Information processing device, control method for information processing device, and program

Abstract

To obtain a desired print result when a printer incompatible with OS standard print function is used.SOLUTION: A program of print control software which can be run on a computer and generate print data in a first format causes the computer to function as: acquisition means which acquires, from OS standard print software which runs on the computer, print data in a second format different from the first format, including document data and print settings set by a user; conversion means which converts the print data such that a size of the document data is converted in a case where the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; and transmission means which generates the print data converted by the conversion means as the print data in the first format and transmits the generated print data to a printer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for converting document data included in a print job. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a printing function of a unique printer driver provided by a printer vendor includes a technique for detecting the paper size set in the printer body and converting print data according to the detected size (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-78154 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a technology in which an operating system (OS) provides a standard print function (OS standard print function) without requiring a specific printer driver provided by a printer vendor, as in Patent Document 1. In this case, for a printer that does not support the OS standard print function, a print conversion utility can be used to convert the print standard protocol that complies with the OS standard print function into a printer-specific protocol.

[0005] However, in an environment with the OS's standard printing function, paper sizes that were previously displayed with unique names in the proprietary printer driver, but that were defined uniquely to match the printer's specifications, or paper sizes that have no margins on the top, bottom, left, or right, may be displayed with different names. This may result in the printing results not being as desired.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to obtain a desired print result when printing with a printer that does not support the OS's standard printing functions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A program according to one aspect of the present invention is operable on a computer to print a first type of image. A printing control software program capable of generating data, comprising: The standard printing software for the OS running on the computer receives the original data and the user-specified an acquiring means for acquiring print data in a second format different from the first format, the second format including print settings; and if the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition, converting the size of the document data. a conversion means for converting the print data into a print data file; A transmitting means for generating print data in the first format and transmitting the generated print data to a printing device. height, The conversion means determines whether or not to perform conversion to enlarge the size of the document data according to a user included in the print setting. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a desired print result when printing with a printer that does not support the OS standard print function. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing paper size information supported by a printer. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a print setting screen in a printer driver environment; [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a print setting screen in an environment of an OS standard print function. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 shows the print result of A2 borderless size using the printer driver. [Figure 6] 11 is a diagram showing a print data conversion process flow in the print conversion utility. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a print job of IPP, which is a standard printing protocol. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing data conversion method information according to users. [Figure 9] 13 is a diagram showing a print confirmation screen displayed on a display unit of the print conversion utility. FIG. [Figure 10] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating data conversion method information according to print settings. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing a flow of a margin size conversion process in the print conversion utility. [Figure 12] 13 is a diagram showing an installation setting screen displayed on a display unit of the print conversion utility. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing a printer environment setting screen displayed on a display unit of the print conversion utility. FIG. [Figure 14] 13 is a diagram showing a print data conversion method determination process flow in the print conversion utility. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention.

[0011] <Embodiment 1> A printer that does not support (does not support) the standard functions (OS standard printing functions) required for generating print data cannot use the OS standard printing functions. In other words, a printer that does not support the OS standard printing functions cannot interpret print data in a specific format (hereinafter also referred to as "standard format") defined by the OS standard printing functions. For this reason, in this embodiment, print control software called a print conversion utility is used to make a printer that does not have the OS standard printing functions appear as a printer that supports the OS standard printing functions and to enable print instructions using the OS standard printing functions. The print conversion utility is installed and used in a personal computer (PC) on which the OS is installed. The print conversion utility may be provided in a computer separate from the PC on which the OS is installed.

[0012] In response to a capability information inquiry from the OS, the print conversion utility responds on behalf of the printer by providing its capabilities, even if the printer does not support the OS's standard printing function. The print conversion utility also converts print data in a standard format (print data in a second format) into print data in a format supported by the printer (for example, a printer vendor's specific format) (print data in a first format) and sends the converted data. Print data is also called a print command. When the print conversion utility is incorporated into a PC, the print conversion utility converts exchanges (communications) with the printer using a printer-specific protocol into exchanges that comply with the OS's standard printing function. As a result, even if the printer does not support the OS's standard printing function, it becomes possible to issue print instructions from the PC using the OS's standard printing function. This embodiment is an embodiment that uses such a print conversion utility.

[0013] [System Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware and software configurations of a printing system according to this embodiment. FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system, and FIG. 1(b) is a diagram showing the software configuration of the printing system. First, FIG. 1(a) will be described. In this embodiment, an example of a printing system in which a host computer PC100 and a printer 110 can communicate with each other via a communication bus 30 (network) such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Here, a LAN is assumed as the network, but a WAN (Wide Area Network) may be used. In addition, the network connection may be a mixture of wired and wireless. In addition, the connection between the PC100 and the printer 110 may be a USB (Universal Serial Bus). Note that only one printer is shown in FIG. 1(a), but any number of printers can be connected via the communication bus 30. In this embodiment, an example using the printer 110 and the printer 130 as shown in FIG. 1(b) will be described.

[0014] The PC 100 is an example of an information processing device. An operating system (hereinafter, referred to as OS) is installed in the PC 100. The OS includes an OS print system, which is OS standard print software, which will be described later.

[0015] The PC 100 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), and includes an interface (I / F) unit 17, a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a display 14, an input unit 15, and an external storage device 16. The PC 100 of this embodiment is not limited to a desktop PC, and may be a notebook PC, a tablet PC, or a portable terminal such as a smartphone.

[0016] The PC 100 transmits to the printer 110 instructions for controlling the printer 110, print data, setting commands, and the like. The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that controls each part of the PC 100, and executes control programs such as an OS. The ROM 12 controls the system operation according to the stored OS. The RAM 13 is a random access memory in which the working area of ​​the CPU 11 is expanded. The external storage device 16 stores various control programs such as applications.

[0017] The input unit 15 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for operating the PC 100. The display 14 is a display device for displaying information input from the input unit 15 for confirmation, or displaying user interface screens of the OS and applications, displaying messages, etc. The I / F unit 17 is a communication module for transmitting and receiving data to and from the printer 110.

[0018] The printer 110, which is a printing device, is, for example, an inkjet printer. The printer 110 has an I / F unit 27, a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a display unit 24, an input unit 25, and a print engine 26. The CPU 21 is a central processing unit that controls the following units. The ROM 22 is a read-only memory, and stores a program that controls the print engine 26. The RAM 23 is a write-in / read-out memory at any time, and temporarily stores a program required for the operation of the print engine 24, setting values ​​received from the PC 100, and the like. The input unit 25 is buttons and the like for operating the printer 110. The display unit 24 is a display device that displays information input from the input unit 25 for confirmation, or displays a status message of the printer 110, and the like.

