Print control apparatus and print control program

Abstract

To prevent printing with unintended additional information added.SOLUTION: A print control apparatus of an information processing apparatus having an operating system capable of transmitting, to an image forming apparatus, a print job with additional information added, comprises: a setting input unit that, when an instruction to transmit a first print job to the image forming apparatus is given with the setting information of the first additional information set in the operating system, displays the setting information of the first additional information added to the first print job and accepts settings of the first print job; an image data generating unit that generates image data for adding second additional information to the first print job when the second additional information, which is different from the first additional information, is added only once; and a transmitting unit that transmits the print job including the generated image data to the image forming apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing control device and a printing control program, and can be applied to a printing control device and a printing control program that, for example, causes a printing device to print additional information such as a watermark (hereinafter also referred to as "WM") on top of a document image. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses printing image data to which additional information such as a watermark (WM) has been added to print data such as a document.

[0003] Conventionally, a combination of setting values ​​such as the character string, format, and layout of additional information such as a watermark is selected and determined by the printer at the time of printing, and each setting value is registered in the printer driver. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-143897 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, because each setting value registered in the printer driver is stored on the operating system, there is a problem that if the printer does not remember the setting value status from the previous print when printing next time, additional information such as a watermark used in the previous print may be unintentionally printed.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a print control device and a print control program that can prevent printing with unintended additional information added. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve such problems, the first invention is a printing control program for an information processing device having an operating system capable of sending a print job with additional information added to an image forming device, which causes the computer to function as: (1) a setting input unit that displays the setting information of the first additional information added to the first print job and accepts the settings of the first print job when an instruction to send the first print job to the image forming device is given with the setting information of the first additional information set in the operating system as additional information; (2) an image data generation unit that generates image data with the second additional information added only to the first print job when second additional information different from the first additional information is input; and (3) a transmission unit that transmits the print job including the generated image data to the image forming device.

[0008] The second aspect of the present invention is a print control device of an information processing device having an operating system capable of sending a print job with additional information added to an image forming device, characterized in that it comprises: (1) a setting input unit that, when an instruction to send the first print job to the image forming device is given with setting information for first additional information set in the operating system as additional information, displays the setting information for the first additional information added to the first print job and accepts the settings for the first print job; (2) an image data generation unit that, when second additional information different from the first additional information is input, generates image data with the second additional information added only to the first print job; and (3) a transmission unit that transmits a print job including the generated image data to the image forming device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, printing with unintended additional information added can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer equipped with an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the processing configuration of a printer driver according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of device information (PDEVICE) according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of print setting information (DEVMODE) according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a watermark option table according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing operation of temporary watermark printing in a printer driver according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of general driver print setting information (DEVMODE). [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing operation of a UI module on a printer driver according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing operation of a rendering module on a printer driver according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the configurations of a normal watermark selection screen and a temporary watermark setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a temporary watermark setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional driver print setting screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (A) Basic Concept of the Invention (A-1) "Additional information" refers to data that is added to and printed over the main print data, and can be, for example, a watermark (WM), a header, a footer, etc. Here, we will explain an example in which the additional information is a watermark.

[0012] In addition, the first additional information is additional information that is pre-set in the operating system (e.g., an existing normal watermark), and the second additional information is additional information that is added only once (e.g., a temporary watermark).

[0013] (A-2) The conventional watermark function registers watermark information such as text, format, and layout (print position) as one of the driver print settings, as well as combinations of watermark information as multiple WM options, and then selects one of these WM options to use for printing.

[0014] Generally, a screen is displayed for registering and selecting options specific to watermarks from the various settings items of the driver, and a screen is displayed for adding new or editing these individual options, allowing the printer to set the desired watermark.

[0015] The registered WM options and the setting values ​​selected for actual printing must be selected and registered in the printer driver settings screen before printing as default values ​​in the memory area managed by the operating system (OS) or the application retrieved from there.

[0016] The characters to be used as the watermark character string may be designated for general-purpose printing, such as "Top Secret," "Confidential," "Preliminary," or "Customer Information."

[0017] However, there are demands to add specific status information, such as information for a specific meeting or participants, a specific location, or a future date other than the time of printing, when printing only once. There are also demands to add individual names to recipients of printed documents (not the printer), or to add different information to the same document for each meeting name.

