Image processing system and program

Abstract

To perform image formation reflecting attributes of additional data without giving a selection instruction for drawing processing software by a user.SOLUTION: An image processing system includes a processor. The processor receives document data to be printed and a plurality of pieces of additional data including a common image used in common over a plurality of pages, selects drawing processing software according to attributes of the additional data for each of the plurality of additional data, performs drawing processing using the selected drawing processing software, and generates image data capable of forming an image by superimposing the document data to be printed on the data subjected to the drawing processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image processing system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming and viewing system that performs drawing processing in parallel on print information and pre-registered information such as a form using different drawing processing means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-005793 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In commercial printing image processing systems, additional data called part data is added to document data contained in a print processing request called a print job and input. The document data and additional data undergo a rendering process that converts them into a raster image, which is then formed on an image forming medium such as paper. Note that part data includes data that is added to the document data, such as page numbers, forms, watermarks, color patches, and comments. The rendering process is also called rasterization processing and RIP processing.

[0005] When rendering this additional data, either pre-defined rendering software called a decomposer or the same rendering software used to render the document data included in the print request was used. However, the complexity of additional data is gradually increasing, and more and more additional data specifies transparency effects and spot colors. Because the complexity of each additional data item varies, there was a problem that if the same rendering software was used for all additional data items, the print results intended by the user could not be obtained.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an image processing system and program that are capable of forming an image that reflects the attributes of additional data without requiring a user to instruct selection of drawing processing software. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image processing system of the first aspect of the present disclosure includes: a processor; The processor: The device receives document data to be printed and a plurality of additional data including a common image used across a plurality of pages, selects drawing processing software according to the attributes of the additional data for each of the plurality of additional data, performs drawing processing using the selected drawing processing software, and generates image data that can be used to form an image by superimposing the document data to be printed on the data that has been subjected to drawing processing.

[0008] An image processing system according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is the image processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the processor selects rendering processing software for each of the plurality of additional data in accordance with the data type of the additional data.

[0009] An image processing system of a third aspect of the present disclosure is an image processing system according to the second aspect, wherein the processor selects first drawing processing software for each of the plurality of additional data if the additional data includes either a transparency effect or a special color specification attribute, and selects second drawing processing software if the data type of the additional data is described in a specific page description language format.

[0010] An image processing system of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is an image processing system according to the third aspect, wherein the processor selects, for each of the plurality of additional data, drawing processing software that is selected most frequently for the plurality of additional data if the additional data does not include any of the attributes of a transparency effect or a spot color specification, or is not written in the specific page description language format.

[0011] An image processing system of a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is the image processing system of the first aspect, wherein the processor selects drawing processing software for each of the multiple additional data in accordance with a priority preset according to the attributes of the additional data.

[0012] An image processing system of a sixth aspect of the present disclosure is the image processing system of the first aspect, wherein when the processor performs drawing processing for each of the plurality of additional data using the drawing processing software, the processor continuously performs drawing processing for the additional data using the same drawing processing software.

[0013] An image processing system of a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is an image processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the processor generates and displays a confirmation screen that displays candidates for selected drawing processing software for each of the additional data and asks the user for confirmation.

[0014] An image processing system of an eighth aspect of the present disclosure is an image processing system according to the seventh aspect, in which the processor displays the results of drawing processing using candidate drawing processing software for each of the additional data, and generates and displays a selection screen that prompts the user to select the drawing processing software to use.

[0015] An image processing system of a ninth aspect of the present disclosure is an image processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the processor inputs each of the plurality of additional data into a pre-trained learning model, and selects drawing processing software that performs drawing processing on each of the additional data according to the selection results output from the learning model.

[0016] A program according to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure includes: On the computer, A step of receiving document data to be printed and a plurality of additional data including a common image used in common across a plurality of pages; For each of the plurality of additional data, selecting drawing processing software according to the attribute of the additional data; performing a drawing process using the selected drawing process software; a step of generating image data that can be used for image formation by superimposing the rendered data on the rendered data of the document data to be printed; Execute the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the image processing system of the first aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an image processing system that can form an image that reflects the attributes of additional data without requiring a user to instruct selection of drawing processing software.

[0018] According to the image processing system of the second aspect of the present disclosure, rendering processing according to the data type of additional data is possible without requiring a user to issue an instruction to select rendering processing software.

[0019] According to the image processing system of the third aspect of the present disclosure, when the additional data includes attributes of a transparency effect and a special color designation, it is possible to perform a drawing process that can reflect the transparency effect and the special color designation.

[0020] According to the image processing system of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, when switching between different pieces of rendering software, it is possible to reduce the number of times rendering software is switched.

[0021] According to the image processing system of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, even when the additional data includes multiple attributes, it is possible to form an image that reflects the attributes of the additional data.

[0022] According to the image processing system of the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, when performing drawing processing using drawing processing software, it is possible to reduce the number of switching processes including starting and ending the drawing processing software.

[0023] According to the image processing system of the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the user can check the drawing software selected for each additional data.

