Image forming apparatus
The image forming apparatus converts paper types using a conversion table to ensure print quality for production models when office model paper types are specified, addressing the challenge of differing specifications.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-01
AI Technical Summary
Production models struggle to ensure sufficient print quality when print instructions are issued using paper types intended for office models, as they are unable to perform effective print control due to differences in paper type specifications.
An image forming apparatus with a paper type conversion unit and a conversion table that converts paper types specified for office models into compatible formats for production models, ensuring appropriate print control and quality by using a paper type conversion table to adjust paper types.
Enables production models to perform print control and maintain sufficient print quality even when paper types are specified in formats different from the original job, by converting paper types using a paper type conversion table.
Smart Images
Figure 2026109412000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for forming an image on a sheet according to a print job in which a sheet type is specified by a plurality of items.
Background Art
[0002] Generally, as types of image forming apparatuses, there are production models and office models. A production model is an image forming apparatus for industrial printing, and is a printed matter (such as a pamphlet or a flyer) independently produced by a company or an organization. On the other hand, an office model is an image forming apparatus for general printing, and is installed in an office, a store, or the like.
[0003] Compared with an office model, a production model can perform high-speed and high-quality printing, and can handle printing on various paper types (materials, surface finishes, etc.).
[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a method for facilitating the selection of frequently used types when using paper types for office models and detailed paper types for production models. Patent Document 2 describes a method for reducing the operator's workload in the registration process of a recording medium by storing attribute information indicating the attributes of the recording medium for each recording medium in a storage means, and newly storing the attribute information of the recording medium specified by a print job when the storage means does not store the attribute information.
[0005] Patent Document 3 describes a method for facilitating the specification of the attributes of printing paper by a user by causing a printing apparatus to perform printing according to the attributes when the classification of the attributes of the printing paper used in the printing apparatus matches the classification specified by the user and the classification including the attributes of the printing paper set in the printing apparatus. Patent Document 4 describes a method for obtaining a desired printing output result in another apparatus even when catalog information indicating various combinations of each paper attribute is changed in any of the apparatuses using the catalog information. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]
[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-301911 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-224076 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-039559 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-162240 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]
[0007] Production models prioritize print quality more than office models, and therefore support various types of paper (materials, surface finishes, etc.) depending on the type of printed material. In other words, the paper types for production models are defined in more detail than those for office models.
[0008] However, in production models, print instructions may be issued using paper types intended for office models. In this case, it is difficult for production models to perform print control on paper specified as an office model paper type, and sufficient print quality cannot be ensured.
[0009] While the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 describe methods for reducing the user burden when selecting paper types, they do not disclose a technology that enables the execution of print control for the paper specified by the paper type, even when the paper type for the office model is set in the production model, thereby ensuring sufficient print quality.
[0010] The present invention aims to enable print control according to a different type of print job, even when the paper is specified in a different format than the original print job which consists of predetermined elements, while ensuring sufficient print quality for the paper specified in the different format. [Means for solving the problem]
[0011] An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for a first use that forms an image on paper according to a print job in which the paper type is specified by a predetermined plurality of items, and comprises: a first storage unit that stores a paper type conversion table that stores the paper type composed of the plurality of items corresponding to the paper type, for a paper type that is included in a print job for specifying paper used in an image forming apparatus for a second use different from the first use for specifying paper, which specifies the paper type using simpler items than the paper type; a paper type conversion unit that converts the paper type to the paper type associated with the paper type according to the paper type conversion table when the print job includes the paper type for specifying paper; an image forming unit that forms an image on paper; and a control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image on paper according to the print job, using the paper type converted by the paper type conversion unit instead of the paper type included in the print job. [Effects of the Invention]
[0012] According to the present invention, when a print job using a paper type corresponding to a second-use image forming apparatus is transmitted to a first-use image forming apparatus, the paper type conversion unit uses a paper type conversion table to change the paper type corresponding to the second-use image forming apparatus to a paper type for the first-use image forming apparatus, thereby enabling the first-use image forming apparatus to print on the paper indicated by the paper type corresponding to the second-use image forming apparatus. Therefore, with the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, even for a different type of print job in which the paper is specified in a format different from the original print job consisting of predetermined elements, it is possible to ensure sufficient print quality for the paper specified in the different format and to perform print control according to the different type of print job. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0013] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the printing system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the electrical configuration of the production model (image forming apparatus for first use). [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates an example of paper types for a production model (first-use image forming apparatus). [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates an example of a paper type for an office model (second-use image forming apparatus). [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example of the data structure of a paper type conversion table. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of the image formation process flow for a production model (first-use image forming apparatus). [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0014] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system 100 including the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. The printing system 100 includes an image forming apparatus 1 for a first application, an image forming apparatus 2 for a second application, an electronic terminal 3, and a network N.
[0015] The image forming apparatus 1 (image forming apparatus for the first use) is an image forming apparatus of the production model (for industrial printing), and prints printed materials (such as pamphlets and flyers) independently produced by companies and organizations. That is, the image forming apparatus for the production model is the image forming apparatus for the first use. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1 for the first use will be described by taking an inkjet recording apparatus as an example, but it is not limited thereto, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus may also be used.
