Printing system, printing control device, and printing method

Abstract

The present invention provides a printing system, a printing control device, and a printing method that can effectively reduce variations in the remaining amount of recording material. [Solution] The printing system comprises an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, a receiving unit 83, and a printing unit 50. The acquisition unit 81 acquires recording material information RI for multiple recording materials of different colors. The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information RI. The receiving unit 83 receives the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31. The printing unit 50 prints the received generated image GI using the recording material.

Description

Technical Field

[0004]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing control device, and a printing method.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrophotographic color page printer that prints using toner of each of the YMCK colors. A CPU that constitutes a microcomputer calculates the remaining amounts of toner of each of the YMCK colors. The CPU controls so as to reduce the unit consumption amounts of toner of two colors corresponding to the lowest remaining amount and the second lowest remaining amount according to the remaining amounts of toner of each color obtained as a calculation result.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an illustration background image generation system in which a server and a plurality of user terminals are connected via a network. When the server receives one or more tags selected by a user from the user terminal, the server includes a prompt creation unit that creates a prompt including elements corresponding to the tags, an AI image generation unit that generates an image based on the prompt, and an image output unit that outputs the image. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of opportunities to print AI images or the like generated by an AI with a color preferred by a user, and the remaining amounts of a recording material may vary. <​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​However, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 can suppress variations in the recording material, it is limited to adjustments that do not disrupt the color balance of the printed image, resulting in a small amount of adjustable recording material per print run. Therefore, there is room for further improvement in suppressing variations in the recording material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A printing system that solves the above problems comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires recording material information relating to multiple recording materials of different colors; an instruction unit that causes a generation AI module to generate an image based on the recording material information; a receiving unit that receives the generated image generated by the generation AI module; and a printing unit that prints the received generated image using the recording material.

[0007] A print control device that solves the above problems is a print control device provided in a terminal device for giving printing instructions to a printing device, and comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires recording material information relating to a plurality of recording materials of different colors; an instruction unit that causes a generation AI module to generate an image based on the recording material information; a receiving unit that receives the generated image generated by the generation AI module; and an image transmission unit that transmits the received generated image to a printing device that prints using the recording material.

[0008] A printing method that solves the above problem includes: acquiring recording material information for multiple recording materials of different colors; generating an image using a generation AI module based on the recording material information; and printing the generated image generated by the generation AI module using the recording material. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a printing system in an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printing system. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the printing apparatus. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the input image. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing a screen containing recording material information. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the comparison process performed by the comparison unit. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of reducing variation in the amount of recording material remaining. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing a reduction in the variation in the amount of recording material remaining. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing the image generation confirmation screen. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the image generation method selection screen. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing the image generation conditions confirmation screen. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram showing the composite image selection screen. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing the generated image. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram showing the print confirmation screen. [Figure 15] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram showing the save confirmation screen. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a sequence diagram showing a series of processes in the printing system. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram showing the input image in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram showing a print selection screen where the user can select which generated images to print. [Figure 19] Figure 19 is a sequence diagram showing a series of processes in the printing system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 20] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram showing the input image. [Figure 21] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram showing a print selection screen where the print target can be selected from the input image and the generated image. [Figure 22] Figure 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating the comparison process by the comparison unit in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram in which the variation in the remaining amount of the recording material is reduced. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a schematic bottom view showing the configuration related to the discharge of the recording material of the print head in the fifth embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the printing system will be described with reference to the drawings. <Configuration of Printing System 10> First, referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the printing system 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 10 includes a printing device 11, a terminal device 20, and servers 30 and 40. The printing device 11 prints on a medium M such as paper.

[0011] The printing device 11 and the terminal device 20 are communicably connected to each other through a LAN (Local Area Network). The terminal device 20 and the servers 30 and 40 are communicably connected to each other through a network NW. The printing device 11 may be communicably connected to the servers 30 and 40 through the network NW.

[0012] The terminal device 20 may be, for example, the personal computer shown in FIG. 1 or a smartphone. The terminal device 20 includes an input unit 21 and a display unit 22. The terminal device 20 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet PC, or the like.

[0013] The first server 30 includes a generation AI module 31 (see Figure 2). The second server 40 is a generation AI service provider server. The second server 40 is equipped with a generation AI service provider module 41 (see Figure 2). The second server 40 may be managed by the manufacturer or distributor of the printing device 11. The second server 40 mediates between the terminal device 20 and the generation AI module 31 of the first server 30, for example, by providing a service that makes it easier for users to utilize the generation AI module 31.

[0014] <Configuration of the printing device 11> Next, the configuration of the printing device 11 will be described with reference to Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the printing device 11 is, for example, an inkjet printer. The printing device 11 is a so-called consumer printer used as a home printer in homes, etc., but it may also be a business printer used in offices, etc. The printing device 11 is not limited to an inkjet printer; it may also be an electrophotographic type such as a laser printer that prints on a medium M using toner as ink. The printing device 11 may also be a textile printer that prints on a medium M such as a cloth, or a printer that prints on a material such as a T-shirt as the medium M. The printing device 11 may also be a printer that prints on a transfer film that can transfer an image using the DTF (Direct to Film) method as the medium M.

[0015] The printing device 11, which is an inkjet printer, prints characters or images by ejecting ink, which is an example of a recording material, toward a medium M. The printing device 11 is also a liquid ejection device that ejects liquids such as ink toward a medium such as paper.

[0016] As shown in Figure 3, the printing device 11 comprises a roughly rectangular box-shaped body 12. The printing device 11 has an image reading unit 13 on the upper side of the body 12. The printing device 11 also has an openable and closable cover 14 on the upper side of the body 12. The image reading unit 13 opens and closes together with the cover 14. The cover 14 opens and closes between a closed position as shown in Figure 3 and an open position that exposes the inside of the body 12.

[0017] The printing device 11 comprises an input unit 15 and a display unit 16. The input unit 15 is operated by the user to give instructions to the printing device 11. The display unit 16 displays various images. The display unit 16 displays, for example, a menu screen or various message information.

[0018] The printing device 11 includes a supply cassette 17. The supply cassette 17 is located at the bottom of the main body 12. The supply cassette 17 is mounted in the main body 12 in a manner that allows it to be inserted and removed. The supply cassette 17 is configured to accommodate multiple media M such as paper. The supply cassette 17 supplies the contained media M to a transport path within the main body 12. The printing device 11 includes a transport unit 55 (see Figure 2) that transports the media M supplied from the supply cassette 17 along the transport path.

[0019] The printing apparatus 11 includes a printing unit 50. The printing unit 50 prints on a medium M that is transported along a transport path using a recording material such as ink. The printing unit 50 includes a carriage 51 that is movable in the width direction X1 intersecting the transport direction Y1 of the medium M, and a print head 52 provided at the bottom of the carriage 51. The print head 52 prints on the medium M as the carriage 51 moves back and forth in the width direction X1. The print head 52 may be a line type that is fixedly positioned opposite the transport path of the medium M.

[0020] The printing device 11 is equipped with an outlet 12A that opens on the front of the main body 12. The outlet 12A discharges the printed media M. The printing device 11 is equipped with an output tray 18 that is slidably mounted on the front of the main body 12. The printed media M discharged from the outlet 12A is loaded onto the output tray 18.

[0021] Furthermore, the printing device 11 has a plurality of recording material containers 53 that house recording materials such as ink. The printing device 11 has the same number of recording material containers 53 as the number of colors that the printing unit 50 can print on the medium M. Each of the plurality of recording material containers 53 individually houses recording materials such as ink of each color. The printing device 11 is a cartridge system in which the recording material containers 53 are replaceable, for example, ink cartridges.

[0022] The printing apparatus 11 shown in Figure 3 is a so-called on-carriage type in which the recording material container 53 is mounted on a mounting part (not shown) provided on the upper part of the carriage 51. When the recording material such as ink in the recording material container 53 in the printing apparatus 11 reaches the near end or end, the user replaces the recording material container 53 in the printing apparatus 11. The user replaces the recording material container 53 on the mounting part on the upper part of the carriage 51, which is exposed when the cover 14 is opened.

[0023] The printing device 11 may also be an off-carriage type, in which the recording material container 53 is located in a predetermined position within the main body 12, separate from the carriage 51. In the case of the off-carriage type, the recording material container 53 installed in the mounting section is replaced by opening a cover provided at the front of the main body 12. If the liquid supply source is a liquid cartridge such as an ink cartridge, the user needs to prepare a new recording material container 53, for example, before the printing device 11 reaches the near end or end of service.

[0024] Next, the electrical and functional configuration of the printing system 10 will be described with reference to Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the printing device 11 and the terminal device 20 are connected to each other via a home network HNW such as a LAN. Communication on the home network HNW may be wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or wired communication. It may also be a short-range wireless communication unit such as a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication unit or an infrared communication unit. The home network HNW is connected to a network NW such as the Internet.

[0025] Terminal device 20 is connected to servers 30 and 40 via network HNW and NW in a communicative manner. Printing device 11 can communicate within the range of the home network HNW, but may also be connected to servers 30 and 40 in a communicative manner via network HNW and NW.

[0026] The printing device 11 comprises a communication unit 19, a control unit 60, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, an image reading unit 13, and a printing unit 50. The printing unit 50 comprises a print head 52, a transport unit 55, and a maintenance unit 56.

[0027] The control unit 60 includes a computer 61. The computer 61 includes a CPU and a memory unit 62. The control unit 60 is not limited to performing software processing for all the processes it executes. For example, the control unit 60 may include a dedicated hardware circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit: ASIC) that performs hardware processing for at least some of the processes it executes. That is, the control unit 60 can be configured as a circuit including one or more processors that operate according to a computer program (software), one or more dedicated hardware circuits that execute at least some of the various processes, or a combination thereof. The processor includes a CPU and a memory unit 62 such as RAM and ROM. The memory unit 62 stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to execute processes. Memory, or computer-readable media, includes any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

[0028] The computer 61, by executing a program stored in the storage unit 62, includes a print control unit 63 and a recording material consumption measuring unit 64 as its functional units. The print control unit 63 controls the printing unit 50. The printing device 11 performs printing based on the print data received from the terminal device 20. Based on the print data, the print control unit 63 controls the print head 52 and the transport unit 55 to print characters or images onto the medium M. The print control unit 63 maintains the print head 52 by controlling the maintenance unit 56. In the inkjet printing device 11, maintenance includes cleaning, which involves forcibly discharging ink from the nozzles of the print head 52 to remove foreign matter such as thickened ink and air bubbles in the ink. The print head 52 consumes recording material through printing and maintenance.

[0029] The control unit 60 can communicate with memory elements (not shown) provided in the recording material container 53 mounted on the carriage 51. When the power of the printing device 11 is turned on, the control unit 60 reads recording material information RI from each memory element of the multiple recording material containers 53 and stores it in the storage unit 62. The recording material information RI is information about the recording material for each recording material container 53. The recording material information RI may also include quantity information regarding the amount of recording material for each recording material container 53. The quantity information may be the remaining amount or the amount consumed, as long as it is information that can identify the amount of recording material in the recording material container 53. In this embodiment, as an example of quantity information, remaining amount information is used. In other words, the recording material information RI may include information on the remaining amount of recording material. The recording material information RI may also include color information, expiration date, part number information, etc., for the recording material for each recording material container 53.

[0030] The recording material consumption measurement unit 64 measures the amount of recording material consumed by the print head 52. The recording material consumption measurement unit 64 updates the remaining recording material data by subtracting the amount of recording material consumed from the remaining recording material in the recording material information RI. When the power of the printing device 11 is turned off, the control unit 60 writes the recording material information RI, including the latest remaining recording material amount stored in the storage unit 62, to the storage element of the recording material container 53. When the power of the printing device 11 is turned on again, the control unit 60 can read the recording material information RI, including the latest remaining recording material amount at the time of the previous power off, from each storage element of the multiple recording material containers 53.

[0031] The terminal device 20 functions as a print control device 70 by installing a print driver program and print-related application programs. The terminal device 20 includes a print control device 70 that gives print instructions to the printer 11. The terminal device 20 includes a computer 71 and a storage unit. The computer 71 functions as a print driver 72 by executing the print driver program stored in the storage unit. The computer 71 functions as an image generation unit 73 by executing print-related application programs. The print control device 70 in the terminal device 20 includes a print driver 72 and an image generation unit 73, which are configured by software.

[0032] In this embodiment, the terminal device 20 is equipped with an image generation unit 73, but the printing device 11 may be equipped with an image generation unit 65, which has the same function as the image generation unit 73 and is shown by a dashed line in Figure 2. In Figure 2, to distinguish between the two, the print control device 70 side is designated as the first image generation unit 73, and the printing device 11 side is designated as the second image generation unit 65. In this embodiment, as an example, the image generation unit 73 equipped in the terminal device 20 is used to cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image. In the case of the printing device 11 located at the bottom in Figure 1, which is directly connected to the network NW, the second image generation unit 65 on the printing device 11 side may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image.