[0019] The print engine 26 prints on a recording medium based on print data sent from the PC 100. The I / F unit 27 is a communication module that receives print data from the PC 100, and has a function of transmitting current status information of the printer 110 from the printer 110 to the PC 100. The status information here is status data that indicates the state of the printer 110, which the printer 110 can return in response to a request from the PC 100 connected via the I / F unit 27. The status data is information for notifying the operation state of the printer 110, such as "printing" or "standby state", or an error state of the printer 110, such as "out of paper", "cover open", or "no ink remaining". The configuration of the printer 130 is the same as that of the printer 110, so a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the printer 110 is a printer that supports the OS standard print function, and the printer 130 is a printer that does not support the OS standard print function.

[0020] Next, FIG. 1(b) will be described. First, the software configuration of the PC 100 will be described. The PC 100 includes an application 101, an OS print system 102, a network (NW) communication control unit 104, and a print conversion utility 106. The OS print system 102 includes an OS standard print control unit 103. The print conversion utility 106 includes a virtual printer 105, a vendor driver 107, a storage unit 108, a display unit 109, and a print control unit 150. The virtual printer 105 includes a NW communication control unit 105a. The vendor driver 107 converts print data in a format conforming to the OS standard print function received by the virtual printer 105 into print data in a format specific to the vendor. The print control unit 150 performs display control of a setting screen related to printing or generation of print data. The print conversion utility 106 is software used to enable the OS standard print function to be used on a printer that does not support OS standard printing, and is installed in the PC 100 as necessary. The application 101 is software that can run on the OS, which is the basic software of the PC 100. Examples of the application 101 include word processing software for document creation, image editing software, and drawing applications such as a web browser. Drawing data that can be generated by the application 101 is, for example, data in a Portable Document Format (PDF) format.

[0021] The OS printing system 102 is an element of the OS that performs printing control, and sequentially processes print requests from the application 101 as jobs. The OS standard printing control unit 103 included in the OS printing system 102 is software that has an OS standard printing function. The OS standard printing control unit 103 spools drawing data generated by the application 101 and generates print data in a predetermined format (called a standard format). Furthermore, the OS standard printing control unit 103 performs processing to output the generated print data in the standard format to the NW communication control unit 104 in order to transmit the print data in the standard format to the printer 110. Note that the OS standard printing control unit 103 of this embodiment communicates with the printer 110 via the NW communication control unit 104 using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), which is a standard printing protocol. Furthermore, the OS standard printing control unit 103 acquires capability information of the printer 110 via the NW communication control unit 104 to determine whether the printer 110 supports the OS standard printing function.

[0022] The flow of issuing a print instruction will be described below. After generating drawing data, the application 101 issues a print request to the OS printing system 102 based on a user instruction. The print request is entered as a print job into a print queue of the OS printing system 102. When a print request is issued, a setting screen provided by the OS standard printing function 103 can be used to accept setting instructions from the user regarding print settings.

[0023] When a print request is made, a print job (print data) including information on print settings and drawing data (original data) generated by the application 101 is passed from the application 101 to the OS print system 102. The information on print settings includes information such as paper size, paper feed method, and which print queue to use for printing.

[0024] Incidentally, in order to issue a print instruction via the print conversion utility 106, it is necessary to register in advance both a print queue for the OS print system 102 for receiving a print request from the application 101, and a print queue for the print conversion utility 106. The print queue for the print conversion utility 106 is a queue into which print data transmitted to the virtual printer 105 is input. Incidentally, when setting and registering, first, a print queue for the print conversion utility 106 is registered, and the print conversion utility 106 starts the virtual printer 105. Thereafter, the print conversion utility 106 specifies the virtual printer 105 and automatically registers a print queue for the OS print system 102.

[0025] When an OS-standard print control unit 103 of the OS-based print system 102 receives a print job, it generates print data in a predetermined format (print data in a second format) that conforms to the OS-standard print function.

[0026] The printer 110 compatible with the OS standard printing function 103 is a printer capable of interpreting print data in a format conforming to the OS standard printing function. The OS printing system 102 transmits the generated print data via the NW communication control unit 104 to a printer compatible with the OS standard printing, such as the printer 110.

[0027] On the other hand, the printer 130 that does not support the OS standard printing cannot interpret print data in a format conforming to the OS standard printing function 103. Therefore, the user can use the printer 130 to print by using the print conversion utility 106. If the print job is for the printer 130 that does not support the OS standard printing function (a print job in which the virtual printer 105 is specified as the output destination printer), the OS print system 102 transmits the generated print data to the virtual printer 105 activated by the print conversion utility 106. Then, the print conversion utility 106 converts the print data in a format conforming to the OS standard printing function 103 received by the virtual printer 105 into print data in a vendor-specific format by the vendor driver 107. That is, the print conversion utility 106 generates print data in a first format that can be interpreted by the printer 130 from the print data in the second format. The generated print data is transmitted to the printer 130 that does not support the OS standard printing function via the NW communication control unit. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the virtual printer 105 is activated in the PC 100.

[0028] Printer 110 and printer 130 each include a NW communication control unit 111, a print control unit 112, and a print unit 113. Print control unit 112 receives print data from PC 100 via NW communication control unit 111, and controls print unit 113 based on the print data to execute printing.

[0029] The storage unit 108 included in the print conversion utility 106 holds paper-related information supported by the printer registered as a virtual printer. The paper-related information will be described later with reference to Fig. 2. This information may be held in advance in the storage unit 108 of the print conversion utility 106, or the paper-related information may be acquired by communicating with the printer and then held.

[0030] The display unit 109 of the print conversion utility 106 displays status information of the virtual printer 105, such as “out of paper,” “cover open,” or “no ink remaining,” as well as status information of the print job, such as “printing” or “waiting,” on the display 14 of the PC 100.

[0031] Next, the software configuration of the PC 120 will be described. The PC 120 includes an application 121, an OS printing system 122, a vendor driver 124, and a NW communication control unit 125. The OS printing system 122 includes an OS standard printing control unit 123. The vendor driver 124 is a printer driver specific to the printer 130, and is installed in the PC 120 as necessary in order to use the printer 130. The application 121, like the application 101, is software that runs on the OS, which is the basic software of the PC 120.

[0032] Since the vendor driver 124 is installed in the PC 120, the vendor driver 124 can generate print data in a vendor-specific format that can be interpreted by the printer 130, and the printer 130 can execute printing.

