Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

It presents printing process settings that correspond to the impression the user wants to convey to the printed material. [Solution] Based on information indicating the desired impression of the printed material, the printing process settings are displayed. At this time, at least one of the setting items for the printing machine and printing press used to print the material, and the setting items for the post-processing machine are displayed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for a printing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an online printing service in which manuscript digital data is submitted to a printing company on the web and the printed product printed by the printing company is sent to the user has been widely spread. Some of the online printing services also provide a function to support the creation of a product that matches the impression required by the user, such as presenting a design template to the user.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses that by receiving from a user an impression to be given to a printed matter together with content such as an image or text to be placed on the printed matter, a printed manuscript image reflecting the intention of the user is generated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, even if a printed manuscript image reflecting the intention of the user is created, if the settings related to each printing process are not appropriate, the printed matter may not sufficiently reflect the intention of the user. In particular, it is assumed that users of online printing services are not proficient in printing and have little knowledge about printing, and there is a possibility that appropriate settings cannot be selected.

[0006] In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to reflect the impression intended by the user in a printed matter.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention comprises an acquisition means for obtaining information from a user regarding the impression that the printed material is to be given, and a display means for displaying one or more printing process settings based on the information, wherein the printing process settings include at least one of a printing machine for printing the printed material and setting items in the printing machine, and a post-processing machine and machine setting items in the post-processing machine. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] This invention makes it possible to display printing process settings based on the user's intended impression. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Hardware configuration diagram of the information processing device 1 in the first embodiment [Figure 2] System configuration diagram of the information processing device 1 in the first embodiment [Figure 3] Flowchart showing the processing of the information processing device 1 in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Dialog displayed in S302 in the first embodiment [Figure 5] Example of impression evaluation information 201 in the first embodiment [Figure 6] Example of equipment operation information 202 in the first embodiment [Figure 7] Dialog displayed in S304 in the first embodiment [Figure 8] System configuration diagram of the information processing device 1 in the second embodiment [Figure 9] Flowchart showing the processing of the information processing device 1 in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] (First Embodiment) One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are not limiting to the present invention, and not all combinations of features described in these embodiments are essential to the solution of the present invention. Also, identical components will be denoted by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, each step in the flowchart will be indicated by a reference numeral beginning with S.

[0011] In this embodiment, it is assumed that when a user issues a print request to a printing company on the web, they specify the printing process settings in addition to the original data. The information processing device in this embodiment receives the impression that the user wants the printed output to have, and based on the received impression, presents the user with the type of printing medium to be used for printing, the printer model, the printer settings, as well as printing process settings such as post-processing equipment such as laminators and binding machines, and post-processing machine settings.

[0012] (Hardware configuration of information processing device 1) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device described in this embodiment. The information processing device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, ROM (Read-Only Memory) 102, RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a display 104, and an operation unit 105. It also includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 106 and a NIC (Network Interface Card) 107. The CPU 101 uses the RAM 103 as work memory to execute the OS (Operating System) and various programs stored in the ROM 102, HDD 106, etc. The NIC 107 connects to external devices, including the job management device 2, via the internet to input and output information.

[0013] The CPU 101 displays a user interface (UI) provided by a program on the display 104 and accepts user input via the operation unit 105. The display 104 is composed of a panel such as an LCD or an organic EL. The operation unit 105 accepts user operations by means such as a mouse, keyboard, or the touch panel on the display 104.

[0014] The job management device 2 has the same hardware configuration as the information processing device 1, and manages the types of printing media, the operating status of printing machines, and post-processing machines owned by a printing company. A detailed description of the hardware configuration of the job management device 2 is omitted.

[0015] (System configuration of the information processing device 1) FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the information processing device 1 in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the system configuration of the information processing device 1 will be described using this figure. The OS 12 is an operating system and is a group of instructions for controlling input / output and starting and switching applications. The device driver 121 is a group of instructions included in the OS 12 and controls the display 104, the operation unit 105, the HDD 106, and the NIC 107 included in the information processing device 1. Various applications can control these devices by sending predetermined instructions to the OS 12. The print request issuance application 11 is a group of instructions for reading information from the HDD 106 and displaying it on the display 104. The print request issuance application 11 includes an impression acquisition unit 111, an original image acquisition unit 112, a search unit 113, a presentation unit 114, and a determination unit 115.

[0016] The impression acquisition unit 111 receives information regarding the impression to be given to the printed product and instructions regarding the user's impression. The original image acquisition unit 112 acquires original image data for printing from the HDD 106, recording media on the Internet, or the like. The search unit 113 searches for print process settings recommended to the user. Then, it acquires the device operation information 202, which is a list of print machine type information and post-processing machine type information that can be operated from the job management device 2. Further, from the impression evaluation information 201 and the device operation information 202, it searches for print process settings that satisfy the impression received by the impression acquisition unit 111. The presentation unit 114 presents the print process settings searched by the search unit 113 to the user. The determination unit 115 receives the print process settings from the user and issues a print request to the job management device 2 based on the received print process settings.

