as each item in the table shown in FIG. 8(a). In the first print job Xb of the second embodiment, A4-size printing paper and A3-size printing paper are used for printing. The paper feed direction of the A4-size printing paper is LEF, and the paper feed direction of the A3-size printing paper is also LEF. 50 sheets of A4-size printing paper are printed, and 50 sheets of A3-size printing paper are printed. In the second print job Yb of the third embodiment, A3-size printing paper is used for printing. The paper feed direction of the A3-size printing paper is LEF. 50 sheets of A3-size printing paper are printed. In the first print job Xb and the second print job Yb, the first to 50th printing papers printed according to the first print job Xb are A4-size printing papers. The 51st to 100th printing papers printed according to the first print job Xb are A3-size printing papers. The 101st to 150th printing papers printed according to the second print job Yb are A3-size printing papers.

[0064] Also, in the third embodiment, assume that as the implementation condition of the calibration process, the interval (size change interval) in terms of the number of printed sheets until the size of the printing paper changes from a printing paper of a certain size to a printing paper of a larger size is set to 50 sheets. In this case, when the printing process is executed in the normal printing mode, it becomes necessary to perform the calibration process during the 51st printing in the first printing job Xb.

[0065] The change means 305 changes the printing order in terms of pages in the two printing jobs Xb and Yb so as to avoid the implementation of the calibration process based on the size change interval calculated based on the job information or the size change interval specified by the user. Note that if the change means 305 cannot avoid the implementation of the calibration process even by using a printing job other than the first printing job Xb among the two printing jobs Xb and Yb, the change means 305 does not change the printing order in terms of pages in the two printing jobs Xb and Yb.

[0066] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining the size change interval in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, assume that the value of the size change interval specified by the user is 1. Also assume that no printing job that the user wants to complete preferentially is specified. In this case, the size of the printing paper is changed at a frequency of once every two printings. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, after one sheet of printing paper 501 with the first width direction size specified in the first printing job Xb is printed in the two printings, one sheet of printing paper 502 with the second width direction size specified in the second printing job Yb is printed. The printing paper 501 with the first width direction size is an A4 size printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF. The printing paper 502 with the second width direction size is an A3 size printing paper with the paper feed direction being LEF.

[0067] Figure 14(a) is a table showing the printing order after being changed by the changing means 305 in the third embodiment. Each item in the table shown in Figure 14(a) is the same as each item in the table shown in Figure 11(a). As shown in Figure 14(a), in the first printing, the first A4-sized printing paper designated by the first printing job Xb is printed. In the second printing, the first A3-sized printing paper designated by the second printing job Yb is printed. In the third printing, the second A4-sized printing paper designated by the first printing job Xb is printed. In the fourth printing, the second A3-sized printing paper designated by the second printing job Yb is printed. Thereafter, in the same manner as the printing from the first time to the second time, from the fifth printing to the one-hundredth printing, after one A4-sized printing paper designated by the first printing job Xb is printed, one A3-sized printing paper designated by the second printing job Yb is printed.

[0068] And in the printing from the one-hundred-and-first time to the one-hundred-and-fiftieth time, the 51st to 100th A3-sized printing papers designated by the first printing job Xb are printed. In this way, in the printing from the first time to the one-hundredth time, after one printing paper designated by the first printing job Xb is printed, one printing paper designated by the second printing job Yb is printed. In the printing from the one-hundred-and-first time to the one-hundred-and-fiftieth time, the printing papers designated by the first printing job Xb are printed. In this way, in the third embodiment, the second printing job Yb ends earlier than the first printing job Xb.

[0069] According to the third embodiment, by executing in parallel the two printing jobs Xb and Yb whose page-by-page printing order is changed by the changing means 305, the number of times of performing the calibration process can be reduced. Therefore, the number of times of performing the calibration process that involves the occurrence of waste paper and downtime can be suppressed to the minimum necessary. For this reason, the calibration process can be efficiently performed while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration process.

[0070] <Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the print order change process will be described. The fourth embodiment has the same settings as the third embodiment, except for the value of the size change interval. The description of the same settings as the third embodiment will be omitted. In the fourth embodiment, it is assumed that the value of the size change interval specified by the user is 4.