[0033] The print driver 72 controls the printer 11. The terminal device 20 stores application programs such as document creation applications, spreadsheet applications, and presentation creation applications in its storage unit, as applications not belonging to the print control device 70. These applications are used by the user when creating documents, tables, graphs, presentation materials (hereinafter also referred to as "presentation materials"), etc., and also for printing after creation. When the user gives a print command by operating the input unit 21, each of these applications calls the print driver 72. The called print driver 72 displays a print condition setting screen 88 where print condition information can be selected, and recording material information RI (see Figure 5) obtained by communicating with the printer 11 on the display unit 22. The user selects the print condition information as needed by operating the input unit 21 of the terminal device 20, and then instructs the execution of printing.

[0034] The print driver 72 generates print data, including a print command, based on data from a document, table, graph, or presentation material that has been instructed to be printed. The print data includes print image data consisting of dot data for each color of the recording material. The dot data may also be gradation data of a predetermined range of 2 to 4 gradations. The print driver 72 transmits the generated print data to the printing device 11.

[0035] The recording material consumption measurement unit 64 may also measure the amount of recording material consumed by the print head 52 during printing by counting the number of dots in the printed image data. If the printed image data contains data with multiple types of dots of different dot sizes, the recording material consumption measurement unit 64 may measure the amount of recording material consumed for each color by accumulating the values ​​obtained by multiplying the count values ​​for each dot size according to the gradation value by a coefficient corresponding to the dot size.

[0036] The print control device 70 provided in the terminal device 20 includes the aforementioned first image generation unit 73. The first image generation unit 73 includes an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, and a receiving unit 83. The first image generation unit 73 may further include a prompt generation unit 84. The prompt generation unit 84 may have a comparison unit 85 for comparing the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials.

[0037] The acquisition unit 81 acquires recording material information RI relating to multiple types of recording materials with different colors. The recording material information RI is information relating to multiple types of recording materials, including a first recording material whose color is a first color and a second recording material whose color is a second color different from the first color. The multiple colors may be, for example, 4, 6, 8, or 10 colors. There may be two or more colors, and it may be 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11 or more colors. In addition, the multiple types of recording materials may include different types of recording materials with the same color. The multiple types of recording materials may include, for example, two types of the same color, such as dye ink and pigment ink. For example, it may include two types of black recording materials (e.g., black ink), such as dye ink and pigment ink.

[0038] If the recording material has multiple colors, for example, four colors, these include black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). In the example shown in Figure 2, the recording material has multiple colors, six colors in total. These six colors may include, for example, black (K), cyan (C), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y).

[0039] The first image generation unit 73 may input a print image PI instructed by the user to be printed as the input image II (see Figure 4). The acquisition unit 81 may acquire recording material information RI after printing the print image PI. The recording material information RI acquired after printing the print image PI is more up-to-date than the recording material information RI acquired before printing.

[0040] The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information RI. In addition to the recording material information RI, the instruction unit 82 may also cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on input image information IS, which includes an input image II (see, for example, Figure 4). Furthermore, the instruction unit 82 may also cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on information including prompts entered by the user (e.g., text information), in addition to the recording material information RI. The input image information IS may include prompts consisting of text information in addition to the input image II. The instruction unit 82 may display an input screen (see Figures 10 to 12) on the display unit 22 that prompts the user to select or input the information necessary for prompt generation. In addition, the instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the color information of the medium M to be printed, in addition to the recording material information RI. The color information may include, for example, the background color of the medium M before printing. The background of the medium M may include a pattern. The background color including the pattern may be two or more colors. The medium M can include paper, cardboard, envelopes, stationery, letter paper, OHP film (synthetic resin film), etc. Details of the various screens, including the input screen that the first image generation unit 73 displays on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20, will be described later.

[0041] The instruction unit 82 may generate a prompt using the prompt generation unit 84. The prompt generation unit 84 generates a prompt, which is an image generation command, based on the recording material information RI. This generated prompt may include the input image information IS used by the instruction unit 82 for instruction. The prompt may consist only of the recording material information RI or a part thereof, or it may include information obtained from the recording material information RI or a part thereof in place of or in addition to the recording material information RI.

[0042] The prompt generation unit 84 may also include a comparison unit 85. The comparison unit 85 compares quantities of multiple recording materials based on recording material information RI. The comparison unit 85 only needs to be able to compare quantities of multiple recording materials that the printing unit 50 can use for printing. For example, the comparison unit 85 may compare the quantities of recording materials in multiple recording material containers 53 that supply multiple recording materials to the printing unit 50. The quantity comparison by the comparison unit 85 may be a comparison of the quantities themselves, such as the amount of recording material consumed or the amount remaining, or it may be an indirect comparison of quantities by comparing quantity identification information that can indirectly identify the quantities such as the amount of consumption or the amount remaining. As an example, the comparison unit 85 may compare the remaining quantities of multiple recording materials. The comparison of remaining quantities is not limited to a comparison of the remaining quantities themselves, but may also be an indirect comparison of remaining quantities by comparing quantity identification information.

[0043] The comparison unit 85 selects the primary color of the recording material to be consumed when printing the generated image GI by comparing the quantities of multiple recording materials. The comparison unit 85 may also select the primary color by comparing the remaining quantities of multiple recording materials. In other words, the comparison unit 85 may include a primary color selection unit that selects the primary color of the multiple recording materials based on the comparison result of the remaining quantities. The number of recording materials that the comparison unit 85 compares when selecting the primary color may be all of the multiple recording materials, or it may be a selection of two or more of the multiple recording materials. The comparison unit 85 may also select the single color with the largest remaining quantity of recording material as the primary color. The comparison unit 85 may also compare the quantities of multiple recording materials using thresholds. Details of the comparison process in which the comparison unit 85 selects the primary color of the primary color using thresholds will be described later.

[0044] The receiving unit 83 receives the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31. The receiving unit 83 may also display the received generated image GI on the display unit 22. Furthermore, the print control device 70 may also include an image transmission unit 86. The image transmission unit 86 transmits the generated image GI received by the receiving unit 83 to a printing device 11 that prints using recording material. The image transmission unit 86 may also function as a transmission unit that transmits the print data to the printing device 11 after the print driver 72 has converted the print image PI to be printed into printable print data, or it may be provided separately from the print driver 72. In the latter case, the generated image GI transmitted by the image transmission unit 86 may be converted into printable print data by the control unit 60 of the printing device 11.

[0045] In this manner, the first image generation unit 73 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on an image generation command (prompt) derived from the acquired recording material information RI, and also causes the generated image GI to be printed by the printing unit 50.

[0046] The printing unit 50 prints the received generated image GI using recording material. The printing device 11 receives print data of the generated image GI from the image transmission unit 86 (print driver 72). The control unit 60 of the printing device 11 prints the generated image GI on the medium M by controlling the printing unit 50 based on the received print data. The control unit 60 controls the print head 52 based on the print image data of the generated image GI contained in the print data. The printing unit 50 preferentially consumes the recording material of the color to be consumed by ejecting the color recording material (ink) necessary for printing the color generated image GI from the print head 52.

[0047] As shown in Figure 2, the second image generation unit 65 on the printing device 11 side may also include an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, and a receiving unit 83, similar to the first image generation unit 73. The second image generation unit 65 may also include a prompt generation unit 84. The prompt generation unit 84 may also include a comparison unit 85. The second image generation unit 65 may display the necessary information on the display unit 16, or it may display it on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20 via the network HNW.

[0048] <About the Generation AI Module 31> Next, the generative AI module 31 will be described. The generative AI module 31 provided by the server 30 may include the following: OpenAI's "ChatGPT", OpenAI's image generation AI tool "DALL-E" (e.g., DALL·E3), Google's "Gemini", Midjourney's "Midjourney", Stability AI's "Stable Diffusion", etc. Other options include "DeepArt", "PICSOROBAN", "Adobe Firefly", "MyEdit", "Bing Image Creator", "Canva", "Novel AI", "AI Picasso", "StableStudio", "GAN (Generative Adversarial Network)", "VAE (Variational Auto-Encoder)", etc. Furthermore, the generative AI module 31 may also include document generation AI such as "Gamma" or "Napkin AI". The generative AI module 31 may, for example, be equipped with a large-scale language model (LLM). The large-scale language model includes pre-trained models such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer). Large-scale language models may include a transformer mechanism.

[0049] The second server 40 is an AI generation service provider server having an AI generation service provider module 41. The second server 40 may provide AI generation services to users using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) provided by the provider of the AI ​​generation module 31. Examples of APIs include the ChatGPT API and the Gemini API. The second server 40 provides at least one user of the printing device 11 with an application for image generation (hereinafter also simply referred to as "the app"). The user downloads the app from the second server 40 to their terminal device 20, for example. The user can use the AI ​​image generation service provided by the second server 40 by launching the app on the terminal device 20. The app may be incorporated into the print driver 72 or include a mechanism that works in conjunction with the print driver 72. In this way, a first image generation unit 73 consisting of software is configured within the terminal device 20 where the app has been downloaded. The AI ​​generation service provider module 41 provides user requests received from the terminal device 20 via the app to the AI ​​generation module 31 of the first server 30 via API. Furthermore, the image generation unit 73 within the terminal device 20 may directly access the generation AI module 31 of the first server 30 to generate image GI without going through the second server 40.

[0050] <Regarding input image II, which is a printed image PI> The image shown in Figure 4 is the print image PI, which is the image that the user intends to print. In this embodiment, the image input by the print control device 70 of the terminal device 20 is called the input image II. The input image II includes the print image PI, which is input by the print driver 72 for the purpose of printing, and the input image for generation AI, which is input by the image generation unit 73 for the purpose of generating AI images.

[0051] The input image II shown in Figure 4 is displayed on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20. When a user operates the input unit 21 to print the input image II as a print image PI, for example, by selecting print on an image display application, the print driver 72 is called. The input image II shown in Figure 4 is, for example, a family photo. Suppose that after printing the print image PI of this family photo, the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials based on the latest recording material information RI are in the state shown in Figure 5.

[0052] <About the recording material information RI and its display on the screen> When the print driver 72 is started, it acquires recording material information RI from the printing device 11 and determines whether there is any recording material at the near end or end. If there is recording material at the near end or end, the print driver 72 notifies the user by displaying information on the remaining amount notification screen 90 shown in Figure 5 that the recording material has reached the near end or end.

[0053] Furthermore, the print driver 72, which is called when printing is selected on the image display application that displays the print image PI shown in Figure 4, displays the print condition setting screen 88 shown in Figure 5 on the display unit 22. The ink level notification screen 90 shown in Figure 5 may be included as part of the print condition setting screen 88, or it may be displayed on a separate screen such as a pop-up when the ink level button (not shown) in the print condition setting screen 88 is selected. Note that on the print condition setting screen 88, print condition information such as media size, media type, print color (color / monochrome), and print quality (print resolution) can be set by selection operation.

[0054] The print driver 72 generates the remaining amount notification screen 90 shown in Figure 5 based on the recording material information RI and displays it on the display unit 22. The remaining amount notification screen 90 includes multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96 that mimic columnar containers that hold the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials by color. The user can visually check the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials using the multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96.

[0055] If even one of the multiple recording materials is below the near-end threshold, the user can visually identify the near-end recording material from the remaining amount notification screen 90. The multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96 shown in Figure 5 are one of the recording material information RI, as they reflect the remaining amount information for each recording material from the recording material information RI. The display unit 16 of the printing device 11 may also display the multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96 and information on the near-end recording material. The recording material information RI in this embodiment is not limited to the data of the recording material information RI stored in the storage unit 62. The recording material information RI may also include image information related to the multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96 generated based on the recording material information RI, as well as notification information related to the near-end and end. Furthermore, the recording material information RI does not need to be information about all of the multiple recording materials; it is sufficient if it is information about two or more colored recording materials among the multiple recording materials. In addition, the recording material information RI may include quantity identification information that can directly or indirectly identify the amount of remaining amount, etc., of two or more of the multiple recording materials.

[0056] Figure 5 shows the remaining amount scales of 91 to 96 for each color: black (B), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and light magenta (LM). In the example shown in Figure 5, cyan (C) has the highest remaining amount, followed by light cyan (LC). Light magenta (LM) has the lowest remaining amount, followed by magenta (M). The remaining amounts of black (K) and yellow (Y) are in the middle range.

[0057] In the example shown in Figure 5, it can be seen that there is a large amount of cyan (C) and light cyan (LC) recording material remaining, while there is a small amount of magenta (M) and light magenta (LM) recording material remaining. If the user continues printing without considering this, there is a risk that the magenta recording material container 53 will need to be replaced sooner than expected. Therefore, in this embodiment, based on this remaining material status, the generation AI module 31 is instructed to generate an image GI (see Figure 13) with a color scheme that can reduce variations in remaining material based on the recording material information RI. If the user likes the generated image GI and selects to print it, the print head 52 printing the generated image GI will consume more recording material of the specific color being used. This reduces variations in the remaining amount of recording material. Details of the process and processing for generating the image with the generation AI module 31 will be described later.

