Printing apparatus

Abstract

To prevent the occurrence of a wasted blank portion in a printing medium.SOLUTION: A printer (1) includes an image printing unit (3) and a control unit (7). The control unit executes analysis processing for analyzing whether or not an image to be printed on a sheet (P) is included in a front half part and a rear half part, respectively, on each page of printing data. When the analysis processing finds that a first image to be printed is included in the front half part of printing data for a received first page and that no image to be printed is included in the rear half part and that a second image to be printed is included in the front half part of printing data for a second page continuing from the first page, the control unit executes printing processing for printing the first image in the front half part of the sheet P and printing the second image in the rear half part of the sheet P with the first image printed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to printing devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is an image forming apparatus equipped with a cutting unit that cuts a sheet being transported for printing. Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that forms an image on one sheet, then cuts the image-formed sheet in a sheet cutting unit to generate two sheets, and discharges the two generated sheets to respective discharge trays. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-186448 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the image forming device of Patent Document 1, if the image data used by the image forming device to form an image is image data that fits within half or less of the print medium, blank areas on the print medium will be left after the image is formed. If the print medium containing blank areas is discharged, there is a risk that the blank areas will be wasted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, a printing device according to aspect 1 of the present disclosure comprises an image printing unit that prints an image on a printing medium based on received printing data, and a control unit, wherein the control unit executes an analysis process to analyze whether the first and second half of each page of the printing data contain an image to be printed on the printing medium, and if the analysis process determines that the first half of the printing data for the received first page contains a first image to be printed, and that the second half does not contain an image to be printed, and that the first half of the printing data for the second page consecutive to the first page contains a second image to be printed, the control unit executes a printing process to print the first image on the first half of the printing medium and to print the second image on the second half of the printing medium on which the first image was printed. The printing apparatus further includes a cutting unit that cuts the printing medium into a first printing medium corresponding to the first half of the printing medium and a second printing medium corresponding to the second half of the printing medium, and the control unit executes a process that includes a cutting process in which the cutting unit cuts the printing medium, and when printing of the first image on the first half of the printing medium is completed in the printing process, the control unit executes the cutting process, and after the cutting process, prints the second image on the second half of the printing medium in the printing process.

[0006] According to the above configuration, even if the latter half of the print data for the first page does not contain an image to be printed, if the former half of the print data for the second page, which is consecutive to the first page, contains an image to be printed, the first image is printed in the former half of the print medium, and the second image is printed in the latter half of the print medium on which the first image is printed. In other words, the latter half of the print data for the first page, which does not contain an image to be printed, is not printed as a blank page, and the second image in the former half of the print data for the second page can be printed on the print medium on which the first image is printed. This makes it possible to provide a printing device that prevents unnecessary blank areas from being created on the print medium. Furthermore, with the above configuration, for example, an image is printed on the first half of an A4-sized print medium, and then the print medium is cut into A5 size, half the A4 size. That is, the print medium can be divided into an A5-sized print medium with the first half printed with the image and an A5-sized print medium with the second half unprinted with the image. Then, by repeating this process, the image is reliably printed on the A5-sized print medium with the second half unprinted with the image. This makes it possible to provide a printing device that prevents the creation of wasted blank space.

[0007] A printing device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is the printing device according to the first aspect above, a plurality of rollers that transport the print medium; and a paper output tray, wherein the control unit controls the plurality of rollers to output the first print medium to the paper output tray after the cutting process and before printing the second image on the latter half of the print medium in the printing process. The processing may be configured to execute a processing including the processing.

[0010] Aspects of the Disclosure 3 The printing device according to the above aspect 1The printing apparatus may further include a detection unit that detects a transport amount corresponding to the first printing medium, and the control unit may be configured to execute the cutting process when the detection unit detects a transport amount corresponding to the first printing medium in conjunction with the printing process on the first half of the printing medium.

[0011] Aspects of the Disclosure 4 The printing device according to the above aspect 1 In the method, the control unit may be configured to cut the print medium into a plurality of print media including the first print medium and the second print medium in the cutting process.

[0012] Aspects of the Disclosure 5 The printing device according to the present invention is 4 In any one of the above, the printing method further includes a memory for storing the print data, and the control unit analyzes the received print data for one page in the analysis process. Regarding The first half After the print data is expanded in the storage area of ​​the memory and analyzed, the latter part of the print data of In the storage area of ​​the memory Expand and analyze The configuration may be such that:

[0013] With the above configuration, image analysis can be performed using only a memory area that can store image data for an image capacity corresponding to A5 size, which is half the size of A4. In other words, a memory area for one A4 page is not required, allowing for memory reduction.

[0014] In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure 6The printing device according to the present invention comprises an image printing unit that prints an image on a printing medium based on received print data, and a control unit, wherein the control unit executes an analysis process to analyze whether or not first print data, second print data that is successive to the first print data, and third print data that is successive to the second print data each contain an image to be printed on the printing medium, and when the analysis process determines that the first print data contains a third image to be printed, the second print data does not contain an image to be printed, and the third print data contains a fourth image to be printed, the control unit executes an analysis process to analyze whether or not an image to be printed on the printing medium each contains an image to be printed on the printing medium. The first part of the third image is printed on the print medium; a second portion adjacent to the first portion at the rear The printing process is configured to print the fourth image. The printing apparatus further includes a cutting unit that cuts the printing medium into a first printing medium corresponding to the first portion of the printing medium and a second printing medium corresponding to the second portion, and the control unit executes a process that includes a cutting process in which the cutting unit cuts the printing medium, and when printing of the third image on the first portion of the printing medium is completed in the printing process, the control unit executes the cutting process, and after the cutting process, prints the fourth image on the second portion of the printing medium in the printing process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is an object to provide a printing device that prevents unnecessary blank areas from being generated on a print medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a printing device 1 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a sheet of paper P before cutting and a first sheet of paper P1 and a second sheet of paper P2 after cutting. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a printing device 1 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a printing process procedure performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 5] 5 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the printing process procedure by the printing device 1 shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 1A is an example of print data received by the printing device 1, and FIG. 1B is an example of a print result when print processing is performed on the print data of FIG. [Figure 7]1A is an example of print data received by the printing device 1, and FIG. 1B is an example of a print result when print processing is performed on the print data of FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a printing process procedure performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 9] 9 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the printing process procedure by the printing device 1 shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 1A is an example of print data received by the printing device 1, and FIG. 1B is an example of a print result when print processing is performed on the print data of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] [Outline of Printing Device 1] In the following description, a monochrome printer that prints monochrome images is exemplified as the printing device 1 of the present disclosure, but the present embodiment is not limited to this and may be, for example, a color printer that prints full-color images. Furthermore, the printing device 1 is, for example, a multifunction printer (MFP) that has multiple functions such as a scan function, a print function, a copy function, and a fax function.

