Information processing system and information processing program

Abstract

To reduce the amount of waste in printed material when printed material with an inspection result of rejected occurs in a preceding job compared to the case in which a mode of printing the printed material of a subsequent job is always executed while inspecting the quality of the printed material of the preceding job.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a processor. The processor is configured to: print subsequent printed material while inspecting print quality of printed material; and in a case of not continuously printing the printed material of a subsequent job on the basis of purge settings related to a method of discharging printed material with an inspection result of rejected for the preceding job and the subsequent job succeeding the preceding job, start the printing of the printed material of the subsequent job after the preceding job is completed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an inspection device that inspects the quality of a printed matter printed by a printing device using a reference image and a scanned image of the printed matter, and includes: a first acquisition means for acquiring the reference image; a second acquisition means for acquiring the scanned image; a selection means for selecting, when inspecting the quality of the printed matter, whether the pre-press image or the scanned image used to print the printed matter will be used as the reference image; and a UI means for, if a difference is detected as a result of comparing the pre-press image and the scanned image, displaying a reference image selection screen including the pre-press image and the scanned image and accepting user input as to whether the detected difference is a defect, wherein the selection means selects the reference image based on the user input accepted by the UI means.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses an inspection device that inspects printed matter by comparing the printed matter with a reference image, characterized in that the inspection mode for the inspection has a control means that exclusively controls a mode for switching the discharge destination of printed matter in which defects are found, and an inspection job for inspecting printed matter in which one copy is made up of multiple printed matter, or an inspection type for inspecting printed matter that has a sequence. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-039712 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-146528 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure aims to reduce the amount of printed matter discarded when a printed matter from a preceding job fails inspection, compared to when a mode is always executed in which the printed matter from a subsequent job is printed while inspecting the quality of the printed matter from the preceding job. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing system according to the first aspect includes: Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. When the prints of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on a purge setting regarding a method for discharging prints that have failed inspection results of the preceding job and the subsequent job following the preceding job, printing of the prints of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed.

[0007] An information processing system according to a second aspect is the information processing system according to the first aspect, The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on," printed matter that has passed the inspection is discharged to the printed matter discharge section, and printed matter that has failed the inspection and printed matter that has been printed after the failed printed matter up until the printing stop is discharged to the rejected printed matter discharge section; If the purge setting is no purge, all printed materials are discharged to the printed material discharge unit. When the printed matter of the subsequent job is not printed continuously, printing of the printed matter of the subsequent job starts after all the printed matter of the preceding job has been discharged to the printed matter discharge section or the rejected matter discharge section.

[0008] An information processing system according to a third aspect is the information processing system according to the second aspect, The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on" and there is a print that has failed the inspection, the print that has been discharged to the reject discharge section is reprinted; When the printed matter of the subsequent job is not printed continuously, printing of the printed matter of the subsequent job starts after all the printed matter of the preceding job has passed and been discharged to the printed matter discharge section.

[0009] An information processing system according to a fourth aspect is the information processing system according to the second aspect, The processor: If the preceding job is set to have purging and the subsequent job is set to not have purging, the printed matter of the subsequent job is not printed continuously.

[0010] An information processing system according to a fifth aspect is the information processing system according to the second aspect, When the purge setting is set to "Yes", the purge setting includes settings for automatically reprinting a failed printout, suspending printing after a failed printout, and waiting for a user instruction for a failed printout, The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge", automatic reprinting is set for the preceding job, and the subsequent job is set to "wait for user instruction", the printed matter of the subsequent job is not printed continuously.

[0011] An information processing system according to a sixth aspect is the information processing system according to the fourth aspect, The processor: If the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job match, the printed matter of the subsequent job is printed continuously.

[0012] An information processing system according to a seventh aspect is the information processing system according to the fourth aspect, The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge", the preceding job is set to wait for a user instruction, and the subsequent job is set to automatic reprint, the printed matter of the subsequent job is continuously printed.

[0013] An information processing system according to an eighth aspect is the information processing system according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, The processor: Accepting a user input to change a condition as to whether or not to perform continuous printing according to the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job; According to the changed conditions, the printed matter of the subsequent job is printed continuously following the printed matter of the preceding job based on the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job, or printing of the printed matter of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed.

[0014] An information processing program according to a ninth aspect includes: On the computer, Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. If the printouts of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on the purge setting regarding the ejection method of printouts of the preceding job and the subsequent job following the preceding job that have failed the inspection results, printing of the printouts of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed. Execute the process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the first aspect, compared to always executing a mode in which the printouts of a subsequent job are printed while inspecting the quality of the printouts of a preceding job, the amount of printouts discarded is reduced when printouts of a preceding job fail inspection.

[0016] According to the second aspect, when the purge setting of the preceding job is set to "with purging" and there is a printed material that has failed the inspection, the printed material of the subsequent job is not discharged to the reject discharge section.

[0017] According to the third aspect, when a printed material of a preceding job that has failed the inspection result is reprinted, the printed material of the subsequent job is not discharged to the reject discharge section.

[0018] According to the fourth aspect, when the subsequent job does not include purging, if the preceding job produces a printed material that has failed inspection, the printed material of the subsequent job is not discharged to the reject discharge section.

