Printing method and printed matter

Abstract

To print high-quality micro-characters using inkjet printing.SOLUTION: Font data of micro characters designed according to a dot arrangement corresponding to the image resolution set in RIP (Raster Image Processor) conversion is stored in a font data storage unit, and the font data stored in the font data storage unit is arranged according to the dot arrangement to generate image data of an image including micro characters. The image data is RIP converted to generate print data of the image including micro characters, and the print data is output as print data to be used for inkjet printing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing method and a printed matter. [Background technology]

[0002] Marks affixed to identification media, such as printed materials with financial value, such as securities, cards, and passes, certificates that authenticate individuals, such as driver's licenses, passports, and insurance cards, and stickers that certify the authenticity of goods, require the incorporation of new anti-counterfeiting technologies to prevent them from being counterfeited or tampered with by third parties. At the same time, there is a demand for authenticity determination methods that can determine whether an identification media is genuine.

[0003] Holograms, microtext, copy deterrent patterns, infrared absorbing ink, fluorescent ink, etc. are widely used as mark counterfeit prevention technologies to enhance security. Among these technologies, microtext is used to print microtext, which is a very small character with a height of about 0.2 mm, on printed matter. This microtext is sometimes printed as white within solid print.

[0004] Microtext is a character that is difficult to reproduce using a typical home printer, etc., and so when a printed matter with microtext printed on it is copied using a home printer, the microtext portion becomes blurred and cannot be reproduced, which is why it is used to determine authenticity. For example, by determining whether the microtext portion is blurred under magnification, it is possible to easily determine whether an item is a counterfeit. Since authenticity is determined based on the blurring of the microtext, high-quality printing that is free of bleeding and smearing is required.

[0005] It has been considered inappropriate to print microcharacters by inkjet printing, which has a tendency to cause the printed characters to bleed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for providing a receiving layer on a substrate as a countermeasure against bleeding when printing using inkjet ink. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-276323 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, even if a receiving layer is provided on the substrate, it is difficult to print high-quality microcharacters such as those used in security printing by inkjet printing, because the shape of the microcharacters tends to be slightly different for each printed item. The reason for this is that inkjet printing involves RIP (Raster Image Processor) conversion, which prints characters and images represented by dots according to the image resolution. After RIP conversion, dots are placed one by one in accordance with the characters and images to be printed. For this reason, when the same image data is imposed multiple times, the dot placement will be different for each imposed image. Here, the dots are set to be extremely small compared to normal character size. For this reason, it is thought that when printed materials contain normal-sized characters and images, the naked eye will perceive no difference in the shape of the characters or images. However, with very fine characters (micro characters), the difference in shape becomes noticeable depending on the position of the dots placed in accordance with the micro characters. If the shape of the same microcharacters differs for each printed item, it becomes difficult to determine whether the difference in shape is due to printing or duplication, which can result in a decrease in quality.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to print high-quality microcharacters using inkjet printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a printing method performed by a computer, which stores font data of stylized microcharacters in a font data storage unit according to a dot arrangement corresponding to the image resolution set in RIP (Raster Image Processor) conversion, generates image data of an image including microcharacters by arranging the font data stored in the font data storage unit according to the dot arrangement, generates print data of the image including microcharacters by RIP converting the image data, and outputs the print data as print data to be used for inkjet printing.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a printed material having microcharacters printed by inkjet printing, in which microcharacters representing the same character are printed in different positions, and the dot pattern of the same character in the printed microcharacters is the same regardless of the printing position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, high quality microcharacters can be printed using inkjet printing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a font data storage unit 11 in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by the print data generating device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printed matter according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of microcharacters (white characters) printed on the printed matter of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of micro characters (solid black) printed on the printed matter of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing examples of conventional microcharacters printed by inkjet printing; [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of micro characters printed by inkjet printing according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of micro characters (characters with narrow character widths) printed by inkjet printing according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of micro characters (characters with wide character widths) printed by inkjet printing according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a character string made up of micro characters (character strings arranged along a curve) printed by inkjet printing according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of the arrangement of micro characters according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the printing system according to the embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the printing system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. The printing system includes a print data generating device 10, a printing unit 20, an operation terminal device 30, and an operation display 31.

