JP2007164482A - Printing apparatus, printing method, printing program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

An image is printed without newly setting complicated printing conditions that require labor and time.
A printing apparatus includes an image acquisition unit, a print job acquisition unit, a printable condition acquisition unit, a print job generation unit, and an image printing unit. The image acquisition unit 101 acquires the print target image 111. The print job acquisition unit 102 acquires a print job 112 including printing conditions set in advance for the print target image 111. The printable condition acquisition unit 103 acquires the printable condition that the printer has. The print job generation unit 105 newly generates a print job 112 for the print target image 111. The image printing unit 106 prints the print target image 111 in the printer according to the printing conditions included in the print job 112 newly generated by the print job generation unit 105.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, a printing program, and a storage medium that print an image according to predetermined printing conditions.

  Conventionally, for example, an image taken with a digital camera or the like is acquired via a memory card such as SmartMedia (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark), or USB flash memory. There is a printing apparatus such as a printer that can print on a printing paper. In such a printing apparatus, in order to print an image, there has been a problem that complicated settings requiring labor and time must be performed.

  Therefore, for example, in a memory card formatted in accordance with an industry standard such as MPV (Music Photo Video), the image printing conditions (printing paper size, number of printed sheets, etc.) can be changed by a simple operation of a digital camera. And can be stored in a storage medium. Then, there is a printing apparatus that can print an image without reading complicated settings that require labor and time by reading the printing conditions (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2004-328528 A

  However, in the above prior art, for example, when the user has a plurality of printers, the print conditions stored in the storage medium by the digital camera or the like are the printable conditions that any one of the plurality of printers has. In other printers, the print conditions are different from the printable conditions of the printer, and therefore, an image cannot be printed.

  As described above, when printing conditions different from the printing conditions of the printing apparatus are stored in the storage medium, or when no printing conditions are stored, there is a problem that an image cannot be printed. It was. Furthermore, in this case, in order to print an image, there has been a problem in that it is necessary to newly set complicated printing conditions that require labor and time in the printing apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems caused by the conventional technology, the present invention is applied to a case where printing conditions that are different from the printable conditions of the printing apparatus are stored in the storage medium or no printing conditions are stored. However, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, a printing method, a printing program, and a storage medium that can print an image without newly setting complicated printing conditions that require labor and time.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a printing apparatus according to the present invention includes an image acquisition unit that acquires a print target image, and a print job that includes print conditions set in advance for the print target image. A print job acquisition means for acquiring printable condition acquisition means for acquiring a printable condition possessed by the printer, the print job acquired by the print job acquisition means, and the printer acquired by the printable condition acquisition means. A print job generation unit that newly generates the print job for the print target image based on the printable conditions, and the print job that is newly generated by the print job generation unit in the printer And an image printing means for printing according to the printing conditions included.

  According to this invention, a print job for a print target image is newly generated based on the print conditions set in advance for the print target image and the printable conditions of the printer, and the newly generated The image to be printed can be printed according to the printing conditions included in the print job. For this reason, even if the storage medium stores printing conditions that are different from the printable conditions of the printing apparatus or does not store any printing conditions, complicated printing that requires time and effort is required. An image to be printed can be printed without newly setting conditions.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the invention described above, wherein the printing condition included in the print job acquired by the print job acquisition unit and the printer acquired by the printable condition acquisition unit The printing apparatus further comprises a printability determination unit that determines whether the image to be printed can be printed according to the print condition included in the print job in the printer based on a possible condition. To do.

  According to this invention, it is determined whether or not a print target image can be printed by a printer, based on print conditions set in advance for the print target image and printable conditions of the printer. Can do. Then, based on the determination result of whether or not the print target image can be printed, a new print job for the print target image is generated without newly setting complicated print conditions that require labor and time. Thus, the print target image can be printed.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the print job generation unit determines that the print target image cannot be printed based on the print condition in the printer by the print availability determination unit. In the case where the print job is made, the print job is newly generated.

  According to this invention, it is determined whether or not a print target image can be printed by a printer, based on print conditions set in advance for the print target image and printable conditions of the printer. Can do. Only when it is determined that the print target image cannot be printed by the printer, a print job for the print target image can be newly generated. Therefore, when the same print conditions as the printable conditions of the printing apparatus are stored in the storage medium, the print target image can be printed without newly generating a print job for the print target image. Further, even when printing conditions different from the printable conditions of the printing apparatus are stored in the storage medium, it is possible to perform printing on an image to be printed without newly setting complicated printing conditions that require time and effort. A new print job can be generated and an image to be printed can be printed.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the above-described invention, wherein the print job acquisition unit sets in advance the print target image by reading metadata included in a storage medium together with the print target image. A print job including the print conditions that have been set is acquired.