[0019] According to the fifth aspect, if the setting is such that printed materials that have failed inspection in a preceding job are automatically reprinted and there are printed materials that have failed inspection, printed materials of a subsequent job will not be automatically reprinted.

[0020] According to the sixth aspect, even when the purge settings are the same for the preceding job and the subsequent job, consecutive print jobs can be completed in a shorter time than when the preceding job is completed before printing of the subsequent job begins.

[0021] According to the seventh aspect, even when the purge setting of the preceding job is waiting for user instruction and the purge setting of the subsequent job is automatic reprint, consecutive print jobs can be completed in a shorter time than when waiting for the preceding job to complete before starting printing of the subsequent job.

[0022] According to the eighth aspect, whether or not to perform continuous printing can be determined by the user's settings.

[0023] According to the ninth aspect, compared to always executing a mode in which the printouts of a subsequent job are printed while inspecting the quality of the printouts of a preceding job, the amount of printouts discarded is reduced when printouts of a preceding job fail inspection. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 (part 1). [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 (part 2). [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of printing a plurality of jobs in the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 (part 1). [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of printing a plurality of jobs in the image forming system shown in FIG. 1 (part 2). [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming system shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming system shown in FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is an example of a purge setting screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the image forming system shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of a table showing the correspondence between combinations of preceding and subsequent jobs and whether or not continuous printing is possible. [Figure 12] 10 is an example of an input screen for changing the setting of a combination of a preceding job and a subsequent job that do not perform continuous printing. [Figure 13] 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of continuous printing processing in the image forming system shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0026] (Image Forming System Overview) 1 shows an image forming system 10 according to one embodiment. The image forming system 10 includes a printing device 20, an inspection device 30, and a post-processing device 40. The image forming system 10 is an example of an information processing system and an information processing device.

[0027] (Printing device) The printing device 20 has a plurality of storage trays 20T for storing paper sheets. The printing device 20 has a printing function for printing an image on paper sheets supplied from any one of the storage trays 20T.

[0028] (Inspection equipment) The inspection device 30 has an inspection function to receive paper on which an image has been printed from the printing device 20 and inspect the print quality of the received printed paper (printed matter). The inspection device 30 determines whether the printed matter received from the printing device 20 has any abnormalities such as bent corners, dirty print, misalignment, etc.

[0029] Specifically, the inspection device 30 has a purge tray 30T onto which printed matter is discharged. The inspection device 30 receives a reference image (correct image) such as a rasterized image generated based on image data to be printed on paper from the printing device 20. The inspection device 30 also scans the image of the printed matter received from the printing device 20. The inspection device 30 then compares the reference image received from the printing device 20 with an inspection image such as a rasterized image based on the scanned image, and determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the printed matter.

[0030] As a result, if it is determined that the printed matter has an abnormality, the inspection device 30 determines that the inspection result is a failure and discharges the printed matter to the purge tray 30T. On the other hand, if it is determined that the printed matter has no abnormality, the inspection device 30 determines that the inspection result is a pass and supplies the printed matter to the post-processing device 40. The purge tray 30T is an example of a reject discharge section.

[0031] (Post-treatment device) The post-processing device 40 performs various post-processing operations such as folding, stapling, punching holes, and booklet production on the printed material inspected by the inspection device 30, and discharges the post-processed printed material onto a predetermined discharge tray 40T. Note that the processing contents of the post-processing device 40 can be changed as appropriate. The discharge tray 40T is an example of a printed material discharge unit.

[0032] (Continuous printing) The image forming system 10 has a continuous printing function. In this continuous printing, for example, a plurality of consecutive printed materials are continuously printed while inspecting the print quality. Specifically, in continuous printing, the printing device 20 prints an image on each of a plurality of sheets of paper supplied in order from a storage tray 20T, and the printed materials with the printed images are inspected in order by the inspection device 30. Then, printed materials that pass the inspection by the inspection device 30 are post-processed by the post-processing device 40 and discharged to a predetermined discharge tray 40T.

[0033] Here, as shown in Figure 2, if a printed item is found to fail inspection by the inspection device 30 during continuous printing (printed item 6p), not only the failed printed item but also the printed items being printed following the failed printed item (printed items 7 and 8p), i.e., all sheets of paper on the paper transport path from the storage tray 20T to the point of inspection by the inspection device 30, are ejected to the purge tray 30T.

[0034] 3, continuous printing (reprinting) is then resumed from the printed matter (printed matter of 6p) that failed inspection by the inspection device 30. Then, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, the reprinted matter (printed matter of 6p) that passed the quality inspection by the inspection device 30, and the subsequent printed matters (printed matters of 7p to 11p) following the reprinted matter are discharged to the discharge tray 40T of the post-processing device 40. This is because if a printed matter that failed inspection by the inspection device 30 occurs, and only the failed printed matter (printed matter of 6p) is discharged to the purge tray 30T, and the printed matter that is being printed following that printed matter (printed matter of 7p and 8p) is discharged to the discharge tray 40T of the post-processing device 40, the page order of the printed matters will be shifted on the discharge tray 40T.

[0035] However, as mentioned above, if a printed item fails inspection during continuous printing, and not only the failed printed item but also all of the printed items being printed following that failed printed item are discharged to the purge tray 30T, the amount of paper discarded (waste paper) will increase compared to when only the failed printed items are discharged to the purge tray 30T.