[0015] The printing unit 20 is a mechanism that prints print data onto printing paper. This print data is raster data, which is converted into a format that can be used for printing, such as characters to be printed, vector images, or raster images, i.e., RIP (Raster Image Processor) format, and the area to be printed with ink is converted into a halftone image according to the resolution, or data in which grid-like dots are arranged as solid prints. Raster data is also sometimes called bitmap data. The printing unit 20 includes an inkjet printer that ejects ink onto printing paper according to the point cloud indicated by the raster data to print colors and characters.

[0016] In this embodiment, the microcharacters are suitable for printing with an inkjet printer, but if the printing target includes pictures other than microcharacters or regular-sized characters, the image portions other than the microcharacters may be printed using a printing method other than that of an inkjet printer, such as offset printing, intaglio printing, screen printing, etc. In this case, the printing unit 20 includes a mechanism for printing using a printing method other than that of an inkjet printer.

[0017] The printing unit 20 is a mechanism that prints print data including microcharacters onto printing paper. Microcharacters are minute characters formed with a character height of 0.3 mm or less and a character line width of 0.04 mm or more. Alternatively, the characters may be 0.2 mm or more, and the character line width may be 1 / 3 or less of the character height. If the character height is greater than 0.3 mm, the characters will stand out too much and will likely spoil the aesthetic appearance. If the character height is less than 0.2 mm, the characters will be too squashed, making it difficult to print legible microcharacters by enlarging them. The printing mode of the microcharacters can be any of black ink characters, colored characters, and toned solid white characters. Such printing modes provide excellent readability of the microcharacters. The microcharacters may be printed using colored inks or colorless (medium) inks used in normal offset printing. The microcharacters may also be printed using security inks that can be detected by a dedicated sensor, such as ultraviolet fluorescent ink, infrared fluorescent ink, infrared transparent ink, or infrared absorbing ink. Printing the microcharacters using security inks can further enhance security. Depending on the ink (inkjet ink) used to print the microcharacters, a receiving layer that is resistant to bleeding of the inkjet ink may be selected and the selected receiving layer may be coated on the printing paper before printing.

[0018] Any printing paper can be used for printing microtext as long as it is compatible with inkjet ink. For example, coated paper, high-quality paper, synthetic paper, or paper coated with a receptor layer suitable for the inkjet ink used in the printing unit 20 may be used. Coated paper has good color development, an excellent appearance, and is easily made water-resistant. Furthermore, if the microtext is generated using an image, bleeding caused by coated paper can be suppressed. Furthermore, the printing paper may be provided with security features other than microtext, such as watermarking, fiber incorporation, or hologram transfer. Alternatively, a receptive layer may be applied to the printing paper before printing. The receptive layer may be primarily composed of resin, a flocculant, and silica, and may be more effective when combined with the printing paper and ink. The composition of the components constituting the receptive layer may be modified depending on the viscosity of the inkjet ink, making the print less likely to bleed. This ensures that the line width of the printed characters is consistent and the outlines of the characters are clear.

[0019] The operation terminal device 30 is a computer operated by an operator. The operation terminal device 30 controls the print data generating device 10 and the printing unit 20 so that the design including the desired micro characters is printed correctly on the printing paper.

[0020] The print data generating device 10 generates raster data (print data) for printing including micro characters from an original image. The print data generating device 10 first generates an image including micro characters, and then generates the raster data (print data) by RIP converting the image data of the generated image.

[0021] When an image containing microtext is RIP converted, the microtext expressed as dots does not take on the same shape as the microtext in the original data before RIP conversion, and the shape of the microtext expressed as dots tends to become distorted. This is because with normal-sized characters, the fineness of the dot arrangement set to express halftone dots from the original platemaking data (image resolution) is not enough to express minute characters like microtext, and even though the characters are printed as solid rather than halftone dots, the position of the dots in the raster data for that solid printing will be different, even for microtext that represents the same character, and as a result, the dot pattern may end up in a different shape, even for the same character.

