Information processing device and program, page layout method

Abstract

Regardless of the starting position of the drawing, the entire drawing area will be printed without any cut-offs. [Solution] The information processing device determines whether or not to remove the margins from a page of interest included in the data to be processed. For pages of interest determined to be subject to margin removal, a first reference position is set as the reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet, which is at or inside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet, and the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, is placed based on the first reference position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and a page arrangement method that can delete unnecessary margins of printed matter and save the paper used.

Background Art

[0002] Job submission software that handles multiple print jobs efficiently executes and prints many jobs. When outputting multiple print files, the output sizes may be different for each print file. In such a case, it is also required to easily print them together on output paper corresponding to each size. The types of output are also various. In the case of a large-format printer, there are outputs such as drawings, posters, and photos. Job submission software needs to be able to efficiently output these different outputs mainly from roll paper.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a method is shown in which image data is moved so that the image formation start position from which the input upper margin and the input left margin of the image data are removed coincides with the origin of the image data area set in advance on the recording medium. As a result, the upper and left margins included in the original image data are deleted from the image formed in the image data area. However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, depending on the set margin value that determines the origin of the image data area, that is, depending on the origin position of the image data area, a part of the image data is arranged in a portion (print margin) that exceeds the print range where image formation is performed, and there is a problem that a part of the image is missing and printed.

[0005] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide an image output device, an information processing device, and a program that save paper by removing unnecessary margins from printed materials and prevent the loss of drawing areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, according to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing device for arranging pages of a print job to be printed by an image output device, A determination means for determining whether or not to remove margins from a page of interest included in the data to be processed, Regarding the aforementioned page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, Positioning means that sets the reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet to a first reference position which is at or inside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet, The system includes a positioning means for positioning the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, relative to the first reference position. An information processing device characterized by the above is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, unnecessary margins in printed materials can be removed to save paper, and the loss of image areas can be prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of the hardware configuration of the PC100 and the image output device 101. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of the display screen of an application that performs printing. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of print settings information included in a print job. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates an example of a workflow where a printing application creates a print job that saves paper by removing margins. [Figure 5]This diagram shows an example of a diagram illustrating the layout of drawing areas for each output size. [Figure 6] This diagram shows an example of a schematic representation of the colored rectangular region S406. [Figure 7] This diagram shows an example of saving paper by removing margins. [Figure 8] Figure showing an example of paper saving by removing margins in Embodiment 2. [Figure 9] This diagram shows an example of a workflow in Embodiment 2 where a printing application creates a print job that saves paper by removing margins. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. While the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any way. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, identical or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> ● System Configuration First, the system configuration according to this embodiment will be described. The system according to this embodiment consists of a PC 100 on which the printing application program shown in Figure 1 is installed, and one or more image output devices 101. These are connected via bus communication such as USB or network communication. The printing application program is sometimes referred to as job submission software or printing application.

[0011] Figure 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a personal computer (PC) 100 and an image output device 101 that constitute an image output system. The PC 100 is sometimes called an information processing device, and the image output device 101 is sometimes called an image forming device, printer, or printer device.

[0012] First, the image output device 101 will be described. The image output device 101 is controlled by the CPU 130. The CPU 130 is sometimes called the processing unit or control unit. The CPU 130 operates based on programs stored in the program ROM of ROM 131, or programs stored in the external memory 138. These programs include printing applications. The CPU 130 outputs an image signal as output information to the printing unit 137, which is connected to the printing unit interface (I / F) 135 via the system bus 133. The CPU 130 is capable of communication processing with the PC 100 via the input unit 134 and can notify the group of PCs of information within the image output device 101. The CPU 130 can also receive output data to be output to the printing unit 137 via the input unit 134. The input unit 134 may be a communication I / F (i.e., a communication unit) such as a LAN, and is connected to the communication network 102 to which the PC 100 is also connected. The input unit 134 may also output signals to communication partners such as the PC 100. RAM 132 is a memory that functions as the main memory and work area of ​​the CPU 130, and its memory capacity can be expanded by optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). RAM 132 is used for output information expansion area, environment data storage area, non-volatile memory, etc. External memory 138 such as hard disk (HDD) and IC card is accessed by the memory controller 136. External memory 138 can be connected as an option and stores font data, emulation programs, form data, information about paper registered in the image output device, and the aforementioned paper attribute information. The operation unit 139 is equipped with an operation panel that can display various information such as the user interface screen shown in Figure 2 and accepts user input.

[0013] Next, the PC 100 will be described. The interior of the computer 117 has a CPU 110, a ROM 111, a RAM 112, a keyboard controller 114, a display controller 115, a disk controller 116, and a communication I / F 121. The CPU 110 may read a control program or the like from the ROM 111. The CPU 110 may be a dedicated circuit such as an ASIC. The CPU 110 and dedicated circuits are examples of hardware circuits or hardware processors. Similar to the CPU 100, the CPU 110 may also be called a processing unit or a control unit. The disk controller 116 controls access to an external memory 120 such as an HD, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a USB. The RAM 112 is configured so that its capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM or the like (not shown), and is mainly a memory used as a work area for the CPU 110. The keyboard controller 114 controls key inputs from a keyboard 118 and a pointing device (not shown). The display controller 115 controls the display of a display 119. The communication I / F 121 controls communication with an external device that can communicate by being connected to a communication network 102. In the embodiment of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the CPU 110 controls each part connected to the main bus 113 via the main bus 113.