  According to the present invention, by reading the metadata together with the print target image from the storage medium, it is possible to acquire printing conditions set in advance for the print target image. Therefore, for example, even when a print target image is printed by a plurality of printing apparatuses of different models and manufacturers, each printing apparatus can easily convert the print target image into a print target image by a common method of reading metadata. On the other hand, printing conditions set in advance can be acquired.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-described invention, the metadata is described in an XML language.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire printing conditions set in advance for an image to be printed by decoding metadata described in a general-purpose language such as an XML language. Therefore, for example, even when an image to be printed is printed on a plurality of printing apparatuses of different models and manufacturers, each printing apparatus decodes metadata described in a general language such as the XML language. By using a common method, it is possible to easily acquire printing conditions set in advance for an image to be printed.

  Further, the printing method according to the present invention includes an image acquisition step of acquiring a print target image, a print job acquisition step of acquiring a print job including a print condition preset for the print target image, and a printer The printable condition acquisition step for acquiring the printable condition having, the print job acquired by the print job acquisition step, and the printable condition of the printer acquired by the printable condition acquisition step. A print job generating step for newly generating the print job for the target image, and an image printing step for printing the print target image in the printer according to the print conditions included in the print job newly generated by the print job generating step. It is characterized by including.

  According to this invention, a print job for a print target image is newly generated based on the print conditions set in advance for the print target image and the printable conditions of the printer, and the newly generated The image to be printed can be printed according to the printing conditions included in the print job. For this reason, even if the storage medium stores printing conditions that are different from the printable conditions of the printing apparatus or does not store any printing conditions, complicated printing that requires time and effort is required. An image to be printed can be printed without newly setting conditions.

  A printing program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute the printing method described above.

  According to the present invention, the operation obtained by the above-described printing method is realized by the computer by executing the printing program. Thereby, various effects obtained by realizing the printing method described above can be achieved.

  A storage medium according to the present invention is characterized in that the above-described printing program is stored in a computer readable manner.

  According to the present invention, by causing a computer to read and execute a stored print program, the operation obtained by executing the above-described print program is realized by the computer. Thereby, the various effects obtained by execution of the printing program mentioned above can be produced.

  Exemplary embodiments of a printing apparatus, a printing method, a printing program, and a storage medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Functional configuration of printing apparatus 100)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an image acquisition unit 101, a print job acquisition unit 102, a printable condition acquisition unit 103, a print availability determination unit 104, and a print job generation unit 105. And an image printing unit 106.

  The image acquisition unit 101 includes a memory card 205 such as a compact flash (registered trademark), a smart media (registered trademark), an SD memory card (registered trademark), a multimedia card (registered trademark), a memory stick (registered trademark), and a USB flash memory. Then, the print target image 111 photographed by the digital camera 120 (see FIG. 7-2) is acquired.

  The print job acquisition unit 102 is a memory card such as a compact flash (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), multimedia card (registered trademark), memory stick (registered trademark), or USB flash memory. From 205, the print job 112 set by the digital camera 120 is acquired. The print job 112 includes a print paper size (A4, B5, L size, postcard, etc.), a print paper direction (vertical or horizontal) as a printer name and printing conditions for the print target image 111 acquired by the image acquisition unit 101. ) And other information.

  The printable condition acquisition unit 103 acquires the printer name 113 and the job template 114 included in the printing apparatus 100 from the RAM 203 (see FIG. 2). The job template 114 includes information such as print paper size (A4, B5, L size, postcard, etc.), print paper direction (vertical or horizontal), and the like as printable conditions of the printing apparatus 100.

  In the present embodiment, the printable condition that the printing apparatus 100 has is configured in an XML format that conforms to the MPV standard decided between a plurality of apparatuses including the printing apparatus 100 regardless of apparatus, model, and manufacturer. The job template 114 is stored in the RAM 203. Therefore, the printing apparatus 100 can acquire the printable condition of the printing apparatus 100 by decoding the job template 114 based on the MPV standard.

  Thus, by configuring the job template 114 using a standard format such as the MPV standard, even the job template 114 generated by a device other than the printing device 100 can be decoded or edited by the printing device 100. You can do it. Even the job template 114 generated by the printing apparatus 100 can be decoded or edited by apparatuses other than the printing apparatus 100.

  Based on the print conditions included in the print job 112 acquired by the print job acquisition unit 102 and the job template 114 acquired by the printable condition acquisition unit 103, the print availability determination unit 104 includes an image acquisition unit 101 in the printing apparatus 100. It is determined whether or not the print target image 111 acquired by the above can be printed under the print conditions included in the print job 112 acquired by the print job acquisition unit 102.

  For example, if the size of the printing paper set in the printing conditions included in the print job 112 is the size of the printing paper that cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 100, the printability determination unit 104 displays the print target image. It is determined that 111 cannot be printed. Also, for example, if the print paper size is not set in the print condition included in the print job 112, the print availability determination unit 104 determines that the print target image 111 cannot be printed.

