Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To enable printing of a high-discrimination grayscale image even if a printer cannot generate high-discrimination grayscale image data.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus configured to generate second image data expressed by achromatic colors from input first image data and output the achromatic image data to a printer includes: acquisition means which acquires the number of colors used in a predetermined type of object included in the first image data; grayscale conversion means which replaces the color used in the predetermined type of object included in the first image data by a one-channel signal value corresponding to an achromatic color which is determined based on the number of colors acquired by the acquisition means, to generate the second image data; and output means which outputs, to the printer, the second image data generated by the grayscale conversion means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and Reason This concerns laws and programs. [Background technology]

[0002] When converting color image data expressed in color, such as in RGB format, to grayscale image data for output, the RGB signal values ​​of the input image data are converted to achromatic signal values. When performing grayscale conversion, a certain weight is applied to each of the R, G, and B signal values, such as in NTSC conversion, to determine the achromatic signal value after conversion.

[0003] When grayscale conversion is performed, different colors in the color image data may be converted to the same or similar signal values. Therefore, even if an area is expressed in different colors and can be distinguished in the color image data, it becomes difficult to distinguish and distinguish after grayscale conversion. In particular, when achromatic colors with similar signal values ​​are adjacent as in Figure 1, it becomes difficult to tell where the color boundary is. In this specification, an index that indicates the ease of distinguishing colors is called distinctiveness, and a state in which it is easy to tell that each color is different is called a state of high distinctiveness.

[0004] There is a technology to obtain images with high discrimination even after grayscale conversion. The printing device described in Patent Document 1 analyzes the colors and objects used within a page from the input PDL (Page Description Language) data to obtain the number of colors contained in the color image data. Then, using the value of the number of colors, the input PDL data is converted so that the differences in the signal values ​​of each achromatic color are equalized. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-38242 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, if the printing device cannot perform highly distinctive grayscale conversion from the color information contained in the PDL data, it cannot print a highly distinctive grayscale image from the input color image data. Also, a printing device that receives print jobs from multiple printer drivers analyzes each print job, generates image data for printing, and executes printing. If highly distinctive grayscale conversion is performed on the printing device side, the printing device will have to process more, and the time it takes to execute the subsequent job may be longer. For this reason, it is desirable to have a configuration in which highly distinctive grayscale image data is generated on the printer driver side and the image data is sent to the printing device.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to make it possible to print highly distinctive grayscale images without performing conversion processing to grayscale in a printing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The information processing device according to the present invention comprises: The printing device includes an accepting means for accepting a selection of a printing mode from a plurality of printing modes including a color printing mode and a grayscale printing mode, and a transmitting means for transmitting print data based on the selected printing mode and color image data to a printing device, wherein when the grayscale printing mode is selected, a predetermined setting for enabling a generation method in which gray image data is generated based on the number of colors contained in the color image data can be selected, and when the color printing mode is selected, the predetermined setting cannot be selected. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to print highly distinctive grayscale images without performing conversion to grayscale in the printing device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a graph with low discrimination. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of software modules of an information processing device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a printing process in the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing the entire system according to the present invention in this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen by a printer driver in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a drawing command input to a driver in the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color value table in the present embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a process of highly discriminative grayscale conversion in the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a schematic diagram showing gray signal values ​​in highly discriminative grayscale conversion in the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of print data in the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] (Example) Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] In this embodiment, in the print processing system, a printer driver converts color image data into grayscale PDL data that is rendered in a single color, K, and outputs the data to a printing device.

[0013] First, a printing system configured with an information processing device 10 and a printing device 6 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0014] The CPU 1 is a control means that controls the entire information processing device 10. The auxiliary storage device 3 is a storage medium such as an HDD, SSD, FD, CD-ROM, or IC memory card, and is a storage medium that stores system programs and application programs.

[0015] The RAM 2 is a working memory used by the CPU 1 and is used to expand the programs and applications stored in the auxiliary storage device 3.