[0018] In order to use even such infrequently used watermark settings, it was necessary to open the printer driver settings screen and repeatedly register and select the text string and format as the default value for the application or operating system every time the combination of the printed material and the information to be added was changed.

[0019] (A-3) As mentioned above, the watermark settings in the prior art are stored in a storage area managed by the operating system, along with the watermark information selected from the options. The selected watermark information is stored as driver print setting information (DEVMODE) in a format specified as a printer driver setting value, and is exchanged between the operating system, application, document file, and printer driver.

[0020] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of general driver print setting information (DEVMODE).

[0021] When application 2 is started or when printing, application 2 references the memory area of ​​operating system 3 (S31) and specifies the watermark setting value in printer driver 6 (S33). Because this specified watermark setting value is obtained from a memory area outside the control of printer driver 6, printer driver 6 cannot determine at what point in time it was generated and stored.

[0022] Some applications 2 may store this watermark setting value in the document file 21 in their own management format, and may adopt the setting value stored in the document file 21 rather than from the storage area of ​​the operating system 3 (S32).

[0023] There are also applications 2 that discard the print settings that were set by opening the printer driver setting screen from within application 2 immediately before printing and return them to the default values ​​of operating system 3 after printing, or applications 2 that do not have the function to call and retain the printer driver setting screen themselves and simply adopt the print setting values ​​retained by operating system 3.

[0024] In other words, the timing and duration of obtaining the print setting values ​​and watermark information vary depending on the process implementation of application 2. In reality, it is unclear which watermark is being used unless you check the print setting screen from application 2 immediately before starting printing and then start printing.

[0025] Therefore, if you previously changed the settings as the operating system defaults or saved the document file as an application document, the next time you print, if you forget about it and print without checking the print settings screen, or if you print without knowing the application's specific operations, an unexpected watermark or the expected watermark may be added. When such an event occurs, you may not get the desired print result, and the print may be wasted.

[0026] (A-4) Therefore, in this embodiment, a watermark function is provided for use in one-time printing, and a specification screen is displayed and format information and a string of characters as a dedicated watermark is set immediately after printing begins from the application, without going through the print setting values ​​held by the application or operating system.After printing is completed, the information is discarded without being reflected in the print setting values ​​held by the application or operating system, so that it does not affect subsequent printing.

[0027] It also makes it possible to specify the settings on the print setting screen of the conventional driver. This is called the temporary watermark function.

[0028] (B) Main embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a print control device and a print control program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] In this embodiment, a case is illustrated in which the print control device and print control program according to the present invention are applied to a printer driver that causes a printing device to print image data from a computer.

[0030] In other words, when printing from a computer to a printing device, the printing control device and printing control program of the present invention are applied to a printer driver that has the function of allowing the printer to optionally overlay additional information such as fixed characters or images on the print image in addition to the content of the document printed by the application.

[0031] In this embodiment, when additional information is specified in advance as a setting value for the printer driver, it is specified directly to the driver's rendering module only at the time of printing, without going through a common area managed by the operating system as a storage area for holding print settings. This allows it to be used as temporary additional information during each print job process, preventing the additional information from being used in a way that the printer did not intend, resulting in incorrect printing.

[0032] (B-1) Configuration of the embodiment (B-1-1) Overall composition FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a computer equipped with a print control device according to an embodiment.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, a computer 1 is connected to a printer 11, and has, as its internal functions, an application (hereinafter also referred to as "AP") 2 and an operating system (hereinafter also referred to as "OS") 3.

[0034] The computer 1 can be a general-purpose computer (information processing device) such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. The computer 1 includes a device having a CPU, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, an input / output interface unit, etc. The CPU can execute various functions by executing a processing program (for example, a print control program, etc.).

[0035] The computer 1 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence (organic EL) display, an input unit (operation unit) such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the like, but these are omitted in FIG.

[0036] An application (AP) 2 is software that performs a specific function. In this embodiment, the application 2 has a function of performing drawing processing for printing a document file, for example. In FIG. 1, the application 2 has a drawing processing unit 22 that performs drawing processing by referencing the contents of a document file 21, and a print setting display processing unit 23 that displays a driver setting screen by referencing a DEVMODE (print setting information) 24. Each component of the application 2 will be described in detail later.

[0037] The operating system (OS) 3 will be described as being Windows (registered trademark), but the OS 3 is not limited to this.