[0024] According to the image processing system of the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the user can select the result of the rendering process performed by the rendering processing software for each additional data after checking it.

[0025] According to the image processing system of the ninth aspect of the present disclosure, drawing processing that reflects the attributes of additional data is possible without requiring a user to issue an instruction to select drawing processing software.

[0026] According to the program of the tenth aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to cause a computer to perform image processing that can form an image that reflects the attributes of additional data, without requiring a user to instruct selection of drawing processing software. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for selecting candidates for drawing processing software that performs drawing processing in a job control unit. [Figure 5] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed in a job control unit after the processing in FIG. 4 is performed. [Figure 6]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drawing processing setting screen. [Figure 7] 13 shows an example of a setting screen for setting a threshold value for selecting drawing processing software. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for selecting candidates for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing when a threshold value is set, according to Modification 1. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a drawing processing setting screen according to Modification 2. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a drawing processing result display screen according to Modification 2. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image processing device according to a third modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] [Embodiment] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0029] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system according to the embodiment includes a pre-processing device 1, a buffer device 2, a printing device 3 that prints on continuous paper, a buffer device 4, a post-processing device 5, a controller 10, and a terminal device 20.

[0030] The pre-processing device 1 carries unprinted continuous paper wound into a roll, and performs pre-processing by sending this continuous paper to the printing device 3. The post-processing device 5 receives the printed continuous paper sent by the printing device 3 and performs post-processing by winding the continuous paper into a roll. The buffer devices 2 and 4 are provided to absorb the difference between the continuous paper transport speed in the pre-processing device 1 or post-processing device 5 and the continuous paper transport speed in the printing device 3, and hold the continuous paper so that the tension on the continuous paper is constant between them.

[0031] The terminal device 20 generates document data included in a print processing request called a print job, and additional data to be added to this document data, and transmits them via the network to the controller 10. The additional data includes multiple parts data, as will be described later.

[0032] The controller 10, also called a digital front end, controls the printing device 3 and processes data to be input to the printing device 3. Specifically, the controller 10 controls the printing operation of the printing device 3 based on a print job including document data and additional data transmitted from the terminal device 20, and also performs image processing on the document data and additional data from the terminal device 20. Based on the control of the controller 10, the printing device 3 forms an image on continuous paper according to the print data image-processed by the controller 10.

[0033] Next, the hardware configuration of the controller 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the controller 10 includes a CPU 101, a memory 102, and a storage device 103 such as a hard disk drive. The controller 10 also includes a communication IF unit 104 that transmits and receives data to and from the terminal device 20 via a network, a user IF device 105 that includes a touch panel and a liquid crystal display, and an engine IF unit 106 that transmits and receives data to and from the printing device 3. These components are connected to one another via a control bus 107.

[0034] The CPU 101 executes predetermined processing based on a control program stored in the memory 102 or the storage device 103, and controls the operation of the controller 10. Note that this control program can also be stored in a portable storage medium such as a USB memory and provided to the CPU 101.

[0035] The memory 102 and the storage device 103 store a control program, which will be described later, for operating the controller 10. Note that this control program can also be stored in a portable medium such as a USB memory as described above, instead of the memory 102 and the storage device 103, and provided from the portable medium.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller 10 realized by executing the above control program in the CPU 101.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 10 includes a job control unit 111, an input data storage unit 112, a drawing processing unit 113, a drawing-processed data storage unit 114, and a composite output unit 115.

[0038] The job control unit 111 receives document data and multiple additional data called part data included in a print job input to the controller 10, performs preprocessing, and then instructs the drawing processing unit 113 to perform drawing processing. The job control unit 111 further includes an input data management unit 116, an input data analysis unit 117, and a part data processing determination unit 118 as parts that perform preprocessing.

[0039] The input data management unit 116 accepts print jobs input to the controller 10. The print job includes document data to be printed and multiple pieces of additional data called part data. The document data is information in units of pages and includes data spanning multiple pages. The part data may include common data, i.e., common images, that are used across multiple pages, such as page numbers, forms, watermarks, color patches, and comments. The part data may include common images that are used across all pages, or may include either images or data that differ on a page-by-page basis.

[0040] The input data management unit 116 assigns a job ID to the document data and multiple additional data included in the print job to group them together, and stores the document data and additional data in the input data storage unit 112 while linking them with setting information.

[0041] The input data analysis unit 117 analyzes the print job stored in the input data storage unit 112. That is, the input data analysis unit 117 analyzes the document data and additional data included in the print job, and extracts information such as the data type, page size, and color space, as well as attribute information such as font, transparency effect, and spot color designation.