[0016] The CPU 1 loads the system program and application programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 into the RAM 2 , analyzes input image data, and outputs print data to the printing device 6 .

[0017] The output device 5 is a display device such as a display, and the input device 4 is a device such as a keyboard or a pointing device that is operated by the user for input.

[0018] Image data generated by the information processing device 10 is transmitted from a NIC 8 (Network Interface) to the printing device 6 via a network 9. In this embodiment, the printing device 6 is an SFP such as a printer, or an MFP having both a scanner function and a copy function.

[0019] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a software configuration of the information processing device 10 in this embodiment. The CPU 1 loads a program stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 into the RAM 2 and executes it to function as each of the processing units 12 to 19.

[0020] The printer driver 11 is a program executed on the OS of the information processing device 10 and for controlling the printing device, and includes modules for functioning as each of the processing units 12 to 18. A printer driver is provided for each language used for drawing. For example, there is a GDI printer driver that interprets GDI (Graphics Device Interface) and generates PDL (Page Description Language) data. There is also an XPS printer driver that interprets XPS (XML Paper Specification) and generates PDL data.

[0021] The user interface unit 12 is a software module that receives input from the user to the information processing device 10 and controls the display of a screen on the output device 5. The user interface unit 12 outputs a printer driver setting screen to the output device 5, and receives input from the user made using the input device 4 to the screen displayed on the output device 5.

[0022] The layout processing unit 13 converts image data into a layout for printing according to a print instruction from an application that creates documents, etc. For example, when a user instructs N-up or zooming in and out via a driver, the layout processing unit 13 converts the image data according to the set value.

[0023] The drawing command control unit 14 receives drawing commands from the layout processing unit 13 and creates image data that can be processed by the printing device. In this embodiment, the drawing command control unit 14 generates highly distinctive grayscale image data. The highly distinctive grayscale image data generated by the drawing command control unit 14 is then transmitted to the printing device 6. The drawing command control unit 14 includes a grayscale conversion unit 15, a drawing command generation unit 16, and a drawing command analysis unit 17. The drawing command control unit 14 operates as grayscale conversion means that generates grayscale PDL data.

[0024] Drawing command analysis unit 17 is a module that analyzes drawing commands included in color image data received from an application. If it is determined that the color image data received from the application is set to be converted into a highly distinctive grayscale image, drawing command analysis unit 17 passes the color image data to grayscale conversion unit 15. If the color data received from the application is not set to be converted into a highly distinctive grayscale image, drawing command analysis unit 17 passes the color image data to drawing command generation unit 16.

[0025] The grayscale conversion unit 15 executes grayscale conversion different from grayscale conversion performed with a fixed weighting, such as NTSC conversion, to generate grayscale image data with high discrimination.

[0026] The drawing command generating unit 16 generates image data such as PDL data that can be analyzed by a printing device based on the drawing commands passed from the grayscale conversion unit 15 and the drawing commands analyzed by the drawing command analyzing unit 17.

[0027] The print data control unit 18 generates PJL (Print Job Language) data to be sent to the printing device 6 together with the drawing commands created by the drawing command generation unit 16. The PJL data is data for controlling the print job, such as which paper to use for printing, which paper output tray to output the paper to, and what color / monochrome settings to use.

[0028] The print data transmission / reception unit 19 is a software module for transmitting the PDL commands generated by the drawing command generation unit 16 and the PJL data generated by the print data control unit 18 to the printing device 6. The CPU 1 operates as the print data transmission / reception unit 19 and controls the NIC 8, thereby enabling the print data generated by the drawing command control unit 14 and the print data control unit 18 to be output to the printing device 6.

[0029] 4, a process will be described in which the information processing device 10 generates print data to be sent to the printing device 6 from color image data generated by an application, and sends the data to the printing device 6. A program for executing the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 3, and the process is realized by the CPU 1 executing the program. The process shown in FIG. 4 is started when a user issues a command to start printing from an application screen, or issues a command to start printing from an input device such as a keyboard connected to the information processing device.