[0038] The OS 3 has a graphics device interface (hereinafter also referred to as "GDI") 4 and a spooler 5. The spooler 5 also has a watermark option table 51, a printer driver 6, a logical printer 9, and a spool file playback processor 10. Each component of the OS 3 will be described in detail later.

[0039] The printer driver 6 has a watermark function that overlays a character string as a watermark on a page-by-page basis on the drawing data of a document file generated by the application 2 in a print job in response to a print instruction from the application 2. Note that a watermark may also be called a character string, watermark printing, stamp, etc.

[0040] The printer driver 6 has the function of registering multiple options for combinations of setting values ​​such as character string, format, and layout as watermark information to be added, and storing the information to be used from the registered options as setting values.

[0041] In this embodiment, the printer driver 6 is given the function of displaying which watermark information will actually be applied to printing immediately after printing is started from the application 2, and also of specifying the text string, format, placement, etc. of a one-time "temporary watermark (also called a 1-time watermark)."

[0042] In the following description, the watermark that is a new function described in this embodiment will be referred to as a "temporary watermark" and the existing watermark will be referred to as a "normal watermark."

[0043] The printer driver 6 can be provided with either or both of a normal watermark function and a temporary watermark function, and in this embodiment, it is provided with both.

[0044] (B-1-2) Detailed configuration of printer driver 6 FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the processing configuration of the printer driver 6 according to this embodiment.

[0045] The printer driver 6 has a user interface module (hereinafter also referred to as the "UI module") 7 which has a driver event processing unit 709 which edits driver settings and manipulates driver setting information, and which processes driver events called during printing operations of an application, and a rendering module 8 which includes a DDI handler 801 which processes calls from the GDI to process drawing commands from the application 2.

[0046] The UI module 7 includes a driver setting screen display processing unit 701 for displaying and editing the driver setting screen, a driver setting information (DEVMODE) merge processing unit 702 for consistently combining the driver setting information DEVMODE input to the driver and the driver default DEVMODE, a watermark selection screen display processing unit 703 for displaying a screen for displaying and allowing selection of registered watermark options, a watermark setting value edit screen display processing unit 704 for editing information about each watermark option, a watermark setting value option acquisition and display processing unit 705 for acquiring and listing and displaying information about registered watermark options, a watermark setting value option registration and save processing unit 706 for registering and saving information about the edited option, a normal watermark setting value driver setting information (DEVMODE) storage processing unit 707 for saving the watermark information of the selected option in the driver setting value (DEVMODE), and a driver setting information (DEVMODE) return unit 708 for returning the driver setting information (DEVMODE) to the caller of the UI module.

[0047] In addition, the driver event processing unit 709, which is called in response to GDI calls made by OS3 and AP2 for printing processing, has a job start event handler 710 which is called at the start of a job and performs processing, a page start event handler 714 which is called at the start of a page and performs processing, a page end event handler 715 which is called at the completion of a page and performs processing, and a job end event handler 716 which is called at the end of a job and performs processing.

[0048] Furthermore, the job start event handler 710 has a temporary watermark input screen display unit 711 for inputting information about the temporary watermark, a watermark option acquisition and display unit 712 for displaying options for registered normal watermarks, and a temporary watermark information escape command sending unit 713 for sending the input information about the temporary watermark or normal watermark to the rendering module as a general-purpose device definition command.

[0049] The rendering module 8 has a DDI handler 801 that is called from the spooler 5 of the OS 3 and is predefined to operate on the OS as a printer driver, a device information (PDEVICE) initialization DDI 802 that the printer driver uses to maintain its operating state during print processing and also maintains a reference to driver setting information, a job start DDI 803 that is called when a job starts, a page start DDI 804 that is called when a page starts, a page end DDI 807 that is called when a page ends, a drawing command DDI 812 that is called when processing various types of drawing data, a job end DDI 813 that is called when a job ends, and an Escape command DDI 805 that processes an Escape command for general-purpose processing of device-specific data.

[0050] The page end DDI 807 also includes a temporary watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit 808 , a temporary watermark drawing processing unit 809 , a normal watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit 810 , and a normal watermark drawing processing unit 811 .

[0051] Furthermore, the page end DDI 807 has a print setting information acquisition unit 814 that acquires temporary watermark information from the driver setting information (DEVMODE) included in the device information (PDEVICE), and a print command conversion unit 815 that converts driver calls by these DDI handlers into printer commands.

[0052] (B-1-3) Device information (PDEVICE) configuration FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of device information (PDEVICE) according to the embodiment.

