Printing device, control method, and program

Abstract

To reduce a useless margin that is generated in a leading edge of a printed medium.SOLUTION: A printing device includes: a transportation section for transporting a printed medium M; a thermal head for performing printing on the printed medium M; and a processor for controlling the transportation section and the thermal head. When being input with a first printing command for instructing printing of first information, the processor controls the thermal head to perform preliminary printing on the basis of the first information after the thermal head prints the first information and before the transportation section finishes transportation of the printed medium M.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides printing equipment, Control Method , and programs. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known printers that use tape as a printing medium to create strip-shaped printed matter (hereinafter referred to as a label) on which information such as text and graphics is printed. Such printers are also called label printers or label writers.

[0003] In a label printer, both the print head and the cutter are provided on the tape transport path, but due to spatial constraints, the cutter is located downstream of the print head in the transport direction and at a certain distance from the print head. For this reason, when the platen roller rotates only in the forward direction, a wasteful margin of a length corresponding to the distance between the print position and the cut position occurs at the leading edge of the tape due to the difference between the print position and the cut position within the label printer.

[0004] A technology related to this issue is described, for example, in Patent Document 1. The label printer described in Patent Document 1 can reverse the tape feed by rotating the platen roller in the opposite direction before the print head starts printing, thereby reducing wasted white space. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-179882 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot be applied to label printers that can only transport labels in the forward direction. Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can be applied to any label printer and that can reduce the wasted margin that occurs depending on the distance between the printing position and the cutting position.

[0007] Although the above description has been given using a label printer with a cutting device as an example, the same problem occurs in label printers that do not have a cutting device. In label printers that do not have a cutting device, the user manually cuts the tape discharged from the outlet using scissors or the like, but in this case, an unnecessary margin of length corresponding to the distance between the printing position and the outlet is created at the tip of the tape.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, an object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a new technique for reducing the wasted margin that occurs at the leading edge of a print medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A printing device according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with a control means for creating preliminary print data so that the length of the print content on a print medium is a predetermined length, and for causing printing of the preliminary print data to be executed continuously after printing of the current print data, the predetermined length being set to a length corresponding to the distance between the position where the print content is printed on the print medium by a print head and the position where the print medium is cut by a cutting means, and the control means: When creating the preliminary print data, the print content that is likely to be printed next time is estimated based on the print content of the current print data, and this estimated print content is set as the print content of the preliminary print data. The print content of the preliminary print data is changed depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data. The aforementioned Create preliminary print data and when the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefix-matched manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix-matched manner is omitted when printing the next print data. It is characterized by:

[0010] A control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method executed by a printing device, and includes a control process of creating preliminary print data so that the length of the print content on a print medium is a predetermined length, and printing the preliminary print data continuously after printing the current print data, the predetermined length being set to a length corresponding to the distance between a printing position of the print content on the print medium by a print head and a cutting position of the print medium by a cutting means, and the control process includes: When creating the preliminary print data, the print content that is likely to be printed next time is estimated based on the print content of the current print data, and this estimated print content is set as the print content of the preliminary print data. The print content of the preliminary print data is changed depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data. The aforementioned Create preliminary print data and when the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefix-matched manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix-matched manner is omitted when printing the next print data. It is characterized by:

[0011] A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as a control means for creating preliminary print data so that the length of the content to be printed on a print medium is a predetermined length, and for causing printing of the preliminary print data to be executed consecutively after printing of the current print data, the predetermined length being set to a length corresponding to the distance between the position where the print content is printed on the print medium by a print head and the position where the print medium is cut by a cutting means, and the control means: When creating the preliminary print data, the print content that is likely to be printed next time is estimated based on the print content of the current print data, and this estimated print content is set as the print content of the preliminary print data. The print content of the preliminary print data is changed depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data. The aforementioned Create preliminary print data and when the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefix-matched manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix-matched manner is omitted when printing the next print data. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the above aspect, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary margin that occurs at the leading edge of the print medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing device 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tape cartridge 30 housed in the printing device 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cartridge storage unit 14 of the printing device 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing device 1. [Figure 6] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing the state of a print medium M at each stage of print control in a conventional printing device. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 8] 8A to 8C are diagrams showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of the print control shown in FIG. 7 in the printing device 1. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of the print control shown in FIG. 9 in the printing device 1. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example in which the second information matches the preliminary information in prefix. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a modified example of preliminary printing in the printing device 1. FIG. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system including a printing device 100 and an information processing device 200. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] [First embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The printing device 1 is a thermal printer using a thermal transfer method, and also a label writer that creates labels by printing information such as text on tape, which is a printing medium. However, the printing method of the printing device 1 is not limited to the thermal transfer method. The printing device 1 may be a thermal printer using another method, such as a thermal method that uses thermal tape. Furthermore, the printing device 1 is not limited to a thermal printer, and may also be, for example, an inkjet printer.

