Information processing device, print preview method, and program

Abstract

The system appropriately previews the printed output regardless of the layout settings of the print content. [Solution] The information processing device acquires a label image created by printing on a printing medium, and when displaying a portion of the label image on a display unit, it includes a control unit that determines which portion of the label image will be displayed on the display unit according to the settings regarding the arrangement of the printed content on the printing medium.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosure of this specification relates to an information processing apparatus, a print preview method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technique that can address technical problems in preview display caused by the data volume of print data exceeding the capacity of the work area.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Technical problems related to preview display can occur not only due to the data volume of print data but also due to settings related to the layout of print content on the print medium. For example, since the length of the display unit is limited, when the ends of the images of all print results are aligned and displayed at a predetermined position on the display unit, depending on the layout settings of the print content, there is a possibility that the print content may not be displayed on the display unit. Based on the above circumstances, an object according to one aspect of the present invention is to provide a technique for appropriately previewing and displaying an image of a print result regardless of the layout settings of the print content.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention acquires an image of a print result created by printing on a print medium, and when displaying a partial area of the image of the print result on a display unit, includes a control unit that determines which area of the image of the print result is to be the partial area according to settings related to the layout of print content on the print medium.

[0006] A print preview method according to one aspect of the present invention involves a computer acquiring an image of a print result created by printing on a printing medium, and when displaying a portion of the image of the print result on a display unit, determining which portion of the image of the print result will be the portion, according to the settings for the arrangement of the printed content on the printing medium.

[0007] A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to acquire an image of a printed product created by printing on a printing medium, and to display a portion of the image of the printed product on a display unit, it executes a process to determine which portion of the image of the printed product should be the portion, according to the settings regarding the arrangement of the printed content on the printing medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the above embodiment, it is possible to provide a technology that appropriately previews the image of the printed result regardless of the layout settings of the printed content. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates the configuration of a system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This is an example of a label editing screen. [Figure 4] This is an example of the My Folders screen. [Figure 5] Here is another example of the My Folders screen. [Figure 6] This is an example of a flowchart for thumbnail display processing performed by an information processing device. [Figure 7] Figure 6 shows an example of the My Folders screen displayed by the thumbnail display process. [Figure 8]This is an example of the My Folder screen displayed by the thumbnail display processing related to the modified version. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described using as an example a system that includes a printing device 1, which is capable of printing characters, images, etc., onto a tape that is a printing medium, and cutting the printed tape (label) and ejecting it to the outside of the device, and an information processing device 100 on which an application that assists in the creation of the label (label creation support application) is operated. In the system shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 100 outputs print data including the print content to the printing device 1, and the printing device 1 prints the print content onto the tape to create a label with the print content printed on it.

[0011] In this specification, tape refers to a long, thin, strip-shaped printable medium made of plastic, paper, or any other material. Tape typically has an adhesive layer and is detachable; however, tape does not necessarily have an adhesive layer. A label, on the other hand, is a piece of tape used as a printable medium, on which some information has been printed.

[0012] The printing device 1 is, for example, a thermal printer that performs printing using a thermal transfer method or a heat-sensitive method. However, the printing method of the printing device 1 is not particularly limited. The printing device 1 is not limited to a thermal printer; it may also be an inkjet printer or a laser printer. The printing device 1 and the information processing device 100 exchange data, for example, by wireless communication, but the communication between the printing device 1 and the information processing device 100 is not limited to wireless communication; it may also be communication using a wired cable.

[0013] The information processing device 100 is a device that creates the print content to be printed on the label by the printing device 1 and transmits the print data, including the print content, to the printing device 1. It is a computer on which a label creation support application runs. The information processing device 100 is a mobile device such as a tablet, notebook computer, or smartphone on which the label creation support application runs. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 is not limited to a mobile device; it may also be a stationary device.