[0036] Furthermore, when printing consecutively printed materials included in two print jobs (hereinafter simply referred to as jobs) with different print targets, the paper for the preceding job J1 (7p of J1) is followed by the paper for the subsequent job J2 (1p of J2) that follows job J1, as shown in Figure 4. Each job has printing conditions set, such as print image information (print data), paper size, paper type, number of prints, and purge settings. The purge settings set conditions regarding how to eject printed materials that fail inspection, including whether or not to perform inspection, where to eject failed printed materials, and the printing method after an inspection failure (automatic reprint, printing interruption, etc.).

[0037] As shown in Figure 4, if a printed material in job J1 fails inspection by inspection device 30 (6p of J1), not only the failed printed material but also the printed material of job 1 that is being printed after the failed printed material (7p of J1) and the printed materials of job J2 (1P to 3P of J2), i.e., all sheets of paper on the paper transport path from storage tray 20T to the point of being inspected by inspection device 30, are ejected to purge tray 30T.

[0038] 5, continuous printing (reprinting) is then resumed from the printed product (6p printed product) that failed inspection by inspection device 30. Then, the reprinted product (6p printed product of J1) that passed the quality inspection by inspection device 30, as well as the printed products of job 1 (7p printed product of J1) and job 2 (1p to 3p of J2) that follow the reprinted product, are reprinted. Inspection is also performed by inspection device 30 during reprinting, and if any printed product fails inspection (2p printed product of J2), the printed product that follows that printed product under printing is discharged to purge tray 30T.

[0039] 5, if a further failure occurs in the printed material of job J2 (P2 of J2) during reprinting, the printed material already in the paper transport path being reprinted (3P of J2) will be discharged to purge tray 30T in accordance with the purge setting for job J1. However, if job J1 is printed on plain paper and the purge setting is set to automatically reprint if the inspection fails, and job J2 is printed on high-quality paper and the purge setting is set to wait for user instructions if the inspection fails (for example, the user can select to reprint or abort printing), then when a failure occurs in the printed material of job J2, it would be desirable to wait for user instructions at that point, but because the printed material is discharged to purge tray 30T in accordance with the purge setting for job J1, the amount of waste will increase.

[0040] In particular, there is a possibility that a printed matter that has been rejected by the inspection device 30 will be rejected again by the inspection device 30 when it is reprinted, which may increase the amount of paper that is discarded. Also, when high-quality paper is used, as in job 2, the more the amount of paper that is discarded, the higher the costs.

[0041] Furthermore, as the paper transport path from the storage tray 20T to the inspection device 30 becomes longer, when a printed matter fails inspection in the inspection device 30, the number of sheets of paper discharged to the purge tray 30T increases.

[0042] Furthermore, as the paper transport speed increases, if a printed matter fails inspection in the inspection device 30, the number of sheets remaining on the paper transport path from the storage tray 20T to the inspection device 30 increases, and so the number of sheets ejected to the purge tray 30T also increases. Also, if a printed matter fails inspection in the inspection device 30, not only does the amount of paper waste increase, but the amount of toner used for printing and the printing time also increase.

[0043] Therefore, in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, subsequent printed materials are printed while inspecting the print quality of the printed materials, and if it is determined that the subsequent job's printed materials will not be printed continuously based on the purge setting regarding the discharge method of printed materials that fail the inspection results of the preceding job and the subsequent job, printing of the subsequent job's printed materials begins after the preceding job is completed. The image forming system 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0044] (Hardware configuration of image forming system) First, we will explain the hardware configuration of the image forming system 10. Note that, for the sake of convenience, the hardware configuration of the image forming system 10 will be explained below, but the printing device 20, the inspection device 30, and the post-processing device 40 may each have a hardware configuration such as that shown in FIG.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming system 10 includes a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 50, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 54, a bus 72, storage 56, a communication interface (I / F) 62, etc., and further includes an input unit 58, a display unit 60, an image reading unit 64, an image forming unit 66, an inspection unit 68, and a post-processing unit 70.

[0046] The CPU 50 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each component. That is, the CPU 50 reads programs from the ROM 52 or storage 56 and executes the programs using the RAM 54 as a work area. The CPU 50 controls the above components and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 52 or storage 56. The CPU 50 is an example of a processor.

[0047] The ROM 52 stores various information processing programs and various data. The RAM 54 serves as a work area for the CPU 50 and temporarily stores programs or data.

[0048] The storage 56 is configured by a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various programs including the operating system, and various data.

[0049] The input unit 58 includes operation buttons and the like and is used to perform various inputs. The display unit 60 is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various information. The display unit 60 may employ a touch panel system and function as an input unit.

[0050] The communication I / F 62 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0051] The image reading unit 64 includes a scanner or the like, and optically reads image data from a document, etc. The image forming unit 66 prints the image data read by the image reading unit 64 or image data received from an operation terminal (not shown) onto a recording medium such as paper.

[0052] The inspection unit 68 includes a scanner and the like, and optically reads image data from the paper (printed matter) on which the image is printed by the image forming unit 66.

[0053] The post-processing unit 70 includes various post-processing mechanisms such as a folding mechanism for recording media such as paper, a stapling mechanism, a punch hole processing mechanism, and a booklet production processing mechanism, and performs post-processing on printed materials inspected by the inspection device 30.