[0058] <Regarding the comparison process by the comparison unit 85> Next, with reference to Figures 6 to 8, the comparison process by which the comparison unit 85 compares the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials will be described. The comparison unit 85 compares the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials based on the recording material information RI shown in Figure 6. Based on the comparison results, the comparison unit 85 selects a consumption color, which is the color of the recording material that should be consumed to reduce the variation in remaining amounts. This comparison process may be performed using a threshold. In other words, the consumption color selection condition for selecting a consumption color from among multiple colors (e.g., 6 colors) of multiple recording materials may include a threshold. In this embodiment, the comparison unit 85 may select a consumption color from among multiple colors (e.g., 5 colors) excluding black (K). Specifically, the comparison unit 85 may select a consumption color that satisfies the consumption color selection condition from among cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta, which belong to multiple color recording materials.

[0059] The color of the recording material with the largest remaining amount may be selected as the consumption color. The comparison unit 85 may also select the color of the recording material with a remaining amount exceeding a threshold as the consumption color. Furthermore, the threshold may change according to the minimum remaining amount of the recording material with the least remaining amount among multiple recording materials.

[0060] The threshold may vary depending on the difference ΔS between the minimum remaining amount and the remaining amount of the recording material. The color of a recording material that satisfies the condition that the remaining amount difference ΔRn, which is the difference between the remaining amount of multiple recording materials and the minimum remaining amount, is greater than or equal to a predetermined difference ΔS may be selected as the color to be consumed. In this case, the value of the remaining amount obtained by adding the difference ΔS to the minimum remaining amount is the threshold. The color of a recording material whose remaining amount exceeds the threshold determined by the color to be consumed in this way may be selected as the color to be consumed.

[0061] In the example shown in Figure 6, cyan (C), which has the largest remaining amount difference ΔR1, and light cyan (LC), which has the second largest remaining amount difference ΔR2, are selected as the consumed colors. Any color of recording material that satisfies the above conditions may be selected as the consumed color. Alternatively, the conditions for determining the consumed color may be limited to the top one color or up to the top two colors in descending order of remaining amount difference ΔRn. The conditions for selecting the consumed color may also include a condition that colors of recording material with remaining amounts below a lower threshold are not selected as consumed colors.

[0062] Thus, after printing the input image II, which is the printed image PI, the generated image GI, which mainly consumes the selected colored recording material, is printed according to the user's choice. The instruction unit 82 may generate a color generation image GI with a color scheme that consumes the most recording material of the selected color based on the remaining amount information in the recording material information RI.

[0063] The recording material of one or more selected consumable colors is primarily consumed during the printing of the generated image GI. If multiple consumable colors are selected, the instruction unit 82 may instruct the generation of the image GI with a color scheme in which the consumption ratio of the recording material of multiple consumable colors can be determined according to the ratio of the difference in remaining amount ΔRn from the minimum remaining amount of the recording material of multiple consumable colors, or the ratio of the remaining amount Rn of the recording material of multiple consumable colors. Furthermore, if the consumable colors selected based on the recording material information RI are N colors (where N is a natural number), the instruction unit 82 may instruct the generation of the color generated image GI with a color scheme in which the consumption ratio of the N color recording material consumed during printing is 1 / (N+1) or more. If, for example, there is one consumable color, the instruction unit 82 will instruct the generation of the image GI with a color scheme in which the consumption ratio of the recording material of that single consumable color is 1 / 2 or more. Furthermore, if the consumed colors are, for example, two colors, the instruction unit 82 generates a generated image GI with a color scheme such that the consumption ratio of each of the two consumed colors in the recording material is 1 / 3 or more.

[0064] Figures 7 and 8 show the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials after printing one or more generated image GIs from the recording material information RI shown in Figure 6. In Figure 7, the remaining amounts shown by the dashed lines represent the remaining amounts in Figure 6, and in Figure 8, the remaining amounts shown by the dashed lines represent the remaining amounts in Figure 7. From the remaining amounts shown in Figure 6, when the user prints additional generated image GIs that they like, as shown in Figure 7, the cyan (C) and light cyan (LC) recording materials, which were designated as consumed colors, are consumed in larger quantities than the recording materials of other colors. Therefore, the variation in the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials is smaller compared to Figure 6. Furthermore, from the remaining amounts shown in Figure 7, when the user prints generated image GIs one or more times, as shown in Figure 8, the cyan (C) and light cyan (LC) recording materials, which were designated as consumed colors, are consumed in larger quantities than the recording materials of other colors. In this way, each time the user prints a generated image GI based on the recording material information RI, the variation in the remaining amounts of multiple color recording materials gradually decreases. As a result, for example, the frequency of the five color recording materials reaching near-end or end-of-life at the same time increases. In the example shown in Figure 8, it becomes possible to replace five color recording material containers 53 at once. Note that the number of recording material containers 53 that can be replaced at one time may be two, three, or four.

[0065] Furthermore, when printing starts with multiple recording material containers 53 unused, as in the initial operation of the printing device 11, normal printing may result in excessive consumption of a particular color of recording material among the multiple recording materials. In this case, if normal printing is performed just before the near-end, only one color of recording material will reach the near-end, which may prevent the replacement timings of the multiple recording material containers 53 from overlapping. In contrast, when printing starts with multiple recording material containers 53 unused, as in the initial operation, printing the generated image GI based on the recording material information RI multiple times allows for consumption of multiple recording materials with reduced variation in remaining quantity. This increases the number of prints before the first near-end occurs. In other words, the number of prints a user can perform from the time they purchase the printing device 11 and start printing until the first replacement of a recording material container 53 can be increased. As a result, a more extensive printing experience can be enjoyed without being interrupted by the replacement of recording material containers 53.

[0066] In this embodiment, the color to be consumed is selected from among multiple colors excluding black, for the following reasons: Black recording material is frequently used for printing text such as documents. The printing device 11 becomes unable to perform color printing if even one of the multiple colors in the recording material container 53 reaches its end. The printing device 11 can still perform monochrome printing using black recording material even if color printing becomes impossible due to the end of one of the colors. Therefore, in order to perform color printing, it is necessary to replace the recording material container 53 that has reached its end. At this time, if other recording material containers 53 are also near-end or at their end, multiple recording material containers 53 can be replaced at once. On the other hand, if the black recording material reaches its end, monochrome printing is possible using black obtained by mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow, for example. Therefore, even if the black recording material reaches its end, it is not always necessary to replace the black recording material container 53. In addition, monochrome printing of text such as documents may be performed between photo printing as in this embodiment. In such cases, only the black recording material is consumed, so even if there was a large difference in remaining amount between the black and other recording materials before monochrome printing, that difference may disappear. For these reasons, in this embodiment, the consumption of black recording material is kept to a minimum, and for multi-color recording material, variations in the remaining amount of recording material are reduced by printing the generated image GI. This increases the frequency with which multiple color recording material containers 53 are at the end or near end at the same time.

[0067] <About the various screens displayed on the display unit 22> Next, with reference to Figures 9 to 12, the various screens displayed on the display unit 22 during the generation of the generated image GI will be explained.

[0068] Figure 9 shows the image generation confirmation screen 100. The image generation unit 73 displays the image generation confirmation screen 100 on the display unit 22 when the user prints the print image PI. The display unit 22 displays the image generation confirmation screen 100 to confirm permission for image generation based on the recording material information RI. The image generation confirmation screen 100 is displayed based on the user's printing operations.

[0069] As shown in Figure 9, the image generation confirmation screen 100 includes a message MS1 confirming whether or not to generate an AI-generated image based on the recording material information RI, and options 101 and 102 for enabling or disabling the ink level variation reduction mode (recording material variation reduction mode). For example, the default state may be with the enabled option 101 selected. Alternatively, the comparison unit 85 may perform the aforementioned comparison process prior to displaying the image generation confirmation screen 100. If, as a result of the comparison process, one or more consumed colors are selected, and the conditions for implementing the ink level variation reduction mode are met, the image generation unit 73 may display the image generation confirmation screen 100 with the enabled option 101 selected. Users who wish to disable the ink level variation reduction mode select the disabled option 102 by operating the input unit 21. Users who wish to generate an AI image select the YES button 103, and users who do not wish to generate an AI image select the NO button 104. Upon receiving the selection of the YES button 103, the image generation unit 73 switches to the AI ​​image generation mode. The image generation unit 73 stores in memory whether the ink level variation reduction mode is enabled or disabled.

[0070] Figure 10 shows the image generation method selection screen 110. The user can select from two types of image generation methods. The image generation method selection screen 110 has a message MS2 prompting the user to select an image generation method, and selection buttons 111 and 112 for selecting the image generation method. Selection button 111 is for selecting "AI Image Generation," which generates an AI image using a print image PI as the input image II. Selection button 112 is for selecting "AI Image Synthesis," which generates an AI image by specifying a desired image such as a photo uploaded by the user. When the image generation unit 73 receives a selection from selection button 111, it displays the image generation condition confirmation screen 120 shown in Figure 11 on the display unit 22. On the other hand, when it receives a selection from selection button 112, it displays the composite image specification screen 130 shown in Figure 12 on the display unit 22.

[0071] The image generation condition confirmation screen 120 shown in Figure 11 includes a message MS3 prompting the user to input desired conditions for the image they wish to generate, a selection option 121 for genre selection, a selection option 122 for art style selection, and an input field 123 for keyword input. In addition to keywords, the input field 123 allows the user to input text instructing them on their requests for the image to be generated, within a character limit. Furthermore, the image generation condition confirmation screen 120 includes a generate button 124 to instruct the generation of an AI image and a cancel button 125 to cancel image generation.

[0072] The composite image selection screen 130 shown in Figure 12 has a message MS4 prompting the user to specify (upload) the images to be composited, and an option 131 allowing the user to choose whether or not to use a printed image. Furthermore, the composite image selection screen 130 has a selection button 132 allowing the user to upload the images to be composited, a selection button 133 allowing the user to select the compositing method, and an input field 134 for entering keywords. In addition to keywords, the input field 134 can also accept text within a character limit.

[0073] For example, suppose that on the image generation conditions confirmation screen 120 shown in Figure 11, "Nature" is selected as the genre, "Photography" as the style, and "Sports" as the keyword, and then the generate button 124 is selected.

[0074] <About prompts and generated image GI> The prompt generation unit 84 shown in Figure 2 includes input image information, including the input image II which is the printed image PI, in addition to the recording material information RI, in the prompt. Specifically, the prompt generation unit 84 includes two consumed colors, "cyan" and "light cyan," selected by the comparison unit 85 in a comparison process based on the recording material information RI, as the recording material information RI in the prompt. Furthermore, the prompt generation unit 84 includes input information entered by the user, such as the genre "nature," the style "photography," and the keyword "sports," in the prompt. The prompt generation unit 84 generates a prompt based on the printed image PI, the consumed colors, and the user's input information. The prompt generation unit 84 may detect a person or face in the printed image PI, and if a person or face is detected, it may include an instruction in the prompt to extract the person or face. The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on the prompt generated by the prompt generation unit 84. In other words, the instruction unit 82 instructs the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI by sending the prompt and the printed image PI generated by the prompt generation unit 84 to the server 30.

[0075] Figure 13 shows the generated image GI received by the receiving unit 83 from the generation AI module 31. As shown in Figure 13, the generated image GI is a photographic image of "Dad," the person BI in the printed image PI, enjoying "surfing" as the keyword "sport" in the "sea" as the genre "nature." The generated image GI is a color scheme in which the two recording materials "cyan (C)" and "light cyan (LC)," which are the consumed colors included as recording material information RI in the prompt, are mainly consumed.

[0076] In this way, on the display unit 22, a generated image GI, which is a photo of the father surfing in the sea in the printed image PI that is the input image II, is displayed on the display unit 22. The image generation unit 73 checks with the user whether to additionally print the generated image GI displayed on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20. If the user thinks the photo of this generated image GI is interesting after seeing it, they will print it, and this will consume a large amount of cyan and light cyan recording materials. As a result, the variation in the remaining amounts of the plurality of recording materials is reduced, and it is possible to reduce the replacement frequency of the recording material container 53. Also, it is possible to provide the user with a printing experience unlike before. Also, by learning whether the generated image GI has been printed, generated images GI that are more likely to be selected for printing by the user may be generated. Also, the generated image GI may be a realistic image, or may be an illustration or a comic in which feature points (such as hair color and the presence or absence of a mustache) are caricatured. Also, the generated image GI may be a video such as an animation. In this case, a configuration may be adopted in which the user selects and prints one or more generated images GI from the AI-generated video.

[0077] <Regarding the confirmation screen after AI image generation> FIG. 14 shows a print confirmation screen 140. The display unit 22 displays a print confirmation screen 140 for confirming the execution of printing the displayed generated image GI. The image generation unit 73 uses this print confirmation screen 140 to check with the user whether to print the generated image GI shown in FIG. 13 displayed on the display unit 22. The print confirmation screen 140 has a message MS5 indicating that it is checking with the user whether to print the generated image GI, a YES button 141 that the user selects when they wish to print, and a NO button 142 that the user selects when they do not wish to print. When the image generation unit 73 accepts the selection of the YES button 141, it notifies the image transmission unit 86 that printing has been accepted. The image transmission unit 86 transmits the generated image GI to the printing device 11. The image transmission unit 86, for example, converts the generated image GI into print data and then transmits it to the printing device 11.