  The print job generation unit 105 newly generates a print job 112 including print conditions for the print target image 111 acquired by the image acquisition unit 101 based on the job template 114 acquired by the printable condition acquisition unit 103. The print job generation unit 105 causes the print availability determination unit 104 to print the print target image 111 acquired by the image acquisition unit 101 in the printing apparatus 100 under the print conditions included in the print job 112 acquired by the print job acquisition unit 102. If it is determined that printing cannot be performed, a new print job 112 is generated.

  The image printing unit 106 prints the print target image 111 acquired by the image acquisition unit 101 via the printer unit 211 (see FIG. 2), the printing conditions included in the print job 112 acquired by the print job acquisition unit 102, or printing. Printing is performed according to the printing conditions included in the print job 112 newly generated by the job generation unit 105.

(Hardware configuration of printing apparatus 100)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the following description, the same portions as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a memory card reader / writer 204, a memory card 205, a display 206, an interface ( I / F) 207, communication cable 208, operation key 209, scanner unit 210, and printer unit 211, and each component is connected by a bus 212.

  The CPU 201 executes predetermined arithmetic processing and controls the entire printing apparatus 100. The ROM 202 stores various control programs. Data stored in the ROM 202 can be rewritten by a user operation, but is not erased when the power is turned off. The RAM 203 stores variable data in a rewritable manner and functions as a work area for the CPU 201. The RAM 203 may be a volatile memory that erases data stored when the power is turned off, or may be a nonvolatile memory that is backed up by a battery or the like. The RAM 203 stores a printer name 113 and a job template 114 that the printing apparatus 100 has.

  The memory card reader / writer 204 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the memory card 205 in accordance with a control command of the CPU 201. The memory card 205 stores various control programs and various data so that the CPU 201 can read them. The memory card 205 is a detachable storage medium that accepts writing of information by the data storage medium drive 204 and stores the written data in a nonvolatile manner. The memory card 205 stores a print target image 111 photographed by the digital camera 120 and a print job 112 generated by the digital camera 120.

  The display 206 is provided on an operation panel (not shown), and displays a print target image 111, icons, cursors, menus, windows, or various information such as characters and images. The I / F 207 is connected to a network 110 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) via a communication cable 208, and functions as an interface between the network 110 and the printing apparatus 100. Control the input and output of. The operation key 209 is provided on an operation panel (not shown), and includes keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, and the like, and inputs data. Moreover, a touch panel type input pad or a numeric keypad may be used.

  The scanner unit 210 optically reads an image printed on paper or the like, and takes in the image data into the printing apparatus 100. The printer unit 211 prints print data such as an image to be printed 111 or a document on paper.

  Note that the functional configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, the image acquisition unit 101 and the print job acquisition unit 102, the memory card reader / writer 204, the printable condition acquisition unit 103, and the print availability determination unit. 104 and the print job generation unit 105 are realized by the CPU 201, and the image printing unit 106 is realized by the printer unit 211.

(Print processing procedure of printing apparatus 100)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print processing procedure by the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the print processing procedure in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the compact flash (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), multimedia card (registered trademark), memory stick inserted into the memory card reader / writer 204 by the image acquisition unit 101. The printing target image 111 photographed by the digital camera 120 is acquired from a memory card 205 such as (registered trademark) and a USB flash memory (step S301). An example of the print target image 111 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 acquires the printer name 113 and the job template 114 included in the printing apparatus 100 from the RAM 203 (step S302). An example of the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, and an example of the job template 114 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

  Next, the print job acquisition unit 102 performs compact flash (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), multimedia card (registered trademark), memory stick (registered trademark), USB flash memory, and the like. The print job 112 including the print conditions set for the print target image 111 acquired in step S301 by the digital camera 120 is acquired from the memory card 205 (step S303). In the present embodiment, the print job 112 is acquired by reading the metadata file stored in the memory card 205 together with the print target image 111 acquired in step S301.

  Next, the printability determination unit 104 determines whether the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired in step S302 matches the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 (step S303). S304).

  If it is determined in step S304 that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired in step S302 matches the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 (step S304: Yes), step Steps S305 to S309 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S310. An example of a print job 112 having a printer name that matches that of the printing apparatus 100 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If it is determined in step S304 that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired in step S302 does not match the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 (step S304: No), the next step The process proceeds to step S305. An example of a print job 112 whose printer name does not match that of the printing apparatus 100 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, the printability determination unit 104 determines whether the print paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 is a print paper that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100 (step S305). ). The printability determination unit 104 makes this determination as the print paper size setting and print paper direction setting set in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 and the job template acquired in step S302. This is performed based on the setting of the size of the printing paper and the setting of the direction of the printing paper set in 114.

