Calibration Support Method and Calibration Support System

Abstract

To provide a calibration assistance method and a calibration assistance system that improve the efficiency of calibration work and reduce mistakes in the calibration work when there are a plurality of mutually related printing jobs.SOLUTION: After registering a plurality of printing jobs consisting of a master job and general jobs (step S11), a computer compares image data corresponding to each general job with image data corresponding to the master job to execute an automatic grouping processing for assigning a plurality of mutually related printing jobs to a related job group (step S12). When a common comment is input with respect to a common image region of a calibration image corresponding to one printing job included in the related job group (step S14), the computer reflects the common comment in a calibration image corresponding to the other printing jobs constituting the related job group (step S15).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a calibration support method and a calibration support system for assisting calibration work performed before printing.

Background Art

[0002] In the printing business, before actual printing is performed by a printing apparatus, calibration may be performed using an image based on print data generated by RIP processing as a calibration image. Regarding this, conventionally, the exchange of calibration images, correction instructions, etc. among workers involved in calibration was performed on a paper basis, but in recent years, many printing companies have introduced an online calibration system that enables online calibration. An invention related to such an online calibration system is disclosed in, for example, Pamphlet of International Publication No. 2003 / 010683. According to this invention, it is possible for a plurality of workers to perform calibration work simultaneously in parallel and for each person in charge of calibration to confirm the calibration content and calibration status in real time using a web browser.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to the conventional online calibration system, it is assumed that the calibration work is performed for each print job. Therefore, even when the operator gives the same correction instruction for different print jobs, it is necessary to give the correction instruction for each print job. Regarding this, with reference to FIG. 20, the general procedure of the calibration work when adopting the conventional online calibration system will be described. Here, it is assumed that an order for printing based on two print jobs (Job J1 and Job J2) is placed from a customer company to a printing company, and the same correction instruction is given for the two print jobs in the calibration work. Also, it is assumed that Job J1 and Job J2 are print jobs including a plurality of pages.

[0005] When a customer company places an order for printing with a printing company, a manuscript corresponding to the order details is created at a predetermined production company. Here, at the production company, the first drafts (initial manuscripts) of Job J1 and Job J2 are created (step S90). Note that the data of the created manuscript is transmitted to the printing company as input manuscript data. Next, at the printing company, the printing jobs (Job J1 and Job J2) are registered in the online proofreading system based on the input manuscript data (step S91). Next, at the printing company, RIP processing is performed on the input manuscript data of Job J1 and Job J2 (step S92). Thereby, a proofreading image used for the proofreading work at the customer company and the production company is created. Next, the reviser, who is the proofreading person in charge at the customer company, checks the proofreading image and gives a revision instruction for Job J1 (for example, enters a comment on the proofreading image) (step S93). Then, at the production company, the reviser modifies the manuscript of Job J1 according to the revision instruction in step S93 (step S94). Next, the reviser prints the content of the revision instruction for Job J1 (step S95). Further, while looking at the printed matter obtained in step S95, the reviser gives a revision instruction for Job J2 (for example, enters a comment on the proofreading image) (step S96). Then, at the production company, the reviser modifies the manuscript of Job J2 according to the revision instruction in step S96 (step S97). The data of the revised manuscripts obtained in step S94 and step S97 is transmitted to the printing company. In this way, the first proofreading (the first proofreading work) is completed. The processes of steps S92 to S97 are repeated until approval is obtained from the approver at the customer company. That is, the proofreading work is performed until approval is obtained from the approver at the customer company. Note that the second proofreading work is called "second proofreading" or "reproofreading", and the third proofreading work is called "third proofreading".

[0006] As described above, after giving the correction instruction for Job J1, the correction instructor (the proofreading person in the customer company) needs to print the content of the correction instruction for Job J1 in order to secure a printed material that serves as a record of the correction instruction content. Then, in step S96 above, the correction instructor needs to find, while looking at the printed material, the pages in the multiple pages that make up Job J2 where the same correction instruction as for Job J1 should be made on the computer screen. Also, the approver in the customer company needs to perform a visual verification operation (visual proofreading) to confirm whether the same corrections as those for Job J1 are correctly made for Job J2. Thus, according to the conventional online proofreading system, the proofreading work was inefficient. Also, because there were many labor-intensive operations, mistakes were likely to occur in the proofreading work.

[0007] In view of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a proofreading support method and a proofreading support system that can improve the efficiency of proofreading work and reduce mistakes in proofreading work when there are a plurality of print jobs related to each other.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] A first invention is a proofreading support method for supporting the proofreading of an image to be printed, comprising: a print job registration step in which an operator registers in a computer K print jobs, where K is an integer of 2 or more, the K print jobs being composed of 1 master job and (K - 1) general jobs, which are associated with image data representing the image to be printed; an image data comparison step in which the computer compares the image data corresponding to each general job with the image data corresponding to the master job to obtain a coincidence rate between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job, and a common image area that is an image part common between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job; With N being an integer less than or equal to (K - 1), a grouping step in which a computer determines a set of (N + 1) print jobs including the master job and N general jobs as a related job group based on the coincidence rate obtained in the image data comparison step; A comment input step in which, with an image corresponding to a calibration target job that is one of the (N + 1) print jobs being displayed on a display unit of a computer, an operator designates a comment input area and inputs a comment regarding calibration for the image corresponding to the calibration target job; A comment reflection step in which the computer reflects the comment input in the comment input step by designating the common image area as the comment input area in the images corresponding to the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs in the area corresponding to the comment input area; characterized by including the above.

[0009] A second invention is, in the first invention, In the image data comparison step, a coincidence rate is obtained for each combination of an image corresponding to one page of each general job and an image corresponding to one page of the master job, The grouping step includes: A related page pair setting step in which a computer determines two pages constituting a combination in which a coincidence rate equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value is obtained in the image data comparison step as a related page pair; A related job group determination step in which, with each of the (K - 1) general jobs as a determination target job, a computer determines whether to include the determination target job in the related job group based on the result obtained in the related page pair setting step; characterized by including the above.

[0010] A third invention is, in the second invention, In the related job group determination step, if at least one page of the job to be determined is defined as a related page pair in the related page pair setting step, it is determined that the job to be determined is included in the related job group.

[0011] A fourth invention is, in the second invention, In the related job group determination step, if all pages of the job to be determined are defined as a related page pair in the related page pair setting step, it is determined that the job to be determined is included in the related job group.

[0012] A fifth invention is, in the second invention, In the related job group determination step, if a predetermined ratio or more of all pages of the job to be determined are defined as a related page pair in the related page pair setting step, it is determined that the job to be determined is included in the related job group.

