JP2007118258A - Label editing device, label printer, and label editing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a label editing device which can easily perform the editing of a format for printing information which is printed on a pre-printed label. <P>SOLUTION: This label editing device is equipped with an inputting means which can input the printing information and the printing format, a displaying means which displays a printing unit for the printing information in response to the printing format, and a storage means which can store the image picture of the pre-printed information having been pre-printed on the label. In this case, the printing unit and the image picture under an overlapped state can be displayed on the displaying means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a label editing apparatus, a label printing apparatus, and a label editing method for editing printing information to be printed on a label and its printing format.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in food factories, supermarkets, and the like, product information such as product name, price, and expiration date is printed on a label with a label printing device and attached to the product. Such labels include a label on which nothing is printed (a plain label) and a label on which necessary information is printed in advance (a preprinted label). In the case of plain labels, the format of the print information designed on the display screen of the monitor etc. constitutes the label design as it is, so the actual label design can be confirmed on the display screen, and correction work can be easily performed based on it. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-82933 A

  However, in the case of a preprinted label, since the label design is completed only after the printing information in the designed format is printed on the label, there is a problem that the actual label design cannot be confirmed until the label is actually printed. In addition, when modifying the label design, the designer modifies the format sensuously while comparing the printed label and the design with only the print information displayed on the display screen, and the result is printed on the pre-printed label. There is no choice but to confirm. Although it is possible to adopt a label printer that can select printing or non-printing for each printing unit and set the pre-printed part of the designed printing information as a non-printing unit, it is possible to cope with the pre-printed part on the display screen. Since it takes a considerable amount of time to accurately reproduce the design information, it is not realistic.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a label editing apparatus, a label printing apparatus, and a label editing method capable of easily editing the format of print information to be printed on a preprinted label.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a label editing apparatus for editing print information to be printed on a label and its print format, input means capable of inputting the print information and the print format, and a print unit for the print information. Display means according to the print format, and storage means capable of storing an image of preprint information preprinted on the label, wherein the display means includes the print unit and There is provided a label editing apparatus characterized in that the image can be displayed in a superimposed state.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the label editing apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising reading means for reading the image image directly from the label.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the label editing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the image can be automatically enlarged or reduced in accordance with a label size. provide.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the label editing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the image image can be trimmed in accordance with a label size. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the label editing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the image image can be switched between display and non-display.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention provides a label printing apparatus comprising the label editing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a label editing method for editing print information to be printed on a label and a print format thereof. When editing the print information and the print format, a print unit for the print information; A label editing method is provided, wherein an image of preprinted information preprinted on the label is superimposed on a display means and displayed.

  According to the label editing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention or the label editing method of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained. Since the display unit can display the print information printing unit to be printed on the label and the pre-printed information image superimposed on each other, check the design with the print information printed on the pre-printed label. The position and size of the print information can be adjusted. This also eliminates the need for test printing. Further, unlike the case of creating a non-printing unit, it is sufficient to design only information to be actually printed, so that the work can be completed in a short time.

  According to the label editing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect exhibited by the label editing apparatus of the first aspect, the following excellent effects are exhibited. Since the reading means for reading the image of the preprint information is provided, it is possible to easily cope with the actual label.

  According to the label editing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect exhibited by the label editing apparatus of the first or second aspect, the following excellent effects are exhibited. Since the image image of the preprint information is automatically enlarged / reduced according to the label size, it is possible to save the trouble of confirming the size of the acquired image image and performing the size changing process.

  According to the label editing apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the label editing apparatus of any one of the first to third aspects, the following excellent effects are achieved. Since the image image of the preprint information is trimmed in accordance with the label size, there is no problem even if the image data includes a margin portion exceeding the label size.

  According to the label editing apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the label editing apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the following excellent effects are achieved. Since the image image can be displayed / hidden, the image image can be displayed to check the design of the entire label, and the image image can be hidden to check details such as fonts.

  According to the label printing apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the same effects as those of the label editing apparatus of the first to fifth aspects can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a label printing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the label printing apparatus 1. The label printing apparatus 1 has a built-in label editing apparatus for editing the printing information to be printed on the preprinted label and its printing format. Specifically, the numeric keypad 21, the liquid crystal tablet 22, the label issuing unit 23, A main body 2 having a load cell 24, a pre-print information memory 25, a print information memory 26a, a format information memory 26b, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 27 as a control means for controlling these, and a cable connection to the main body 2 And the scanner 3 to be operated.