  If it is determined in step S305 that the print paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 is not a print paper that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100 (step S305: No), step Steps S306 to S310 are skipped, and the series of processing ends. If it is determined in step S305 that the print paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 is print paper that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100 (step S305: Yes), the next The process proceeds to step S306. An example of the print job 112 in which an invalid value is set for the print paper setting will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, the printability determination unit 104 determines whether the settings other than the printing paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 are valid settings in the printing apparatus 100 (step S306). . The printability determination unit 104 makes this determination on the color setting, print quality setting, and edge setting set in the printing conditions included in the print job 112 acquired in step S303, and the job template 114 acquired in step S302. Based on the color settings, print quality settings, and edge settings that have been set.

  If it is determined in step S306 that settings other than the printing paper set as the printing condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 are valid settings in the printing apparatus 100 (step S306: Yes), the print job The generation unit 105 updates the printer name included in the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 to the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired in step S302 (step S307). Steps S308 and S309 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S310. If it is determined in step S306 that the settings other than the printing paper set as the printing condition in the print job 112 acquired in step S303 are not valid settings in the printing apparatus 100 (step S306: No), the next step Proceed to step S308. An example of the print job 112 in which invalid values are set for settings other than print paper will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, the print job generation unit 105 determines whether or not to newly generate a print job 112 including print conditions for the print target image 111 acquired in step S301 (step S308). The print job generation unit 105 displays a screen for selecting whether to newly generate the print job 112 on the screen of the display 206. Then, based on the selection operation performed by the user using the operation key 209 on this screen, it is determined whether or not to newly generate the print job 112. An example of a selection screen for determining whether or not to newly generate the print job 112 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If it is determined in step S308 that a new print job 112 including printing conditions for the print target image 111 acquired in step S301 is not generated (step S308: No), steps S309 and S310 are skipped, and a series of processing is performed. finish. If it is determined in step S308 that a new print job 112 including print conditions for the print target image 111 acquired in step S301 is to be generated (step S308: Yes), the process proceeds to the next step S309.

  Next, based on the print job 112 acquired in step S303 and the job template 114 acquired in step S302 by the print job generation unit 105, the print job 112 including print conditions for the print target image 111 acquired in step S301. Is newly generated (step S309). An example of the print job 112 newly generated by the print job generation unit 105 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, the print target image 111 acquired in step S301 is printed by the image printing unit 106 via the printer unit 211 (step S310). If the print job 112 has not been newly generated in step S309, the image printing unit 106 prints the print target image 111 according to the printing conditions included in the print job 112 acquired in step S303. When the print job 112 is newly generated in step S309, the image printing unit 106 prints the print target image 111 according to the print conditions included in the print job 112 newly generated in step S309.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print target image 111. As shown in FIG. 4, the image 400 is an image data file in the JPEG format and has a file name “0001.JPG”. The image 400 is taken by the digital camera 120 and is a compact flash (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), multimedia card (registered trademark), memory stick (registered trademark), and USB. It is stored in a memory card 205 such as a flash memory.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 and stored in the RAM 203. As shown in FIG. 5, a table 500 shows a data file including a printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 in a table format. The table 500 includes a setting item setting field 510 and a setting value setting field 520. A data file including the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 is read from the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103.

  For example, in the setting item setting field 510, “printer name” indicating that the value set in the setting value setting field 520 is the printer name 113 of the printing apparatus 100 is set. In the setting value setting field 520, “E company LP-20000” is set as the printer name 113 of the printing apparatus 100. Thus, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 can acquire “E company LP-20000” as the printer name 113 of the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the table 600 shows the job template 114 included in the metadata file in a table format. The table 600 includes a setting item setting field 610, a setting value setting field 620, and an initial value setting field 630. It is configured. The metadata file including the job template 114 is read from the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103.

  For example, when “paper size” is selected as the setting item setting field 610, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 acquires “A3” and “A4” from the setting value setting field 620. As a result, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 can acquire “A3” and “A4” as the sizes of print sheets that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100. Further, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 acquires “◯” from the initial value setting field 630 corresponding to “A4” acquired from the setting value setting field 620. Accordingly, the printable condition acquisition unit 103 can acquire “A4” as the initial value of the size of the printing paper that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a further example of the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203. As shown in FIG. 6B, the table 650 shows the job template 114 included in the metadata file in a table format, and includes a job template setting field 660 and a conversion rule setting field 670.

  In the job template setting field 660, printable conditions that each of the plurality of printers including the printing apparatus 100 has are set. The printer name setting field 661, the support property setting field 662, the support value setting field 663, and the default value setting field 664 are set. It is constituted by. In the conversion rule setting field 670, a conversion rule for generating a new print job 112 based on the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 for each of a plurality of printers including the printing apparatus 100 is set.

  The metadata file including the job template 114 is read from the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103 and used by the print job generation unit 105 to newly generate a print job 112. By using this job template 114, a new print job can be used regardless of the validity of the value set in the print job 112 (that is, without determining whether or not printing can be performed by the printability determination unit 104). 112 can be generated.