[0013] A sixth invention is, in any one of the second to fifth inventions, The calibration support method further includes a plurality of image display steps in which a computer arranges and displays images corresponding to two or more of the (N + 1) printing jobs on the display unit, When an image corresponding to a first job and an image corresponding to a second job, which are two printing jobs included in the related job group, are arranged and displayed on the display unit, and when an operator changes the display page for the image corresponding to the first job to one of two pages constituting a related page pair, the computer changes the display page for the image corresponding to the second job to the other of the two pages constituting the related page pair.

[0014] A seventh invention is, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, The calibration support method further includes a plurality of image display steps in which a computer arranges and displays images corresponding to two or more of the (N + 1) print jobs on the display unit, respectively.

[0015] An eighth invention is, in the seventh invention, In the comment reflection step, the comment input in the comment input step by designating the common image area as the comment input area is reflected only on the images displayed on the display unit.

[0016] A ninth invention is, in the seventh invention, In the comment reflection step, the comment input in the comment input step by designating the common image area as the comment input area is reflected on the images corresponding to all of the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs, respectively.

[0017] A tenth invention is, in any one of the seventh to ninth inventions, When the image corresponding to the master job and the image corresponding to one of the N general jobs are displayed on the display unit in the plurality of image display steps, for the different image area which is an area other than the common image area, mask display is performed in which an image of a specific pattern is displayed without displaying an image based on the corresponding image data.

[0018] An eleventh invention is, in the tenth invention, The calibration support method further includes a mask display setting step in which an operator sets whether to enable or disable the mask display, The mask display is performed only when a setting to enable the mask display is made in the mask display setting step.

[0019] A twelfth invention is, in any one of the seventh to ninth inventions, When an image corresponding to the master job and an image corresponding to one of the N print jobs are displayed on the display unit in the plurality of image display steps, a different image area, which is an area other than the common image area, is highlighted.

[0020] A thirteenth invention is any one of the first to twelfth inventions, As comments that can be input in the comment input step, a common comment and a normal comment are provided, In the comment reflection step, the computer reflects only the common comment on an area corresponding to the comment input area in an image corresponding to a print job other than the job to be calibrated among the (N + 1) print jobs.

[0021] A fourteenth invention is any one of the first to thirteenth inventions, In the comment reflection step, the computer does not reflect the comment input in a different image area, which is an area other than the common image area, in the comment input step, on an image corresponding to any print job.

[0022] A fifteenth invention is a calibration support system for supporting calibration of an image to be printed, Let K be an integer of 2 or more. A print job registration unit for a worker to register K print jobs including one master job and (K - 1) general jobs, which are K print jobs associated with image data representing an image to be printed, An image data comparison unit that obtains a coincidence rate between an image corresponding to each general job and an image corresponding to the master job and a common image area that is an image portion common between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job by comparing the image data corresponding to each general job with the image data corresponding to the master job, Let N be an integer less than or equal to (K - 1). A grouping unit that determines a set of (N + 1) print jobs including the master job and N general jobs as a related job group based on the matching rate obtained by the image data comparison unit. A comment input acceptance unit that accepts, as a comment for a comment input area designated by an operator in a state where an image corresponding to a calibration target job, which is one of the (N + 1) print jobs, is displayed on a display unit of a computer via a network, a comment regarding calibration for the image corresponding to the calibration target job. A comment reflection unit that reflects, in a region corresponding to the comment input area in an image corresponding to a print job other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs, a comment input by the operator by designating the common image area to the comment input area among the comments accepted by the comment input acceptance unit. Characterized by including the above.

Effect of the Invention

[0023] According to the first invention described above, by computer processing, image data corresponding to print jobs other than the print job registered as the master job (general job) is compared with the image data corresponding to the master job, and a set of a plurality of print jobs with high mutual relevance including the master job is defined as a related job group. Then, in a state where an image corresponding to a calibration target job (one of the plurality of print jobs constituting the related job group) is displayed on the display unit, when an operator designates a common image area (an image portion common between the image corresponding to the general job and the image corresponding to the master job) in the image and inputs a comment into the comment input area, the computer reflects the comment in the images corresponding to the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the plurality of print jobs constituting the related job group. For this reason, when it is necessary to give the same correction instruction to a plurality of print jobs with high mutual relevance, the corrector only needs to input a correction instruction comment for only one print job. Therefore, the corrector can give a correction instruction to the correction operator more efficiently and reliably than before. From the above, the efficiency of the calibration work and the reduction of mistakes in the calibration work are realized when there are a plurality of mutually related print jobs.

[0024] According to the second invention described above, it is possible to set a related job group in consideration of the matching rate of images in page units between the master job and the general job.

[0025] According to the third invention described above, it is possible to include as many print jobs as possible in the related job group.

[0026] According to the fourth invention described above, it is possible to include only print jobs with extremely high relevance to the master job in the related job group.

[0027] According to the fifth invention described above, the same effect as that of the second invention can be obtained.

[0028] According to the sixth invention described above, when a display page of an image corresponding to one print job is changed by an operator while two images corresponding to two mutually related print jobs are being displayed, the display page of the image corresponding to the other print job is also changed in conjunction therewith. As a result, the operation burden on the operator for changing the display page is reduced.

[0029] According to the seventh invention described above, since it is possible to perform a calibration operation while comparing a plurality of images corresponding to a plurality of print jobs on the screen, it is possible to perform the calibration operation for a plurality of mutually related print jobs significantly more efficiently than before.

[0030] According to the eighth invention described above, reflection of comments on an image corresponding to a print job not intended by the correction instructing person is prevented.

[0031] According to the ninth invention described above, when it is necessary to give the same correction instruction to a plurality of print jobs having a high degree of mutual relevance, the operation burden on the operator for inputting the comments of the correction instruction is significantly reduced.

[0032] According to the tenth invention described above, it is possible to prevent a correction instructing person from accidentally giving the same correction instruction to a plurality of images with different contents.

[0033] According to the eleventh invention described above, the same effect as that of the tenth invention can be obtained.

[0034] According to the twelfth invention described above, the same effect as that of the tenth invention can be obtained.

[0035] According to the thirteenth invention described above, by properly using two types of comments, it is possible to perform the calibration operation more efficiently.

[0036] According to the fourteenth invention described above, it is possible to prevent a correction instructing person from accidentally giving the same correction instruction to a plurality of images with different contents.

