Information processing device, print control program, and print system

Abstract

To generate a printing command, without changing a chip that processes compressed image data in a processing unit of a predetermined number of channels in a printer, from an original image data of the number of channels not falling within the processing unit of the chip.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus is connected with a printer including a chip that generates image data for printing in a processing unit of Na channels, with the number of channels Na as an integer of 2 or more, from compressed image data for the Na channels included in a printing command, and the information processing apparatus comprises: a processing unit that divides the original image data of the number of channels Nb larger than the number of channels Na into a plurality of groups so as to reduce the number of channels to Na or less, generates the compressed image data for the Na channels in accordance with the processing unit from the pieces of original image data included in the groups, and generates the printing command including the compressed image data for the Na channels corresponding to the groups; and a communication unit that transmits the printing command to the printer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device connected to a printing apparatus equipped with a chip that processes compressed image data in processing units of a predetermined number of channels, and a print control program. And, Printing system Mu To relate to. [Background technology]

[0002] As a printer, a color printer is known that prints color images onto a recording medium by using the colorants C, M, Y, and K that constitute process colors. Here, C means cyan, M means magenta, Y means yellow, and K means black. In order to achieve high-speed color printing with the lowest possible cost, the color printer performs predetermined processing such as decompression on compressed image data for four channels corresponding to C, M, Y, and K using a chip, and prints a color image based on the resulting image data. An information processing device connected to the color printer generates compressed image data by compressing the original image data for four channels corresponding to C, M, Y, and K, generates a print command that includes the compressed image data, and sends the print command to the color printer. For reference, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is capable of simultaneously compressing CMYK 4-channel image data and simultaneously decompressing CMYK 4-channel image data. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-75773 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] The aforementioned technology cannot handle image data with more than four channels unless the circuit configuration of mass-produced chips is modified. Modifying the circuit configuration of a chip is extremely time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, it is desirable to handle image data with a number of channels that cannot be accommodated by the processing unit of the chip without changing the circuit configuration of the chip. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention is an information processing device connected to a printing device that has a chip that generates printable image data in processing units of Na channels from compressed image data of Na channels included in a print command, with the number of channels Na being an integer of 2 or more, wherein the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, A processing unit that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb greater than the number of channels Na into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each group, and generates a print command that includes the compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to each group, The present invention includes a communication unit that transmits the print command to the printing device.

[0006] Furthermore, the print control program of the present invention is a print control program for transmitting a print command to a printing device equipped with a chip that generates printable image data in processing units of Na channels from compressed image data of Na channels included in the print command, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, A compressed image data generation function that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na, into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, and generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each of the groups, The present invention provides a computer with a print command generation function that generates a print command including compressed image data for the Na channel corresponding to each of the aforementioned groups.

[0007] Furthermore, the printing system of the present invention is a printing system that includes a printing device and an information processing device, The aforementioned printing apparatus, A receiving unit that receives print commands, A chip that performs a predetermined process to generate printable image data in Na channel processing units from compressed image data of Na channels, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, The system includes a print control unit which causes the chip to perform predetermined processing on the compressed image data for the Na channel corresponding to each of the multiple groups included in the print command, and to perform printing based on each of the resulting image data, The aforementioned information processing device is A processing unit that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb greater than the number of channels Na into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each group, and generates a print command that includes the compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to each group, The present invention includes a communication unit that transmits the print command to the printing device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A block diagram schematically showing an example configuration of a printing system including an information processing device and a printing device. [Figure 2] A block diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of a printing device. [Figure 3] A block diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] A schematic diagram illustrating an example of a print command generated by the processing unit. [Figure 5] A flowchart schematically illustrating an example of host-side processing performed by an information processing device. [Figure 6] This diagram schematically illustrates an example of generating a print command from source image data with more channels (Nb) than the number of channels (Na). [Figure 7] A flowchart schematically showing an example of the printing device side processing performed by the printing device.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Of course, the following embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention, and not all of the features shown in the embodiments are essential to the solution means of the invention.

[0011] (1) Outline of the technology included in the present invention: First, the outline of the technology included in the present invention will be described with reference to the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. Note that the drawings in the present application are diagrams schematically showing examples, and the magnification ratios in each direction shown in these drawings may be different, and the drawings may not be consistent. Of course, each element of this technology is not limited to the specific examples indicated by the reference numerals. In the "outline of the technology included in the present invention", the content in parentheses means supplementary explanation of the immediately preceding word.

[0012] [Aspect 1] An information processing device (100) according to an aspect of the present technology is an information processing device (for example, host device 100) connected to a printing device 200, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, and includes a processing unit 101 and a communication unit (for example, communication I / F 102). Here, the printing device 200 includes a chip (for example, SoC 201) that generates image data DA3 for printing in units of Na channels from the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels included in the print command CMD1, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the processing unit 101 divides the original image data DA1 having a channel number Nb larger than the channel number Na into a plurality of groups G0 so that the number is not more than the channel number Na, and generates compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data DA1 included in each group G0. The processing unit 101 generates the print command CMD1 including the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to each group G0. The communication unit (102) transmits the print command CMD1 to the printing apparatus 200.

[0013] In the above aspect, the print command CMD1 including the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to each group G0 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 200 from the original image data DA1 having a channel number Nb larger than the channel number Na according to the processing unit of the chip (201). Therefore, the above aspect can generate a print command from the original image data having a channel number that does not fit within the processing unit of the chip without changing the chip that processes the compressed image data in units of a predetermined number of channels in the printing apparatus.

[0014] [Aspect 2] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the channel number Na may be 4 corresponding to process colors. The channel number Nb may be 5 or more. This aspect can provide a preferred example of an information processing apparatus connected to a printing apparatus including a chip that generates image data in units of 4 channels corresponding to process colors. Note that although not included in the above aspect 2, the channel number Na is not limited to 4, and may be, for example, 5 or more. When the channel number Nb is larger than the channel number Na, an effect can be obtained in that a print command can be generated from the original image data having a channel number that does not fit within the processing unit of the chip without changing the chip.

[0015] [Aspect 3] As illustrated in Figures 4 and 6, the number of channels Nb may be the number corresponding to the process colors and spot colors. The processing unit 101 may divide the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb into a plurality of groups G0, each containing a process color group G1 with four channels corresponding to the process colors, and one or more spot color groups G2 corresponding to the spot colors. This embodiment provides a suitable example of an information processing device connected to a printing apparatus that performs printing including spot colors.