[0016] The image forming apparatus 2 (image forming apparatus for the second use) is an image forming apparatus of the office model (for general printing), is installed in offices, stores, etc., and prints printed materials for office use and for the user's own use. That is, the image forming apparatus for the office model is the image forming apparatus for the second use. Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 2 for the second use will be described by taking an inkjet recording apparatus as an example, but it is not limited thereto, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus may also be used. However, the image forming apparatus 1 for the first use and the image forming apparatus 2 for the second use shall use the same printing method.
[0017] Hereinafter, in order to make the explanation easier to understand, the image forming apparatus 1 will be described by rephrasing it as the production model 1, and the image forming apparatus 2 will be described as the office model 2.
[0018] The electronic terminal 3 is a personal computer, a tablet terminal, etc., and transmits a print job to the production model 1 and the office model 2. The network N is a communication line capable of data transmission and reception such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. Note that a print job may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus 2 from a cloud server or the like not shown in the figure.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of the production model 1. The production model 1 includes a control unit 11, an input reception unit 12, an image reading unit 13, an image forming unit 14, a storage unit 15, a communication unit 16, and the like.
[0020] The input receiving unit 12 includes hard keys such as a confirmation key and a start key for confirming various operations and settings, and a display unit 121. The display unit 121 is, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display) and displays an operation screen or messages. The display unit 121 may also be integrated with a touch panel.
[0021] The image reading unit 13, for example, is equipped with a scanner and reads an image of a document to acquire image data. The image forming unit 14 is an inkjet recording mechanism and prints an image by ejecting ink onto paper according to the image data acquired by the image reading unit 13 or a print job received by the communication unit 16 from an external device or the like.
[0022] The storage unit 15 is an HDD or SSD, a large-capacity storage device that stores image data, various programs, and data tables. The communication unit 16 consists of a communication module and other components, and transmits and receives various data with external devices such as the office model 2 and electronic terminal 3 via the network N.
[0023] The control unit 11 consists of a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM, etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc.
[0024] Furthermore, the control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111 and a paper type conversion unit 113 by having the processor execute a control program stored in ROM or the like. The control unit 111 is responsible for the overall operation control of the production model 1. The paper type conversion unit 113 has a paper type conversion table 112.
[0025] Before describing the paper type conversion table 112, we will explain the paper types for production model 1. Hereafter, the paper type, which is the information that specifies the paper type for production model 1, will be referred to as the paper type. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper type for production model 1. As shown in Figure 3, the paper type for production model 1 is defined by combining several characteristic items (examples of items in the claims) 21, 22, 23, and 24. Characteristic items 21 to 24 are created based on paper characteristics specified in the standard JDF (Job Definition Format) used in the commercial printing industry, for example. In a print job for production model 1, the paper type is identified by these multiple characteristic items.
[0026] Specifically, characteristic item 21 is "Paper Material and Shape," which defines the material and shape of the paper. Characteristic item 22 is "Front and Back Processing," which defines the type of processing applied to the front and back surfaces of the paper. Characteristic item 23 is "Pre-processing," which defines the type of pre-processing applied to the paper. Characteristic item 24 is "Other Characteristics," which defines other characteristics of the paper, such as weight or color.
[0027] For example, thick paper processed for inkjet printing (200gsm (g / m²) 2 In the case of pre-printed paper, characteristic item 21 is defined as "Plain," characteristic item 22 as "Inkjet treated," characteristic item 23 as "Pre printed," and "Weight" in characteristic item 24 as "200gsm."
[0028] Next, we will explain the paper types for Office Model 2. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper type for Office Model 2. As shown in Figure 4, the paper type for Office Model 2 is defined by combining characteristic items 31 and 32, which are simpler items than those used for the paper types described above.
[0029] Specifically, characteristic item 31 is "Paper Material," which defines the material of the paper, such as plain paper, inkjet paper, and inkjet matte paper. Characteristic item 32 is "Paper Processing and Shape," which defines the processing and shape of the paper, such as pre-printed paper, label paper, bonded paper, rough paper, letterhead, colored paper, punched paper, envelopes, postcards, cardboard, index paper, and thin paper.
[0030] Generally, for paper types in Office Model 2, multiple characteristic items 32 are set only for "plain paper" with characteristic item 31. Characteristic item 32 is not set for "inkjet paper" or "inkjet matte paper" with characteristic item 31. In other words, when selecting a paper type other than plain paper for Office Model 2, the paper processing and shape cannot be precisely configured.
[0031] Therefore, for general production models that do not conform to this embodiment, a print job is sent in which the paper type is specified by the paper type for production models. It is difficult for the production model to perform print control according to a print job in which the paper type is specified by the paper type for office models. Furthermore, for paper types for office models, if characteristic item 31 is inkjet paper or inkjet matte paper, characteristic item 32 is not available, making it impossible to specify the paper type in detail.
[0032] Therefore, when a print job using office-type paper is sent to a general production model that does not conform to this embodiment, the appropriate paper is not selected, and the inkjet head is not controlled appropriately.