[0037] According to the 15th invention described above, the same effects as those of the 1st invention can be obtained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0038]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0039] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] <1. Configuration of Printing System> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment. This printing system is composed of an inkjet printing apparatus 10, a printing workflow management server 11, an online proofreading server 12, a personal computer 20, and a personal computer 30. The inkjet printing apparatus 10, the printing workflow management server 11, and the online proofreading server 12 are installed in a printing company. The personal computer 20 is installed in a customer company. The personal computer 30 is installed in a production company. The inkjet printing apparatus 10, the printing workflow management server 11, and the online proofreading server 12 are connected by a LAN 41 within the printing company. The online proofreading server 12, the personal computer 20, and the personal computer 30 are connected via the Internet 42.

[0041] The personal computer 20 installed in the customer company is used for placing printing orders and giving correction instructions during the proofreading work. The personal computer 30 installed in the production company is used for creating a manuscript according to the order content (creating input data for printing) and correcting the manuscript during the proofreading work. A program for realizing an online proofreading system is installed in the online proofreading server 12. That is, the online proofreading server 12 responds to requests from personal computers (the personal computer 20 installed in the customer company and the personal computer 30 installed in the production company) via the Internet 42, and performs operations such as displaying a proofreading screen (hereinafter referred to as the "proofreading screen") for the proofreading work on the display unit of the personal computer and accepting input of comments from the personal computer. In this embodiment, an online proofreading system includes a proofreading support system that provides a function for assisting the operator in the proofreading work. It is assumed that the RIP process is also performed by the online proofreading server 12. The data of the print job for which approval has been obtained by the approver of the customer company regarding the proofreading image is provided to the print workflow management server 11. A program for realizing a print workflow system that manages a series of processes for performing printing using the inkjet printing apparatus 10 is installed in the print workflow management server 11. That is, the print workflow management server 11 manages the print workflow. For example, processes such as determining the print order for a plurality of print jobs are performed so that printing can be performed efficiently. The inkjet printing apparatus 10 outputs (i.e., performs printing) a printed image by ejecting ink onto the printing paper, which is the base material, without using a printing plate, based on the print data generated by the RIP process.

[0042] Note that the above configuration is just an example, and various other configurations can be adopted. For example, a configuration in which the RIP process is performed by the print workflow management server 11 or a server dedicated to the RIP process can also be adopted. In this way, an online calibration system may be realized by the cooperation between the online calibration server 12 and other servers. Further, instead of the configuration in which printing is performed by the inkjet printing apparatus 10, a configuration in which printing is performed using a printing plate (for example, a configuration including a plate making apparatus and an offset printing apparatus) can also be adopted. Furthermore, a configuration that enables both printing by the inkjet printing apparatus 10 and printing using a printing plate can also be adopted.

[0043] <2. Configuration of Computers Constituting the Printing System> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer 500 included in the printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing workflow management server 11, the online calibration server 12, the personal computer 20, and the personal computer 30 are the computer 500. The computer 500 shown in FIG. 2 includes a main body 510, an auxiliary storage device 521, an optical disk drive 522, a display unit 523, a keyboard 524, and a mouse 525. The main body 510 includes a CPU 511, a memory 512, a first disk interface unit 513, a second disk interface unit 514, a display control unit 515, an input interface unit 516, and a network interface unit 517. The CPU 511, the memory 512, the first disk interface unit 513, the second disk interface unit 514, the display control unit 515, the input interface unit 516, and the network interface unit 517 are connected to each other via a system bus. The auxiliary storage device 521 is connected to the first disk interface unit 513. The auxiliary storage device 521 is a magnetic disk device or the like. The optical disk drive 522 is connected to the second disk interface unit 514. An optical disk 59 as a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is inserted into the optical disk drive 522. The display unit (display device) 523 is connected to the display control unit 515. The display unit 523 is a liquid crystal display or the like. The display unit 523 is used to display information desired by the operator. The keyboard 524 and the mouse 525 are connected to the input interface unit 516. The keyboard 524 and the mouse 525 are used for an operator to input instructions to the computer 500. The network interface unit 517 is an interface circuit for communication.

[0044] The auxiliary storage device 521 stores programs to be executed by the computer 500 and various types of data. The CPU 511 realizes various functions by reading out the programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 521 into the memory 512 and executing them. The memory 512 includes a RAM and a ROM. The memory 512 functions as a work area for the CPU 511 to execute the programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 521. Note that the programs are stored and provided, for example, in the above-described computer-readable recording medium (non-transitory recording medium).

[0045] <3. Functional Configuration> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the calibration support system (system for realizing the calibration support method) in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, this calibration support system is provided with a print job registration unit 61, a job data storage unit 62, an automatic grouping processing unit 63, and a calibration screen display unit 64. The automatic grouping processing unit 63 includes a RIP processing unit 631, an image data comparison unit 632, and a grouping unit 633. The grouping unit 633 includes a related page pair setting unit 6331 and a related job group determination unit 6332. The calibration screen display unit 64 includes a plurality of image display control units 641, a comment input reception unit 642, and a comment reflection unit 643.

[0046] The print job registration unit 61 registers a print job associated with image data representing an image to be printed based on an operator's operation. In this regard, in the present embodiment, it is possible to register one print job as a master job for each of a plurality of print jobs that are grouped together. Note that in this specification, print jobs other than the master job are referred to as "general jobs" for convenience. From the above, the print job registration unit 61 registers K print jobs (where K is an integer of 2 or more) associated with image data representing an image to be printed, which consist of one master job and (K - 1) general jobs, based on an operator's operation.

[0047] The job data storage unit 62 stores the data of the print jobs registered by the print job registration unit 61 (hereinafter referred to as "job data"). The job data includes various types of information necessary for executing printing (for example, information on paper size) in addition to the image data to be printed. Note that both the image data before RIP processing and the image data after RIP processing are stored in this job data storage unit 62. Also, both the image data before calibration and the image data after calibration are stored in this job data storage unit 62. Furthermore, the image data with comments for modification instructions is also stored in this job data storage unit 62.

[0048] The automatic grouping processing unit 63 performs the automatic grouping processing described below to automatically group a plurality of related print jobs.

[0049] The RIP processing unit 631 performs RIP processing on the image data included in the job data stored in the job data storage unit 62. Thereby, a calibration image, which is an image used for calibration work at the customer company and the production company, is created.

[0050] The image data comparison unit 632 compares the image data GD after RIP processing for a plurality of print jobs with the job information JI including information indicating whether each print job is a master job or a general job, and based on this, compares the image data corresponding to each general job with the image data corresponding to the master job. As a result of this comparison, as the comparison result RE, the matching rate between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job and the common image area, which is the common image portion between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job, are obtained. Note that the calculation of the matching rate by this image data comparison unit 632 is performed for each combination of the image corresponding to one page of each general job and the image corresponding to one page of the master job.