[0078] Figure 15 shows the save confirmation screen 150. The image generation unit 73 of the terminal device 20 may allow the user to choose whether or not to save the generated image GI received by the receiving unit 83 as a separate file. After the YES button 141 or NO button 142 is selected on the print confirmation screen 140 shown in Figure 14, the image generation unit 73 displays the save confirmation screen 150 on the display unit 22. The save confirmation screen 150 is a screen that confirms with the user whether or not to save the generated image GI shown in Figure 13 displayed on the display unit 22. The save confirmation screen 150 has a message MS6 asking the user whether or not to save the generated image GI as a separate file, a YES button 141, and a NO button 142. Users who wish to save the generated image GI select the YES button 141. On the other hand, users who do not wish to save the generated image GI select the NO button 142. When the image generation unit 73 receives the selection of the YES button 141, it saves the generated image GI data to the memory of the terminal device 20. When the image generation unit 73 receives a selection from the NO button 142, it closes the save confirmation screen 150.

[0079] <Operation of the First Embodiment> Next, the operation of the printing system 10 will be explained with reference to Figures 1 to 16, etc. In Figure 16, the print image PI that serves as the basis for the generated image GI is also referred to as the "original image." The prompts that instruct the generation AI module 31 to generate the image GI are also referred to as image generation commands.

[0080] Below, with reference to Figure 16, an example of the process for reducing variations in the amount of recording material remaining by the printing system 10 will be explained. First, when a user instructs the printer 11 to print from the terminal device 20, the print driver 72 and application within the terminal device 20 are launched. When the user wants to print an image displayed on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20, they select print on the application by operating the input unit 21. The called print driver 72 displays the print condition setting screen 88 shown in Figure 5. After setting the print condition information on the print condition setting screen 88, the user executes the print command.

[0081] First, in step S11 in Figure 16, the terminal device 20 receives a print command for the original image. The print driver 72 of the terminal device 20 converts the original image, the print image PI, into print data and sends it to the printer 11.

[0082] In step S12, the terminal device 20 transmits the original image to the printing device 11. In step S13, the printing device 11 receives the original image. In step S14, the printing device 11 prints the original image. The control unit 60 of the printing device 11 controls the printing unit 50 based on the print data to print, for example, the print image PI shown in Figure 4 onto the medium M.

[0083] In step S15, the terminal device 20 receives an instruction to generate an image. Based on the user's printing operations, the image generation unit 73 displays the image generation confirmation screen 100 shown in Figure 9 on the terminal device 20. Users who wish to generate an AI image select the YES button 103. For example, the ink level variation mode is enabled.

[0084] In step S16, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not to generate an image using the recording material information RI. If the ink level variation mode is enabled and the YES button 103 is selected, it determines to generate an image using the recording material information RI and proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if the ink level variation mode is disabled and the YES button 103 is selected, or if the NO button 104 is selected, it determines not to generate an image using the recording material information RI and proceeds to step S19.

[0085] In step S17, the printing device 11 transmits recording material information RI. That is, if the terminal device 20 determines that it will generate an image, it requests recording material information RI from the printing device 11. Upon receiving this request, the printing device 11 transmits the recording material information RI to the terminal device 20. This recording material information RI is the latest recording material information RI after the printing of the original image is completed.

[0086] In step S18, the terminal device 20 receives the recording material information RI. In step S19, the terminal device 20 generates an image generation command. The image generation unit 73 of the terminal device 20 displays screens 110, 120, and 130 shown in Figures 10 to 12. The user selects or inputs the necessary information on screens 110, 120, and 130. On the image generation condition confirmation screen 120 shown in Figure 11, the user can select a genre or style, or input keywords. On the composite image specification screen 130 shown in Figure 12, the user can upload an image or select to use a printed image PI as needed. The prompt generation unit 84 generates prompts based on the recording material information RI, the printed image PI, and the input information entered by the user via screens 120 and 130. The comparison unit 85 selects the color to be consumed by performing a comparison process that compares the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials based on the recording material information RI. When generating an image using the recording material information RI, the prompt may include the recording material information RI itself or information related to the color to be consumed and the remaining amount of recording material for that color obtained as a result of the comparison process from the recording material information RI.

[0087] In step S20, the terminal device 20 sends an image generation command to the generation AI module 31. Specifically, the instruction unit 82 sends an image generation command to the generation AI module 31 of the server 30, including a prompt with a print image PI. Alternatively, the terminal device 20 may send the image generation command to the generation AI module 31 of the server 30 via the generation AI service provision module 41 of the server 40.

[0088] In step S21, the generation AI module 31 receives an image generation command. In step S22, the generation AI module 31 generates a generated image GI. Specifically, the generation AI module 31 generates a generated image GI based on an image generation command that includes the input image II and prompts. When image generation is performed using recording material information RI (affirmative determination in step S16), the image generation command includes information related to consumed colors, so a generated image GI is generated in which the main color is the consumed color. For example, as shown in Figure 13, a generated image GI is generated in which cyan (C) and light cyan (LC) are the main consumed colors. The generation AI module 31 transmits the generated image GI to the terminal device 20.

[0089] In step S23, the terminal device 20 receives the generated image GI. The terminal device 20 displays the generated image GI shown in Figure 13 and also displays the print confirmation screen 140 shown in Figure 14. Users who wish to print operate the YES button 141 on the print confirmation screen 140.

[0090] In step S24, the terminal device 20 transmits the generated image GI to the printing device 11. That is, when the terminal device 20 receives a print command for the generated image GI based on the operation of the YES button 141, it converts the generated image GI into print data and then transmits it to the printing device 11. This transmission of the generated image GI is performed by the image transmission unit 86 within the terminal device 20.

[0091] In step S25, the printing device 11 receives the generated image GI. In step S26, the printing device 11 prints the generated image GI. When image generation is performed using the recording material information RI, the generated image GI shown in Figure 13 is printed. Printing this generated image GI mainly consumes cyan (C) and light cyan (LC) recording materials, which are the colors consumed. In this way, by the user liking the image GI generated using the recording material information RI and additionally printing it as the printed image PI, variations in the remaining amount of multiple recording materials are reduced. As this printing of generated image GI is repeated, the large variation in remaining amount shown in Figure 6 is gradually reduced as shown in Figures 7 and 8. As a result, multiple recording material containers 53 reach near end or end at the same time, so multiple recording material containers 53 can be replaced at once.

[0092] <Printing method> The printing method of this embodiment includes the following (A) to (C). (A) To obtain recording material information (RI) for multiple types of recording materials that differ in color from one another. (B) Based on the recording material information RI, the generation AI module 31 generates an image. (C) Printing the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 using a recording material. Note that the processes in steps S17 and S18 in Figure 16 correspond to an example of the process described in (A) above. Also, the process in step S22 corresponds to an example of the process described in (B) above. Furthermore, the process in step S26 corresponds to an example of the process described in (C) above.

[0093] According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1-1) The printing system 10 comprises an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, a receiving unit 83, and a printing unit 50. The acquisition unit 81 acquires recording material information RI for multiple recording materials of different colors. The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information RI. The receiving unit 83 receives the generated image generated by the generation AI module 31. The printing unit 50 prints the received generated image GI using the recording material. With this configuration, the colors based on the recording material information RI for multiple recording materials of different colors are reflected in the generated image GI, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI.

[0094] (1-2) The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the input image information IS, which includes the input image II, in addition to the recording material information RI. With this configuration, an image GI is generated that reflects the color based on the recording material information RI and the input image II, so the frequency of printing the generated image GI is likely to increase as the user becomes interested in the generated image GI.

[0095] (1-3) The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on information including the recording material information RI and prompts entered by the user. With this configuration, the generation AI module 31 can generate the image desired by the user. As a result, the frequency with which the user prints the generated image GI increases, and variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0096] (1-4) The printing system 10 includes a display unit 22 that displays an image generation confirmation screen 100 which confirms permission to generate an image based on the recording material information RI. With this configuration, users can allow image generation only if they wish, thus suppressing printing delays for input image II, etc., caused by the unnecessary generation of images.

[0097] (1-5) The printing system 10 includes a display unit 22 that displays the generated image GI and a print confirmation screen 140 that confirms the execution of printing the generated image GI. With this configuration, the user can quickly execute printing after confirming the displayed generated image GI if they wish to print.

[0098] (1-6) The printing system 10 further includes a prompt generation unit 84 that generates prompts, which are image generation commands, based on recording material information RI. With this configuration, it is possible to generate a generated image GI in accordance with the image generation command based on the prompt generated from the recording material information RI.

[0099] (1-7) The prompt generation unit 84 has a comparison unit 85 that compares the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials. With this configuration, the color of the recording material that should be reflected in the prompt can be identified by comparing the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials. Therefore, the consumption of the recording material of the identified color is promoted by printing the generated image GI, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0100] (1-8) The input image II is the printed image that has been instructed to be printed, and the acquisition unit 81 acquires the recording material information RI after the printed image has been printed. With this configuration, the image is generated based on the latest recording material information RI after the printed image has been printed, so variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0101] (1-9) The image generation confirmation screen 100 is displayed based on the user's printing operations. With this configuration, the generation confirmation screen can be displayed at the appropriate time based on the user's printing operations, making it less likely for the user to miss any confirmations.

[0102] (1-10) The recording material information RI includes information on the remaining amount of recording material. With this configuration, an image can be generated that reflects the color corresponding to the remaining amount of recording material, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be reduced by printing the generated image GI.

[0103] (1-11) The receiving unit 83 allows the user to choose whether or not to save the generated image GI received as a separate file. With this configuration, it is easy for the user to save their favorite generated image GI as a separate file.

[0104] (1-12) The instruction unit 82 generates a generated image GI in the color of the recording material of the selected consumption color, based on the remaining amount information in the recording material information RI, which is used most during printing. With this configuration, the color corresponding to the remaining amount information of the recording material is used most when the generated image is printed, so variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0105] (1-13) The instruction unit 82, when the remaining amount of N colors (where N is a natural number) according to the remaining amount information based on the recording material information RI is above a threshold, generates a color generated image GI such that the consumption ratio of N colors of recording material consumed during printing is 1 / (N+1) or more. With this configuration, the color corresponding to the remaining amount information of the recording material is consumed the most when the generated image is printed, so variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0106] (1-14) The threshold changes according to the minimum remaining amount among multiple recording materials. With this configuration, the variation in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI. For example, if the threshold is a fixed value, it may occur that the recording material is excessively consumed even though the difference from the minimum remaining amount is small, or that the amount of recording material consumed is excessively small even though the difference from the minimum remaining amount is large. This configuration also resolves the problems that arise when the threshold is a fixed value.

[0107] (1-15) The threshold changes according to the difference ΔS in remaining amount relative to the minimum remaining amount among multiple recording materials. With this configuration, the variation in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI. Furthermore, the problems that arise when the threshold is a fixed value can be resolved.

[0108] (1-16) Because the amount of recording material of a specific color can be greatly changed according to the amount of recording material based on the recording material information RI, the amount of adjustment that reduces the variation in the remaining amount per print run can be increased. The frequency of replacing the recording material container 53 per print run can be reduced. The frequency of replacing multiple recording material containers 53 at once can be increased. For example, if the printing device 11 is an inkjet type, initial filling is performed each time the recording material container 53 is replaced. In initial filling, new ink is filled into the flow path from the supply port of the recording material container 53 to the nozzle of the print head 52, thereby removing air that enters during replacement from the ink in the flow path. In this initial filling, the same amount of ink is consumed from non-replaced ink cartridges as the ink cartridge that was replaced. For this reason, a low frequency of replacing the recording material container 53 is preferable in order to suppress the consumption of ink for purposes other than printing. According to this embodiment, because the variation in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced, the frequency of being able to synchronize the replacement timing of two or more recording material containers 53 can be increased. In other words, the frequency of replacing the recording material container 53 per print run can be reduced. Therefore, the consumption of recording material due to initial filling associated with the replacement of the recording material container 53 can be suppressed. Furthermore, the number of prints until the first near-end occurs after the initial operation of the printing device 11, when printing starts with multiple recording material containers 53 in an unused state, can be increased. Thus, a greater number of printing experiences, including the printing of generated image GI, can be realized without being interrupted by the replacement of the recording material container 53.

[0109] (1-17) The printing device 11 can generate images suitable for the specifications corresponding to the number of colors it can handle (e.g., 4 colors or 6 colors). As a result, compared to the printing device described in Patent Document 1, the difference in clarity between the image displayed on the display unit 22 of the terminal device 20 such as a smartphone and the image that is actually printed can be reduced.

[0110] (1-18) The instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the color information of the medium M to be printed, in addition to the recording material information RI. This color information indicates the color of the medium M before printing. The color information may also include information relating to the background color of the medium M. With this configuration, the inconvenience of the outlines of the printed generation image GI becoming blurry due to the generation image GI being printed on the medium M with the same or similar color scheme as the color of the medium M can be reduced. In other words, since the color scheme of the generation image GI, which involves the consumption of recording material of the color consumed based on the recording material information RI, is determined by comparison with the color of the medium M, the generation AI module 31 can generate a generation image GI with sharp outlines when printed on the medium M. Therefore, variations in the remaining amount of consumable material can be reduced, and a generation image GI with sharp outlines can be printed on the medium M.