[0042] The part data processing determination unit 118 uses the analysis results of the input data analysis unit 117 to select candidate rendering software for performing rendering processing for each of a plurality of pieces of additional data called part data, according to the attributes and data type of each piece of additional data. Information about the selected candidate rendering software is associated with the part data and stored in the input data storage unit 112. For example, if the data type of the part data is PDF format and includes either a transparency effect or a spot color specification attribute, the part data processing determination unit 118 selects a first decomposer 122, which is the first rendering processing software, as the candidate rendering processing software. Note that the first decomposer 122 is, for example, "APPE" (Adobe PDF Print Engine), which supports objects with transparency effects and spot colors. On the other hand, if the data type of the additional data is written in a specific page description language format such as PostScript (registered trademark), the part data processing determination unit 118 selects a second decomposer 123, which is the second rendering processing software, as the candidate rendering processing software. The second decomposer 123 is, for example, a "CPSI" (Configurable PostScript Interpreter).

[0043] The input data storage unit 112 stores document data and multiple part data included in the print job input via the input data management unit 116 as described above. A job ID is linked to each document data and each part data, and information on candidate drawing processing software selected by the part data processing determination unit 118 is linked to and stored in each part data.

[0044] The drawing processing unit 113 performs drawing processing of the document data and part data included in the print job. The drawing processing unit 113 has a drawing processing control unit 119, a document data drawing processing control unit 120, a part data drawing processing control unit 121, a first decomposer 122, and a second decomposer 123.

[0045] The drawing process control unit 119 separates the drawing process instructions received from the job control unit 111 into drawing process instructions for document data and drawing process instructions for part data, and outputs instructions separately to the document data drawing process control unit 120 and the part data drawing process control unit 121. That is, the drawing process control unit 119 outputs an instruction to the document data drawing process control unit 120 to perform drawing process on the document data. The drawing process control unit 119 also outputs an instruction to the part data drawing process control unit 121 to perform drawing process on each piece of part data using the set drawing process software.

[0046] The document data drawing process control unit 120 starts, ends, and switches between the first decomposer 122 and the second decomposer 123 in accordance with a drawing process instruction received from the drawing process control unit 119 .

[0047] The part data drawing process control unit 121 starts, ends, and switches between the first decomposer 122 and the second decomposer 123 in accordance with instructions received from the drawing process control unit 119 .

[0048] The first decomposer 122 performs drawing processing on a page-by-page basis in accordance with instructions from the document data drawing processing control unit 120 and the part data drawing processing control unit 121. As described above, the first decomposer 122 is, for example, "APPE." That is, the first decomposer 122 converts PDF format data and part data including attributes such as transparency effects and spot color designation into raster format image data that has undergone interpreter processing and rasterization processing.

[0049] The second decomposer 123 performs drawing processing on a page-by-page basis in accordance with instructions from the document data drawing processing control unit 120 and the part data drawing processing control unit 121. As described above, the second decomposer 123 is, for example, "CPSI." That is, the second decomposer 123 converts document data and part data written in a specific page description language format such as PostScript into image data in a raster format that has undergone interpreter processing and rasterization processing.

[0050] Raster image data is an image that is divided into many tiny points, or pixels, in a grid pattern, and the color and density of each point are expressed as numerical values ​​using a color system such as RGB or CMYK.

[0051] The data that has been subjected to rendering processing and converted into raster format by the first decomposer 122 and the second decomposer 123 is stored in the processed data storage unit 114 as rendered document data and rendered part data.

[0052] The composite output unit 115 generates image data that can be used for image formation by overlaying the data that has been rendered from the document data to be printed with the data that has been rendered from each part data. That is, the composite output unit 115 reads and composites the processed document data and processed part data stored in the rendered data storage unit 114 to generate final halftone dot data, and outputs the print data to the printer 3 via the engine IF unit 106.

[0053] Next, a method for selecting candidates for drawing processing software that performs drawing processing in job control unit 111 will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6. First, when input data management unit 116 receives document data and additional data included in a print job, it assigns a job ID that groups together the document data and multiple part data included in the additional data. Then, the document data included in the print job is stored in input data storage unit 112.

[0054] In step S401 of Fig. 4, the input data management unit 116 determines whether setting information including information on candidate rendering software has been linked to all of the multiple part data included in the print job. If setting information has been linked to all of the part data linked to the same job ID, the process ends, and the job control unit 111 further performs the process of Fig. 5 before displaying the rendering process setting screen of Fig. 6. If it is determined that setting information has not yet been linked to all of the part data, the process proceeds to step S402.

[0055] In step S402, the input data management unit 116 selects one of the plurality of part data, and performs the following processing from step S403 onwards.

[0056] In step S403, the input data analysis unit 117 analyzes the target part data selected in step S402 and extracts data information such as the data type, page size, color space, font, whether or not a transparency effect is used, whether or not a spot color is specified, etc. Here, the data type of the part data refers to the type of page description language, such as PostScript format or PDF format.

[0057] In step S404, the part data processing determination unit 118 determines the data type of the part data using the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117. That is, if the data type of the part data is in PostScript format, the process proceeds to step S405.

[0058] In step S405, the part data processing determination unit 118 associates the second decomposer 123 with the target part data as setting information and stores it in the input data storage unit 112 as a candidate for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing of the target part data. In this embodiment, the second decomposer 123 is "CPSI." Then, the process returns to step S401.

