Printing system

Abstract

To reduce restrictions imposed on the design of an image to be printed.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus has: a display control unit that displays, on a display, a print setting screen that can receive print settings for printing an image in a specific color superimposed on an image to be printed; a storage place information generation unit that, when receiving the print settings through the print setting screen, transmits the image in the specific color related to the print settings to an image management server via a network, and acquires storage place information indicating the storage place of the image in the specific color from the image management server; and a first communication unit that transmits, to an image forming apparatus, print data including a print command including the print settings for printing the image in the specific color superimposed on the image to be printed, the image to be printed, and the acquired storage place information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system Mu .

Background Art

[0002] Toner used for image formation in a laser printer or the like is required to have various characteristics from the viewpoints of development, transfer, fixing, image quality, and the like. For example, a technique for performing image formation using toner that reflects or absorbs light of a specific wavelength has been devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing image formation by mixing an infrared absorber into toner such as C, M, Y, K (cyan, magenta, yellow, black).

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, the conventional technology has a problem that there are restrictions on the design of the image to be printed. Design refers to the arrangement and color scheme of text, figures, images, etc. That is, an information processing device embeds an image such as a barcode printed in a specific color within the page of the image to be printed, and the image forming device makes the barcode white during printing, so this part becomes blank. If the image forming device does not perform whiteout, the image such as the barcode remains. Thus, in the conventional technology, there is a restriction that the image to be printed cannot be designed using the entire page of the image to be printed. In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce the restrictions that have occurred in the design of the image to be printed and enable printing of a specific color.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present invention is a printing system including an information processing device and an image forming device, in a printing system that can be connected to an image management server via a network, The information processing device includes a display control unit that displays a print setting screen on a display unit that can accept a print setting to print an image of a specific color overlaid on an image to be printed, and a storage location information generation unit that, when the print setting is accepted via the print setting screen, transmits the image of the specific color related to the print setting to the image management server via the network and obtains storage location information from the image management server indicating the storage location of the image of the specific color. A processing unit that includes the storage location information in the image to be printed, A print command that includes the print setting to print an image of a specific color overlaid on the image to be printed, The aforementioned storage location information is included. A first communication unit transmits print data, including the image to be printed and the acquired storage location information, to the image forming apparatus. It has, The image forming apparatus is characterized by comprising: a printer; a second communication unit for receiving the print data; an acquisition unit for acquiring an image of a specific color from an image management server based on the storage location information included in the print data received by the second communication unit; a drawing unit for generating image data for overprinting the image of a specific color acquired from the image management server onto the image to be printed included in the print data, based on the print command included in the print data; and a print control unit for printing the generated image data using the printer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0005] This can reduce the constraints that existed on the design of images to be printed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates the problems that arise when printing in a specific color. [Figure 2] Examples of printed images, IR toner printed images, and printed materials are shown. [Figure 3] This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the general operation of a printing system. [Figure 4] This is an example of a schematic diagram of a printing system. [Figure 5] This is an example of a hardware configuration diagram for an information processing device and an IR image management server. [Figure 6] This is an example of a hardware configuration diagram for an image forming apparatus. [Figure 7] This is an example of a functional block diagram that shows the functions of an information processing device and an IR image management server in a block-like structure. [Figure 8] This diagram illustrates the image management table owned by the IR toner image management application. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an IR image management table. [Figure 10] This is an example of a functional block diagram that shows the functions of an image forming apparatus in a block-like structure. [Figure 11] This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the processes or actions performed by a printer driver. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of a print settings screen. [Figure 13] This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the process or operation by which the IR toner image management application accepts user settings regarding the creation of the IR image management table, etc. [Figure 14] This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the processing or operation of the IR toner image management application when the printer driver invokes it. [Figure 15] This is an example flowchart illustrating the process or operation in which an IR image management server, which receives an IR toner print image and print position, sends a URL to an IR toner image management application. [Figure 16] This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the process or operation by which an image forming apparatus prints print data. [Figure 17] This diagram illustrates the process of an image forming apparatus performing IR toner printing. [Figure 18] This is an example of a diagram illustrating overprinting. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Hereinafter, as an example of an embodiment for implementing the present invention, a printing system and a printing method performed by the printing system will be described while referring to the drawings.

[0008] <Supplement on the disadvantages of the comparative technique> Using FIG. 1, the disadvantages of the comparative technique will be supplemented. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the disadvantages in the case of printing with a specific color. One of the methods of printing using a special toner from general-purpose application software (application software that cannot create a feature layer) that handles RGB image data is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the user embeds a printed image (for example, a barcode printed with an IR toner, etc., hereinafter referred to as an IR toner printed image) printed with a special toner in a part 201 of the printed image to be printed.

[0009] The image forming apparatus 30 cuts out the IR toner printed image from a part 201 of the printed image whose position is specified and superimposes it on a separately specified position (the photo area in FIG. 1(b)). Therefore, in the printed result, a part 201 of the printed image will always be white. Although it is possible for the image forming apparatus 30 to leave the IR toner printed image in a part 201 of the printed image, it is not preferable to have a barcode or the like remaining. Therefore, since an area for the IR toner printed image is required in the printed image, there is a disadvantage that the user cannot design the printed image using the entire page.

[0010] <Schematic operation of the printing system> Next, using FIGS. 2 and 3, an outline of a method for the image forming apparatus to form an image with features in the present embodiment will be described. First, FIG. 2 shows an example of a printed image, an IR toner printed image, and a printed matter. There is a difference between page 1 and page 2 that the printed image has in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), but the processing flow is the same except that the printed results are different due to the difference in pages. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart for explaining the schematic operation of the printing system. The processing in FIG. 3 is mainly performed by the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus.