[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the production model 1 receives a print job including a paper type for the office model 2 via the communication unit 16, the paper type conversion unit 113 uses the paper type conversion table 112 to change the paper type for the office model 2 included in the print job to a paper type for the production model 1. Then, the control unit 111 uses the paper type converted by the paper type conversion unit 113 instead of the paper type included in the print job, and causes the image forming unit 14 to form an image on the paper according to the print job. As a result, the production model 1 can select the appropriate paper and perform appropriate control over the inkjet head, thereby maintaining print quality.
[0034] Figure 5 shows an example of the data structure of the paper type conversion table 112. The paper type conversion table 112 stores the characteristic items 21 to 24 that constitute the paper types for production model 2, associated with each characteristic item 31, "paper material," which indicates the paper type for office model 2.
[0035] Then, when Production Model 1 receives a print job using a paper type for Office Model 2 via the communication unit 16, the paper type conversion unit 113 uses the paper type conversion table 112 to change the paper type for Office Model 2 to the paper type for Production Model 1, as described above.
[0036] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the image formation process flow for Production Model 1. When Production Model 1 receives a print job via the communication unit 16 (S41), the control unit 111 determines whether the paper specification information included in the print job is a paper type for Production Model 1 or a paper type for Office Model 2 (S42). If the control unit 111 determines that it is a paper type for Office Model 2 (S42; YES), the paper type conversion unit 113 changes the paper type for Office Model 2 included in the print job to a paper type for Production Model 1 using the paper type conversion table 112 (S43). Then, the control unit 111 uses the paper type converted by the paper type conversion unit 113 instead of the paper type included in the print job and has the image formation unit 14 form an image on the paper according to the print job (S44). After this, the process ends.
[0037] On the other hand, if the control unit 111 determines that the paper specification information included in the print job is for the paper type of production model 1 (S42; NO), the control unit 111 uses the paper type included in the received print job to cause the image forming unit 14 to form an image on the paper according to the print job (S44). After this, the process ends.
[0038] As explained above, when a print job specifying the paper type based on the paper type for Office Model 2 is received by Production Model 1 via the communication unit 16, the paper type conversion unit 113 changes the paper type to one for Production Model 1 using the paper type conversion table 112, thereby enabling Production Model 1 to perform print control according to the print job correctly. Therefore, even when performing print control according to a print job specifying the paper type based on the paper type for Office Model 2, the print quality of Production Model 1 can be ensured.
[0039] Furthermore, Production Model 1 has pre-configured paper types for each of its multiple paper trays, and each paper tray contains paper corresponding to the configured paper type. The control unit 111 of Production Model 1, via the image forming unit 14, selects a paper tray according to the paper type for Production Model 1 instructed by the print job, and transports the paper from that tray to perform image formation.
[0040] Alternatively, in order to execute a print job using a production model where the paper type is specified by the paper type intended for office use, it is possible to pre-configure some of the paper trays in the multiple paper trays with the paper type intended for office use. In this case, the control unit of the production model uses the image forming unit to select a paper tray according to the paper type intended for office use specified by the print job, and then transports the paper from that tray to perform image formation. However, in this case, user operation is required to set the paper type intended for office use for the paper tray, which is time-consuming.
[0041] According to this embodiment, when the production model 1 receives a print job using a paper type for the office model 2, the paper type conversion unit 113 converts the paper type for the office model 2 included in the print job to a paper type for the production model 1. The control unit 111 then selects a paper tray according to the converted paper type and controls the transport of paper from that tray to perform image formation. Therefore, the user does not need to add and set the paper type for the office model 2 to the paper tray of the production model 1, eliminating the hassle of such settings.
[0042] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiments and various modifications are possible. Furthermore, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiments using Figures 1 to 6 are merely one embodiment of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention to such configuration and processing. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0043] 1. Image forming apparatus (production model) 11 Control Unit 111 Control Unit 112 Paper Type Conversion Table 113 Paper type conversion unit 12 Input reception section 13 Image reading unit 14 Image forming unit 15 Storage section 16 Communications Department 2. Image forming apparatus (office model) N Network
Claims
1. An image forming apparatus for a first purpose that forms an image on paper according to a print job in which the paper type is specified by a predetermined set of items, A first storage unit stores a paper type conversion table that stores the paper type, which is composed of the multiple items corresponding to the said paper type, for a paper type that is included in a print job for specifying paper type, which is simpler than the said paper type, used in an image forming apparatus for a second application different from the first application, and stores the said paper type in association with the said paper type, When the print job includes the paper type for paper specification, a paper type conversion unit converts the paper type to the paper type associated with the paper type according to the paper type conversion table, An image forming unit that forms an image on paper, An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image on paper in accordance with the print job, using the paper type converted by the paper type conversion unit instead of the paper type included in the print job.
2. A paper cassette in which the paper is stored, The system further includes a second storage unit that stores the paper type associated with the paper feed cassette, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the image forming unit to form an image on the paper stored in the paper feed cassette, which is associated with the paper type converted by the paper type conversion unit, according to the print job.