[0033] Similar to the flow of print instructions in the PC 100 described above, the OS printing system 122 sequentially processes print requests from the application 121 as jobs. After generating drawing data, the application 121 issues a print request to the OS printing system 122 based on a user instruction. The print request is input to the OS printing system 122 as a print job. When a print request is made, a setting instruction from the user can be accepted for print settings on a setting screen provided by the vendor driver 124. When a print request is made, a print job including information on print settings and drawing data generated by the application 121 is passed from the application 121 to the vendor driver 124 via the OS printing system 122. Information on print settings includes information such as paper size, paper feed method, and which print queue to print in.

[0034] When a print job is received, the vendor driver 124 generates print data in a format specific to the vendor. The printer 130 compatible with the vendor driver 124 is capable of interpreting the print data in the format specific to the vendor, and the vendor driver 124 transmits the generated print data via the NW communication control unit 125 to the printer 130 that does not support OS standard printing.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a list of paper-related information including information on paper sizes supported by the printer 130. In FIG. 2, seven supported paper sizes are listed as examples: A2, A2 Oversize, A2 Borderless, A3, A3 Oversize, A3 Borderless, and A4. In FIG. 2, Oversize corresponds to oversize, and Borderless corresponds to borderless size. Note that since the printer has margins set for operation, in the case of normal printing, unprinted margins appear in the four corners of the deliverable (printed result). Thus, both oversize printing and borderless printing are functions that result in printing such that the margins do not appear in the deliverable.

[0036] First, oversize printing is a printing method in which the print manuscript size is left as is, and margins (margins necessary for the printer to operate) are added to the four edges of the print manuscript, and the print manuscript is printed on paper that is larger than the print manuscript size by the margins. The user can cut off the margins around the edges after printing, resulting in a finished product in which the manuscript is printed to the full extent of the print paper. On the other hand, borderless printing is different from oversize printing in that, when printing, a print manuscript of a size larger than the paper size is output, so that there are no margins at the edges of the paper, and the print is made to extend beyond the paper. This is a printing function that can ultimately result in a finished product printed to the full extent of a specified size of paper. Therefore, the borderless printing result is output with all four edges cut off from the original manuscript. The paper-related information includes the name 200 of the paper size supported by the printer 130, paper width size 201, paper height size 202, top margin size 203, left margin size 204, right margin size 205, and bottom margin size 206. The paper width size 201, the paper height size 202, the top margin size 203, the left margin size 204, the right margin size 205, and the bottom margin size 206 are expressed in units of 1 / 100 mm.

[0037] As will be explained later, when borderless printing is performed using the standard printing function of the OS, the print result may be contrary to the user's intention. For example, when borderless printing is intended, the output may be oversized. Therefore, in this embodiment, the paper-related information is used to convert the paper size so that the user can obtain the print result intended when performing borderless printing using the standard printing function of the OS.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a print setting screen 300 provided by the vendor driver 124. As shown in FIG. 3, the print setting screen 300 includes a printer selection item 301 for selecting a printer to execute printing, a paper size selection item 302, a duplex printing selection item 303, a number of copies selection item 304, and a paper type selection item 305. The print setting screen 300 also includes a paper feed method selection item 306, a print preview area 307, a cancel button 308, and a print button 309. When the paper size selection item 302 is selected, a paper size selection list 310 is displayed. In the paper size selection list 310, paper sizes having the same paper width size 201 and paper height size 202, such as A2 and A2 Oversize in FIG. 2, are displayed as one size. When A2 is selected in the paper size selection list 310, a margin size selection list 311 is displayed. That is, A2 and A2 oversize in the margin size selection list 311 are sizes in which the paper width size 201 and the paper height size 202 are the same, but the margin sizes 203 to 206 of the four sides are different, like A2 and A2 oversize in FIG.

[0039] 3 shows print settings when the user prints in borderless size A2. On print setting screen 300 in vendor driver 124, names 200 of paper sizes supported by printer 130 are displayed in paper size selection item 302, paper size selection list 310, and margin size selection list 311. In print preview area 307, print preview images are displayed that show the print results according to each of the paper sizes 201-206 selected by the user in paper size selection item 302. Then, a print request is made by the user specifying print button 309 after checking the print preview.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a print setting screen 400 provided by the OS standard print function 103. The print setting screen 400 includes a printer selection item 401 for selecting a printer to execute printing, a paper size selection item 402, a duplex printing selection item 403, a number of copies selection item 404, and a paper type selection item 405. The print setting screen 400 also includes a paper feed method selection item 406, a print preview area 407, a cancel button 408, and a print button 409. When the paper size selection item 402 is selected, a paper size selection list 410 is displayed. In the paper size selection list 410, paper sizes having the same paper width size 201 and paper height size 202, such as A2 and A2 Oversize in FIG. 2, are displayed as one size. When A2 is selected in the paper size selection list 410, a margin size selection list 411 is displayed. That is, A2 and A2 borderless in the margin size selection list 411 are sizes in which the paper width size 201 and the paper height size 202 are the same, but the margin sizes 203 to 206 of the four sides are different, like A2 and A2 Oversize in FIG.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows print settings when a user prints in borderless size A2. In the print setting screen 400 in the OS standard print function 103, names corresponding to the paper sizes 201 to 206 supported by the printer 130 are displayed in the paper size selection item 402, the paper size selection list 410, and the margin size selection list 411. For example, a size in which the margin sizes 203 to 206 are 0, such as A2 Oversize in FIG. 2, is displayed as the name "borderless". In addition, a size that is not defined in the OS standard print function 103 because the paper width size 201 and the paper height size 202 are different from the A2 size, such as A2 Borderless in FIG. 2, is displayed as the name of a custom size of "426×600 mm". In addition to the above, the OS standard print function cannot take into account the specifications of individual printers, so paper sizes other than the standard size are displayed as custom sizes, and paper sizes without margins on the top, bottom, left, and right are displayed as borderless sizes.

[0042] 3 and 4, even if the user intends to select the borderless size of A2, it can be seen that different sizes are selected by the vendor driver 124 and the OS standard printing function 103. As a result, the user may not be able to obtain the print result he or she desires. This will be specifically explained below with reference to the figures.