[0011] (1) In an information processing apparatus, application software that manages a plurality of IR toner printed images 101 (for example, barcodes in FIG. 2) and receives a specification of an IR toner printed image 101 from a user for each page during printing is operating. Hereinafter, this application software is referred to as the "IR toner image management application (reference numeral 12)". The IR toner image management application 12 can also store the correspondence between each page of a printed image and an IR toner printed image.

[0012] (2) The user prepares a printed image 102 to be printed by operating a general-purpose application. In FIG. 2, the printed image 102 is a picture and price of strawberries and grapes.

[0013] (3) When the user gives a printing instruction, the image forming apparatus 30 superimposes and prints the IR toner printed image 101 on the printed image 102. A printed matter 103 in which the IR toner printed image 101 that is transparent to the naked eye is superimposed on the printed image 102 is output.

[0014] Next, an explanation will be given based on FIG. 3.

[0015] S1: The user prepares a printed image by operating a general-purpose application.

[0016] S2: When the user specifies printing by an IR toner, the printer driver 11 calls the IR toner image management application 12. The printer driver 11 passes the print data of the printed image to the IR toner image management application 12.

[0017] S3: The user operates the IR toner image management application 12 to specify an IR toner printed image and a printing position (an example of position information) for each page of the printed image.

[0018] S4: The IR toner image management application 12 sends the IR toner print image and print position to the IR image management server 50. The IR image management server 50 saves the received IR toner print image and print position, generates a URL indicating the save location, and sends the URL to the IR toner image management application 12. The IR toner image management application 12 draws the URL received from the IR image management server 50 at a fixed position on the print image. The IR toner image management application 12 sets a print command indicating that the URL is the save location for the IR toner print image and that the IR toner print image should be printed in a specific color. The IR toner image management application 12 performs the same process for all pages and sends the print images to the image forming apparatus.

[0019] S5: The image forming apparatus obtains URL111 from a fixed position on each page. If the print command is set to indicate that URL111 is related to IR toner printing, it obtains the IR toner print image and print position from the storage location indicated by URL111. The image forming apparatus overprints the IR toner print image with IR toner at the print position of the printed image (details of overprinting are explained in Figure 18). In this way, the image forming apparatus can print the IR toner print image on top of the printed image.

[0020] In this manner, the printer driver 11 accepts the request for IR toner printing, passes the print data to the IR toner image management application 12, and the IR toner image management application 12 associates the IR toner print image specified by the user with the print image. After processing all pages, the IR toner image management application 12 returns the print data to the printer driver 11, and the printer driver 11 passes the processed print data to the image forming apparatus 30. The image forming apparatus 30 analyzes the print data for each page, and if a print command for printing with IR toner is attached, it overprints the IR toner print image onto the print image using IR toner.

[0021] Therefore, it is possible to print using IR toner from applications that handle standard RGB image data. Furthermore, users can design print images that span the entire page.

[0022] <About Terminology> A specific color (spot color) refers to a color other than C, M, Y, and K (these are called process colors). Examples of specific colors include gold, silver, white, or transparent. Depending on the image forming apparatus 30 (especially the inkjet type), some may be able to use inks of other colors in addition to C, M, Y, and K, so the spot colors may differ depending on the image forming apparatus 30. It can also be said that it is a color that the application software cannot represent in RGB. A coloring material such as toner or ink that can print a spot color is called a spot color material. In this embodiment, the color of the IR toner is used as the spot color.

[0023] Furthermore, transparency means being invisible to light of a certain wavelength. It is not required to be completely invisible; it is sufficient that it is invisible at first glance and / or that it cannot be imaged by an imaging device. Transparent toner or ink is sometimes called stealth toner or stealth ink.

[0024] In this embodiment, instead of an image forming apparatus 30 that can print by specifying spot colors other than C, M, Y, and K, an image forming apparatus 30 in which a spot color is assigned to, for example, K is used. In other words, the only colors that can be handled are C, M, Y, and K. The image forming apparatus 30 in this embodiment does not use K toner, and the K toner cartridge contains the spot color material. However, it is also possible to use an image forming apparatus 30 that can print by specifying a spot color (C, M, Y, K + spot color).

[0025] Images of specific colors are images printed using spot colors, and in this embodiment, IR toner printed images are used as an example.

[0026] <Example System Configuration> Figure 4 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the printing system 100. The printing system 100 shown in Figure 4 includes an information processing device 10 and one or more image forming devices 30. The information processing device 10 and the image forming devices 30 can also be connected to an IR image management server 50. An image forming device 30 connected to the information processing device 10 by a dedicated line is referred to as image forming device 30A, and an image forming device 30 connected via a network is referred to as image forming device 30B. Any image forming device 30 among the multiple image forming devices 30A and 30B will be referred to as "image forming device 30".

[0027] The information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30A are connected peer-to-peer (one-to-one) via a dedicated cable such as a USB cable. However, the connection does not need to be constant, and the user can connect and disconnect the dedicated cable. In addition to USB cables, other options include PC cards, PCI, IEEE1394, SCSI, etc.

[0028] Furthermore, the information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30A may be connected wirelessly for communication. Examples of wireless communication methods for peer-to-peer connections include Bluetooth® and wireless LAN.