  The numeric keypad 21 is an input means for inputting print information (character information) to be printed on the preprinted label L shown in FIG. 3A and its print format (character size, font, print position, etc.). Function. The liquid crystal tablet 22 is formed by superposing a display panel (liquid crystal panel) 22b for displaying an image on an operation panel (tablet panel) 22a for detecting the position of a pen, and can input print information and a print format. It can function as an input means that can be displayed or a display means that can display a print unit of print information in accordance with the print format and can confirm the print state in advance. The print information and print format input by the input means are stored in the print information memory 26a and the format information memory 26b serving as storage means.

  The label issuing unit 23 includes print information corresponding to the print fields of “name”, “product name”, “best before date”, “processing date”, “save method”, and “content amount” provided in the preprinted label L. An issuance port 23a provided with a thermal head for printing character information such as “Japanese confectionery”, “Ebi-senbei”, “H17.11.25” and the like shown in FIG. Functions as a printing means for discharging from the printer. The label issuing unit 23 is set with a label roll R (not shown) in which a large number of pre-printed labels L each having a pressure-sensitive adhesive applied on the back surface are detachably pasted on a long mount. It is configured so that it can be issued.

  The load cell 24 is provided so as to support a measuring tray 24a provided on the upper surface of the apparatus, and measures the weight of a product placed on the measuring tray 24a in a tared state. This weight data is output to the CPU 27 as a part of the print information, and is used as data printed in the “internal capacity” print field provided on the preprint label L. The scanner 3 serves as a reading unit for directly reading an image image of preprint information (color printing partition frame, print content explanation display, etc.) preprinted on the preprint label L from the label. The image read by the scanner 3 is stored in a preprint information memory 25 as a storage unit.

  The CPU 27 controls each part of the device as a control means, and a control program necessary for this is stored in a ROM (read only storage device) (not shown). The control program is set so as to be compatible with a label edit mode for editing the print information to be printed on the label and its print format, and a label print mode for performing the label print according to the edited print information and the print format. Yes. In addition, a calendar clock unit (not shown) that outputs time information for setting the “best before date”, “processing date”, and the like included in the print information to the CPU 27 is provided.

  Next, using the label printing apparatus 1, the print information shown in FIG. 3B is printed on the pre-printed label L shown in FIG. 3A, and shown in FIG. A procedure for setting the print information and the print format so as to complete the print label will be described. First, the numeric keypad 21 is operated to call up the label edit mode screen (FIG. 4). The label reading button B1 on the screen is clicked to read the image image of the preprint label L (preprint information) for which print information and print format are to be set, and display it as shown in FIG.

  The image image of the preprint information is acquired by opening the document cover 3 a of the scanner 3 and setting the preprint label L on the document table, and is stored in the preprint information memory 25. Therefore, as long as the actual preprinted label is available, an image of preprinted information can be prepared, and it is not necessary to arrange corresponding electronic data in advance. When there are a plurality of types of pre-printed labels, by adding an index to each image image, it is possible to quickly read a required image image by referring to the index.

  Next, for each print column provided in the pre-print label L, print information of the corresponding print unit and its print format are input. For example, when setting the print unit to be printed in the name column for the pre-printed label displayed on the screen of FIG. 4, first, “name” is designated as “setting item”, and the frame of the print unit frame is designated by “frame coordinates”. Set the position and size. “Start” inputs a numerical value of the XY coordinates of the upper left corner position of the frame, and “End” inputs a numerical value of the XY coordinates of the lower right corner position of the frame. Alternatively, the XY coordinates may be directly input by a pen.

  After setting the position and size of the print unit frame, set and input the print information format (font, size, etc.) in “Format Settings”, and enter the contents of the print information such as “Japanese sweets” shown in FIG. To do. Note that the position and size of the frame, the format and contents of the print information do not necessarily have to be input in this order, and the front and rear may be interchanged. For “Product Name” and “Saving Method”, the printing unit frame, the format of the printing information, and the contents of the printing information are input in the same way. However, for “Best before date”, “Processing date”, and “Content”, Since the print contents are set based on the output from the calendar clock section or the load cell 24, only the print unit frame and the print information format are input.

  For all items set in the pre-print label L, the print information and its print format are input, and by pressing the registration button B2, the print image and the image image of the pre-print information of the print label corresponding to the print format are displayed. Stored in the associated state. Thus, by designating a specific preprinted label stored in the preprinted information memory, it is possible to read out the print information and print format set and input corresponding to the preprinted label. For pre-printed labels that have been subjected to label editing, the label printing mode screen is called, and a label as shown in FIG. 3C is issued simply by placing a product on the weighing tray 24a and issuing a label issuing instruction. Will be.