[0014] ● Display screen and print settings by the print application FIG. 2 shows an example of a display screen displayed when a print application installed in the PC 100 is executed. On the main screen 200 of the print application, in the file display section 201, the name of the output data file to be printed (referred to as the print target file) and the page configuration are displayed. The print target file may be selected as a parameter when the print application is executed, or may be selected by the user specifying the file name in the file display section 201. The selection of the print target file may, for example, display the file names of the files stored in a predetermined folder as candidates in a pop-up or the like, and allow selection therefrom.

[0015] The preview display unit 202 refers to the content of each page that displays the print preview for each page of the selected print target file displayed in the file display unit 201 as an image or a document, and the data thereof as image data or document data. The page included in the document data is called a document page, and the corresponding data is called document page data. Also, in the image output device designation unit 203, the image output device to which the print job is to be sent can be selected, and the name of the selected image output device is displayed. In the print settings unit 204, each item of print settings can be selected, for example, from a list of options, and the selected various print setting items are displayed. The print settings designation unit 204 includes an output size designation unit 207 for setting the output size, a rotation designation unit 208 for designating the rotation of the document, a margin deletion designation unit 209 for designating the deletion of unnecessary margins of the printed matter, and the like. Examples of the setting values set for each setting item are as shown in FIG. 3 described later. When the user operates and changes the print settings unit 204, the preview display unit 202 displays a preview in which the changed print settings are applied to the print target file. One page or a plurality of pages are simultaneously displayed on the preview display unit 202, and for the preview of pages that cannot be completely displayed, they can be displayed by page forward buttons or page back buttons (not shown). Thus, the user can confirm as a preview the output on the paper surface of the image output device 203 according to the print settings, and printing failures can be suppressed.

[0016] The print button 205 is a button for instructing the start of printing. In response to the pressing of the print button 205, the CPU 110 creates a print job including print setting information from the print target file according to the print settings specified in the print settings unit 204, and transmits the created print job to the image output device indicated by the image output device 203. Note that the pressing of the button corresponds to, for example, a click operation or a tap operation on the button displayed on the display panel. The print settings 204 displayed in the user interface of FIG. 2 are temporarily saved and referred to in the procedure of FIG. 4 and the like. Also, in response to the pressing of the print button 205, those print settings are saved as the print setting information illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0017] Figure 3 shows an example of print setting information 300 included in a print job created by the CPU 110, which is executed by the CPU 110 when the user presses the print button 205. Although Figure 3 shows print setting information for multiple jobs, the print setting information created in response to a single print command may be for only one job, and this may be additionally recorded in the print setting information 300. The print setting information 300 includes the ID 301, which is the identification information of the print job, the printer name 302, which indicates the output device to which the image will be output, the paper feed slot 303, the paper width 304 set for the paper feed slot 303, the output size 305, the rotation setting 306, the margin removal setting 307, etc. In addition to the print setting information shown in Figure 3, other print setting information may be added to the print setting information 300, and some of the print settings shown here may be omitted. When a file to be printed is selected and a print command is issued, the print setting information 300 shown in Figure 3 is created, so although not shown, the name of the file to be printed and the identification information of the print job may be linked.

[0018] In Figure 3, the printer name 302 records and retains the value set in the image output device specification unit 203 included in the main screen 200 of Figure 2. The paper feed slot 303 and paper width 304 may be set in an unshown input field included in the print settings unit 204 of the main screen 200 of Figure 2. The output size setting 305, rotation setting 306, and margin removal setting 307 each record and retain the values ​​set in the output size specification unit 207, rotation specification unit 208, and margin removal specification unit 209 shown in the print settings unit 204. The rotation setting 306 can be set to, for example, "Automatic," which allows the printing application to rotate the image as appropriate, or to a specified rotation angle. The allowed rotation angle may be only 0 degrees or 90 degrees, or it may be a multiple of 90 degrees. The margin removal setting 307 can be set to either "On," which performs margin removal processing, or "Off," which does not perform margin removal processing.

[0019] In this way, the print settings information 300 contains settings such as paper width, output size, image rotation, and margin removal for each print job.

[0020] ● Definitions of print margins, etc. Here, we will explain the terms used in this embodiment, such as "print margin." Print margins are provided to prevent image loss or degradation of image quality, such as at the edges of the output paper, which may occur due to the functional limitations of the printer. Print margins are set for each printer, for example, and are provided to prevent the defects in the print results described above. Print margins refer to the minimum margin required for the original page, which is set due to the limitations of the printer's functions, etc. The print margin is excluded from the page to be printed, and the remaining portion is placed on the output paper. Therefore, for example, the printing application sends the remaining portion of a single original page, excluding the print margin, to the printer as that page, and the printer prints the received page while ensuring a print margin around it.