[0016] [Aspect 4] As illustrated in Figure 2, the printing apparatus 200 may use a plurality of first colorants CM1 to represent the process colors and a second colorant CM2 to represent the spot colors. As illustrated in Figure 1, the image data DA3 may include a first image data before separation corresponding to the process color group G1 (e.g., pre-separation image data DA11) and a second image data corresponding to the spot color group G2 (e.g., colorant usage amount data DA12), which represents the amount of the second colorant CM2 used. The printing apparatus 200 may receive correspondence information (e.g., separation LUT) representing the correspondence between the amount of process color used and the amount of the plurality of first colorants CM1 used, and may convert the first image data (DA11) into data representing the amount of the plurality of first colorants CM1 used (e.g., colorant usage amount data DA12) according to the correspondence information (separation LUT). The processing unit 101 may generate the print command CMD1 which includes compressed image data DA2 for each Na channel corresponding to each group G0, and the correspondence relationship information (separation LUT).

[0017] In the above case, the information processing device (100) can assign separation characteristics to the first image data (DA11) corresponding to the process color, and the information processing device (100) can directly instruct the amount of the second colorant CM2 to be used to express the spot color. Therefore, the above embodiment can provide a more preferred example of an information processing device connected to a printing apparatus that performs printing including spot colors. Here, the colorants include inks, toners, etc. In this application, "first," "second," ... are terms used to identify each component included in a group of similar components, and do not imply any order. These additional statements also apply to the following embodiments.

[0018] [Aspect 5] As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, if the number of channels Nb is not an integer multiple of the number of channels Na, the processing unit 101 may, for the group G0 among the plurality of groups G0 in which the number of channels in the original image data DA1 is less than the number of channels Na, add dummy data DD0 so that the number of channels becomes Na, and then generate compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels. This embodiment can provide a suitable example for generating a print command from original image data with a number of channels that does not fit into the processing unit of the chip.

[0019] [Aspect 6] As illustrated in Figures 4 and 7, if the printing device 200 includes identification information (e.g., F1) indicating that the header HE1 included in the print command CMD1 contains compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each of the groups G0, it may cause the chip (201) to perform a process to generate the image data DA3 from the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each of the groups G0 included in the print command CMD1 in processing units for the Na channels. As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the processing unit 101 may also generate the print command CMD1 including the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels matched to the processing units from the second original image data DA4 with the number of channels Na. When the processing unit 101 generates compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each of the groups G0 from the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb, it may add the identification information (F1) to the header HE1 of the print command CMD1. In the above case, a print command CMD1 can be generated from the original image data DA1, which has a number of channels that does not fit within the processing unit of the chip (201), and a print command CMD1 can also be generated from the second original image data DA4, which has a number of channels that fits within the processing unit of the chip (201). Therefore, the above embodiment can improve convenience.

[0020] [Aspect 7] By the way, as illustrated in Figure 3, a print control program PR0 according to one embodiment of this technology is a print control program PR0 for sending the print command CMD1 to the printing device 200, and it implements a compressed image data generation function FU2 and a print command generation function FU3 on a computer (for example, a host device 100). The compressed image data generation function FU2 divides the original image data DA1 with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na, into a plurality of groups G0 such that the number of channels is Na or less, and generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data DA1 included in each of the groups G0. The print command generation function FU3 generates the print command CMD1 which includes the compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to each of the groups G0. In the above embodiment, a print command can be generated from original image data with a number of channels that does not fit into the processing unit of a chip, without changing the chip that processes compressed image data in processing units of a predetermined number of channels in the printing device.

[0021] [Aspect 8] Furthermore, as illustrated in Figure 1, a printing system SY1 according to one embodiment of this technology is a printing system SY1 including a printing device 200 and an information processing device (100). The printing device 200 includes a receiving unit (e.g., a communication I / F 203) for receiving a print command CMD1, a chip (201), and a print control unit 202. The chip (201) performs a predetermined process to generate print image data DA3 from compressed image data DA2 for Na channels, with the number of channels Na being an integer of 2 or more, in processing units of Na channels. The print control unit 202 causes the chip (201) to perform the predetermined process on the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to each of the multiple groups G0 included in the print command CMD1, and performs printing based on each of the resulting image data DA3. The information processing device (100) includes a processing unit 101 and a communication unit (102). The processing unit 101 divides the original image data DA1, which has more channels Nb than the number of channels Na, into a plurality of groups G0 such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na. From the original image data DA1 contained in each group G0, it generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels that matches the processing unit, and generates the print command CMD1 which includes the compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to each group G0. The communication unit (102) transmits the print command CMD1 to the printing device 200. The above embodiment allows printing to be performed from original image data with a number of channels that does not fit into the processing unit of a chip, without changing the chip that processes compressed image data in processing units of a predetermined number of channels in the printing device.

[0022] [Aspect 9] Furthermore, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, a printing apparatus 200 according to one embodiment of this technology is connected to an information processing device (100) that transmits a print command CMD1 including compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to each of a plurality of groups G0, each of which is divided such that the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, and the number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na, is less than or equal to the number of channels Na. The printing apparatus 200 comprises a receiving unit (203) for receiving the print command CMD1, a chip (201), and a print control unit 202. The chip (201) performs predetermined processing to generate print image data DA3 for Na channels from the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels in processing units of Na channels. The print control unit 202 causes the chip (201) to perform the predetermined processing on the compressed image data DA2 for Na channels corresponding to each of the groups G0 included in the print command CMD1, and performs printing based on each of the resulting image data DA3. In the above embodiment, printing can be performed from original image data with a number of channels that does not fit into the processing unit of a chip, without changing the chip that processes compressed image data in processing units of a predetermined number of channels in the printing device.

[0023] Furthermore, this technology is applicable to a print control method for transmitting print commands to the aforementioned printing device, a control method for the aforementioned printing system, a print method for executing print commands, a control program for the aforementioned printing system, a program for controlling print commands, a computer-readable medium on which any of the aforementioned programs are recorded, and so on. In addition, the aforementioned information processing device may consist of multiple distributed parts, and the aforementioned printing device may consist of multiple distributed parts.

