Electronic terminal and print setting program

Abstract

To enable the contents of exception settings to be configured in a visually easy-to-understand manner when creating job settings for printing.SOLUTION: An exception setting screen includes a thumbnail screen 51 and a setting item screen 71. On the thumbnail screen 51, thumbnail images of each page included in a print job are displayed by a display control unit. A display control unit 212 displays the thumbnail image that is the target of selection, based on the selection instruction accepted by an input reception unit 22, in a different display form from thumbnail images that are not the target of selection. The control unit 211 applies the contents of exception setting configuration items accepted by the input reception unit 22 to the page indicated by the selected thumbnail image. The display control unit 212 displays the contents of the exception setting configuration items on the setting item screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic terminal that issues a print instruction to an image forming apparatus and a print setting program. [Background technology]

[0002] In the commercial printing industry, where orders are received from customers to create printed materials and the printed materials that the customers desire are delivered, with the development of digital printing, a method is being used to achieve the desired printing by combining overall settings that indicate print settings for all pages included in the print data with exception settings that indicate print settings for a specified page range.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that allows partial change of print processing conditions for a print job that includes image data for multiple pages. Patent Document 2 describes a technology that suppresses discrepancies between the printing desired by the user and the printing recognized by the printing system for a saved print job.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes a technique for displaying to a user, when changing the print settings of print data, the print setting items that are valid or invalid for the drawing information of the print data. Patent Document 4 describes a technique that allows a user to easily compare images printed with different print settings. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-164358 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-051379 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-068340 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-154339 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When performing the exception setting procedure on the user interface (UI) provided by the industrial printing system, it is necessary to input the numbers of the start and end pages to which the exception setting applies, which is difficult to input unless you know the page numbers and the image content of those pages. Also, it is difficult to instantly determine on the UI what exception setting content has been set on which page of the print data. Patent Documents 1 to 4 do not describe a solution to this problem.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to enable the contents of exception settings to be set in a visually easy-to-understand manner when creating job settings for printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The electronic terminal of the present invention is an electronic terminal that issues print instructions to an image forming device, and comprises: a display unit; an input accepting unit that accepts input from a user; a control unit that creates job settings for printing by applying overall settings that indicate print settings for all pages included in the print data and exception settings that indicate print settings for a predetermined page range in accordance with the instructions accepted by the input accepting unit; and a display control unit that displays a setting screen for the job settings on the display unit, wherein the display control unit simultaneously displays, on the setting screen, a thumbnail screen that displays a list of thumbnail images of each page of the print data and a setting item screen that displays setting items for the exception settings, and the display control unit displays the thumbnail images that are the subject of selection by the selection instruction accepted by the input accepting unit in a display format that is different from that of thumbnail images that are not the subject of selection, and the control unit applies the contents of the setting items of the exception settings accepted by the input accepting unit to the page indicated by the thumbnail image that is the subject of selection, and the display control unit displays the contents of the setting items of the exception settings on the setting item screen.

[0009] The print setting program of the present invention is a print setting program executed by an electronic terminal that issues print instructions to an image forming device, and causes a computer provided in the electronic terminal to execute the following steps: displaying a job setting screen on a display unit; simultaneously displaying on the setting screen a thumbnail screen that displays a list of thumbnail images of each page of the print data and a setting item screen that displays setting items for the exceptional settings; displaying, among the thumbnail images displayed on the thumbnail screen, thumbnail images of pages to which the exceptional settings have been applied, with visually identifiable information attached; displaying, by the electronic terminal, the thumbnail image selected by the user in a selected state; and applying, by the electronic terminal, the contents of the exceptional settings entered by the user to the page indicated by the selected thumbnail image. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when creating job settings for printing, the contents of exception settings can be set in a visually easy-to-understand manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the printing system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 9]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A printing system and a print setting program according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 1 is composed of an electronic terminal 2, an image forming device 3, a network N, etc. The electronic terminal 2 is a personal computer (PC) 2a or a mobile terminal 2b such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. The image forming device 3 is a device that prints printed materials (pamphlets, flyers, posters, etc.) for the business activities of companies and organizations. The network N is capable of sending and receiving data via a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, etc.