[0029] The information processing device 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus 30B via a network. This network N is assumed to be a general network such as a LAN or the internet. The LAN is, for example, a LAN within a facility such as a company where the image forming apparatus 30B is located. Network N may also include VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) or wide-area Ethernet (registered trademark). Network N may be constructed using either wired or wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0030] The information processing device 10 executes various control programs and application software, such as the OS (Operating System) and printer drivers 11, and provides functions according to the application software. It is often referred to as a computer. A control program is a program called a device driver (software prepared to enable the OS to control hardware connected to a personal computer), and a printer driver 11 is an example of a device driver. Specifically, the information processing device 10 can be exemplified by PCs (Personal Computers), smartphones, tablet terminals, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), wearable PCs, etc.

[0031] In addition, the information processing device 10 may be any device on which an OS, control program, and application software can run, such as an electronic whiteboard (a device with electronic blackboard functionality that enables mutual communication), an output device such as a digital signage, a projector, or a video conferencing terminal.

[0032] The image forming apparatus 30 primarily forms images such as characters and figures on a recording medium using toner or ink. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 30 can form images of C, M, and Y image data using toner or ink (hereinafter referred to as visible material) that is legible to the naked eye, and can also form images of K image data using a special color material (toner or ink). The image forming apparatus 30 can form images on a single recording medium using both visible material and special color material. It is also possible to form images using only one of them.

[0033] As a special coloring material, a toner or ink can be used that absorbs in the infrared wavelength range, including near-infrared light (around 850 nm), and absorbs less in the visible light wavelength range (around 400-700 nm) (its absorption in the visible light wavelength range is less than its absorption in the infrared wavelength range). Such special coloring materials are transparent (invisible) to visible light and become legible when irradiated with infrared light. Therefore, "special color" means transparent to visible light. Special coloring materials appear black because they absorb infrared light when irradiated with it. The colors C, M, and Y are transparent to infrared light. On the other hand, some K coloring materials (regular black toner) absorb infrared light, while others do not. If the K color, which absorbs infrared light, is formed together with the special coloring material, both will appear black, making it difficult to recognize barcodes, etc., formed with the special coloring material. For this reason, the K color, which absorbs infrared light, and the special coloring material cannot be formed on the same paper. On the other hand, even if the K color, which does not absorb infrared light, is formed together with the spot color material, when infrared light is irradiated, only the spot color material appears black, making it possible to recognize barcodes and the like formed with the spot color material. In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus 30 that prints without using the K color is described. For this reason, black is represented by layering C, M, and Y. However, there is no problem in printing using five colors including the K color, which does not absorb infrared light: C, M, Y, K + spot color.

[0034] Specialized materials can form information that allows for the determination of the authenticity of the output, thus having the effect of suppressing the duplication of the output. Therefore, since they improve security, specialized materials can be considered security-oriented consumables.

[0035] Furthermore, the special material may be a toner or ink that absorbs ultraviolet (UV) light and absorbs little visible light. Alternatively, a material that is normally transparent but can be made visible by undergoing a chemical change using heat, laser, or chemicals may be used for image formation. Or, information that is difficult to see with the naked eye may be formed by creating irregularities.

[0036] Furthermore, the recording medium to which the image forming apparatus 30 prints can be any material to which toner or ink can adhere. This means materials to which toner or ink can temporarily adhere, such as materials that adhere and solidify, or materials that adhere and penetrate. Specific examples include recording media such as paper, recording paper, film, and cloth, electronic components such as electronic circuit boards and piezoelectric elements, and powder layers. Unless otherwise specified, this includes all materials to which toner or ink can adhere.

[0037] Furthermore, the materials that "toner or ink can adhere to" include paper, thread, fibers, fabrics, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., as long as toner or ink can adhere to them, even temporarily.

[0038] The image forming apparatus 30 includes not only printing apparatuses using electrophotographic technology, but also printing apparatuses using inkjet technology that ejects droplets, and printing apparatuses that use thermal transfer of ink ribbons. The image forming apparatus 30 may also be a multifunction device. The "multifunction" in multifunction device means that it has multiple functions such as image forming, fax transmission and reception, document scanning, and copying. Multifunction devices are sometimes called MFPs (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product). However, the image forming apparatus 30 in this embodiment only needs to have an image forming function. The image forming apparatus 30 may also be called a printer.

[0039] The IR image management server 50 is an information processing system consisting of one or more computers. The IR image management server 50 only needs to be a computer that creates a storage location for IR toner print images and print positions. Therefore, the IR image management server 50 does not necessarily have to be called a server. The IR image management server 50 may reside on the internet or on-premises. Furthermore, the IR image management server 50 should preferably be cloud computing compatible. "Cloud" is a term used when specific hardware resources are not intended.

[0040] <Example Hardware Configuration> The following describes the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30 of the printing system 100.

[0041] <<Information processing device, IR image management server>> Figure 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing device 10 and the IR image management server 50. As shown in Figure 5, the information processing device 10 and the IR image management server 50 are built using a computer and include a CPU 501, ROM 502, RAM 503, HD 504, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, display 506, external device connection I / F (Interface) 508, network I / F 509, data bus 510, keyboard 511, pointing device 512, optical drive 514, and media I / F 516.

[0042] Of these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the entire information processing device 10 and IR image management server 50. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501, such as IPL. The RAM 503 is used as the work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls the reading or writing of various data to the HD 504 according to the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 (an example of a display unit) displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, external devices include, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and printers. The network I / F 509 is an interface for data communication using network N. The data bus 510 is an address bus and data bus, etc., for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in Figure 5.

[0043] The keyboard 511 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, and various instructions. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting processing targets, and moving the cursor. The optical drive 514 controls the reading or writing of various data to the optical storage medium 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. The optical drive 514 is a CD, DVD, Blu-ray (registered trademark), etc. The media interface 516 controls the reading or writing (storage) of data to the recording medium 515, such as flash memory.

[0044] <<Image forming apparatus>> Figure 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 30. As shown in Figure 6, the image forming apparatus 30 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, and a network interface 950.