[0024] (2) Specific examples of printing systems: Figure 1 schematically illustrates the configuration of a printing system SY1, which includes a host device 100 and a printing device 200. The host device 100 is an example of an information processing device. Note that the printing system SY1 may include additional elements not shown in Figure 1, the host device 100 may include additional elements not shown in Figure 1, and the printing device 200 may include additional elements not shown in Figure 1. The host device 100 includes a processing unit 101 and a communication interface 102. Here, I / F is an abbreviation for interface. The communication interface 102 is an example of a communication unit that transmits a print command CMD1 to the printing device 200. The processing unit 101 includes a source image data generation unit 111, a compression processing unit 112, and a print command generation unit 113. The printing device 200 includes an SoC 201, a print control unit 202, a communication interface 203, and a print engine 204. Here, SoC is an abbreviation for System on a Chip, and is a semiconductor chip having circuits that perform predetermined processing. SoC 201 is an example of a chip. The communication interface 203 is an example of a receiving unit that receives the print command CMD1. Here, the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more. SoC 201 includes a decompression processing unit 211 with number of channels Na, and a halftone processing unit 212 with number of channels Na. The print control unit 202 includes a command interpretation unit 221, a decompression control unit 222, a color separation processing unit 223, a halftone control unit 224, a path separation unit 225, and an engine control unit 226.

[0025] SoC201 performs predetermined processing to generate printable image data DA3 from compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel included in the print command CMD1, in Na channel processing units. In this specific example, the number of channels Na is assumed to be 4, corresponding to process colors composed of C, M, Y, and K. In SoC201, the decompression processing unit 211 generates decompressed data DA10 for the Na channel by performing predetermined decompression processing on the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel in Na channel processing units. Here, decompression is also called decoding or expansion. In addition, in SoC201, the halftone processing unit 212 generates halftone data DA13 for the Na channel by performing predetermined halftone processing on the colorant usage amount data DA12 for the Na channel, which represents the amount of colorants used such as ink or toner, in Na channel processing units. For halftone processing, dithering, error diffusion, density pattern method, etc., can be used. By having the printing device 200 perform image processing such as the computationally intensive halftone processing, stable printing is achieved, which is less affected by the performance of the host device 100. Note that the decompressed data DA10 and halftone data DA13 are examples of print-ready image data DA3.

[0026] In the printing system SY1, when the printing device 200 prints only the four basic process colors C, M, Y, and K according to compressed image data DA2, the printing device 200 can process the four channels of compressed image data DA2 together using the SoC201. Specifically, the decompression processing unit 211 can process the four channels of compressed image data DA2 together using a predetermined decompression process, and the halftone processing unit 212 can process the four channels of colorant usage data DA12 together using a predetermined halftone process. Here, in order to improve the color reproduction performance of the printing system SY1 or to finely control the density of colorants such as inks, it is conceivable to use five or more colorants, or to create separated image data in the host device 100 that matches the usage amounts of five or more colorants used by the printing device 200. However, since the SoC201 only processes four channels, it cannot process data of five or more channels as is. Changing the circuit configuration of the mass-produced SoC201 would require a great deal of time and expense. Furthermore, performing specific processing such as decompression and halftone processing on data of 5 channels or more by modifying the firmware without using the SoC201 may significantly reduce processing speed.

[0027] In this specific example, compressed image data DA2 with a number of channels greater than the processing unit of the SoC201 is grouped so that the number of channels is less than or equal to the number of channels corresponding to the processing unit, thereby enabling high-speed printing without changing the circuit configuration of the SoC201.

[0028] The original image data generation unit 111 generates original image data DA1 with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na of the SoC201. The original image data generation unit 111 may also be a RIP, abbreviated as Raster Image Processor. The following are examples of possible channels for the original image data DA1. (Example 1) Nb = 5 channels for C, M, Y, K, and one type of spot color. Spot colors can include fluorescent colors, metallic colors, pastel colors, etc. The number of channels Nb is 5, corresponding to process colors and spot colors. (Example 2) Nb = 6 channels for C, M, Y, K, and 2 types of spot colors. The number of channels Nb corresponds to 5 for process colors and spot colors. (Example 3) Nb=6 channels of C, M, Y, K, Lc, and Lm. Here, Lc represents a lighter cyan than C, and Lm represents a lighter magenta than M. (Example 4) Nb=8 channels for C, M, Y, K, Lc, Lm, Dy, and Lk. Here, Dy represents a darker yellow than Y, and Lk represents a lighter black than K. (Example 5) C, M, Y, K, Lc, Lm, Dy, Lk, and 2 types of special Nb = 10 channels. Additionally, a second-source image data file with the number of channels Na can also be considered as the original image data. (Example 6) Four channels: C, M, Y, and K.

[0029] Here, Examples 3-5 assume that compressed image data DA2, which is obtained by compressing the original image data DA1 representing the amount of each colorant used, is transmitted to the printing device 200. The image data corresponding to each colorant has a value representing the amount of colorant on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The original image data representing the amount of each colorant used has the amount of colorant used for each colorant as a numerical value from 0 to 100%, 2 8 Tone value of grayscale, 2 16This is image data represented by pixel values ​​such as the gradation value of the gradation. In Examples 1 and 2, the spot colors are also assumed to be transmitted to the printing device 200 as compressed image data DA2, which is obtained by compressing the original image data DA1 representing the amount of colorant used. In these cases, the decompressed data DA10 obtained by decompression processing from the compressed image data DA2 becomes the colorant usage data DA12. For C, M, Y, and K which constitute the process colors in Examples 1, 2, and 6, the compressed image data DA2, which is obtained by compressing the original image data DA1 before separation, including the second original image data before separation, may be transmitted to the printing device 200. The original image data representing the amount of each color included in the process colors is expressed as a numerical value from 0 to 100% for each color. 8 Tone value of grayscale, 2 16 This is image data represented by pixel values ​​such as the tonal values ​​of the gradation. When compressed image data DA2, which is obtained by compressing the original image data DA1 before color separation, is sent to the printing device 200, the decompressed data DA10 obtained by decompression processing from the compressed image data DA2 becomes the pre-color separation image data DA11.

[0030] If Nb > Na, the compression processing unit 112 divides the original image data DA1 into multiple groups G0 such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, as illustrated in Figure 6. Then, the compression processing unit 112 generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels from the original image data DA1 contained in each group G0, matching the processing unit of the SoC201. Compression is also called encoding. For compression, lossless compression methods such as the RHV2 method, which compares pixel values ​​with the previous raster and takes the difference, run-length encoding, and Huffman coding can be widely used. The decompression processing unit 211 of the SoC201 should perform decompression processing using the decompression method corresponding to the compression method. The print command generation unit 113 generates a print command CMD1 that includes compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each group G0. Details of the processing by the compression processing unit 112 and the print command generation unit 113 will be described later.

[0031] The communication interface 102 of the host device 100 transmits the print command CMD1 to the printer 200. The communication interface 102 is connected to the printer 200 by wire or wireless connection and inputs and outputs information to the printer 200. The communication interface 203 of the printer 200 receives the print command CMD1 from the host device 100. The communication interface 203 is connected to the host device 100 by wire or wireless connection and inputs and outputs information to the host device 100. The communication interfaces 102 and 203 can use standards such as USB, short-range wireless communication standards, etc. Here, USB is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus.