  For example, in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”, “E company LP-20000” is set as the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205. It is assumed that “A4 portrait” is set as the print paper size and print paper direction as print conditions included in the acquired print job 112.

  In this case, the print job generation unit 105 performs printing in accordance with the conversion rule set in the conversion rule setting field 670 in order to print the print target image 111 in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”. As a condition, a print job 112 in which “A4 portrait” (that is, the same value as before conversion) is set in the print paper size and print paper direction is newly generated.

  For example, in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”, “E company LP-20000” is set as the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205, and the memory card A value (for example, “postcard”) that is not supported by the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000” in the print paper size and print paper direction as print conditions included in the print job 112 acquired from 205. Is set.

  In this case, the print job generation unit 105 performs printing in accordance with the conversion rule set in the conversion rule setting field 670 in order to print the print target image 111 in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”. As a condition, a new print job 112 in which “A4 portrait” is set in the print paper size and print paper direction is generated.

  Further, for example, in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”, “E company LP-30000” is set as the printer name included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205. Assume that “B5 portrait” is set in the print paper size and print paper direction as print conditions included in the print job 112 acquired from 205.

  In this case, the print job generation unit 105 performs conversion according to the conversion rule set in the conversion rule setting field 670 in order to print the print target image 111 in the printing apparatus 100 having the printer name “E company LP-20000”. Processing corresponding to the value “/ S” set in the rule (that is, a screen for allowing the user to select the size of the printing paper and the direction of the printing paper is displayed on the display 206, and the printing paper selected by the user Process for newly generating a print job 112 in which the size and the direction of the printing paper are set as printing conditions).

  As described above, by storing printable conditions and conversion tables respectively corresponding to a plurality of printers different from the printing apparatus 100 in the job template 114, the printing conditions for the printer different from the printing apparatus 100 in the printing apparatus 100 can be obtained. Even when the set print job 112 is acquired from the memory card 205, a new print job 112 for printing the print target image 111 can be generated by the printing apparatus 100 based on the job template 114. The job template 114 can be used by a plurality of printers including the printing apparatus 100.

  Note that the data structure of the metadata file including the job template 114 described above with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B is not limited to apparatuses, models, and manufacturers including the printing apparatus 100 such as the MPV standard. It is configured according to a standard format agreed between a plurality of devices. For example, in the present embodiment, it is expressed in the XML format according to the MPV standard. Therefore, the printing apparatus 100 can acquire the job template 114 by decoding the XML data based on the MPV standard.

  As described above, by configuring the metadata file including the job template 114 using a standard format such as the MPV standard, even the job template 114 generated by a device other than the printing device 100 can be obtained by the printing device 100. Can be deciphered and edited. Even the job template 114 generated by the printing apparatus 100 can be decoded or edited by apparatuses other than the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 and having the same printer name as the printing apparatus 100. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the table 700 shows the print job 112 included in the metadata file in a table format, and includes a table 710 and a table 720. The metadata file including the print job 112 is read from the memory card 205 by the print job acquisition unit 102.

  A table 710 shows printer names included in the print job 112 in a table format, and includes a setting item setting field 711 and a setting value setting field 712. For example, in the setting item setting field 711, “printer name” indicating that the value set in the setting value setting field 712 is the printer name included in the print job 112 is set. In the set value setting field 712, “E company LP-20000” is set as the printer name included in the print job 112. As a result, the print job acquisition unit 102 can acquire “Company E LP-20000” as the printer name included in the print job 112.

  As described above, the printer name “E company LP-20000” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 and the printer name 113 “E company” included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired from the RAM 203 as described above with reference to FIG. “LP-20000” allows the printability determination unit 104 to determine that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 matches the printer name included in the print job 112.

  A table 720 shows print conditions included in the print job 112 in a table format, and includes a setting item setting field 721 and a setting value setting field 722. For example, when “content ID” is selected as the setting item setting field 721, the print job acquisition unit 102 acquires “2004 Photo1” from the setting value setting field 722. Further, when “content URL” is selected as the setting item setting field 721, the print job acquisition unit 102 acquires “ROOT / CONTENTS / 0001.JPG” from the setting value setting field 722.

  Further, when “paper size” is selected as the setting item setting field 721, the print job acquisition unit 102 acquires “A4” from the setting value setting field 722. Furthermore, when “paper orientation” is selected as the setting item setting field 721, the print job acquisition unit 102 acquires “vertical” from the setting value setting field 722.

  As a result, the print job acquisition unit 102 sets “A4” as the size of the print paper among the print conditions when printing the image 400 having the content ID “2004 Photo1” and the content URL “ROOT / CONTENTS / 0001.JPG”. "Can be acquired as" printing paper direction ".

  FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an outline of a generation processing procedure of the print job 112 described above with reference to FIG. The metadata file including the print job 112 described above with reference to FIG. 7A is preliminarily digital camera based on the printer name 113 described above with reference to FIG. 5 and the job template 114 described with reference to FIG. It is generated by a device other than the printing device 100 such as 120 and stored in the memory card 205.