[0019] The printing device 1 is an inkjet printer that performs printing by, for example, ejecting ink onto paper P, which is an example of a printing medium of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the printing medium may be referred to as "paper P." Note that the printing device 1 may also be, for example, a laser printer that prints an image on paper P using an electrophotographic method. Furthermore, the printing medium is not limited to paper media such as paper P, but may also be a resin medium made of plastic, such as an overhead projector sheet.

[0020] [Internal configuration of printing device 1] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a printing device 1 according to a first embodiment. For ease of explanation, the up-down direction and the front-rear direction of the printing device 1 are defined as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. The direction into the paper of Fig. 1 is defined as the right direction of the printing device 1, and the direction toward the front of the paper of Fig. 1 is defined as the left direction of the printing device 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing paper P before cutting and first paper P1 and second paper P2 after cutting.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 1 includes a paper feed tray 21, a paper discharge tray 22, a paper feed roller 24, a transport path H, a first transport roller 60, an image printing unit 3, a second transport roller 62, a discharge roller 64, and a cutting unit 100. The paper feed tray 21 is a case for storing paper P and has an open top. The paper feed tray 21 has a loading section 210 and stores paper P loaded on the loading section 210. The size of the paper P is, for example, A4 size. The paper feed tray 21 and the paper discharge tray 22 are arranged in an opening formed in the front of the printing device 1 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.

[0022] The paper feed roller 24 is a roller for feeding the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 21 to the transport path H. The paper feed roller 24 is rotatably supported at the tip of a feed arm 25. The feed arm 25 is rotatably supported on a shaft 26 supported on the frame of the printing device 1. The feed arm 25 is urged to rotate toward the paper feed tray 21 by its own weight or the elastic force of a spring or the like. The paper feed roller 24 rotates forward when a feed motor 101 (see FIG. 3) is driven. As the paper feed roller 24 rotates forward, the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 21 is fed one sheet at a time to the transport path H. The paper P fed to the transport path H is transported in a direction from the rear to the front of the printing device 1 (hereinafter referred to as the transport direction).

[0023] The transport path H refers to a space formed by the guide members 51, 52, 53, and 54, the image printing unit 3, and the like. The transport path H extends upward from the rear end of the paper feed tray 21, curves in an area defined by the guide members 51 and 52, passes through the position of the image printing unit 3, extends linearly in an area defined by the guide members 53 and 54, and reaches the paper output tray 22. A first transport roller 60 is disposed upstream of the image printing unit 3 in the transport direction on the transport path H. A pinch roller 61 is disposed opposite the lower part of the first transport roller 60. The first transport roller 60 is driven by a transport motor 102 (see FIG. 3 ). The pinch roller 61 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the first transport roller 60. As the first transport roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 rotate forward, the paper P is sandwiched between the first transport roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 and transported to the image printing unit 3.

[0024] The image printing unit 3 is provided between the first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 in the transport path H, and prints an image on the paper P. The image printing unit 3 has a head carriage 31, a recording head 32, and a platen 33. The recording head 32 is mounted on the head carriage 31. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are provided on the underside of the recording head 32. The recording head 32 ejects ink droplets from the nozzles by vibrating a vibration element such as a piezoelectric element. The platen 33 is a rectangular plate-shaped member on which the paper P is placed. As the head carriage 31 moves toward the paper P supported by the platen 33, the recording head 32 selectively ejects ink droplets, thereby printing an image on the paper P.

[0025] The platen 33 is arranged to be rotatable between a first position (see solid line in FIG. 1) in which it is parallel to the transport path H, and a second position (see dotted line in FIG. 1) rotated downward a predetermined angle from the first position. The platen 33 is in the first position when transporting and printing paper P. On the other hand, if a paper jam or the like occurs with the paper P, the user can move the platen 33 to the second position and remove the jammed paper P.

[0026] The head carriage 31 moves back and forth in the scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction) by transmitting the driving force of the head carriage motor 103 (see FIG. 3). In printing an image on the paper P, the control unit 7 ejects ink from the recording head 32 while moving the head carriage 31 in the scanning direction while the transport of the paper P is stopped, and executes a printing process that prints one line of an image on the paper P. The control unit 7 also executes a line feed process that drives the first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 to transport the paper P by a predetermined line feed amount. The control unit 7 then repeats the printing process and the line feed process.

[0027] A second conveying roller 62 is disposed downstream of the image printing unit 3 in the conveying direction on the conveying path H. A spur 63 is disposed in a position facing the upper part of the second conveying roller 62. The second conveying roller 62 is driven by a conveying motor 102 (see FIG. 3). The spur 63 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the second conveying roller 62. As the second conveying roller 62 and the spur 63 rotate forward, the paper P is sandwiched between the second conveying roller 62 and the spur 63 and conveyed toward the cutting unit 100, which will be described later.

[0028] Discharge rollers 64 are disposed downstream of the cutting section 100 in the first conveying direction on the conveying path H. Spurs 65 are disposed in a position facing the upper part of the discharge rollers 64. The discharge rollers 64 are driven by a conveying motor 102 (see FIG. 3). The spurs 65 rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the discharge rollers 64. As the discharge rollers 64 and the spurs 65 rotate forward, the paper P is sandwiched between the discharge rollers 64 and the spurs 65 and discharged to the paper output tray 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper output tray 22 is disposed above the paper feed tray 21. The paper output tray 22 stores the paper P discharged by the discharge rollers 64.

