JP2010173306A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

An image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium capable of satisfying both an image forming time and an image quality expected by a user are provided.
Information acquisition means for acquiring recording medium information and environment information, image formation condition setting means for setting image forming conditions for each image forming element, recording medium information and environment information acquired by the information acquisition means, And a total image forming time calculating unit that calculates a drying time and a total image forming time according to the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit.
[Selection] Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a program, and a recording medium that include means by which a user can set and check image quality, drying time, and total image formation time at the same time.

  As an image processing apparatus for processing image data, there are a personal computer and a workstation. Image data composed of various objects (characters, lines, paintings, photographs) is formed by application software that operates in such an image processing apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus that forms and outputs the image data as an image, there are a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, and a multi-function machine constituted by these apparatuses. Examples of the image forming method include an inkjet recording method and an electrophotographic method, and an image is formed using an image forming material such as a recording liquid (ink) or toner. Many image forming apparatuses support double-sided recording.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the image quality of image formation and the speed of image formation are important, and the degree of importance does not change even in double-sided recording. In addition, the compatibility between quality and speed is a natural expectation of users.

  As an example, an inkjet recording method will be described. In this method, since droplets are ejected to form an image, (1) show-through due to penetration of ink into the recording medium, and (2) undried ink is transferred to the recording medium transport mechanism, which is the recording medium. (3) wrinkles (cockling) due to ink adhering to the recording medium. These phenomena are caused by undried ink or deformation due to ink penetration of the recording medium.

Therefore, the following countermeasures are taken against these phenomena when performing double-sided recording.
(Countermeasure 1) A drying time is provided between printing on the front surface and printing on the back surface.
(Countermeasure 2) Reduce the ink adhesion amount per unit area.

However, these measures have disadvantages.
(Disadvantage of Countermeasure 1) The time until image formation on both sides is completed is increased by the drying time.
(Disadvantages of Measure 2) The image becomes thinner and the image quality is worse than that in single-sided recording.

  These measures are necessarily required for double-sided recording, but it is impossible to achieve both image quality and image formation speed by simply applying these measures as they are. The following methods have been proposed for such problems regarding quality and speed during double-sided recording.

  As methods for achieving both quality and speed at the time of double-sided recording, the inventions of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are disclosed. In Patent Document 1, both the quality and speed of double-sided recording are achieved by using a treatment agent in addition to a colorant. In Patent Document 2, a processing agent is used in addition to the colorant, and the amount of the colorant used in the overlapping portions on the front and back of the recording medium is reduced.

  As methods for improving the quality during double-sided recording, the inventions of Patent Literature 3, Patent Literature 4 and Patent Literature 5 are disclosed. In Patent Document 3, by changing the order of the recording surfaces, it is possible to avoid poor conveyance due to wrinkles generated on the recording medium and contamination of the recording medium due to interference with the print head. In Patent Document 4, as a countermeasure against show-through, a portion where the show-through has occurred is measured in advance, and the colorant is restricted according to the measurement. In Patent Document 5, in order to reduce the amount of colorant used while ensuring character quality (readability) during double-sided recording, the degree of reduction in the amount of colorant used is different between the character outline portion and the other portions. Make it.

  However, in the methods of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is assumed that a treatment agent is used in addition to the colorant. For this reason, these methods cannot be applied when a treatment agent cannot be used.

  In addition, in the methods of Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, and Patent Document 5, depending on the image to be printed, it may not be possible to ensure satisfactory quality for the user.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium capable of achieving both the image formation time expected by the user and the image quality. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an information acquisition unit that acquires recording medium information and environment information, an image formation condition setting unit that sets an image formation condition for each image forming element, and the information acquisition unit. And a total image formation time calculation means for calculating a drying time and a total image formation time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the means, and the image formation conditions set by the image formation condition setting means. It is characterized by that.

  The image processing method according to the present invention is acquired by an information acquisition step of acquiring recording medium information and environmental information, an image formation condition setting step of setting image formation conditions for each image forming element, and the information acquisition step. A total image forming time calculating step of calculating a drying time and a total image forming time based on the recording medium information, the environment information, and the image forming condition set in the image forming condition setting step. .