[0022] In this embodiment, the micro characters before RIP conversion are made into image data with the same dot arrangement as that used for RIP conversion. This eliminates the difference between the shape of the micro characters in the raster data after RIP conversion and the shape of the micro characters in the image data before RIP conversion. This prevents the shape of the micro characters from being distorted after RIP conversion.

[0023] Furthermore, with serif fonts such as Mincho, thin lines at the edges of the characters cannot be expressed and appear crushed, and with fonts such as Gothic, which have angular, less rounded characters, the corners of the characters appear rounded in the dot data after RIP conversion, resulting in a noticeable difference in shape before and after RIP conversion. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is preferable to use a font other than a serif font for the micro characters, and a font with rounded characters can also be used. This reduces the difference in shape between the micro characters in the raster data after RIP conversion and the micro characters in the image data before RIP conversion.

[0024] A method for generating raster data (print data) for printing that includes micro characters by the print data generating device 10 will be described in detail below.

[0025] The print data generating device 10 includes a font data storage unit 11, an input unit 12, a picture print data generating unit 13, and an output unit 14.

[0026] The font data storage unit 11 stores font data for each character used as a microcharacter. The font data in this embodiment is a dot pattern for the microcharacter that is pre-designed based on the dot arrangement used in RIP conversion. By determining and pre-storing a dot pattern for each character used as a microcharacter in this way, the difference between the shape of the microcharacter in the raster data after RIP conversion and the shape of the microcharacter in the image data before RIP conversion is reduced.

[0027] The design (dot pattern) of the micro characters stored in the font data storage unit 11 may be created manually by a designer (human), or may be created by the print data generating device 10, for example. When microcharacters are designed manually by a human designer, for example, a grid is created based on the dot arrangement corresponding to the resolution used for RIP conversion, and the created grid is overlaid as the background of the image on which the microcharacters are designed. The human designer then adjusts the background grid to reflect either the color of the microcharacters or the color of the background, in line with the shape of the microcharacters. In this way, the dot pattern of the microcharacters is pre-designed. By repeating this process, the human designer pre-designs the dot pattern of each character (including numbers) to be used as the microcharacter, and stores each of the designed dot patterns in the font data storage unit 11 in association with the character information and resolution of the microcharacter. When micro characters are designed by the print data generating device 10, for example, an image of any micro character represented as vector data may be RIP converted, character by character, and the dot pattern of each micro character after conversion may be used as the font data for that character. In this way, the font data storage unit 11 stores the dot patterns of the characters used as micro characters for each resolution. The font data storage unit 11 stores dot patterns of characters used as micro characters, for example, in tiff (Tag Image File Format) format.

[0028] The storage unit (including font data storage unit 11) of print data generation device 10 is configured with a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Read / Write Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or a combination of these. The storage unit of print data generation device 10 stores programs for executing various processes in print data generation device 10 and temporary data used when performing various processes. Furthermore, the functional units of print data generation device 10 (including input unit 12, picture print data generation unit 13, and output unit 14) are realized by having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided as hardware in print data generation device 10 execute programs. The print data generating device 10 may be a single computer, or may be composed of multiple computers that exchange data online and offline. The operation terminal and print data generating device 10 may also be a single computer. The print data generating device 10 and the work terminal may be located in a platemaking room, and the printing unit may be located in a separate printing room. The printing unit may also have an operation panel.

[0029] The input unit 12 generates print data for minute characters, i.e., micro characters. The input unit 12 includes a print condition acquisition unit 120, an image data generation unit 121, a layout adjustment unit 122, and a print data generation unit 123.

[0030] The printing condition acquisition unit 120 acquires the printing conditions. The printing conditions here include information indicating the resolution used in RIP conversion. The printing conditions are set, for example, by the worker. In this case, the work terminal device 30 displays an input field for inputting the resolution on the work display 31. The worker enters a numerical value indicating the resolution, such as 1200 [dpi], into the input field and presses the send button. This resolution may be selected from those saved as printing profile data. In response to the send button being pressed, the work terminal device 30 transmits information indicating the resolution to the print data generation device 10. The print data generation device 10 receives the information indicating the resolution from the work terminal device 30 and outputs the received information to the printing condition acquisition unit 120. As a result, the printing condition acquisition unit 120 acquires the information indicating the resolution as the printing condition.