[0017] (Processing flow in the information processing device 1) Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the processes performed by the print request issuance application 11. The details of the processes performed by the print request issuance application 11 will be explained below using this diagram. Hereafter, each step will be represented by the letter S before it.

[0018] In S301, the document image acquisition unit 112 receives instructions from the user and acquires document image data to be printed from the HDD 106 or a recording medium on the internet.

[0019] In S302, the impression acquisition unit 111 displays a selection of impressions to be given to the printed material on the display 104 and acquires the selected impression from the user via the operation unit 105.

[0020] Figure 4 shows an example of an impression reception dialog displayed on the display 104 in S302. The impression reception dialog 401 displays a two-dimensional coordinate plane. "Luxurious" and "Approachable" are displayed as opposing concepts on the same axis (hereinafter referred to as the first axis), while "Flashy" and "Calm" are displayed as opposing concepts on a different axis from the first axis (hereinafter referred to as the second axis). Furthermore, multiple radio buttons are placed in various parts of the coordinate plane. The user selects one of the multiple radio buttons located in the area of ​​the coordinate plane that is closest to the impression they want the printed output to have, and presses the "OK" button. The impression acquisition unit 111 acquires impression information, which is the weighting of the priority of the impression the user is aiming for, from the position of the enabled radio button. For example, "Luxurious" is given a positive weight for the first axis, and "Flashy" is given a positive weight for the second axis. In this figure, if the radio button indicated by the black circle is enabled, the weight w1 for the first axis is acquired as -1, and the weight w2 for the second axis is acquired as 0. If the radio button located in the upper right corner of the coordinate plane displayed on the impression reception dialog 401 is enabled, the weight w1 for the first axis is obtained as 1, and the weight w2 for the second axis is obtained as 1.

[0021] It should be noted that the method of displaying the impression options in this embodiment is merely an example; for example, the words used to represent the impression are not limited to these, nor are the number of axes limited to two. Furthermore, the selection method is not limited to radio buttons. For each axis, the user may provide discrete values ​​or continuous values ​​as the priority weights of the impressions.

[0022] In S303, the search unit 113 obtains impression evaluation information 201 and equipment operation information 202 from the job management device 2 via the internet and searches for printing process settings that satisfy the impression received by the impression acquisition unit 111. The impression evaluation information 201 is information that evaluates the degree to which the type of printing medium used for printing, the printing machine, the machine settings of the printing machine, the post-processing machine, and the machine settings of the post-processing machine have an influence on the impression of the printed product. In this embodiment, the impression evaluation information 201 consists of three tables. The first is a table that shows the influence of the type of printing medium on the impression of the product (hereinafter referred to as the printing medium type table). The second is a table that shows the influence of the printing machine and its machine settings on the impression of the product (hereinafter referred to as the printing machine table). The third is a table that shows the influence of the post-processing machine and its machine settings on the impression of the product (hereinafter referred to as the post-processing machine table).

[0023] Figure 5 shows an example of impression evaluation information 201. Figure 5(a) shows an example of a print media type table. Print media with high gloss can give a flashy impression, while print media with high whiteness can give a luxurious impression. Print media with a rough texture or low whiteness can give a friendly impression. In this way, the type of print media used affects the impression of the final product. The print media type table stores this effect as a quantitative value for each print media type. In this embodiment, a positive value is set as the first axis evaluation value for products that give the impression of "luxury," and a negative value is set as the first axis evaluation value for products that give the impression of "friendly." Similarly, a positive value is set as the second axis evaluation value for products that give the impression of "flashy," and a negative value is set as the second axis evaluation value for products that give the impression of "calm."

[0024] Figure 5(b) shows an example of a printing press table. Printing presses equipped with colors other than process colors, known as spot colors, can reproduce vivid colors, giving the finished product a flashy impression. Conversely, printing presses with low reproducibility to the original image can create a textured and approachable impression. Furthermore, even with the same printing press, the impression of the finished product can be changed by changing the printing process settings. For example, in an electrophotographic printing press that fixes colorants onto the printing medium by applying heat and pressure, increasing the applied heat and pressure enhances the glossiness of the fixed colorant, giving the finished product a flashy impression. Thus, the printing press used and the machine settings of the printing press also affect the impression of the finished product. The printing press table stores this effect as quantitative values ​​for each printing press and for each group of machine setting items (presets) that affect the impression. In this embodiment, similar to the printing medium type table, it stores first-axis evaluation values ​​and second-axis evaluation values ​​that represent the effect. Furthermore, since some printing presses have restrictions on the types of printing media that can be printed, it also stores information on the types of printing media that can be printed.