  According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a program comprising: an information processing unit that acquires recording medium information and environmental information; an image forming condition setting unit that sets an image forming condition for each image forming element; and the information acquiring unit. And functioning as a total image forming time calculating unit that calculates a drying time and a total image forming time based on the acquired recording medium information, the environment information, and the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit. And

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium including: an information processing unit that acquires recording medium information and environment information; an image forming condition setting unit that sets an image forming condition for each image forming element; and the information acquiring unit. Functioning as a total image forming time calculating unit that calculates a drying time and a total image forming time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the above and the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit. The characteristic program is recorded and can be read by a computer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both the image formation time expected by the user and the image quality.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a mechanism portion of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of a serial head type and line head type inkjet recording apparatus. It is a perspective explanatory view explaining the head unit composition of an ink jet recording device. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the conveyance belt of an inkjet recording device. It is explanatory drawing explaining the recording operation by an inkjet recording device. It is a block diagram which shows the outline | summary of the control part of the apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram functionally illustrating an example of a configuration of a printer driver in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process in one Example of this invention in an image forming apparatus. It is a figure explaining an example of the image formation time estimation in connection with embodiment which concerns on this invention in an image processing apparatus. It is a figure explaining an example of the setting and display of the image formation time of this invention and the image quality level of each object in an image processing apparatus. It is a figure explaining the inkjet recording system. It is a figure explaining the electrophotographic recording system. It is a figure explaining the thermal transfer recording system.

  Next, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire mechanism of the recording apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of the recording apparatus, FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating a head configuration of the recording apparatus, and FIG. It is typical sectional explanatory drawing of the conveyance belt of.

  This ink jet recording apparatus has an image forming unit 2 and the like inside the apparatus main body 1, and a paper feed tray 4 on which a large number of recording media (hereinafter referred to as “paper”) 3 can be stacked below the apparatus main body 1. The sheet 3 fed from the sheet feeding tray 4 is taken in, and a required image is recorded by the image forming unit 2 while the sheet 3 is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 5, and then mounted on the side of the apparatus main body 1. The paper 3 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6.

  In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus includes a duplex unit 7 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 1. When performing duplex printing, the sheet 3 is transported in the reverse direction by the transport mechanism 5 after completion of one-surface (front surface) printing. The sheet is taken into the duplex unit 7, reversed, and sent to the transport mechanism 5 again as the other side (back side) as a printable side, and the sheet 3 is discharged to the discharge tray 6 after the other side (back side) printing is completed.

  Here, the image forming unit 2 slidably holds the carriage 13 on the guide shafts 11 and 12, and moves the carriage 13 in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper 3 (main scanning) by a main scanning motor (not shown). . The carriage 13 is equipped with a recording head 14 constituted by a droplet discharge head in which nozzle holes 14n (see FIG. 3), which are a plurality of discharge ports for discharging droplets, are arranged, and supplies liquid to the recording head 14. The ink cartridge 15 is mounted detachably. Note that a sub tank may be mounted in place of the ink cartridge 15 so that ink is replenished and supplied from the main tank to the sub tank.

  Here, as the recording head 14, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, droplets that eject ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk). Although the four independent inkjet heads 14y, 14m, 14c, and 14k, which are ejection heads, are used, one or a plurality of heads having a plurality of nozzle arrays that eject ink droplets of each color may be used. The number of colors and the order of arrangement are not limited to this.

  As the ink jet head constituting the recording head 14, a thermal actuator that utilizes a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element or an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, or a metal phase change caused by a temperature change is used. Shape memory alloy actuators, electrostatic actuators using electrostatic force, and the like can be used as energy generating means for ejecting ink.

  As the electrothermal conversion element, it is possible to use an electrothermal conversion element having a non-linear characteristic in which the resistance value hardly changes even when a low voltage is applied and the resistance value greatly changes when a voltage of a certain level or more is applied.