[0111] (1-19) The print control device 70 provided in the terminal device 20 for giving printing instructions to the printing device 11 comprises an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, a receiving unit 83, and an image transmission unit 86. The acquisition unit 81 acquires recording material information RI for multiple types of recording materials that have different colors from each other. The instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information RI. The receiving unit 83 receives the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31. The image transmission unit 86 transmits the received generated image GI to the printing device 11 which prints using the recording material. With this configuration, the colors based on the recording material information RI for multiple types of recording materials that have different colors from each other are reflected in the generated image GI, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI.

[0112] (1-20) Printing methods include the following (A) to (C). (A) To obtain recording material information (RI) for multiple types of recording materials that differ in color from one another. (B) Based on the recording material information RI, the generation AI module 31 generates an image. (C) Printing the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 using a recording material. According to this printing method, the colors based on the recording material information RI for multiple types of recording materials with different colors are reflected in the generated image GI. Therefore, the variation in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI.

[0113] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 16 to 18, etc. In the second embodiment, an image file containing image data consisting of presentation slides is generated from a document file or spreadsheet file containing text and numerical information, such as Word or Excel. The document file or spreadsheet file is the input image II, which also serves as the print image PI. An image generation confirmation screen 100 is displayed on the terminal device 20 based on the user's printing operations.

[0114] When printing a document file or spreadsheet file, if the terminal device 20 receives an instruction to generate image data consisting of presentation slides using AI, it confirms whether the user wishes to generate the AI ​​image using recording material information RI. The terminal device 20 may automatically determine the printing device 11 from which the recording material information RI is acquired from the connected printing device 11, or it may allow the user to select it. If the YES button 103 is selected on the image generation confirmation screen 100, image data consisting of presentation slides is generated based on the recording material information RI, similar to the first embodiment. The image data includes graphs within the slides. The image generation unit 73 uses the selected consumption colors based on the recording material information RI to determine the colors of the graphs and text within the slides to be AI-generated. This reduces variations in ink levels after printing the image data consisting of slides.

[0115] Figure 17 shows document data 160, which is input image II. Document data 160 is also referred to as print image PI, which is the image to be printed. Document data 160 is, for example, a report. The report contains information that can generate a graph, such as items A, B, ..., F and numerical values ​​corresponding to the items. For example, document data 160 contains the text 161, "October Sales," and its breakdown, consisting of multiple items A to F, and text 162 to 167, which contain numerical values ​​for each of the items A to F. The items are, for example, branches or products, and the numerical values ​​in the text are sales, etc.

[0116] The print selection screen 170 shown in Figure 18 has a generated image GI that includes a graph 171. The graph includes bars 172 that make up a bar graph. The bars 172 are colors that can be printed using the recording material of the consumed colors. The print selection screen 170 has a next button 173 which is operated when moving to the next generated image GI, a previous button 174 which is operated when returning to the previous generated image GI, and an adopt button 175 which adopts the generated image GI as the target for printing.

[0117] The system includes a display unit 22 that displays a print selection screen 170 allowing the user to select an image to print from multiple images, including a generated image GI. The print selection screen 170 includes an image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI, and an image generated by the generation AI module 31 without relying on the recording material information RI. The display unit 22 may also display a print selection screen 170 in which the user can select between slides containing graphs generated based on the recording material information RI and slides containing graphs generated without relying on the recording material information RI. Note that the slides may be generated from text entered by the user, rather than from a document or spreadsheet file such as Word or Excel.

[0118] The printing system 10 executes processing based on a sequence similar to the sequence shown in Figure 16. When the terminal device 20 receives a print instruction for the document data 160, which is the original image, it converts the document data 160 into print data and then sends it to the printing device 11 (steps S11, S12). The printing device 11, having received the print data, prints a document based on the document data (steps S13, S14). When the terminal device 20 receives an instruction to generate an image, it determines whether or not to generate an image using the recording material information RI (steps S15, S16). If the determination is positive (YES), it obtains the recording material information RI from the printing device 11 (steps S17, S18). The terminal device 20 generates an image generation command including the prompt generated using the recording material information RI and the document data 160 and sends it to the generation AI module 31 (steps S19, S20).

[0119] Upon receiving an image generation command, the generation AI module 31 analyzes the document data 160 according to the prompt's instructions to obtain multiple items A to F and corresponding numerical texts 162 to 167. Furthermore, the generation AI module 31 generates a generated image GI including a graph 171 based on the multiple sets of items and numerical values ​​obtained (steps S21, S22). The terminal device 20 displays the generated image GI received from the generation AI module 31, and when it receives permission to print from the user on the print confirmation screen 140, it converts the generated image GI into print data and sends it to the printing device 11 (steps S23, S24). The image transmission unit 86 transmits the print data to the printing device 11. The printing device 11 prints the generated image GI based on the received print data (steps S25, S26).

[0120] In the generated image GI graph 171, the multiple bar sections 172 are colored with colors that primarily consume recording materials, such as cyan (C) and light cyan (LC). Therefore, printing the generated image GI reduces the variation in the remaining amount of recording material among multiple recording material containers 53. Consequently, the frequency with which multiple recording material containers 53 can be replaced at once increases.

[0121] <Effects of the second embodiment> According to the second embodiment, in addition to obtaining the effects (1-1) to (1-20) described above in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0122] (2-1) The printing system 10 includes a display unit 22 that displays a print selection screen 170 that allows the user to select an image to print from among multiple images, including the generated image GI. With this configuration, the user can select the desired image to print from among multiple images, including the generated image GI.

[0123] (2-2) The print selection screen 170 includes an image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI, and an image generated by the generation AI module 31 without being based on the recording material information RI. With this configuration, the user can select one desired image from the image GI generated based on the recording material information RI and the image generated without being based on the recording material information RI.

[0124] (2-3) The generation AI module 31 is made to generate image GI from the document. With this configuration, the image GI, which is appropriate to the content of the document, makes the content of the document easier to understand visually, so the frequency of printing image GI tends to increase. Therefore, the effect of suppressing variations in the remaining amount of recording material is enhanced.

[0125] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 19 to 21, etc. In the above embodiments, the input image II used as the source data was a printed image PI, but in the third embodiment, the input image II is a file of the presentation material before printing. The application for creating the presentation material is, for example, Microsoft's presentation software, "Microsoft PowerPoint®".

[0126] The printing system 10 of this embodiment performs a printing process, including a recording material remaining amount reduction mode, based on the sequence shown in Figure 19. Figure 20 shows the input image II that the user inputs into the terminal device 20. This input image II is used as the source data (original image) for AI image generation. Upon receiving this input image II, the print control device 70 of the terminal device 20 causes the AI ​​generation module 31 to generate an image GI using the input image II as source data before printing the input image II.

[0127] The input image II shown in Figure 20 includes, for example, image data 180 consisting of presentation slides. The input image II may also be a file containing, for example, multiple image data consisting of slides. Figure 20 shows image data 180 consisting of one slide image in the file that is the input image II. The input image II may also be a file containing multiple image data 180s. The image data 180 includes editable elements, objects 181 and 182, and a non-editable element, template 183.

[0128] Here, objects 181 and 182 include text, such as letters, and shapes, such as arrows. Template 183 includes logos, such as company logos, which are not editable. Template 183 is set as a slide master, for example, as a part common to multiple slides. For example, parts such as backgrounds, logos, and project names that are set as slide masters are non-editable elements of template 183. Also, parts with editing restrictions set are non-editable elements of template 183. Note that parts such as backgrounds and project names that are not set as slide masters and do not have editing restrictions set are editable and are therefore editable elements. Users may freely set the parts included in template 183 that are non-editable elements.

[0129] Figure 21 shows the print selection screen 190 generated by the image generation unit 73 of the terminal device 20 using the input image II and the generated image GI. The terminal device 20 includes a display unit 22 that displays the print selection screen 190. The print selection screen 190 is a screen that allows the user to select an image to print from a plurality of images, including the generated image GI. The print selection screen 190 includes the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI and an image generated by the generation AI module 31 without being based on the recording material information RI. In the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI using the input image II as source data, the colors of objects 181 and 182 in the image data 180 are changed based on the recording material information RI, but the color of the template 183 is not changed.

[0130] In the print selection screen 190 shown in Figure 21, the original image, input image II, and the generated image GI are positioned to be compared with each other. Figure 21 shows a page displaying one image data 180 from among multiple image data 180 that make up input image II. On each page, the image data 180 that make up input image II and the image data 191 that make up generated image GI are positioned to be compared with each other. In the example of the print selection screen 190 shown in Figure 21, it is configured so that one image data 180 that makes up input image II can be compared with multiple image data 191 that make up generated image GI by switching between them.

[0131] The print selection screen 190 includes a selection button 192 for selecting the input image II for each page, and a selection button 193 for selecting the generated image GI. Furthermore, the print selection screen 190 includes a next button 194, which is operated when switching the generated image GI to the next image, and a previous button 195, which is operated when switching to the previous image. The multiple image data 191 that make up the generated image GI consist of multiple types of generated image GIs with different colors for the objects 181,182 that are printed using a recording material of the consumed color.

[0132] In the example shown in Figure 21, the color of the arrow mark object 181 in the input image II is, for example, a magenta-based color. In the generated image GI, the color of the arrow mark object 181 is, for example, a cyan-based color. When the generated image GI is switched, the color of the arrow mark object 181 switches to a different cyan-based color or a color that is a mixture of cyan and other colors in small proportions. Here, the instruction unit 82 instructs the generation AI module 31 to use a color scheme for the generated image GI that increases consumption for recording materials of consumption colors that should be increased based on the recording material information RI, and decreases consumption for recording materials of consumption suppression colors that should be suppressed based on the recording material information RI. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 21, the color scheme of the generated image GI is determined to increase consumption for cyan (C) recording materials, which are consumption colors based on the recording material information RI, and decrease consumption for magenta (M) recording materials, which are consumption suppression colors based on the recording material information RI. For example, in Figure 6, the threshold for determining the consumption suppression color is defined as the remaining amount value at which the difference ΔSL is smaller than the difference ΔS of the remaining amount that defines the threshold for determining the consumption color relative to the minimum remaining amount. The indicator unit 82 may then select the color of the recording material as the consumption suppression color, based on the recording material information RI, such that the difference in remaining amount relative to the minimum remaining amount is less than or equal to ΔSL.

[0133] The print selection screen 190 has a selection button 196 to advance to the next slide. The user selects a selection button to switch to the next slide, comparing the input image II and the generated image GI on each page, and switching the generated image GI on each page to select their preferred generated image GI or input image II to print.

[0134] Once the user has finished selecting the image data 180, which consists of slides for all pages, on the print selection screen 190, the print confirmation screen 140 shown in Figure 14 and the save confirmation screen 150 shown in Figure 15 are sequentially displayed on the display unit 22. The user prints, for example, all slides that make up the presentation file by selecting the YES button on the print confirmation screen 140 shown in Figure 14. In addition, regardless of whether printing is performed, the user can save the presentation file consisting of the image data 180 and 191 selected for each page as a separate file.

[0135] <Operation of the Third Embodiment> The operation of the printing system 10 will be explained below with reference to Figure 19. First, in step S31, the terminal device 20 receives a print command for the original image. Input image II is used as the original image. The terminal device 20 displays the image generation confirmation screen 100. The user selects the YES button 103 with the ink level variation reduction mode enabled.

[0136] In step S32, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not to correct the image using the recording material information RI. If the ink level variation reduction mode is enabled, the terminal device 20 determines to correct the image using the recording material information RI. If the image is corrected, the process proceeds to step S34; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S40.

[0137] In step S33, the printing device 11 transmits recording material information RI. After the printing of the original image is completed, it transmits the recording material information RI to the terminal device 20. The processing in steps S33 to S42 is the same as the processing in steps S17 to S26 in the first embodiment.

[0138] When terminal device 20 receives recording material information RI transmitted from printing device 11, it generates an image generation command (steps S33-S35). Terminal device 20 transmits the image generation command to generation AI module 31 (step S36). Upon receiving the image generation command, generation AI module 31 generates a generated image GI based on the image generation command (steps S37, S38). Based on the consumed color selected from the recording material information RI, the input image II, and the image generation command from the prompt, generation AI module 31 generates multiple generated image GIs for each page, in which the colors of objects 181 and 182 are different colors using the consumed color.

[0139] The terminal device 20 displays a print selection screen 190 (Figure 21) comparing the generated image GI received from the generation AI module 31 with the input image II (step S39). On the print selection screen 190, the user selects the image to be printed from the input image II and the generated image GI. The terminal device 20 sends the image to be printed to the printer 11 (step S40). At this time, if no image correction using the recording material information RI is performed in step S32, the input image II is sent to the printer 11 as the image to be printed. The printer 11 prints the image received from the terminal device 20 (steps S41, S42).

[0140] <Effects of the Third Embodiment> According to the third embodiment, in addition to obtaining the effects (1-1) to (1-7) and (1-9) to (1-20) in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0141] (3-1) The printing system 10 includes a display unit 22 that displays a print selection screen 190 that allows the user to select an image to print from among multiple images, including the generated image GI. With this configuration, the user can select the desired image to print from among multiple images, including the generated image GI.

[0142] (3-2) The print selection screen 190 includes an image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI, and an image generated by the generation AI module 31 without being based on the recording material information RI. With this configuration, the user can select one desired image from among the image GI generated based on the recording material information RI and the image generated without being based on the recording material information RI.