[0030] The print data control unit 18 generates PJL data, which is print information based on print settings set by the user (S501). The print settings set by the user include, for example, single-sided or double-sided printing settings and aggregate printing (Nin1 printing) settings when printing. The color settings when printing are also included in the above print settings.

[0031] The drawing command control unit 14 executes a PDL conversion process to generate PDL data based on the command analyzed by the drawing command analysis unit 17 (S502). The details of the processes in the drawing command analysis unit 17, the drawing command generation unit 16, and the grayscale conversion unit 15 will be described later with reference to Fig. 5. When printing of a highly distinctive grayscale image is instructed, in S502 the information processing device generates highly distinctive grayscale PDL data.

[0032] The print data transmission / reception unit 19 outputs print data consisting of the PJL data generated by the print data control unit 18 and the PDL data generated in S502 to the printing device 6 (S503). The PJL data is transmitted at the beginning of the job. After that, the print data transmission / reception unit 19 accumulates the PDL data generated in S502 for a predetermined data size, and transmits the PDL data for each predetermined data size. The print data transmission / reception unit 19 repeatedly generates the PDL data shown in S502 and transmits the PDL data generated in S503 until the print job is completed. FIG. 11 shows an example of print data generated in this embodiment. The name of the user who input the print job and the name of the job are written at the beginning of the print data. The flag 1101 is a flag indicating whether or not the data has been subjected to a highly distinctive grayscale conversion. If the flag is set to TRUE, the PDL data included in the print data is data after a highly distinctive grayscale conversion has been performed. If the flag is set to FALSE, the PDL data included in the print data is data that has not been subjected to a highly distinctive grayscale conversion. The print data control unit 18 refers to the settings made on the UI of the printer driver, and if highly distinctive grayscale conversion is to be performed, sets flag 1101 to TRUE. By having flag 1101, it is possible to prevent highly distinctive grayscale conversion from being performed again when the printing device receives the print data.

[0033] The above is the process of generating print data that the information processing device sends to the printing device. The printing device 6 analyzes the PDL data output by the information processing device 10 and performs image processing such as rendering and halftone processing. The printing device 6 then prints the generated image data on paper.

[0034] Next, the PDL conversion process executed in S502 of Fig. 4 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5. A program for executing the process described in Fig. 5 is stored in the ROM 7, and the process is realized by the CPU 1 executing the program expanded in the RAM 2.

[0035] The drawing command analysis unit 17 refers to the print settings and determines whether or not highly distinctive grayscale printing is set (S601). The drawing command analysis unit 17 performs grayscale conversion based on the color mode setting included in the drawing command and the setting of whether or not to perform highly distinctive grayscale conversion. The drawing command analysis unit 17 determines that highly distinctive grayscale is set when the color mode is set to grayscale and further when highly distinctive grayscale conversion is set. When highly distinctive grayscale is set, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S602. When a setting other than highly distinctive grayscale is set, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S609.

[0036] The user operates the print setting screen of the printer driver 11 shown in FIG. 6(a) to perform print setting. Input fields 1200 to 1206 are areas for inputting the setting of each setting item. The input field 1206 is a field for setting the color mode. When the user selects the button 1207, selectable setting values ​​are displayed as shown in FIG. 6(b). In this embodiment, the user can select the color mode from among automatic (color / monochrome), color, and grayscale. "Automatic (color / monochrome)" 1211 is a setting in which the printing device 6 automatically selects a color mode according to the input image data. "Color" 1212 is a mode in which the input image data is printed with multiple color toners such as CMYK. "Grayscale" input in the input field 1206 is a mode in which the input image data is converted to image data of only K toner and printed. A check box 1208 in FIG. 6(a) is an input portion for setting whether the printer driver 11 generates a highly distinctive output image or not. For example, this check box 1208 can be selected (marked) only when the color mode input field 1206 is set to "grayscale." When the user sets the color mode to grayscale and selects the check box 1208, the printer driver 11 generates grayscale PDL data with high discrimination. When the user sets the color mode to grayscale and does not select the check box 1208, the printer driver generates grayscale PDL data using a known method such as the NTSC system. When grayscale is selected in the color mode, the information processing device 10 converts the multi-channel image data into a single channel signal value of K only. The signal value of the achromatic color corresponding to the K toner indicates the shade of black depending on the value. The higher the signal value, the lighter the black, and the lower the signal value, the darker the black.