  In an electrothermal conversion element having a linear characteristic, when a plurality of heat generating means are selectively driven, noise voltage is added to the non-selected heat generating means, energy is wasted, or the amount of ink discharged is affected by the drive voltage. May change and affect the recorded image. In particular, in an inkjet recording head that applies voltages to a plurality of vertical wirings and a plurality of horizontal wirings and selectively drives heating means arranged in a matrix at intersections of the vertical wirings and the horizontal wirings, the driving process In this case, a voltage lower than the driving voltage may be applied to the non-selected heat generating means. If this voltage is in the forward direction, unnecessary heat generation occurs in the non-selected heat generating means. If unnecessary heat is generated and heat is accumulated, if it is heated when it is ejected, it will generate more heat than specified, and as a result, an excessive amount of ink will be ejected. For this reason, variation occurs in the ink discharge amount for each nozzle.

  However, if an electrothermal conversion element having non-linear characteristics is used, even if a voltage lower than the driving voltage such as noise is applied to the heating means, unnecessary heat generation does not occur. Graininess and gradation are improved. Moreover, since unnecessary heat generation can be prevented, waste of energy can be prevented.

  Furthermore, when a thermal recording head is used, a protective layer may be provided on the electrothermal conversion element (discharge energy generator). By providing the protective layer, erosion by ink, kogation (burning of ink components) and cavitation (destruction due to impact when bubbles shrink) do not directly act on the electrothermal conversion element. Since the electrothermal conversion element is not damaged, the life of the electrothermal conversion element can be extended.

  The paper 3 in the paper feed tray 4 is separated one by one by a paper feed roller (half-moon roll) 21 and a separation pad (not shown), fed into the apparatus main body 1 and sent to the transport mechanism 5.

  The transport mechanism 5 guides the fed paper 3 along the guide surface 23 a and guides the paper 3 fed from the duplex unit 7 along the guide surface 23 b and the paper 3. A conveying roller 24 for conveying, a pressure roller 25 that presses the sheet 3 against the conveying roller 24, a guide member 26 that guides the sheet 3 toward the conveying roller 24, and a sheet 3 that is returned during duplex printing to the duplex unit 7. A guide member 27 for guiding and a pressing roller 28 for pressing the sheet 3 fed from the transport roller 24 are provided.

  Further, the transport mechanism 5 charges the transport belt 33 and the transport belt 33 that are stretched between the driving roller 31 and the driven roller 32 so that the recording head 14 transports the paper 3 while maintaining the flatness of the paper 3. A charging roller 34, a guide roller 35 facing the charging roller 34, a guide member (plastic template) that guides the transport belt 33 at a portion facing the image forming unit 2, and a transport belt 33. It has a cleaning roller made of a porous material or the like, which is a cleaning means for removing the attached recording liquid (ink).

  Here, the conveyance belt 33 is an endless belt, and is looped around the drive roller 31 and the driven roller (tension roller) 32 so as to circulate in the arrow direction A (paper conveyance direction) in FIG. It is configured.

  The transport belt 33 can be configured as a single layer, or as shown in FIG. 4, a two-layer configuration of a first layer (outermost layer) 33a and a second layer (back layer) 33b, or a configuration of three or more layers. For example, the transport belt 33 is a surface layer that is a sheet adsorbing surface formed of a pure resin material having a thickness of about 40 μm that is not subjected to resistance control, for example, ETFE pure material, and resistance control by carbon using the same material as the surface layer. It consists of the back layer (medium resistance layer, earth layer) performed.

  The charging roller 34 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 33 and to rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 33. A high voltage is applied to the charging roller 34 in a predetermined pattern from a high voltage circuit (high voltage power supply) (not shown).

  Further, on the downstream side from the transport mechanism 5, a paper discharge roller 38 for sending the paper 3 on which an image is recorded to the paper discharge tray 6 is provided.

  In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the conveyance belt 33 is circulated in the direction of the arrow, and is positively charged by coming into contact with the charging roller 34 to which a high potential application voltage is applied. In this case, the charging roller 34 is charged at a predetermined charging pitch by switching the polarity at predetermined time intervals.

  Here, when the paper 3 is fed onto the conveying belt 33 charged at this high potential, the inside of the paper 3 is in a polarized state, and the electric charge having the opposite polarity to the electric charge on the conveying belt 33 is connected to the belt 33 of the paper 3. The charge on the belt 33 and the charge on the transported paper 3 are electrostatically attracted to each other, and the paper 3 is electrostatically attracted to the transport belt 33. . In this way, the sheet 3 strongly adsorbed to the transport belt 33 is calibrated for warpage and unevenness, and a highly flat surface is formed.