[0045] Of these, the controller 910 includes the main components of the computer: the CPU 901, system memory (MEM-P) 902, northbridge (NB) 903, southbridge (SB) 904, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, local memory (MEM-C) 907, HDD controller 908, and HD 909, with the NB 903 and ASIC 906 connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

[0046] Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 30. The NB 903 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, SB 904, and AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 902, as well as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master and an AGP target.

[0047] MEM-P902 consists of ROM902a, which is a memory for storing programs and data that realize the various functions of the controller 910, and RAM902b, which is used for program and data deployment and drawing during memory printing. The programs stored in ROM902a may be configured to be provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

[0048] SB904 is a bridge for connecting NB903 to PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC906 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing and acts as a bridge connecting the AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C907, respectively. This ASIC906 consists of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC906, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C907, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that perform image data rotation using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that performs data transfer via PCI bus 922 between the scanner 931 and printer 932. Note that a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface may be connected to the ASIC906.

[0049] MEM-C907 is local memory used as a copy image buffer and code buffer. HD909 is storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HD909 controls data reading or writing to it according to the control of CPU901. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards proposed to speed up graphics processing, and by directly accessing MEM-P902 with high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

[0050] Furthermore, the short-range communication circuit 920 is equipped with a short-range communication antenna 920a. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0051] Furthermore, the engine control unit 930 is composed of a scanner 931 and a printer 932. The operation panel 940 includes a panel display unit 940a, such as a touch panel, which displays current settings and selection screens and accepts input from the operator, and a hard key 940b consisting of a numeric keypad that accepts setting values ​​for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that accepts copy start instructions. The controller 910 controls the entire image forming apparatus 30, for example, controlling drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 940. The scanner 931 or printer 932 includes an image processing unit that performs error diffusion and gamma conversion.

[0052] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 30 can be sequentially switched and selected between the document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function using the application switching key on the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the image forming apparatus 30 enters document box mode; when the copy function is selected, it enters copy mode; when the printer function is selected, it enters printer mode; and when the facsimile mode is selected, it enters facsimile mode.

[0053] Furthermore, the network interface 950 is an interface for data communication using network N. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network interface 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

[0054] <About the functions of information processing equipment and image forming apparatus> Next, the functions of the information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30 will be explained using Figures 7 to 10.

[0055] <<Information Processing Device>> Figure 7 is an example of a functional block diagram showing the functions of the information processing device 10 in a block-like structure. The information processing device 10 operates two programs: a printer driver 11 and an IR toner image management application 12. Note that general-purpose application software for calling the printer driver 11 is omitted.

[0056] This general-purpose application software can be any software that can call the printer driver 11. Examples include word processing software, presentation software, spreadsheet software, PDF software, and browser software. Each of these application software programs saves and reads files in its respective format. In Figure 7, the program for the information processing device 10 is described in two parts, but it is also acceptable for the printer driver 11 to have the functionality of the IR toner image management application 12.

[0057] When printing a document, the user calls the printer driver 11 from the application, and the printer driver 11 automatically launches the IR toner image management application 12. Within the IR toner image management application 12, the user can specify the IR toner print image for each page (in some cases, an IR toner print image may not be specified for certain pages). The user can also specify the position of the print image within the IR toner print image. Therefore, the user only needs to operate the IR toner image management application 12 in addition to the conventional task of printing a document from the application software, and the usability is not significantly reduced.

[0058] • Printer driver The printer driver 11 includes a display control unit 21, an operation reception unit 22, a setting retention unit 23, an application calling unit 24, and a communication unit 25. Each of these functions of the printer driver 11 is a function or means realized by any of the components shown in Figure 5 operating according to instructions from the CPU 501 that are based on the printer driver 11 deployed from HD 504 onto RAM 503.

[0059] The display control unit 21 displays a print settings screen (UI: User Interface) on the display 506 (an example of a display unit) where the printer driver 11 accepts print settings. The operation reception unit 22 accepts print settings and settings from the user regarding whether or not to print with IR toner. Print settings include color / monochrome, number of copies, duplex printing, collation, etc. The setting retention unit 23 retains the setting whether or not to print with IR toner that the operation reception unit 22 has received from the user.

[0060] The application calling unit 24 calls the IR toner image management application 12 based on the settings held by the setting holding unit 23 and passes the print data to the IR toner image management application 12. The application calling unit 24 also receives the print data processed by the IR toner image management application 12.

[0061] The communication unit 25 is capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus 30 and transmits print data to the image forming apparatus 30 (an example of the first communication unit).

[0062] • IR toner image management app The IR toner image management application 12 includes a display control unit 41, an operation reception unit 42, a storage location information generation unit 43, an image management unit 44, and a processing unit 45. Each of these functions of the IR toner image management application 12 is a function or means realized by any of the components shown in Figure 5 operating in accordance with instructions from the CPU 501 following the IR toner image management application 12 deployed from the HD 504 onto the RAM 503.

[0063] The display control unit 41 displays the screen of the IR toner image management application 12. On this screen, the user can specify the combination of each page of the printed image and the IR toner printed image, and the printing position of the IR toner printed image. The operation reception unit 42 receives the specification of the combination of each page of the printed image and the IR toner printed image, and the specification of the printing position of the IR toner printed image.

[0064] The storage location information generation unit 43 sends the IR toner print image and print position for each page to the IR image management server 50, and receives a URL indicating the storage location for each page.

[0065] The image management unit 44 manages IR toner print images associated with printed images. IR toner print images can be registered in advance by the user, or registered when printing using IR toner. Details of the IR toner print images managed by the image management unit 44 are explained in Figure 8.