[0015] In this specification, tape refers to a thin, long, narrow member made of plastic, paper, or any other material. Tape typically has an adhesive layer and is stickable. However, tape does not have to have an adhesive layer. Furthermore, a label refers to tape on which some information is printed, using tape as a printing medium. A label is typically a portion (of the tape) on which information is printed, separated from a portion (of the tape) on which information is not printed. However, labels are not limited to cut labels.

[0016] 1, the printing device 1 includes a device housing 2, an input unit 3, a display unit 4, and a lid 5, and further includes a cartridge storage unit 14 inside the device housing 2. The input unit 3, display unit 4, and lid 5 are arranged on the top surface of the device housing 2. Although not shown, the device housing 2 may also be provided with a power cord connection terminal, an external device connection terminal, a storage medium insertion port, etc.

[0017] The input unit 3 includes various keys such as input keys, a cross key, a conversion key, and an enter key. The display unit 4 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display. The display unit 4 may be provided with a touch panel unit, in which case the display unit 4 may be considered as part of the input unit 3.

[0018] The lid 5 is disposed on top of the cartridge storage section 14 so as to be able to open and close. The lid 5 is opened by pressing a button 5a. A window 5b is formed in the lid 5 so that it is possible to visually check whether or not a tape cartridge 30 (see FIG. 2) is stored in the cartridge storage section 14 even when the lid 5 is closed. In addition, an ejection port 2a is formed on the side of the device housing 2. The print medium M that has been printed on inside the printing device 1 is ejected from the device through the ejection port 2a.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tape cartridge 30 stored in the printing device 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cartridge storage unit 14 of the printing device 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1. The tape cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 2 is detachably stored in the cartridge storage unit 14 shown in FIG. 4 shows the tape cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 14. An example of the internal mechanism of the printing unit 23 (see FIG. 5) of the printing device 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0020] 2, the tape cartridge 30 has a cartridge case 31 that houses a print medium M and an ink ribbon R. The cartridge case 31 is provided with a tape core 32, an ink ribbon supply core 34, and an ink ribbon take-up core 35. It also has a thermal head insertion portion 36 and an engagement portion 37.

[0021] The print medium M is wound in a roll around a tape core 32 inside the cartridge case 31. The print medium M is, for example, a tape having a substrate with an adhesive layer and a release paper removably attached to the substrate so as to cover the adhesive layer. The thermal transfer ink ribbon R is wound in a roll around an ink ribbon supply core 34 inside the cartridge case 31, with its tip wound around an ink ribbon take-up core 35.

[0022] 3, the cartridge storage section 14 of the device housing 2 is provided with a plurality of cartridge receiving sections 15 for supporting the tape cartridge 30 at predetermined positions. The cartridge receiving sections 15 are also provided with tape width detection switches 19 for detecting the width of the tape (printing medium M) housed in the tape cartridge 30.

[0023] The tape width detection switch 19 is a switch for detecting the width of the print medium M based on the shape of the tape cartridge. Multiple tape width detection switches 19 are provided in the cartridge storage unit 14. Tape cartridges with different tape widths are configured to press multiple tape width detection switches 19 in different combinations. This allows the processor 21 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, to identify the type of tape cartridge from the combination of pressed tape width detection switches 19 and detect the width of the print medium M (tape width).

[0024] The cartridge storage section 14 further includes a thermal head 10, which is a print head having a plurality of heat generating elements 23a (see FIG. 5) and which prints on the print medium M, a platen roller 16, which is an example of a transport section that transports the print medium M, a tape core engagement shaft 17, and an ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18. A thermistor 11 is embedded in the thermal head 10. The thermistor 11 measures the temperature of the thermal head 10.