[0071] Figure 14(b) is a table showing the print order after being changed by the change means 305 in the fourth embodiment. Each item in the table shown in Figure 14(b) is the same as each item in the table shown in Figure 14(a). As shown in Figure 14(a), in the prints from the first to the fourth times, the A4-sized printing papers from the first to the fourth sheets specified by the first print job Xb are printed. In the fifth print, the A3-sized printing paper of the first sheet specified by the second print job Yb is printed. In the prints from the sixth to the ninth times, the A4-sized printing papers from the fifth to the eighth sheets specified by the first print job Xb are printed. In the tenth print, the A3-sized printing paper of the second sheet specified by the second print job Yb is printed. Thereafter, in the same manner as in the prints from the first to the fifth times, from the eleventh print to the sixtieth print, after the four A4-sized printing papers specified by the first print job Xb are printed, the A3-sized printing paper of one sheet specified by the second print job Yb is printed.

[0072] In the 61st to 62nd printings, A4-sized printing papers from the 49th to the 50th specified in the first print job Xb are printed. In the 63rd to 64th printings, A3-sized printing papers from the 51st to the 52nd specified in the first print job Xb are printed. In the 65th printing, the 13th A3-sized printing paper specified in the second print job Yb is printed. In the 66th to 69th printings, A3-sized printing papers from the 53rd to the 56th specified in the first print job Xb are printed. In the 70th printing, the 14th A3-sized printing paper specified in the second print job Yb is printed. Thereafter, in the same manner as in the 66th to 70th printings, from the 71st printing to the 125th printing, after 4 A3-sized printing papers specified in the first print job Xb are printed, 1 A3-sized printing paper specified in the second print job Yb is printed.

[0073] And in the 126th to 150th printings, A3-sized printing papers from the 26th to the 50th specified in the second print job Yb are printed. Thus, in the 1st to 125th printings, after 4 printing papers specified in the first print job Xb are printed, 1 printing paper specified in the second print job Yb is printed. In the 126th to 150th printings, the printing papers specified in the second print job Yb are printed. Also, in the printings after the 63rd, regardless of the type of print job, A3-sized printing papers are printed. Thus, in the fourth embodiment, the first print job Xb ends earlier than the second print job Yb.

[0074] According to the fourth embodiment, by executing in parallel two print jobs Xb and Yb whose page-by-page print order is changed by the changing means 305, the number of times of performing the calibration process can be reduced. Therefore, the number of times of performing the calibration process, which is accompanied by the occurrence of waste paper and downtime, can be minimized. For this reason, the calibration process can be efficiently performed while reducing the adverse effects of the calibration process.

[0075] In the above-described embodiment, the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is an A4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, but it is not limited thereto. The printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size is an A3-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size may be an A4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being SEF, may be a B5-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, or may be a B4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF.

[0076] When the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is an A4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, the printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size may be a B4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF. When the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is an A4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being SEF, the printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size may be an A3-size or B4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF or SEF. When the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is a B5-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, the printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size may be an A3-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF or SEF. When the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is a B5-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, the printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size may be an A4-size or B4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF. When the printing paper 501 having the first widthwise size is a B4-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF, the printing paper 502 having the second widthwise size may be an A3-size printing paper with the paper feeding direction being LEF.

[0077] In the above-described embodiment, the analysis means 302 obtains the size information of the printing paper, the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper, the number of printing sheets information of the printing paper, and the printing schedule information by analyzing the job information. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, when the paper feeding direction of the printing paper is fixed to LEF or SEF, the analysis means 302 may not obtain the paper feeding direction information of the printing paper. The case where the paper feeding direction of the printing paper is fixed to LEF or SEF includes, for example, the case of printing envelope paper.

[0078] In the above-described embodiment, two printing jobs are registered by the registration means 301. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, three or more printing jobs may be registered by the registration means 301.

[0079] In the above-described embodiment, the changing means 305 changes the printing order in page units in the plurality of printing jobs so that the plurality of printing jobs are executed in parallel. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the changing means 305 may generate one printing job obtained by merging the plurality of printing jobs by changing the printing order in page units in the plurality of printing jobs.

[0080] <<Other Embodiments>> The disclosure of each embodiment includes configurations represented by the following printing apparatus examples, printing apparatus control method examples, and program examples.

[0081] <Configuration 1> A printing apparatus that performs printing according to a printing job including PDL data specifying printing content in page units, registration means for registering an input printing job; analysis means for analyzing a plurality of printing jobs registered by the registration means; As a result of the above analysis, when it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widths of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different, changing means for changing the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process; and having wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print medium is conveyed, a printing apparatus.

[0082] <Configuration 2> The analysis means obtains, by performing the analysis, size information regarding the size of the print medium and print count information regarding the number of print copies of the print medium, the printing apparatus according to Configuration 1.