[0029] The cutting unit 100 is disposed between the second conveyor roller 62 and the discharge roller 64 on the conveyance path H. The cutting unit 100 is a well-known cutter mechanism having a pair of upper and lower blades and a cutter carriage, and cuts the paper P with the upper and lower blades. Specifically, the cutting unit 100 cuts the paper P widthwise at a predetermined position by moving the cutter carriage in the width direction of the paper P. As shown in FIG. 2 , the cutting unit 100 separates the paper P into a first paper P1 and a second paper P2 by cutting the paper P at a predetermined position indicated by line CL. The first paper P1 is an example of a first print medium of the present disclosure. The second paper P2 is an example of a second print medium of the present disclosure. After cutting, the first paper P1 and the second paper P2 are sandwiched between the discharge roller 64 and the spur 65 and discharged to the paper output tray 22. Note that the cutting unit 100 may be configured to have only one of the upper and lower blades. Furthermore, the location of the cutting unit 100 is not limited to between the second conveyance rollers 62 and the discharge rollers 64 on the conveyance path H. For example, it may be between the image printing unit 3 and the second conveyance rollers 62 on the conveyance path H. It may also be between the first conveyance rollers 60 and the image printing unit 3 on the conveyance path H. In other words, it is sufficient that the cutting unit 100 is provided at a position on the conveyance path H where the paper P can be cut.

[0030] A registration sensor 106 is provided upstream of the first conveyor roller 60 on the conveyance path H. The registration sensor 106 is attached to the guide member 52 and is a sensor that detects when the leading edge or trailing edge of the paper P passes through the contact position with the first conveyor roller 60. The registration sensor 106 is a sensor that detects whether the paper P is at a predetermined position on the conveyance path H. The registration sensor 106 may be a sensor having an actuator that oscillates when the paper P comes into contact with it, or an optical sensor. The registration sensor 106 outputs an ON signal when the paper P has passed through the contact position with the first conveyor roller 60, and outputs an OFF signal when the paper P has not passed through the contact position with the first conveyor roller 60. The detection signal from the registration sensor 106 is output to the control unit 7.

[0031] The first conveyor roller 60 is provided with an encoder 105 that detects the rotation of the first conveyor roller 60. The encoder 105 outputs a pulse signal to the control unit 7 in accordance with the rotation of the first conveyor roller 60. The encoder 105 is an example of a detection unit of the present disclosure.

[0032] [Electrical configuration of the printing device] 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printing device 1 according to embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the printing device 1 includes a control unit 7 and a network interface 107 in addition to the above-mentioned units.

[0033] The control unit 7 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 71, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 72, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 73, an EEPROM 74 (registered trademark), and an ASIC 75, which are connected via an internal bus. The ROM 72, RAM 73, and EEPROM 74 are examples of memories in the present disclosure.

[0034] The ROM 72 stores programs and the like for the CPU 71 to control various operations. The ROM 72 is a non-volatile memory. The RAM 73 is a volatile memory used as a storage area for temporarily storing data, signals, and the like used when the CPU 71 executes the programs, or as a work area for data processing. The EEPROM 74 stores setting information that should be retained even after the power is turned off. The control unit 7 controls the feed motor 101, the transport motor 102, the head carriage motor 103, the recording head 32, the cutter carriage motor 104, and the like based on the control programs read from the ROM 72.

[0035] The ASIC 75 is connected to a feed motor 101, a carry motor 102, a head carriage motor 103, a recording head 32, a cutter carriage motor 104, an encoder 105, a registration sensor 106, and a network interface 107. The ASIC 75 supplies drive currents to the feed motor 101, the carry motor 102, the head carriage motor 103, and the cutter carriage motor 104. The feed motor 101, the carry motor 102, the head carriage motor 103, and the cutter carriage motor 104 are DC motors whose rotation speed increases as the drive current supplied thereto increases, and whose rotation speed decreases as the drive current supplied thereto decreases. The control unit 7 controls the rotation of the feed motor 101, the carry motor 102, the head carriage motor 103, and the cutter carriage motor 104, for example, by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control.

[0036] The control unit 7 also applies a drive voltage to the vibration elements of the recording head 32, thereby causing ink droplets to be ejected from the nozzles. The control unit 7 detects the amount of rotation of the first conveyor roller 60 based on the pulse signal output from the encoder 105. The control unit 7 detects that the paper P has passed the contact position with the first conveyor roller 60 based on the detection signal output from the registration sensor 106. Then, after the registration sensor 106 outputs an ON signal, the control unit 7 estimates the conveyance amount of the paper P on the conveyance path H based on the pulse signal output from the encoder 105.

[0037] The network interface 107 is connected to a network such as a LAN, and enables connection to an external device incorporating a driver for the printing device 1. The printing device 1 can receive a print job via the network interface 107, which includes identification information that identifies the type of paper P.

[0038] [Details of printing process by the control unit] The details of the printing process, which is an example of the printing process of the present disclosure by the printing device 1, will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0039] Print data D1 shown in (a) of Fig. 6 is print data that includes images G1 and G2 on the first page, and images G3 and G4 on the second page received consecutively to the print data for page 1. Print data D2 shown in (a) of Fig. 7 is print data that includes only image G1 on the first page, and images G2 and G3 on the second page received consecutively to the print data for page 1. In the following explanation, print data D1 and print data D2 will be used as examples.

[0040] (For print data D1) The printing process is executed by the control unit 7 when the printing device 1 receives a print job. In step S1, when the control unit 7 receives the print job, it determines whether or not the print job includes an instruction for cut printing. If the print job does not include an instruction for cut printing (S1: NO), the control unit 7 executes normal printing in the printing device 1. Normal printing here refers to printing the print data without cutting the paper P.

[0041] On the other hand, in step S1, if the control unit 7 determines that the print job includes a cut printing instruction (S1: YES), in step S2, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half of the print data" in ROM 72 as information indicating the range for analyzing the image in the print data (hereinafter referred to as analysis range information).