[0025] 4, when the tape cartridge 30 is housed in the cartridge housing section 14, the engaging portion 37 of the cartridge case 31 is supported by the cartridge receiving portion 15 of the cartridge housing section 14. The thermal head 10 is inserted into a thermal head insertion portion 36 formed in the cartridge case 31. The tape core engaging shaft 17 is engaged with the tape core 32 of the tape cartridge 30, and the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18 is engaged with the ink ribbon take-up core 35.

[0026] When a user operates the input unit 3 to input a label creation command (print command) to the printer 1, the print medium M is unwound from the tape core 32 by the rotation of the platen roller 16. At this time, the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 18 rotates in synchronization with the platen roller 16, and the ink ribbon R is unwound from the ink ribbon supply core 34 together with the print medium M. As a result, the print medium M and the ink ribbon R are transported in an overlapping state. Then, as the ink ribbon R passes between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16, it is heated by the thermal head 10, and the ink is transferred to the print medium M, thereby printing.

[0027] The used ink ribbon R that has passed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16 is taken up onto the ink ribbon take-up core 35. Meanwhile, the printed print medium M that has passed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 16 is cut by the half cutter 12 or full cutter 13 and discharged from the discharge port 2a. The half cutter 12 and full cutter 13 are examples of cutting devices that cut the print medium M, and as shown in FIG. 4, they are each located downstream of the thermal head 10 in the transport direction of the print medium M.

[0028] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the printing device 1. As shown in Fig. 5, the printing device 1 includes one or more processors 21, one or more storage devices 22, a printing unit 23, an input device 24, a display device 25, and a communication device 26, which are connected via a bus 27.

[0029] Each of the one or more processors 21 is hardware that includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program 22a stored in a storage device 22. The one or more processors 21 are an example of a controller of the printing device 1 that controls at least the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 10.

[0030] Each of the one or more storage devices 22 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium and is an example of a storage unit of the printing device 1. The one or more processors 21 and the one or more storage devices 22 constitute a computer of the printing device 1. At least one of the storage devices 22 stores a program 22a. The one or more processors 21 are controllers that execute the program 22a stored in the storage devices 22 to perform a printing control method, which will be described later, and the printing unit 23 prints on the print medium M to create a label.

[0031] The printing unit 23 is configured to print on the print medium M using the thermal head 10. The input device 24 and the display device 25 may be the above-mentioned input unit 3 and display unit 4, respectively. The communication device 26 is, for example, a wireless communication device such as a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) module or a BLE module, but may also be a wired communication device.

[0032] The following describes a print control method for reducing the unnecessary margin that occurs at the leading edge of the print medium M, which is performed by the printing device 1 configured as above.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of print control in a conventional printing device. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of print control shown in FIG. 7 in the printing device 1. First, with reference to FIG. 6, we will explain the margin that occurs at the leading edge of the print medium M in a conventional printing device, and then with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, we will specifically explain the print control method according to the first embodiment of the printing device 1.

[0034] In conventional printing devices, in printing control performed in response to a print command, once printing of information in response to the command by the thermal head 10 is completed, transport of the print medium M continues until the printed area of ​​the print medium M passes the full cutter 13 located downstream of the thermal head 10, and the print medium M is then cut by the full cutter 13. In this way, in conventional printing devices, transport without printing occurs after printing of information in response to a print command. Therefore, when a series of printing controls including printing and transport performed in response to a print command is completed, a wasted margin that cannot be printed is created between the leading edge of the print medium M (full cutter 13) and the thermal head 10, as shown in FIG. 6(a).

[0035] Thereafter, when printing control is started in response to a new print command, as shown in Figure 6(b), some of the wasted margin at the leading edge of the print medium M is used as the necessary margin (leading margin) between the leading edge of the newly created label (the cut made by the half cutter 12) and the printed information, but much of the remaining margin remains as wasted margin. Specifically, when printing in response to the print command is completed and the printed area passes through the full cutter (see Figure 6(c)), the print medium M is cut (see Figure 6(d)), and printing control ends, but the only necessary portion of the created label (strip of tape TP) is the portion behind the cut made by the half cutter 12; the portion ahead of the cut is wasted.