[0021] In Preview 202, the original page or the page with the margins removed is placed on the output paper, and the portion corresponding to the print margin may be displayed in a way that allows it to be identified, for example, by a specific color. The area corresponding to the print margin is placed on the output paper in the preview display, but as described above, it is not sent to the printer and is not printed.

[0022] Furthermore, in this embodiment, "margin" is used as a concept distinct from the print margin. A margin is the white space included in the original page, and is sometimes called the "in-page margin" or simply "white space." When arranging the original pages, if a margin larger than the print margin is not provided on the original page, a portion of the original page may overlap with the print margin and not be printed.

[0023] Print margins are pre-set depending on the type of printer, i.e., the image output device, and the printing application can obtain the print margins from the printer. Alternatively, the user may set the print margins in the printing application. In the procedures shown in Figures 4 and 9 described later, the print margins obtained in this way are referenced.

[0024] Margins are set along each of the top, bottom, left, and right edges, and print margins may also be determined according to each edge. Therefore, when specifying the edges to which they apply, they are sometimes referred to as top, bottom, left, and right, for example, top margin, left margin, etc.

[0025] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the original data is laid out based on its top and left edges. The top edge is the edge that is transported when the printer forms the image, and the left edge refers to the perpendicular edge to the left of the top edge. The intersection of the top and left edges of the sheet set as the output paper (output sheet) is called the paper origin. In addition, the intersection of the top and left edges of the output sheet, shifted inward by the amount of the print margin from each edge, is called the print margin origin. The area of ​​the set output sheet excluding the print margin is called the print area or image formation area. Since the intersection of the top and left edges of the print area is the print margin origin, the print margin origin is sometimes also called the print area origin or image formation area origin.

[0026] When placing original pages or pages with margins removed from original pages onto an output sheet, the pages are positioned in the print area so that each side of the page is parallel to the respective side of the output sheet. At this time, the original data is positioned so that the point where the top and left edges of the original data intersect (referred to as the original data origin) coincides with the print area origin or the paper origin. Which origin to align with can be set for each job or page, for example, and in this embodiment, this setting is called the page placement mode. Original pages may have their margins removed using a procedure such as that shown in Figure 4, but even for pages with removed margins, the point where the top and left edges intersect is still referred to as the original data origin.

[0027] Arranging the document data using a printing application means determining how to arrange the document pages on the output sheet. For example, the result is displayed in the preview area of ​​the UI provided by the printing application, as exemplified in Figure 2. The final determined arrangement of the document pages and print settings are included as information in the print job generated by the printing application, and that print job is sent to the printer and executed, with each page printed according to its arrangement and print settings.

[0028] ● Margin removal and rotation processing by the printing application Figure 4 shows an example of a flow in which a part of the layout processing performed by a printing application is executed, specifically the flow in which the CPU 110 executes the printing application and creates a paper-saving print job in ROM 111 or RAM 112 by removing margins. This flow starts when the user presses the print button 205, causing the CPU 110 to start creating the print job, or when the CPU 110 redraws the preview display unit 202. The timing of redrawing the preview display unit 202 includes when any of the print settings 204 that affect the preview are changed. The procedure in Figure 4 is realized when the CPU 110 loads a program, such as a printing application, from external memory 120 to RAM 112 and executes it.

[0029] First, in S400, CPU110 determines whether the margin removal setting 303 is enabled for the file to be printed, that is, whether the margin removal setting is enabled or not. If it is determined that the margin removal setting is enabled, it proceeds to S401; otherwise, it terminates the process.

[0030] In this flowchart, steps S401 to S409 are performed on a file-by-file or page-by-page basis. In this example, a print job is associated with a single print data file by its identification number, and it is assumed that the print data file contains one or more pages. Note that one page of data may be in one file, and one or more files may constitute one job. The process in Figure 4 is repeated by the CPU 110 for the print data file selected by the file display unit 201 until the selected pages within that file have been processed. When a file to be printed is selected and execution is instructed, the print settings 204 in Figure 2, such as output size settings 207, rotation settings 208, and margin removal settings 209, are referenced.

[0031] In S401, CPU 110 determines if there are any unprocessed pages in the file to be printed. If there are, it focuses on those pages; otherwise, it terminates the process. The layout of each file or page may be, for example, as shown in layout 701 or 702 in Figure 7. When printing on roll paper, the printing unit 137 cuts the paper for each page, so subsequent pages are laid out based on the same determination.