[0059] If it is determined in step S404 that the data type of the parts data is in PDF format, the process proceeds to step S406.

[0060] In step S406, the part data processing determination unit 118 uses the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117 to determine the attributes of the part data. Note that the attributes of the part data are information other than the data type among the data information. In this embodiment, the part data processing determination unit 118 determines whether the object included in the part data includes either a transparency effect or a special color designation as the attribute of the target part data, and if either a transparency effect or a special color designation attribute is included, the process proceeds to step S407.

[0061] In step S407, the part data processing determination unit 118 associates the first decomposer 122 with the target part data as setting information and stores it in the input data storage unit 112 as a candidate for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing of the target part data. In this embodiment, the first decomposer 122 is "APPE." Next, the process returns to step S401.

[0062] If it is determined in step S406 that the object included in the target part data does not include transparency or special color designation, the process proceeds to step S408. That is, if the part data does not include either transparency or special color designation attributes, or if the data type is not PostScript format, the process proceeds to step S408.

[0063] In step S408, the part data processing determination unit 118 associates "BOTH" as setting information with the target part data as a candidate for rendering processing software that will perform rendering processing of the target part data, and stores the information in the input data storage unit 112. The setting information "BOTH" indicates that rendering processing can be performed by either the first decomposer 122 or the second decomposer 123. Next, the process returns to step S401.

[0064] In step S401, the input data management unit 116 determines whether information on candidate drawing processing software has been linked to all of the multiple part data, and if it determines that all linking has been completed, it further performs the processing of Figure 5 and then displays the drawing processing setting screen of Figure 6.

[0065] 5, the part data processing determination unit 118 determines whether it has determined that it is possible to change the setting information for all of the multiple part data linked to the same job ID. If the change of the setting information for all of the multiple part data has not yet been completed, the process proceeds to step S502.

[0066] In step S502, one piece of part data to be judged is selected, and it is judged whether the drawing processing software for the part data that performs the drawing processing is specified in advance in the data information included in the print job. If the drawing processing software for the drawing processing is specified in advance in the print job, the process proceeds to step S503.

[0067] In step S503, the job control unit 111 displays the target part data in a selected state using the drawing processing software designated in advance, and displays the other drawing processing software in an unselectable state on the drawing processing setting screen, and then returns to the processing of step S501.

[0068] 6 shows an example of a drawing processing setting screen 600 displayed on the user IF device 105. First, this drawing processing setting screen 600 is a confirmation screen that displays candidates for selected drawing processing software for each piece of part data included in a print job and asks the user for confirmation. That is, this drawing processing setting screen 600 displays a list of part data included in a certain print job stored in the input data storage unit 112, the file name of each piece of part data, and the candidates for drawing processing software associated with each piece of part data, in association with each other.

[0069] Here, for example, the file name of the "Page Number" part data is "PageNo.ps," and the data type is shown to be in PostScript format. Also, "CPSI" is selected as a candidate for drawing processing software. As mentioned above, the drawing processing software for the "Page Number" part data was specified in advance in the data information of the print job, so the selection field is displayed in an unselectable state so that the user cannot reset "APPE" as a candidate for drawing processing software.

[0070] If it is determined in step S502 that the drawing processing software that performs the drawing processing has not been designated in advance by the data information of the print job, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0071] In step S504, the setting information for the target part data is referenced to determine whether "CPSI" is associated with the target drawing processing software. If "CPSI" is associated, the process proceeds to step S505.

[0072] In step S505, the job control unit 111 displays "CPSI" as a selected drawing processing software candidate for the target part data, and displays the other drawing processing software in the drawing processing setting screen 600 in an unselectable state, and then returns to the processing of step S501.

[0073] Specifically, in Figure 6, for example, the file name of the "Watermark" part data is "WaterMark.ps," the data type is shown to be PostScript format, and "CPSI" is selected as the candidate for drawing processing software. The selection field is displayed in an unselectable state so that the user cannot reset "APPE" as the candidate for drawing processing software.

[0074] In step S504, if it is determined that "CPSI" is not associated with the target part data as a candidate for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing, the process proceeds to step S506.

[0075] In step S506, the setting information for the target part data is referenced to determine whether "APPE" is linked as a candidate for drawing processing software that performs drawing processing. If "APPE" is linked, the process proceeds to step S507.

[0076] In step S507, the job control unit 111 displays "APPE" as a candidate for the drawing processing software that will perform the drawing processing for the target part data in a selected state. The other drawing processing software is then displayed on the drawing processing setting screen 600 in a state where the selection can be changed, and the process returns to step S501.

[0077] Specifically, in Figure 6, for example, the file name of the "Form" part data is "Form.pdf," the data type is indicated as PDF format, and "APPE" is selected as the candidate for drawing processing software. Also, a selection field is displayed in a selectable state so that the user can reset "CPSI" as the candidate for drawing processing software.

[0078] In step S506, if it is determined that "APPE" is not linked to the target part data as a candidate for drawing processing software that performs drawing processing, the process proceeds to step S508.