[0032] The command interpretation unit 221 interprets the print command CMD1 from the host device 100. If a separation LUT is included in the header HE1 of the print command CMD1, as illustrated in Figure 4, the command interpretation unit 221 sets the separation LUT in the separation processing unit 223. Here, LUT is an abbreviation for lookup table. A separation LUT is an example of correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the amount of process color used and the amount of each colorant used. The decompression control unit 222 instructs the decompression processing unit 211 of the SoC201 to perform a decompression process that generates decompression data DA10 from compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel included in the print command CMD1, in units of Na channel processing. If the decompression data DA10 is pre-separation image data DA11, the decompression control unit 222 passes the pre-separation image data DA11 to the separation processing unit 223. The pre-separation image data DA11 contains the amount of each color before separation, such as C, M, Y, and K included in process colors, as a numerical value from 0 to 100%, 2 8 Tone value of grayscale, 2 16 This is image data represented by pixel values ​​such as the gradation value of the gradation. If the decompression data DA10 is the colorant usage amount data DA12, the decompression control unit 222 passes the colorant usage amount data DA12 to the halftone control unit 224. The colorant usage amount data DA12 represents the amount of colorant used for each colorant such as C, M, Y, K, Lc, and Lm installed in the printing device 200, as a numerical value from 0 to 100%, 2 8 Tone value of grayscale, 2 16This is image data represented by pixel values ​​such as the tonal range values.

[0033] The color separation processing unit 223 separates the pre-color separation image data DA11 into colorant usage data DA12 according to the color separation LUT. The color separation LUT may be the default color separation LUT or a color separation LUT set by the command interpretation unit 221. If the number of colorant types is greater than the number of colors before color separation, the number of channels in the colorant usage data DA12 will be greater than the number of channels in the pre-color separation image data DA11. As a result, the number of groups G0 may increase, and if the pre-color separation image data DA11 is not grouped, the colorant usage data DA12 may be divided into multiple groups G0. The color separation processing unit 223 then passes the colorant usage data DA12 to the halftone control unit 224. The halftone control unit 224 instructs the SoC201's halftone processing unit 212 to perform halftone processing, which generates halftone data DA13 from the Na channel colorant usage data DA12 in Na channel processing units. The halftone data DA13, which represents the dot formation state of each colorant, represents the dot formation state on a pixel basis. The halftone data DA13 may be binary data indicating the presence or absence of dot formation, or it may be multi-level data with three or more levels that can handle dots of different sizes, such as small, medium, and large. The halftone control unit 224 hands over the halftone data DA13 to the pass decomposition unit 225.

[0034] The path decomposition unit 225 generates raster data DA14 by performing a rasterization process that rearranges the halftone data DA13 in the order in which the dots are formed by the print engine 204. The raster data DA14 represents the state of the dots formed in one main scan on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The path decomposition unit 225 then hands over the raster data DA14 to the engine control unit 226. The engine control unit 226 generates the drive signal SG1, as illustrated in Figure 2, from the raster data DA14 and outputs it to the print engine 204. Details of the print engine 204 will be described later.

[0035] Figure 2 schematically illustrates the configuration of the printing apparatus 200. The printing device 200 shown in Figure 2 is a serial printer, a type of inkjet printer, and includes an SoC 201, a print control unit 202, a communication interface 203, a print engine 204, a RAM 21, a storage unit 23, an operation panel 24, etc. Here, RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. The print control unit 202, the communication interface 203, the RAM 21, the storage unit 23, and the operation panel 24 are connected to a bus and are able to input and output information to and from each other. The print engine 204 includes a recording head 30, a drive unit 50, etc. The RAM 21 is a large-capacity, volatile semiconductor memory that stores print commands CMD1, etc., received from the host device 100. The storage unit 23 stores firmware, etc. Non-volatile semiconductor memory such as flash memory, magnetic storage devices such as hard disks, etc. can be used for the storage unit 23. The operation panel 24 includes a display unit 25 such as an LCD panel, an input unit 26 such as a touch panel or operation keys, etc.

[0036] The SoC201 includes a decompression processing unit 211 having channels CH1, CH2, CH3, and CH4, and a halftone processing unit 212 having channels CH1, CH2, CH3, and CH4. The print control unit 202 includes a processor, the CPU 11, the aforementioned elements (221-226), etc. Here, CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. The CPU 11 is a device that primarily performs information processing and control in the host device 100. The engine control unit 226 generates and outputs a drive signal SG1 corresponding to the voltage signal applied to the drive element 32 of the recording head 30 to the drive circuit 31 of the recording head 30 from the raster data DA14. For example, if the raster data DA14 is "dot formation", the engine control unit 226 outputs a drive signal SG1 that ejects ink droplets for dot formation. Furthermore, if the raster data DA14 is quaternary data, the engine control unit 226 outputs a drive signal SG1 to eject ink droplets for large dots if the raster data DA14 is "large dot formation", a drive signal SG1 to eject ink droplets for medium dots if the raster data DA14 is "medium dot formation", and a drive signal SG1 to eject ink droplets for small dots if the raster data DA14 is "small dot formation".

[0037] The drive unit 50, controlled by the engine control unit 226, comprises a carriage drive unit 51 and a roller drive unit 55. The drive unit 50 moves the carriage 52 back and forth along the main scanning direction by the carriage drive unit 51, and moves the recording medium ME0 along the transport path 59 in the feed direction D3 by the roller drive unit 55. In Figure 2, the feed direction D3 is to the right, with the left side referred to as the upstream side and the right side as the downstream side. The carriage drive unit 51 performs the main scan, moving the carriage 52 back and forth along the main scanning direction, under the control of the engine control unit 226. The roller drive unit 55 includes a transport roller pair 56 and a paper discharge roller pair 57. The roller drive unit 55 performs a sub-scan, moving the recording medium ME0 in the feed direction D3 by rotating the drive transport roller of the transport roller pair 56 and the drive paper discharge roller of the paper discharge roller pair 57, under the control of the engine control unit 226. The recording medium ME0 is a material that holds the printed image and is made of paper, resin, metal, etc. The shape of the recording medium ME0 is not particularly limited; various shapes are possible, such as rectangular or rolled, and it may also be three-dimensional.