  Therefore, the recording belt 14 is moved around the conveyor belt 33 and the recording head 14 is driven according to the image signal while moving and scanning the carriage 13 in one direction or in both directions, as shown in FIGS. As shown, a droplet 14i is ejected (jetted) from the recording head 14, and ink droplets, which are droplets, are landed on the stopped paper 3 to form dots Di, thereby recording one line. After the predetermined amount of paper 3 is conveyed, the next line is recorded. When the recording end signal or the signal that the rear end of the paper 3 reaches the recording area is received, the recording operation is ended. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the dot Di formation portion of FIG.

  In this way, the sheet 3 on which the image is recorded is discharged to the discharge tray 6 by the discharge roller 38.

  Next, an outline of the control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The figure is an overall block diagram of the control unit. The control unit 100 includes a CPU 101 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 102 that stores programs executed by the CPU 101 and other fixed data, a RAM 103 that temporarily stores image data, and the like, while the apparatus is powered off. Also, a non-volatile memory (NVRAM) 104 for holding data and an ASIC 105 for processing image processing for performing various signal processing and rearrangement and other input / output signals for controlling the entire apparatus are provided.

  The control unit 100 also includes a head drive control unit 107 and a head for controlling drive of the I / F 106 and the recording head 14 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the host 90 which is an image processing apparatus such as a personal computer. A driver 108, a main scanning motor driving unit 111 for driving the main scanning motor 110, a sub scanning motor driving unit 123 for driving the sub scanning motor 112, and a subsystem driving unit 294 for driving the motor of the subsystem 71 , An environmental sensor 118 for detecting environmental temperature and / or environmental humidity, an I / O 116 for inputting detection signals from various sensors (not shown), and the like.

  The control unit 100 is connected to an operation panel 117 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus. Further, the control unit 100 performs on / off switching and output polarity switching control of the high voltage circuit (high voltage power supply) 114 that applies a high voltage to the charging roller 34.

  Here, the control unit 100 receives print data including image data from the host 90 side such as a data processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, and an imaging device such as a digital camera via a cable or a network. Received by the I / F 106. It should be noted that the print data generation output for the control unit 100 is performed by the printer driver 91 according to the present invention on the host 90 side.

  Then, the CPU 101 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the I / F 106, performs data rearrangement processing by the ASIC 105, and transfers the image data to the head drive control unit 107. Note that the conversion of print data for image output into bitmap data is performed by developing the image data into bitmap data by the printer driver 91 on the host 90 side and transferring it to this apparatus as described above. For example, font data may be stored in the ROM 102.

  When the head drive control unit 107 receives image data (dot pattern data) corresponding to one line of the recording head 14, the dot pattern data for one line is serialized to the head driver 108 in synchronization with the clock signal. Data is sent out, and a latch signal is sent to the head driver 108 at a predetermined timing.

  The head drive control unit 107 includes a ROM (can also be configured by the ROM 102) storing pattern data of a drive waveform (drive signal), and D / A for D / A converting the drive waveform data read from the ROM. A waveform generation circuit including an A converter and a drive waveform generation circuit including an amplifier and the like are included.

  The head driver 108 also receives a clock signal from the head drive control unit 107 and serial data as image data, and a latch circuit that latches the register value of the shift register using a latch signal from the head drive control unit 107. A level conversion circuit (level shifter) that changes the output value of the latch circuit, an analog switch array (switch means) that is controlled to be turned on / off by the level shifter, and the like, and controls on / off of the analog switch array. In this way, a required drive waveform included in the drive waveform is selectively applied to the actuator means of the recording head 14 to drive the head.

  In the present invention, it is also possible to perform printing without providing a margin for at least a part of the edge of the recording medium.

At that time, in order to print the edge portion, ink is inevitably ejected outside the recording medium. This means that even if the ink is ejected so that it is printed to the edge of the recording medium, the ink is actually landed at the ideal landing position due to the feeding error of the recording medium transport system, the carriage driving error, etc. There are many cases where it is not possible to make a margin. For this reason, printing is performed wider than ideal considering the error of the printing position, and ink is inevitably discharged out of the recording medium.