[0042] Here, the "first half of the print data" refers to the ranges corresponding to the analysis range R1 of the first page and the analysis range R3 of the second page of print data D1 shown in Fig. 6(a), and also to the ranges corresponding to the analysis range R5 of the first page and the analysis range R7 of the second page of print data D2 shown in Fig. 7(a).

[0043] Furthermore, the "second half of the print data" refers to the ranges corresponding to the analysis range R2 of the first page and the analysis range R4 of the second page of print data D1 shown in Fig. 6(a). Also, it refers to the ranges corresponding to the analysis range R6 of the first page and the analysis range R8 of the second page of print data D2 shown in Fig. 7(a). In the following explanation, the "first half of the print data" and the "second half of the print data" may be referred to as analysis ranges R1 to R8, respectively.

[0044] In step S3, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half of the printing range" in the ROM 72 as information indicating the range on the paper P that is to be printed by the image printing unit (hereinafter referred to as printing range information).

[0045] Here, the "first half of the printing range" refers to the ranges corresponding to the printing range F1 on the first sheet of paper P and the printing range F3 on the second sheet of paper P shown in Fig. 6(b), and also to the ranges corresponding to the printing range F5 on the first sheet of paper P and the printing range F7 on the second sheet of paper P shown in Fig. 7(b).

[0046] The "second half of the printing range" refers to the ranges corresponding to the printing range F2 on the first sheet of paper P and the printing range F4 on the second sheet of paper P shown in FIG. 7(b). It also refers to the ranges corresponding to the printing range F6 on the first sheet of paper P and the printing range F8 on the second sheet of paper P shown in FIG. 7(b). In the following explanation, the "first half of the printing range" and the "second half of the printing range" may be referred to as printing range F1 to printing range F8, respectively. The size of paper P is assumed to be A4 size, and the "first half of the printing range" and the "second half of the printing range" will be described as A5 size, which is half the size of A4, as an example.

[0047] Next, in step S4, the control unit 7 refers to the analysis range information stored in the ROM 72 and determines whether the stored analysis range information is analysis range R1 or analysis range R2. Note that, since analysis range R1 (the first half of the print data) was stored in step S2, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is analysis range R1 (S4: YES).

[0048] In step S5, the control unit 7 performs image analysis processing, which is an example of the analysis processing of the present disclosure, for the analysis range R1. The analysis processing is processing for analyzing whether or not the "first half" and "second half" of each page of the multiple print data received by the printing device 1 contain an image to be printed on the paper P. More specifically, the control unit 7 analyzes whether or not information indicating an image is contained in each pixel arranged in the scanning direction for one page of print data sent sequentially for each pass. In the analysis processing, the control unit 7 analyzes one page of print data to determine whether or not the "first half" and "second half" each contain an image to be printed on the print medium. After completing the analysis processing for one page of print data, the control unit 7 performs a similar analysis processing for the print data for the second consecutive page.

[0049] After executing the analysis process for analysis range R1, in step S6, the control unit 7 stores information indicating analysis range R2 as analysis range information in RAM 73. In step S7, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R1 includes the image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Note that because analysis range R1 includes image G1, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R1 includes the image to be printed (S7: YES).

[0050] In step S8, the control unit 7 refers to the print range information stored in ROM 72 and determines whether the stored print range information is the "first half" or the "second half." Note that, since print range F1 (first half of the print range) was stored in step S3, the control unit 7 determines that the print range information is the "first half" of the print range (S8: YES). In step S9, the control unit 7 drives the feed motor 101 to feed the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 21.

[0051] In step S10, the control unit 7 causes the image printing unit to print image G1 in the printing range F1 on the paper P. In step S11, when printing of image G1 in the printing range F1 is completed, the control unit 7 executes a cutting process to cut the paper P by driving the cutting unit 100. After cutting, the paper P is divided into a first paper sheet P1 corresponding to the printing range F1 and a second paper sheet P2 corresponding to the printing range F2. In step S12, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the printing range F2 in the RAM 73 as printing range information. Then, the process returns to step S4.

[0052] Here, since the analysis range R2 is stored as the analysis range information in step S6, the control unit 7 determines in step S4 that the analysis range information is the "second half" of the analysis range (S4: NO).

[0053] 5, the control unit 7 executes an analysis process for the analysis range R2. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R2, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R3 in the RAM 73 as analysis range information in step S14.

[0054] In step S15, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R2 includes the image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Note that since the analysis range R2 includes image G2, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R2 includes the image to be printed (S15: YES).

[0055] In step S16, the control unit 7 refers to the print range information stored in the ROM 72 and determines whether the stored print range information is the "first half" or the "second half." Note that, since print range F2 (the second half of the print range) was stored in step S12, the control unit 7 determines that the print range information is the "second half" of the print range (S16: NO).

[0056] In step S17, the control unit 7 causes the image printing unit to print image G2 in the printing range F2 on the second sheet P2. In the printing process up to this point, image G1, which is an example of the first image of the present disclosure, is printed in the first half of the printing medium, and image G2, which is an example of the second image of the present disclosure, is printed in the second half of the printing medium on which image G1 is printed. Specifically, after the first sheet P shown in FIG. 6(b) is cut, image G1 is printed on the first sheet P1, and image G2 is printed on the second sheet P2. Then, in step S18, the control unit 7 ejects the first sheet P1 on which image G1 is printed and the second sheet P2 on which image G2 is printed to the paper output tray 22. Thereafter, in step S19, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the printing range F3 in RAM 73 as printing range information.

[0057] In step S20, the control unit 7 determines whether the print data for the next page has been received. Since the print data D1 includes the print data for the second page, the control unit 7 determines that the print data for the next page has been received (S20: YES). Then, the process returns to step S4.

[0058] Here, in step S14, the analysis range R3 is stored as the analysis information, so in step S4, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is the "first half" of the analysis range (S4: YES).

[0059] In step S5, the control unit 7 executes image analysis processing for the analysis range R3. After executing the analysis processing for the analysis range R3, in step S6, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R4 in the RAM 73 as analysis range information.