[0053] In FIG. 3, device information (PDEVICE) is used to hold the operating status of the driver and GDI4 when processing a print job.

[0054] As shown in Figure 3, device information (PDEVICE) can be broadly divided into an "OS management area" that GDI4 uses when printing, and a device-specific "driver management area" that each driver uses to maintain the operating status from the start to the end of a job when printing.

[0055] The device information (PDEVICE) is created by an instruction (CreateDC) from application 2 before the print job starts, and is discarded (DeleteDC) when the print job ends, also by an instruction from application 2. The device information (PDEVICE) is not shared or reused between multiple jobs, and the lifetime of the device information (PDEVICE) is the same as the lifetime of one print job.

[0056] The device-specific area includes, for example, the "number of printed pages" during job processing, the "page surface object" that holds the drawing buffer and page memory, and the "current pen information," "current font information," and "current brush information," which are information necessary for driver operation, such as the currently selected pen, font, and brush.

[0057] Furthermore, "normal watermark setting information" is included as print setting information (DEVMODE) when the device context is generated. The "normal watermark setting information" is included as information that is a copy and stored of the print setting information (DEVMODE) specified by Application 2 when the device information is generated, that is, when the print job starts.

[0058] The "temporary watermark setting information" is not included in the print setting information (DEVMODE) when the device information is generated, but is stored on the PDEVICE as unique print-time information that is valid only during job processing and is stored by the Escape command DDI805.

[0059] (B-1-4) Configuration of print setting information (DEVMODE) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of print setting information (DEVMODE) according to the embodiment.

[0060] In Figure 4, the print setting information (DEVMODE) is divided into a "basic function area" that stores basic functions and / or setting values ​​that are defined by the OS and that any printer 11 can have, and a "private area" that stores setting values ​​for each device's unique functions for each device.

[0061] The "basic function area" stores settings such as "paper size," "print orientation," "color / monochrome" (indicating whether printing is color or monochrome), "number of copies to print," "paper tray," "double-sided printing," and "collate printing."

[0062] The "private area" stores settings such as "toner save setting value," "paper type," and "paper thickness," and since the printing information for the currently selected normal watermark is not defined in the general-purpose OS-defined basic functions, the private area stores information such as the text string, format, frame shape, print position, and angle in accordance with the watermark function supported by each printer.

[0063] Normally, watermark information is registered and stored in a watermark option table 51 in a storage area managed by the printer driver 6 under the control of the operating system 3, and which of the options is to be used is stored as print setting information (DEVMODE) 24.

[0064] (B-1-5) Watermark Selection Table Configuration FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a watermark option table according to the embodiment.

[0065] The watermark option table stores the same information as the watermark setting information stored in the print setting information (DEVMODE) as a list of combinations of setting values ​​as a single option. The number of options (combinations) included in the watermark option table is stored at the top of the table.

[0066] In other words, the watermark option table stores watermark setting information registered as an option for each option, and contains watermark setting information for each option that includes, for example, a combination of setting values ​​such as character string, format (e.g., font name, color, size, decoration, etc.), frame shape, print position, angle, etc.

[0067] (B-2) Operation of the embodiment (B-2-1) Temporary watermark printing process The overall flow of temporary watermark printing will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0068] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing operation of temporary watermark printing in the printer driver 6 according to this embodiment.

[0069] Although FIG. 6 shows both the normal watermark printing process and the temporary watermark printing process, the two processes operate independently.

[0070] The OS3 stores watermark options (WM options) and watermark settings (WM settings).

[0071] Here, "WM options" refers to the combination of the setting values ​​of multiple registered watermarks, and "WM setting values" refers to the setting values ​​of the WM options used for printing among the registered WM options.

[0072] [S41] The UI module 7 of the printer driver 6 called by the OS 3 displays a driver setting screen 71, and displays, edits, and saves WM options and WM setting values ​​on a watermark registration / selection screen 73 or a watermark editing screen 72 (S41).

[0073] [S42] As in S42, the WM setting values ​​are saved as default values ​​in the OS 3, but it is also possible to call the UI module 7 of the printer driver 6 from the AP 2. For example, it is also possible to start the AP 2 and display, edit, and save the WM options and setting values ​​from the AP 2 in the UI module 7 of the printer driver 6. In this case, the WM setting values ​​are held in the AP 2.