[0036] Therefore, in order to reduce such waste of print medium M, the printing device 1 performs the print control shown in Figures 7 and 8. Note that Figure 8 illustrates a situation in which a new tape cartridge 30 is inserted into the printing device 1 with the leading edge of the print medium M pulled out to the full cutter 13, and then a print command is input for the first time. Below, an example will be described in which a print command (first print command) instructing printing of information "ABCDEF" is input. Note that the information "ABCDEF" is an example of first information, and the print command is an example of a first print command.

[0037] When a user inputs a print command to the printing device 1 using the input unit 3, the processor 21 starts the print control shown in Fig. 7. First, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in Fig. 8(a) (step S1). Furthermore, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to start printing corresponding to the print command (step S2). Note that the processes of steps S1 and S2 may be executed in parallel, or the process of step S2 may be started after the process of step S1 according to the print information specified by the print command.

[0038] Then, during printing, the processor 21 controls the half cutter 12 to make a cut at the front of the printing area as shown in Figure 8(b), and when all of the information "ABCDEF" specified in the print command has been printed as shown in Figure 8(c), the processor 21 ends printing corresponding to the print command by the thermal head 10.

[0039] After printing corresponding to the print command, the processor 21 again controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing to print the information "AB" on the print medium M based on the information "ABCDEF" specified in the print command, as shown in Figure 8(d) (step S3), and then controls the platen roller 16 to finish transporting the print medium M (step S4).

[0040] That is, when a first print command instructing printing of first information (information "ABCDEF") is input, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the thermal head 10 has printed the first information and before the platen roller 16 has finished transporting the print medium M. The information "AB" is an example of preliminary information. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8(d), the processor 21 performs preliminary printing in the area of ​​the print medium M that remains between the full cutter 13 and the thermal head 10 at the end of transport, that is, in an area that would be wasted space in a conventional printing device.

[0041] The preliminary printing in step S3 is performed based on the first information, but more specifically, the processor 21 may create preliminary information based on the first information so that the first information (information "ABCDEF") matches the prefix of the preliminary information (information "AB") to be printed in the preliminary printing, as shown in Fig. 8(d), for example. "Match prefix" means that the search results in finding a word or phrase whose beginning matches the search term.

[0042] Then, the processor 21 may further control the full cutter 13, as shown in Figure 8(e), to cut the printing medium M between the information "ABCDEF" (first information) specified in the printing command and the preliminary information "AB", and create a piece of tape TP (label) on which the information specified in the printing command is printed.

[0043] As described above, the printing device 1 can perform preliminary printing after printing in response to a print command and before the end of transport by performing the printing control shown in FIG. 7. The printing device 1 cannot print on areas of the print medium M that have progressed downstream of the thermal head 10. However, by performing preliminary printing, it is possible to print in advance on areas of the print medium M that will have progressed downstream of the thermal head 10 before the end of transport. Therefore, by printing useful information in preliminary printing, it is possible to reduce wasted white space. Furthermore, by performing preliminary printing based on the first information, it is possible to increase the likelihood that useful information will be printed compared to random printing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce wasted white space with a high probability.

[0044] In particular, the printing device 1 can perform preliminary printing on the area of ​​the print medium M that remains between the full cutter 13 and the thermal head 10 when transport is complete. This makes it possible to reduce the wasted margin that can occur at the leading edge of the print medium M due to structural constraints of the printing device.

[0045] Furthermore, in general, when a certain piece of information is printed in a printing device, there is a high possibility that the next piece of information to be printed will be the same information. In the printing device 1, preliminary information is created so that the first information matches the beginning of the preliminary information, so when the same information, which is generally likely to be printed, is continuously printed, it is possible to reduce the wasted white space that can occur at the leading edge of the print medium M. More specifically, because the leading edge of the information to be printed next can be printed in advance in preliminary printing, the area printed in preliminary printing can be used as part of the label to be created with the next print command.

[0046] In the printer 1, the preliminary information is printed in an area that would otherwise be discarded as wasted white space. Therefore, even if the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing is different from the leading portion of the information printed in the next printing and cannot be used as part of the label to be created with the next print command, there is no disadvantage such as more wasted white space being generated than before.