  For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7B, first, the printing apparatus 100 is inserted by inserting the memory card 205 (state A) into the memory card reader / writer 204 provided in the printing apparatus 100. As a result, the printer name 113 and the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203 are written into the memory card 205 (processing P1). As a result, the memory card 205 is in a state (state B) in which the printer name 113 and the job template 114 are written.

  Then, by inserting the memory card 205 in which the printer name 113 and the job template 114 are written into the digital camera 120, the digital camera 120 reads the printer name 113 and the job template 114 from the memory card 205 (processing P2). Further, in the digital camera 120, when the user desires to print the print target image 111 taken by the digital camera 120, the print condition (printing) used for printing the print target image 111 from the printer name 113 and the job template 114 The print job 112 is generated based on the printer name 113 and the job template 114 (process P3).

  Further, in the digital camera 120, the print job 112 is written to the memory card 205 (process P4), and the print target image 111 is written to the memory card 205 (process P5). As a result, the memory card 205 is in a state (state C) in which the printer name 113, the job template 114, the print target image 111, and the print job 112 are written.

  As described above, by storing the job template 114 stored in the printing apparatus 100 in the memory card 205 in advance, printing can be performed by the printing apparatus 100 in an apparatus other than the printing apparatus 100 such as the digital camera 120. A print job 112 including possible printing conditions can be generated. Then, the printing apparatus 100 prints the print target image 111 according to the print conditions generated by the digital camera 120 and stored in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 without newly generating the print job 112. Can do.

  FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating an example of the print job 112 configured according to the MPV standard. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7C, the data structure of the metadata file including the print job 112 is negotiated between a plurality of apparatuses including the printing apparatus 100 regardless of the apparatus, model, and manufacturer. Expressed in XML format according to the MPV standard. Therefore, the printing apparatus 100 can acquire the print job 112 by decoding the XML data based on the MPV standard.

  In this way, by configuring the metadata file including the print job 112 using a standard format such as the MPV standard, the metadata file is generated by a device other than the printing device 100 such as the digital camera 120 and stored in the memory card 205. Even a metadata file including the print job 112 can be decrypted by the printing apparatus 100. Even a metadata file including the print job 112 generated by the printing apparatus 100 and stored in the memory card 205 can be decrypted by an apparatus other than the printing apparatus 100. Further, a metadata file including a print job 112 generated by an apparatus other than the printing apparatus 100 and stored in the memory card 205 can be decrypted by another apparatus other than the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 and whose printer name does not match that of the printing apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 8, the table 800 shows the print job 112 included in the metadata file in a table format in the same manner as the table 700 described above with reference to FIG. 7A. This table 800 is different from the table 700 described above with reference to FIG. 7A in that “Company E LP-30000” is set as the printer name included in the print job 112 in the setting value setting field 712. This print job 112 is generated by the digital camera 120 or the like in order to print the print target image 111 by an apparatus having “E company LP-30000” as a printer name and different from the printing apparatus 100.

  As described above, the printer name “E company LP-30000” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 and the printer name 113 “E” included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired from the RAM 203 as described above with reference to FIG. According to “Company LP-20000”, the printability determination unit 104 can determine that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 does not match the printer name included in the print job 112.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 and set to an invalid value for the print paper setting. As shown in FIG. 9, the table 900 shows the print job 112 included in the metadata file in the form of a table, similar to the table 800 described above with reference to FIG. In this table 900, “B5” is set in the setting item setting field 721 corresponding to the “paper size” set in the setting item setting field 721 as a printing condition related to printing paper. A difference from the table 800 described above with reference to FIG. 8 is that “horizontal” is set in the setting value setting field 722 corresponding to “paper orientation”. This print job 112 is the same as the print job 112 described above with reference to FIG. 8 in order to print the print target image 111 by a device having “E company LP-30000” as the printer name and different from the printing device 100. Generated by the digital camera 120 or the like.

  As described above, the printer name “E company LP-30000” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 and the printer name 113 “E” included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired from the RAM 203 as described above with reference to FIG. According to “Company LP-20000”, the printability determination unit 104 can determine that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 does not match the printer name included in the print job 112.

  Further, the printing paper size “B5” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 and the printing apparatus 100 set in the job template 114 as described above with reference to FIG. 6A are used for printing. Depending on the print paper sizes “A3” and “A4” that can be printed, the printability determination unit 104 can print the print paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 by the printing apparatus 100. It can be judged that it is not.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 and having invalid values set for settings other than print paper. As shown in FIG. 10, the table 1000 shows the print job 112 included in the metadata file in a table format, like the table 800 described above with reference to FIG. 8. In this table 1000, “” (blank) is set in the setting item setting column 721 corresponding to “color” set in the setting item setting column 721 as a printing condition related to other than printing paper. 8 is different from the table 800 described above with reference to FIG. 8 in that “highest” is set in the setting value setting field 722 corresponding to “print quality”. This print job 112 is the same as the print job 112 described above with reference to FIG. 8 in order to print the print target image 111 by a device having “E company LP-30000” as the printer name and different from the printing device 100. Generated by the digital camera 120 or the like.