  At this time, the ink that protrudes from the recording medium does not contribute to the recording, and is a wasteful consumption of ink. Therefore, I want to reduce the amount of protruding ink as much as possible.

  As a method of reducing the protruding ink, for example, there is a method of increasing the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium. By increasing the conveyance accuracy and reducing the projected area, it is possible to reduce unnecessary projected ink. Specifically, when printing the edge of the recording medium, it is possible to increase the conveyance accuracy by making the feeding of the recording medium minute.

Next, an example of an image processing apparatus including a printer driver on the host side for transferring image data in order to form an image by the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The printer driver 91 of the data processing apparatus converts the image data 130 supplied from the application software or the like from the monitor display color space to the recording device color space (RGB color system → CMY color system). (Color Management Module) processing unit 131, BG / UCR (Black Generation / Under Color Removal) processing unit 132 that performs black generation / under color removal from CMY values, input / output correction reflecting the characteristics of the recording apparatus and user preferences Γ correction unit 133 that performs image processing, zooming unit 134 that performs enlargement processing according to the resolution of the recording apparatus, and halftone processing that includes a multi-value / low-value matrix that replaces image data with a dot pattern arrangement ejected from the recording apparatus Part 135 is included.

  FIG. 8 shows the flow of processing in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention. When the image data 130 for image formation is determined, the object image quality level setting unit 202 sets the image quality level for each object (for example, characters, lines, painting, photographs, etc.). The setting here may be set for each object. When an important object is specified in the image, the important object is set to a high image quality level, and the image quality level of other objects is set. May be automatically set to a lower level than important objects. Alternatively, an importance index may be specified for each object, and the image quality level of each object may be automatically set based on the importance index. The image quality level may be set for each page or the same setting for all pages. Moreover, it may be automatically set for each page based on the ratio of the objects constituting the page, or the user may set for each object for each page. For example, a page centered on text may be set to a high image quality level of characters, and other objects may be set to a low image quality level.

  As a result, for the object portion with a low image quality level, the recording density is sparse, the recording speed is increased, the dot generation is suppressed by the recording gradation conversion process, and the amount of colorant adhesion per unit area can be suppressed. it can. Thereby, even when the drying time is short, it is possible to suppress problems during double-sided printing (such as wrinkles and back-through of the recording medium). On the contrary, the object portion having a high image quality level can have a high recording density, a low recording speed, a reduction in suppression of dot generation by changing a recording gradation conversion process, and an improvement in image quality. However, in this case, a lot of drying time must be taken.

  Further, it may be possible to select whether the image quality level of each object is fixed during printing. For example, when it is desired to fix the image quality of characters on a character-centered page, the image quality fixed setting is enabled. An example of this setting is shown in FIG.

  Next, based on the image quality level set for each object in the object image level setting unit 202, the object image setting unit 203 sets image forming conditions for each object, that is, recording density and recording speed, recording gradation processing (dots). Process for generating the arrangement pattern). When an image quality level is set for each page, an image forming condition is set for each page based on the image quality level.

  Based on the image forming conditions set in the object image setting unit, the image forming time estimating unit 204 calculates an estimated value of the image forming time. Since the colorant drying time and the degree of wrinkles of the recording medium differ depending on the recording medium and environment (temperature, humidity, etc.), the time required for drying varies depending on the recording medium and environment. Also, the time required for drying varies depending on the amount of colorant adhering to the recording medium. Therefore, the image formation time estimation unit 204 calculates a drying time during which no defect occurs in the image, based on the recording medium information, the environment information, and the image formation conditions. Then, together with the image formation time and the drying time, the estimated value of the total image formation time required until the entire image formation is completed is also calculated. That is, here, the estimated values of the drying time and the total image forming time are calculated based on the recording medium information, the environmental information, and the image forming conditions.

  Enables the user to check the image forming conditions such as the recording density set for each page and each object, the image quality level set for each page and each object, the predicted drying time, the total image forming time, etc. Therefore, these are displayed by the image forming condition display unit 205. The image forming condition display unit corresponds to, for example, a display device connected to a host 90 (FIG. 6) such as a data processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, or an imaging device such as a digital camera. An example of the display is shown in FIG.