[0066] The processing unit 45 draws a URL on each page of the printed image. A print command corresponding to the URL (indicating that the URL relates to IR toner printing) is added to the page on which the IR toner printed image is printed. The location where the URL is drawn is predetermined. Furthermore, it is preferable that the URL is printed with a spot color toner (k color in this embodiment).

[0067] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an image management table owned by the IR toner image management application 12. As shown in FIG. 8, the IR toner image management application 12 has one IR image management table n (n is an integer of 1 or more) for each IR toner printed image. The IR image management table n is a table for managing the IR toner printed image. The user can register a new IR image management table, and edit and delete an existing IR image management table.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the IR image management table. FIG. 9(a) shows the configuration of the IR image management table 1, FIG. 9(b) shows the configuration of the IR image management table 2, and FIG. 9(c) shows the configuration of the IR image management table 3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 9, the IR image management table n can register a table identifier for identifying the IR toner printed image, an IR image file in which the IR toner printed image is stored, and a memo. These can be registered by the user.

[0069] <<IR Image Management Server>> The IR image management server 50 has a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a storage location response unit 53. Each of these functions of the IR image management server 50 is a function or means realized by any of the components shown in FIG. 5 operating according to an instruction from the CPU 501 according to a program developed from the HD 504 onto the RAM 503.

[0070] The communication unit 51 communicates with the IR toner image management application 12 operating in the information processing device 10, and receives the IR toner printed image and the printing position. The storage unit 52 stores the IR toner printed image and the printing position. The storage location may be the IR image management server 50 or another server device. The storage location response unit 53 creates a URL indicating the storage location.

[0071] <<Image Forming Apparatus>> Figure 10 is an example of a functional block diagram showing the functions of the image forming apparatus 30 in a block-like manner. The image forming apparatus 30 includes a communication unit 31, a drawing unit 32, a command interpretation unit 33, a page holding unit 34, a print control unit 35, and an acquisition unit 36. Each of these functions of the image forming apparatus 30 is a function or means realized by the operation of any of the components shown in Figure 6 by instructions from the CPU 901 according to a program deployed from the HD 909 onto the RAM 902b.

[0072] The communication unit 31 receives print data from the printer driver 11 (an example of a second communication unit). The drawing unit 32 interprets the print data received by the communication unit 31 and creates image data (bitmap data) for each page. The drawing unit 32 passes the image data to the print control unit 35. When the drawing unit 32 interprets the print data, if a print command is included, it passes the print command to the command interpretation unit 33. The print command is written in PCL (Printer Control Language) and specifies where to form text and images. This print command also includes instructions to print with IR toner. In addition, a URL may be drawn in a fixed position on the printed image, and the print command related to this URL is set to indicate that it is for IR toner printing.

[0073] If the print data is a page to be printed with IR toner, the command interpretation unit 33 retrieves a URL located at a specific position in the print image that is configured to indicate IR toner printing and passes it to the acquisition unit 36. The acquisition unit 36 ​​retrieves the IR toner print image and print position from the storage location specified by the URL and passes them to the drawing unit 32.

[0074] The drawing unit 32 creates image data by overprinting the image data of the IR toner printed image at the position of the printed image specified by the print position, and passes it to the print control unit 35. The print control unit 35 receives the image data for each page and uses the printer 932 to form the received image data on the paper.

[0075] <Printer driver processing or operation> Figure 11 is an example of a flowchart illustrating the process or operation performed by the printer driver 11. The process in Figure 11 starts when the printer driver 11 receives print data from a general-purpose application.

[0076] The user enters the setting for IR toner printing on the print settings screen (see Figure 12). The setting retention unit 23 retains this setting, so the application calling unit 24 refers to the setting retention unit 23 to determine whether the setting for IR toner printing has been made (S11). If the determination in step S11 is No, the process proceeds to step S14. That is, the printer driver 11 converts the print image into print data, just like with normal toner printing, and sends the print data directly to the image forming apparatus 30.

[0077] If the determination in step S11 is Yes, the application calling unit 24 passes the print data of the print image to the IR toner image management application 12 (S12). The IR toner image management application 12 then executes the process shown in Figure 14, which will be described later.

[0078] The application calling unit 24 receives print data from the IR toner image management application 12, with a URL attached to each page of the print image indicating the location where the IR toner print image and print position are saved (S13).

[0079] The communication unit 25 transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus 30 in page order (S14).

[0080] <<Example of print settings screen>> Figure 12 shows an example of the print settings screen 210. The print settings screen 210 has a current settings field 211, a menu field 212, and a spot color printing setting checkbox 214. The current settings field 211 displays the current print settings and preview. The menu field 212 displays selectable print setting items. One of these is the effects field 213. When the user clicks the effects field 213, the spot color printing setting checkbox 214 is displayed. Users who want to print with IR toner check the spot color printing setting checkbox 214. The operation reception unit 22 of the printer driver 11 can receive a specification from the user whether or not to print with IR toner.

[0081] <User-configured settings for the IR toner image management application (IR image management table)> Next, referring to Figure 13, we will explain how a user can directly launch the IR toner image management application 12 on the information processing device 10 to create an IR image management table, etc. Figure 13 is an example of a flowchart illustrating the process or operation in which the IR toner image management application 12 accepts user settings for creating an IR image management table, etc. The user can directly launch the IR toner image management application 12 to manage IR toner printed images.

[0082] The operation reception unit 42 of the IR toner image management application 12 determines whether the user's operation is to create a new IR image management table (S21). Creating an IR image management table means registering an IR toner printed image.