[0079] In step S508, the job control unit 111 determines that "BOTH" is associated with the target part data as a candidate for drawing processing software to perform drawing processing, and performs the following processing. That is, for part data associated with "BOTH" as a candidate for drawing processing software, the job control unit 111 displays the drawing processing software that has been selected the most for multiple other part data in a selected state. Then, for the drawing processing software that has not been selected, the job control unit 111 displays it on the drawing processing setting screen 600 in a state where the selection can be changed, and returns to the processing of step S501.

[0080] Specifically, in Figure 6, for example, the file name of the "Color Patch" part data is "ColorPatch.pdf," the data type is indicated as PDF format, and "CPSI" is selected as the candidate for drawing processing software. This is because "CPSI" has been selected as the drawing processing software more frequently for multiple other part data. In addition, a selection field is displayed in a selectable state so that the user can reset "APPE" as the candidate for drawing processing software.

[0081] 6, the user selects a candidate rendering software for each piece of part data and clicks the "OK" button. The rendering processing control unit 119 then instructs the part data rendering processing control unit 121 to perform rendering processing for each piece of part data using the selected rendering processing software.

[0082] In the setting state shown in FIG. 6, specifically, the drawing process control unit 119 instructs the part data of "page number," "watermark," and "color patch" to be drawn using "CPSI" as the drawing process software. On the other hand, the drawing process control unit 119 instructs the part data of "form" to be drawn using "APPE" as the drawing process software. Note that the drawing process of part data that uses the same drawing process software is instructed to be performed consecutively. In other words, the part data of "page number," "watermark," and "color patch" are instructed to be drawn consecutively using the same drawing process software, "CPSI." This avoids the need to start and stop the drawing process software for each drawing process of part data, thereby switching the drawing process software each time.

[0083] Generally, a decomposer requires a relatively large amount of hardware resources, such as memory, and it takes time to start and stop the decomposer. Therefore, it is preferable to minimize the number of times the rendering software is switched.

[0084] The document data drawing process control unit 120 performs drawing process of the part data by starting, terminating, and switching the first decomposer 122 and the second decomposer 123 in accordance with the drawing process instruction received from the drawing process control unit 119. The data that has been subjected to drawing process by the first decomposer 122 and the second decomposer 123 and converted into a raster format is stored in the processed data storage unit 114 as drawn part data.

[0085] Next, the composite output unit 115 composites the processed document data and processed part data stored in the drawing processed data storage unit 114 to produce final halftone dot data, and outputs the print data to the printing device 3 via the engine IF unit 106.

[0086] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, a case where candidate rendering software for rendering processing is selected based on the data type and attributes of part data has been described. In particular, in the above embodiment, when an object included in the target part data includes either a transparency effect or a spot color specification, the first decomposer 122, "APPE," is selected as the candidate rendering software based on the setting information. However, when selecting candidate rendering software for part data, the candidate rendering software may be selected based on a priority set in advance according to the attributes of the part data. Alternatively, a threshold may be set for each attribute included in the part data, and candidate rendering software may be selected based on the priority and threshold set in advance according to the attributes of the part data. In the following Variation 1, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a case where a priority and a threshold are set for each attribute included in the part data and candidate rendering software is changed based on the priority and threshold is described.

[0087] Fig. 7 shows an example of a threshold setting screen 700 for setting a threshold for selecting drawing processing software. On the threshold setting screen 700 in Fig. 7, it is possible to input or select the "item" of an attribute included in the part data, the "priority" for that attribute, the "threshold" set for each attribute, and the type of drawing processing software to be selected when each attribute is equal to or greater than the threshold.

[0088] For example, in Figure 7, the priority of the "transparency effect" attribute included in the parts data is "1," the threshold is "1," and the drawing processing software selected in this case is "APPE." This means that when the parts data includes one or more objects with the "transparency effect" attribute, "APPE" is selected as the drawing processing software that performs drawing processing with a priority of "1," i.e., with the highest priority.

[0089] For example, if the priority of the "font" attribute included in the part data is set to "5," and the font names are set to "Wingdings8" or "MRVDatamatrix6," the drawing processing software to be selected is "CPSI." This means that even if the part data does not include attributes with priorities set to "1" to "4," if it includes the fonts "Wingdings8" or "MRVDatamatrix6," "CPSI" will be selected as the drawing processing software to perform the drawing process.

[0090] In step S801 of Fig. 8, the input data management unit 116 determines whether setting information, which is information on candidate rendering processing software that will perform rendering processing, has been linked to all of the multiple part data linked to the same job ID. If setting information has been linked to all of the part data, the process ends, and a rendering processing setting screen similar to that described in Fig. 5 is generated and displayed. If linking of setting information to all of the part data has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S802.

[0091] In step S802, the input data management unit 116 selects one of the multiple part data included in the print job, and performs the processes from step S803 onwards.