[0025] Figure 5(c) shows an example of a post-processing machine table. By laminating the output from the printing press, the glossiness can be increased, giving the finished product a more striking appearance. Furthermore, by applying various folding processes to the output from the printing press, the finished product can give an impression of luxury or approachability. In this way, post-processing can also have an additional impact on the impression of the finished product. The post-processing machine table stores this impact as a quantitative value for each post-processing machine and for each group of machine setting items that affect the impression. In this embodiment, similar to the print media type table, it stores first-axis evaluation values ​​and second-axis evaluation values ​​that represent the impact.

[0026] The evaluation values ​​for each table may be determined through surveys or other means, or they may be determined by measuring physical quantities such as glossiness and converting them based on the relationship between the previously determined physical quantities and the impression.

[0027] Figure 6 shows an example of equipment operation information 202, which is information on the print and post-processing machine groups that can be instructed to operate. The search unit 113 uses the impression evaluation information 201 and the equipment operation information 202 to determine the printing process settings that satisfy the impression received by the impression acquisition unit 111 as the printing process settings recommended to the user. Specifically, it determines the printing process settings recommended to the user as a combination of machine setting items that maximizes the evaluation function E shown in (Equation 1) below. The machine setting items are the type of printing medium, the printing machine, the machine setting items of the printing press, the post-processing machine, and the post-processing machine. Each element is selected from the elements included in the impression evaluation information 201. Multiple machines may be selected for the post-processing machine.

[0028]

number

[0029] 'a' represents the axes of each impression. Here, we use the first axis related to luxury and the second axis related to flashiness. a This is the priority weight of axis a received by the impression acquisition unit 111. a This is the evaluation value of the selected print medium type on axis a, and p a is the evaluation value of the machine settings item for the selected printing model / press on axis a. n represents one of the selected post-processing machine models, pp na This represents the evaluation value of the machine settings item for the post-processing machine selected for post-processing machine n on axis a.

[0030] The system iterates through all possible combinations of print media type, printer model, printer settings, post-processing equipment, and post-processing machine settings. An evaluation function E is calculated for each combination, and the top three combinations with the largest values ​​of the evaluation function E are selected as the recommended printing process settings for the user.

[0031] Here, the system searches for printing machines and post-processing machines from the printing machine group and post-processing machine group included in the equipment operation information 202. Furthermore, it determines the recommended printing process settings for the user based only on the combinations of printable printing machines and print media types. Here, "printable" means that the print media type is loaded onto the printing machine and can be immediately instructed to print, and that no image or mechanical problems occur when printing on the print media type using the printing machine. Only combinations that can actually be printed are determined. Alternatively, the system may accept some of the printing process settings from the user in advance and search for printing process settings other than those accepted.

[0032] In S304, the presentation unit 114 displays information on multiple printing process settings found by the search unit 113 on the display 104 and presents it to the user.

[0033] Figure 7(a) shows the print process setting dialog displayed on the display 104. The print process setting dialog 701 includes an area 702 that displays the contents of one of the multiple print process settings presented, an image 703 that shows how the output will look when created with that print process setting, and a toggle button 704 that switches between the contents of the print process setting. Furthermore, it includes a custom button 705 for the user to change the print process setting item by item, and a confirmation button 706 for the user to confirm the print process setting in the confirmation unit 115, which will be described later. The image 703 is generated by acquiring original image data acquired by the original image acquisition unit 112, information on the color, gloss, and unevenness of the printing medium type selected in the print process setting, and information on the color, gloss, and unevenness provided by the printing machine and post-processing machine selected in the print process setting.

[0034] Figure 7(b) shows the change in display when the user presses the switch button 704. When the user presses the switch button 704, the display switches to information of another print process setting found by the search unit 113, and the settings of the switched print process setting are displayed in area 702. Furthermore, image 703 is updated to show how the output would look when created with the switched print process setting.

[0035] By presenting the user with multiple print process settings in this way, the user can select the print process setting that best reflects the impression they desire. Furthermore, by displaying image 703, which shows what the output will look like when created with the selected print process setting, the user can more intuitively compare and select from the multiple print process settings.

[0036] Furthermore, the impression evaluation information 201 may also retain the costs for printing using each type of printing medium and each type of printer, and display the printing costs in area 702 along with the printing process settings. In that case, the user can also consider the printing costs when comparing and selecting from multiple printing process settings.