  At the time of the above operation, as shown in FIG. 5A, the print information is set so as to overlap with the frame line and the column name display included in the image image of the preprinted label, or as shown in FIG. As described above, there is a case where the print information is set at a biased position in the frame line of the image image. However, in this embodiment, the liquid crystal tablet 22 is placed with the print unit and the image image of the preprinted label superimposed on each other. Since it is displayed, it is possible to adjust the position and size of the print information quickly and easily while viewing it. In particular, unlike the case of creating a non-printing unit for pre-printing information, it is only necessary to design the printing information that is actually printed, so that the label editing operation can be completed in a short time.

  In addition, since the same design as the printed label can be confirmed by the display means, it is possible to dispense with the label test issuance or reduce the number of labels to be issued. If the image of the preprint information can be displayed in color, it is possible to confirm a state closer to the label that is actually printed. In the present embodiment, in the label editing mode, the display and non-display of the image of the preprinted label L are switched by clicking the label display button B3 and the label non-display button B4 provided on the display screen of FIG. Is set to be able to. Accordingly, the design of the entire label can be confirmed by displaying the image image of the preprint information together with the print information, while details such as the font can be confirmed while the image image is not displayed.

(Modification of the above embodiment)
In the above embodiment, the image image of the preprint information is directly read by the scanner 3 from the actual preprinted label L. Instead, the digital image recorded on the recording medium (hard disk, flash memory, etc.) is used. Data may be read. As data to be read, image data for printing or image data taken with a digital camera can be used.

  In the above embodiment, since the image image of the preprint information is directly read from the preprint label L, it is not necessary to adjust the label size in principle. However, when image data for printing or image data of a digital camera is used. In some cases, the size differs from the actual label, or margins other than pre-print information are included. Therefore, by inputting the actual label size, the image image may be automatically enlarged or reduced or trimmed according to the actual label size.

  In the above-described embodiment, the label editing device is provided integrally with the label printing device. However, the label editing device may be configured independently, or the label printing device may be detachably connected to the label editing device. Anyway. In addition, instead of the label issuing unit using the thermal head, an ink jet printer compatible with color printing may be provided, and a keyboard, a mouse, or the like may be employed as the input means instead of the numeric keypad or the liquid crystal tablet.

  In the above embodiment, the example of the pre-printed label L in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to the back surface has been described, but it may be a POP label without a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Further, the print information is not limited to character information, and may include symbol information and graphic information. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the frame line that borders the periphery of the label is used as the preprint information, but such graphic information may be included in the print information for printing. However, in order to prevent inconveniences such as damage to the thermal head or ink smudge bounced off the label mount due to “empty printing” where the frame line printing area protrudes from the label area, a CCD camera, etc. It is advisable to provide a mechanism for automatically recognizing the label size and shape and automatically trimming the print area.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, various changes can be added within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

The perspective view which shows the label printing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The functional block diagram of a label printing apparatus. (A) is a preprinted label, (b) is print information, (c) is a figure which shows the state by which the print information was printed on the preprint label. The figure which shows the screen which edits printing information on a label in a label printing apparatus. The figure which shows the malfunction example by the improper setting of printing information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Label printer 2 Main-body part 3 Scanner 21 Tenkey switch 22 Liquid crystal tablet 23 Label issuing part 24a Weighing tray L Preprinted label

Claims (7)

In a label editing device for editing the printing information to be printed on the label and its printing format,
Input means capable of inputting the print information and the print format;
Display means for displaying a print unit of the print information according to the print format;
Storage means capable of storing an image of preprinted information preprinted on the label,
A label editing apparatus characterized in that the display unit can display the print unit and the image in a superimposed state. The label editing apparatus according to claim 1,
A label editing apparatus comprising reading means for directly reading the image from the label. In the label editing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The label editing apparatus, wherein the image can be automatically enlarged or reduced in accordance with a label size. In the label editing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The label editing apparatus, wherein the image can be trimmed according to a label size. In the label editing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A label editing apparatus, wherein the image can be switched between display and non-display.   A label printing apparatus comprising the label editing apparatus according to claim 1. In the label editing method for editing the printing information to be printed on the label and its printing format,
When editing the print information and the print format, the print information printing unit and the image of the preprint information preprinted on the label are displayed in a superimposed manner on a display means. How to edit the label.

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