[0074] [S43~S47: Normal watermark printing process] When printing a normal watermark, the process shown in S43 (the processes of S44 to S47) is carried out.

[0075] After AP2 is started, in the case of normal watermark printing, when printing starts with AP2 (S44), the WM setting values ​​held by AP2 at that point are given to spool file 93 (S45), and the WM setting values ​​in spool file 93 are given to rendering module 8 (S46). Then, the WM setting data is converted into a print command including the WM setting data together with the print data of the document from AP2, and sent to printer 11 (S47).

[0076] [S50 to S56: Temporary watermark printing process] Next, when printing a temporary watermark, the process shown in S50 (the processes of S51 to S56) is carried out.

[0077] After AP2 is started, when printing a temporary watermark starts with AP2 (S51), a driver event is called from AP2 via GDI4, and a temporary WM setting dialog is displayed from the UI module 7 of the printer driver 6 (S53). The temporary WM setting value set there is sent to the rendering module 8 via the spool file 93 (S54) by an Escape command (S55).

[0078] That is, when printing a temporary watermark, the temporary watermark input screen display unit 711 of the UI module 7 displays the temporary watermark specification and editing screen 74 as a temporary WM setting dialog in response to a driver event call from the AP2.

[0079] Here, it is possible to set whether to print a temporary watermark (1-time watermark) that is used only once after the current print start instruction, or to print a normal watermark.

[0080] When temporary watermark printing is set, the WM setting values ​​such as the text, format, and layout of the watermark, which is used only once, are not saved in OS3 or AP2 but are deleted. In other words, when the print job is completed, the WM setting values ​​of the temporary watermark are deleted and will not affect the next print job.

[0081] Thereafter, in the same way as normal watermark printing, the rendering module 8 converts the data into a print command and sends it to the printer 11 (S56).

[0082] As described above, the WM setting value of the temporary watermark is generated only after AP2 starts printing, and is not saved in the memory area of ​​OS3 or AP2 until it is sent to the rendering module 8 by the Escape command and then sent to the printer 11. Therefore, when the current printing is completed and the spool file 93 is deleted, the WM setting value of the temporary watermark is also lost without being retained, and does not affect subsequent printing operations.

[0083] On the other hand, the WM setting values ​​saved in AP2 and OS3 are retained even after printing is completed, and the next time printing is performed, the retained WM setting values ​​will be used as the basis, but the state of the WM setting values ​​will remain the same as the setting values ​​last set by the printer.

[0084] (B-2-2) Overall flow of printing process Next, the overall flow of the printing process will be described with reference to FIG.

[0085] The printer driver 6 is assumed to have both a conventional normal watermark printing function and a temporary watermark printing function, and the conventional normal watermark printing process and the temporary watermark printing process according to this embodiment will be described separately.

[0086] [S1, S2, S3, S4: Drawing command processing] In an application (AP) 2 on a computer 1, a drawing processing unit 22 opens and references a document file 21 (S1), and when printing, the drawing processing unit 22 performs drawing on a GDI 4, which is a printing and drawing function of an operating system (OS) 3 (S2).

[0087] The GDI 4, which receives the drawing command from the AP 2, stores the drawing data in the spool file 93 of the logical printer 9 (S3).

[0088] Regarding print settings when printing, print setting information (DEVMODE) is stored for each logical printer 9 on the OS 3, and the AP 2 acquires the print setting information (DEVMODE) from the corresponding logical printer 9 on the OS 3 (S4).

[0089] [S5, S6, S7, S8: Print setting process] If the print owner desires to set print settings, the print owner can set print settings from the print setting display screen by operating the print owner.

[0090] Here, a case where the print setting information (DEVMODE) 24 and the watermark print information 25 included in the print setting information (DEVMODE) 24 are set will be described.

[0091] For example, when changing the print setting information (DEVMODE) 24, the print setting display processing unit 23 in the AP 2 calls the printer driver 6 to display a driver setting screen 71 (S5). Then, the driver print setting information (DEVMODE) 24 held by the AP 2 is used to display the driver setting screen 71. On the driver setting screen 71, the user operates the printer to change or edit each setting value of the driver's print settings (S6). Then, when printing, the drawing processing unit 22 issues a drawing command to the GDI 4 based on the driver print setting information at the time of printing (S8).