[0031] The image data generation unit 121 generates image data for an image containing microtext. Upon receiving information indicating the resolution from the printing condition acquisition unit 120, the image data generation unit 121 reads out the dot patterns (image data) of each character designed according to the acquired resolution. The image data generation unit 121 repeatedly arranges the read-out dot patterns along a grid corresponding to the resolution, according to the specified character string, thereby generating image data for the image containing microtext, in which the microtext and the characters to be used are arranged along a grid. For example, for the microtext "PATENT," the dot patterns for each of the characters "P," "A," "T," "E," and "N" are read out, and the microtext image data is generated by arranging them in the order "P," "A," "T," "E," "N," and "T." In this case, the third "T" and the last "T" have the same dot pattern. This allows all characters in the character string to be printed uniformly. Products with uniformly printed characters like this can be identified as genuine and distinguished from counterfeits. It is also possible to generate repeated character strings such as "PATENT PATENT PATENT." When repeating character strings, spaces may or may not be provided between the character strings.

[0032] The layout adjustment unit 122 adjusts the position of the microcharacters in the image generated by the image data generation unit 121. The layout adjustment unit 122 adjusts the position of the microcharacters so that there is little change in the shape of the microcharacters before and after RIP conversion and so that the layout of the characters is natural. A natural layout of characters means, for example, that the layout positions of characters or character strings expressed in vector data are similar to the layout positions of characters or character strings expressed in dot patterns in the image generated by the image data generation unit 121.

[0033] Here, the same character string is often repeatedly arranged in microtext (see, for example, FIGS. 5 and 6). Utilizing this property, for example, the placement adjustment unit 122 first adjusts the distance between each character (inter-character distance) included in each character string so that it is appropriate. Next, the placement adjustment unit 122 adjusts the distance between each character string (inter-character distance) so that it is appropriate. This makes it possible to adjust all of the microtext arranged in the image more efficiently than when adjusting the placement position of the microtext one character at a time.

[0034] This adjustment may be performed manually by a designer (human), or by the print data generating device 10. For example, when the adjustment is performed by the print data generating device 10, the placement adjustment unit 122 generates a dot pattern of the character string (first reference pattern) by RIP-converting an image in which a character string of micro characters repeated in an image is expressed as vector data. The placement adjustment unit 122 compares the reference pattern with the dot pattern of the character string (first object pattern) in the image generated by the image data generating unit 121. The placement adjustment unit 122 changes the position of each micro character arranged in the first object pattern so as to minimize the inter-character distance between the first reference pattern and the first object pattern. Next, the placement adjustment unit 122 generates a dot pattern of the repeated character string (second reference pattern) by RIP-converting an image in which a character string in which a character string of micro characters repeated in an image is arranged multiple times is expressed as vector data. The placement adjustment unit 122 compares the reference pattern with the dot pattern (second target pattern) of character strings repeatedly arranged in the image generated by the image data generation unit 121. The placement adjustment unit 122 changes the positions of character strings arranged in the target pattern on a character-by-character basis so as to minimize the distance between character strings in the second reference pattern and the second target pattern.

[0035] The placement adjustment unit 122 performs RIP conversion every time either the inter-character distance or the inter-character string distance is changed, and determines whether the change in shape of each character and each character string of the micro text before and after the RIP conversion is less than a threshold value. The placement adjustment unit 122 adjusts the position of the micro text placed in the image generated by the image data generation unit 121 so that the change in shape is less than the threshold value and the placement of the characters and character strings is natural.

[0036] The print data generation unit 123 generates print data. The print data here is raster data in which the microcharacters to be printed are converted into a format usable for printing, i.e., RIP format, and expressed as points (dots) arranged in a grid pattern according to the resolution. The print data generation unit 123 generates print data by RIP converting the target image containing the microcharacters. The target image is an image in which the image data generation unit 121 arranges dot patterns corresponding to the microcharacters for each character, and the arrangement position is adjusted by the arrangement adjustment unit 122.