[0051] Based on the comparison result RE and the job information JI obtained by the processing of the image data comparison unit 632, the grouping unit 633 groups the master job and one or more general jobs with high relevance to the master job into a related job group mainly composed of the master job. In this regard, which general jobs are included in the related job group is determined based on the matching rate. If one master job and (K - 1) general jobs are registered by the print job registration unit 61 (where K is an integer of 2 or more), at most (K - 1) general jobs can be included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. From the above, the grouping unit 633 defines a set of (N + 1) print jobs including the master job and N general jobs as a related job group based on the matching rate obtained by the image data comparison unit 632, where N is an integer less than or equal to (K - 1).

[0052] The related page pair setting unit 6331 defines two pages that constitute a combination with a matching rate equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold obtained by the image data comparison unit 632 as a related page pair. By the way, as described above, the calculation of the matching rate by the image data comparison unit 632 is performed for each combination of the image corresponding to one page of each general job and the image corresponding to one page of the master job. For example, if the image data of the master job is data for 4 pages and the image data of the general job to be compared is data for 3 pages, the following 12 matching rates are calculated by comparing the image data of the master job and the image data of the general job to be compared. (1) Matching rate between the first page of the general job and the first page of the master job (2) Matching rate between the first page of the general job and the second page of the master job (3) Matching rate between the first page of the general job and the third page of the master job (4) Matching rate between the first page of the general job and the fourth page of the master job (5) Matching rate between the second page of the general job and the first page of the master job (6) Matching rate between the second page of the general job and the second page of the master job (7) Coincidence rate between the second page of the general job and the third page of the master job (8) Coincidence rate between the second page of the general job and the fourth page of the master job (9) Coincidence rate between the third page of the general job and the first page of the master job (10) Coincidence rate between the third page of the general job and the second page of the master job (11) Coincidence rate between the third page of the general job and the third page of the master job (12) Coincidence rate between the third page of the general job and the fourth page of the master job And, two pages (one page of the general job and one page of the master job) that constitute a combination with a coincidence rate equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold are defined as a related page pair. However, if the threshold is not suitably set, it is conceivable that for a certain page of the general job, the coincidence rate will be equal to or higher than the threshold for multiple pages of the master job. For example, in the above example, it is conceivable that the coincidence rate between the first page of the general job and the second page of the master job is equal to or higher than the threshold and the coincidence rate between the first page of the general job and the third page of the master job is equal to or higher than the threshold. In such a case, for example, only the two pages that constitute the combination with the highest coincidence rate may be defined as the related page pair.

[0053] The related job group determination unit 6332 determines whether to include each general job in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. At that time, as described above, if (K - 1) general jobs are registered by the print job registration unit 61, those (K - 1) general jobs are sequentially targeted for determination one by one. Also, during the determination, the information of the related page pair defined by the related page pair setting unit 6331 is referred to. From the above, the related job group determination unit 6332 determines whether to include the determination target job in the related job group based on the information of the related page pair defined by the related page pair setting unit 6331, with each of the (K - 1) general jobs as the determination target job one by one. Specific examples of the determination method include, for example, the following three examples. (First Example) If at least one page of the job to be determined is defined as a related page pair by the related page pair setting unit 6331, the job to be determined is included in the related job group. (Second Example) If all pages of the job to be determined are defined as related page pairs by the related page pair setting unit 6331, the job to be determined is included in the related job group. (Third Example) If a predetermined ratio or more of all pages of the job to be determined are defined as related page pairs by the related page pair setting unit 6331, the job to be determined is included in the related job group.

[0054] The calibration screen display unit 64 displays a calibration screen on the display unit of the customer company's personal computer 20 or the production company's personal computer 30 in response to a request from the personal computer 20 or the personal computer 30 and accepts an operation by an operator.

[0055] The multiple-image display control unit 641 causes a plurality of calibration images corresponding to a plurality of print jobs included in a related job group to be arranged and displayed on the display unit of the personal computer 20 or the personal computer 30. Typically, the calibration image corresponding to the master job and the calibration image corresponding to the general job are arranged and displayed side by side. Incidentally, the multiple-image display control unit 641 is a component provided in the online calibration server 12, and the calibration image is displayed on the display unit of the personal computer 20 of the customer company or the personal computer 30 of the production company. Also, as described above, the grouping unit 633 defines a set of (N + 1) print jobs as a related job group. From the above, the multiple-image display control unit 641 causes images corresponding to two or more of the (N + 1) print jobs to be arranged and displayed on the display unit via the network. Further, when an operator changes the display page for the calibration image corresponding to one of the print jobs while two calibration images corresponding to two print jobs included in the related job group are arranged and displayed on the display unit, the display page for the calibration image corresponding to the other print job is also changed in conjunction therewith. That is, when the operator changes the display page for the image corresponding to the first job to one of the two pages constituting the related page pair while the images corresponding to two print jobs (here, the first job and the second job) included in the related job group are arranged and displayed on the display unit, the multiple-image display control unit 641 changes the display page for the image corresponding to the second job to the other of the two pages constituting the related page pair.

[0056] The comment input acceptance unit 642 accepts the input of comments related to calibration by the operator in a state where the calibration image corresponding to the print job to be calibrated is displayed on the display unit. In this regard, the operator inputs a comment after designating the comment input area. By the way, the comment input acceptance unit 642 is a component provided in the online calibration server 12, and the calibration image is displayed on the display unit of the customer company's personal computer 20 or the production company's personal computer 30. Also, as described above, the grouping unit 633 determines a set of (N + 1) print jobs as a related job group. From the above, the comment input acceptance unit 642 accepts the input of a comment regarding calibration for the comment input area designated by the operator in a state where the image corresponding to the calibration target job, which is one of the (N + 1) print jobs, is displayed on the display unit of the computer via the network and for the image corresponding to the calibration target job. In this embodiment, a common comment C1 and a normal comment C2 are provided as comments that can be input by the operator. The common comment C1 is a comment used when it is desired to input instructions of the same content for a plurality of print jobs. The normal comment C2 is a comment used when it is desired to input instructions for one print job.

[0057] If the comment input by the operator is a comment input to the common image area obtained by the image data comparison unit 632, the comment reflection unit 643 reflects the comment on the common image area of the calibration images corresponding to the other print jobs constituting the related job group. In other words, the comment reflection unit 643 reflects the comment that the operator designated the common image area as the comment input area and input among the comments received by the comment input acceptance unit 642 to the area corresponding to the comment input area in the image corresponding to the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs (print jobs included in the related job group mainly including the master job). However, in this embodiment, only the common comment C1 is the processing target of the comment reflection unit 643.