[0092] For example, when changing the watermark printing information 25, the print setting display processing unit 23 in the AP 2 calls the printer driver 6 to display the driver setting screen 71 (S5). The watermark editing screen 72 and watermark registration / selection screen 73 included in the driver setting screen 71 are then displayed. At this time, the WM options registered in the watermark option table 51 are referenced, and the setting values ​​for the WM, such as the character string, format, and layout, are displayed on the watermark registration / selection screen 73 (S7). The printer can then change, edit, or register the WM setting values ​​on the watermark editing screen 72 through operations by the printer (S6). When printing, the drawing processing unit 22 issues a drawing command to the GDI 4 based on the driver print setting information (S8).

[0093] The print setting information (DEVMODE) 24 including the changed watermark printing information 25 is held by the application 2, and is sent to the GDI 4 along with drawing instructions at the time of printing, and is then stored as print setting information (DEVMODE) 94 in the spool file 93 from the GDI 4.

[0094] [S10, S11, S12: Normal watermark printing process] A spool file is generated, and is reproduced by the spool file reproduction process (print processor) 10 of the OS 3 calling the rendering module 8 (S10).

[0095] During playback, the print setting information (DEVMODE) 94 held in the spool file 93 is provided to the print setting information (DEVMODE) acquisition unit 814 of the rendering module 8, and the print setting information (DEVMODE) is set.

[0096] Then, the print command conversion unit 815 converts the drawing data into a printer command by referring to the print setting information (DEVMODE) (S11), and transmits the printer command to the printer 11 (S12).

[0097] [S21~S26, S10, S11, S12: Temporary watermark printing process] When a drawing command is received from the AP 2, the UI module 7 of the printer driver 6 is called via the GDI 4 (S21).

[0098] In the UI module 7, the temporary watermark input screen display unit 711 of the job start event handler 710 displays the temporary watermark designation / editing screen 74, and the printer inputs temporary watermark printing information 75 on the temporary watermark designation / editing screen 74 through operations.

[0099] The input temporary watermark printing information 75 is spooled as one piece of Escape command data 97 among the drawing data 96 in the spool file 93 of the logical printer 9 by the Escape command from the temporary watermark information Escape command transmission unit 713 to the logical printer 9 (S22, S23).

[0100] When the spool file reproducing process (print processor) 10 reproduces the data (S10), the Escspe command data is reproduced and various DDIs of the rendering module 8 are called (S24).

[0101] The rendering module 8 obtains temporary watermark printing information from the Escape command data (S25), and sets the temporary watermark printing information.

[0102] Then, the print command conversion unit 815 refers to the print setting information (DEVMODE) and the temporary watermark print information, converts the drawing data into a printer command (S11), and sends the printer command to the printer 11 (S12).

[0103] (B-2-3) Processing operation in UI module 7 Next, the processing of the UI module 7 on the printer driver 6 when printing a temporary watermark will be described with reference to FIG.

[0104] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the UI module 7 on the printer driver 6 according to this embodiment.

[0105] [S101, S102] When printing starts in AP2 (S101), the job start event handler 710 of the driver event processing unit 709 of the UI module 7 acquires information about the normal watermark via the watermark option acquisition and display unit 712 (S102).

[0106] Here, whether or not a temporary watermark is set during printing may be variable.

[0107] 10, for example, a temporary watermark setting button 511 may be provided on a normal watermark selection screen 510 called up from the driver print setting screen, and when the temporary watermark setting button 511 is selected, a temporary watermark operation setting screen 520 may be displayed. As described above, when a normal watermark is registered (i.e., "Display only when watermark is registered"), options such as "Always display when printing" and "Do not display" may be provided, allowing the user to select the operation based on the options.

[0108] Furthermore, for example, as shown in Figure 10, when there is a normal watermark registered option ("Display only when watermark is registered") and "Always display when printing," the temporary watermark input screen can be automatically closed after a certain time has elapsed since the start of display, and if no input is made within the certain time, an option can be provided to continue printing without adding a temporary watermark.

[0109] [S103] The temporary watermark operation mode is determined (S103), and if the setting is "always display when printing," the process proceeds to S106.

[0110] [S104] In S103, if the setting is to display only when there is a registered normal WM option ("Display only when watermark is registered"), it is confirmed whether there is a registered WM option (S104). If there is a registered WM option (S104 / YES), the process proceeds to S105, and if there is no registered WM option (S104 / NO), the process proceeds to S110.

[0111] [S105] In S105, if there is a registered WM option, it is determined whether the selected WM setting value is included in the registered WM option (S105). If there is a selected WM setting value (S105 / YES), the process proceeds to S106, and if there is not (S105 / NO), the process proceeds to S110.