[0037] When the user has finished the print settings, he or she selects "OK" 1209 to complete the print settings. "Cancel" 1210 is a button for discarding the settings displayed on the display unit and restoring the settings to those before the current settings. The user then inputs a print execution instruction from the screen displayed by the printer driver or the screen displayed by the application.

[0038] In S601, the grayscale conversion unit 15 refers to the color mode set via the print setting screen shown in FIG. 6, and determines whether or not a highly distinctive grayscale has been set.

[0039] The drawing command analysis unit 17 judges whether the input drawing command is a drawing command for image data (S602). If it is judged to be a drawing command for image data, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S606. If it is judged not to be a drawing command for image data, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S603. In S602, the grayscale conversion unit 15 refers to attribute information attached to each drawing command and judges whether the drawing command is a drawing command for image data. In addition to images, the attribute information includes graphics such as text, figures, and lines. Image data is image data such as photographs. It is necessary to ensure that the gradation of the original image is not lost even when the image data is converted to grayscale. Therefore, even if conversion to a highly distinctive grayscale is instructed, grayscale conversion is performed by a known method. In this embodiment, the color of a specified object that is not image data is extracted and replaced with an achromatic signal value set based on the number of colors, and highly distinctive grayscale image data is generated. In this way, a highly distinctive grayscale image can be generated from a specified type of object such as text or graphics without losing the gradation of the image data.

[0040] The grayscale conversion unit 15 extracts a color signal value from the drawing command being analyzed (S603). A specific method will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is an example of drawing data (XPS) input to the printer driver 11. The drawing data in this embodiment is a type of image data, and is data in which a drawing command describing what type of image is to be drawn is described. The grayscale conversion unit 15 extracts the color value "ffab25" from the drawing command 701. "ffab25" is R=255, G=171, B=37 expressed in hexadecimal, and is a chromatic color signal value.

[0041] Next, the grayscale conversion unit 15 determines whether the extracted color is already registered in the color value table stored in the RAM 2 (S604). If the extracted color is already registered in the color value table, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S606. If the extracted color is not registered in the color value table, the grayscale conversion unit 15 registers the extracted signal value in the color value table (S605). When analyzing the first drawing command, no colors are registered in the color value table, so R=255, G=171, and B=37 are registered in the first row of the color value table, as shown in FIG. 8(a).

[0042] The grayscale conversion unit 15 determines whether there is a drawing command to analyze (S606). In the image data shown in FIG. 7, drawing command 702 follows drawing command 701, so the grayscale conversion unit 15 returns the process to S602. Then, the grayscale conversion unit 15 executes the processes of S602 to S605 for drawing command 702. The color value "00b050" extracted from drawing command 702 is R=0, G=5, B=0 expressed in hexadecimal, and is a chromatic signal value. Since R=0, G=5, B=0 is not registered in the color value table, the grayscale conversion unit 15 registers the color value in the color value table.

[0043] The grayscale conversion unit 15 further performs the same process on the drawing command 703. The color value "ffab25" extracted from the drawing command 703 is a color value that has already been registered in the color value table. In this case, the grayscale conversion unit 15 determines that the signal value extracted in S604 is a signal value that has already been registered in the color value table, and proceeds to S606.

[0044] In this embodiment, when the process up to S606 is completed for the pre-drawing command included in one print job input from the application, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S606. However, when the process up to S606 is completed for the drawing command included in each page, the grayscale conversion unit 15 may advance the process to S607.