[0060] In step S7, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R3 includes the image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Note that since the analysis range R3 includes image G3, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R3 includes the image to be printed (S7: YES).

[0061] In step S8, the control unit 7 references the information indicating the print range F3 stored in step S19 and determines that the print range information is the "first half" of the print range (S8: YES). Thereafter, the control unit 7 executes the same processes as steps S9 to S11 described above, and in step S12, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the print range F4 as the print range information in the RAM 73. Then, the process returns to step S4.

[0062] Here, since the analysis range R4 is stored as the analysis range information in step S6, the control unit 7 determines in step S4 that the analysis range information is the "second half" of the analysis range (S4: NO).

[0063] In step S13, the control unit 7 executes the analysis process for the analysis range R4. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R4, in step S14, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half" in the RAM 73 as the analysis range information.

[0064] In step S15, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R4 includes the image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Because the analysis range R4 includes image G4, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R4 includes the image to be printed (S15: YES).

[0065] In step S16, the control unit 7 refers to the information indicating the print range F4 stored in step S12 and determines that the print range information is the "second half" of the print range (S16: NO).

[0066] In step S17, the control unit 7 causes the image printing unit to print image G4 in printing range F4 on the second sheet P2. In the printing process up to this point, after the second sheet P has been cut, image G3 is printed on the first sheet P1 and image G4 is printed on the second sheet P2, as shown in FIG. 6(b). Then, in step S18, the control unit 7 ejects the first sheet P1 on which image G3 is printed and the second sheet P2 on which image G4 is printed onto the paper output tray 22. Thereafter, in step S19, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half" as printing range information in the ROM 72.

[0067] In step S20, the control unit 7 determines whether print data for the next page has been received. Note that since print data D1 does not include print data for the second page and subsequent pages, it determines that there is no print data for the next page (S20: NO). Then, the printing process ends.

[0068] (For print data D2) Next, a description will be given of the printing process when the print data received by the printer 1 is print data D2 shown in Fig. 7. For ease of explanation, the same processes as those in the above flow will not be described again.

[0069] The control unit 7 executes steps S1 to S3. Since information indicating R5 is stored as the analysis range information in step S2, the control unit 7 determines in step 4 that the analysis range information is the "first half" of the analysis range (S4: YES).

[0070] In step S5, the control unit 7 executes image analysis processing for the analysis range R5. After executing the analysis processing for the analysis range R5, in step S6, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R6 in the RAM 73 as analysis range information.

[0071] Since analysis range R5 includes image G1, in step S7, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R5 includes the image to be printed (S7: YES). At this point, print range F5 has been stored in step S3, so in step S8, the control unit 7 determines that the print range information is the "first half" of the print range (S8: YES).

[0072] After executing the processes of steps S9 to S11, in step S12, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the print range F6 as print range information in the RAM 73. Then, the process returns to the process of step S4.

[0073] Here, since the analysis range R6 is stored as the analysis range information in step S6, the control unit 7 determines in step S4 that the analysis range information is the "second half" of the analysis range (S4: NO).

[0074] In step S13, the control unit 7 executes an analysis process for the analysis range R6. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R6, in step S14, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R7 in the RAM 73 as analysis range information.

[0075] In step S15, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R6 includes an image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Since the analysis range R6 does not include an image to be printed, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R6 does not include an image to be printed (S15: NO).

[0076] In step S21, the control unit 7 determines whether print data for the next page has been received. If it determines that print data has not been received (S21: NO), in step S22, the control unit 7 discharges the first sheet P1, on which image G1 is printed in the print area F5, and the blank second sheet P2, on which nothing is printed in the print area F6, to the paper output tray 22. The printing process then ends.

[0077] 7 includes print data for the second page, the control unit 7 determines in step S21 that print data for the next page has been received (S21: YES). Then, the process returns to step S4. Here, since analysis range R7 was stored as the analysis range information in step S14, the control unit 7 determines in step S4 that the analysis range information is the "first half" of the analysis range (S4: YES).

[0078] In step S5, the control unit 7 executes the analysis process for the analysis range R7. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R7, in step S6, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R8 in the RAM 73 as the analysis range information.

[0079] Since image G2 is included in analysis range R7, in step S7, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R7 includes the image to be printed (S7: YES). On the other hand, if the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R7 does not include the image to be printed (S7: NO), the control unit 7 returns to step S4. Then, in a state where information indicating analysis range R8 (second half) as analysis range information and information indicating print range F6 (second half) as print range information are stored in ROM 72, the processing from step S4 onwards is executed.

[0080] If it is determined in step S7 that an image to be printed is included, then since the printing range F6 is stored in step S12, in step S8 the control unit 7 determines that the printing range information is the "second half" of the printing range (S8: NO).

[0081] In step S23, the control unit 7 causes the image printing unit to print image G2 in the printing range F6. In the printing process up to this point, after the first sheet P shown in FIG. 7(b) is cut, image G1 is printed on the first sheet P1 and image G2 is printed on the second sheet P2.

[0082] In step S24, the control unit 7 discharges the first sheet P1 and the second sheet P2 to the discharge tray 22. In step S25, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the print range F7 as print range information in the RAM 73. Then, the process returns to step S4.

[0083] Here, since the analysis range R8 is stored as the analysis range information in step S6, the control unit 7 determines in step S4 that the analysis range information is the "second half" of the analysis range (S4: NO).

[0084] In step S13, the control unit 7 executes the analysis process for the analysis range R8. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R8, in step S14, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half" in the RAM 73 as the analysis range information.

[0085] In step S15, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R8 includes the image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Because the analysis range R8 includes image G3, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R8 includes the image to be printed (S15: YES).

[0086] In step S16, the control unit 7 refers to the information indicating the printing range F7 stored in step S25 and determines that the printing range information is the "first half" of the printing range (S16: YES). In step S26, the control unit 7 drives the feed motor 101 to feed the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 21.