[0047] [Second embodiment] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of a print control method performed by the printing device 1. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the state of the print medium M at each stage of print control shown in Fig. 9 in the printing device 1. Hereinafter, a print control method according to the second embodiment of the printing device 1 will be specifically described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10.

[0048] This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the printing device 1 determines whether preliminary printing can be effectively utilized based on the printing command input after preliminary printing, and performs processing according to the determination result.

[0049] As with Figure 8, Figure 10 illustrates the situation when a new tape cartridge 30 is inserted into the printing device 1 with the leading edge of the printing medium M pulled out to the full cutter 13, and then a print command is input for the first time.

[0050] 9, processor 21 first determines whether a print command has been input (step S11). If it determines that a print command has not been input (step S11 NO), processor 21 further determines whether an instruction to end printing has been input (step S12), and if an instruction to end printing has not been input (step S12 NO), the processes of steps S11 and S12 are repeated until a print command is input.

[0051] When a print command is input (step S11, YES), processor 21 compares the print information, which is information about the print command, with the preliminary information, which is information preliminarily printed in the previous printing (step S13). Processor 21 then compares the print information with the preliminary information and determines whether the print information matches the preliminary information in its prefix (step S14). The print information is, for example, the information "ABCDEF." Furthermore, when printing is performed for the first time, no preliminary information exists. Therefore, in this case, processor 21 determines that the print information does not match the preliminary information in its prefix (step S14, NO).

[0052] If it is determined that the front edges do not match (step S14 NO), the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in FIG. 10(a) (step S17), and controls the thermal head 10 to print the print information from the beginning (here, "A") (step S18). Then, when the front edge of the print information printed on the print medium M reaches the position of the full cutter 13, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M ahead of the print information (step S19). As a result, the unnecessary margin (tape piece TP1) is cut off, as shown in FIG. 10(b). The cutting in step S19 may be performed using the half cutter 12 instead of the full cutter 13.

[0053] 10(c), when printing of the print information instructed by the print command is completed, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to perform preliminary printing, which prints preliminary information based on the print information (step S20). Here, the processor 21 may, for example, similarly to the first embodiment, create preliminary information based on the print information so that the print information (information "ABCDEF") matches the prefix of the preliminary information (information "AB"), and may perform preliminary printing based on the created preliminary information as shown in FIG. 10(d).

[0054] When the preliminary printing is completed, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to finish transporting the print medium M (step S21). After the transport is completed, the processor 21 may control the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M as shown in FIG. 10(e) and create a label (tape piece TP2) on which the print information is printed.

[0055] When a series of print control operations associated with the print command are completed, processor 21 again monitors input of a print command (step S11). Then, when a new print command is input, processor 21 compares the new print information with the preliminary information printed in step S20 (step S13), and determines whether the print information matches the preliminary information in the beginning (step S14).

[0056] Here, if the information "ABCDEF" is specified as the printing information in the new print command, that is, if the same printing information as last time is specified, the beginning of the printing information matches the preliminary information (YES in step S14). In this case, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start transporting the print medium M from the state shown in FIG. 10(e) (step S15), and controls the thermal head 10 to start printing from the middle of the printing information (here, "C") (step S16). As a result, as shown in FIG. 10(f), the information "AB" printed in the preliminary printing can be used as part of the label, making it possible to create a new label while reducing wasted white space.

[0057] On the other hand, if the new print command specifies, for example, information "123456" as the print information, that is, if print information completely different from the previous command is specified, the beginning of the print information does not match the preliminary information (NO in step S14). In this case, the processor 21 controls the platen roller 16 to start conveying the print medium M (step S17) and controls the thermal head 10 to print the print information from the beginning (here, "1") (step S18). Then, when the front of the print information (information "123456") reaches the position of the full cutter 13 on the print medium M, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M ahead of the printed information (step S19). In other words, the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 to cut the print medium M between the preliminary information and the print information, as shown in FIG. 10(g). This removes the portion (tape piece TP3) on which the information that cannot be effectively used (preliminary information) is printed from the print medium M. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10(h), even if print information that is completely different from the previous print information is specified, a label is created with the print information correctly printed.