[0043] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing manuscript data and print results when printing borderless size A2 with the vendor driver 124. As described above, the "borderless printing" used in the vendor driver 124 is a printing function that prints at a size that extends beyond the paper when printing. Therefore, the borderless print result is output with four sides cut off from the original manuscript. Therefore, a user who intends to execute the "borderless printing" of the vendor driver 124 generates manuscript data taking into consideration that the four sides will be cut off. In FIG. 5, manuscript data 500 is data of 426×600 mm, which is the borderless size A2, which is larger than the A2 size (420×594 mm). By performing full-scale printing on standard size A2 paper using such manuscript data, the manuscript data 500 is printed with the four sides, top, bottom, left and right, protruding, and a borderless print result 502 can be obtained. The borderless print result 502 is obtained by printing with the four sides, top, bottom, left and right, protruding. For this reason, users are made aware to create document 500 assuming that non-printed data will be added to the top, bottom, left, and right four sides of borderless print area 501, which is the same size as standard A2 size.

[0044] When a user uses manuscript data 500 shown in Fig. 5, selects borderless size A2 as shown on print setting screen 300 in vendor driver 124, and executes printing, a borderless print result 502 shown in Fig. 5 can be obtained. Also, since overflow area 503 is printed outside the range of standard A2 size paper, it is not printed on standard A2 size paper.

[0045] In contrast, if a user uses the manuscript data 500 shown in FIG. 5 and selects the borderless size of A2 as in the print setting screen 400 of the OS standard print function 103 to execute printing, the borderless print result 502 shown in FIG. 5 cannot be obtained. As described above, the borderless size of A2 in the print setting screen 400 of the OS standard print function 103 corresponds to the A2 oversize in the print setting screen 300 of the vendor driver 124. Therefore, even if a user generates data of the borderless size of A2 (426×600 mm) larger than the A2 size (420×594 mm), the OS standard print function 103 generates print data in which the manuscript data 500 is reduced to the A2 size (420×594 mm). Then, the A2 size (420×594 mm) is sent to the print conversion utility 106 as it is. If the process described below is not performed, the print conversion utility 106 will instruct the printer 130 to print using the print data sent from the OS print system 102. As a result, even if the user instructs printing with the vendor driver 124's "borderless printing" in mind, printing is not performed on all four sides, and the image is reduced to the standard A2 size and printed.

[0046] In this way, in an environment where the OS standard print function 103 is used, if the paper size displayed when the vendor driver 124 is used is selected, the print result will not be the same as when the vendor driver 124 is used. Therefore, the desired print result cannot be obtained. If all users who perform borderless printing use data such as the manuscript data 500, which is not printed on all four sides, the print conversion utility 106 may perform a process of enlarging the data to a size of 426×600 mm. However, some users may use the manuscript data as data that should be printed on all four sides, such as oversize data. For this reason, it is necessary to perform the process by distinguishing between enlarging the data and performing the same size process. Furthermore, the print conversion utility 106 cannot obtain the size of the manuscript data specified by the application to the OS print system 102, and can only obtain manuscript data of the size set by the OS standard print function 103. For this reason, the OS print system 102 cannot determine whether the manuscript data is kept at the same size or reduced.

[0047] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the OS standard printing function is used and printing is performed on a printer that does not support the OS standard printing function, the size of the document data is converted and output to the printing device in order to obtain the desired print result according to the user who executes the printing. The control of this embodiment will be described in detail below. Note that hereinafter, "borderless printing" as defined by the vendor driver 124 is also referred to as "extended borderless printing" to distinguish it from "borderless printing" in the OS standard printing function.

[0048] 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the document size conversion process executed by the print conversion utility 106 when performing borderless printing using the OS standard printing function. More specifically, it shows a process flow in which the print control unit 150 of the print conversion utility 106 generates print data to be sent to the printer via the NW communication control unit. Hereinafter, the print conversion utility 106 will be described as the subject of each process, but in reality, the corresponding function is realized by the CPU 11 executing the corresponding program.

[0049] The process flow of FIG. 6 is started when the user selects the print button 409 on the print setting screen 400 and the print conversion utility 106 acquires a print job. When the user selects a printer to be used on the print setting screen 400 in the printer selection item 401, the OS print system 102 transmits print data to the selected printer. For example, if the printer 110 is selected in the printer selection item 401, the print data is transmitted directly to the printer 110, and if the printer 130 that does not support the OS standard print function is selected, the print data is transmitted to the virtual printer 105. In this embodiment, the process flow of the print conversion utility 106 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means a step in the flowchart (the same applies hereinafter in this specification).

[0050] In S600, the print conversion utility 106 acquires a print job from the OS print system 102, and proceeds to S601. The print job includes manuscript data in addition to various data shown in FIG. 7, which will be described later. Although the original size of the manuscript data cannot be specified, the print conversion utility 106 receives manuscript data in a standard size such as A2 or A3. Here, FIG. 7 shows a print job that the print conversion utility 106 acquires from the OS print system 102. FIG. 7 shows a part of a print job of IPP, which is a standard print protocol. The print job 700 includes address information 701 of the sender PC, a printer 702 that executes printing, a user name 703 that executes printing, a paper size 704, a paper feed method 711, and a paper type 712. The paper size 704 includes a horizontal size 705, a vertical size 706, a bottom margin size 707, a left margin size 708, a right margin size 709, and a top margin size 710. FIG. 7 shows, as an example, a print job when printing is executed with print settings selected by the user on the print setting screen 400.

[0051] In S601, the print conversion utility 106 obtains the paper size 704 from the print job 700 obtained in S600, and proceeds to S602. In S602, the print conversion utility 106 obtains paper-related information including information on the paper size of the printer shown in FIG. 2 from the storage unit 108. Normally, when a user selects borderless printing with the OS standard printing function, oversize printing is performed. However, as described above, some users who are familiar with the print setting screen provided by the vendor driver 124 may select borderless printing assuming that overflow borderless printing will be performed. In such a case, the print result differs from the result expected by the user. On the other hand, some printers to be printed do not have settings (i.e., borderless print settings or oversize settings of the vendor driver 124) that would cause such a difference in print result. In such a case, the above-mentioned problem does not occur. Therefore, in S602, the paper-related information of the printer selected by the user is obtained.