[0037] In S305, the decision unit 115 obtains the print process settings specified by the user from the print process setting dialog displayed on the display 104 by the presentation unit 114, and sends the original image data and print process settings as a print request to the job management device 2. The print process settings displayed in area 702 when the decision button 706 in the print process setting dialog are obtained as the print process settings specified by the user. Note that the print process settings sent to the job management device 2 may be in JDF (Job Definition Format) format.

[0038] In this embodiment, the impression acquisition unit 111 presents the user with a selection of impressions to be conveyed in the printed output and accepts the user's selection. However, the user may also provide text containing impression information. For example, the text could be used as input, and a pre-trained neural network could be used to convert the text into impression priority weights, which could then be acquired as impression information. This would allow the printed output to convey the complex impression intended by the user. The printing process settings only need to include at least one of the items related to the printing machine and the items related to the post-processing machine.

[0039] By implementing the processing control described above, the system can present users with printing process settings that reflect their intended impression in the printed output. This allows users to create output that fully reflects their intended impression, even without any knowledge of printing. Furthermore, by accepting information on multiple impression axes as impression information and presenting printing process settings accordingly, the system can create printed output that more closely matches the user's intended impression.

[0040] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment, a method was described for receiving the impression that the user wants to convey to the printed output and, based on that impression, presenting the user with recommended printing process settings. In this embodiment, instead of original image data, the user provides content such as text and images to be placed on the original image, and based on the received impression, the printing process settings and the layout of the original image are presented simultaneously. Note that this description will focus on the differences from the above-described embodiment, and similar points will be omitted. Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the information processing device 1 in this embodiment is the same as that of the information processing device 1 in the first embodiment, so a description will be omitted.

[0041] Figure 8 is a configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the information processing device 1 in this embodiment. The numbered components of the information processing device 1 in the first embodiment are the same as in the first embodiment, so their explanation is omitted. The print request issuance application 11 further includes a print content acquisition unit 116 and a layout generation unit 117. The print content acquisition unit 116 acquires information on image groups and text to be placed on the original image as print content. The layout generation unit 117 generates the original image based on the impression information acquired by the impression acquisition unit 111 and the print content acquired by the print content acquisition unit 116.

[0042] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the processes performed by the print request issuance application 11. Steps identical to those performed by the print request issuance application 11 in the first embodiment will not be explained.

[0043] In S901, the print content acquisition unit 116 acquires information about image groups and text to be placed on the original image as print content from the HDD 106 or recording media on the internet, etc., according to the user's instructions.

[0044] In S903, the layout generation unit 117 generates a document image using known techniques such as the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, based on the impression information acquired by the impression acquisition unit 111 in S302 and the print content acquired by the print content acquisition unit 116 in S301.

[0045] In S904, the display unit 114 displays the original image generated in S903 on the display 104 along with the information of multiple printing process settings searched by the search unit 113. Specifically, the original image used to generate image 703 in Figure 7(a) is the original image generated in S903.

[0046] By performing the processing control described above, the system presents the print process settings and the original image simultaneously based on the received impression. As a result, users can view both the print process settings and the original image with the content laid out with a single impression instruction, improving convenience.

[0047] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment can also be implemented by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be implemented by a circuit that implements one or more of the functions, such as an ASIC. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 1. Information Processing Device 2. Job management device 101 CPU 102 ROM 104 displays

Claims

1. A means of obtaining information from the user regarding the impression that the printed material should convey, Based on the aforementioned information, a display means for displaying one or more printing process settings, Equipped with, The printing process settings are characterized in that they include at least one of a printing machine for printing the printed material and setting items for the printing machine, and a post-processing machine and machine setting items for the post-processing machine.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing process setting further includes the type of printing medium used to create the printed material.

3. The system further includes a search means for searching for printing process settings to be displayed on the display means based on the aforementioned information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the search means searches from a group of printing machines and a group of post-processing machines based on machine information that can be instructed to operate.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the search means acquires information on combinations of printable printers and print media types, and searches for the printer and print media type from among the combinations.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the search means searches for a plurality of printing process settings, and the display means displays the plurality of printing process settings.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the display means displays an image representing the appearance when printing is performed according to the printing process settings.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the display means further displays the cost when printing is performed with the printing process settings.

8. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays options related to the information and accepts a user's selection regarding said options.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the acquisition means acquires the information based on text entered by the user.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the acquisition means acquires, as information, a value for a first impression axis and a value for a second impression axis different from the first impression axis, with respect to the impression to be conveyed to the printed material.

11. The process involves obtaining information from the user regarding the impression they want the printed material to convey, Based on the above information, a display step is provided to display one or more print process settings, Equipped with, The printing process setting is characterized by including at least one of a printing machine for printing the printed material and setting items in the printing machine, and a post-processing machine and machine setting items in the post-processing machine.

12. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the information processing method described in claim 11.

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