[0143] (3-3) Input image II is a file containing multiple image data, each containing editable elements (objects 181 and 182) and a non-editable element (template 183). The generated image GI, which is generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI using input image II as the source data, has the colors of objects 181 and 182 in the image data changed based on the recording material information RI, while the color of template 183 remains unchanged. With this configuration, the generated image GI is produced in which the colors based on the recording material information RI for multiple types of recording materials with different colors are reflected in the colors of objects 181 and 182, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image GI.

[0144] (3-4) The color scheme of the image GI that the instruction unit 82 has the generation AI module 31 generate is such that the consumption of recording materials of the colors based on the recording material information RI is increased, and the consumption of recording materials of the colors based on the recording material information RI is reduced. Therefore, variations in the remaining amount of multiple recording materials can be reduced more effectively.

[0145] (Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 22, 23, etc. In this embodiment, the comparison unit 85 constituting the prompt generation unit 84 compares the recording material information RI, and the consumption color selection conditions for selecting the consumption color differ from those of the previous embodiments.

[0146] The comparison unit 85 compares the remaining amount of each color based on the recording material information RI and determines the color of recording material to be consumed in order to reduce the variation in remaining amount, based on the comparison result. The threshold value of the color selection condition for selecting the color to be consumed based on this comparison process differs from that of the above embodiments.

[0147] As shown in Figure 22, when a lower limit is set to a value that is greater than the minimum remaining amount (light magenta in Figure 22) by a first difference ΔS1, and an upper limit is set to a value that is greater than the minimum remaining amount by a second difference ΔS2, the comparison unit 85 selects colors with remaining amounts within the range RS, which is greater than or equal to the lower limit and less than or equal to the upper limit, as colors to be consumed. In the example shown in Figure 22, the comparison unit 85 selects two colors, light cyan (LC) and yellow (Y), with remaining amounts R1 and R2, which are within the range RS, as colors to be consumed. Cyan (C), with the largest remaining amount R3, deviates from the range RS defined by the color consumption selection conditions to the larger side, so it is not selected as a color to be consumed. Also, magenta (M) with remaining amount R4 and light magenta (LM), which has the minimum remaining amount, deviate from the range RS to the smaller side, so they are not selected as colors to be consumed.

[0148] The prompt generation unit 84 generates a prompt that includes the consumed color selected by the comparison unit 85 from the comparison process. The instruction unit 82 uses the prompt as an image generation command to cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image. The generation AI module 31 generates an image GI with the consumed color included in the prompt as the main color and transmits it to the terminal device 20. The receiving unit 83 of the terminal device 20 receives the generated image GI from the generation AI module 31. When the user selects to print the generated image GI by operating the input unit 21, the print driver 72 of the print control device 70 instructs the print unit 50 to print the generated image GI. The print unit 50 prints the generated image GI. In this way, the printing unit 50 prints the generated image GI, resulting in more recording material of the consumed color being consumed than other recording materials.

[0149] Therefore, as shown in the recording material information RI in Figure 23, the consumption amounts of the two colors that are consumed, light cyan (LC) and yellow (Y), are greater than the consumption amounts of the other colors of recording material. Consequently, the variation in the remaining amount of recording material is reduced in Figure 23, which is after printing the generated image GI, compared to Figure 22, which is before printing the generated image GI. As a result, it is possible to replace the recording material containers 53 of four of the six colors of recording material (LC, M, Y, LM) at once. By replacing the four colored recording material containers 53 in this way, the variation between the remaining amount of these four colors of recording material and the remaining amount of the unreplaced cyan (C) recording material is reduced.

[0150] <Effects of the 4th Embodiment> According to the fourth embodiment, in addition to obtaining the effects (1-1) to (1-20) in the first embodiment and the effects of the second and third embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.

[0151] (4-1) The threshold for determining the color of recording material consumed based on the remaining amount information in the recording material information RI includes a lower threshold and an upper threshold. Specifically, the lower threshold is set to a value that is greater by a first difference ΔS1 from the minimum remaining amount, and the upper threshold is set to a value that is greater by a second difference ΔS2 (>ΔS1) from the minimum remaining amount. The color of recording material whose remaining amount falls within this range RS is considered the color of recording material consumed. Therefore, for recording material with a remaining amount that is excessively large compared to the minimum remaining amount, consumption is suppressed. As a result of replacing the recording material container 53 corresponding to the color whose consumption of the recording material was accelerated by printing the generated image GI, the variation in the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials can be reduced. In addition, it becomes possible to replace multiple recording material containers 53 at once. Therefore, the frequency of replacing the recording material container 53 per print run can be reduced.

[0152] (Fifth embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 24, etc. In this embodiment, the recording material information RI includes information on the unused period of printing using the recording material. The instruction unit 82 generates an image in the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI, which includes unused period information, which is information on the unused period of the printing unit 50. In addition to the remaining amount of recording material, the recording material information RI may also include information on the non-ejection period of the print head 52 that constitutes the printing unit 50. First, before describing the unused period, the configuration related to the ejection of the print head 52 will be described.

[0153] As shown in Figure 24, the print head 52 has nozzle rows N1 to N6, the same number as the number of ink colors (e.g., 6), each consisting of n nozzles 54 numbered #1 to #n (e.g., 100 to 500 nozzles) opening on its nozzle opening surface 52A (bottom surface). The print head 52 incorporates n ejection drive elements 58, shown in Figure 24 at positions corresponding to the n nozzles 54 that make up nozzle row N1. Multiple ejection drive elements 58 equal to the number of nozzle rows constitute an ejection drive element group 57. The nozzles 54 and ejection drive elements 58 constitute an ejection unit 59. The ejection drive elements 58 are, for example, piezoelectric elements or electrostatic drive elements capable of generating vibrations to eject liquid such as ink from the nozzles 54. The ejection drive elements 58 may also be heater elements that heat the ink and use the pressure (expansion pressure) of bubbles generated by film boiling to eject ink droplets from the nozzles 54.

[0154] During printing, if a particular color nozzle 54 is used frequently, the ink in the other nozzles 54 is not replaced because they are used less frequently. As a result, the ink in the less frequently used nozzles 54 tends to thicken. This thickening of the ink in the nozzles can cause ejection problems. Therefore, at regular intervals, ink unrelated to printing is ejected towards an object other than the medium M (for example, the cap) to refresh the ink in the nozzles 54. In this way, ejection problems caused by thickening of the ink in the nozzles 54 are suppressed.

[0155] The control unit 60 may measure the non-ejection period of the nozzle 54 during printing and store the measured non-ejection period information in the storage unit 62. If the printing device 11 is an inkjet type, the non-ejection period information corresponds to an example of unused period information of the recording material during printing. The non-ejection period information is the non-ejection period of the nozzle 54 with the longest non-ejection period among the multiple (n) nozzles 54 belonging to each nozzle row for each color. In this way, the control unit 60 stores the non-ejection period information for each color (for example, by nozzle row) as unused period information in the storage unit 62. If the unused period based on the unused period information is long, it is possible that the nozzle row includes a nozzle 54 in which the ink inside the nozzle 54 has thickened. The control unit 60 performs a nozzle inspection to check for nozzle ejection defects. If a nozzle ejection defect is detected as a result of the nozzle inspection, the maintenance unit 56 performs cleaning to forcibly eject ink from the nozzle 54. If the nozzle is severely clogged, the cleaning intensity will be increased. Cleaning forcibly ejects ink from nozzle 54, so ink is consumed regardless of printing. For this reason, it is preferable to perform printing at appropriate intervals to eject ink from the nozzles so that the period of non-use does not become too long.

[0156] Therefore, in this embodiment, the instruction unit 82 causes the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information RI, which includes unused period information. For example, the instruction unit 82 identifies the nozzle row to which the nozzle 54 with a long unused period belongs, based on the unused period information. The instruction unit 82 selects the color corresponding to the identified nozzle row as a candidate color for consumption, which is a candidate color for consumption, so that the color corresponding to that nozzle row is used for printing. On the other hand, the instruction unit 82 selects a color as a consumption color that satisfies the consumption color selection conditions shown in the first embodiment, based on the remaining amount information that indicates the remaining amount of each color in the recording material information RI. If the consumption color and the candidate color for consumption are the same, the control unit 60 instructs the control unit 60 to include the candidate color for consumption in the color of the generated image, as long as the remaining amount of the candidate color for consumption is below a threshold.

[0157] <Effects of the Fifth Embodiment> According to the fifth embodiment, in addition to obtaining the effects (1-1) to (1-20) in the first embodiment and the effects in the second to fourth embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.

[0158] (5-1) The recording material information RI includes information on the period of time the recording material has not been used for printing. In addition to the recording material information RI, a color image GI can be generated that reflects the period of time the recording material has not been used for printing. Therefore, printing the generated image GI can reduce variations in the remaining amount of recording material and reduce the frequency of printing errors caused by long periods of time when the recording material has not been used for printing by the printing unit 50. For example, if the printing device 11 is an inkjet type, it can reduce printing errors such as dot defects caused by nozzle ejection failures 54. It can also suppress the need to increase the frequency of cleaning or perform high-intensity cleaning.

[0159] Furthermore, the above embodiment can be modified to a form such as the following modified example. In addition, the above embodiment and the following modified example can be appropriately combined to form a further modified example, and the following modified examples can be appropriately combined to form a further modified example.

[0160] The print control device 70 may be configured such that, upon receiving an instruction to print multiple copies of the input image II, it determines whether there is enough recording material to print the specified number of copies, and if there is insufficient recording material for any color, the instruction unit 82 instructs the generation AI module 31 to change the color of the input image II so that the specified number of copies can be printed. This configuration reduces variations in the remaining amount of multiple recording materials, and allows the user to print the specified number of images. For example, it can avoid situations where there are not enough copies of presentation materials.

[0161] In the sequences shown in Figures 16 and 19 of the first and second embodiments described above, the printing based on the receipt of a print instruction for the original image may be eliminated, and the processing may start from the receipt of an instruction for image generation. That is, in Figure 16, steps S11 to S14 are eliminated, and processing starts from step S15. Also, in Figure 19, step S31 is replaced with an instruction for image generation instead of a print instruction for the original image. The user can instruct the generation AI module 31 to generate an image by operating the input unit 21 of the terminal device 20 to launch the application of the first image generation unit 73. When the first image generation unit 73 is launched, for example, the image generation confirmation screen 100 shown in Figure 9 is displayed on the display unit 22. The message MS1 in the image generation confirmation screen 100 may include content that does not rely on the recording material information RI, and may simply say, for example, "Do you want to generate an AI-generated image?". In this way, the user may use the application for the purpose of AI image generation, regardless of printing. In this case, the application may be configured to be used for the purpose of AI image generation using input image II. The instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on the recording material information RI and the input image information IS including the input image II. In addition to the recording material information RI, the instruction unit 82 may also cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on information including prompts entered by the user (e.g., text information). The first image generation unit 73 may display a print confirmation screen 140 on the display unit 22 to confirm the execution of printing the generated image GI. The first image generation unit 73 may display print selection screens 170, 190 on the display unit 22 to allow the user to select an image to print from a plurality of images including the generated image GI. The print selection screens 170, 190 may include an image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI and an image generated by the generation AI module 31 without based on the recording material information RI. If the instruction unit 82 is configured to cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on the recording material information RI, the printing system 10 may further have a prompt generation unit 84 that generates a prompt, which is an image generation command, based on the recording material information RI. After image generation, the system may allow the user to choose whether or not to save the generated image as a separate file.

[0162] In the first embodiment and the above modified examples, the display unit 22 may selectively display the generated image GI generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the recording material information RI shown in Figure 13, and the generated image generated by the generation AI module 31 without being based on the recording material information RI.

[0163] In the second embodiment and the above-described modification, only one generated image GI based on the recording material information RI shown in Figure 18 may be displayed on the display unit 22. In the second embodiment and the above-described modification, the generated image GI based on the recording material information RI shown in Figure 18 may allow for the selection of multiple generated image GIs with different graph types.

[0164] In the second embodiment and the above-described modifications, processing begins from the receipt of an instruction for image generation (for example, step S15 in Figure 16), and the received instruction may include audio data or video data. This allows for the generation of meeting minutes, including diagrams such as mind maps and fishbone diagrams, from audio and video data of a meeting. An example of this type of generation AI module 31 is "Mapify," which can generate mind maps containing keywords from audio and images (including videos).

[0165] The instruction unit 82 may instruct the generation AI module 31 to perform an extraction process to find a frame image that satisfies the color scheme based on the recording material information RI from the video data as the input image II. In this case, the instruction unit 82 may cut out a specific region containing the color scheme from the found frame image and use it as the generated image GI.

[0166] The instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate image GI by instructing it to extract frame images including graphs, tables, mind maps, etc. from the video data and to apply a color scheme based on the recording material information RI to the graphs, etc.

[0167] The instruction unit 82 may generate an image GI with color schemes based on recording material information RI by coordinating processes that give separate instructions to separate generation AI modules 31 of multiple servers 30.