[0092] In step S803, the input data analysis unit 117 analyzes the target part data selected in step S802 and extracts data information such as data type, page size, color space, font, whether or not a transparency effect is applied, and whether or not a special color is specified.

[0093] In step S804, the part data processing determination unit 118 determines the data type of the part data using the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117. That is, if the data type of the part data is in PostScript format, the process proceeds to step S805.

[0094] In step S805, the part data processing determination unit 118 selects the second decomposer 123 as a candidate for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing of the target part data. The second decomposer 123 is "CPSI" in Modification 1, and associates this with the target part data as setting information and stores it in the input data storage unit 112. Next, the process returns to step S801.

[0095] If it is determined in step S804 that the data type of the parts data is PDF format, the process proceeds to step S806.

[0096] In step S806, the part data processing determination unit 118 determines the attributes of the part data using the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117. That is, it determines whether or not the object included in the target part data includes either a transparency effect or a special color designation, and if either a transparency effect or a special color designation is included, the process proceeds to step S807.

[0097] In step S807, the part data processing determination unit 118 provisionally associates the first decomposer 122 with the target part data as setting information and stores it in the input data storage unit 112 as a candidate for rendering processing software that performs rendering processing of the target part data. Note that the first decomposer 122 is "APPE" in Modification 1. Next, the process proceeds to step S808.

[0098] In step S808, the parts data processing determination unit 118 compares the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117 with a threshold value for determining the drawing processing software in order of priority. If the comparison shows that "CPSI" contains a high-priority attribute that exceeds the threshold value to be set as the drawing processing software, "CPSI" is linked to the target parts data as the drawing processing software and stored in the input data storage unit 112. If "CPSI" does not contain a high-priority attribute that exceeds the threshold value to be set as the drawing processing software, "APPE" is linked to the target parts data as the drawing processing software and stored in the input data storage unit 112. Then, the process returns to step S801.

[0099] For example, if the priority of the "font" attribute included in part data is set to "1" and the drawing software selected when a specific font is included is set to "CPSI," then "CPSI" will be selected as the drawing software to perform drawing processing even if the part data includes attributes with a priority of "2" or higher, such as "transparency" or "spot color specification."

[0100] If it is determined in step S806 that the object included in the target part data does not include a transparency effect or a special color designation, the process proceeds to step S809.

[0101] In step S809, the part data processing determination unit 118 provisionally associates "BOTH" as setting information with the target part data as a candidate for drawing processing software that performs drawing processing of the target part data, and stores the setting information in the input data storage unit 112. Next, the process proceeds to step S810.

[0102] In step S810, the parts data processing determination unit 118 compares the analysis result by the input data analysis unit 117 with a threshold value for determining the drawing processing software in order of priority. If the comparison result shows that the drawing processing software contains an attribute with a higher priority than the threshold value for setting "APPE," the drawing processing software is linked to "APPE" as the target parts data and stored in the input data storage unit 112. On the other hand, if the drawing processing software contains an attribute with a higher priority than the threshold value for setting "CPSI," the drawing processing software is linked to "CPSI" as the target parts data and stored in the input data storage unit 112. If no change is required, the drawing processing software is left set to "BOTH." Then, the process returns to step S801.

[0103] In step S801, the input data management unit 116 determines whether or not the linking of candidate drawing processing software to all of the multiple part data has been completed, and if it determines that the linking has been completed, displays the drawing processing setting screen 600 similar to that described in Figure 6.

[0104] [Variation 2] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which candidates for rendering processing software associated with part data included in a print job are displayed on the rendering processing setting screen 600 and the user can reconfigure them. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and as in Modification Example 2, the user may be able to check the rendering results of the part data on the rendering processing setting screen 900 and, after checking the rendering results, select the rendering processing software that will perform the rendering processing.

[0105] That is, the rendering process setting screen 900 of the second modified example shown in Fig. 9 is the rendering process setting screen 600 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, to which a "Display rendering process result" button has been added for each part data. The "Display rendering process result" button is arranged in association with each part data. By selecting the "Display rendering process result" button associated with specific part data, the rendering process result of that part data can be confirmed.

[0106] For example, when the user selects the "Display Rendering Process Result" button associated with any of the part data on the rendering process setting screen 900 in Fig. 9, the rendering process control unit 119 instructs the part data rendering process control unit 121 to perform rendering processes on the corresponding part data using the two rendering process software programs, "CPSI" and "APPE."

[0107] The part data drawing processing control unit 121 performs drawing processing on the selected part data using two drawing processing software programs, "CPSI" and "APPE." The drawing processing unit 113 then generates a drawing processing result display screen 1000 shown in Fig. 10 to display the results of drawing the part data using each drawing processing software program.

[0108] The rendering process result display screen 1000 shown in Fig. 10 is a selection screen that displays the results of rendering process performed for each part data using candidate rendering process software and prompts the user to select the rendering process software to use. That is, as shown in Fig. 10, the rendering process result display screen 1000 displays an image of the part data after rendering process when rendering process is performed using the rendering process software "CPSI" and an image of the part data after rendering process when rendering process is performed using the rendering process software "APPE." Furthermore, radio buttons are provided for each of the part data images after rendering process, allowing the user to select which rendering process software to use for final rendering process by referring to the image of the part data after rendering process.