[0058] <4. Calibration Procedure> While referring to FIG. 4, the calibration procedure in this embodiment will be described. Here too, attention is paid to the case where an order for printing is placed from a customer company to a printing company based on two printing jobs (Job J1 and Job J2), and the same correction instructions are given to the two printing jobs in the calibration operation.

[0059] When an order for printing is placed from a customer company to a printing company, a manuscript corresponding to the order details is created at a predetermined production company. Here, at the personal computer 30 of the production company, the first drafts of Job J1 and Job J2 are created (step S10). Note that the data of the created manuscript (input manuscript data) is transmitted from the personal computer 30 to the online calibration server 12 via the Internet 42.

[0060] Next, at the printing company, based on the input manuscript data, the printing job registration unit 61 registers Job J1 and Job J2 in the online calibration system (step S11). Here, it is assumed that Job J1 is registered as the master job and Job J2 is registered as the general job.

[0061] Next, at the online calibration server 12 of the printing company, an automatic grouping process, which will be described in detail later, is performed (step S12). In this example, by the automatic grouping process, Job J1 and Job J2 are grouped as a related job group. Note that the RIP process for the input manuscript data of Job J1 and Job J2 is performed during the automatic grouping process. By that RIP process, a calibration image is created.

[0062] Next, calibration images corresponding to job J1 and calibration images corresponding to job J2 are arranged and displayed on the display unit of the customer company's personal computer 20 (step S13). In a state where the two print jobs are thus arranged and displayed, the operation of checking the content of the calibration image and giving a correction instruction is performed by the correction instructor (the calibration person in the customer company) (step S14). In step S14, specifically, the correction instructor inputs a common comment to the common image area of the calibration image corresponding to one print job (the image part common between the calibration image corresponding to job J1 and the calibration image corresponding to job J2). Then, the common comment input in step S14 is reflected in the calibration image corresponding to the other print job (step S15). Since such an operation is performed, when it is necessary to give the same correction instruction to job J1 and job J2, the correction instructor only needs to give a correction instruction to one print job.

[0063] Thereafter, at the production company, in accordance with the correction instruction in step S14, the correction of the manuscript of job J1 (step S16) and the correction of the manuscript of job J2 (step S17) are performed by the correction operator on the production company's personal computer 30. And until approval is obtained from the approver in the customer company, the processes of steps S12 to S17 are repeated. Note that, as will be described later, page association is performed among a plurality of print jobs by automatic grouping processing, so the approver in the customer company can utilize digital proofreading for the approval work.

[0064] Note that in this embodiment, the print job registration step is realized by step S11 above, the multiple image display step is realized by step S13 above, the comment input step is realized by step S14 above, and the comment reflection step is realized by step S15 above.

[0065] <5. Automatic Grouping Processing> While referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the procedure of the automatic grouping process will be described. This automatic grouping process is started, for example, when an operator selects a menu for instructing the execution of the automatic grouping process on the online calibration server 12. By the way, this automatic grouping process is repeated by the number of general jobs to be compared with the master job. That is, the processes after step S121 described below are performed for each general job. Therefore, hereinafter, attention will be paid to the process for one general job (job to be determined) that is the comparison target with the master job. Here, it is assumed that the related job group determination unit 6332 determines to include the job to be determined in the related job group if at least one page of the job to be determined is defined as a related page pair (see the first example above).

[0066] After the start of the automatic grouping process, first, the RIP processing unit 631 performs RIP processing on the image data corresponding to the master job and the image data corresponding to the job to be determined (step S121). However, when this automatic grouping process is repeated two or more times, the RIP processing on the image data corresponding to the master job only needs to be executed once.

[0067] Next, the image data comparison unit 632 performs digital proofing to compare the calibrated image corresponding to the job to be determined with the calibrated image corresponding to the master job using the image data after RIP processing (step S122). Then, from the result obtained in step S122, the matching rate and the above-described common image area between the job to be determined and the master job are obtained (step S123). The matching rate is calculated for each combination of the calibrated image corresponding to one page of the job to be determined and the calibrated image corresponding to one page of the master job. Also, regarding digital proofing, the detection sensitivity may be adjusted in advance so that differences caused by character packing or fine adjustment of the image layout are not detected.

[0068] Next, the related page pair setting unit 6331 sets related page pairs based on the matching rate calculated in step S123 (step S124). After that, the related job group determination unit 6332 determines whether there is a related page pair (step S125). Incidentally, in step S124, two pages (one page of the job to be determined and one page of the master job) that constitute a combination in which the matching rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold among the plurality of matching rates calculated in step S123 are defined as the related page pair. Therefore, in step S125, if there is at least one matching rate equal to or higher than the threshold among the plurality of matching rates calculated in step S123, it is determined that there is a related page pair. As a result of the determination in step S125, if there is a related page pair, the process proceeds to step S126, and if there is no related page pair, the process proceeds to step S127.

[0069] In step S126, the related job group determination unit 6332 determines that the job to be determined is included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. In step S127, the related job group determination unit 6332 determines that the job to be determined is not included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. When the process of step S126 or step S127 ends, the automatic grouping process ends.

[0070] Here, attention is paid to a case where four print jobs (jobs J1 to J4) corresponding to an image schematically shown in FIG. 6 are registered by the print job registration unit 61. Assume that job J1 is registered as the master job and jobs J2 to J4 are registered as general jobs. Also assume that the threshold value compared with the matching rate calculated in step S123 is set to 0.8.

[0071] Based on the result of comparing the calibration image corresponding to the general job J2 and the calibration image corresponding to the master job J1, for example, the first page of the general job J2 and the first page of the master job J1 are defined as a related page pair, and the third page of the general job J2 and the fourth page of the master job J1 are defined as a related page pair. Also, based on the result of comparing the calibration image corresponding to the general job J3 and the calibration image corresponding to the master job J1, for example, the first page of the general job J3 and the first page of the master job J1 are defined as a related page pair, the second page of the general job J3 and the second page of the master job J1 are defined as a related page pair, and the fourth page of the general job J3 and the fourth page of the master job J1 are defined as a related page pair. For the general job J4, there are no pages that constitute a related page pair with the master job J1.

[0072] From the above, each page of jobs J1 to J3 is associated with each other as shown in FIG. 7. For example, the line indicated by the arrow labeled 69 in FIG. 7 represents that the fourth page of the master job J1, the third page of the general job J2, and the fourth page of the general job J3 are associated with each other. Since page association is performed among a plurality of print jobs in this way, the approver of the customer company can utilize digital proofreading for the approval work.