  The user adjusts the total image forming time and the image quality level by changing the drying time, the image forming time, the total image forming time, the image quality level, and the like in the image forming time setting unit 201 while watching this display. An example of a user interface used for this adjustment is shown in FIG.

  When the adjustment in the image formation time setting unit 201 is performed and the drying time, the image formation time, and the total image formation time are changed by the user (207 in FIG. 8, Yes), the object image quality level setting unit 202 The image quality level is calculated based on the changed time, medium information, and environment information, and the image formation time estimation unit 204 calculates the total image formation time and the drying time again. When the user changes the image quality level (207 in FIG. 8, Yes), the object information quality setting unit 203 and the image formation time estimation unit 204 pass through the medium information and the environment information and the changed image quality level. The image formation time is calculated.

The image forming condition display unit 205 and the image forming time setting unit 201 allow the user to set the drying time, the image quality, and the like while checking the total image forming time. Both time and image quality can be achieved. Further, by obtaining the recording medium and the environment information, the adjustment of the drying time can be automated if the image quality level desired by the user and the total image forming time are determined.

  However, when the fixed image quality setting of the object is valid as described above, the image forming conditions such as the recording density of the object are fixed even if the drying time is changed.

  In order to allow the user to check the image quality before image formation, it is possible to select any plural pages, and the entire selected page or a part of the selected page can be formed according to set image forming conditions. It is preferable to do so.

  Alternatively, an image indicating the image quality according to the set image forming conditions may be displayed. As a method for doing this, for example, an image can be printed under various image forming conditions, and these can be captured in advance by a scanner or the like and displayed.

  The set image forming conditions and image data are transmitted to the image processing unit 203. The image processing unit 203 executes the processing described with reference to FIG. Finally, the control unit 100 receives dot arrangement data and image forming conditions from the image processing unit 203, and executes image formation based on these.

  Here, an example is shown in which the image quality level is set in units of objects. However, as a method of specifying the area in which the image quality levels are individually set, the areas may be specified based on criteria different from those in units of objects. For example, there is a method of setting an image quality level for each recording area. For example, first, (1) a recording area and a non-recording area are divided, (2) a certain recording area is selected, and (3) a certain distance (for example, 1 mm) from the selected area is the same area. (4) If there is a recording area that has not been subjected to the process (3) in the page, that area is selected, the process (3) is performed, and all areas in the page are (3 ) Can be performed by the procedure of ending when the process of () is performed. In this way, the area is divided, one area is treated as one object, and an image quality level is set for each area. As a result, quality adjustment (coloring agent amount adjustment) can be performed according to the area of the recording area, and deterioration in quality such as wrinkles of the recording medium can be suppressed.

  Next, estimation of the total image formation time will be described. The image formation time estimation unit 204 estimates the total image formation time. As an example of the estimation of the total image formation time with low accuracy, the number of image formations (when double-sided printing is performed, the number of image formations is 4) and the PPM value (the number of images that can form a prescribed image per minute) And an average value of the total image formation time is used as an estimated value of the total image formation time.

  An example of more accurate image formation time estimation will be described with reference to FIG. The vertical direction in FIG. 9 represents time, and the arrow represents processing time relating to image formation. FIG. 9 shows a case where two pages of images are formed on both sides of the recording medium.

  When the user instructs an image formation command, the image formation time estimation unit 204 starts calculating the estimated value of the total image formation time. In this example, the estimated total image formation time 308 includes the standby time / other person use time 300 (the return time from the standby time of the image forming apparatus and the time until the other person's use ends), the paper feed 302, and the image formation time ( Front side 303, reversal operation time 304, drying time 305, image formation time (back side) 306, and paper discharge 307. As described above, estimated values of the image formation time (front surface) 303, the drying time 305, and the image formation time (back surface) are calculated by the image formation time estimation unit 204 based on the recording medium information, environment information, and image formation conditions. In this example, the estimated total image formation time 308 is from the image formation command to the end of paper discharge.

  Next, each time constituting the estimated total image forming time will be described. First, the standby time / other person use time 300 will be described. The standby time is a return time from the power saving state or the like, and a predetermined value is used. Also, the usage time of others can be predicted by acquiring the usage status of others via a network or the like. Alternatively, the average image device use time per image forming command may be used. Alternatively, a method of notifying the user that the image forming apparatus is in use and it takes time to form an image without considering the other person's use time may be used.