[0083] If the decision in step S21 is Yes, the image management unit 44 creates a new IR image management table (S22).

[0084] If the determination in step S21 is No, the image management unit 44 passes a list of existing IR image management tables to the display control unit 41 in response to the user's operation (S23). The display control unit 41 displays the list of IR image management tables, and the operation reception unit 42 determines whether the user has edited (modified) the IR image management table (S24). If the user does not modify the IR image management table, the process in Figure 13 ends.

[0085] When a user creates or modifies an IR image management table, the image management unit 44 adds or deletes IR toner creation images or memos (S25).

[0086] If the user has added or deleted an IR toner print image and saved the IR image management table (Yes in S26), the image management unit 44 saves the corresponding IR image management table (S27).

[0087] In this way, users can pre-register IR toner print images in the IR toner image management application 12. Furthermore, as explained in Figure 14, users can also register IR toner print images in the IR toner image management application 12 at the time of printing.

[0088] <Processing or operation of the IR toner image management application when the printer driver invokes the IR toner image management application> Figure 14 is an example of a flowchart illustrating the processing or operation of the IR toner image management application 12 when the printer driver 11 calls the IR toner image management application 12.

[0089] The IR toner image management application 12 receives the print data of the print image. The processing unit 45 receives the print data of the print image and interprets the page breaks and page numbers (S31).

[0090] If the user uses a saved IR image management table (Yes in S32), the image management unit 44 retrieves a list of IR image management tables in response to the user's operation (S33).

[0091] The processing unit 45 repeats the processing of each page of the printed image as follows (loop A).

[0092] The operation reception unit 42 receives the specification of the IR toner print image to be printed over the print image and the print position (S34).

[0093] The storage location information generation unit 43 transmits the IR toner print image and print position to the IR image management server 50 (S35). The storage location information generation unit 43 receives a URL from the IR image management server 50 indicating the storage location of the IR toner print image and print position (S36).

[0094] The processing unit 45 adds a print command to the print data page indicating that it is subject to IR toner printing, and draws a URL indicating the above-mentioned save location at a fixed position on the print image (S37). The fixed position is preferably an inconspicuous location such as the upper right, lower right, lower left, or upper left of the print image. The processing unit 45 also sets a print command indicating that the URL relates to IR toner printing. This is because there is a possibility that URLs unrelated to the save location information may be included in the print image. The color of both the IR toner print image and the URL is specified as k color (IR toner).

[0095] The IR toner image management application 12 specifies the image forming apparatus 30 to print the print data after processing is complete (S38). This image forming apparatus 30 may be the one set by the user in the printer driver 11.

[0096] After processing is complete, the IR toner image management application 12 returns the processed print data to the printer driver 11 (S39).

[0097] On the other hand, if the user does not use a saved IR image management table (No. in S32), the image management unit 44 creates a new IR image management table (S40).

[0098] When the user adds or deletes an IR image management table, the image management unit 44 adds or deletes the IR image management table (S41).

[0099] When the user saves the added IR image management table (Yes in S42), the image management unit 44 saves the corresponding IR image management table (S43).

[0100] In a use case where the IR toner printed image does not change even when the printed image changes, it is preferable that the IR toner image management application 12 has an association between the page number of the printed image and the IR toner printed image. Even if the user does not select the IR toner printed image, the IR toner image management application 12 can insert the IR toner printed image based on the association.

[0101] <Processing or operation of the IR image management server> FIG. 15 is an example of a flowchart illustrating the processing or operation in which the IR image management server 50 that has received the IR toner printed image and the printing position transmits a URL to the IR toner image management application 12.

[0102] The communication unit 51 of the IR image management server 50 receives the IR toner printed image and the printing position from the information processing device 10, and the storage unit 52 stores the IR toner printed image and the printing position in an arbitrary storage location (S51).

[0103] Next, the storage location response unit 53 creates a URL indicating the storage location of the IR toner printed image and the printing position (S52). <What is

[0104] The communication unit 51 transmits the created URL to the information processing device 10 (S53).

[0105] In Figures 14 and 15, the IR image management server 50 saves the URL and returns the storage location information to the information processing device 10. However, the information processing device 10 may save the IR toner print image and print position and generate the URL. In this case, the storage location information generation unit 43 saves the IR toner print image and print position on an external server and creates a URL indicating the storage location.

[0106] <Processing or operation of an image forming apparatus> Next, with reference to Figure 16, the procedure for the image forming apparatus 30 to perform IR toner printing will be explained. Figure 16 is an example of a flowchart illustrating the process or operation by which the image forming apparatus 30 prints print data. The process in Figure 16 starts when the communication unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 30 receives print data.

[0107] First, the drawing unit 32 uses the command interpretation unit 33 to repeatedly interpret the print commands contained in the print data, page by page, up to the last page (S61).

[0108] The drawing unit 32 determines whether or not the print command includes a print command indicating that at least one page should be printed using IR toner (S62).

[0109] If not all pages contain a print command indicating that they should be printed with IR toner (No. in S62), the drawing unit 32 generates image data (bitmap data) and sends the generated image data to the print control unit 35. The print control unit 35 controls the printer 932 to print the generated image data (S68).

[0110] If even one page contains a print command indicating that it will be printed with IR toner (Yes in S62), loop B is executed for each page.

[0111] The command interpretation unit 33 interprets the print command for the current page (S63). The command interpretation unit 33 determines whether the print command for the current page includes a print command indicating that IR toner printing should be performed.

[0112] If the print command includes a setting to print using IR toner, the command interpretation unit 33 obtains a URL from a fixed position in the print image (S64). The URL is identified by the presence of a string such as "http: / / ". The command interpretation unit 33 determines whether the print command is set to indicate that this URL relates to an IR toner print image.