[0038] A recording head 30 is mounted on the carriage 52. The carriage 52 may also be equipped with an ink cartridge 35 that supplies ink 36, which is ejected as ink droplets 37, to the recording head 30. Of course, the ink 36 may also be supplied to the recording head 30 via a tube from an ink cartridge 35 located outside the carriage 52. Here, the ink 36 is an example of a colorant. The carriage 52 is fixed to an endless belt (not shown) and is reciprocating along a long guide 53 with the hand direction oriented in the main scanning direction. The carriage drive unit 51 consists of a servo motor and moves the carriage 52 back and forth according to commands from the engine control unit 226. During sub-scanning, the transport roller pair 56 located upstream of the recording head 30 sends the nipped recording medium ME0 towards the recording head 30 by the rotation of the drive transport roller. During sub-scanning, the paper discharge roller pair 57 located downstream of the recording head 30 transports the nipped recording medium ME0 towards a paper discharge tray (not shown) by the rotation of the drive paper discharge roller. The roller drive unit 55 is composed of a servo motor and operates the transport roller pair 56 and the paper discharge roller pair 57 according to commands from the engine control unit 226, sending the recording medium ME0 in the feed direction D3.

[0039] The platen 58 is located below the transport path 59 and supports the recording medium ME0 located in the transport path 59 by contacting it. The recording head 30, controlled by the engine control unit 226, ejects ink droplets 37 toward the recording medium ME0 supported by the platen 58, thereby adhering ink 36 to the recording medium ME0.

[0040] The recording head 30 has a plurality of nozzles 34 on its nozzle surface 30a that eject ink droplets 37, and performs printing by ejecting ink droplets 37 onto the recording medium ME0 on the platen 58. Here, a nozzle means a small hole from which ink droplets are ejected, and a nozzle row means an arrangement of multiple nozzles. The nozzle surface 30a is the surface from which the ink droplets 37 are ejected. The recording head 30 includes a drive circuit 31, a drive element 32, etc. The drive circuit 31 applies a voltage signal to the drive element 32 according to a drive signal SG1 input from the engine control unit 226. The drive element 32 can be a piezoelectric element that applies pressure to the ink 36 in a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle 34, a drive element that generates bubbles in the pressure chamber by heat to eject ink droplets 37 from the nozzle 34, etc. Ink 36 is supplied to the pressure chamber of the recording head 30 from an ink cartridge 35. The combination of the ink cartridge 35 and the nozzle row 33 is provided according to the color of the ink 36. The ink 36 in the pressure chamber is ejected as ink droplets 37 from the nozzle 34 toward the recording medium ME0 by the drive element 32. This forms dots of ink droplets 37 on the recording medium ME0. As the recording head 30 moves in the main scanning direction, dots according to the raster data DA14 are formed, and the recording medium ME0 is fed in the feed direction D3 for one sub-scan, and this process is repeated, thereby forming a printed image IM0 on the recording medium ME0.

[0041] Figure 2 shows inks 36 of C, M, Y, K, Lc, Lm, spot color SC1, and spot color SC2. Here, the inks 36 of C, M, Y, K, Lc, and Lm are examples of primary colorants CM1 for representing process colors. The inks 36 of spot colors SC1 and SC2 are examples of secondary colorants CM2 for representing spot colors. The printing apparatus 200 shown in Figure 2 uses these primary colorants CM1 and secondary colorants CM2. Of course, various combinations of inks 36 can be used by the printing apparatus 200.

[0042] Figure 3 schematically illustrates the configuration of the host device 100. The host device 100 includes computers such as personal computers and tablet terminals, mobile phones such as smartphones, digital cameras, digital video cameras, and the like. The host device 100 shown in Figure 3 includes a CPU 121, ROM 122, RAM 123, storage device 124, input device 125, display device 126, communication interface 102, etc. These elements (121-126, 102, etc.) are connected to a bus and are capable of inputting and outputting information to and from each other. Here, ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory. The host device 100 may have all elements (121-126, 102, etc.) in a single enclosure, or it may be composed of multiple devices that are separated and capable of communicating with each other.

[0043] The storage device 124 stores an operating system (not shown), a print control program PR0, etc. These are read into RAM 123 as needed and used for print control processing. The storage device 124 can be a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as flash memory, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk, etc. The input device 125 can be a pointing device, a hard key including a keyboard, a touch panel attached to the surface of the display panel, etc. The display device 126 can be a liquid crystal display panel, etc.

[0044] The print control program PR0 causes the host device 100 to implement the original image data generation function FU1 corresponding to the original image data generation unit 111, the compressed image data generation function FU2 corresponding to the compression processing unit 112, the print command generation function FU3 corresponding to the print command generation unit 113, and the print command transmission function FU4. It can also be said that the print control program PR0 causes the host device 100 to function as a processing unit 101 including the original image data generation unit 111, the compression processing unit 112, and the print command generation unit 113.

[0045] The original image data generation function FU1 generates original image data DA1 with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na of the SoC201. If Nb > Na, the compressed image data generation function FU2 divides the original image data DA1 into multiple groups G0 such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, and generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels from the original image data DA1 contained in each group G0, matching the processing unit of the SoC201. The print command generation function FU3 generates a print command CMD1 containing compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to each group G0. The print command transmission function FU4 works in cooperation with the communication I / F102 to transmit the print command CMD1 to the printing device 200.

[0046] Figure 4 schematically illustrates the print commands CMD11 to CMD13 generated by the processing unit 101. Print commands CMD11 to CMD13 include the header HE1 and compressed image data DA2. These print commands CMD11 to CMD13 are included in the print command CMD1 shown in Figure 1. The "ch" shown in the compressed image data DA2 refers to the channel.

[0047] As shown in (Example 2) above, if the original image data DA1 has 6 channels (Nb=6) consisting of C, M, Y, K, and two types of spot colors, then, for example, a print command CMD11 is generated. The header HE1 of the print command CMD11 includes identification information F1 indicating that it contains compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to multiple groups G0, the number of channels Nb=6, a separation LUT for separating the amount of process color used, etc. The number of groups G0 is 2, which is the result of rounding up Nb / Na=1.5. The two groups G0 include a process color group G1 with 4 channels corresponding to process colors, and a spot color group G2 corresponding to two types of spot colors. In the process color group G1 in the print command CMD11, C is assigned to channel 1, M to channel 2, Y to channel 3, and K to channel 4. The color assignment to each channel is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4; for example, K may be assigned to channel 1, Y to channel 2, M to channel 3, and C to channel 4. In the spot color group G2 of the print command CMD11, spot color SC1 is assigned to channel 5 and spot color SC2 is assigned to channel 6. Here, since the number of channels Na is 4, spot color group G2 has channels 7 and 8. Therefore, dummy data DD0 is assigned to channels 7 and 8. The value of dummy data DD0 is not particularly limited and can be 0, hexadecimal FF, etc. In spot color group G2 as well, the color assignment to each channel is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4; for example, dummy data DD0 may be assigned to channels 5 and 6, spot color SC2 may be assigned to channel 7, and spot color SC1 may be assigned to channel 8. Furthermore, if the number of special colors exceeds the number of channels Na, the original image data DA1 with number of channels Nb is divided into multiple groups G0, each containing multiple special color groups G2.