[0045] In S606, if there is no drawing command that has not been analyzed, the grayscale conversion unit 15 advances the process to S607. The grayscale conversion unit 15 executes a highly discriminative grayscale process to calculate achromatic signal values ​​corresponding to the colors included in the input image data (S607). The process of the grayscale conversion unit 15 in S607 will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

[0046] The drawing command generating unit 16 converts each color included in the drawing command into the achromatic color signal value calculated in S607, and generates PDL data for output (S608). The drawing command generating unit 16 analyzes the input image data in order, starting from the first drawing command. The drawing command generating unit 16 acquires the RGB values ​​included in each drawing command, and, referring to the color value table, replaces the RGB values ​​included in the drawing command with one-channel signal values ​​corresponding to the achromatic color, thereby generating PDL data. In this embodiment, the one-channel signal value corresponding to the achromatic color is the one-channel signal value corresponding to K (black) toner.

[0047] On the other hand, if it is determined in S601 that highly distinctive grayscale printing is not set, the drawing command analysis unit 17 analyzes the drawing command, and the drawing command generation unit 16 generates PDL data corresponding to the set color mode (S609). If the color mode is color, the drawing command generation unit 16 generates PDL data for printing an image with multiple toners such as YMCK. If a setting is made to use normal grayscale conversion, the drawing command generation unit 16 generates PDL data using a known method such as the NTSC method.

[0048] Fig. 9 shows details of the generation process of highly discriminative grayscale image data described in S607 of Fig. 5. A program for executing the process described in Fig. 9 is stored in the ROM 7 or the like, and the process is realized by the CPU 1 executing the program expanded in the RAM 2. It should be noted that, here, it is assumed that signal values ​​of seven colors are registered in the color value table as shown in Fig. 8(a).

[0049] The grayscale conversion unit 15 acquires the number of colors registered in the color value table (S801). The grayscale conversion unit 15 refers to the color value table stored in RAM2 and acquires the number of colors registered in the color value table. For example, when the color value table shown in FIG. 8 is stored in RAM2, N=7 is acquired.

[0050] The grayscale conversion unit 15 calculates the signal value of the achromatic color to be used after grayscale conversion based on the number of colors acquired in S801 (S802). Here, the signal value from 0 to 225 is divided equally into the number N of colors acquired in S801, and is used as the signal value of the achromatic color after conversion. When N=7, the signal values ​​of the achromatic color are 0, 36, 73, 109, 146, 182, and 219 in order from the smallest. In this embodiment, the smaller the signal value of the achromatic color, the darker the achromatic color, and the larger the signal value, the lighter the achromatic color. FIG. 10(a) is a schematic diagram showing the signal value of the achromatic color set by the method described in this embodiment. Gmin is the minimum signal value of the achromatic color to be used after grayscale conversion, and Gmax is the maximum signal value of the achromatic color to be used after grayscale conversion.

[0051] The grayscale conversion unit 15 sets the signal values ​​acquired from the drawing command in correspondence with the achromatic signal values ​​obtained in S802 (S803). The grayscale conversion unit 15 converts the signal values ​​of the colors registered in the color value table into achromatic signal values ​​using a known method. In this embodiment, the RGB values ​​are substituted into Grey=0.298912R+0.586611G+0.114478B to obtain the achromatic signal values. The achromatic signal values ​​obtained from the signal values ​​of the colors are as shown in FIG. 8(b). Then, the grayscale conversion unit 15 sorts the colors registered in the color value table in ascending order of achromatic signal values. FIG. 8(c) shows the color value table after sorting. Finally, the grayscale conversion unit 15 associates the achromatic signal values ​​set in S802 with the colors in ascending order of achromatic signal values. FIG. 8(d) shows a color value table to which achromatic signal values ​​used in grayscale conversion for improving distinctiveness are assigned. This completes the process shown in FIG.

[0052] In Figure 9, 0 to 255 is divided equally by the number of colors registered in the color value table to obtain the signal value of achromatic colors after grayscale conversion with high discrimination. In addition to the above method, grayscale conversion with high discrimination can also be performed by the following method.