[0113] If a URL containing information about an IR toner print image is detected, the acquisition unit 36 ​​requests the IR toner print image and print position using this URL as the communication destination (S65), and acquires the IR toner print image and print position from the URL (S66).

[0114] Next, the drawing unit 32 overprints the IR toner print image at the position specified by the print position of the print image to create image data, and the print control unit 35 controls the printer 932 to print (S67).

[0115] Once loop B has finished processing up to the last page, the process in Figure 16 will be complete.

[0116] <Supplementary information on IR toner printing in image forming apparatus> Figure 17 illustrates the process by which the image forming apparatus 30 performs IR toner printing. This image forming apparatus 30 is a general-purpose image forming apparatus 30 that cannot specify IR toner (spot colors) (only C, M, Y, and K can be specified). The image forming apparatus 30 in this embodiment is a color printer that prints using a combination of four colors: C, M, Y, and K (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). The image forming apparatus 30 converts the RGB print data output by the printer driver 11 into print data for C, M, and Y. In other words, the image forming apparatus 30 does not convert the RGB print data to K. Black can be represented using only C, M, and Y from C, M, Y, and K. General image forming apparatuses 30 use K to improve color reproduction and reduce toner usage. The image forming apparatus 30 in this embodiment utilizes the fact that black can be printed without K, and assigns IR toner to K (IR toner is contained in the K toner cartridge).

[0117] (1) The image forming apparatus 30 creates C, M, and Y plane images 81 (image data in which pixels are represented as 1 or 0) based on the printed image from the print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10, in which the presence or absence of color is represented by dots (bits).

[0118] (2) The image forming apparatus 30 converts the IR toner print image and URL from the print data transmitted from the information processing device 10 into a K-colored plane image 82. This is because K is assigned to IR toner in the image forming apparatus 30, and it is sufficient to convert it to an available color (a color that is not assigned) in the image forming apparatus 30.

[0119] (3) The image forming apparatus 30 forms images of C plane image 81 with C toner, M plane image 81 with M toner, and Y plane image 81 with Y toner. The image forming apparatus 30 further overprints K plane image 82 with IR toner to obtain an output in which the IR toner printed image 101 and URL 111 are printed using IR toner.

[0120] Thus, in the printing system 100 of this embodiment, printing using IR toner can be achieved even without an image forming apparatus 30 capable of specifying IR toner, application software capable of specifying IR toner, or both.

[0121] <About overprinting> In this embodiment, overprinting is specified during printing. Overprinting refers to printing one color on top of another color.

[0122] Figure 18 is an example of a diagram illustrating overprinting. Figure 18(a) shows an output 171 produced by the image forming apparatus 30, which is printed in two colors: C for the background and K for the text (Black). Therefore, the printing process creates a C-colored plain image 81 and a K-colored plain image 82. If overprinting is not specified, as shown in Figure 18(b), the image forming apparatus 30 masks (makes white) the K portion to create the C-colored plain image 81. If overprinting is specified, as shown in Figure 18(c), the image forming apparatus 30 creates the C-colored plain image 81 without masking (making white) the K portion.

[0123] Without overprint specification, the gap between the lower color (C in Figure 18) and the upper color (K in Figure 18) may be noticeable. With overprint specification, the two colors may blend together, and the color displayed by the application software may not be reproduced in the output 171. Therefore, overprint specification is set to be on or off depending on the document, but in this embodiment, since the spot color is transparent, without overprint specification, the lower color (photographs, etc.) will be left white. On the other hand, since the spot color is transparent, color changes are unlikely to occur even with overprint specification. For this reason, in this embodiment, with overprint specification, the K plain image 82 to which the spot color is assigned is printed. Overprint specification is not required for C, M, and Y.

[0124] <Main effects> As described above, the printing system 100 of this embodiment can print using IR toner from applications that handle general RGB image data. Furthermore, users can design the print image using the entire page.

[0125] <Other application examples> Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is not limited in any way to these examples, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0126] For example, in this embodiment, a toner that is transparent to visible light was printed, but the image forming apparatus 30 may print colors other than C, M, Y, and K, such as gold, silver, or white.

[0127] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes printing using electrophotographic technology, this embodiment can also be suitably applied to printing apparatus using inkjet technology that ejects liquid droplets.

[0128] Furthermore, the configuration examples shown in Figure 7 and other figures are divided according to their main functions to facilitate understanding of the processing performed by the information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30. The present invention is not limited by the way the processing units are divided or the names of those units. Moreover, the processing of the information processing device 10 and the image forming apparatus 30 can be further divided into many more processing units depending on the processing content. Furthermore, each processing unit can be divided to include even more processing.

[0129] Furthermore, the apparatus described in the examples represents only one of several computing environments for carrying out the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the IR image management server 50 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including a network or shared memory, and perform the processing disclosed herein.

[0130] Furthermore, the IR image management server 50 can be configured to share the disclosed processing steps, such as those shown in Figure 15, in various combinations. For example, a process executed by a predetermined unit can be executed by multiple information processing devices of the IR image management server 50. Also, the IR image management server 50 may be consolidated into a single server device or divided into multiple devices.