[0013] The user operates the electronic terminal 2 to issue a print instruction to the image forming device 3, and the electronic terminal 2 transmits a print job to the image forming device 3. The image forming device 3 executes printing in accordance with the received print job.

[0014] 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of a printing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, an input receiving unit 22, a communication unit 23, a storage unit 24, and the like.

[0015] The input receiving unit 22 is a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The input receiving unit 22 receives various instructions from a user. The display unit 221 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like, and may be configured integrally with a touch panel (which is also an example of the input receiving unit 22). In this embodiment, the display unit 221 is configured integrally with the touch panel.

[0016] The communication unit 23 is a communication module that exchanges various data with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 3 via a network N such as the Internet. The storage unit 24 is a large-capacity storage device formed of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various programs, data tables, etc., and stores a print setting program 241. The control unit 21 executes the print setting program 241 to perform print setting processing as the control unit 211.

[0017] The control unit 21 is composed of a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 21 functions as a control unit 211 and a display control unit 212 when the processor executes a print setting program 241 stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 21 controls the overall operation of the electronic terminal 2. The display control unit 212 controls the display of the display unit 221.

[0018] The following describes the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus 3. The image forming apparatus 3 includes a control unit 31, an input receiving section 32, an image forming section 33, a storage section 34, a communication section 35, and the like.

[0019] The input acceptance unit 32 includes hard keys such as an enter key and a start key for confirming various operations and settings, and a display unit 321. The input acceptance unit 32 accepts various instructions from the user. The display unit 321 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like, and displays an operation screen, messages, and the like. The display unit 321 may be configured integrally with a touch panel. In this embodiment, the display unit 321 is configured integrally with a touch panel. The input acceptance unit 32 accepts instructions input based on the operation of the hard keys such as the enter key and start key, or the touch panel.

[0020] The image forming unit 33 includes, for example, an electrophotographic image forming mechanism, and prints an image on paper in accordance with a print job received from the electronic terminal 2. The storage unit 34 is a large-capacity storage device that stores image data, various programs, data tables, etc. The communication unit 35 is a communication module that exchanges various data, including print data, with external devices such as the electronic terminal 2 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0021] The control unit 31 is composed of a processor, RAM, ROM, etc. The processor is a CPU, MPU, ASIC, etc. The control unit 31 functions as a control unit 311 when the processor executes a control program stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 31 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 3.

[0022] Next, the print setting process will be described. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an exception setting screen displayed on the display unit 221 of the electronic terminal 2. There are two types of job settings for printing (hereinafter referred to as print settings): overall settings that indicate settings for all pages included in the print data, and exception settings that indicate settings for a predetermined page range.

[0023] When a print job setting instruction is input by the user to the input receiving unit 22 of the electronic terminal 2, the control unit 211 causes the display unit 221 to display a print job setting screen.

[0024] When the print job setting screen is displayed, the user touches tab 41 to set an exception setting. When an instruction to display the exception setting screen is input to input receiving unit 22 based on this operation, display control unit 212 causes display unit 221 to display the exception setting screen as shown in FIG.

[0025] The exception settings screen includes a thumbnail screen 51 and a setting item screen 71. The display control unit 212 displays thumbnail images of each page included in the print job on the thumbnail screen 51. Furthermore, the display control unit 212 displays visually identifiable information on thumbnail images of pages to which exception settings have been applied, so that the presence or absence of an exception setting for each page indicated by the thumbnail image can be identified. In this embodiment, the display control unit 212 displays, for example, a circle 52 as the above-mentioned visually identifiable information below the thumbnail image of the page to which the exception setting has been applied. By displaying a list of thumbnail images of each page in this manner and displaying a circle or the like on thumbnail images of pages to which the exception setting has been applied, the user can easily understand which pages have the exception setting applied.

[0026] The display control unit 212 also displays various buttons and setting items for the exceptional settings on the setting item screen 71. The various buttons are a disable button 72, a command button 73, and an extract button 74. The disable button 72 is a button for receiving an instruction to disable (clear) all of the exceptional settings set for each page. The command button 73 is a button for receiving an instruction to display on the thumbnail screen 51 only thumbnail images of pages that satisfy the conditions indicated by the specified command. The extract button 74 is a button for receiving an instruction to display on the thumbnail screen 51 only thumbnail images of pages to which the selected exceptional setting item is applied. The processes executed in accordance with the instructions input by operating these three buttons will be described in detail later.