[0053] When the colors R=255, G=255, and B=255 are registered in the color value table, the signal values ​​from 0 to 255 may be divided into N-1 equal parts as shown in Fig. 10(b). In this case, the grayscale conversion unit 15 assigns the signal value of R=G=B=255 to the signal value of K=255. The other signal values ​​are assigned the achromatic signal values ​​in ascending order of the achromatic signal values ​​obtained by conversion using a known method.

[0054] Furthermore, the grayscale conversion unit 15 may determine the achromatic signal values ​​to which the respective colors are converted using the methods shown in FIGS.

[0055] Fig. 10(c) is an example in which achromatic colors K=0, K=255 are not used after grayscale conversion. Grayscale conversion unit 15 divides 0 to 255 into equal parts by a number that is 1 greater than the number of colors N registered in the color value table. Then, signal values ​​other than K=0, K=255 are assigned to each color. For example, when N=7, the signal values ​​used after conversion are K=32, 64, 96, 128, 159, 191, 223.

[0056] FIG. 10(d) is an example in which the signal values ​​of K=0 and K=255 are not used, similarly to FIG. 10(c). In FIG. 10(d), the values ​​of Gmin and Gmax are determined in advance such that Gmin≠0 and Gmax≠255. The grayscale conversion unit 15 reads the values ​​of Gmin and Gmax stored in the ROM 7 or the auxiliary storage device 3, divides the range between Gmin and Gmax into N equal parts, and sets the achromatic signal value to be used after grayscale conversion. In the method described in FIG. 10(d), Gmax and Gmin may be variable. For example, the grayscale conversion unit 15 calculates the achromatic signal value from the RGB values ​​registered in the color value table by a known method such as the NTSC method. The smallest value of the achromatic signal values ​​calculated by the grayscale conversion unit 15 may be set as Gmin, and the largest value may be set as Gmax.

[0057] In this embodiment, the method of setting the signal value of the achromatic color when performing grayscale conversion with high discrimination is determined in advance from among Figs. 10(a) to (d), and conversion is performed according to the determined method. The method of obtaining the signal value of the achromatic color may be changed based on the signal value of the color registered in the color value table. For example, before starting the process shown in Fig. 9, the grayscale conversion unit 15 refers to the color value table and determines whether or not a color with R=G=B=0 is registered. If a color with R=G=B=0 is not registered in the color value table, the grayscale conversion unit 15 selects either the method shown in Fig. 10(c) or (d). It is assumed that the method of Fig. 10(c) or (d) to be used is set in advance.

[0058] When the color value table has a color R=G=B=0 registered, the grayscale conversion unit 15 judges whether the color value table contains a color R=G=B=255. When the color value table does not contain a color R=G=B=255, the grayscale conversion unit 15 performs grayscale conversion using the method shown in FIG. 10(a). On the other hand, when the color value table contains a color R=G=B=255, the grayscale conversion unit 15 performs grayscale conversion using the method shown in FIG. 10(b). By using the methods shown in FIG. 10(a) and (b), when the original color image data contains black R=G=B=0 or white R=G=B=255, the signal values ​​of the grayscale conversion for that part can be set to K=0 and K=255, respectively. In this way, highly discriminative grayscale conversion can be performed without changing the color of the parts where black or white is used in the original image data.

[0059] As described above, by storing the number of colors of the drawing input to the printer driver and creating a grayscale conversion table according to the number of colors, the printer driver can generate page description language data that has been converted to a highly distinctive grayscale. This makes it possible to achieve highly distinctive grayscale printing without generating highly distinctive grayscale image data in the printing device.

[0060] (Other Examples) The present invention can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium on which the computer program is stored constitute the present invention.