[0052] In S603, the print conversion utility 106 determines whether the conditions for conversion of the print data are met based on the paper size 704 included in the print job and the presence of a borderless size associated with the set paper size 704 included in the paper-related information. The paper-related information in FIG. 2 includes standard sizes and non-standard sizes associated with the standard sizes, as shown in FIG. 2. For example, in the standard size "A2", in addition to the A2 size, "A2 Oversize" and "A2 Borderless" are associated as non-standard sizes of the A2 size. In S603, first, the paper size 704 included in the print job is compared with the paper-related information in FIG. 2 to identify a matching standard size. Then, it is determined whether there is a non-standard size associated with the identified standard size. If there is a non-standard size associated with the standard size, as described above, there is a possibility that printing not intended by the user will be performed, so it is determined that the conditions for conversion of the print data are met. In this way, if the print settings meet the conditions for conversion of the print data, the process proceeds to S604. If not, the process proceeds to S607. For example, if a printing device cannot load paper (303 x 426 mm) for A3 borderless overflow printing, it can handle oversize printing of the same size as the A2 standard size, but cannot handle A3 borderless printing. In this case, A3 Borderless is not registered in the paper-related information, and by not existing, it is determined that the print settings are not subject to print data conversion. If a borderless size corresponding to the paper size exists, it is determined that the paper size selected by the user in the print settings is subject to manuscript data conversion, and the process proceeds to S604.

[0053] In S604, in order to determine how to perform data conversion for the print settings that are the target of data conversion, information about the user who executed the printing and a data conversion method determined in advance according to the user are acquired. Information about the user who executed the printing is acquired from the print execution printer 702 and print execution user name 703 included in the print job 700 acquired in S600. In the example of Fig. 7, it is determined that "UserA" has instructed to execute printing on "Printer1".

[0054] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a data conversion method in the print conversion utility 106 when a user using the print conversion utility 106 performs borderless printing in the OS standard printing function. Hereinafter, the list shown in Fig. 8 is referred to as a data conversion method list 800. The data conversion method list 800 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 108 of the print conversion utility 106, or may be acquired and stored by communicating with the printer. Fig. 8 shows user setting information for acquiring a data conversion method that is predetermined for each user based on the printing history, etc.

[0055] The data conversion method list 800 includes a registered user 801 registered in the print conversion utility 106, an unregistered user 802 not registered in the print conversion utility 106, and a registered printer 803 registered in the print conversion utility 106. FIG. 8 shows, as an example, a data conversion method list when UserA, UserB, and UserC are registered in the registered user 801, and Printer1, Printer2, and Printer3 are registered in the registered printer 803. Expansion in FIG. 8 indicates that oversized printing is performed, and printing is performed by enlarging a standard-sized document. Equal indicates that oversized printing is performed, and printing is performed at the same size as the standard-sized document. Such user setting information may be, for example, preset by the user himself, or may be automatically set based on the printing history of the printer used. For example, if a user has performed oversized borderless printing in the past, it is highly likely that the user has performed oversized borderless printing using the OS standard printing function, rather than the borderless printing of the OS standard printing function. In addition, there is a high possibility that original data larger than the standard size is prepared and a print instruction is given to the OS printing system 102. In the OS printing system 102, the original data is reduced as described above, and the reduced original data is passed to the print conversion utility 106. Therefore, the print conversion utility 106 performs a process of enlarging the original data so that overflow borderless printing can be performed. In this embodiment, user setting information is used to switch between such processes.

[0056] As described above, in S604, the print execution user and print execution printer included in the print job 700 and the data conversion method list 800 are obtained, and the process proceeds to S605.

[0057] In S605, it is determined whether the user who executed the print is the user for whom the manuscript data is to be converted. If the data conversion method list 800 acquired in S604 indicates that the user who executed the print is Expansion for the printer that executed the print, then the user is the user for whom the data conversion is to be performed for enlargement processing. In this case, since UserA who executed the print is executing the print on Printer1, it is determined that the user is the user who will perform manuscript data conversion, and the process proceeds to S606. Note that, if the data conversion method list 800 indicates that the user who executed the print is Equal for the printer that executed the print, then since equal magnification processing is to be performed, it is determined that the user is not the user who will perform manuscript data conversion, and the process proceeds to print execution in S607.

[0058] In S606, the print data acquired in S600 is subjected to a process of converting the document data into the "Borderless" size acquired in S601, and the process proceeds to printing execution in S607.

[0059] In S607, the print conversion utility 106 transmits the print data to the printer via the NW communication control units (the NW communication control units 105a and 104) and ends the process. Note that the transmitted print data is data generated as print data in the first format as described above.

[0060] This allows the user to obtain the desired print result even when using standard printing, since borderless printing can be performed on the document data that was used for borderless or oversize in the vendor driver 124. In other words, the document data received in a standard size in the OS standard printing function is enlarged (borderless printing with overflow) or processed at the same size (oversize printing) according to the user, so the desired print result can be obtained without the user having to pay attention.

[0061] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a print confirmation screen displayed by the display unit 109 of the print conversion utility 106. In S605, the display unit 109 of the print conversion utility 106 may display a print confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 9 without using the data conversion method list 800 of FIG. 8, so that the user can easily confirm the data conversion process. The print confirmation screen 900 shown in FIG. 9 includes a driver mode button 901 and an OS standard print mode button 902. The user can set the mode by selecting one of the buttons, and a print result preview 903 is displayed according to the selection state of the above button. When enlargement processing is performed during borderless printing, the driver mode button 901 is selected, and when actual size processing is performed during borderless printing, the OS standard print mode button is selected. The buttons may have any name as long as the difference between the two modes is clear. Also, a display form may be used that allows the user to know whether the manuscript data is to be enlarged or output at actual size.

[0062] Also, the print confirmation screen 900 is displayed with either mode button selected depending on the user. At that time, the user can also change the selected button by operation. When the above is changed, the print conversion utility 106 enlarges or reduces the document data to the original size depending on the selected button, and displays an image of the print result in the print result preview 903.

[0063] Hereinafter, the flow of FIG. 6 will be described in the case where the print confirmation screen 900 of FIG. 9 is used instead of the data conversion method list 800 of FIG. 8. Note that S600 to S604 and S606 to S607 are omitted because they are the same as the flow described above. In S605, when the OK button 905 is pressed with the driver mode button 901 selected, the process proceeds to S606 to enlarge the manuscript data when printing. Also, in S605, when the OK button 905 is pressed with the OS standard print mode button 902 selected, the process proceeds to print execution in S607 since conversion of the manuscript data size is not required when printing, and then the process ends. Note that when the OK button 905 is pressed with the non-display check box 904 turned on, the print confirmation screen 900 is saved in the storage unit 108 so as not to be displayed in S605.

[0064] In the above description, the case where the user selects "A2 borderless size" has been described as an example, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, in S601, the horizontal size 705 and vertical size 706 are obtained from the print job 700, and the corresponding borderless information is determined from the list in FIG. 2, so that the present embodiment can be applied to the case where the paper size is selected as "A3 borderless size". When "A3 borderless size" is selected as the paper size and printing is performed, the horizontal size 705 included in the print job 700 is "29700" and the vertical size 706 is "42000". From these size information, the item "A3 Oversize" in the list in FIG. 2 stored in the storage unit 108 is referenced, and since "A3 Borderless" exists as the corresponding borderless information, it is determined that the setting is subject to manuscript data conversion.