[0087] In step S27, the control unit 7 prints image G3 in printing range F7 using the image printing unit. In step S28, when printing of image G3 in printing range F7 is completed, the control unit 7 executes a cutting process to cut the paper P by driving the cutting unit 100. After cutting, the paper P is divided into a first paper sheet P1 corresponding to printing range F7 and a second paper sheet P2 corresponding to printing range F8. In step S29, the control unit 7 stores information indicating printing range F8 in RAM 73 as printing range information.

[0088] In step S30, the control unit 7 determines whether print data for the next page has been received. Note that since print data D2 does not include print data for the second page and subsequent pages, it determines that there is no print data for the next page (S30: NO).

[0089] In step S31, the control unit 7 discharges the first sheet P1 on which the image G3 is printed in the printing range F7 and the blank second sheet P2 on which nothing is printed onto the paper discharge tray 22. Then, the printing process ends.

[0090] On the other hand, in step S31, if the control unit 7 determines that the print data for the next page has been received (S30: YES), the control unit 7 returns to step S4 again. Then, in a state where the information indicating the "first half" as the analysis range information and the information indicating the "second half" as the print range information are stored in the ROM 72, the control unit 7 executes the processes from step S4 onwards.

[0091] (Effects of this embodiment) As described above, according to this embodiment, even if, for example, print data D2 includes image G1, which is the first image to be printed, in the first half of page 1 (analysis range R5), and does not include any images to be printed in the second half of page 1 (analysis range R6), if image G2, which is the second image to be printed, is included in the first half of page 2 (analysis range R7), image G1 can be printed in print range F5, and then image G2 can be printed on the paper P on which image G1 was printed. In other words, print data corresponding to analysis range R6, which does not include any images to be printed, is not printed as a blank page, and image G2, which is the first half of the print data for page 2, in analysis range R7, can be printed on the paper P on which image G1 was printed. This prevents unnecessary blank areas from being created on the paper P.

[0092] Also, for example, after printing image G1 on the first half (printing range F5) of an A4-sized sheet of paper P, the paper P is cut into A5 size, half the A4 size. That is, the paper P can be divided into a first A5-sized sheet P1 with the first half printed with image G1, and a second A5-sized sheet P2 with the second half unprinted with an image. Then, by repeating the process of this embodiment, it is possible to reliably print an image in the unprinted printing range. This prevents the creation of unnecessary blank areas.

[0093] (Variation 1) In the first embodiment, the control unit 7 performs control to execute a similar analysis process on the print data of the second consecutive page after completing the analysis process on the print data for one page (steps S5 and S13). However, the analysis process is not limited to one page of print data. For example, the control unit 7 may execute the analysis process on a memory storage area corresponding to the first or second half of the print data for one page. In other words, the analysis process may be executed only on a memory area that stores image data for an image capacity corresponding to A5 size, which is half the A4 size.

[0094] With the above configuration, analysis processing can be performed using only a memory area that can store image data for an image capacity corresponding to A5 size, which is half the size of A4. This eliminates the need for a memory area equivalent to one A4 page, thereby reducing memory capacity.

[0095] (Variation 2) In the first embodiment, the control unit 7 has been described as controlling the cutting unit 100 to cut the paper P when printing of an image on the first half of the print range on the paper P is completed (steps S11 and S28). However, the control of cutting the paper P is not limited to this. For example, when the encoder 105 (detection unit) detects the transport amount corresponding to the first paper P1 in association with the printing process on the first half of the paper P, the control unit 7 may execute a cutting process to cut the paper P into the first paper P1 and the second paper P2. Furthermore, the control unit 7 executes a cutting process to cut the paper P into the first paper P1 and the second paper P2 after printing of an image on the first half of the paper P is completed. However, the timing of cutting the paper P is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 7 may execute a cutting process to cut the paper P after printing of an image on the first and second half of the paper P is completed.

[0096] (Variation 3) In the first embodiment, the print range information and the analysis range information are respectively stored in the RAM 73, but this is not limiting. For example, each piece of information may be stored in the EEPROM 74. Also, each piece of information may be stored in the ROM 72. Also, each piece of information may be stored in a memory separate from these.

[0097] (Variation 4) In the first embodiment, after printing of an image on the second sheet P2 is completed, the first sheet P1 and the second sheet P2 are discharged to the sheet output tray 22, but the discharge of each sheet is not limited to this. For example, after printing of an image on the first half of the sheet P is completed, the sheet P may be cut into the first sheet P1 and the second sheet P2, and then the first sheet P1 may be discharged to the sheet output tray 22 first.

[0098] (Variation 5) In the first embodiment, the control for analyzing whether or not the image to be printed is included in each of the first and second half of the print data as the analysis range has been described. However, the analysis range is not limited to being performed for each of the first and second half of the print data. For example, the first and second half of the print data may be analyzed together for an A4-sized image.

[0099] (Variation 6) In the first embodiment, the cutting process is performed by the cutting unit 100, but the control unit 7 may perform the printing process of the present disclosure without performing the cutting process. That is, steps S11 and S28 may be omitted.

[0100] (Variation 7) In the first embodiment, A4-sized paper P is described as an example of the print medium, but the print medium may be roll paper, which is a roll of long print medium. When the print medium is roll paper, for example, the control unit 7 executes an analysis process (an example of the analysis process of the present disclosure) that analyzes whether or not the roll paper contains images to be printed on the first print data, the second print data that is successive to the first print data, and the third print data that is successive to the second print data.

[0101] If the control unit 7 analyzes in the analysis process that the first print data contains a third image to be printed, the second print data does not contain an image to be printed, and the third print data contains a fourth image to be printed, it executes a printing process (an example of a printing process disclosed herein) that prints the third image on roll paper and prints the fourth image on the roll paper on which the third image has been printed.

[0102] [Embodiment 2] A second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figures 8 to 10. Note that print data D3 is print data that includes images G1 to G4 in one page of print data, but the number of images included in the print data is not limited to four. For example, the print data may include five or more images.

[0103] 8A is print data that includes images G1 to G4 in one page of print data. In the following description, print data D3 will be used as an example.