[0027] 3, for example, when the user touches the thumbnail image of page 8, which has an exceptional setting, and a selection instruction to select page 8 is received by the input receiving unit 22, the control unit 211 recognizes page 8 as being in a selected state, and the display control unit 212 displays a square 53, which is a display form indicating that page 8 is in a selected state, superimposed on the thumbnail image of page 8 (FIG. 4). That is, the display control unit 212 displays the thumbnail image to be selected by the selection instruction received by the input receiving unit 22 in a display form (square 53) that is different from that of thumbnail images that are not to be selected. The square 53 is an image that colors the thumbnail image with a rectangular image of a predetermined color (for example, blue).

[0028] Furthermore, the display control unit 212 displays an image CK1 showing a check mark on the setting item screen 71 in accordance with the content of the exceptional setting applied to the selected eighth page, in the item indicating the content set by this exceptional setting. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the content of the item "single-sided / double-sided" for setting the print side is set by the exceptional setting, and an image showing a check mark is displayed in the display location of the item "single-sided / double-sided". This indicates that the setting content of the item "single-sided / double-sided" on the eighth page has been changed by the exceptional setting from the content set in the general setting. In this example, it indicates that the print side setting of printing an image on the back side of the paper is applied to the eighth page as an exceptional setting.

[0029] When the display control unit 212 displays the exception setting screen and the setting item screen 71 in this manner, the control unit 211 sets or changes the content of each setting item for the exception setting of the selected page in accordance with an instruction input to the input receiving unit 22. As shown in Fig. 4, the display control unit 212 displays each item that can be set as an exception setting on the setting item screen 71.

[0030] When the user performs an operation to designate an item to be set and an operation to input the setting content for that item on the input receiving unit 22, and then performs a touch operation on the register button 82 to input a registration instruction to the input receiving unit 22, the control unit 211 applies the input setting content to the designated item as an exceptional setting for the selected page. If the content has already been set for the item to be set, the control unit 211 applies the input setting content to the newly designated item as an exceptional setting in place of the content already set. The display control unit 212 displays the content of the setting item of the exception setting thus applied on the setting item screen 71.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an exception settings screen when thumbnail images of multiple pages (pages 7 to 9) are selected. In FIG. 5, the exception settings are applied to pages 7 and 8 (circles are displayed under the thumbnail images), but the exception settings are not applied to page 9. In other words, the settings of the exception settings are different for pages 7 to 9. In such a case, the display control unit 212 determines the settings of the exception settings for pages 7 to 9, and displays an image 79 showing a minus sign in the check box for an item whose setting is different between the selected pages. Note that, as long as the user can visually recognize that the settings are different between the selected pages, other display formats may be used, such as using an image other than the image 79 showing a minus sign instead of the image 79 showing a minus sign.

[0032] In this way, when thumbnail images of multiple pages are selected and the contents of the exception settings applied to the pages indicated by the selected thumbnail images are different, an image 79 showing a minus sign or the like is displayed in the checkboxes of the setting items displayed on the setting item screen 71 for the items with different settings, so that the user can immediately know that the contents of the exception settings applied to each page are different.

[0033] When the exception settings screen shown in Figure 3 is displayed, if the input receiving unit 22 receives an invalid instruction based on a touch operation of the invalid button 72, the display control unit 212 displays a message 80 on the setting item screen 71, as shown in an example in Figure 6, to confirm that all exception settings set on each page are to be invalidated.

[0034] When the input acceptance unit 22 accepts an instruction to execute the invalidation process by operating button 75 by the user, the control unit 211 executes the invalidation process to invalidate all of the exception settings for all pages. When the input acceptance unit 22 accepts an instruction to not invalidate based on the operation of button 76, the control unit 211 does not execute the invalidation process, and the display control unit 212 displays the initial screen of the exception settings screen shown in Fig. 3. This invalidation process allows the user to easily cancel all of the exception settings.