[0058] 9, when a print command (second print command) is input after a print command (first print command), if the information to be printed (second information) specified in the other print command does not match the beginning of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing of the previous print, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to print the information to be printed (second information) from the beginning. On the other hand, if the information to be printed (second information) matches the beginning of the preliminary information, the processor 21 controls the thermal head 10 to print the information to be printed (second information) from the middle.

[0059] As a result, if the preliminary information printed on the print medium M can be used, the pre-printed preliminary information is used to create a label. As a result, wasted white space can be reduced. Furthermore, if the preliminary information printed on the print medium M cannot be used, the information to be printed is re-printed starting from behind the preliminary information. As a result, even if the wasted white space cannot be reduced, the information to be printed can be correctly printed to create a label. In this way, the printing device 1 can contribute to reducing wasted white space while correctly creating labels regardless of the information to be printed.

[0060] Furthermore, in the printing device 1, by performing the printing control shown in Figure 9, when another printing command (second printing command) is input after a certain printing command (first printing command), the processor 21 controls the full cutter 13 or half cutter 12 so that, if the information to be printed (second information) instructed by the other printing command does not match the beginning of the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing in the previous printing, the processor 21 cuts the printing medium M between the area where the preliminary information on the printing medium M is printed and the area where the second information on the printing medium M is printed.

[0061] This allows the spare information that cannot be effectively used to be separated from the label on which the printed information is printed, thereby preventing the user from being required to perform additional work to remove the spare information even when the spare information cannot be used.

[0062] Therefore, by performing the printing control according to this embodiment, the printing device 1 can reduce the wasted margins that occur at the leading edge of the printing medium, just as when performing the printing control according to the first embodiment.

[0063] The above-described embodiments are illustrative examples provided to facilitate understanding of the invention. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments and should be understood to encompass various modifications and alternatives to the above-described embodiments. For example, it will be understood that each embodiment can be embodied by modifying its components without departing from its spirit and scope. It will also be understood that various embodiments can be implemented by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that various embodiments can be implemented by deleting some components from all of the components shown in the embodiments or by adding some components to the components shown in the embodiments. In other words, the printing device, control method, and program can be variously modified and altered without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0064] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which wasted white space was reduced when the same information was printed, but the reduction of wasted white space can be achieved in cases other than when the same information is printed. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, even if a print command to print the information "ABCDEF" is first input and then a print command to print the information "ABABA" is input, a label can be created using the information "AB" printed in the preliminary printing. In this way, as long as the information printed after the preliminary printing matches the prefix of the preliminary information, the preliminary information can be effectively used, thereby reducing wasted white space.

[0065] In the above-described embodiment, the preliminary information uses information at the beginning of the print information already printed. However, the preliminary information may be created in other ways. The processor 21 may predict the information (second information) to be printed in the next print command (second print command) based on the information already printed (first information), and create the preliminary information based on the prediction. For example, if the information "ABCDEF" is printed in the first print command, the alphabet may be printed in order. Therefore, it may be possible to predict that the next print command will instruct printing of "GHIJK..." and print the information "GH" as the preliminary information, as shown in FIG. 12. This can also contribute to reducing wasted white space, as in the case of creating preliminary information based on a prefix match.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the printing device 1 is illustrated as having the input unit 3 and the display unit 4 as shown in Fig. 1, but the printing device is not limited to a so-called stand-alone type printing device having the input unit 3 and the display unit 4. For example, as shown in Fig. 13, the printing device may be a printing device 100 that performs printing according to a print command issued from an information processing device 200.

[0067] In addition, although the above-described embodiment illustrates a printing device having a cutting device, a cutting device is not necessarily required. By performing the above-described print control in a printing device that does not have a cutting device, it is possible to reduce wasted white space.

[0068] In this specification, the expression "based on A" does not mean "based only on A," but means "based on at least A." That is, "based on A" may also be based on B in addition to A.

[0069] As used herein, the terms "first," "second," etc., used to modify a noun do not limit the quantity or order of the elements described by the noun. These terms are used to distinguish between two or more elements, not less, not more. Thus, the identification of a "first" and a "second" element does not imply that the "first" element precedes the "second" element, nor does it negate the existence of a "third" element.