[0073] In the above case, first, based on the result of comparing the calibration image corresponding to the general job J2 and the calibration image corresponding to the master job J1, as shown in FIG. 8, a related job group (a related job group mainly composed of the master job J1) consisting of the master job J1 and the general job J2 is generated. Then, based on the result of comparing the calibration image corresponding to the general job J3 and the calibration image corresponding to the master job J1, as shown in FIG. 9, the general job J3 is added to the related job group mainly composed of the master job J1.

[0074] In the present embodiment, the image data comparison step is realized by the above steps S122 and S123, and the grouping step is realized by the above steps S124 to S127. Further, the related page pair setting step is realized by the above step S124, and the related job group determination step is realized by the above steps S125 to S127.

[0075] <6. Specific Examples of Operation> Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, specific examples regarding operation will be described. Here, as an example, the proofreading work of a flyer for a supermarket with a chain expansion will be cited. Also, it is assumed that the name of the supermarket of interest is "ABC Supermarket", and attention is paid to the creation of the February issue of the flyer in the situation where the January issue of the flyer exists. Here, it is assumed that the related job group determination unit 6332 determines that if all pages of the job to be determined are defined as related page pairs, the job to be determined is included in the related job group (refer to the second example above). In the following, the job data to be processed at the first proofreading (the first proofreading work) is referred to as "job data for the first proofreading", and the job data to be processed at the second proofreading (the second proofreading work) is referred to as "job data for the second proofreading".

[0076] FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the state of the job data storage unit 62 (refer to FIG. 3) before the start of creating the February issue of the flyer. Working folders for each customer company are provided below the root folder 7. FIG. 11 shows the working folder 71 for ABC Supermarket and the working folders 72 and 73 for other customer companies. Below the working folder 71 for ABC Supermarket, there already exists a folder 711 for creating the January issue.

[0077] Under the above circumstances, a folder for creating the February issue of the flyer, i.e., the February issue creation folder 712 (see Fig. 12), is created under the work folder 71 of the ABC supermarket (step S200). Next, the master job is registered (step S202). Specifically, the job data 7120 of the master job created on the personal computer 30 of the production company is stored in the February issue creation folder 712. The job data 7120 of the master job is the data that serves as the source for creating the local version of the flyer described later and is composed of three pages (P1 - P3) in this example. Note that only the operator who creates the master job, the approver who approves the master job, and the operator who creates the local version folder described later can access directly under the February issue creation folder 712, and the administrator rights are set accordingly.

[0078] After the master job is registered, the work of creating the local version of the flyer is started. Specifically, first, a local version folder, which is a folder used for creating the local version of the flyer, is created under the February issue creation folder 712 (step S204). Here, attention is paid to the case of creating three local versions of the flyer for "Region 1", "Region 2", and "Region 3". In this case, as shown in Fig. 13, under the February issue creation folder 712, the Region 1 work folder 7121, the Region 2 work folder 7122, and the Region 3 work folder 7123 are created as local version folders. For each of these regional work folders, administrator rights are set so that only the operator who creates the printing job for the corresponding region and the approver who approves the printing job can access.

[0079] Next, an operator in the first area creates a print job (flyer manuscript) for the first area based on the master job (step S206). The first proof job data 7121a for the first area created in step S206 is stored in the work folder 7121 for the first area. Similarly, a print job for the second area is created (step S208), and further, a print job for the third area is created (step S210). The first proof job data 7122a for the second area created in step S208 is stored in the work folder 7122 for the second area, and the first proof job data 7123a for the third area created in step S210 is stored in the work folder 7123 for the third area. In this example, the first proof job data 7121a for the first area, the first proof job data 7122a for the second area, and the first proof job data 7123a for the third area are all composed of three pages (P1 to P3). Note that the processing of step S206, step S208, and step S210 is not particularly limited in order, and they may be performed simultaneously in parallel.

[0080] After the creation of the first proof job data for the first to third areas, automatic grouping processing is performed (steps S212 to S216). Regarding this, first, RIP processing is performed (step S212). In this case, RIP processing is applied to the image data included in the job data 7120 of the master job, the image data included in the first proof job data 7121a for the first area, the image data included in the first proof job data 7122a for the second area, and the image data included in the first proof job data 7123a for the third area.

[0081] Next, the proofreading job data 7121a to 7123a for each region is compared with the job data 7120 of the master job (step S214). More specifically, the image data included in the proofreading job data 7121a for the first region is compared with the image data included in the job data 7120 of the master job, the image data included in the proofreading job data 7122a for the second region is compared with the image data included in the job data 7120 of the master job, and the image data included in the proofreading job data 7123a for the third region is compared with the image data included in the job data 7120 of the master job.

[0082] Then, based on the comparison results obtained in step S214, the master job and the printing jobs for each region that have a high relevance to the master job are grouped as a related job group mainly composed of the master job (step S216). Here, it is assumed that the first to third pages of the proofreading job data 7121a for the first region substantially match the first to third pages of the job data 7120 of the master job (that is, the matching rate is equal to or higher than the threshold). At this time, the printing job corresponding to the proofreading job data 7121a for the first region is included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. Also, it is assumed that the first to third pages of the proofreading job data 7122a for the second region also substantially match the first to third pages of the job data 7120 of the master job. At this time, the printing job corresponding to the proofreading job data 7122a for the second region is included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job. Also, it is assumed that the first to second pages of the proofreading job data 7123a for the third region substantially match the first to second pages of the job data 7120 of the master job, but the third page of the proofreading job data 7123a for the third region hardly matches the third page of the job data 7120 of the master job (that is, the matching rate is less than the threshold). At this time, the printing job corresponding to the proofreading job data 7123a for the third region is not included in the related job group mainly composed of the master job.

[0083] After that, a calibration screen is displayed on the display unit of the personal computer used by the workers in each region. Then, it is determined whether a common comment has been entered in the common image area of the calibration image displayed on the calibration screen (step S218). As a result, if a common comment has been entered, the process proceeds to step S220, and if no common comment has been entered, the process proceeds to step S222.

[0084] In step S220, the common comment entered in the common image area of the calibration image corresponding to one of the plurality of print jobs constituting the related job group is reflected in the common image area of the calibration images corresponding to the other print jobs constituting the related job group. For example, when a common comment is entered in the common image area of the calibration image corresponding to the master job, it is reflected in the common image area of the calibration image corresponding to the print job for the first region and the common image area of the calibration image corresponding to the print job for the second region. After the end of step S220, the process returns to step S206.

[0085] In step S222, it is determined whether approval by the approver has been obtained for the print jobs for each region. As a result, if approval by the approver has been obtained for all the print jobs for each region, the process ends, and if approval by the approver has not been obtained for at least one of the print jobs for each region, the process returns to step S206. In this way, steps S206 to S222 are repeated until approval by the approver has been obtained for all the print jobs for each region. Note that in the second and subsequent loops of this process, the print jobs are recreated only for the regions for which approval by the approver has not been obtained. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the job data 7121b for the second proofreading for the first region is stored in the work folder 7121 for the first region, and the job data 7122b for the second proofreading for the second region is stored in the work folder 7122 for the second region.