[0054] (Image formation system functions) Next, the functions of the image forming system 10 will be described.

[0055] When executing the information processing program described above, the image forming system 10 uses the above hardware resources to realize the various functions of the printing device 20, the inspection device 30, and the post-processing device 40.

[0056] (Printing device) Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the printing device 20 functionally comprises a print request acquisition unit 22, a supply unit 24, a printing unit 26, and a print control unit 28.

[0057] The print request acquisition unit 22 acquires, for example, information on the print image (print data) input to the image forming system 10, and a print request (print job J) such as paper size and number of copies.

[0058] The supply unit 24 supplies the paper sheets stored in a predetermined storage tray 20T among the multiple storage trays 20T to the printing unit 26. The printing unit 26 prints an image on the paper sheets supplied from the supply unit 24.

[0059] (Continuous printing) The printing control unit 28 controls the overall operation of the printing device 20, prints images on multiple sheets of paper stored in the storage tray 20T, and performs continuous printing by sequentially supplying the multiple printed sheets to the inspection device 30.

[0060] Specifically, the printing control unit 28 controls the supply unit 24 based on the printing request acquired by the printing request acquisition unit 22, and causes the supply unit 24 to sequentially supply multiple sheets of paper from a predetermined storage tray 20T among the multiple storage trays 20T to the printing unit 26. The printing control unit 28 also transmits print data to be printed on the multiple sheets of paper to the printing unit 26. The printing control unit 28 then causes the printing unit 26 to print images based on the print data on the multiple sheets of paper supplied from the storage tray 20T, and sequentially supplies the multiple printed sheets from the printing unit 26 to the inspection device 30.

[0061] In continuous printing, the print control unit 28 transmits print data to be printed on each of a plurality of sheets of paper to an inspection control unit 39 in the inspection device 30, which will be described later.

[0062] (reprint) For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when a printed matter (6p printed matter) that fails inspection is generated in the inspection device 30, the printing control unit 28 stops continuous printing of printed matter and performs reprinting, in which only the printed matter (6p printed matter) that fails inspection is reprinted.

[0063] Specifically, the print control unit 28 controls the supply unit 24 based on the inspection result received from the inspection control unit 39, which will be described later, to supply one sheet of paper from a predetermined storage tray 20T among the multiple storage trays 20T to the print unit 26. Then, the print control unit 28 causes the print unit 26 to reprint the image that failed the inspection on the sheet of paper supplied from the storage tray 20T, and supplies the reprinted product (6p of reprinted product) from the print unit 26 to the inspection device 30.

[0064] If the inspection result of the reprinted material by the inspection device 30 is a pass, the print control unit 28 resumes continuous printing of the printed material following the reprinted material.

[0065] (Inspection equipment) The inspection device 30 functionally comprises an inspection image acquisition unit 32 , a reference image acquisition unit 34 , a quality inspection unit 36 ​​, a discharge destination switching unit 38 , and an inspection control unit 39 .

[0066] The inspection image acquisition unit 32 scans an image from the printed matter printed by the printing unit 26, and generates an inspection image such as a rasterized image based on the scanned image.

[0067] The reference image acquisition unit 34 receives the print data sent from the print control unit 28 as the reference image.

[0068] The quality inspection unit 36 ​​compares the inspection image read by the inspection image acquisition unit 32 with the reference image received by the reference image acquisition unit 34 to determine whether there are any abnormalities in the printed matter, i.e., whether the printing quality of the printed matter is acceptable.

[0069] Specifically, the quality inspection unit 36 ​​compares the inspection image with the reference image to determine whether there are any abnormalities such as bent corners, smudged print, misalignment, etc. If the quality inspection unit 36 ​​determines that the printed matter has no abnormalities, it classifies the printed matter as passing, and if it determines that the printed matter has an abnormality, it classifies the printed matter as failing.

[0070] The discharge destination switching unit 38 switches the discharge destination of the printed matter inspected by the quality inspection unit 36 ​​between the post-processing device 40 and the purge tray 30T.

[0071] The inspection control unit 39 controls the overall operation of the inspection device 30. Specifically, the inspection control unit 39 causes the quality inspection unit 36 ​​to inspect the print quality of the printed matter or reprinted matter. If the print quality of the printed matter or reprinted matter determined by the quality inspection unit 36 ​​to be acceptable, the inspection control unit 39 causes the discharge destination switching unit 38 to switch the discharge destination of the printed matter or reprinted matter to the post-processing device 40.

[0072] On the other hand, if the print or reprinted material fails the inspection by the quality inspection unit 36, the inspection control unit 39 causes the discharge destination switching unit 38 to switch the discharge destination of the print or reprinted material to the purge tray 30T.

[0073] Furthermore, the inspection control unit 39 transmits to the print control unit 28 information such as the inspection results by the quality inspection unit 36 ​​and the number of pages (page numbers) of the printed matter that was determined to be unacceptable.

[0074] (Post-treatment device) The post-processing device 40 functionally includes a post-processing control unit 42. The post-processing control unit 42 controls the overall operation of the post-processing device 40. Specifically, the post-processing control unit 42 controls various post-processing mechanisms such as a folding mechanism, a stapling mechanism, a punching mechanism, and a booklet production mechanism, and performs post-processing on the printed materials supplied from the inspection device 30.