[0065] As described above, according to this embodiment, a desired print result can be obtained when printing with a printer that does not support the OS standard print function. Specifically, the print conversion utility 106 performs data conversion processing according to the user who performs printing and the printer, based on the borderless information corresponding to the print size selected by the user. This can eliminate the inconvenience of printing, such as making it difficult to know which paper size to select. It can also prevent a situation in which the user does not obtain the desired print result even if the same paper size is selected. Note that, although the above description is given using the example of A2, the same applies to other sizes such as A3.

[0066] In addition, in this embodiment, for a user registered as "Expansion" in the data conversion method list 800, "A2 borderless" displayed in 411 and "426×600 mm" displayed in 410 in FIG. 4 will produce the same print result. This is because for a user registered as "Expansion" in the data conversion method list 800, both "A2 borderless" in 411 and "426×600 mm" in 410 are what the vendor driver 124 calls overflow borderless printing. Therefore, as described above, for a user registered as "Expansion" in the data conversion method list 800, "426×600 mm" in 410 does not need to be displayed. By not displaying "426×600 mm" in 410, the difficulty in understanding can be eliminated. Note that information on paper sizes supported by the OS printing system 102 is notified when a print queue for the OS printing system 102 is generated. Therefore, in order to prevent “426×600 mm” in 410 from being displayed, it is necessary to obtain the conversion method selected by the target user (in this case, “Expansion”) before generating a print queue for the OS printing system 102.

[0067] <Embodiment 2> Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, if the print conversion utility 106 has a borderless size corresponding to the paper size selected by the user among the items that can be set on the target printer, the print conversion utility 106 performs enlargement processing or normal magnification processing according to the user who executed the printing and the printer. On the other hand, depending on the printer, a margin larger than the normal margin size may be required when printing with a specific paper feed method or a specific paper type. In the second embodiment, the print conversion utility 106 performs conversion processing on the print data to reduce the manuscript data by changing the margin size according to the print settings of the paper feed method and paper type.

[0068] In the following description, the description common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the differences will be described. In particular, the processing flow of the print conversion utility 106 will be described as a difference from the first embodiment.

[0069] 10 is a diagram showing a margin size conversion method in the print conversion utility 106 for a paper size specified by a user using the print conversion utility 106. The margin size conversion method list 1000 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 108 of the print conversion utility 106, or the margin size conversion method may be acquired and stored by communicating with a printer. The margin size conversion method list 1000 is made up of print settings 1001, other print settings 1002, and registered printers 1003 registered in the print conversion utility 106.

[0070] In FIG. 10, as an example, the print settings 1001 are shown in two lines in the margin size conversion method list 1000 because the printers for the two print settings, PhotoPaper and Tray, require margin sizes respectively. Also, the registered printers 1003 shows a margin size conversion method list when Printer1, Printer2, and Printer3 are registered. In FIG. 10, margin:600 means that the top, bottom, left, right, and top margin sizes of the paper size in FIG. 2 are 600, and margin:300 means that the top, bottom, left, right, and top margin sizes of the paper size in FIG. 2 are 300. In this example, the top, bottom, left, and top margin sizes are all uniform, but values ​​may be specified for the top, bottom, left, and top margin sizes. Also, different margin sizes may be specified depending on the paper size.

[0071] 11 shows a flowchart of the process executed by the print conversion utility 106. More specifically, it shows a process flow in which the print control unit 150 of the print conversion utility 106 generates print data to be sent to the printer via the NW communication control unit. Hereinafter, the print conversion utility 106 will be described as the subject of each process, but in reality, the corresponding function is realized by the CPU 11 executing the corresponding program.

[0072] 11 starts when the user selects the print button 409 on the print setting screen 400 and the print data is acquired by the print conversion utility 106. S1100 to S1101 and S1107 in Fig. 11 are the same as S600 to S601 and S607 in Fig. 6 of the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted. In S1100, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the print job 700, and in S1101 acquires the paper size 704 from the print job 700, and proceeds to S1102.

[0073] 2 from the storage unit 108. From the list, information on the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes corresponding to the paper size 704 acquired in S1101 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S1103. For example, if the paper size selected by the user on the print setting screen 400 is "A2", the horizontal size 705 included in the print job 700 is "42000" and the vertical size 706 is "59400". Furthermore, the bottom margin size 707, left margin size 708, right margin size 709, and top margin size 710 included in the print job 700 are each "300".

[0074] In S1103, the print conversion utility 106 determines whether the print data settings acquired in S1101 are to be converted. That is, it determines whether the print data settings are to be converted according to the margin size information of the portion corresponding to the print data, which is included in the paper-related information acquired in S1102. If the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes corresponding to the paper size are 0, this is the case of oversize printing or borderless printing, and in such printing, no margins are required in the print result. Therefore, it is determined that the paper size selected by the user in the print settings is not a print setting that is subject to margin size conversion, and proceeds to print execution in S1107. If the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes corresponding to the paper size are other than 0, it is determined that the paper size selected by the user in the print settings is a margin size conversion target, and proceeds to S1104.

[0075] In S1104, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the margin size conversion method list 1000 shown in Fig. 10 in order to determine the document data conversion method according to the print setting of the paper feed method or paper type for the print setting that is the data conversion target, and proceeds to S1105. In S1105, the print conversion utility 106 determines whether the print setting is one that performs margin size conversion based on the acquired margin size conversion method list 1000. To make this determination, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the paper feed method 711 and paper type 712 from the print job 700.

[0076] As an example, a case will be described where A2 size is set for paper size 402 on print setting screen 400, photo paper is set for paper type 405, and manual feed is set for paper feed method 406, and printing is executed. When printing is executed with the above settings, the paper size 704 information included in print job 700 determines that the size is "A2" in the list in FIG. 2. Furthermore, paper feed method 705 included in print job 700 is set to "tray" due to the setting of paper feed method 406, and paper type 706 included in print job 700 is set to "PhotoPaper" due to the setting of paper type 405.

[0077] Here, it is acquired that the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes are 600 from the print settings 1001 included in the margin size conversion method list 1000 in Fig. 10. The top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes included in the print job 700 are 300, which differ from the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes of 600 in the acquired margin size conversion method list 1000, so it is determined that the print settings perform margin size conversion, and the process proceeds to S1106. If the paper feed method 705 and paper type 706 included in the print job 700 do not correspond to any of the print settings 1001, the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes of other print settings 1002 are acquired. In this case, since the above margin sizes are the same as the top, bottom, left, and right margin sizes included in the print job 700, it is determined that the print settings do not perform margin size conversion, and the process proceeds to print execution in S1107.