[0037] Here, when the printing target to be printed with inkjet ink includes images other than micro characters (such as pictures or normal-sized characters), the picture print data generating unit 13 generates images other than micro characters.

[0038] The print data generation unit 123 generates print data to be printed by combining the target image with an image other than the micro characters generated by the picture print data generation unit 13 and RIP-converting the combined image.

[0039] Furthermore, print data generating unit 123 may generate the combined image as single-page data, and generate print data by RIP-converting an image in which the generated single-page data is pasted onto multiple pages.

[0040] The output unit 14 outputs the print data.

[0041] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of font data as information stored in the font data storage unit 11 in this embodiment. As shown in this example, the font data is a dot pattern of points (dots) arranged in a grid pattern according to the resolution, and microcharacters (here, the letters "A" and "K") are represented. In this diagram, the resolution is 1200 dpi, and x and y are approximately 0.022 mm. In other words, the grid according to the 1200 dpi resolution is a square with approximately 0.022 mm squares. The dot pattern of the microcharacter is designed along this grid in an area formed by approximately 14 dots in each of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the microcharacter, which corresponds to the height and width of the microcharacter, approximately 0.3 mm.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the print data generating device of this embodiment. The print data generating device 10 first creates microcharacters (step S10). For example, the print data generating device 10 sets a grid of a width corresponding to the resolution in the background of an image in which the microcharacters are expressed using vector data, and displays the microcharacters by overlaying the grid background (step S11). The print data generating device 10 edits the microcharacters to form a dot pattern that conforms to the grid that has been overlaid as the background, and stores the edited microcharacter design (dot pattern) in the font data storage unit 11 as image data in a predetermined format (e.g., TIFF format) (step S12). The print data generating device 10 generates an image in which the dot patterns of the microcharacters stored in the font data storage unit 11 are arranged (step S13). The print data generating device 10 determines whether the arrangement position of the microcharacter dot pattern in the image is appropriate (step S14). For example, if there is a significant change in the shape of the microcharacters before and after RIP conversion, or if the character placement is unnatural, the print data generating device 10 determines that the placement position is inappropriate. In this case, the print data generating device 10 returns to step S13 and adjusts the placement position of the microcharacters so that the placement position of the microcharacter dot pattern in the image becomes appropriate. On the other hand, if there is little change in the shape of the microcharacters before and after RIP conversion and the character arrangement is natural, the print data generation device 10 determines that the arrangement position is appropriate. In this case, the print data generation device 10 generates a multi-composition image by multi-composing the image on which the microcharacters are arranged, and generates print data by RIP-converting the generated multi-composition image (step S15). If the print object is to be printed in multiple colors, the print data generation device 10 generates plate separations corresponding to the multiple colors to be used for printing, for example, four colors corresponding to CMYK, from the RIP-converted print data (step S16). The print data generation device 10 outputs print data corresponding to each of the generated plate separations for the four colors (step S17).

[0043] 4 to 6 are diagrams showing examples of printed matter according to the embodiment. Figure 4 shows an example of a printed matter on which strings E1 and E2 made up of micro characters are printed. In this figure, the printed matter contains, in addition to the micro characters, pictures and regular-sized character strings and numbers. String E1 is a string made up of micro characters printed in white on a single-color (black) background. String E2 is a string made up of micro characters printed in solid black on the printing paper. Figure 5 shows an enlarged view of a string E3 of micro characters printed in white against a monochrome (black) background. Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of a string E4 of micro characters printed in solid black on printing paper. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, a certain string (here, the string "PATENT") is repeatedly arranged as a string of micro characters to form a series of characters.

[0044] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of conventional microcharacters printed by inkjet printing as a comparative example. FIG. 7 shows a string E5 of microcharacters (microcharacters expressed in a format other than dot patterns, such as vector data) printed by inkjet printing. This figure shows dot patterns E50-E52 of the same character, in this case the letter "A," after RIP conversion within the string E5 of microcharacters. Although the dot patterns E50-E52 represent the same letter "A," the dot patterns after printing are different from each other. In this way, if the vector data has the same shape but is converted into different dot patterns by RIP conversion, this can cause a deterioration in the accuracy of authentication determination using microcharacters.