[0075] The print control unit 28, the inspection control unit 39, and the post-processing control unit 42 cooperate to control the overall operation of the image forming system 10 by transmitting and receiving information to and from each other.

[0076] (Printing System) Next, a printing system 1 according to an embodiment will be described.

[0077] As shown in Fig. 8, the printing system 1 includes an image forming system 10, a print control device 80, and a user terminal 90. The print control device 80 is a computer with server functionality, and is communicably connected to the image forming system 10 and the user terminal 90 via a network. The network uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Although Fig. 8 shows only one image forming system 10 and one user terminal 90, the printing control device 80 may be configured to connect to multiple image forming systems 10 and multiple user terminals.

[0078] The user terminal 90 is a computer with communication capabilities, and includes an input unit 94 and a display unit 96. The input unit 94 includes operation buttons and the like, and is used to perform various inputs. The display unit 96 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various types of information. The display unit 90 may also function as an input unit by employing a touch panel system.

[0079] The print control device 80 receives job J from the user terminal 90 and performs control to transmit the received job J to the image forming system 10.

[0080] Furthermore, the print control device 80 transmits the print conditions C set by the user terminal 90 to the corresponding image forming system 10. The print conditions C include a purge setting relating to the method of discharging the printed matter.

[0081] The image forming system 10 receives the job J sent from the print control device 80 at the print request acquisition unit 22 of the printing device 20 and starts the print processing. The image forming system 10 also stores the print conditions C sent from the print control device 80 and executes the print processing in accordance with the purge settings of the print conditions C.

[0082] The inspection results R performed by the inspection device 30 of the image forming system 10 are transmitted to the print control device 80, and the print results R are associated with each job J and stored in the print control device 80. Furthermore, if the print results R are unsuccessful, error information E is transmitted to the user terminal 90. The error information E may be transmitted to the user terminal 90 via the print control device 80, but if the image forming system 10 and the user terminal 90 are directly connected for communication, it may also be transmitted directly from the image forming system 10 to the user terminal 90.

[0083] The user terminal 90 is provided with a user interface (UI) 92. The UI 92 is composed of an input unit 94 and a display unit 96, and is used to input job J and printing conditions C. Furthermore, job J and printing conditions C input from the UI 92 are transmitted from the user terminal 90 to the print control device 80. Furthermore, the user terminal 90 displays error information E transmitted from the inspection device 30 on the UI 92.

[0084] (Purge Settings) Next, the purge setting will be described.

[0085] Purge settings are set on a job-by-job basis from the UI 92 of the user terminal 90. Fig. 9 shows an example of a purge setting screen displayed on the display unit 96. The purge setting is performed by the user selecting a radio button on the purge setting screen using the input unit 94. The purge setting screen and the selection method are merely examples and are not limited to these.

[0086] Next, we will explain the purge setting and the discharge destination of printed materials in the image forming system 10. When the purge setting is set to "Purge when an inspection failure occurs" in FIG. 9 is checked, the image forming system 10 discharges printed materials that have passed the inspection to the discharge tray 40T, and discharges printed materials that have failed the inspection, as well as printed materials that have been printed after the failed printed materials and that were printed before printing stopped, to the purge tray 30T. When the purge setting is set to "No purge" (when the "Purge when an inspection failure occurs" in FIG. 9 is not checked), the image forming system 10 discharges all printed materials to the discharge tray 40T.

[0087] If the purge setting is enabled, it also includes settings for whether to automatically reprint printed materials that fail the inspection (check "Automatic recovery"), whether to suspend printing after a specified number of automatic reprints (check "Suspend after specified number of automatic recoveries" and specify the number of recoveries (1 to 99) at this time), or whether to suspend printing without automatically reprinting (check "Suspend without automatic recovery").If printing is suspended without automatically reprinting, it also includes settings for the action to be taken after suspension, such as whether to end with an error or wait for user action.

[0088] If the user operation wait setting is enabled, when the inspection device 30 produces a printout that fails inspection, the print control unit 28 suspends continuous printing by the image forming system 10 (suspends printing) until it receives input on how to deal with the suspended printing from the input unit 58. In other words, the printout being printed on the paper transport path will also be suspended in its current state.

[0089] If the user inputs an error termination command into the printing device 20 from the input unit 58 while printing is interrupted, the inspection device 30 ejects the printed material being printed in the paper transport path onto the purge tray 30T, and the printing control unit 28 ends the preceding job J1 being printed and starts printing the subsequent job J2.

[0090] On the other hand, when a user inputs a reprint (recovery) operation into the printing device 20 from the input unit 58, the inspection device 30 ejects the printed material currently being printed in the paper transport path into the purge tray 30T, and then the print control unit 28 reprints the printed material that failed the inspection result and the printed material that follows the failed printed material, and resumes continuous printing.

[0091] (Continuous printing of the preceding and following jobs) The print control unit 28 controls the timing at which the supply unit 24 supplies paper to the paper transport path, so that the printed matter of the subsequent job is printed consecutively following the printed matter of the preceding job.

[0092] Specifically, when printing continuously, as shown in FIG. 4, the print control unit 28 controls the supply unit 24 so that the supply unit 24 supplies the last sheet of paper (7P of J1) of the preceding job J1 from the storage tray 20T to the paper transport path, and then supplies the sheet of paper (1P of J2) of the subsequent job J2 from the storage tray 20T to the paper transport path.