[0078] In S1106, the print data acquired in S1100 is converted to the top, bottom, left, and right margin size of the paper size acquired in S1105, and the process proceeds to print execution in S1107, after which the process ends.

[0079] As described above, according to this embodiment, the manuscript data is converted to have an appropriate margin size according to the user's print settings, such as the paper feeding method or paper type, without any effort on the part of the user, thereby enabling the desired print result to be obtained.

[0080] <Embodiment 3> Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the manuscript data conversion method when a user registered in the print conversion utility 106 uses a printer registered in the print conversion utility 106 is acquired from a data conversion method list stored in the storage unit 108. On the other hand, depending on the printer, some printers use a manuscript size larger than the standard size and perform borderless printing by extending beyond the four sides, while others must use the same manuscript size as the standard size because borderless printing cannot be performed by extending beyond the four sides. Also, there are cases where it is necessary to change the data conversion method each time depending on the user. In the third embodiment, a process is performed to change the manuscript data conversion method depending on each situation from the registered user or registered printer.

[0081] In the following description, the description common to the first embodiment will be omitted and only the differences will be described. In particular, the following describes the generation process of the data conversion method list 800 before printing and the data conversion method determination process S605 in the processing flow of the print conversion utility 106 as differences from the first embodiment.

[0082] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an installation setting screen that the print conversion utility 106 displays when the virtual printer 105 is started. Even if the user uses a printer that is not compatible with the OS standard printing function in the OS standard printing function 103, the user can select the printer that is not compatible with the OS standard printing function in the setting screen displayed on the display unit 109 of the print conversion utility 106. The print conversion utility 106 starts the virtual printer 105 and displays the installation setting screen on the display unit. The installation setting screen 1200 includes a driver mode button 1201 and an OS standard printing mode button 1202, and the user can select only one of the buttons. When the OK button 1203 is pressed with the driver mode button 1201 selected, the printer is determined to be a printer that performs enlargement processing when setting borderless printing, and information on Expansion is saved in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. When the OK button 1203 is pressed with the OS standard printing mode button 1202 selected, the printer is determined to be a printer that performs equal magnification processing when setting borderless printing, and information on Equal is saved in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. As an example, the installation setting screen 1200 in FIG. 12 shows the driver mode button 1201 selected, but the mode selected in the initial state may be determined from the paper size set in the printer or the user's past printing information.

[0083] Also, when the paper size set in the printer body can be acquired via the NW communication control unit, the data conversion method list 800 may be generated by determining whether the acquired paper size is a standard size. If it is a standard size, it is determined that borderless printing is performed by printing the four sides of the original data larger than the standard size with the top, bottom, left, and right sides protruding, and information on Expansion is stored in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. If it is not a standard size, it is determined that oversize printing is performed by printing the original data of the standard size on a paper size larger than the standard size, and information on Equal is stored in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. Also, when the user's past printing information can be acquired from the printer body via the OS printing system 102 or the NW communication control unit, it may be determined whether to perform enlargement processing or normal magnification processing according to the acquired printing information.

[0084] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an environment setting screen for setting the printer after the print conversion utility 106 starts the virtual printer 105. The environment setting screen 1300 includes a driver mode button 1301 and an OS standard print mode button 1302, and the user can select only one of the buttons. When the OK button 1307 is pressed with the driver mode button 1301 selected, the printer is determined to be a printer that performs enlargement processing when borderless printing is set, and information on Expansion is saved in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. When the OK button 1307 is pressed with the OS standard print mode button 1302 selected, the printer is determined to be a printer that performs equal magnification processing when borderless printing is set, and information on Equal is saved in the registered printer 803 of the data conversion method list 800. In addition, user information 1303 included in the environment setting screen 1300 indicates a user who uses the virtual printer 105 started by the print conversion utility 106. A user can be added by pressing an add user button 1305, and the selected user can be deleted by selecting a user included in the user information 1303 and pressing a delete user button 1306. By setting a data conversion process selection item 1304 for each user registered in the user information 1303, a data conversion process method appropriate for the user can be determined. As an example, in the environment setting screen 1300 of FIG. 13, the driver mode is set for UserA and UserB, and the OS standard print mode is set for UserC. By making the above settings, a data conversion method can be set for each user as shown in the data conversion method list 800 of FIG. 8.

[0085] Fig. 14 shows a flowchart of the data conversion method determination process executed by the print conversion utility 106. More specifically, it shows the process flow in which the print conversion utility 106 determines the data conversion method in S605. Hereinafter, the print conversion utility 106 will be described as the subject of each process, but in reality, the corresponding function is realized by the CPU 11 executing the corresponding program. The process flow in Fig. 14 starts with the execution of the process for determining the data conversion method in S605.

[0086] In S1401, the print conversion utility 106 acquires user information from the print data acquired in S600, and proceeds to S1402. In S1402, the print conversion utility 106 refers to the data conversion method list 800 to determine whether a data conversion method for the user information exists. If a data conversion method exists, the process proceeds to S1410, and if the user information does not exist in the data conversion method list 800 or if no data conversion method exists, the process proceeds to S1403.

[0087] In S1403, the print conversion utility 106 determines whether the setting allows the user to select the document data conversion method when printing is executed. That is, the print conversion utility 106 refers to the storage unit 108 and determines whether the setting to display the print confirmation screen 900 is permitted. In S1403, if the setting to display the print confirmation screen 900 is permitted, the process proceeds to S1404. In S1404, the print conversion utility 106 displays the print confirmation screen 900 and the user presses the OK button 905, and the process proceeds to S1405. In S1405, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the conversion method set by the user on the print confirmation screen 900 and proceeds to S1410. In S1403, if the setting to display the print confirmation screen 900 is not permitted, the process proceeds to S1406 and displays the print confirmation screen 900. In S1406, the print conversion utility 106 determines whether the paper size information can be acquired from the printer body, and if it can be acquired, the process proceeds to S1407, and if it cannot be acquired, the process proceeds to S1409.