  As described above, the printer name “E company LP-30000” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 and the printer name 113 “E” included in the printing apparatus 100 acquired from the RAM 203 as described above with reference to FIG. According to “Company LP-20000”, the printability determination unit 104 can determine that the printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100 does not match the printer name included in the print job 112.

  Further, the color setting “” (blank) and the print quality setting “highest” included in the print job 112 acquired from the memory card 205 are set in the job template 114 as described above with reference to FIG. Depending on the color settings “TRUE” and “FALSE” and the print quality settings “fast”, “normal”, and “clean” that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100, the print propriety determination unit 104 sets the print job 112 to the print condition. It can be determined that settings other than the printing paper set as are not valid settings in the printing apparatus 100.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen displayed on the screen of the display 206 as to whether to newly generate the print job 112. The screen 1100 includes an image 400 and a pop-up screen 1110. As described above with reference to FIG. 10, in the pop-up screen 1110, settings other than the printing paper set as the printing condition in the print job 112 by the print permission determination unit 104 are not effective settings in the printing apparatus 100. It is displayed because it was judged.

  In the pop-up screen 1110, “Print setting is invalid” is displayed as a message indicating that settings other than the printing paper set as the print condition in the print job 112 are not valid settings in the printing apparatus 100. Yes. The pop-up screen 1110 is provided with a button 1111 and a button 1112. The buttons 1111 and 1112 are buttons that can be pressed by an operation performed by the user using the operation keys 209.

  The user can newly generate a print job 112 for printing the image 400 based on the print job 112 and the job template 114 by the print job generation unit 105 by pressing the button 1111. Also, the user can end a series of printing processes by pressing the button 1112 without printing the image 400.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print job 112 newly generated by the print job generation unit 105. As shown in FIG. 12, the table 1200 shows the print job 112 included in the metadata file in the form of a table, similar to the table 1000 described above with reference to FIG. In the print job 112, the print job generation unit 105 changes a setting necessary for printing the image 400 in the printing apparatus 100 based on the print job 112 described above with reference to FIG. 112 is generated.

  For example, in the table 1200, the setting value setting field 712 is newly set with the printer name 113 “Company E LP-20000” of the printing apparatus 100 acquired from the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103. , Different from Table 1000 described above with reference to FIG.

  Also, for example, in the table 1200, the setting value setting field 722 corresponding to “color” set in the setting item setting field 721 is acquired from the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103. The difference between the table 1000 described above with reference to FIG. 10 is that the initial value “FALSE” of the color setting is newly set.

  Further, for example, in the table 1200, the setting value setting field 722 corresponding to “print quality” set in the setting item setting field 721 is entered from the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203 by the printable condition acquisition unit 103. The acquired initial value “normal” of the print quality setting is newly set, which is different from the table 1000 described above with reference to FIG.

  As described above, under the printing conditions included in the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205, the image 400 cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 100, but the print job newly generated by the print job generation unit 105 is printed. Depending on the printing conditions included in the job 112, the printing apparatus 100 can print the image 400. Note that the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 is updated by the print job 112 newly generated by the print job generation unit 105.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the print job 112 is stored in the memory card 205. For example, the print job 112 is not stored in the memory card 205, and the print job 112 cannot be acquired. Can end a series of processing, or can generate a new print job 112 based on the job template 114. In this case, a screen for selecting whether or not to newly generate the print job 112 may be displayed on the screen of the display 206. Then, based on the selection operation performed by the user using the operation key 209 on this screen, it may be determined whether or not to newly generate the print job 112. An example of a selection screen for determining whether or not to newly generate the print job 112 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for determining whether or not to newly generate the print job 112 displayed on the screen of the display 206. The screen 1300 includes an image 400 and a pop-up screen 1310. The pop-up screen 1310 is displayed because the print job acquisition unit 102 cannot execute the print job 112.

  In the pop-up screen 1310, “no print setting” is displayed as a message indicating that the print job 112 could not be performed. The pop-up screen 1310 is provided with a button 1311 and a button 1312. The buttons 1311 and 1312 are buttons that can be pressed by an operation performed by the user using the operation keys 209.

  The user can newly generate a print job 112 for printing the image 400 based on the job template 114 by pressing a button 1311. Further, the user can end a series of printing processes without printing the image 400 by pressing the button 1312.