[0104] As shown in Fig. 10, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that one page contains four images instead of two. Specifically, in the first embodiment, one page contains two print data items, image G1 and image G2, but in the second embodiment, one page contains four print data items, image G1 to image G4. As such, when the number of images contained in one page differs, the operation of the printing process executed by the printing device 1 differs, and therefore, the following description will be given with reference to a flowchart showing the printing process procedure.

[0105] 8 and 9, detailed description of the processing steps corresponding to the flowcharts shown in Fig. 4 and 5 described in embodiment 1 will be omitted. Specifically, S5, S7, S9, and S11 in Fig. 4 correspond to S104, S106, S107, and S109 in Fig. 8, respectively. Furthermore, S15, S18, S20, S21, S22, and S28 in Fig. 5 correspond to S113, S119, S121, S123, S124, and S116 in Fig. 9, respectively.

[0106] In step S100, when the control unit 7 receives a print job, it determines whether or not the print job includes an instruction for four-division printing. If the print job does not include an instruction for four-division printing (S1: NO), the control unit 7 causes the printing device 1 to perform normal printing.

[0107] On the other hand, in step S100, if the control unit 7 determines that the print job includes an instruction for four-part printing (S100: YES), in step S101, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half A of the print data" in ROM 72 as analysis range information.

[0108] Here, "first half A of the print data" refers to the range corresponding to analysis range R9 of print data D3 shown in Fig. 10(a). "First half B of the print data" refers to the range corresponding to analysis range R10 of print data D3 shown in Fig. 10(a). The analysis range of the print data, which is the combination of first half A and first half B of the print data, is, for example, the range of A5 size, which is half the A4 size.

[0109] Furthermore, "second half portion A of the print data" is the range corresponding to analysis range R11 of print data D3 shown in (a) of Fig. 10. "second half portion B of the print data" is the range corresponding to analysis range R12 of print data D3 shown in (a) of Fig. 10. The analysis range of the print data combining second half portions A and B of the print data is, for example, the range of A5 size, which is half the size of A4.

[0110] In the following description, the "first half A of the print data," "first half B of the print data," "second half A of the print data," and "second half B of the print data" may be referred to as analysis ranges R9 to R12, respectively. In step S102, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half A of the print range" in the ROM 72 as print range information.

[0111] Here, the "first half A of the printing range" is the range corresponding to the printing range F9 of the paper P shown in FIG. 10(b). Also, the "first half B of the printing range" is the range corresponding to the printing range F10 of the paper P shown in FIG. 10(b). The "second half A of the printing range" is the range corresponding to the printing range F11 of the paper P shown in FIG. 10(b). Also, the "second half B of the printing range" is the range corresponding to the printing range F12 of the paper P shown in FIG. 10(b).

[0112] In the following description, the "first half A of the printing range," "first half B of the printing range," "second half A of the printing range," and "second half B of the printing range" may be referred to as printing ranges F9 to F12, respectively.

[0113] Since information indicating R9 is stored as the analysis range information in step S101, in step S103 the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is the "first half A" of the analysis range (S103: YES).

[0114] In step S104, the control unit 7 executes image analysis processing for the analysis range R9. After executing the analysis processing for the analysis range R9, in step S105, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the analysis range R10 in the RAM 73 as analysis range information.

[0115] Since image G1 is included in analysis range R9, in step S106, the control unit 7 determines that the image to be printed is included in analysis range R9 (S106: YES).On the other hand, in step S106, if the control unit 7 determines that the image to be printed is not included in analysis range R9 (S106: NO), the process returns to step S103.

[0116] Returning to the case where the determination in step S106 is YES, in step S107, the control unit 7 feeds paper P. In step S108, the control unit 7 prints image G1 in the printing range F9, which is the range indicated by the printing range information.

[0117] In step S109, when printing of image G1 in printing range F9 is completed, control unit 7 drives cutting unit 100 to cut paper P. After cutting, paper P is divided into a first paper P1 corresponding to printing range F9 and a remaining paper P' excluding first paper P1. In the following description, the paper after cutting will be referred to as paper P'.

[0118] In step S110, the control unit 7 stores information about the print range F10 indicating the next print range as the print range information in the RAM 73. Then, the process returns to step S103. Here, since the analysis range R10 was stored as the analysis range information in step S105, in step S103 the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is the "first half B" of the analysis range (S103: NO).

[0119] In step S111, the control unit 7 executes an analysis process for the analysis range R10 stored in step S105. After executing the analysis process for the analysis range R10, in step S112, the control unit 7 stores information about the analysis range R11 indicating the next analysis range in the RAM 73 as analysis range information.

[0120] In step S113, the control unit 7 determines whether the analysis range R10 includes an image to be printed based on the results of the analysis process. Because the analysis range R10 includes image G2, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range R10 includes an image to be printed (S113: YES).

[0121] In step S114, the control unit 7 refers to the information indicating the printing range F10 stored in step S110 and determines that the printing range information is the "first half B" of the printing range (S114: NO). In step S115, the control unit 7 prints the image G2 in the printing range F10, which is the range indicated by the printing range information.

[0122] In step S116, when printing of image G2 in printing range F10 is completed, the control unit 7 drives the cutting unit 100 to cut the paper P'. After cutting, the paper P' is divided into a second paper P2 corresponding to printing range F10 and the remaining paper P' excluding the second paper P2. In step S117, the control unit 7 stores information about printing range F11 indicating the next printing range in RAM 73 as printing range information. Then, the process returns to step S103.

[0123] In step S112, the control unit 7 refers to the stored information indicating the analysis range R11, and in step S103, the control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is the "second half part A" of the analysis range (S103: NO). Subsequently, the control unit 7 executes the processes of steps S111 to S117 described above. Then, the process returns to step S103.

[0124] At this point, printing of image G3 in printing range F11 is completed (S115), and cutting of paper P' is also completed (S116). After cutting, paper P' is divided into a third paper P3 corresponding to printing range F11 and the remaining paper P' excluding the third paper P3. In addition, information indicating analysis range R12 as analysis range information and information indicating printing range F12 as printing range information are stored in ROM 72. Subsequently, in step 103, control unit 7 determines that the analysis range information is the "second half B" of the analysis range (S103: NO).