[0032] In S402, CPU110 determines whether the file or page of interest is suitable for margin removal. The margins to be removed are the blank areas around the drawing area where text or image graphics are drawn, i.e., the margins within the document. For example, if S402 determines that the page (file) of interest is a drawing file (drawing data), it can be determined that margins are not necessary for drawings and therefore it can be determined that the margins should be removed. On the other hand, if the page of interest is an image data file, since the printed material is often a photograph or graphic art, it is not always appropriate to remove the margins even if they exist. Therefore, image data files can be determined to be exempt from margin removal. This is because photographs and graphic art designs are sometimes composed with margins included in the work.

[0033] A drawing file can be determined based on whether it is a file format commonly used for drawing output. For example, it can be determined that the page in question is a drawing file based on whether it is a PDF file, an HPGL / 2 file, or a format used as a save file for other drawing output applications. Alternatively, if the setting for margin removal 307 is "automatic," the determination can be made by performing the determination, and if margin removal 307 is on, the margins can always be removed. On the other hand, image data can be determined based on whether it is a file format used for saving image data such as JPEG or TIFF, or for saving output data from other graphic design applications. In both cases, the format can be identified by the file name (especially the extension), so the determination in S401 can be made based on the file name of the file in question. Furthermore, it is also possible to determine whether the file in question is a drawing file or an image file, and if it is neither, it is determined to be the other type of file. In addition, other criteria besides those mentioned above may be used as the criteria for determination in S402. If the result of the determination in S402 is Yes, that is, if it is subject to margin removal, proceed to S403; if it is No, the margin removal process is not performed, and proceed to S408.

[0034] Note that S402 assumes that each page printed in a print job is a separate file, but in the case of PDFs, multiple pages may be included in a single file. In such file structures, S402 may determine the type of file containing the page of interest. For example, in Figure 2, the file to be printed is a PDF file called Drawing1.pdf, which contains pages 1 through 10. In such a case, S402 may determine whether each page in the file to be printed is subject to margin removal based on the file name of the file to be printed.

[0035] In S403, the CPU 110 determines whether the page layout mode is the paper origin mode. Page layout modes include the paper origin mode, which aligns the original page origin with the paper origin, and the margin mode, which aligns the original page origin with the print area origin. In this embodiment, the page layout mode is determined according to the output size set for the file to be printed or the original page. In paper origin mode, pages, or original pages excluding the margins within the original document, are arranged so that their original page origin aligns with the paper origin. In margin mode, on the other hand, pages, or original pages excluding the margins within the original document, are arranged so that their original page origin aligns with the print area origin. In S403, it is determined whether this page layout mode is the paper origin mode. If it is determined in S403 that it is the paper origin mode, the process proceeds to S404; otherwise, it proceeds to S405.

[0036] It should be noted that terms such as page layout mode, paper origin mode, and margin mode are merely for convenience, and such modes do not necessarily have to be used in the printing application. For example, if the page layout mode is determined by the output sheet settings, then the page layout mode can be the output sheet settings themselves. In that case, the paper origin mode and margin mode are the way pages are arranged, determined by the output sheet settings.

[0037] The differences due to variations in the print start position are explained in Figure 5. When the output size 207 of the file to be printed is "same as original size," "half size" (50% reduction), or "scale," the paper origin mode is used. In these cases, S403 determines it to be Yes, and the process proceeds to S404. Note that the page layout mode may be allowed to be specified directly by the user. If "fit to roll paper" or "fit to paper size" is selected as the setting for output size 207, the page layout mode becomes margin mode, in which case S403 determines it to be No, and the process proceeds to S405. Thus, the determination in S403 is based on the output size. Therefore, S403 may determine whether the output size 207 of the file to be printed is "same as original size," "half size," or "scale" (not shown), or none of these. "Same as original size," "half size," or "scale" are output sizes based on the original size, and if one of these is set as the output size, the process branches to S404. On the other hand, if an output size based on paper size is set, such as "Fit to roll paper" or "Fit to paper size," the process branches to S406.

[0038] In S404, the CPU 110 changes the print start position of the original page or the original data with margins removed, i.e., the original page origin, from the paper origin to the print area origin inside the paper beyond the print margin, as shown in the layout (after origin shift) 504 in Figure 5. The print area origin is sometimes called the first reference position. The first reference position may also be even further inside than the print area origin. In this way, the processing in S403 and S404 determines the reference position for placing the original data (original page) with margins removed.

[0039] In S405, the CPU 110 identifies the margins in at least one direction (top, bottom, left, or right) from the original data of the page of interest and obtains a colored rectangular area within the page, which is the smallest rectangular region remaining after removing those margins. As explained in Figure 6, the colored rectangular area is the smallest bounding rectangle that encloses all drawing objects present on the page, and there is one such area per page. This colored rectangular area constitutes the page after the margins have been removed from the original page.

[0040] In S406, CPU110 sets the acquired colored rectangular area as the drawing area (or print area) on that page.

[0041] In S407, the CPU 110 positions the page after margin removal (i.e., the drawing area) so that the origin of the drawing area set in S406, i.e., the origin of the original page, is the origin position determined in S403 and S404. Figure 7 schematically shows the result of processing S402 to S407 on original page 700, which is one page of the original data, as shown in the layout 701 after margin removal. It can be seen that the margins, i.e., the margins within the original, have been removed, saving the area of ​​paper used. In addition, the print margins are secured, so no loss of print occurs in the printed image.