[0168] In the second embodiment and the above-described modification, the generated image GI may have a graph 171 or table embedded in the source document data 160. The embedded graph 171 or table may be generated by the generation AI module 31 based on the text and numerical values ​​in the document data 160.

[0169] In each of the embodiments described above, the multiple types of recording materials in the recording material information RI relating to multiple recording materials of different colors were defined as recording materials of colors other than black, but the recording material information RI may also include information about black recording materials. Furthermore, the recording material information RI only needs to include information about two or more types of recording materials. In other words, the recording material information RI only needs to include information about a recording material of a first color and information about a recording material of a second color that is different from the first color. The recording material information RI is not limited to including all colors, but may include at least two colors from all colors.

[0170] In the above embodiment, the acquisition unit 81 is provided by the image generation unit 73 of the terminal device 20, but the acquisition unit may be provided by the first server 30 or the second server 40. In this case, the instruction unit may not include the recording material information RI itself in the instruction to the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the recording material information, but may acquire the recording material information first and then instruct the generation AI module 31 to generate an image. In this case, the generation AI module 31 that receives the instruction from the instruction unit may have an acquisition unit, and the acquisition unit of the generation AI module 31 may access the terminal device 20 or the printing device 11 to acquire the recording material information RI.

[0171] In the above embodiment, the terminal device 20 (print control device 70) is equipped with an image generation unit 73, but the second server 40 may be equipped with an image generation unit 73. In other words, the second server 40 may be equipped with an acquisition unit 81, an instruction unit 82, and a receiving unit 83. In this case, the second server 40 may communicate with the terminal device 20 to instruct the display unit 22 to display a confirmation screen, etc.

[0172] The acquisition unit 81, instruction unit 82, and receiving unit 83 do not need to be provided together in only one of the terminal device 20 or the printing device 11; they may be provided separately in either one. Also, at least one of the acquisition unit 81, instruction unit 82, and receiving unit 83 may be provided in the second server 40.

[0173] Although the terminal device 20 generates an image generation command (prompt), the printing device 11 may also generate the image generation command. The instruction unit 82 of the second image generation unit 65 may generate the image generation command via the prompt generation unit 84.

[0174] The generation AI module 31 may be provided by the second server 40. For example, the second server 40 may be provided with a generation AI module 31 having a generation AI model consisting of a trained LLM specifically designed for printing, which was designed by the manufacturer of the printing device 11. In this case, the configuration may be one in which the generation AI module 31 of the first server 30 is not used, or a configuration in which the respective generation AI modules 31 of each server 30 and 40 are used in combination. When giving instructions to the dedicated generation AI module 31, instead of giving instructions via prompts, it may be sufficient to simply send ink level data as recording material information RI.

[0175] The terminal device 20 may include a generation AI module 31. In this case, the print control device 70 may also include a generation AI module 31. The print control device 70 may include all of the acquisition unit 81, instruction unit 82, receiving unit 83, and generation AI module 31. The print control device 70 may further include a prompt generation unit 84.

[0176] The printing device 11 may include a generation AI module 31. The printing device 11 may include all of the acquisition unit 81, instruction unit 82, receiving unit 83, printing unit 50, and generation AI module 31. The printing device 11 may further include a prompt generation unit 84.

[0177] The printing device 11 may be a tank type, where the recording material container 53 is a tank capable of holding a liquid such as ink, which is an example of a recording material, instead of a replaceable cartridge type. If the recording material container 53 is a tank, the user replenishes the liquid such as ink using a bottle. The tank type printing device 11 may have multiple viewing windows on the main body 12 that allow the user to visually check the remaining amount of recording material (ink level) in the recording material container 53. The user may use the camera of a terminal device 20 such as a smartphone to capture the remaining amount in the multiple viewing windows and use the remaining amount image as recording material information RI. The acquisition unit 81 may acquire the remaining amount image as recording material information RI. For example, an upload unit may be provided on screens 100, 110, 120, 130 etc. displayed on the display unit 22 to upload images related to the recording material information RI, and the device may be configured to allow the uploading of the remaining amount image. The instruction unit 82 may attach the remaining amount image as is, or it may instruct the generation AI module 31 to generate an image using a prompt that includes recording material information RI consisting of text or a table obtained by analyzing the remaining amount image. The prompt generation unit 84 may generate a prompt, which is an image generation command, based on the remaining material image. In this case, the prompt may include the remaining material image, the prompt may consist only of the remaining material image, or it may generate a prompt that includes text such as the analysis result of the remaining material image. In the tank-type printing device 11, the variation in the remaining amount of recording material is reduced, which increases the frequency with which the user can replenish multiple recording material containers 53 (tanks) at once. Therefore, the frequency of replenishing recording material in the recording material containers 53 per print run can be reduced.

[0178] The remaining amount images obtained by capturing multiple remaining amount scales 91 to 96 of the remaining amount notification screen 90 shown in Figure 5 with the camera of a terminal device 20 such as a smartphone may be used as recording material information RI. In this case, the acquisition unit 81 may acquire the remaining amount images as recording material information RI. The instruction unit 82 may include the remaining amount images as part of the prompt. The prompt may consist only of the remaining amount images. Even if the prompt consists only of the remaining amount images, the generation AI module 31 can analyze the captured images to obtain the remaining amount of each color and generate a color generation image GI in which the color of the recording material with the most remaining amount is the color consumed.

[0179] In each of the above embodiments, before sending a prompt, it was confirmed on the image generation confirmation screen 100 whether it was OK to generate an image using the recording material information. However, it is also possible to configure the system so that the possibility of AI image generation can be confirmed and set in the initial settings of the print driver 72, etc. In this case, if AI image generation is permitted, the conditions for permission can be set in the initial settings. For example, it may be permitted when it is a photo print, or when the variation in the remaining amount of recording material exceeds a threshold. Furthermore, it is also possible to set whether AI image generation is permitted and the permission conditions, etc., from a setting screen displayed on the display units 16, 22 of the printing device 11 or terminal device 20, not limited to the initial settings of the print driver, etc.

[0180] The user may be able to set whether or not to enable AI image generation on a settings screen displayed on the terminal device 20 or the printing device 11. The image generation confirmation screen 100 may be displayed or an AI image may be generated only if it is determined that the recording material remaining amount variation reduction mode is necessary based on the comparison results of the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials.

[0181] • The consumed color may include the color of the recording material with the second lowest remaining amount among the multiple recording materials, after the recording material with the lowest remaining amount. With this configuration, by bringing the remaining amounts of two or more recording materials with the lowest remaining amounts closer together, the frequency of being able to replace multiple recording material containers 53 at once increases.

[0182] - The color of the second least remaining recording material, whose difference ΔS from the minimum remaining amount is less than or equal to a predetermined value, may be selected as the color to be consumed. With this configuration, the color of the second least remaining recording material, which is too far from the minimum remaining amount, will not be selected as the color to be consumed, thus preventing it from being unnecessarily consumed during the printing of the generated image GI. In addition, after replacing multiple recording material containers 53, each containing the minimum and second least remaining recording materials, at near-end or below remaining amounts, the variation in remaining amounts among the multiple recording material containers 53 after replacement can be reduced.

[0183] • Multiple colors may include gray. In this case, the generated image may be a grayscale image using gray recording material. Examples of grayscale images include ink paintings, pencil drawings, pencil illustrations, and monochrome photographs. Furthermore, if gray ink is the primary recording material consumed, and the remaining amount of black recording material is above a threshold, a small amount of black recording material may be used to print the grayscale image.

[0184] The recording material information RI does not have to be ink level information; it can also be ink usage information or information on the period of time the ink has not been ejected. The amount of recording material in the recording material container 53 can be estimated from the information on the period of time the ink has not been ejected for each color. By using the information on the period of time the ink has not been ejected for each color, if the ink of the color with the longest period of time has been ejected as the main consumed color when the image GI is generated, the thickened ink in the nozzles of the print head 52 will be ejected by printing, which may reduce the frequency of cleaning required when ejection failures occur due to the thickened ink in the nozzles.

[0185] In the first and second embodiments described above, Figure 16 shows a configuration in which the printing device 11 transmits the recording material information RI after the printing of the original image, the printed image. However, this timing can be anytime before that. Transmitting it after the printing of the printed image allows for obtaining remaining material information that more accurately reflects the current remaining amount. On the other hand, if the recording material information is transmitted before the start of printing of the printed image, the time lag between the end of printing of the printed image and the start of printing of the generated image GI can be reduced.

[0186] In the first to third embodiments described above, the prompt included data of a printed image, but this is not limited to that. The image to be included in the prompt may be an image that has been printed in the past (for example, an image in the print history), or an image stored in the memory of the terminal device 20. Alternatively, it may be text that the user has entered in addition to the printed image, or the prompt may be created using only the recording material information RI.

[0187] In each of the above embodiments, the instruction unit 82 caused the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on the color information of the medium M to be printed. However, the material of the medium M is not limited to paper or synthetic resin film. For example, the printing device 11 may be a garment printer configured to print images on fabric products such as T-shirts or tote bags, or a textile printing device configured to print images on woven fabrics. In this case, the medium M is, for example, cloth, and the color information includes, for example, the background color of the cloth. The background color of the cloth may be one color, or if there is a pattern, it may be two or more colors. In each of the above embodiments and this modified example, the instruction (e.g., prompt) given by the instruction unit 82 to the generation AI module 31 may include information indicating that the color scheme of the generated image GI should be determined after determining the appropriateness of the combination of the color information of the medium M and the colors to be colored in the generated image GI, based on the recording material information RI and the color information of the medium M. For example, this instruction may include information indicating that for areas of the generated image GI adjacent to the background area of ​​the medium M, a color scheme should be determined that avoids the same color or an approximate color as the background color of the medium M. This color scheme may include a mixture of a first and second consuming color, which are different colors from each other, if a consuming color (first consuming color) exists that is the same color as or similar to the background color of medium M. The instructions may also include at least one of the prompt and the image of medium M before printing (e.g., a photograph).

[0188] The instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image based on location information indicating the position on the medium M, in addition to the recording material information RI. For example, the instruction unit 82 may cause the generation AI module 31 to generate an image GI based on location information of design elements that have been pre-applied to the medium M to be printed. Design elements include, for example, illustrations, patterns, logos, lines, and text. The instruction (e.g., a prompt) that the instruction unit 82 gives to the generation AI module 31 includes information that, for example, the instruction unit should generate an image that can be printed in an area that avoids the design elements based on the location information of the design elements on the medium M. This instruction may include at least one of the prompt and an image (e.g., a photograph) of the medium M. The generation AI module 31 generates an image at a position that avoids the design elements on the medium M based on the location information in the instruction (image generation command) received from the instruction unit 82. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the design elements such as logos being hidden by the generated image GI printed on the medium M. Note that the location information is not limited to information indicating positions to avoid placing the image, but may also be information indicating positions to place the image on the medium M.

[0189] • Because the generated image GI may not conform to the policies of the company or organization, the prompt may include restrictions on image generation, such as restrictions from the perspective of protecting personal information. The image read by the image reading unit 13 of the printing device 11 may be used as the input image II (original image).

[0190] In each of the embodiments described above, the user was asked to confirm whether or not to generate an image by displaying the image generation confirmation screen 100 for all printing operations, but this is not limited to this. The user may also be asked to confirm whether or not to generate an image on the confirmation screen only when it is determined that it is a photo print because the information related to "type of medium (medium type)," which is one of the printing condition information, is "photo paper." If the YES button is selected on that confirmation screen, the generation AI module 31 may be made to generate an image.

[0191] In each of the above embodiments, a method was employed in which the remaining amount of recording material was compared with a threshold. However, the consumed color may be determined solely by the relative difference in the remaining amount of each color, or the consumption ratio in the generated image GI of the determined consumed color may be determined.

[0192] The user may be allowed to freely select between a mode in which the generating AI module 31 generates images in a way that increases the consumption ratio of consumed colors in the generated image GI, and other modes.

[0193] If the remaining amount is below a predetermined threshold, the image GI may be generated without using the recording material of that color. The generation AI module 31 may be instructed to acquire the recording material information RI. In other words, the generation AI module 31 may be equipped with an acquisition unit 81. In this case, the instruction unit 82 may include, for example, wording (text) in the prompt that instructs "Acquire remaining material information from the printer 11 at the specified address within the same network." For example, this is possible if the terminal device 20 having the instruction unit 82 is a PC or the like that can access the generation AI module 31 via the network NW.

[0194] In the above embodiments, information regarding black recording materials among the recording material information RI was not used to instruct image generation, but information regarding black recording materials may be used to instruct image generation. The comparison unit 85 may select the color to be consumed by comparing the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials, including black recording materials.

[0195] Regarding black recording material, it may be acceptable to use it less in image generation compared to color recording material. For example, in a configuration where images are generated without consuming the color of recording material whose remaining amount is below a predetermined threshold, the threshold for black may be set higher than the threshold for color.

[0196] Although the prompt generation unit 84 is equipped with a comparison unit 85, the comparison unit 85 may be omitted, and instead, the comparison process may be instructed by a prompt, causing the generation AI module 31 to perform the comparison process.

[0197] Alternatively, instead of the recording material consumption measurement unit 64 measuring the amount of recording material consumed, a sensor for detecting the amount of recording material may be provided in the recording material container 53, and the amount of recording material (e.g., remaining amount) may be detected based on the detection result of the sensor.