[0088] In S1407, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the paper size attached to the printer and proceeds to S1408. In S1408, the print conversion utility 106 acquires a conversion method from the acquired paper size. If the paper size is a standard size, the print conversion utility 106 acquires an enlargement process as the conversion method to determine that printing is to be performed on a borderless size document with four sides protruding (i.e., borderless printing with protruding edges) and proceeds to S1410. If the paper size is not a standard size, the print conversion utility 106 acquires a 1:1 process as the conversion method to determine that printing is to be performed on paper larger than the standard size (i.e., oversize printing) and proceeds to S1410. In S1409, the print conversion utility 106 acquires the settings made on the installation setting screen 1100 from the storage unit 108 and proceeds to S1410. In S1410, the print conversion utility 106 determines the data conversion method and proceeds to S1411 to end the process.

[0089] This makes it possible to change the conversion process in the data conversion method list each time depending on the registered user or registered printer, allowing the user to flexibly set the print settings they desire, thereby improving convenience.

[0090] As described above, according to this embodiment, the print conversion utility 106 can change the method of converting manuscript data depending on the confirmation of the user when printing is performed, the paper settings of the printer itself, and the settings at the time of installation, thereby improving convenience.

[0091] <Other embodiments> The printing system in the first to third embodiments has a configuration in which the PC and the printer are connected via a specific bidirectional interface, but is not limited to this example. In other words, the printing system may be an integrated device in which the functions of the PC and the printer are integrated.

[0092] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 100 pcs 106 Print conversion utility 110 Printer

Claims

1. A print control software program operable on a computer and capable of generating print data in a first format, comprising: The computer, an acquisition unit for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on the computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; Function as a The program, wherein the conversion means determines whether or not to perform conversion to enlarge the size of the document data, depending on a user included in the print settings.

2. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition includes a condition that a setting of a predetermined size corresponding to a paper size included in the print setting can be set on the printing device.

3. The computer, a second acquiring unit that acquires user setting information that sets whether or not conversion is to be performed by the printing device for each user; 3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the conversion means determines whether or not to perform conversion to enlarge the size of the print data for each user based on the user setting information.

4. 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the user setting information is information based on a history indicating whether or not the user has enlarged document data on the printing device.

5. The computer, a setting unit that can set a first mode in which the conversion unit converts the print data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition, or a second mode in which the conversion unit does not convert the print data even when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; 5. The program according to claim 1, wherein the conversion means operates in accordance with a mode set by the setting means.

6. A print control software program operable on a computer and capable of generating print data in a first format, comprising: The computer, an acquisition unit for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on the computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; a setting means for setting a first mode in which the conversion means converts the print data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition, or a second mode in which the conversion means does not convert the print data even when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; Function as a The conversion means operates in accordance with a mode set by the setting means.

7. 7. The program according to claim 5, wherein the setting means is capable of setting the mode at least one of when the print control software is installed, when the print control software is started, and when printing is executed.

8. The computer, a second acquiring unit that acquires user setting information that sets whether or not conversion is to be performed by the printing device for each user; A program as described in any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that if it cannot be determined based on the user setting information that the user included in the print setting is the user who will be converting the print data, the setting means displays a screen on a display for setting the mode.

9. The computer, and further functioning as a second determination means for determining whether or not it is possible to obtain the paper size installed in the printing device when the setting by the setting means is not permitted.

9. The program according to claim 8, wherein, when the paper size can be acquired, the conversion means determines whether to convert the print data in accordance with the acquired paper size.

10. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein the conversion means performs conversion to enlarge the size of the document data when the paper size is a predetermined size.

11. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein the conversion means does not perform the conversion when the paper size is different from a predetermined size.

12. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein, if the paper size cannot be acquired, the conversion means determines whether to convert the print data in accordance with a mode set when the print control software is installed.

13. and further functioning as a second acquisition unit for acquiring information on margin settings in the printing device corresponding to a paper type designated in the print settings.

2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the conversion means performs conversion to reduce the manuscript data when the margin specified in the print settings is smaller than the margin acquired by the second acquisition means.

14. A print control software program operable on a computer and capable of generating print data in a first format, comprising: The computer, an acquisition unit for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on the computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; A second acquisition means for acquiring information on margin settings in the printing device corresponding to a paper type specified in the print settings; Function as a The program, wherein the conversion means performs conversion to reduce the manuscript data when the margin specified in the print settings is smaller than the margin acquired by the second acquisition means.

15. An information processing device capable of generating print data in a first format and communicating with a printing device, An acquisition means for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; Equipped with The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion means determines whether or not to perform conversion to enlarge the size of the document data, depending on a user included in the print settings.

16. An information processing device capable of generating print data of a first format and capable of communicating with a printing device, comprising: An acquisition means for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; a setting means for setting a first mode in which the conversion means converts the print data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition, or a second mode in which the conversion means does not convert the print data even when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; Equipped with The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion means operates in accordance with a mode set by the setting means.

17. An information processing device capable of generating print data of a first format and capable of communicating with a printing device, An acquisition means for acquiring print data in a second format, different from the first format, including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion means for converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmission means for generating the print data converted by the conversion means as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; A second acquisition means for acquiring information on margin settings in the printing device corresponding to a paper type specified in the print settings; Equipped with The information processing apparatus is characterized in that the conversion means performs conversion to reduce the manuscript data when the margin specified in the print settings is smaller than the margin acquired by the second acquisition means.

18. 1. A method for controlling an information processing device capable of generating print data in a first format and communicating with a printing device, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring print data in a second format different from the first format, the print data including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion step of converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmitting step of generating the print data converted in the converting step as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; Equipped with The method for controlling an information processing apparatus, wherein the converting step determines whether or not to perform conversion to enlarge the size of the document data, depending on a user included in the print settings.

19. A method for controlling an information processing device capable of generating print data of a first format and communicating with a printing device, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring print data in a second format different from the first format, the second format including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion step of converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmitting step of generating the print data converted in the converting step as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; a setting step capable of setting a first mode in which the conversion step converts the print data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition, or a second mode in which the conversion step does not convert the print data even when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; Equipped with 2. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising the steps of: converting a content of the ...

20. A method for controlling an information processing device capable of generating print data of a first format and communicating with a printing device, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring print data in a second format different from the first format, the second format including document data and print settings by a user, from OS standard print software running on a computer; a conversion step of converting the print data so as to convert the size of the document data when the print settings satisfy a predetermined condition; a transmitting step of generating the print data converted in the converting step as print data in the first format and transmitting the print data to a printing device; A second acquisition step of acquiring information on margin settings in the printing device corresponding to a paper type specified in the print settings; Equipped with The method for controlling an information processing apparatus, wherein the converting step performs conversion to reduce the document data when the margin specified in the print settings is smaller than the margin acquired in the second acquisition step.

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