[0042] In S408, the CPU 110 determines whether rotating the drawing area reduces the amount of paper used. When printing on roll paper, the paper is cut to match the printed size, so the shorter the length in the transport direction, the less paper is consumed. Therefore, the determination is made by comparing the amount of paper used (sheet area) when the drawing area is not rotated and when it is rotated 90 degrees. Here, an example of paper area is given, but other methods such as comparing the margin area outside the drawing area are also conceivable. Alternatively, the length of the page of interest can be compared vertically (in the transport direction) and horizontally (in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction), and if the vertical length is longer and the page fits within the output width after rotation, it can be determined that paper can be saved by rotating the page of interest 90 degrees. In this embodiment, a rotation determination is made, but it is not necessary to make a determination to perform rotation. If it is determined that no paper can be saved even if rotated, that is, if the amount of paper used is less when not rotated, the process returns to S401. In S401, if there are any unprocessed files or pages to be processed, the process is repeated from S402. On the other hand, if it is determined that rotating by 90 degrees will save paper, that is, if rotating by 90 degrees results in less paper being used, proceed to S409.

[0043] In S409, CPU 110 rotates the drawing area, which is the original page with margins removed, by 90 degrees and places it. After S409, the process returns to S401. Figure 7 shows layout 702, which is the layout rotated after margin removal, schematically illustrating the processes of S408 and S409. The direction of rotation may be determined according to post-processing methods such as binding and packaging, or according to other criteria. The rotated original data is positioned so that the origin of the new original data coincides with the origin of the print area.

[0044] If, in S401, the page of interest is not determined to be subject to margin removal, the process branches to S408. If rotating the original page would save paper, the original page is rotated in S409. In S409, the CPU 110 uses the original data of the page of interest as the drawing area and positions it so that the origin of the original data aligns with the origin according to the page layout mode. In this case, no margins are removed, and the page is not rotated. However, if the page layout mode is paper origin mode, the reference point for placement is the paper origin, and if the page layout mode is margin mode, the reference point for placement is the print area origin.

[0045] As described above, in the procedure shown in Figure 4, if margin removal is set and the page is subject to margin removal, the drawing area (colored rectangular area) obtained by removing the margins from the page of interest is placed on the print page. In this case, if the reference point for placing the drawing area is the paper origin, the new origin is set to the paper origin plus a margin. The amount of margin added may be the margin set at that time, or the minimum value of the margin, i.e., the print margin. This prevents the situation where part of the image to be printed is cut off due to the lack of margins for printing. Furthermore, if rotating the drawing area would save more paper, the drawing area is rotated before placement. This further saves paper.

[0046] In this way, the print settings for the page of interest are configured according to the procedure in Figure 4, and once the page layout is performed according to those print settings, a preview image corresponding to those settings is displayed in the preview unit 202. Information such as the margin removal and rotation of each original page and their layout is saved and, along with the print setting information 300 in Figure 3, is sent to the image forming apparatus 101 as part of the print job in response to a print command. The saved and transmitted information includes, for example, the position (or way of arranging) of the drawing area according to the change mode made in S404 of Figure 4.

[0047] In the procedure shown in Figure 4, a preview of the page of interest, which is the result of the processing, may be displayed for each page of interest. If the user gives an instruction, for example, to proceed to the next page, the processing for the next page may then be initiated.

[0048] ● Changing the print start position using the procedure shown in Figure 4 Referring to Figure 5, the details of the process by which CPU 110 changes the print start position according to the output size setting of 305 will be explained. The reason for changing the print start position is that the conditions requested by the user differ depending on the output output of the printing application.

[0049] When the output is a drawing, the output size is strictly determined by the country and industry. For example, drawings of small houses may be A1 size, while those of large structures may be A0 size. Furthermore, the scale of the drawing is determined by standards (JIS in Japan, for example), and accurate scaling is a necessary condition for drawings. Therefore, when a user outputs a drawing, output size 305 is selected as "same as original size," "half size" (50% reduction), or a scale that is an integer multiple or fraction of the original size. At the same time, in order to guarantee the output size relative to the original size, the original data is positioned on the paper so that the origin of the original data and the paper origin coincide. Layout 1 (500) with margin removal off schematically illustrates this.

[0050] With this layout method, the edges of the original data and the print margins of the image output device (printer) overlap, and that portion is not printed. Therefore, if there is not a margin larger than the print margins of the image output device around the original data, there is a problem in that part of the original data will be cut off. However, in most cases, this is not a problem because most drawing formats have sufficient margins on all sides.