Claims

1. a reception means for receiving a selection of a printing mode from a plurality of printing modes including a color printing mode and a grayscale printing mode; a transmission means for transmitting print data based on the selected print mode and color image data to a printing device; When the grayscale printing mode is selected, a predetermined setting can be selected to enable a generation method in which grayscale image data is generated based on RGB values ​​included in the color image data and achromatic signal values ​​calculated based on the number of the RGB values; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined setting is not selectable when the color printing mode is selected.

2. A generating unit that generates the gray image data using the generation method, 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means transmits the print data including the grayscale image data to the printing device.

3. When the predetermined setting is enabled, the generating means generates the grayscale image data using the generation method, 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the grayscale printing mode is selected and the predetermined setting is not enabled, the generating means generates grayscale image data using an NTSC system.

4. the plurality of print modes includes an automatic print mode; 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined setting cannot be selected when the automatic print mode is selected.

5. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grayscale image data is PDL data.

6. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception means further receives a selection of the predetermined setting.

7. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception unit further receives a setting of a size of paper to be used when printing based on the print data.

8. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the reception means receives a user's selection of at least one of the generation methods and another generation method different from the generation method as a generation method for generating gray image data from color image data.

9. a receiving step of receiving a selection of a printing mode from a plurality of printing modes including a color printing mode and a grayscale printing mode; a transmission step of transmitting print data based on the selected print mode and color image data to a printing device, When the grayscale printing mode is selected, a predetermined setting can be selected to enable a generation method in which grayscale image data is generated based on RGB values ​​included in the color image data and achromatic signal values ​​calculated based on the number of the RGB values; The program, wherein the predetermined setting is not selectable when the color printing mode is selected.

10. A generating step of generating the grayscale image data using the generation method is further included.

10. The program according to claim 9, wherein the transmitting step transmits the print data including the grayscale image data to the printing device.

11. When the predetermined setting is enabled, the generating step generates the grayscale image data using the generation method, 11. The program according to claim 10, wherein when the grayscale printing mode is selected and the predetermined setting is not enabled, the generating step generates gray image data using an NTSC system.

12. the plurality of print modes includes an automatic print mode; 12. The program according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined setting is not selectable when the automatic print mode is selected.

13. 13. The program according to claim 9, wherein the grayscale image data is PDL data.

14. 14. The program according to claim 9, wherein the accepting step further accepts a selection of the predetermined setting.

15. 15. The program according to claim 9, wherein the accepting step further accepts a setting of a size of paper to be output when printing is performed based on the print data.

16. The program according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that the reception process receives a user's selection from at least one of the generation methods and another generation method different from the generation method as a generation method for generating gray image data from color image data.

17. a receiving step of receiving a selection of a printing mode from a plurality of printing modes including a color printing mode and a grayscale printing mode by a receiving means; a transmitting step of transmitting print data based on the selected print mode and color image data to a printing device by a transmitting means; When the grayscale printing mode is selected, a predetermined setting can be selected to enable a generation method in which grayscale image data is generated based on RGB values ​​included in the color image data and achromatic signal values ​​calculated based on the number of the RGB values; The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined setting is not selectable when the color printing mode is selected.

18. The method further includes a generating step of generating the grayscale image data by using the generation method, 18. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein in the transmitting step, the transmitting means transmits the print data including the gray image data to the printing device.

19. When the predetermined setting is enabled, in the generating step, the generating means generates the grayscale image data using the generation method, 20. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein when the grayscale printing mode is selected and the predetermined setting is not enabled, in the generating step, the generating means generates gray image data using an NTSC system.

20. the plurality of print modes includes an automatic print mode; 20. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein the predetermined setting cannot be selected when the automatic print mode is selected.

21. 21. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein the grayscale image data is PDL data.

22. 22. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein said receiving step further comprises receiving a selection of said predetermined setting by said receiving means.

23. 23. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein in the accepting step, the accepting unit also accepts a setting of a size of paper to be output when printing is performed based on the print data.

24. 24. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein in the reception step, the reception means receives a user's selection from at least one of the generation methods and another generation method different from the generation method as a generation method for generating gray image data from color image data.

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