[0014] The information processing device 100 includes, for example, a processor 101, a storage device 102, an input device 103, a display device 104, and a communication device 105, as shown in Figure 2, and these may be connected via a bus. The processor 101 is an example of the control unit of the information processing device 100. The processor 101 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes the program 102a stored in the storage device 102. The processor 101 may also include any electrical circuit such as a GPU (Graphics processing unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The storage device 102 is a non-temporary computer-readable medium, such as any semiconductor memory. One or more storage devices 102 include volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory), or flash memory. The storage device 102 may also include magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, or other types of storage devices. It is desirable that the storage device 102 stores a program 102a and data 102b. The program 102a is, for example, an application that assists in label creation (label creation support application). The data 102b is, for example, the content of the print that has been created, the label image described later, etc. The input device 103 includes, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The input device 103 may further include an audio input device such as a microphone. The display device 104 is an example of the display unit of the information processing device 100, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. The communication device 105 is, for example, a device that exchanges data with the printing device 1 by wireless communication.

[0015] In the information processing device 100 of the system configured as described above, the processor 101 executes program 102a to create the print content to be printed on the tape, and also creates a label image, which is an image of the tape on which the print content has been printed. Specifically, the print content and label image are created by operating on the label editing screen shown in Figure 3. The label editing screen includes a label image editing area 210 and a label setting area 220. Area 212 of the label image editing area 210 displays a tape image of the length specified in area 211 (in this example, a fixed length of 50 mm), and by inputting information into that tape image, the print content is created within the tape image according to the settings in the label setting area 220. For example, according to the label orientation setting shown in area 221, the print content ("left alignment", "center", "right alignment", "top alignment") is created in either horizontal or vertical writing, and a label image including the print content and tape image is created. Furthermore, according to the arrangement settings shown in area 222 (hereinafter referred to as "arrangement settings"), print content is created at predetermined positions on the tape image, and a label image containing the print content and the tape image is created. The created print content and label image are stored in the storage device 102. The arrangement settings described above are an example of settings related to the arrangement of print content on the printing medium.

[0016] Furthermore, label images created on the label editing screen can be displayed as thumbnails in the My Folder screen. Specifically, when the processor 101 executes program 102a, thumbnails of already created label images are displayed in a list. In particular, the label image thumbnails can be displayed in a list by opening the My Folder screen shown in Figure 4. The My Folder screen includes a thumbnail display area 230, and within the thumbnail display area 230, thumbnails of created label images (thumbnails 231 to 234) are listed. The four thumbnails shown in Figure 4 are all thumbnails of label images with a fixed length of 50 mm, and are thumbnails of label images created with different placement settings. In these thumbnails, the printed content is placed in a position corresponding to the placement setting relative to the tape image.

[0017] By the way, when the tape length becomes long, the label image cannot fit within the thumbnail display area 230. That is, the thumbnail displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 shows only a part of the label image. In this case, if the position where the printed content is arranged within the label image according to the arrangement setting falls outside the area that can fit within the thumbnail display area 230, for example, like the thumbnail 242 shown in FIG. 5, the printed content (“right arrangement”) is not included in the thumbnail, and the original role of the thumbnail, which is to enable a quick view of the label image, cannot be fulfilled. FIG. 5 lists thumbnails of label images created by changing the tape length to 100 mm. In the thumbnail 242 corresponding to the label image created with the right arrangement setting among the four listed thumbnails (thumbnails 241 to 244), the printed content included in the label image protrudes from the thumbnail display area 230, and as a result, the printed content is not displayed. Note that the example shown in FIG. 5 is an example where the left end of the label image is aligned with a predetermined position in the thumbnail display area 230 and the label images are listed. However, the same phenomenon can occur even when the right end or the central part of the label image is aligned with a predetermined position in the thumbnail display area 230 and the label images are listed. For example, when the right end of the label image is aligned for display, the printed content within the label image created with the left arrangement or central arrangement settings may not be displayed in the thumbnail display area 230. When the central part of the label image is aligned for display, the printed content within the label image created with the left arrangement or right arrangement settings may not be displayed in the thumbnail display area 230.

[0018] The information processing apparatus 100 is configured to address the above problems. Hereinafter, a method for executing the label creation support application to list thumbnails of label images will be specifically described. Note that a label is an example of a printed result created by printing printed content on a printing medium. A label image is an example of an image of a printed result. The listing of thumbnails of label images is an example of a preview display of an image of a printed result, and the preview display means displaying the image of the printed result before actual printing.