[0035] 3 is displayed, when the input receiving unit 22 receives a search instruction based on a touch operation on the command button 73, the display control unit 212 causes a list of commands to be displayed on the setting item screen 71, as shown in the example of Fig. 7. That is, the command button 73 is a button for receiving a search instruction to display on the thumbnail screen 51 only thumbnail images of pages that satisfy the conditions indicated by the command.

[0036] Note that the commands displayed in the command list shown in FIG. 7 are merely examples. Of the commands, command 77 is a command requesting the selection of every two pages (every other page) in the range of pages 2 to 100. Furthermore, command 78 is a command requesting the selection of only the first page. The input receiving unit 22 receives a command input based on an operation by the user. The display control unit 212 displays the received command in the command list. Note that the storage unit 24 may store a plurality of types of commands in advance, and the control unit 211 may store commands input by the user operating the input receiving unit 22 in the storage unit 24. In accordance with an instruction from the user input to the input receiving unit 22, the control unit 211 may read the command indicated by the instruction from the storage unit 24, and the display control unit 212 may display the read command in the command list.

[0037] In the example of FIG. 7, when the input receiving unit 22 receives a command selection instruction based on a user's touch operation of command 77, the display control unit 212 displays command 77 in a display format indicating that command 77 is selected, in this case with a square 81 superimposed, as shown in the example of FIG. 8. The square 81 is an image that colors the command with a rectangular image of a predetermined color (e.g., blue). Furthermore, the control unit 211 extracts page numbers that satisfy the instructions indicated by command 77 in accordance with the content indicated by the selected command 77, and the display control unit 212 displays thumbnail images of the extracted page numbers in a selected state, i.e., in the display format at the time of selection described above. FIG. 8 shows a display example when pages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are selected.

[0038] Furthermore, the display control unit 212 displays each item that can be set as an exception setting, as shown in image 79. When the user performs an operation to specify an item to be set and an operation to input the setting content for that item on the input receiving unit 22, and then performs a touch operation on the register button 82 to input a registration instruction to the input receiving unit 22, the control unit 211 applies the input setting content to the specified item as an exception setting. For example, when reverse side printing is applied to the selected pages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, the display control unit 212 displays a check mark CK2 in the display portion of the “single-sided / double-sided” item for setting the print side on the setting item screen 71 of the exception setting screen, as shown in FIG. 8, and displays an image indicating that reverse side printing is set. As a result, when a print job has a large number of pages, by specifying multiple pages to which the exception setting is to be applied collectively using a command, multiple pages to which the exception setting is to be applied can be easily extracted, and the contents of the exception setting can be set collectively for these multiple pages.

[0039] Furthermore, the extract button 74 displayed on the setting item screen 71 of the exception settings screen is a button for instructing that only thumbnail images of pages to which the specified exception setting items are applied be displayed on the thumbnail screen 51. When an item display instruction is input to the input receiving unit 22 based on the user's touch operation on the extract button 74, the display control unit 212 causes an image showing the setting items of the exception settings to be displayed on the setting item screen 71, as shown in the example of Fig. 9. When the user performs an operation to specify an item to be extracted and an operation to specify the content of the item on the input receiving unit 22, and then performs a touch operation on the register button 84 to input an extraction instruction to the input receiving unit 22, the control unit 211 sets, as the extraction target, pages to which the specified setting content is applied for the specified item.

[0040] 9 shows, as an example, a case where the setting content "A5" is specified for the setting item "Paper Size." The control unit 211 extracts pages to which the A5 paper size is applied as an exception setting, and the display control unit 212 displays thumbnail images showing the extracted pages (pages 1, 4, and 5 in the case of FIG. 9) on the thumbnail screen 51. This allows the user to instantly know, from among multiple pages, which pages the specified setting item and setting content are applied as an exception setting.

[0041] As explained above, the display control unit 212 displays a list of thumbnail images of pages on the display unit 221, and also displays thumbnail images of pages to which exception settings have been applied with a circle or the like, so that the user can easily determine whether or not exception settings have been applied while looking at the page images.

[0042] Furthermore, when thumbnail images of multiple pages are selected on the thumbnail screen 51 and the contents of the exception settings applied to the pages indicated by the selected thumbnail images are different, an image 79 showing a minus sign or the like is displayed in the checkboxes of the setting items displayed on the setting item screen 71 that have different settings, allowing the user to immediately know that the contents of the exception settings applied to the pages are different.