[0048] As shown in (Example 6) above, if the channels of the second-source image data DA4 are C, M, Y, and K with Nb=4 channels, the second-source image data DA4 is not grouped, and for example, a print command CMD12 is generated. Note that the number of channels in the second-source image data DA4 when it is not grouped will also be denoted as Nb. The header HE1 of the print command CMD12 includes identification information F2 indicating that it contains compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to process colors, the number of channels Nb=4, a separation LUT for separating the amount of process color used, etc. In the multiple compressed image data DA2 in the print command CMD12, C is assigned to channel 1, M is assigned to channel 2, Y is assigned to channel 3, and K is assigned to channel 4. Of course, the color assignment to each channel is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4.

[0049] As described above (Example 5), if the original image data DA1 has 10 channels (Nb=10), then, for example, a print command CMD13 is generated. The header HE1 of the print command CMD13 includes identification information F3 indicating that it contains compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to multiple groups G0, the number of channels Nb=10, etc. The number of groups G0 is 3, which is the result of rounding up Nb / Na=2.5. Here, since three times the number of channels Na=4 is 12, dummy data DD0 is assigned to channels 11 and 12.

[0050] (3) Specific examples of processes performed in a printing system: Figure 5 schematically illustrates the host-side processing performed by the host device 100 shown in Figures 1 and 3. The processing shown in Figure 5 begins when the input device 125 receives a user operation to execute printing based on the original image data DA1, including the second original image data DA4. Here, steps S102 to S112 and S116 correspond to the compression processing unit 112 and the compressed image data generation function FU2. Steps S114 and S118 correspond to the print command generation unit 113 and the print command generation function FU3. Step S120 corresponds to the print command transmission function FU4. Hereafter, the description of "step" may be omitted, and the step number may be indicated in parentheses. Figure 6 schematically illustrates how a print command CMD1 is generated from original image data DA1 with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na.

[0051] When the host-side processing shown in Figure 5 begins, the host device 100 acquires the original image data DA1, including the second original image data DA4, from the original image data generation unit 111 (S102). Step ST1 shown in Figure 6 shows the original image data DA1, which has channels C, M, Y, K, and two types of spot colors with Nb=6 channels, as described in (Example 2) above. Here, the original image data DA1 for C, M, Y, and K is assumed to be image data before separation, and the original image data DA1 for spot colors SC1 and SC2 is assumed to be image data representing the amount of colorant used. In this case, the decompressed data DA10 generated by the decompression processing unit 211 of SoC201 includes the pre-separation image data DA11 for C, M, Y, and K, and the colorant usage amount data DA12 for spot colors SC1 and SC2. Here, the pre-separation image data DA11 for C, M, Y, and K is an example of the first image data before separation corresponding to process color group G1. The colorant usage data DA12 for spot colors SC1 and SC2 is an example of the second image data corresponding to spot color group G2.

[0052] Next, the host device 100 determines whether the number of channels Nb is greater than the number of channels Na of the SoC 201 (S104). If Nb > Na, the host device 100 proceeds to S106, and if Nb = Na, the host device 100 proceeds to S116. Although it is not assumed that the number of channels Nb is less than the number of channels Na, on the premise of adding the dummy data DD0, the host device 100 may proceed to S116 when Nb < Na.

[0053] When Nb > Na, the host device 100 divides the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb into a plurality of groups G0 so that the number of channels becomes Na or less (S106). Here, if the number of groups G0 is Ng, the number of groups Ng is the integer obtained by rounding up the decimal part of Nb / Na. When Nb = 6, as shown in FIG. 6, the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb is divided into two groups G0. Here, when C, M, Y, and K constituting the process color are included in the Nb channels, the host device 100 divides the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb into a process color group G1 and one or more spot color groups G2. Step ST2 shown in FIG. 6 shows that the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb is divided into a process color group G1 for Na channels and a spot color group G2 for Nb - Na channels. In this way, the host device 100 divides the original image data DA1 with the number of channels Nb into a plurality of groups G0 including a process color group G1 for 4 channels corresponding to the process color and one or more spot color groups G2 corresponding to the spot color.

[0054] Next, the host device 100 determines whether there is a group G0 in the group G0 whose number of channels is less than Na (S108). If the number of channels Nb is an integer multiple of the number of channels Na, there is no group G0 whose number of channels is less than Na. In this case, the host device 100 proceeds to S112 without performing the process in S110. If the number of channels Nb is not an integer multiple of the number of channels Na, there is a group G0 whose number of channels is less than Na. In this case, the host device 100 adds dummy data DD0 to the group G0 in the group G0 whose original image data DA1 contains fewer channels than the number of channels Na, so that the number of channels becomes Na (S110). In step ST2 shown in Figure 6, the number of channels Nb-Na=2 of the original image data DA1 included in the spot color group G2 is less than the number of channels Na=4. Step ST3 shown in Figure 6 shows that dummy data DD0 has been added to channels 7 and 8 of the spot color group G2 so that the number of channels becomes Na. After processing in S110, the host device 100 proceeds to processing in S112.

[0055] In step S112, the host device 100 generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit of the SoC201 from the original image data DA1 included in each group G0. Step ST4 shown in Figure 6 shows that compressed image data DA2 with Na=4 channels is generated from the original image data DA1 included in the process color group G1, and compressed image data DA2 with Na=4 channels is generated from the original image data DA1 and dummy data DD0 included in the spot color group G2.

[0056] Next, the host device 100 creates a header HE1 that matches the number of channels Nb and type of the original image data DA1, and generates a print command CMD1 that includes compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each group G0 (S114). The host device 100 includes identification information F1 indicating that it includes compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each of the multiple groups G0, and the number of channels Nb in the header HE1, as shown in the print command CMD11 in Figure 4, and includes a separation LUT in the header HE1 if necessary. The process color group G1 shown in Figure 6 is the target of transmission of a separation LUT that represents the correspondence between the amount of process color used and the amount of primary colorants CM1 used. Step ST5 shown in Figure 6 shows that a print command CMD1 including compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to each group G0 and a separation LUT has been generated. After processing in S114, the host device 100 proceeds to processing in S120.