[0109] When the drawing processing software that performs the drawing processing is selected on the drawing processing result display screen 1000 in FIG. 10 and the "OK" button is selected, the drawing processing setting screen in FIG. 9 is returned to with the drawing processing software selected in FIG. 10 being selected.

[0110] 9, when candidate rendering software is displayed in a state where selection of rendering software is possible, the results of rendering processing using two pieces of rendering software are displayed as described above. On the other hand, when candidate rendering software is displayed in a state where selection of one piece of rendering software is not possible on the rendering processing setting screen of FIG. 9, rendering processing is performed using only the rendering processing software selected in FIG. 9, and the results are displayed on the rendering processing result display screen 1000.

[0111] For example, in Figure 9, "APPE" is selected as the candidate software for rendering the part data of a "form," but "CPSI" is also displayed as a selectable candidate software for rendering. Therefore, when the "Display rendering results" button is selected, an image of the part data after rendering processing when rendering is performed with "CPSI" and an image of the part data after rendering processing when rendering is performed with the rendering software "APPE" are displayed, as shown in Figure 10.

[0112] If one of the two drawing processing software programs is unable to perform the drawing process and an error occurs, an error screen is displayed, and only the drawing processing results for which the drawing process was successfully performed are displayed, making it possible to select only that drawing processing software.

[0113] 9, "CPSI" is selected as the candidate software for rendering the "watermark" part data, while "APPE" is displayed in an unselectable state in the selection field. In this case, when the "Display rendering processing results" button is selected, the rendering processing results display screen 1000 in FIG. 10 displays the results of rendering the "watermark" part data using only "CPSI" as the rendering processing software.

[0114] When the "OK" button is pressed on the drawing process setting screen of Fig. 9, as in the embodiment, drawing processes are performed on the part data and the document data, and the data are combined to generate final data, and the print data is output to the printing device 3 via the engine IF unit 106. Note that for part data that has already been subjected to drawing processes when the drawing process results are displayed, the processed data is used when generating final data in the combined output unit 115. Also, drawing process results that have already been subjected to drawing processes but were not selected when the drawing process results are displayed are deleted when generating final data.

[0115] [Variation 3] In the above embodiment, Modification 1, and Modification 2, the input data analysis unit 117 and the part data processing determination unit 118 select candidate drawing processing software for performing drawing processing on each piece of part data according to the attributes and data type of each piece of part data. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples. As shown in FIG. 11 , a learning model 124 may be prepared in advance in the job control unit 111 by training the correlation between the data type and attributes of each piece of part data and the drawing processing software that performs the drawing processing. Then, each piece of part data may be input to the learning model 124, and candidate drawing processing software for performing drawing processing on each piece of part data may be selected according to the selection result output from the learning model 124.

[0116] In the above embodiment and Modifications 1 to 3, an example has been described in which "APPE" is used as the first decomposer 122, which is the first rendering processing software, and "CPSI" is used as the second decomposer 123, which is the second rendering processing software. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above example, and other rendering processing software may be used.

[0117] In each of the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0118] Furthermore, the operations of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by a single processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments and may be changed as necessary.

[0119] [Note] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below.

[0120] (((1))) a processor; The processor: An image processing system that receives document data to be printed and multiple pieces of additional data including common images used across multiple pages, selects drawing processing software for each of the multiple pieces of additional data according to the attributes of the additional data, performs drawing processing using the selected drawing processing software, and overlays the document data to be printed on the drawing-processed data to generate image data that can be used to form an image.

[0121] (((2))) The image processing system according to (((1))), wherein the processor selects, for each of the plurality of additional data, rendering processing software in accordance with the data type of the additional data.

[0122] (((3))) The image processing system described in (((2))) wherein the processor selects first drawing processing software for each of the plurality of additional data when the additional data includes either a transparency effect or a special color specification attribute, and selects second drawing processing software when the data type of the additional data is described in a specific page description language format.

[0123] (((4))) The image processing system according to (((3))), wherein the processor selects, for each of the plurality of additional data, drawing processing software that is selected most frequently for the plurality of additional data if the additional data does not include any of the attributes of transparency effect or spot color specification, or is not written in the specific page description language format.

[0124] (((5))) The image processing system according to (((1))), wherein the processor selects rendering processing software for each of the plurality of additional data in accordance with a priority set in advance according to an attribute of the additional data.

[0125] (((6))) The image processing system according to (((1))), wherein when the processor performs drawing processing using the drawing processing software for each of the plurality of additional data, the processor continuously performs drawing processing of the additional data using the same drawing processing software.

[0126] (((7))) The image processing system according to (((1))), wherein the processor generates and displays a confirmation screen that displays candidates for selected rendering processing software for each of the additional data and asks the user for confirmation.