[0198] The recording material information RI may include information on when the recording material container 53 was replaced. Since the remaining amount of recording material container 53 is estimated to be less the older the replacement time, the color to be consumed may be selected by comparing the replacement times. Thus, in addition to comparing the quantities of multiple recording materials, at least one other piece of information in the recording material information RI that is estimated to yield the same or similar comparison results as the quantity comparison results may also be used.

[0199] The information in the recording material information RI used to select the color to be consumed may include, for example, expiration date information relating to the expiration date of the recording material. Based on the expiration date information, the color to be consumed may be selected to prioritize the consumption of recording materials with shorter expiration dates. In this case, a threshold may be set for the remaining period until the expiration date, and the color of the recording material with a remaining period below the threshold may be selected as the color to be consumed. Also, if the recording material that meets the expiration date condition includes the recording material with the minimum remaining amount, the color of the other recording materials excluding the recording material with the minimum remaining amount may be used as the color to be consumed. Here, it can be estimated that the recording material container 53 with a shorter expiration date tends to have less remaining material. Therefore, the variation in the remaining amounts of multiple recording materials can be reduced. This increases the frequency with which multiple (2 or more) recording material containers 53 can be replaced or refilled with liquid in one go, and the recording material with the shortest expiration date can be consumed in priority. Note that the expiration date information only needs to be able to identify the expiration date, and may also be the manufacturing date or the manufacturing lot number which can identify the manufacturing month.

[0200] • If there are two or more groups of recording materials with similar quantities, the variation in the remaining amount of two or more recording materials belonging to one group may be reduced. In this way, the variation in the remaining amount of two or more recording materials belonging to one group may be reduced by narrowing down the multiple recording materials (e.g., multiple colors) that are the target of selection of consumption colors to one group. This makes it easier to reduce the variation in the remaining amount of two or more recording materials that are a part of the multiple recording materials that are the target of selection of consumption colors, thereby increasing the frequency to which two or more recording material containers 53 can be replaced or refilled with liquid in one go.

[0201] The printing unit 50 does not have to include the maintenance unit 56. The printing unit 50 does not have to include the transport unit 55. The printing unit 50 may consist only of the print head 52. The printing device 11 is not limited to consumer or business use for personal or home use, but may also be a multifunction printer for office use.

[0202] The technical concepts and their effects, as understood from the above embodiments and modified examples, are described below. [1] The printing system comprises an acquisition unit that acquires recording material information relating to multiple recording materials of different colors; an instruction unit that causes a generation AI module to generate an image based on the recording material information; a receiving unit that receives the generated image generated by the generation AI module; and a printing unit that prints the received generated image using the recording material. With this configuration, the colors based on the recording material information relating to multiple recording materials of different colors are reflected in the generated image, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image.

[0203] [2] In the printing system described in [1] above, the instruction unit may cause the generation AI module to generate an image based on input image information, which includes an input image, in addition to the recording material information. With this configuration, an image is generated that reflects the colors based on the recording material information and the input image, so the frequency of printing the generated image is likely to increase as the user becomes interested in the generated image.

[0204] [3] In the printing system described in [1] or [2] above, the instruction unit may cause the generation AI module to generate an image based on information including prompts entered by the user, in addition to the recording material information. With this configuration, the generation AI module can generate an image desired by the user. As a result, the frequency with which the user prints the generated image increases, and variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0205] [4] The printing system described in any one of [1] to [3] above may be provided with a display unit that displays an image generation confirmation screen to confirm permission to generate an image based on the recording material information. With this configuration, the user can only allow image generation if desired, thus suppressing delays in printing of input images, etc., caused by the generation of unnecessary images.

[0206] [5] The printing system described in any one of [1] to [3] above may include a display unit that displays the generated image and a print confirmation screen that confirms the execution of printing the generated image. With this configuration, the user can quickly execute printing if they wish to print after confirming the displayed generated image.

[0207] [6] The printing system described in any one of [1] to [3] above may include a display unit that displays a print selection screen allowing the user to select an image to print from a plurality of images, including the generated image. With this configuration, the user can select the desired image to print from a plurality of images, including the generated image.

[0208] [7] The printing system described in any one of [1] to [6] above may further include a prompt generation unit that generates a prompt, which is an image generation command, based on the recording material information. With this configuration, a generated image in accordance with the image generation command can be generated by the prompt generated based on the recording material information.

[0209] [8] In the printing system described in [7] above, the prompt generation unit may have a comparison unit that compares the remaining amounts of the multiple recording materials. With this configuration, the color of the recording material to be reflected in the prompt can be identified by comparing the remaining amounts of the multiple recording materials. Therefore, the consumption of the recording material of the identified color is promoted by printing the generated image, and variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0210] [9] In the printing system described in [2] above, the input image is a printed image that has been instructed to be printed, and the acquisition unit may acquire the recording material information after the printed image has been printed. With this configuration, the image is generated based on the latest recording material information after the printed image has been printed, so variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced.

[0211]

[10] In the printing system described in [6] above, the print selection screen may include images generated by the generation AI module based on the recording material information and images generated by the generation AI module without regard to the recording material information. With this configuration, the user can select one desired image from among the images generated based on the recording material information and the images generated without regard to the recording material information.

[0212]

[11] In the printing system described in [4] above, the image generation confirmation screen may be displayed based on the user's printing operations. With this configuration, the generation confirmation screen can be displayed at an appropriate time based on the user's printing operations, making it less likely for the user to miss any confirmations.

[0213]

[12] In the printing system described in any one of [1] to

[11] above, the recording material information may also include information on the remaining amount of the recording material. With this configuration, an image that reflects the color corresponding to the remaining amount of the recording material can be generated, and by printing the generated image, variations in the remaining amount of the recording material can be reduced.

[0214]

[13] In the printing system described in any one of [1] to

[12] above, the recording material information may also include information on the period during which printing using the recording material has not been performed. With this configuration, in addition to the recording material information, a color image reflecting the period during which printing using the recording material has not been performed can be generated. Therefore, by printing the generated image, variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be reduced, and the frequency of printing errors caused by a long period of non-use of printing using the recording material by the printing unit can be reduced.

[0215]

[14] In the printing system described in any one of [1] to

[13] above, the receiving unit may be given the option to choose whether or not to save the generated image it has received as a separate file. With this configuration, it is easier for the user to save their favorite generated image as a separate file.

[0216]

[15] In the printing system described in [2] above, the input image is a file comprising multiple image data including editable elements, which are objects, and non-editable elements, which are templates, and the generated image generated by the generation AI module based on the recording material information using the input image as source data is such that the color of the objects in the image data is changed based on the recording material information, but the color of the templates is not changed. With this configuration, a generated image is produced in which the color of the objects is reflected in the color of the objects based on the recording material information for multiple types of recording materials that have different colors from each other, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image.

[0217]

[16] The print control device is a print control device provided in a terminal device for giving printing instructions to a printing device, and comprises: an acquisition unit for acquiring recording material information relating to a plurality of recording materials of different colors; an instruction unit for causing a generation AI module to generate an image based on the recording material information; a receiving unit for receiving the generated image generated by the generation AI module; and an image transmission unit for transmitting the received generated image to a printing device that prints using the recording materials. With this configuration, the colors based on the recording material information relating to a plurality of recording materials of different colors are reflected in the generated image, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image.

[0218]

[17] The printing method includes acquiring recording material information relating to multiple recording materials of different colors, generating an image using a generation AI module based on the recording material information, and printing the generated image generated by the generation AI module using the recording material. With this method, the colors based on the recording material information relating to multiple recording materials of different colors are reflected in the generated image, so that variations in the remaining amount of recording material can be effectively reduced by printing the generated image. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0219] 10…Printing system, 11…Printing device, 12…Main unit, 12A…Outlet, 13…Image reading unit, 14…Cover, 15…Input unit, 16…Display unit, 17…Supply cassette, 18…Output tray, 19…Communication unit, 20…Terminal device, 21…Input unit, 22…Display unit, 30…Server (1st server), 31…Generating AI module, 40…Server (2nd server), 41…Generating AI service provision module, 50…Printing unit, 51…Carriage, 52…Print head, 52A…Nozzle opening surface, 53…Recording material container, 54…Nozzle, 55…Transport unit, 56…Maintenance unit, 57 ...Ejection drive element group, 58...Ejection drive element, 59...Ejection unit, 60...Control unit, 61...Computer, 62...Storage unit, 63...Print control unit, 64...Recording material consumption measurement unit, 65...Image generation unit (second image generation unit), 70...Print control device, 71...Computer, 72...Print driver, 73...Image generation unit (first image generation unit), 81...Acquisition unit, 82...Instruction unit, 83...Receiver unit, 84...Prompt generation unit, 85...Comparison unit, 86...Image transmission unit, 88...Print condition setting screen, 90...Remaining amount notification screen, 91~96...Remaining amount scale, 100...Image generation confirmation screen, 101...Selection, 10 2...Options, 103...YES button, 104...NO button, 110...Image generation method selection screen, 111...Select button, 112...Select button, 120...Image generation conditions confirmation screen, 121...Options, 122...Options, 123...Input field, 124...Generate button, 125...Cancel button, 130...Composite image specification screen, 131...Options, 132...Select button, 133...Select button, 134...Input field, 140...Print confirmation screen, 141...YES button, 142...NO button, 150...Save confirmation screen, 160...Document data, 161~167...Text, 170...Print selection screen 171...Graph, 172...Bar section, 173...Next button, 174...Previous button, 175...Adopt button, 180...Image data (slide image), 181...Object, 182...Object, 183...Template, 190...Print selection screen, 191...Image data, 192...Select button, 193...Select button, 194...Next button, 195...Previous button, 196...Select button, NW...Network, HNW...Home network, M...Media, X1...Width direction, Y1...Transport direction, RI...Recording material information, II...Input image, PI...Print image, IS...Input image information,GI...Generated image (image), MS1...Message, MS2...Message, MS3...Message, MS4...Message, MS5...Message, MS6...Message, ΔS...Difference, ΔRn...Remaining amount difference, ΔR1...Remaining amount difference, ΔR2...Remaining amount difference, RS...Range, ΔS1...First difference, ΔS2...Second difference, N1~N6...Nozzle row.

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires recording material information for multiple recording materials of different colors, Based on the aforementioned recording material information, an instruction unit instructs the generation AI module to generate an image, A receiving unit that receives the generated image generated by the aforementioned generation AI module, A printing unit that prints the received generated image using the recording material, A printing system characterized by comprising the following features.

2. A printing system according to claim 1, The printing system is characterized in that the instruction unit causes the generation AI module to generate an image based on input image information, including an input image, in addition to the recording material information.

3. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, The printing system is characterized in that the instruction unit causes the generating AI module to generate an image based on information including a prompt entered by the user, in addition to the recording material information.

4. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized by comprising a display unit that displays an image generation confirmation screen confirming permission to generate an image based on the aforementioned recording material information.

5. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized by comprising a display unit that displays the generated image and a print confirmation screen that confirms the execution of printing the generated image.

6. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized by comprising a display unit that displays a print selection screen allowing the user to select an image to print from a plurality of images, including the generated image.

7. A printing system according to claim 1 or 2, A printing system characterized by further comprising a prompt generation unit that generates prompts, which are image generation commands, based on the aforementioned recording material information.

8. A printing system according to claim 7, The printing system is characterized in that the prompt generation unit has a comparison unit that compares the remaining amounts of the plurality of recording materials.

9. A printing system according to claim 2, The input image is a printed image that has been instructed to be printed, and the acquisition unit acquires the recording material information after the printed image has been printed. A printing system characterized by the following features.

10. A printing system according to claim 6, The printing system is characterized in that the print selection screen includes an image generated by the generation AI module based on the recording material information and an image generated by the generation AI module without being based on the recording material information.

11. A printing system according to claim 4, The printing system is characterized in that the image generation confirmation screen is displayed based on the user's printing operations.

12. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized in that the recording material information includes information on the remaining amount of the recording material.

13. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized in that the recording material information includes information on the period during which printing using the recording material has not been performed.

14. A printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A printing system characterized in that the receiving unit allows the user to choose whether or not to save the generated image it has received as a separate file.

15. A printing system according to claim 2, The aforementioned input image is a file containing multiple image data elements, including objects which are editable elements and templates which are non-editable elements. A printing system characterized in that the generated image, which is generated by the generation AI module based on the recording material information using the input image as source data, has the color of the object in the image data changed based on the recording material information, but the color of the template is not changed.

16. A print control device provided in a terminal device for giving printing instructions to a printing device, An acquisition unit that acquires recording material information for multiple recording materials of different colors, Based on the aforementioned recording material information, an instruction unit instructs the generation AI module to generate an image, A receiving unit that receives the generated image generated by the aforementioned generation AI module, An image transmission unit that transmits the received generated image to a printing device that prints using the recording material, A printing control device characterized by comprising:

17. To obtain recording material information for multiple recording materials that differ in color from each other, Based on the aforementioned recording material information, an image is generated by the generation AI module, The generated image produced by the AI ​​generation module is printed using the recording material. A printing method characterized by including the following.

Images