[0112] [S106] The temporary watermark input screen display unit 711 displays the temporary watermark input screen as a temporary watermark setting dialogue (S106).

[0113] For example, the temporary watermark setting dialog shown in Figure 11 is displayed. In other words, it is a one-time watermark setting screen. As shown in Figures 11(A) and 11(B), there is a section for inputting the character string of the temporary watermark, and a style change button for setting and changing the format, etc., so the printer can set each setting value of the temporary watermark by inputting the character string, format, etc.

[0114] [S107, S108] In the temporary watermark setting dialog, the printer inputs the character string, format, etc. as information for the temporary watermark (S107), and then selects the "Start printing" button (S108).

[0115] [S109, S110] The temporary watermark information Escape command transmission unit 713 transmits the temporary watermark information as an Escape command to the rendering module 8 (S109).

[0116] Then, the rendering module 8 reproduces the spool file and sends the print data to the printer 11 (S110).

[0117] (B-2-4) Processing operation in rendering module 8 Next, the processing of the rendering module 8 on the printer driver 6 when printing a temporary watermark will be described with reference to FIG.

[0118] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the rendering module 8 on the printer driver 6 according to this embodiment.

[0119] [S201] When the spool file is played back (S110 in FIG. 8), the job starts (S201).

[0120] [S202, S203] After the spool file playback starts (S202), the print setting information acquisition unit 814 in the rendering module 8 acquires the print setting information (DEVMODE) from the spool file 93 (S203).

[0121] [S204] Thereafter, the DDI handler 801 determines the type of drawing command based on the contents of the spool file 93 (S204).

[0122] [S205] If the spool file contains a job start, the job start DDI 803 is called (S205).

[0123] [S206] If the spool file contains a job end, the job end DDI 813 is called (S206).

[0124] [S207] If the spool file contains a page start, the page start DDI 804 is called (S207).

[0125] [S208] If the spool file contains an end of page, the end of page DDI 807 is called (S208).

[0126] [S209] If the spool file contains an Escape command, the Escape command DDI 805 is called (S209).

[0127] [S214] If the spool file contains an Escape command, the Escape command DDI 805 stores the temporary watermark setting information in the device information (PDEVICE) (S214).

[0128] [S210, S211, S212, S213] If the spool file contains an end of page, the temporary watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit 808 acquires temporary watermark setting information stored in the device information (PDEVICE) (S210) in the page end DDI 807. Then, the temporary watermark drawing processing unit 809 draws a temporary watermark at the end of the drawing command for the entire page (S211).

[0129] If the spool file contains an end of page, the normal watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit 810 acquires normal watermark setting information stored in the device information (PDEVICE) in the page end DDI 807 (S212). Then, the normal watermark drawing processing unit 811 draws a normal watermark at the end of the drawing command for the entire page (S213).

[0130] Although the temporary watermark drawing process and the normal watermark drawing process have been described separately here, they may be performed at the same time.

[0131] [S215, S216] When the temporary watermark drawing processor 809 and the normal watermark drawing processor 811 respectively draw the watermark at the end of the drawing command for the entire page (211, 213), the print command converter 815 converts the watermark into a print command (S215) and sends it to the printer 11. Then, printing ends (S216).

[0132] Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent printing with a watermark inadvertently added, without having to display the printer driver settings screen before printing to check the current settings.

[0133] Furthermore, there is no need to store watermark setting values ​​that are only used for one printing, which can reduce the amount of information required for registering options and the effort required to delete options that are no longer needed.

[0134] Furthermore, since print information related to the temporary watermark function, which is determined after printing has started, is completed within the driver processing alone and does not depend on the method for storing or handling print setting information in the application, information specified after printing has started can be reliably reflected in the print results. This is reliably achieved because it does not depend on the processing method used until the application acquires the printer driver setting values ​​and specifies them to the printer driver at the start of printing, and there is no room for application intervention.

[0135] (B-3) Effects of the embodiment According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0136] Normally, watermark information is stored in the driver print setting information (DEVMODE), but temporary watermark information is not stored in the DEVMODE, but is stored only in the driver operation information PDEVICE, which is generated along with the processing of the print job at the time of printing, and in the spool file.

[0137] The driver operation information PDEVICE is released by the application when the job ends, and the temporary watermark information included in the spool file together with the Escape command is automatically deleted by the spooler when printing is completed.