[0127] (((8))) The image processing system described in (((7))) wherein the processor displays the results of drawing processing using candidate drawing processing software for each of the additional data, and generates and displays a selection screen that prompts the user to select the drawing processing software to use.

[0128] (((9))) The image processing system according to (((1))), wherein the processor inputs each of the plurality of additional data into a pre-trained learning model, and selects drawing processing software that performs drawing processing on each of the additional data according to a selection result output from the learning model.

[0129] (((10))) On the computer, A step of receiving document data to be printed and a plurality of additional data including a common image used in common across a plurality of pages; For each of the plurality of additional data, selecting drawing processing software according to the attribute of the additional data; performing a drawing process using the selected drawing process software; a step of generating image data that can be used for image formation by superimposing the rendered data on the rendered data of the document data to be printed; A program that executes the following.

[0130] The effects of the configuration described above will be described below.

[0131] According to the image processing system of (((1))), it is possible to provide an image processing system that can form an image that reflects the attributes of additional data without requiring a user to select drawing processing software.

[0132] According to the image processing system of (((2))), rendering processing according to the data type of additional data is possible without requiring a user to issue an instruction to select rendering processing software.

[0133] According to the image processing system of (((3))), when additional data includes attributes of a transparency effect and a special color designation, it is possible to perform drawing processing that can reflect the transparency effect and the special color designation.

[0134] According to the image processing system of (((4)))), when the drawing processing software is switched for use, it is possible to reduce the number of times the drawing processing software is switched.

[0135] According to the image processing system of (((5))), even when the additional data includes a plurality of attributes, it is possible to form an image that reflects the attributes of the additional data.

[0136] According to the image processing system of (((6)))), when performing drawing processing using drawing processing software, it is possible to reduce the number of switching processes, including the start-up and end of the drawing processing software.

[0137] According to the image processing system of (((7)))), the user can check the drawing software selected for each additional data.

[0138] According to the image processing system of (((8)))), the user can select the result of the rendering process performed by the rendering processing software for each additional data item after checking it.

[0139] According to the image processing system of (((9)))), drawing processing that reflects the attributes of additional data is possible without requiring a user to instruct selection of drawing processing software.

[0140] According to the program related to (((10)))), it is possible to cause a computer to execute image processing that can form an image that reflects the attributes of the additional data, without requiring a user to select drawing processing software. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 1 Pretreatment equipment 2 Buffer device 3 Printing device 4 Buffer device 5. Post-processing device 10 Controller 20 Terminal equipment 101 CPU 102 memory 103 Storage device 104 Communication IF section 105 User IF device 106 Engine IF section 107 Control Bus 111 Job control section 112 Input data storage section 113 Drawing processing unit 114 Data storage unit 115 Composite output section 116 Input Data Management Unit 117 Input Data Analysis Unit 118 Parts data processing and judgment unit 119 Drawing processing control unit 120 Document data drawing processing control unit 121 Parts data drawing processing control unit 122 First Decomposer 123 Second Decomposer

Claims

1. a processor; The processor: An image processing system that receives document data to be printed and multiple pieces of additional data including common images used across multiple pages, selects drawing processing software for each of the multiple pieces of additional data according to the attributes of the additional data, performs drawing processing using the selected drawing processing software, and overlays the document data to be printed on the drawing-processed data to generate image data that can be used to form an image.

2. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein said processor selects, for each of said plurality of additional data, drawing processing software in accordance with the data type of said additional data.

3. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the processor selects a first drawing processing software when the additional data includes an attribute of either a transparency effect or a special color specification for each of the plurality of additional data, and selects a second drawing processing software when the data type of the additional data is described in a specific page description language format.

4. 4. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the processor selects, for each of the plurality of additional data, drawing processing software that is selected most frequently for the plurality of additional data when the additional data does not include any of attributes such as a transparency effect or a spot color specification, and is not described in the specific page description language format.

5. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein said processor selects the rendering processing software for each of said plurality of additional data in accordance with a priority set in advance according to an attribute of said additional data.

6. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein said processor, when performing drawing processing using said drawing processing software for each of said plurality of additional data, continuously performs drawing processing of additional data using the same drawing processing software.

7. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the processor generates and displays a confirmation screen that displays candidates for selected rendering processing software for each of the additional data and asks the user for confirmation.

8. 8. The image processing system according to claim 7, wherein the processor displays the results of drawing processing using candidate drawing processing software for each of the additional data, and generates and displays a selection screen that prompts the user to select the drawing processing software to use.

9. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the processor inputs each of the plurality of additional data into a pre-trained learning model, and selects drawing processing software to perform drawing processing on each of the additional data according to a selection result output from the learning model.

10. On the computer, A step of receiving document data to be printed and a plurality of additional data including a common image used in common across a plurality of pages; For each of the plurality of additional data, selecting drawing processing software according to the attribute of the additional data; performing a drawing process using the selected drawing process software; a step of generating image data that can be used for image formation by superimposing the rendered data on the rendered data of the document data to be printed; A program that executes the following.

Images