[0051] On the other hand, when the output is a photograph or poster, the scale specification is not always precise, and there is often no margin around the original data. Therefore, it is desirable to place the original data inside the print margin of the image output device and adjust it to the user's desired output size. Thus, when the user selects "Fit to Roll Paper" or "Fit to Paper Size" for output size 305, the original data is placed inside the print margin, i.e., within the print area. (Figure 5 schematically illustrates this with layout 2 (501) with print deletion turned off.) Next, we will explain the layout after the margin removal process. When the output size 305 is "same as original size," "half size," or "scale" (Yes in S403), removing the margins to match the original size and the paper origin results in some of the original data being lost, causing image cropping. This is shown in Layout 1 (502) after margin removal in Figure 5. To resolve this problem, the print start origin of the original data is placed inside the paper (print area) beyond the print margin, as shown in Layout (after origin shift) 504 after margin removal (processing in S404).

[0052] If the output size 305 is not based on the original document size, for example, if "Fit to roll paper" or "Fit to paper size" is selected, the original document data will be placed within the set print margins. Therefore, no image cropping occurs, and the origin is not shifted. This example is shown in Layout 2 (503) after margin removal processing in Figure 5.

[0053] Figure 6 illustrates the details of the colored rectangular area in S405. The colored rectangular area 602 indicates the rectangular area in the original page data 600 where the drawing object 601 exists. The drawing object 601 can be text, graphics, image data, etc. The colored rectangular area 602 is defined as the area enclosed by scanning from the edge of each side of the original page data 600, at least one side (top, bottom, left, or right), until the area where the object to be drawn first appears. If the original page data is a dot image, for example, one line at a time may be scanned. Alternatively, if the original page data is data that defines the position of an object, the point closest to each side may be determined from the position and spread of the object. The area outside the colored rectangular area can be considered a margin area because there is no object to be drawn there, and paper can be saved by removing this margin area. This method is formed using a technique similar to that shown in Figure 6 of Patent Document 1, which illustrates an example of the starting position for image formation by a conventional image forming apparatus, but other methods may be used.

[0054] In this way, print data is created by laying out the original data for each page of the file to be printed, and a print job is generated to execute this print data on the image output device. This print job is sent from the PC 100 to the image output device 101, executed, and printed materials according to the created print data are output by the image output device 101.

[0055] As explained above, in this embodiment, when margin removal is enabled, each original page to be printed is examined, and it is determined from the file type (specifically the file extension) whether it is subject to margin removal. If it is subject to removal, it is determined, based on its output size, whether the image formation start position should be the paper origin or the printable area origin. If it is determined that the image formation start position should be the paper origin, the image start position is moved to the printable area origin. After that, the original page with the margins removed is positioned so that the origin of the original page becomes the image formation start position. In this series of processes, S400-S402 is a determination process that determines whether or not the page of interest included in the data to be processed is subject to margin removal. S403-S404 is a positioning process for the page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, where the first reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet is a position that is either within or outside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet. Furthermore, steps S405-S407 can be described as a positioning process in which, for the page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, is positioned relative to the first reference position.

[0056] This process ensures that even when margins are removed, no portion of the original data remains unprinted due to print margins. Furthermore, removing margins reduces wasted printing material, improving utilization efficiency. Additionally, the system determines whether rotating each page by 90 degrees would improve printing efficiency; if so, the page is rotated and positioned accordingly. These measures further reduce wasted printing material and improve utilization efficiency.

[0057] In the embodiments described above, even when printing documents with different output sizes and print start origins in a batch, a margin removal function is provided that eliminates the problem of missing drawing objects without requiring individual settings changes.

[0058] <Embodiment 2> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in Embodiment 1, as shown in the layout after margin removal processing (after origin movement) (504) in Figure 5, an example was shown in which the print start origin is placed inside the printer's print margin. However, for example, if there is no margin to remove, or if it is very small, the processing of the layout after margin removal processing (after origin movement) (504) may cause the drawing object 601 to extend beyond the edge of the paper, resulting in that portion being cut off.

[0059] Figures 8 and 9 illustrate how to solve such problems. In Figure 8, layout 801 after margin removal is the same as layout 701 after margin removal shown in Figure 7. That is, the margins included in the original data are removed, and the original data without margins is laid out so that its origin coincides with the print area origin. Therefore, separate from the removed margins, the original data is positioned inward on the paper by the amount of the set print margin.

[0060] Layout 802 (borderless mode) after margin removal shows a layout where the print margins have been reduced by changing the output mode to borderless mode compared to layout 801 after margin removal, and the original data has been moved inside the reduced print margin (towards the print area). The output mode to be changed does not have to be borderless mode; for example, any mode that reduces the amount of margins will suffice.

[0061] Borderless mode is a printing mode that eliminates the margins surrounding the original document data, printing the data so that it fills the entire output sheet. In borderless mode, the original document data is slightly enlarged and printed so that it slightly extends beyond the edges of the output sheet. Therefore, in borderless mode, the area of ​​the print margin where an image should not be placed and which is not printed by the image forming apparatus becomes part of the printed area. In borderless mode, the print margins are also processed to form an image. Some printers can be set to borderless mode, while others cannot, but this embodiment assumes the use of a printer that supports borderless mode.