[0138] Since the temporary watermark is only valid during the processing of the printed job, it is not included in the OS, application, or document file, preventing the printer from accidentally adding a watermark that the printer did not intend.

[0139] (C) Other embodiments Although various modified embodiments have been mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to the following embodiments.

[0140] (C-1) Although the printer driver has been described as a configuration for applying temporary watermarks, it is also possible to display a temporary watermark setting screen on the operation panel of the printing device after receiving the data and starting printing, and apply a watermark to each job.Similarly, this can also be done on the operation panel of a multifunction device equipped with a scanner and fax.

[0141] (C-2) An example of applying a temporary watermark to a single job has been explained, but it can also be applied to collated printing, where a different temporary watermark can be specified for each print copy by displaying a temporary watermark for each print copy or by creating a screen for setting multiple temporary watermark character strings and formats according to the number of copies. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 1: Computer, 2: Application, 3: Operating System, 4: GDI, 5: Spooler, 6: Printer Driver, 7: UI Module, 8: Rendering Module, 9: Logical Printer, 10: Spool File Replay Processor, 11: Printer, 21: Document file, 22: Drawing processing unit, 23: Print setting display processing unit, 25: Watermark printing information, 51: Watermark selection table, 71: Driver setting screen, 72: Watermark editing screen, 73: Selection screen, 74: Editing screen, 75: Temporary watermark printing information, 93: Spool file, 96: Drawing data, 97: Command data, 510: Normal watermark selection screen, 511: Temporary watermark setting button, 520: Temporary watermark operation setting screen, 701: Driver setting screen display processing unit, 702: Driver setting information (DEVMODE) merge processing unit, 703: Watermark selection screen display processing unit, 704: Watermark setting value edit screen display processing unit, 705: Watermark setting value option acquisition and display processing unit, 706: Watermark setting value option registration and save processing unit, 707: Normal watermark setting value driver setting information (DEVMODE) storage processing unit, 708: Driver setting information (DEVMODE) return unit, 709: Driver event processing unit, 710: Job start event handler, 711: Temporary watermark input screen display unit, 712: Watermark option acquisition and display unit, 713: Temporary watermark information Escape command transmission unit, 714: Page start event handler, 715: Page end event handler, 716: Job end event handler, 801: DDI handler, 802: Device information (PDEVICE) initialization DDI, 803: Job start DDI, 804: Page start DDI, 805: Escape command DDI, 806: Temporary watermark information PDEVICE storage processing unit, 807: Page end DDI, 808: Temporary watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit, 809: Temporary watermark drawing processing unit, 810: Normal watermark information PDEVICE acquisition unit, 811: Normal watermark drawing processing unit, 812: Drawing command DDI, 813: Job end DDI, 814: Print setting information acquisition unit, 815: Print command conversion unit.

Claims

1. A print control program for an information processing apparatus having an operating system capable of transmitting a print job to which additional information has been added to an image forming apparatus, comprising: Computer a setting input unit that, when an instruction to transmit a first print job to the image forming apparatus is given with setting information of first additional information set in the operating system as the additional information, displays the setting information of the first additional information added to the first print job and accepts settings of the first print job; an image data generating unit that, when second additional information different from the first additional information is input, generates image data to which the second additional information is added only for the first print job; a transmission unit that transmits a print job including the generated image data to the image forming apparatus; A printing control program characterized by causing the program to function as follows.

2. When an instruction to transmit the first print job to the image forming apparatus is given, setting information of the first additional information is displayed by an event call; When the setting information of the second additional information is input, the setting input unit provides the setting information of the second additional information to the image data generating unit by an escape command.

2. The print control program according to claim 1.

3. 2. The print control program according to claim 1, wherein the input setting information of the second additional information is not saved after the first print job has been sent to the image forming apparatus.

4. In a print control device of an information processing device having an operating system capable of transmitting a print job to which additional information has been added to an image forming device, a setting input unit that, when an instruction to transmit a first print job to the image forming apparatus is given with setting information of first additional information set in the operating system as the additional information, displays the setting information of the first additional information added to the first print job and accepts settings of the first print job; an image data generating unit that, when second additional information different from the first additional information is input, generates image data to which the second additional information is added only for the first print job; a transmission unit that transmits a print job including the generated image data to the image forming apparatus; A print control device comprising:

Images