[0045] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of microcharacters according to this embodiment printed by inkjet printing. FIG. 8 shows a string E6 of microcharacters (microcharacters represented in advance using dot patterns according to the resolution) printed by inkjet printing according to this embodiment. This figure shows dot patterns E60-E62 of the same character, in this case the letter "A," after RIP conversion within the string E6 of microcharacters. The dot patterns E60-E62 have the same dot pattern after printing. By ensuring that the shape of the character does not change before and after RIP conversion and that the dot pattern of the same letter "A" is printed in the same pattern, it is possible to prevent a deterioration in the accuracy of authentication determination using microcharacters.

[0046] Figures 9 and 10 are diagrams showing examples of printed micro characters with different character widths. Figure 9 shows an example of a dot pattern of micro characters designed with a character width equivalent to 1 dot. Figure 10 shows an example of a dot pattern of micro characters designed with a character width equivalent to 2 dots. As shown in these examples, even if the character width of the micro characters is different, it is possible to prevent the shape from changing before and after RIP conversion. In this case, a dot pattern corresponding to the character width is created in advance for each micro character, and the created dot pattern is associated with its attributes (information indicating resolution, character width, etc.) and stored in the font data storage unit 11. The image data generation unit 121 selects a dot pattern corresponding to the resolution and character width to be printed from the dot patterns of the micro characters stored in the font data storage unit 11, and generates an image including the micro characters by arranging the selected dot pattern along a grid corresponding to the resolution.

[0047] 11 is a diagram showing an example of printing micro characters arranged along a curve. As shown in the example of this figure, the micro characters may be arranged in an arc shape or along a direction oblique to the vertical or horizontal direction of the grid. As shown in the example of this figure, even when micro characters are arranged along a curve, it is possible to prevent the shape from changing before and after RIP conversion. In this case, a dot pattern is created in advance for each micro character, in which the dots are arranged in a direction oblique to the vertical or horizontal direction of the grid, and the created dot pattern is associated with its attributes (information indicating resolution, tilt, etc.) and stored in the font data storage unit 11. The image data generation unit 121 selects a dot pattern corresponding to the tilt of the direction in which the micro character is arranged in relation to the vertical or horizontal direction of the grid from the dot patterns of the micro characters stored in the font data storage unit 11, and generates an image including the micro character by arranging the selected dot pattern in a direction oblique to the grid corresponding to the resolution.

[0048] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of micro characters according to an embodiment. In Fig. 12, as shown in Fig. 11, the image data generating unit 121 arranges the dot pattern along a direction N that is oblique to the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) or horizontal direction (X-axis direction) of the grid according to the resolution. In this way, the image data generating unit 121 generates an image including micro characters arranged along a curve.

[0049] The effects of this embodiment will now be described with reference to Figures 13 and 14. Figures 13 and 14 are diagrams for explaining the effects of the printing system of this embodiment. The examples of FIGS. 13 and 14 both show the results of observing micro characters printed on coated paper by inkjet printing at a resolution of 1200 dpi under an optical microscope at 210x magnification. Figure 13 shows an enlarged image of conventional inkjet-printed microcharacters as a comparative example. In this comparative example, the shapes of three microcharacters representing the same letter "A" are significantly different (reference symbol C1). If the shapes of microcharacters, which should be printed in the same shape, vary widely, this could lead to doubts about the accuracy of cancer detection. Figure 14 shows an enlarged view of microcharacters printed by inkjet printing according to this embodiment as an example. In this example, three microcharacters representing the same letter "A" each have the same shape (reference symbol C10). As such, in this example, when the shapes of microcharacters that should be printed in the same shape are consistent and there is no variation in the character shapes, it is possible to perform a highly accurate cancer detection. The coated paper used as the printing paper in Figures 13 and 14 has excellent aesthetics in terms of color development and is easy to impart with water resistance, but it can sometimes cause bleeding. However, in the embodiment of the present application, this bleeding can be suppressed, and the dot pattern is printed clearly.