[0070] The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are as follows: [Appendix 1] a conveying unit that conveys the print medium; a print head that prints on the print medium; a controller that controls the transport unit and the print head, When a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the controller controls the print head so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after the print head has printed the first information and before the transport unit has finished transporting the print medium. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 2] 10. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cutting device that is disposed downstream of the print head in a transport direction of the print medium and that cuts the print medium; The controller performs the preliminary printing on an area of ​​the print medium that remains between the cutting device and the print head at the end of the conveyance. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 3] 3. The printing device according to claim 2, When a second print command instructing printing of second information is input after the first print command, the controller controlling the print head to print the second information from the beginning when the second information does not match the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing; When the second information matches the preliminary information at the beginning, the print head is controlled so as to print the second information from the middle. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 4] 4. The printing device according to claim 3, When the second print command is input after the first print command, if the second information does not prefix-match the preliminary information, the controller controls the cutting device to cut the print medium between an area of ​​the print medium where the preliminary information is printed and an area of ​​the print medium where the second information is printed or will be printed. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 5] 5. The printing device according to claim 1, The controller generates the preliminary information based on the first information so that the first information matches the preliminary information printed in the preliminary printing in a forward direction. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 6] 5. The printing device according to claim 1, The controller predicting second information to be printed in a second print command following the first print command based on the first information; Based on the prediction result, preliminary information to be printed in the preliminary printing is generated. A printing device characterized by: [Appendix 7] A control method for a printing device having a transport unit that transports a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, comprising: When a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the completion of transport of the print medium. A control method comprising: [Appendix 8] A computer of a printing device including a transport unit that transports a print medium and a print head that prints on the print medium, When a first print command instructing printing of first information is input, the transport unit is controlled to transport the print medium, and the print head is controlled to print the first information; The print head is controlled so as to perform preliminary printing based on the first information after printing the first information and before the completion of transport of the print medium. A program characterized by executing a process. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1,100 printing equipment 10 Thermal head 12 Half cutter 13 Full Cutter 16 Platen roller 21 processors 22 Storage device 22a Program M Printing medium TP tape strip

Claims

1. a control means for creating preliminary print data so that the length of the content to be printed on the print medium will be a predetermined length, and for causing printing of the preliminary print data to be executed successively after printing of the current print data; the predetermined length is set to a length corresponding to the distance between a printing position of the print content on the print medium by the print head and a cutting position of the print medium by the cutting means, When creating the preliminary print data, the control means estimates print content that is likely to be printed next time based on the print content of the current print data, and sets this estimated print content as the print content of the preliminary print data, thereby creating the preliminary print data so that the print content of the preliminary print data changes depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data; When the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefixed manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix is ​​omitted when printing the next print data. A printing device characterized by:

2. When the print content of the preliminary print data does not match the beginning of the print content of the next print data, the control means controls the cutting means to separate the portion printed with the preliminary print data from the portion printed with the next print data.

2. The printing device according to claim 1.

3. A control method executed by a printing device, comprising: A control process is included in which preliminary print data is created so that the length of the content to be printed on the print medium is a predetermined length, and printing using the preliminary print data is executed continuously after printing using the current print data, the predetermined length is set to a length corresponding to the distance between a printing position of the print content on the print medium by the print head and a cutting position of the print medium by the cutting means, When creating the preliminary print data, the control process estimates print content that is likely to be printed next time based on the print content of the current print data, and sets this estimated print content as the print content of the preliminary print data, thereby creating the preliminary print data so that the print content of the preliminary print data changes depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data; When the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefixed manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix is ​​omitted when printing the next print data. A control method comprising:

4. A computer, Preliminary print data is created so that the length of the content to be printed on the print medium will be a predetermined length, and the control unit functions as a control unit that executes printing using the preliminary print data after printing using the current print data. the predetermined length is set to a length corresponding to the distance between a printing position of the print content on the print medium by the print head and a cutting position of the print medium by the cutting means, When creating the preliminary print data, the control means estimates print content that is likely to be printed next time based on the print content of the current print data, and sets this estimated print content as the print content of the preliminary print data, thereby creating the preliminary print data so that the print content of the preliminary print data changes depending on a predetermined difference in the print content of the current print data; When the print content of the preliminary print data matches the print content of the next print data in a prefixed manner, control is performed so that printing of the print content that matches the prefix is ​​omitted when printing the next print data. A program characterized by:

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