[0057] In the decision process in S104, if Nb=Na, the host device 100 generates compressed image data DA2 with Na channels from the second-source image data DA4 with Na channels, matching the processing unit of the SoC201 (S116). The print command CMD12 shown in Figure 4 shows compressed image data DA2 with Na=4 channels generated from the second-source image data DA4 with Na=4 channels.

[0058] Next, the host device 100 creates a header HE1 that matches the number of channels Na and type of the second-source image data DA4, and generates a print command CMD1 that includes compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels (S118). The host device 100 includes identification information F2 indicating that the number of channels in the compressed image data DA2 is Na, and the number of channels Nb=Na=4, in the header HE1, as shown in the print command CMD12 in Figure 4, and includes a separation LUT in the header HE1 if necessary. The compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels corresponding to process colors is the target for transmission of the separation LUT. Figure 4 shows that the print command CMD12, which includes compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels and a separation LUT, has been generated. After processing in S114, the host device 100 proceeds to processing in S120.

[0059] In S120, the host device 100 sends the print command CMD1 generated in processing S114 or S118 to the printer device 200. After that, the host device 100 terminates the host-side processing.

[0060] Figure 7 schematically illustrates the printing device-side processing performed by the printing device 200 shown in Figures 1 and 2. The processing shown in Figure 7 begins when the communication I / F 203 of the printing device 200 receives the print command CMD1 from the host device 100. Therefore, if the print command CMD1 includes a separation LUT, the printing device 200 will receive the separation LUT. Here, S202 to S204 correspond to the command interpretation unit 221. S206 to S210 correspond to the decompression control unit 222. S212 corresponds to the separation processing unit 223. S214 to S216 correspond to the halftone control unit 224. S218 corresponds to the path decomposition unit 225. S220 corresponds to the engine control unit 226.

[0061] When the printing device processing shown in Figure 7 begins, the printing device 200 determines whether the header HE1 of the print command CMD1 contains a separation LUT (S202). If a separation LUT is present in the print command CMD1, the printing device 200 sets the separation LUT included in the print command CMD1 into the separation processing unit 223 (S204) and proceeds to S206. If the print command CMD1 does not contain a separation LUT, the printing device 200 proceeds to S206 without performing the process in S204.

[0062] In S206, the printer 200 passes the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel included in the print command CMD1 to the decompression processing unit 211 of the SoC201 and has it perform the decompression process. If the header HE1 contains identification information F1 indicating that each of the multiple groups G0 contains compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel, the printer 200 sequentially sets the group G0 to be processed from among the multiple groups G0 and has the decompression processing unit 211 of the SoC201 perform the decompression process of the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel included in the set group G0. The decompression processing unit 211 generates decompressed data DA10 for the Na channel by performing the decompression process on the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channel in Na channel processing units. If the decompressed data DA10 contains dummy data DD0, the printer 200 deletes the dummy data DD0 from the decompressed data DA10.

[0063] Next, the printing device 200 determines whether or not it has decompressed all of the compressed image data DA2 included in the print command CMD1 (S208). If there is any undecompressed compressed image data DA2 remaining, the printing device 200 returns to process S206 and causes the decompression processing unit 211 of the SoC201 to decompress the compressed image data DA2 for the Na channels included in the next group G0.

[0064] When all the compressed image data DA2 included in the print command CMD1 is decompressed, the printing apparatus 200 determines whether the decompressed data DA10 obtained by the processes of S206 to S208 includes the pre-separation image data DA11 (S210). As described above, the pre-separation image data DA11 represents the amount of color for each color by pixel values such as numerical values from 0 to 100%, 2 8 the gradation value of gradation, 2 16 the gradation value of gradation, etc. When the decompressed data DA10 includes the pre-separation image data DA11, the printing apparatus 200 separates the pre-separation image data DA11 into the ink usage amount data DA12 according to the set separation LUT (S212), and proceeds to S214. As described above, the ink usage amount data DA12 represents the amount of ink used for each ink by pixel values such as numerical values from 0 to 100%, 2 8 the gradation value of gradation, 2 16 the gradation value of gradation, etc. When the number of types of inks is larger than the number of colors before separation, the number of channels of the ink usage amount data DA12 becomes larger than the number of channels of the pre-separation image data DA11. As a result, the number of groups G0 may increase, and when the pre-separation image data DA11 is not grouped, the ink usage amount data DA12 may be divided into a plurality of groups G0. When the decompressed data DA10 does not include the ink usage amount data DA12, the printing apparatus 200 proceeds to S214 without performing the process of S212. For example, as shown in step ST5 of FIG. 6, when a part of the decompressed data DA10 becomes the pre-separation image data DA11 as the first image data and the rest becomes the ink usage amount data DA12 as the second image data, the pre-separation image data DA11 in the decompressed data DA10 is subjected to the separation process.

[0065] In S214, the printing device 200 passes the colorant usage data DA12 for the Na channel to the halftone processing unit 212 of the SoC201 to perform halftone processing. If the colorant usage data DA12 is divided into multiple groups G0, the printing device 200 sequentially sets the group G0 to be processed from among the multiple groups G0, and has the halftone processing unit 212 of the SoC201 perform halftone processing on the colorant usage data DA12 for the Na channel included in the set group G0. Here, the printing device 200 adds dummy data to the group G0 in which the number of channels of the colorant usage data DA12 is less than the number of channels Na, so that the number of channels becomes Na. The halftone processing unit 212 generates halftone data DA13 for the Na channel by performing halftone processing on the colorant usage data DA12 for the Na channel in Na channel processing units. If the colorant usage data DA12 contains dummy data, the printing device 200 removes the dummy data from the halftone data DA13.

[0066] Next, the printing device 200 determines whether or not halftone processing has been performed on all of the colorant usage data DA12 (S216). If there is any colorant usage data DA12 that has not been halftone processed, the printing device 200 returns to processing S214 and causes the halftone processing unit 212 of the SoC201 to perform halftone processing on the colorant usage data DA12 for the Na channels included in the next group G0.

[0067] Once all colorant usage data DA12 has undergone halftone processing, the printing device 200 generates raster data DA14 by performing a rasterization process in which the halftone data DA13 is rearranged in the order in which the dots are formed by the print engine 204 (S218). Subsequently, the printing device 200 generates the drive signal SG1 shown in Figure 2 from the raster data DA14 and outputs it to the print engine 204 to execute printing (S220), thereby ending the printing device's processing.