[0093] On the other hand, when the printed materials of the subsequent job are not printed consecutively following the printed materials of the preceding job, as shown in FIG. 10, the print control unit 28 controls the supply unit 24 so that after the supply unit 24 supplies the last sheet of the preceding job J1 from the storage tray 20T to the paper transport path, it does not supply sheets of the subsequent job J2 to the paper transport path until all of the printed materials of the preceding job J1 are discharged to the discharge tray 40T (1P to 5P of J1) or the purge tray 30T (6P to 7P of J1). In other words, the print control unit 28 controls the supply unit 24 to start supplying sheets of the subsequent job J2 to the paper transport path after the preceding job is completed. By starting the supply of sheets of the subsequent job J2, printing of the subsequent job J2 begins.

[0094] (Determining whether to print the preceding and succeeding jobs consecutively) Next, a combination of purge settings for the preceding job J1 and the following job J2 and a method for determining whether or not to perform continuous printing will be described.

[0095] First, if the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job match, the print control unit 28 determines that the printed matter of the subsequent job will be printed continuously.

[0096] If the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are different, the print control unit 28 determines whether or not to perform continuous printing based on a table stored in the printing device 20. Figure 11 shows an example of a table that shows the correspondence between combinations of purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 and whether or not continuous printing is possible. This combination may be stored in advance in the printing device 20 as a default.

[0097] 11, if the preceding job J1 is set to no purge and the subsequent job J2 is set to purge, the print control unit 28 determines not to print the printed materials of the subsequent jobs continuously. Even if the preceding job J1 produces a rejected printed material, if the purge setting of the preceding job J1 is no purge, the printed materials of the subsequent job J2 will not be discharged to the purge tray 30T, and therefore the amount of discarded printed materials will not increase even if the subsequent job J2 is printed continuously.

[0098] 11, if the purge setting for the preceding job J1 is set to "with purge" and the purge setting for the subsequent job J2 is set to "without purge," the print control unit 28 determines not to print the printed materials of the subsequent jobs continuously. If any printed materials fail in the preceding job J1, the printed materials of the subsequent job J2 will also be discharged to the purge tray 30T in accordance with the purge setting for the preceding job J1, which would increase the amount of printed materials to be discarded, so the subsequent job J2 will not be printed continuously.

[0099] 11, if the purge settings for the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with purging," the preceding job J1 is set to "automatic reprint" ("automatic recovery"), and the subsequent job J2 is set to "wait for user instruction" ("user intervention"), the print control unit 28 determines not to print the printed materials of the subsequent jobs continuously. As explained using FIG. 4, if a failed printed material occurs in the preceding job J1, the printed material of job J2 is discharged to purge tray 30T in accordance with the purge setting of job J1, which would increase the amount of printed material to be discarded, so the subsequent job J2 is not printed continuously.

[0100] As shown in the third row of Figure 11, if both the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with barge," and the preceding job J1 is set to "suspend printing" ("cancel") as the action to be taken when a printout fails, and the subsequent job J2 is set to "wait for user instruction," the print control unit 28 determines to perform continuous printing. Similarly, as shown in the fourth row of Figure 11, if both the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with barge," and the preceding job J1 is set to "suspend printing" as the action to be taken when a printout fails, and the subsequent job J2 is set to "automatic reprint," the print control unit 28 determines to perform continuous printing. If a printout fails in the preceding job J1, printing of job J1 is suspended, and therefore, even if the subsequent job J2 is continuously printed, the number of printouts discharged to the purge tray 30T will not increase.

[0101] As shown in the fifth line in Figure 11, if both the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with barge," the preceding job J1 is set to "wait for user instructions" and the subsequent job J2 is set to "suspend printing" as the action to be taken when a printout is rejected, the print control unit 28 determines to perform continuous printing. Similarly, as shown in the sixth line in Figure 11, if both the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with barge," the preceding job J1 is set to "wait for user instructions" and the subsequent job J2 is set to "automatic reprint" as the action to be taken when a printout is rejected, the print control unit 28 determines to perform continuous printing. If a printout is rejected in the preceding job J1, the printing of job J1 will wait for user instructions, so even if the subsequent job J2 is continuously printed, the number of printouts discharged to the purge tray 30T will not increase.

[0102] 11, if both the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are set to "with purge," and the preceding job J1 is set to "automatic reprint" and the subsequent job J2 is set to "print interruption" as the action to be taken when a printout is rejected, the print control unit 28 determines to perform continuous printing. If a printout of the preceding job J1 is rejected, the printout of job J1 is reprinted, but the printout of the subsequent job J2 is interrupted, so even if the subsequent job J2 is printed continuously, the number of printouts discharged to the purge tray 30T will not increase.

[0103] (Change of purge conditions) Furthermore, when the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are different, the determination of whether to perform continuous printing may be changed according to the user's settings.

[0104] Specifically, the system accepts user input from the UI 92 of the user terminal 90, changes the conditions for whether to print consecutively depending on the purge settings of the preceding and succeeding jobs, and stores the changed conditions in the printing device. In accordance with the newly stored conditions and based on the purge settings of the preceding and succeeding jobs, the print control unit 28 determines whether to print the printed materials of the succeeding job consecutively after the printed materials of the preceding job, or to start printing the printed materials of the succeeding job after the preceding job is completed.