[0062] Figure 9 is a flowchart schematically showing the process in Figure 8. The same reference numerals are used for the same steps as in Figure 4, from S400 to S411. Figure 9 differs from the process in Figure 4 in that S901 and S902 are inserted between S406 and S407. Therefore, the same processes as in Figure 4 are omitted, and S901 and S902 will be explained.

[0063] In S901, CPU 110 compares the shift amount of the origin position identified in S404 (a shift amount equivalent to the print margin) with the margin amount identified in S405. The margin amount identified in S405 is explained in more detail in Figure 6. The comparison in S901 is performed in both the vertical and horizontal directions, and if the shift amount, i.e., the print margin, is larger in at least one direction, it can be determined that the print margin is larger than the margin removal amount. If the shift amount of the origin position, i.e., the print margin, is larger, the process proceeds to S902. If the removed margin is larger, the drawing object 601 will not be cut off, and therefore there is no need to transition to borderless mode, so the process proceeds to S407.

[0064] In S902, CPU110 changes the print mode from bordered mode to borderless mode or a mode that reduces the margin amount, and then proceeds to S2108.

[0065] To aid understanding, a concrete example of the processing from S901 to S902 is given. As an example in S901, if the output mode of the image output device is bordered mode, and the print margins are 5 mm on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right), then the drawable area of ​​the image processing device (the same as the printable area) is the range from the top-left origin (5 mm to the right and 5 mm down from the top-left of the paper) to the bottom-right of the paper (5 mm to the left from the right edge of the paper and 5 mm up from the bottom edge). On the other hand, in Figure 6, for example, the distance of the margin to be deleted from the left edge to the drawing data is 20 mm, and similarly the top, bottom, and right edges are 30 mm, 80 mm, and 50 mm, respectively. In that case, comparing the print margin with the amount of margin deletion on all sides, all are larger than the printer margins, so it is determined that the drawing area will not be partially cut off by extending beyond the paper, and the process proceeds to S407.

[0066] In another example, consider an image output device with a bordered output mode, where the print margins are 5mm on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right), and the margin to be removed is 1mm from the left edge, and similarly, the top, bottom, and right margins are 30mm, 0mm, and 2mm respectively. In this case, comparing the print margins with the amount of margin removal on all sides, the print margins will be larger on the left, bottom, and right. If the print margin is larger in at least one direction, the drawing area may be cut off.

[0067] For example, in the above example, if the margins are removed and the remaining colored rectangular area is shifted 5mm to the right of the left edge of the output sheet to match the print margin, the 1mm margin on the left edge before margin removal is shifted 4mm further to the right. As a result, the 2mm margin on the right edge of the colored rectangular area extends 2mm further to the right than the unchanging margin on the output sheet. In this way, if the print margin is secured based on the top and left edges, the print margin may not be secured on the other edge. S901 determines whether or not this is the case. If it is, the process proceeds to S902 to avoid the image being cut off. In S902, the print mode is changed to borderless mode. In borderless mode, the set margins are reset to 0mm on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right). Therefore, in this case, the origin position also shifts by 0mm, and the print start position becomes the paper origin. In borderless mode, the image will be included within the print margins, but printers that support borderless mode will print without adding any print margins in borderless mode.

[0068] As a result, the drawing area, i.e., the colored rectangular area, will not be partially missing. While it is common practice to slightly enlarge the drawing size in borderless printing mode, in this embodiment, the scaling factor is maintained. However, it is not always necessary to set the margin to 0mm; a small margin, such as 0.2mm, may be set. This prevents problems caused by paper transport errors (paper skew) in the image processing device.

[0069] From S407 onward, the process is the same as described in Figure 4, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0070] In this way, the print settings for the page of interest are configured according to the procedure shown in Figure 9, and once the page layout is determined according to those print settings, a preview image corresponding to those settings is displayed in the preview unit 202. Information such as the margins removed and rotated original pages and their layout is also saved and, along with the print setting information 300 shown in Figure 3, is sent to the image forming apparatus 101 as part of the print job in response to a print command.

[0071] In the embodiments described above, even when the amount of margin removal is small and attempting to secure the print margin would result in the loss of part of the image, the margin removal function can be provided without causing the problem of missing drawing objects.

[0072] Alternatively, immediately before S901, the application may refer to the functionality information of the printer being used to determine if it supports borderless printing mode. If it does, it may branch to S901; otherwise, it may branch to S407. This configuration allows the application to handle both situations, whether the printer being used supports borderless printing or not.