[0068] Therefore, if the header HE1 contains identification information indicating Nb > Na, the printing device 200 causes the SoC201 to perform decompression and halftone processing on the compressed image data DA2 corresponding to the Na channels of each group G0 included in the print command CMD1. Then, the printing device 200 performs printing based on the resulting halftone data DA13. Accordingly, this specific example allows the printing device 200 to generate a print command CMD1 from the original image data DA1 with a number of channels Nb that does not fit into the processing unit of the SoC201, without changing the SoC201 which processes the compressed image data DA2 in a predetermined number of channel Na units, and to perform printing. Furthermore, if the header HE1 contains identification information indicating Nb=Na, the printing device 200 instructs the SoC201 to perform decompression and halftone processing on the compressed image data DA2 for the ungrouped Na channels. Then, the printing device 200 performs printing based on each of the resulting halftone data DA13. Therefore, in this specific example, a print command CMD1 can be generated and printing can be performed even from the second-source image data DA4 with a channel count of Na that fits within the processing unit of the SoC201.

[0069] (4) Variations: Various modifications of this invention are conceivable. For example, the printing device is not limited to printers that use ink as a colorant; it may also be an electrophotographic printer such as a laser printer that uses toner as a colorant. The first colorant CM1 used by the printing device 200 may consist of four types of colorants: C, M, Y, and K. In this case, the source image data corresponding to the process color may also be colorant usage data representing the amount of C, M, Y, and K colorants used. Furthermore, the original image data DA1 may be halftone data that has undergone halftone processing. In this case, the SoC201 may not have a halftone processing unit 212, and may only have a decompression processing unit 211. This technology is applied by having the print control unit 202 execute the aforementioned predetermined processing on the decompression processing unit 211, which performs predetermined processing to generate halftone data DA13 as image data DA3 in Na channel processing units from the compressed image data DA2.

[0070] (5) Conclusion: As explained above, according to the present invention, in various embodiments, it is possible to provide a technology that allows printing to be performed from original image data with a number of channels that does not fit into the processing units of a chip, without changing the chip that processes compressed image data in processing units of a predetermined number of channels in a printing device. Of course, the above-mentioned basic functions and effects can also be obtained with a technology consisting only of the constituent elements of the independent claims. Furthermore, configurations obtained by substituting or changing the combinations of each configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned examples, configurations obtained by substituting or changing the combinations of each configuration disclosed in the prior art and the above-mentioned examples, etc., are also possible. The present invention also includes these configurations, etc. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0071] 100...Host device, 101...Processing unit, 102...Communication I / F, 111...Original image data generation unit, 112...Compression processing unit, 113...Print command generation unit, 200...Printing device, 201...SoC, 202...Print control unit, 203...Communication I / F, 204...Print engine, 211...Decompression processing unit, 212...Halftone processing unit, 221...Command interpretation unit, 222...Decompression control unit, 223...Color separation processing unit, 224...Halftone control unit, 225...Path decomposition unit, 226...Engine control unit, CM1...First colorant, CM2...Second colorant, CMD1, CMD11~CMD13...Print commands DA1...Original image data, DA2...Compressed image data, DA3...Image data, DA4...Second original image data, DA10...Decompressed data, DA11...Pre-separation image data, DA12...Colorant usage data, DA13...Hartone data, DA14...Raster data, DD0...Dummy data, FU1...Original image data generation function, FU2...Compressed image data generation function, FU3...Print command generation function, FU4...Print command transmission function, G0...Group, G1...Process color group, G2...Spot color group, HE1...Header, PR0...Print control program, SY1...Printing system.

Claims

1. An information processing device connected to a printing device, which has a chip that generates printable image data in processing units of Na channels from compressed image data of Na channels included in a print command, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, A processing unit that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb greater than the number of channels Na into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each group, and generates a print command that includes the compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to each group, An information processing device comprising a communication unit that transmits the print command to the printing device.

2. The aforementioned channel number Na is 4, which corresponds to process color. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of channels Nb is 5 or more.

3. The number of channels Nb corresponds to the number of process colors and spot colors. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing unit divides the original image data having the number of channels Nb into a plurality of groups, each including a process color group of four channels corresponding to the process color and one or more spot color groups corresponding to the spot color.

4. The printing apparatus uses a plurality of primary colorants for representing the process colors and a secondary colorant for representing the spot colors. The image data includes a first image data before separation corresponding to the process color group, and a second image data corresponding to the spot color group, which represents the amount of the second colorant used. The printing apparatus receives correspondence information representing the correspondence between the amount of process color used and the amount of the multiple first colorants used, and separates the first image data into data representing the amount of the multiple first colorants used according to the correspondence information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing unit generates compressed image data for the Na channel corresponding to each group, and the print command including the correspondence relationship information.

5. The processing unit, when the number of channels Nb is not an integer multiple of the number of channels Na, adds dummy data to the group among the plurality of groups whose original image data includes fewer channels than the number of channels Na, so that the number of channels becomes Na, and then generates compressed image data for the Na channels, according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. If the printing device and the header included in the print command include identification information indicating that each group contains compressed image data for the Na channels, the chip is instructed to perform a process to generate the image data in Na channel processing units from the compressed image data for the Na channels corresponding to each group included in the print command. The aforementioned processing unit, It is possible to generate the print command from the second-source image data with the number of channels Na, including compressed image data for the Na channels that match the processing unit, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when compressed image data for Na channels corresponding to each group is generated from the original image data having Nb channels, the identification information is added to the header of the print command.

7. A print control program for transmitting a print command to a printing device equipped with a chip that generates printable image data in processing units of Na channels from compressed image data of Na channels included in the print command, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, A compressed image data generation function that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb, which is greater than the number of channels Na, into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, and generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each of the groups, A print command generation function that generates a print command including compressed image data for the Na channel corresponding to each of the aforementioned groups, and a print control program that enables a computer to perform this function.

8. A printing system including a printing device and an information processing device, The aforementioned printing apparatus, A receiving unit that receives print commands, A chip that performs a predetermined process to generate printable image data in Na channel processing units from compressed image data of Na channels, where the number of channels Na is an integer of 2 or more, The system includes a print control unit which causes the chip to perform predetermined processing on the compressed image data for the Na channel corresponding to each of the multiple groups included in the print command, and to perform printing based on each of the resulting image data, The aforementioned information processing device is A processing unit that divides original image data with a number of channels Nb greater than the number of channels Na into multiple groups such that the number of channels is less than or equal to Na, generates compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to the processing unit from the original image data contained in each group, and generates a print command that includes the compressed image data with Na channels corresponding to each group, A printing system comprising: a communication unit that transmits the print command to the printing device.

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