[0086] Incidentally, in the above example, grouping processing is performed between the master job in which job data is stored in the February issue creation folder 712 and the print jobs for each region in which job data is stored in the February issue creation folder 712. That is, grouping processing is performed among the print jobs in which job data is stored in the February issue creation folder 712. However, it is not limited to this. For example, grouping processing may be performed between the master job in which job data is stored in the February issue creation folder 712 and the print jobs for each region in which job data is stored in the January issue creation folder 711.

[0087] <7. Amendment Instruction Work> Next, the amendment instruction work performed on the customer company's personal computer 20 will be described in detail. Here, attention is paid to the case where the proofreading screen corresponding to the master job and the proofreading screen corresponding to one general job are arranged and displayed for the amendment instruction work. It is assumed that a related job group is constituted by the master job J1 and the general job J2.

[0088] In the present embodiment, when the amendment instruction work is performed, a proofreading screen 800 as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the display unit of the customer company's personal computer 20. Regarding FIG. 14, menu buttons and the like that are not directly related to the present invention are omitted. Two drop-down lists 81a and 81b are provided on the proofreading screen 800. By these drop-down lists 81a and 81b, it is possible to select the print job to be displayed in the proofreading screen 800. The proofreading image corresponding to the print job selected by the drop-down list 81a is displayed on the left side in the proofreading screen 800, and the proofreading image corresponding to the print job selected by the drop-down list 81b is displayed on the right side in the proofreading screen 800. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the proofreading image corresponding to the master job J1 is displayed on the left side in the proofreading screen 800, and the proofreading image corresponding to the general job J2 is displayed on the right side in the proofreading screen 800.

[0089] The calibration screen 800 is also provided with two page thumbnail display areas 82a and 82b. On the left side within the calibration screen 800, a calibration image of the page selected in the page thumbnail display area 82a among one or more pages constituting the print job selected by the drop-down list 81a is displayed. On the right side within the calibration screen 800, a calibration image of the page selected in the page thumbnail display area 82b among one or more pages constituting the print job selected by the drop-down list 81b is displayed. Here, when the display page for the calibration image corresponding to one print job is changed to another page by the operator, the display page for the calibration image corresponding to the other print job is automatically changed in conjunction therewith. Specifically, when the display page for the calibration image corresponding to one print job is changed to one of the two pages constituting a related page pair by the operator, the display page for the calibration image corresponding to the other print job is automatically changed to the other of the two pages constituting the related page pair.

[0090] In the calibration screen 800, for an area where the difference between the calibration image corresponding to the master job J1 and the calibration image corresponding to the general job J2 is large, that is, an area outside the common image area (hereinafter referred to as the "difference image area"), as shown in the portions denoted by reference numerals 83a and 83b in FIG. 14, mask display is performed to display an image of a specific pattern without displaying the calibration image based on the image data. Note that instead of the mask display, the difference image area may be highlighted. Also, it may be possible to switch between the mask display and the highlighting by the operation of the operator.

[0091] The correction instruction is performed by the operator entering a comment for the calibration image. In this regard, in the present embodiment, as described above, common comments and normal comments are provided as comments that can be input by the correction instructor (operator). Regarding normal comments, even if they are input for the calibration image corresponding to one print job, they will not be reflected in the calibration image corresponding to the other print job. On the other hand, regarding common comments, if they are input for the calibration image corresponding to one print job and the input area is the common image area, they will be reflected in the calibration image corresponding to the other print job.

[0092] Regarding the case shown in FIG. 14, it is assumed that a correction instruction is given to change the picture of a car to a picture of a train for both the master job J1 and the general job J2. In this case, the correction instructor first selects the menu for common comments (not shown), and then designates it by surrounding the image portion of the car picture with a rectangular frame 84 as shown in FIG. 15 (the area surrounded by the rectangular frame 84 becomes the comment input area). Then, as shown in FIG. 16, speech bubble-type text boxes 85a and 85b for comment input are displayed in the calibration screen 800. Then, the correction instructor inputs a comment into the text box 85a, for example, as shown in FIG. 17. Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the same comment as the comment input into the text box 85a is automatically displayed in the text box 85b. Note that if a comment is input into the text box 85b, the same comment will be automatically displayed in the text box 85a.

[0093] By the way, as shown in FIG. 19, when a common comment is input for the different image area in the calibration image corresponding to one print job, the common comment will not be reflected in the calibration image corresponding to the other print job. Note that when the menu for common comments is selected, it may be made impossible to input comments for the different image area.

[0094] Here, a case where two calibration images corresponding to two print jobs are displayed within the calibration screen 800 has been exemplified. However, P may be set as an integer of 3 or more, and P calibration images corresponding to P print jobs may be displayed within the calibration screen 800. For example, four calibration images corresponding to four print jobs constituting a related job group may be displayed within the calibration screen 800. In that case, when a common comment is input to the common image area of one of the four calibration images, the common comment is reflected in the common image areas of the other three calibration images.

[0095] Also, the mask display may be performed only when a setting to enable the mask display has been made so that an operator can set whether to enable or disable the mask display. In this case, for example, a step (mask display setting step) for the operator to set whether to enable or disable the mask display may be provided before the automatic grouping process (step S12 in FIG. 4) is started.

[0096] <8. Effect> According to the present embodiment, by computer processing, image data corresponding to a print job other than the print job registered as the master job (general job) is compared with the image data corresponding to the master job, and a set of a plurality of print jobs having a high degree of relevance including the master job is defined as a related job group. Then, in a state where a calibration image corresponding to a calibration target job (one of the plurality of print jobs constituting the related job group) is displayed on the display unit of the personal computer 20 of the customer company, when the correction instructing person designates a common image area (an image portion common between the calibration image corresponding to the general job and the calibration image corresponding to the master job) in the calibration image to the comment input area and inputs a common comment, the computer reflects the common comment on the calibration images corresponding to the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the plurality of print jobs constituting the related job group. Therefore, when it is necessary to give the same correction instruction to a plurality of print jobs having a high degree of relevance to each other, the correction instructing person only needs to input a correction instruction comment for only one print job. Accordingly, the correction instructing person can more efficiently and reliably give a correction instruction to the correction operator than in the prior art. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the efficiency of the calibration work and the reduction of mistakes in the calibration work are realized when there are a plurality of mutually related print jobs.