[0019] When the processor 101 of the information processing apparatus 100 executes the program 102a and the user performs a predetermined operation to open the My Folder screen, the thumbnail display process shown in FIG. 6 is started. In the thumbnail display process shown in FIG. 6, the processor 101 first acquires the created label image stored in the storage device 102 (step S1), and determines whether the acquired label image is created with a fixed length and whether its length does not fit in the display unit (step S2). When the processor 101 determines in step S2 that the label image acquired in step S1 is created with a fixed length and its length does not fit in the thumbnail display area 230 (step S2 YES), the processor 101 further determines the arrangement setting of the label image acquired in step S1 (step S3). In the label creation support application according to the present embodiment, in the state where a fixed length is set, the arrangement setting can be selected from options such as right arrangement and left arrangement, whereas in the setting where a free length is set, the arrangement setting is fixed to left arrangement (or top arrangement). Therefore, the determination in step S2 corresponds to the determination of whether the label image with a length that does not fit in the display unit is created in a state where the arrangement setting is selectable. When the processor 101 determines in step S2 that the label image with a length that does not fit in the display unit is created in a state where the arrangement setting is selectable, the processor 101 further determines the arrangement setting in step S3.

[0020] Once the placement setting is determined, the processor 101 displays a thumbnail on the display unit so that, if the placement setting is left or top, the upstream end of the label image in the direction the tape is transported, or in other words, the upstream end of the label image in the writing direction, which is the portion where the print content is placed (step S4). Thumbnails 251 and 254 shown in Figure 7 are examples of thumbnails displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display processing in step S4, and are examples in which the upstream end of the label image is displayed at the left end of the thumbnail display area 230. Furthermore, if the placement setting is right or bottom, the processor 101 displays a thumbnail on the display unit so that, if the placement setting is right or bottom, the downstream end of the label image in the direction the tape is transported, or in other words, the downstream end of the label image in the writing direction, which is the portion where the print content is placed (step S5). The thumbnail 252 shown in Figure 7 is an example of a thumbnail displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display processing in step S5, in which the downstream end of the label image is displayed at the right edge of the thumbnail display area 230. Furthermore, if the placement setting is centered, the processor 101 displays the thumbnail on the display unit so that the central part of the label image in the direction in which the tape is transported, or in other words, the central part of the label image in the writing direction, which is the part where the print content is placed, is displayed (step S6). The thumbnail 253 shown in Figure 7 is an example of a thumbnail displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display processing in step S6, in which the central part of the label image is displayed in the center of the thumbnail display area 230.

[0021] In this way, the processor 101 displays a thumbnail of the label image on the display unit so that the area of ​​the label image corresponding to the placement setting, in other words, the area containing the print content, is displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 (steps S4, S5, and S6). On the other hand, if the processor 101 determines that the label image acquired in step S1 is not created with a fixed length, or that its length fits within the thumbnail display area 230 (step S2NO), it displays a thumbnail of that label image on the display unit so that the upstream end of the label image in the direction in which the tape is transported (the upstream end of the label image in the writing direction) is displayed, without determining the placement setting of the label image (step S4). In other words, when the processor 101 displays the entire label image on the display unit, it places the edge of the label image (for example, the upstream edge in the tape transport direction) at a reference position on the display unit that is not determined by the placement settings (for example, the left edge of the thumbnail display area 230). However, when it displays only a portion of the label image on the display unit, it determines which portion of the label image to display on the display unit according to the placement settings.

[0022] Subsequently, the processor 101 determines whether there are any label images in the storage device 102 that have not yet been acquired (step S7). If there are, it acquires the next label image from the storage device 102 (step S1) and repeats the processes from steps S2 to S7. The processor 101 repeats these processes until it determines in step S7 that there are no label images in the storage device 102 that have not yet been acquired, and the thumbnail display process shown in Figure 6 is completed.

[0023] As described above, the information processing device 100 can appropriately display a list of label images regardless of the layout settings of the printed content by performing the processing shown in Figure 6. More specifically, the processor 101 determines which area of ​​the label image to display on the display unit according to the layout settings, so that even if the entire label image cannot be displayed, the main information contained in the label image, which is the printed content, can be displayed. This makes it possible to understand the contents of the label from the printed content, thus avoiding situations where the printed content is not displayed and even minimal information cannot be obtained.

[0024] Furthermore, when the label image fits within the display area, the processor 101 positions the upstream end of the label image at the reference position, regardless of the placement settings, as shown in Figure 4. This allows for the unification of the placement of relatively short label images, which offer greater flexibility in length. As a result, even if label images of various lengths are created, they can be displayed in an aligned manner.