[0083] <Configuration 3> The analysis means obtains, by performing the analysis, direction information regarding the direction in which the print medium is conveyed, the printing apparatus according to Configuration 2.

[0084] <Configuration 4> The changing means changes the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so that the widthwise size of the print medium changes at an arbitrary interval that can avoid performing the predetermined calibration process, the printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3.

[0085] <Configuration 5> The arbitrary interval is an interval in units of the number of print copies of the print medium, the printing apparatus according to Configuration 4.

[0086] <Configuration 6> The arbitrary interval can be set by a user, the printing apparatus according to Configuration 4 or 5.

[0087] <Configuration 7> The printing apparatus further includes obtaining means for obtaining implementation conditions for performing the predetermined calibration process. When, as a result of the analysis, it is necessary to perform the predetermined calibration process by satisfying the implementation conditions, the changing means changes the printing order in units of pages in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 6.

[0088] <Configuration 8> The changing means changes the printing order in units of pages in the plurality of print jobs so that a print job that is desired to be completed preferentially among the plurality of print jobs is completed earlier than other print jobs. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 7.

[0089] <Configuration 9> The changing means changes the printing order in units of pages in the plurality of print jobs so that the plurality of print jobs are executed in parallel. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 8.

[0090] <Configuration 10> The predetermined calibration process includes a preliminary discharge process in which a print head performs preliminary discharge, and a temperature equalization process for equalizing the temperature of a conveyance unit that conveys the print medium. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 9.

[0091] <Configuration 11> The print medium is cut paper. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 10.

[0092] <Configuration 12> The printing apparatus is an inkjet printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 11.

[0093] <Configuration 13> A control method for a printing apparatus that performs printing according to a print job including PDL data specifying print content in units of pages, A step of registering an input print job, A step of analyzing a plurality of registered print jobs, When, as a result of the analysis, it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widths of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different, a step of changing the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process; and having A control method for a printing apparatus, wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print medium is conveyed.

[0094] <Configuration 14> A program for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing according to a print job including PDL data specifying print content in page units, a step of registering the input print job; a step of analyzing a plurality of registered print jobs; When, as a result of the analysis, it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widths of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different, a step of changing the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process; and having A program, wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print medium is conveyed.

Explanation of Signs

[0095] 301 Registration means 302 Analysis means 303 Acquisition means 304 Determination means 305 Change means

Claims

1. A printing apparatus that performs printing according to a print job including PDL data specifying print content in page units, comprising: registration means for registering the input print job; analysis means for analyzing a plurality of print jobs registered by the registration means; changing means for changing the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process when it is necessary to perform the predetermined calibration process because the widthwise sizes of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different as a result of the analysis; having; The printing apparatus, wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print media is conveyed.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analysis means obtains size information regarding the size of the print media and print count information regarding the number of printed sheets of the print media by performing the analysis.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the analysis means obtains direction information regarding the direction in which the print media is conveyed by performing the analysis.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so that the widthwise size of the print media changes at an arbitrary interval that can avoid performing the predetermined calibration process.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the arbitrary interval is an interval in units of the number of printed sheets of the print media.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the arbitrary interval can be set by a user.

7. further comprising acquisition means for acquiring implementation conditions for performing the predetermined calibration process; The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process when it is necessary to perform the predetermined calibration process by satisfying the implementation conditions as a result of the analysis.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the print order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so that a print job that is desired to be completed preferentially among the plurality of print jobs is completed earlier than other print jobs.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the printing order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so that the plurality of print jobs are executed in parallel.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined calibration process includes a preliminary discharge process in which a print head performs preliminary discharge, and a temperature equalization process for equalizing the temperature of a conveyance unit that conveys the print medium.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print medium is cut paper.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is an inkjet printing apparatus.

13. A control method for a printing apparatus that performs printing according to a print job including PDL data specifying print content in page units, registering an input print job; analyzing a plurality of registered print jobs; when it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widthwise sizes of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different as a result of the analysis, changing the printing order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process; comprising: The control method for a printing apparatus, wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print medium is conveyed.

14. A program for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing according to a print job including PDL data specifying print content in page units, registering an input print job; analyzing a plurality of registered print jobs; when it is necessary to perform a predetermined calibration process because the widthwise sizes of the print media specified in the plurality of print jobs are different as a result of the analysis, changing the printing order in page units in the plurality of print jobs so as to avoid performing the predetermined calibration process; comprising: The program, wherein the widthwise size is a size in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print medium is conveyed.

Images