  As described above, even when the print job 112 cannot be obtained, the image 400 can be printed by the printing apparatus 100 by newly generating the print job 112. Note that a print job 112 newly generated by the print job generation unit 105 is newly registered in the memory card 205.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 100 is read by reading the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 together with the print target image 111 and the job template 114 stored in the RAM 203. In this case, it is possible to determine whether or not the print target image 111 can be printed based on the print condition included in the print job 112. Even if it is determined that printing cannot be performed, the print target image 111 can be printed by newly generating the print job 112 based on the job template 114. Therefore, even when an invalid value is set for the print job 112 or when a value is not set for the print job 112, a new print job 112 is generated and newly generated by the printing apparatus 100. The print target image 111 can be printed by the print job 112 that has been performed.

  In the present embodiment, the print target image 111 and the print job 112 are acquired from the memory card 205. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, directly from the digital camera 120 via a communication cable or wireless communication. Thus, the print target image 111 and the print job 112 may be acquired. Furthermore, the print target image 111 and the print job from various forms of storage media such as the RAM 203, a file server, a WEB server, a personal computer, and a personal digital assistant (PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), etc.) via a communication cable or wireless communication. 112 may be acquired.

  In this embodiment, the job template 114 is acquired from the RAM 203. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the memory card 205, the RAM 203, a file server, a WEB server, a personal computer, a portable information terminal, and the like. The job template 114 may be acquired from various types of storage media via a communication cable or wireless communication.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when a print sheet that cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 100 is set as a print condition in the print job 112, a series of processing ends without printing the print target image 111. The configuration may be such that a print job 112 in which printing paper that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100 is set as a printing condition is newly generated and the print target image 111 is printed. In this case, a screen for selecting a print sheet to be newly set for the print job 112 may be displayed on the screen of the display 206 so that it can be selected by an operation using the operation keys 209 by the user.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the JPEG format image 400 is used as an example of the print target image 111. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the print target image such as the TIFF format, the BMP format, the GIF format, or the PNG format is used. 111 may be used.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a new print job 112 is generated, the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 is updated by the newly generated print job 112. The generated print job 112 may be used for temporary printing, and the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 may not be updated. Further, whether or not to update the print job 112 stored in the memory card 205 may be selected by an operation performed by the user using the operation key 209.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an example in which one print target image 111 and one print job 112 are stored in the memory card 205 is used. However, a plurality of print target images and a plurality of print target images are used. A print job 112 can also be stored. It is also possible to store one or a plurality of print jobs 112 for each of the plurality of print target images 111 and the plurality of print target images 111. In this case, a screen for selecting which print target image 111 is to be printed using which print condition is displayed on the screen of the display 206 and can be selected by an operation using the operation key 209 by the user. it can.

  The printing method described in this embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the storage medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process procedure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print target image 111. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer name 113 included in the printing apparatus 100. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the job template 114. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the job template 114. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 with a matching printer name. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a generation processing procedure of a print job 112. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job configured according to the MPV standard. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 with printer names that do not match. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 in which invalid values are set. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job 112 in which invalid values are set. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for determining whether or not to newly generate a print job 112. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a newly generated print job 112. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for determining whether to generate a print job 112.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printing apparatus, 101 Image acquisition part, 102 Print job acquisition part, 103 Printable condition acquisition part, 104 Print availability determination part, 105 Print job generation part, 106 Image printing part, 111 Print object image, 112 Print job

Claims (8)

Image acquisition means for acquiring an image to be printed;
Print job acquisition means for acquiring a print job including printing conditions set in advance for the print target image;
Printable condition acquisition means for acquiring the printable condition of the printer;
Print job generation for newly generating the print job for the print target image based on the print job acquired by the print job acquisition unit and the printable condition of the printer acquired by the printable condition acquisition unit Means,
Image printing means for printing the print target image in the printer according to print conditions included in the print job newly generated by the print job generation means;
A printing apparatus comprising:   Based on the print condition included in the print job acquired by the print job acquisition unit and the printable condition of the printer acquired by the printable condition acquisition unit, the printer includes the print job included in the print job. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printability determination unit that determines whether or not the image to be printed can be printed according to a print condition.   The print job generation unit newly generates the print job when it is determined by the print availability determination unit that the print target image cannot be printed according to the print condition in the printer. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The print job acquisition unit acquires a print job including printing conditions set in advance for the print target image by reading metadata included in a storage medium together with the print target image. The printing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the metadata is described in an XML language. An image acquisition process for acquiring an image to be printed;
A print job acquisition step of acquiring a print job including a print condition set in advance for the print target image;
A printable condition acquisition step of acquiring a printable condition of the printer;
Print job generation for newly generating the print job for the print target image based on the print job acquired in the print job acquisition step and the printable condition of the printer acquired in the printable condition acquisition step Process,
An image printing step of printing the print target image in the printer according to printing conditions included in the print job newly generated by the print job generation step;
The printing method characterized by including.   A printing program for causing a computer to execute the printing method according to claim 6. A computer-readable storage medium storing the printing program according to claim 7.

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