[0025] Furthermore, the processor 101 may align the edge of the portion of the label image that is displayed on the display unit with the edge that is placed at the reference position when the entire label image is displayed on the display unit, and may also place the edge of the portion of the label image at the reference position. This allows for a unified arrangement of label images even when there is a mix of label images that fit on the display unit and label images that do not fit on the display unit. Therefore, even if label images of various lengths are created, they can be displayed in an aligned manner.

[0026] The embodiments described above are provided as concrete examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but should be understood as encompassing various modifications and alternative forms of the embodiments described above. For example, it will be understood that the embodiments described above can be materialized by modifying the components without departing from the spirit thereof. It will also be understood that various embodiments can be implemented by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments described above. Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various embodiments can be implemented by deleting some components from all the components shown in the embodiments, or by adding some components to the components shown in the embodiments.

[0027] In the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which display according to the layout setting is performed when the label image does not fit in the display area and only a portion is displayed. However, instead of step S2 in the thumbnail display process shown in Figure 6, a step is performed to determine whether or not the label image was created with a fixed length, so that the display process according to the layout setting can be performed on a label image created with a fixed length regardless of whether or not the label image fits in the display area. Even with such a thumbnail display process, the printed content is displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 regardless of the arrangement of the printed content within the label image, i.e., the layout setting, so that the label images can be displayed in a list appropriately, and the user can easily visually grasp the layout setting set for the label image along with the printed content. In the thumbnail display process according to the modified example described above, thumbnails 261 and 264 shown in Figure 8 are examples of thumbnails displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display process in step S4, and are examples in which the upstream end of the label image is displayed at the left end of the thumbnail display area 230. The thumbnail 262 shown in Figure 8 is an example of a thumbnail displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display processing in step S5, in which the downstream end of the label image is displayed at the right edge of the thumbnail display area 230. The thumbnail 263 shown in Figure 8 is an example of a thumbnail displayed in the thumbnail display area 230 by the display processing in step S6, in which the central part of the label image is displayed in the center of the thumbnail display area 230.

[0028] In the embodiments described above, a method of displaying a list of label image thumbnails on the My Folder screen was given as an example of a print preview method, but the use of the print preview method is not limited to this example. For example, it may be used when displaying a preview of the label image immediately before selecting the print content to be printed and issuing a print command, and only one label image may be displayed. Furthermore, the tape used in the embodiments described above is not particularly limited, but for example, it may be a ribbon tape. Ribbon tape can be cut into relatively long strips and printed on the ends, and is particularly suitable as the target of display processing according to the arrangement settings described above.

[0029] In the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which information of the print content on the upstream side of the writing direction is printed on the upstream side of the tape transport direction. However, the relationship between the tape transport direction and the writing direction is not limited to this example. Information of the print content on the upstream side of the writing direction may also be printed on the downstream side of the tape transport direction.

[0030] In the embodiment described above, as a print preview method, when the label image does not fit on the display unit, the processor 101 determines which area of ​​the label image to display on the display unit according to the placement settings. However, the placement settings set for the label image may also be displayed near the label image. Such thumbnail display processing allows the user to easily grasp the placement settings set for the label image along with the print content. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0031] 100: Information processing device, 101: Processor, 104: Display device

Claims

1. The image of the printed result created by printing on the printing medium is acquired. When displaying a portion of the image of the printed result on the display unit, the system includes a control unit that determines which portion of the image of the printed result will be used as the portion, according to the settings for the placement of the printed content on the printing medium. Information processing device.

2. In the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, When the control unit displays the entire image of the printed product on the display unit, it positions the edges of the image of the printed product at a reference position on the display unit that is not determined by the setting. Information processing device.

3. Computers The image of the printed result created by printing on the printing medium is acquired. When displaying a portion of the image of the printed result on the display unit, the system determines which portion of the image of the printed result will be designated as the portion, according to the settings for the placement of the printed content on the printing medium. Print preview method.

4. On the computer, The image of the printed result created by printing on the printing medium is acquired. When displaying a portion of the image of the printed result on the display unit, the system determines which portion of the image of the printed result will be designated as the portion, according to the settings for the placement of the printed content on the printing medium. A program that executes a process.

Images