Universal Printing Support Program for Sheet Size Scaling

The patent introduces a supporting program as an intermediary between the universal printing program and the application program. This supporting program receives print data from the application program, determines whether scaling is needed based on the target sheet size, performs the scaling operation, and then passes the processed data to the universal printing program for printing. This mediator resolves the contradiction by providing the missing scaling function without requiring changes to the application program or the universal printing program.

The patent extracts the essential scaling function from the vendor-specific printer driver and implements it as a standalone supporting program. This supporting program contains only the necessary logic to determine target sheet sizes, calculate scaling ratios, and perform the scaling operation. By separating this function from the full printer driver, the system achieves scaling capability without requiring the complete vendor-specific driver package, thus reducing software dependency while maintaining the essential functionality.

The patent segments the printing system into distinct functional components: the application program (which generates print data), the supporting program (which handles scaling logic), and the universal printing program (which performs the actual printing). By separating the scaling function into its own dedicated supporting program, the application program remains simple and focused on its core function of generating print data, while the scaling capability is provided by the specialized supporting program. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing functionality across multiple specialized components rather than consolidating everything in the application program.