[0105] FIG. 12 shows an example of an input screen for changing the combination of purge settings of a preceding job J1 and a subsequent job J2 that do not perform continuous printing when the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 are different.

[0106] 12 is displayed on the display unit 96 of the user terminal 90, and the combination set by the user using the input unit 94 is transmitted from the user terminal 90 to the print control device 80 and stored for each user. Furthermore, the print control device 80 transmits the changed combination to the printing device 20.

[0107] The printing device 20 stores the changed combination received from the print control device 80 on a per-user basis. Furthermore, the print control unit 28 determines whether to print the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 consecutively in accordance with the changed combination.

[0108] (Continuous printing in image forming systems) Next, the flow of continuous printing processing by the image forming system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0109] In the image forming system 10, when job J is received from the user terminal 90, printing of printed materials begins in the order of arrival. When job J arrives at the printing device 20, the image forming system 10 executes the printing process shown in FIG.

[0110] First, in step S10, the CPU 50 receives job J.

[0111] Next, in step S12, the CPU 50 determines whether or not there is a job (hereinafter referred to as the preceding job J1) being printed by the printing device before the received job (hereinafter referred to as the subsequent job J2). If the preceding job J1 has already completed printing (NO in step S12), the CPU 50 proceeds to step S24 and starts printing the subsequent job J2. If the preceding job J1 is being printed (YES in step S12), the CPU 50 proceeds to step S14.

[0112] Next, in step S14, the CPU 50 determines whether the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 match. If the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 match (YES in step S14), the CPU 50 proceeds to step S24 to start printing the subsequent job J2 and perform continuous printing. If the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 do not match, the CPU 50 proceeds to step S16 to compare the purge settings of the preceding job J1 and the subsequent job J2 with a table (see FIG. 11) that records whether continuous printing is possible.

[0113] Next, in step S18, if the CPU 50 determines that continuous printing is to be performed, the process proceeds to step S24, where it starts printing the subsequent job J2 and performs continuous printing. In step S18, if it determines that continuous printing is not to be performed, the CPU 50 proceeds to step S20, where it puts the subsequent job J2 on a waiting list until printing of the preceding job J1 is completed.

[0114] In step S22, the CPU 50 determines whether printing of the preceding job J1 has been completed, and keeps the subsequent job J2 in a print waiting state until printing of the preceding job J1 has been completed (step S20). If the CPU 50 determines in step S22 that printing of the preceding job J1 has been completed, the CPU 50 proceeds to step S24 and starts printing of the subsequent job J2.

[0115] In addition, in 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.).

[0116] Furthermore, the operations of the processor in the above embodiments may not only be performed by one processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. Some or all of the processors may be configured on a cloud. At least each process described in the above embodiments may be executed by a processor on a cloud.

[0117] In the above embodiment, the programs are pre-installed on a computer, but this is not limiting. The programs according to the above embodiment may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. For example, the programs according to the above embodiment may be provided in a form recorded on an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or in a form recorded on a semiconductor memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a memory card. The programs according to the above embodiment may also be acquired from an external device via a communication I / F.

[0118] In the above embodiment, the processing in the image forming system 10 is described as being implemented by a software configuration using a computer by executing a program, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the processing in the image forming system 10 may be implemented by a hardware configuration or a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration.

[0119] In addition, the configuration of the image forming system 10 described in the above embodiment is one example, and it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted or new parts may be added within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0120] Furthermore, the processing flow in the image forming system 10 described in the above embodiment is also an example, and it goes without saying that unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged within the scope of the gist of this disclosure.

[0121] The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiments.

[0122] (((1))) a processor; The processor: Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. When the printouts of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on a purge setting regarding a method for discharging printouts of the preceding job and the subsequent job that have failed the inspection results of the preceding job, printing of the printouts of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed. Information processing system. (((2))) The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on," printed matter that has passed the inspection is discharged to the printed matter discharge section, and printed matter that has failed the inspection and printed matter that has been printed after the failed printed matter up until the printing stop is discharged to the rejected printed matter discharge section; If the purge setting is no purge, all printed materials are discharged to the printed material discharge unit. When the printed matter of the subsequent job is not continuously printed, printing of the printed matter of the subsequent job is started after all the printed matter of the preceding job has been discharged to the printed matter discharge section or the rejected matter discharge section. The information processing system according to (((1))). (((3))) The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on" and there is a print that has failed the inspection, the print that has been discharged to the reject discharge section is reprinted; When the printed materials of the subsequent job are not continuously printed, printing of the printed materials of the subsequent job is started after all the printed materials of the preceding job have passed and been discharged to the printed material discharge section. The information processing system according to (((2))). (((4))) The processor: When the preceding job is set to have purging and the subsequent job is set to not have purging, the subsequent job is not printed continuously. The information processing system according to (((2))). (((5))) When the purge setting is set to "Yes", the purge setting includes settings for automatically reprinting a failed printout, suspending printing after a failed printout, and waiting for a user instruction for a failed printout, The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge", the preceding job is set to "automatic reprint", and the subsequent job is set to "wait for user instruction", the subsequent job is not continuously printed. The information processing system according to (((2))). (((6))) The processor: If the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job match, the printed matter of the subsequent job is printed continuously. The information processing system according to (((4))). (((7))) The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge," the preceding job is set to "wait for a user instruction," and the subsequent job is set to "automatic reprint," the printed matter of the subsequent job is continuously printed. (((5)) An information processing system. (((8))) The processor: Accepting a user input to change a condition as to whether or not to perform continuous printing according to the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job; According to the changed conditions, and based on the purge settings of the preceding job and the following job, printing the printed materials of the following job consecutively following the printed materials of the preceding job, or starting printing the printed materials of the following job after the preceding job is completed. The information processing system according to any one of (((1))) to (((7))). (((9))) On the computer, Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. When the printouts of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on a purge setting regarding a method for discharging printouts of the preceding job and the subsequent job that have failed the inspection results of the preceding job, printing of the printouts of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed. An information processing program for executing processing.