[0131] Furthermore, each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Hereinafter, "processing circuit" as used herein includes processors programmed to execute each function by software, such as processors implemented by electronic circuits, as well as devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (digital signal processors), FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each of the functions described above. <Additional notes regarding claims> [Claim 1] A printing system including an information processing device and an image forming apparatus, wherein the printing system is capable of connecting to an image management server via a network, The aforementioned information processing device is A display control unit that displays a print settings screen on the display unit that can accept print settings for overlaying an image of a specific color onto the image to be printed, When the print settings are received via the print settings screen, the storage location information generation unit transmits the image of the specific color related to the print settings to the image management server via the network, and obtains storage location information from the image management server indicating the storage location of the image of the specific color. The system includes a print command that includes the print setting for printing an image of a specific color overlaid on the image to be printed, and a first communication unit that transmits print data, including the image to be printed and the acquired storage location information, to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus is A printer and A second communication unit that receives the aforementioned print data, An acquisition unit that acquires an image of a specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit, A drawing unit generates image data for printing by overprinting the image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image to be printed included in the print data, based on the print command included in the print data. A print control unit that prints the generated image data using the printer, A printing system characterized by having the following features. [Claim 2] The aforementioned information processing device is The processing unit further includes the storage location information to be included in the image to be printed, The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the first communication unit transmits the print data, which includes the image to be printed, which includes the storage location information, and the print command, to the image forming apparatus. [Claim 3] The processing unit draws the storage location information onto the image to be printed, and further sets the print command to indicate that the storage location information relates to printing of a specific color. The image forming apparatus is The unit includes an interpretation unit that detects the storage location information from the image to be printed and detects from the print command that the storage location information relates to printing of a specific color, The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the interpretation unit detects the storage location information from the image to be printed, and when the print command detects that the storage location information relates to printing of a specific color, the acquisition unit acquires the image of the specific color from the storage location information. [Claim 4] The printing system according to claim 3, wherein the print control unit causes the printer to overprint the image of a specific color onto the image to be printed, and also causes the printer to overprint the storage location information in the specific color onto the image to be printed. [Claim 5] The printer accepts the setting of the position of the image of the specific color in the image to be printed via the print settings screen. The storage location information generation unit transmits the image of the specific color and the location information relating to the print settings to the image management server via the network, and retrieves the storage location information, including the image of the specific color and the location information, from the image management server. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the print control unit overprints the image of a specific color acquired by the acquisition unit from the image management server at the position indicated by the position information of the image to be printed. [Claim 6] The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the storage location information is a URL. [Claim 7] The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aforementioned specific color is a color that is transparent to visible light. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0132] 10 Information Processing Devices 30 Image forming apparatus 50 IR Image Management Server 100 Printing Systems [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0133] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-38933

Claims

1. A printing system including an information processing device and an image forming apparatus, wherein the printing system is capable of connecting to an image management server via a network, The aforementioned information processing device is A display control unit that displays a print settings screen on the display unit that can accept print settings for overlaying an image of a specific color onto the image to be printed, When the print settings are received via the print settings screen, the storage location information generation unit transmits the image of the specific color related to the print settings to the image management server via the network, and obtains storage location information from the image management server indicating the storage location of the image of the specific color. A processing unit that includes the storage location information in the image to be printed, The system includes a print command that includes the print setting for printing an image of a specific color overlaid on an image to be printed, a first communication unit that transmits print data including the image to be printed with the storage location information included, and the acquired storage location information to the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus is A printer and A second communication unit that receives the aforementioned print data, An acquisition unit that acquires an image of a specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit, A drawing unit generates image data for printing by overprinting the image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image to be printed included in the print data, based on the print command included in the print data. A print control unit that prints the generated image data using the printer, A printing system characterized by having the following features.

2. The processing unit draws the storage location information onto the image to be printed, and further sets the print command to print the image of the specific color in the specific color. The image forming apparatus is The unit includes an interpretation unit that detects the storage location information from the image to be printed and detects from the print command that the image of a specific color should be printed in the specific color, The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the interpretation unit detects the storage location information from the image to be printed, and when the print command detects that the image of a specific color should be printed in the specific color, the acquisition unit acquires the image of the specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information.

3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the print control unit causes the printer to overprint the image to be printed with the image of the specific color, and also causes the printer to overprint the storage location information in the specific color with the image to be printed.

4. The printer accepts the setting of the position of the image of the specific color in the image to be printed via the print settings screen. The storage location information generation unit transmits the image of the specific color and the location information relating to the print settings to the image management server via the network, and retrieves the storage location information, including the image of the specific color and the location information, from the image management server. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the print control unit overprints the image of a specific color acquired by the acquisition unit from the image management server at the position indicated by the position information of the image to be printed.

5. A printing system including an information processing device and an image forming apparatus, wherein the printing system is capable of connecting to an image management server via a network, The aforementioned information processing device is A display control unit that displays a print settings screen on the display unit that can accept print settings for overlaying an image of a specific color onto the image to be printed, A means for receiving the setting of the position of the image of a specific color in the image to be printed via the print settings screen, When the print settings are received via the print settings screen, the storage location information generation unit transmits the image of the specific color and the location information relating to the print settings to the image management server via the network, and obtains storage location information including the image of the specific color and the location information from the image management server. The system includes a print command that includes the print setting for printing an image of a specific color overlaid on the image to be printed, and a first communication unit that transmits print data, including the image to be printed and the acquired storage location information, to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus is A printer and A second communication unit that receives the aforementioned print data, An acquisition unit that acquires an image of a specific color from the image management server based on the storage location information contained in the print data received by the second communication unit, A drawing unit generates image data for printing by overprinting the image of a specific color obtained from the image management server onto the image to be printed included in the print data, based on the print command included in the print data. The system includes a print control unit that prints the generated image data using the printer, The printing system is characterized in that the print control unit overprints the image of a specific color acquired by the acquisition unit from the image management server at the position indicated by the position information of the image to be printed.

6. The printing system according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the storage location information is a URL.

7. The printing system according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the aforementioned specific color is transparent to visible light.

Images