[0050] As described above, in this embodiment, the computer that is the print data generation device 10 performs the following printing method. The printing method generates image data for an image containing microcharacters by arranging font data for microcharacters, which are designed according to a dot arrangement that corresponds to the image resolution set in RIP (Raster Image Processor) conversion, along the dot arrangement, and then RIP-converts the image data to generate print data for the image containing microcharacters, and outputs the generated print data as print data to be used for inkjet printing. This makes it possible to generate print data in which the shape of the microcharacters is less likely to change before and after RIP conversion, making it possible to print high-quality microcharacters using inkjet printing.

[0051] In addition, in the printing method of the embodiment, the font data includes data in which a dot pattern fixed in advance for each micro character is arranged along the dot array, which makes it possible to generate print data in which the shape of each micro character is unlikely to change before and after RIP conversion.

[0052] Furthermore, in the printing method of this embodiment, the font data includes data in which a dot pattern that is pre-fixed for each microcharacter is arranged along the dot arrangement according to the angle between the dot arrangement direction and the direction in which the microcharacters are arranged. As a result, in the printing method of this embodiment, even when the microcharacters are arranged along a diagonal direction with respect to the grid, it is possible to generate print data in which the shape of each microcharacter is unlikely to change before and after RIP conversion.

[0053] Furthermore, in the printing method of the embodiment, font data of micro characters, which is designed for a character string made up of micro characters according to a grid dot arrangement corresponding to the resolution, is stored in the font data storage unit 11 on a character string basis, and image data of an image including a character string made up of micro characters is generated by arranging the character strings stored in the font data storage unit 11 according to the grid dot arrangement corresponding to the resolution. In this way, the printing method of the embodiment can efficiently generate a design in which a character string made up of specific micro characters (for example, a character string such as "PATENT") is repeatedly arranged.

[0054] Furthermore, the printed matter of the embodiment has microcharacters printed by inkjet printing, and is configured so that microcharacters representing the same character are printed at different positions, and the dot pattern of the same character in the printed microcharacters is the same regardless of the printing position. As a result, the printed matter of the embodiment can print the same microcharacters in the same shape using inkjet printing, and it is possible to provide a printed matter on which high-quality microcharacters are printed using inkjet printing.

[0055] The printing method performed by the printing system 1 and print data generating device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented in whole or in part by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded and executed by the computer system. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within the computer system serving as the server or client. The program may also be designed to implement some of the above-described functions, or may be capable of implementing the above-described functions in combination with programs already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA.

[0056] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Printing system 10...Print data generating device 11...Font data storage unit 12...Input section 120...Printing condition acquisition unit 121...Image data generation unit 122...Placement adjustment section 123...print data generation unit 13...Picture printing data generation unit 14...Output section 20...Printing unit 30...Work terminal device 31...Work display

Claims

1. A computer-implemented printing method comprising: The font data of the micro characters designed in accordance with the dot arrangement according to the image resolution set in the RIP (Raster Image Processor) conversion is stored in the font data storage unit; generating image data of an image including micro characters by arranging the font data stored in the font data storage unit along the dot arrangement; generating print data for an image including micro characters by RIP-converting the image data; outputting the print data as print data to be used for inkjet printing; Printing method.

2. The font data includes data in which a predetermined dot pattern for each micro character is arranged along the dot array. The printing method according to claim 1 .

3. the font data includes data in which a dot pattern, which is pre-fixed for each micro character, is arranged along the dot arrangement in accordance with an angle between the dot arrangement direction and the direction in which the micro character is arranged; The printing method according to claim 1 .

4. storing font data of micro characters, which are designed based on the arrangement of dots, in the font data storage unit for each character string; generating the image data by arranging the character string stored in the font data storage unit along the dot arrangement; The printing method according to claim 1 .

5. The micro characters are printed by inkjet printing. Micro characters showing the same character are printed in different positions, The dot pattern of the same character in the printed microcharacters is configured to be the same regardless of the printing position. printed matter.

Images