[0123] According to (((1))), the amount of printed matter discarded is reduced when printed matter from a preceding job fails inspection, compared to when a mode in which printed matter from a succeeding job is always printed while inspecting the quality of printed matter from a preceding job. According to (((2))), if the purge setting of the preceding job is set to "purge" and there is a printed material that has failed the inspection, the printed material of the subsequent job will not be discharged to the reject discharge section. According to (((3))), when a printout of a preceding job that has failed inspection is reprinted, the printout of the subsequent job is not discharged to the reject discharge section. According to (((4))), if the subsequent job does not have purging and the preceding job produces a print that fails inspection, the print of the subsequent job will not be discharged to the reject discharge section. According to (((5))), when a setting is made to automatically reprint printed matter that has failed the inspection result in a preceding job and there is printed matter that has failed the inspection result, printed matter of a subsequent job will not be automatically reprinted. According to (((6))), even if the purge settings are the same for the preceding job and the subsequent job, consecutive print jobs can be completed in a shorter time than if the preceding job had to be completed before the subsequent job could start printing. According to (((7))), even when the purge setting of the preceding job is waiting for a user instruction and the purge setting of the subsequent job is automatic reprint, consecutive print jobs can be completed in a short time compared to when the printing of the subsequent job starts after waiting for the completion of the preceding job. According to (((8))), whether or not to perform continuous printing can be determined by the user's settings. According to (((9))), the amount of printed matter discarded can be reduced when printed matter from a preceding job fails inspection, compared to when a mode in which printed matter from a succeeding job is always printed while inspecting the quality of printed matter from a preceding job. [Explanation of symbols]

[0124] 10 Image forming system (information processing system, information processing device) 20T storage tray (storage section) 30T Purge Tray (Rejection Discharge Section) 40T output tray (printed material output section) 50 CPUs (processors)

Claims

1. a processor; The processor: Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. When the printouts of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on a purge setting regarding a method for discharging printouts of the preceding job and the subsequent job that have failed the inspection results of the preceding job, printing of the printouts of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed. Information processing system.

2. The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on," printed matter that has passed the inspection is discharged to the printed matter discharge section, and printed matter that has failed the inspection and printed matter that has been printed after the failed printed matter up until the printing stop is discharged to the rejected printed matter discharge section; If the purge setting is no purge, all printed materials are discharged to the printed material discharge unit. When the printed matter of the subsequent job is not continuously printed, printing of the printed matter of the subsequent job is started after all the printed matter of the preceding job has been discharged to the printed matter discharge section or the rejected matter discharge section. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. The processor: When the purge setting is set to "on" and there is a print that has failed the inspection, the print that has been discharged to the reject discharge section is reprinted; When the printed materials of the subsequent job are not continuously printed, printing of the printed materials of the subsequent job is started after all the printed materials of the preceding job have passed and been discharged to the printed material discharge section. The information processing system according to claim 2 .

4. The processor: When the preceding job is set to have purging and the subsequent job is set to not have purging, the subsequent job is not printed continuously. The information processing system according to claim 2 .

5. When the purge setting is set to "Yes", the purge setting includes settings for automatically reprinting a failed printout, suspending printing after a failed printout, and waiting for a user instruction for a failed printout, The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge", the preceding job is set to "automatic reprint", and the subsequent job is set to "wait for user instruction", the subsequent job is not continuously printed. The information processing system according to claim 2 .

6. The processor: If the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job match, the printed matter of the subsequent job is printed continuously. The information processing system according to claim 4 .

7. The processor: When the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job are set to "with purge," the preceding job is set to "wait for a user instruction," and the subsequent job is set to "automatic reprint," the printed matter of the subsequent job is continuously printed. The information processing system according to claim 5 .

8. The processor: Accepting a user input to change a condition as to whether or not to perform continuous printing according to the purge settings of the preceding job and the subsequent job; According to the changed conditions, and based on the purge settings of the preceding job and the following job, printing the printed materials of the following job consecutively following the printed materials of the preceding job, or starting printing the printed materials of the following job after the preceding job is completed. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. On the computer, Print the next print while inspecting the print quality of the printed item. When the printouts of the subsequent job are not printed continuously based on a purge setting regarding a method for discharging printouts of the preceding job and the subsequent job that have failed the inspection results of the preceding job, printing of the printouts of the subsequent job is started after the preceding job is completed. An information processing program for executing processing.

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