[0125] Then, the process of steps S111 to S114 is executed. Here, in step S114, the control unit 7 refers to the information indicating the print range F12 stored in step S110, and determines that the print range information is the "second half part B" of the print range (S114: YES).

[0126] In step S118, the control unit 7 prints image G4 in the printing range F12, which is the range indicated by the printing range information. In the printing process up to this point, image G1 has been printed on the first sheet P1, image G2 on the second sheet P2, image G3 on the third sheet P3, and image G4 on the fourth sheet P4, as shown in FIG. 10(b).

[0127] In step S119, the control unit 7 discharges the first sheet P1, the second sheet P2, the third sheet P3, and the fourth sheet P4 to the paper output tray 22. In step S120, the control unit 7 stores information indicating the "first half A of the print range" as print range information in the RAM 73. In step S121, the control unit 7 determines whether print data for the next page has been received. Note that print data D3 does not include print data for the next page, so it determines that there is no print data for the next page (S121: NO). The print process then ends. On the other hand, if the control unit 7 determines in step S121 that print data for the next page has been received (S121: YES), it returns to step S103 again.

[0128] In step S113 described above, if the image to be printed is not included in any of the analysis ranges R9 to R12, the control unit 7 determines that the image to be printed is not included in the analysis range (S113: NO). In this case, in step S122, the control unit 7 determines whether information indicating the first half A of the analysis range is stored as the analysis range information. If information indicating the first half A of the analysis range is stored as the analysis range information (S122: YES), the control unit 7 determines in step S123 whether print data for the next page has been received. Then, if it is determined that print data for the next page has been received (S123: YES), the control unit 7 returns to step S103 again.

[0129] On the other hand, if the control unit 7 determines in step S123 that the print data for the next page has not been received (S123: NO), then in step S124 the control unit 7 discharges the paper P (at least one of the first paper P1 to the fourth paper P4 and the paper P') to the paper discharge tray 22. Then, the printing process ends.

[0130] (Effects of this embodiment) As described above, according to this embodiment, even if one page of print data received by the printing device 1 contains multiple images, image analysis processing is performed in the range corresponding to each print data. Also, even if the image to be printed is not included in any of analysis ranges R9 to R12, as in print data D3, for example, if the image to be printed is included in a consecutive analysis range, the print data corresponding to the analysis range that does not include the image to be printed is not printed as a blank page, as in the first embodiment, and the images in the consecutive analysis ranges can be printed on paper P. This prevents unnecessary blank areas from being created on paper P.

[0131] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0132] 1 Printing device, 3 Image printing unit, 7 Control unit, 100 Cutting unit, 21 Paper feed tray, 22 Paper discharge tray, 24 Paper feed roller, 25 Feeding arm, 31 Head carriage, 32 Recording head, 33 Platen, 51, 52, 51, 52, 53, 54, 52, 53, 54 Guide member, 60 First conveying roller, 61 Pinch roller, 62 Second conveying roller, 63, 65 Spur, 64 Discharge roller, 71 CPU, 72 ROM, 73 RAM, 74 EEPROM, 75 ASIC, 101 Feed motor, 102 Conveying motor, 103 Head carriage motor, 104 Cutter carriage motor, 105 Encoder, 106 Registration sensor, 107 Network interface, 210 Placement unit

Claims

1. an image printing unit that prints an image on a printing medium based on the received print data; A control unit; Equipped with The control unit executes an analysis process for analyzing whether or not the first and second half of each page of the print data contains an image to be printed on the print medium; In the analysis process, When it is analyzed that the first image to be printed is included in the first half of the print data of the received first page, and the second half does not include an image to be printed, and the second image to be printed is included in the first half of the print data of the second page that is consecutive to the first page, performing a printing process in which the first image is printed on a first half of the printing medium, and the second image is printed on a second half of the printing medium on which the first image is printed; a cutting unit that cuts the print medium into a first print medium corresponding to the front half of the print medium and a second print medium corresponding to the rear half of the print medium, The control unit a cutting process of cutting the print medium by the cutting unit; When the printing of the first image on the first half of the print medium is completed in the printing process, the cutting process is performed. After the cutting process, the second image is printed on the latter half of the print medium in the printing process. A printing device characterized by:

2. A plurality of rollers for transporting the print medium; a paper output tray; The control unit The printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that it performs a process including an ejection process in which the first printing medium is ejected to the output tray by the plurality of rollers after the cutting process and before the second image is printed on the latter half of the printing medium in the printing process.

3. a detection unit that detects a transport amount corresponding to the first print medium, The control unit The printing device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the cutting process is executed when the detection unit detects a transport amount corresponding to the first printing medium in association with the printing process on the first half of the printing medium.

4. The control unit 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting process cuts the printing medium into a plurality of printing media including the first printing medium and the second printing medium.

5. a memory for storing the print data; The control unit A printing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in the analysis process, for the received one page of print data, the first half of the print data is expanded into a storage area of ​​the memory and analyzed, and then the second half of the print data is expanded into a storage area of ​​the memory and analyzed.

6. an image printing unit that prints an image on a printing medium based on the received print data; A control unit; Equipped with The control unit executes an analysis process for analyzing whether or not the first print data, the second print data subsequent to the first print data, and the third print data subsequent to the second print data each contain an image to be printed on the print medium; In the analysis process, When it is analyzed that the first print data includes a third image to be printed, the second print data does not include an image to be printed, and the third print data includes a fourth image to be printed, performing a printing process that prints the third image on a first portion of the printing medium and prints the fourth image on a second portion of the printing medium that is adjacent to and rear of the first portion on which the third image is printed; a cutting unit that cuts the print medium into a first print medium corresponding to the first portion of the print medium and a second print medium corresponding to the second portion of the print medium, The control unit a cutting process of cutting the print medium by the cutting unit; When the printing of the third image on the first portion of the print medium is completed in the printing process, the cutting process is performed. After the cutting process, the printing process prints the fourth image on the second portion of the print medium. A printing device characterized by:

Images