[0097] <9. Others> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, two servers (print workflow management server 11 and online proofreading server 12) are provided for the printing company, but it is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied when the functions realized by these two servers are realized by one server (computer). Further, in the above-described embodiment, a plurality of proofreading images corresponding to a plurality of print jobs are displayed on the proofreading screen, but it is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied when only a proofreading image corresponding to one print job is displayed on the proofreading screen. In this case, when a common comment is input to the common image area of the proofreading image displayed on the proofreading screen, the image data is internally modified so that the common comment is displayed in the common image area of the proofreading image of other print jobs constituting the related job group when the proofreading image is displayed on the proofreading screen.

Explanation of Signs

[0098] 10…Inkjet printing apparatus 11…Print workflow management server 12…Online proofreading server 20…(Customer company's) personal computer 30…(Production company's) personal computer 42…Internet 61…Print job registration section 62…Job data storage section 63…Automatic grouping processing section 64…Proofreading screen display section 631…RIP processing section 632…Image data comparison section 633…Grouping section 641…Multiple image display control section 642…Comment input reception section 643…Comment reflection section 800…Proofreading screen 6331…Related page pair setting section 6332…Related job group determination section

Claims

1. A calibration support method for supporting calibration of an image to be printed, comprising: A print job registration step in which an operator registers, in a computer, K print jobs associated with image data representing an image to be printed, the K print jobs consisting of one master job and (K−1) general jobs, where K is an integer of 2 or more; An image data comparison step in which the computer compares the image data corresponding to each general job with the image data corresponding to the master job to obtain a coincidence rate between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job, and a common image area that is an image portion common between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job; A grouping step in which the computer determines, based on the coincidence rate obtained in the image data comparison step, a set of (N + 1) print jobs including the master job and N general jobs as a related job group, where N is an integer of (K−1) or less; A comment input step in which, with an image corresponding to a calibration target job that is one of the (N + 1) print jobs being displayed on a display unit of the computer, the operator designates a comment input area and inputs a comment regarding calibration of the image corresponding to the calibration target job; A comment reflection step in which the computer reflects, in an area corresponding to the comment input area in the image corresponding to a print job other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs, the comment input by designating the common image area in the comment input area in the comment input step; A calibration support method, characterized by including the above steps.

2. In the image data comparison step, a coincidence rate is obtained for each combination of an image corresponding to one page of each general job and an image corresponding to one page of the master job. The grouping step is as follows: A related page pair setting step in which a computer determines two pages that constitute a combination with a matching rate equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value in the image data comparison step as a related page pair, A related job group determination step in which, taking each of the (K - 1) general jobs as a determination target job, a computer determines whether to include the determination target job in the related job group based on the result obtained in the related page pair setting step, The calibration support method according to claim 1, characterized by including

3. In the related job group determination step, if at least one page of the determination target job is determined as a related page pair in the related page pair setting step, a determination is made to include the determination target job in the related job group. The calibration support method according to claim 2, characterized by this.

4. In the related job group determination step, if all pages of the determination target job are determined as related page pairs in the related page pair setting step, a determination is made to include the determination target job in the related job group. The calibration support method according to claim 2, characterized by this.

5. In the related job group determination step, if pages equal to or more than a predetermined ratio of all pages of the determination target job are determined as related page pairs in the related page pair setting step, a determination is made to include the determination target job in the related job group. The calibration support method according to claim 2, characterized by this.

6. The calibration support method further includes a plurality of image display steps in which a computer arranges and displays images corresponding to two or more printing jobs among the (N + 1) printing jobs on the display unit, When images corresponding to a first job and a second job, which are two printing jobs included in the related job group, are arranged and displayed on the display unit, and when an operator changes the display page for the image corresponding to the first job to one of two pages constituting a related page pair, the computer changes the display page for the image corresponding to the second job to the other of the two pages constituting the related page pair. The proofreading support method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that.

7. The proofreading support method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a plurality of image display steps in which the computer arranges and displays images corresponding to two or more of the (N + 1) printing jobs on the display unit.

8. In the comment reflection step, the comment input in the comment input step by designating the common image area as the comment input area is reflected only on the image displayed on the display unit. The proofreading support method according to claim 7, characterized in that.

9. In the comment reflection step, the comment input in the comment input step by designating the common image area as the comment input area is reflected on each of the images corresponding to all of the printing jobs other than the job to be proofread among the (N + 1) printing jobs. The proofreading support method according to claim 7, characterized in that.

10. When the image corresponding to the master job and the image corresponding to one of the N general jobs are displayed on the display unit in the plurality of image display steps, for a different image area that is an area other than the common image area, a mask display is performed in which an image of a specific pattern is displayed without displaying an image based on the corresponding image data. The proofreading support method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that.

11. Further comprising a mask display setting step in which an operator sets whether to enable or disable the mask display, The calibration support method according to claim 10, wherein the mask display is performed only when a setting to enable the mask display is made in the mask display setting step.

12. The calibration support method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein when an image corresponding to the master job and an image corresponding to one of the N print jobs are displayed on the display unit in the plurality of image display steps, a different image area, which is an area other than the common image area, is highlighted.

13. As comments that can be input in the comment input step, a common comment and a normal comment are provided. In the comment reflection step, the computer reflects only the common comment in an area corresponding to the comment input area in an image corresponding to a print job other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs. The calibration support method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. In the comment reflection step, the computer does not reflect a comment input in a different image area, which is an area other than the common image area, in the comment input step, in an image corresponding to any print job. The calibration support method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A calibration support system for supporting calibration of an image to be printed, A print job registration unit for a worker to register K print jobs, where K is an integer of 2 or more, and the K print jobs are associated with image data representing an image to be printed and consist of one master job and (K - 1) general jobs. By comparing the image data corresponding to each general job with the image data corresponding to the master job, an image data comparison unit that obtains the matching rate between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job, and the common image region that is the common image part between the image corresponding to each general job and the image corresponding to the master job, A grouping unit that defines a set of (N + 1) print jobs including the master job and N general jobs as a related job group based on the matching rate obtained by the image data comparison unit, where N is an integer less than or equal to (K - 1). A comment input acceptance unit that accepts a comment regarding calibration for the image corresponding to the calibration target job, which is a comment for the comment input area designated by the operator in a state where the image corresponding to the calibration target job, which is one of the (N + 1) print jobs, is displayed on the display unit of the computer via the network. A comment reflection unit that reflects the comment input by the operator by designating the common image region in the comment input area among the comments accepted by the comment input acceptance unit in the region corresponding to the comment input area in the image corresponding to the print jobs other than the calibration target job among the (N + 1) print jobs. A calibration support system, characterized by including the above.

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