[0073] [Other examples] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0074] ●Summary of Embodiments The above embodiments can be summarized as follows: (Item 1) An information processing device for arranging pages for a print job to be printed by an image output device, A determination means for determining whether or not to remove margins from a page of interest included in the data to be processed, Regarding the aforementioned page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, Positioning means that sets the reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet to a first reference position which is at or inside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet, The system includes a positioning means for positioning the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, relative to the first reference position. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 2) The information processing device described in item 1, The determination of whether or not to include the data subject to margin removal by the determination means includes determining whether or not margin removal is set for the data subject to processing. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 3) An information processing device as described in item 1 or 2, The determination of whether or not to include a page for margin removal by the determination means includes determining whether or not the page of interest is subject to margin removal. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 4) The information processing device described in item 3, If the page of interest is drawing data, it is determined that the page of interest is subject to margin removal. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 5) The information processing device described in item 4, Whether the page of interest is drawing data is determined based on the file name of the page of interest, or the file name of the data to be processed that includes the page of interest. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 6) An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 5, The positioning means changes the reference position to the first reference position if the reference position determined according to the output size set for the data to be processed is the point where the top edge and left edge of the output sheet intersect. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 7) The information processing device described in item 6, If the output size is set based on the size of the page of interest, the reference position is the intersection point of the output sheet; if the output size is set based on the size of the output sheet, the reference position is the position including the margin set for the page of interest. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 8) An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 7, If rotating the drawing area of ​​the page of interest by 90 degrees would save more output sheets, the system further includes a rotation means for rotating and positioning the drawing area of ​​the page of interest by 90 degrees. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 9) An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 8, The arrangement means further arranges the page of interest, which the determination means has determined is not subject to margin removal, using the margins, including the margins, and the margins set for the page of interest as the reference position. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 10) An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 9, Before placement by the placement means, if the predetermined print margin is larger than the removed margin on at least one of the four sides of the page of interest, the print mode is changed from normal print mode to borderless print mode, and the drawing area is placed with the reference position set to the point where the side of the output sheet in the transport direction intersects with the side perpendicular to that side. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 12) The information processing device described in item 1, The system further includes a display means for displaying the page of interest arranged by the arrangement means. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 13) An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 12, The system further includes a transmission means that generates a print job, including the placement of the page of interest by the placement means, in response to user instructions, and transmits it to an image forming apparatus. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Item 14) A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device as described in any one of items 1 through 13.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 100 Personal computers, 101 Image output devices, 110 CPUs, 112 RAM

Claims

1. An information processing device for arranging pages for a print job to be printed by an image output device, A determination means for determining whether or not to remove margins from a page of interest included in the data to be processed, Regarding the aforementioned page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, Positioning means that sets the reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet to a first reference position which is at or inside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet, The system includes a positioning means for positioning the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, relative to the first reference position. An information processing device characterized by the following:

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The determination of whether or not to subject the data to margin removal by the determination means includes determining whether or not margin removal is set for the data to be processed. An information processing device characterized by the following:

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The determination of whether or not to include a page for margin removal by the determination means includes determining whether or not the page of interest is subject to margin removal. An information processing device characterized by the following:

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, If the page of interest is drawing data, it is determined that the page of interest is subject to margin removal. An information processing device characterized by the following:

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 4, Whether the page of interest is drawing data is determined based on the file name of the page of interest, or the file name of the data to be processed that includes the page of interest. An information processing device characterized by the following:

6. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The positioning means changes the reference position to the first reference position if the reference position determined according to the output size set for the data to be processed is the point where the side of the output sheet in the transport direction intersects with a side perpendicular to that side. An information processing device characterized by the following:

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 6, If the output size is set based on the size of the page of interest, the reference position is the intersection point of the output sheet; if the output size is set based on the size of the output sheet, the reference position is the position including the margin set for the page of interest. An information processing device characterized by the following:

8. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, If rotating the drawing area of ​​the page of interest by 90 degrees would save more output sheets, the system further includes a rotation means for rotating and positioning the drawing area of ​​the page of interest by 90 degrees. An information processing device characterized by the following:

9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The arrangement means further arranges the page of interest, which the determination means has determined is not subject to margin removal, using the margins, including the margins, and the margins set for the page of interest as the reference position. An information processing device characterized by the following:

10. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, Before placement by the placement means, if the predetermined print margin is larger than the removed margin on at least one of the four sides of the page of interest, the print mode is changed from normal print mode to borderless print mode, and the drawing area is placed with the reference position set to the point where the side of the output sheet in the transport direction intersects with the side perpendicular to that side. An information processing device characterized by the following:

11. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The system further includes a display means for displaying the page of interest arranged by the arrangement means. An information processing device characterized by the following:

12. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The system further includes a transmission means that generates a print job, including the placement of the page of interest by the placement means, in response to user instructions, and transmits it to an image forming apparatus. An information processing device characterized by the following:

13. A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A method for arranging pages to be printed by an image output device, using an information processing device having determination means, positioning means, and arrangement means, The arrangement means determines whether or not to include the page of interest in the data to be processed in the margin removal process. Regarding the aforementioned page of interest that has been determined to be subject to margin removal, The positioning means sets the reference position for placing the page of interest on the output sheet as a first reference position which is located at or inside a predetermined print margin from the edge of the output sheet. The arrangement means arranges the drawing area of ​​the page of interest, excluding the margins, with respect to the first reference position. A method for arranging pages characterized by the following features.

Images