[0043] Furthermore, when the disable button 72 is selected, the control unit 211 disables all of the exception settings applied to all pages, allowing the user to easily cancel all of the exception settings.

[0044] Also, if a print job contains a large number of pages, the desired pages can be easily extracted by specifying the pages using a command. Furthermore, by selecting the Extract button 74 and specifying an exception setting item, the user can immediately see the pages to which the exception setting for the specified item is applied.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Furthermore, the configuration and processing of the above embodiment described with reference to Figures 1 to 9 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to these configurations and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Printing System 2. Electronic devices 21 Control Unit 211 Control Unit 22 Input reception section 221 Display section 23 Communications Department 24 Memory section 241 Print Settings Program 3. Image forming device 31 Control Unit 311 Control Unit 32 Input reception section 321 Display section 33 Image forming unit 34 Storage section 35 Communications Department N Network

Claims

1. An electronic terminal that issues a print instruction to an image forming apparatus, A display unit; an input receiving unit that receives input from a user; a control unit that creates job settings for printing by applying overall settings indicating print settings for all pages included in the print data and exceptional settings indicating print settings for a predetermined page range in accordance with the instructions received by the input receiving unit; and a display control unit that displays the setting screen for the job setting on the display unit, the display control unit simultaneously displays, on the setting screen, a thumbnail screen displaying a list of thumbnail images of each page of the print data and a setting item screen displaying setting items of the exceptional setting; the display control unit displays the thumbnail image to be selected in response to the selection instruction received by the input receiving unit in a display format different from that of thumbnail images not to be selected; the control unit applies the contents of the setting items of the exception settings accepted by the input accepting unit to the page indicated by the thumbnail image that is the target of the selection; The display control unit displays the contents of the setting items of the exception settings on the setting item screen of the electronic terminal.

2. 2. The electronic terminal according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays, among the thumbnail images displayed on the thumbnail screen, thumbnail images of pages to which the exception setting is applied, with visually identifiable information attached thereto.

3. 2. The electronic terminal according to claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of thumbnail images are displayed in the display mode and different print settings are applied to each of the pages indicated by the plurality of thumbnail images, the display control unit displays, among the setting items of the exception settings displayed on the setting item screen, items for which the contents of the previous print settings differ for each of the pages, with visually identifiable information attached thereto.

4. the display control unit displays, on the setting item screen, a disable button for receiving a disable instruction for disabling all setting contents of the exceptional setting, The electronic terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when the input accepting unit accepts the invalidation instruction based on the operation of the invalidation button, the control unit invalidates all exception settings applied to pages included in the print data.

5. the display control unit causes the display unit to display command buttons; When the input acceptance unit accepts a selection input of the command button, the input acceptance unit accepts an input of an instruction command for extracting a desired page from all pages included in the print data; 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit extracts pages that satisfy the conditions indicated by the instruction command received by the input receiving unit, and the display control unit displays thumbnail images of the pages extracted by the control unit on the thumbnail screen in the display format.

6. the display control unit causes the display unit to display a page extraction button; 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein when the input accepting unit accepts a selection input of the page extraction button, the control unit extracts from the print data pages to which the selected item of the exception setting items displayed on the setting item screen is applied, and the display control unit displays thumbnail images of the pages extracted by the control unit in the display format on the thumbnail screen.

7. A print setting program executed on an electronic terminal that issues a print instruction to an image forming apparatus, a step of displaying a job setting screen on a display unit; a step of simultaneously displaying a thumbnail screen on the setting screen that displays a list of thumbnail images of each page of the print data and a setting item screen that displays setting items of the exceptional setting; a step of displaying, among the thumbnail images displayed on the thumbnail screen, thumbnail images of pages to which the exception setting is applied, with visually identifiable information attached thereto; a step of displaying the thumbnail image selected by the user in a selected state by the electronic terminal; A print setting program that causes a computer provided in the electronic terminal to execute a step in which the electronic terminal applies the contents of the exception settings entered by the user to the page indicated by the thumbnail image in the selected state.

Images