  The image data conversion time 301 will be described. This time varies depending on the recording capacity and processing speed of the image processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus, the type of image data, and the like. However, considering the processing speed and storage capacity of recent devices, the estimated value of this time is not a concern for the user. If it takes a long time to calculate the image data conversion time, the image data condition that takes the longest processing time may be calculated in advance in the environment of the user's image processing apparatus and image forming apparatus, and used.

  The paper feed time and paper discharge time will be described. These times vary depending on the paper, but the values are fixed values. Therefore, these times may be calculated in advance as fixed values and used.

  The image forming time will be described. This time is the time required to form an image on the paper. This varies depending on the recording scanning speed and the recording scanning distance. The recording scanning speed is set to a predetermined speed depending on the resolution and head driving conditions. The recording scan distance is determined by the number of scans, the paper size, the presence of data on the image, and the like. The image formation time can be calculated from the recording scanning speed and the recording scanning distance. For example, when an image is formed by scanning the front surface with a scanning speed V_a and a scanning distance L_a and scanning the rear surface with a scanning speed V_b and a scanning distance L_b, the image forming time is L_a / V_a + V_b / L_b.

  The drying time will be described. The reason for providing this drying time during image formation is that image defects caused by the dry state of the colorant adhering to the recording medium (spotting, dirt generated by mechanism collision due to recording medium wrinkles, and undried portion transferred to the mechanism) This is to avoid the phenomenon that it is retransferred to the recording medium. The time required for drying the colorant and the degree of wrinkling of the recording medium are as follows: (1) type of recording medium, (2) environment (temperature and humidity), (3) image forming conditions (recording density, recording speed, recording area, The amount varies depending on the amount of colorant attached). Therefore, the minimum required drying time varies depending on these conditions. The optimum drying time determined by these conditions (1), (2), and (3) is calculated by the image forming time estimation unit 204 described above.

  As described above, the estimated value of the total image formation time can be calculated.

  The image processing described above can be stored in a recording apparatus and connected to the recording apparatus when necessary. It can also be realized as a recording system including a recording device. It can also be realized as a program, executed by a PC or the like, and transmitted to a recording device. Further, the above-described program can be recorded on a recording medium.

  Although no specific recording means has been mentioned in the above description, the colorant usage reduction means in the present invention is not limited to a specific recording means. For example, the ink jet recording shown in FIG. The present invention can be applied to various recording means such as the electrophotographic recording of FIG. 12 and the thermal transfer recording of FIG.

  As described above, by allowing the user himself / herself to check the settings of the image quality level, the drying time, and the total image forming time at the same time, it is possible to simultaneously reduce the total image forming time and improve the image quality.

  The present invention has been described above by the preferred embodiments of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. is there.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention further includes image forming condition input means for inputting the image forming conditions for each of the image forming elements by a user, and the image forming conditions set by the image forming condition setting means are: The image forming conditions input by the image forming condition input unit may be used.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the drying time is input by the user, the recording medium information acquired by the information acquisition unit, the environment information, and the drying time input unit. A first image forming condition calculating unit that calculates the image forming condition according to the drying time, and the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit is the first image forming condition calculating unit. The image forming conditions calculated by the above may be used.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an all-image forming time input unit for inputting the all-image forming time by a user, the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquiring unit, and the all-image forming. Second image formation condition calculation means for calculating the image formation conditions based on the total image formation time input by the time input means, and the image formation conditions set by the image formation condition setting means include: The image forming condition calculated by the second image forming condition calculating unit may be used.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the image forming condition setting unit may set the image forming condition for each of a character, a line drawing, a painting, and a photograph.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the image forming conditions may include a recording density, a recording speed, and a recording gradation conversion process.

  Further, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention displays the image forming conditions set according to the image forming conditions, the drying time calculated by the total image forming time calculating unit, and the total image forming time. You may make it have a means.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet image forming apparatus 2 Image forming part 3 Paper 5 Conveying mechanism part 7 Duplex unit 14 Recording head 33 Conveying belt 130 Image data 201 Image forming time setting part 202 Object image quality level setting part 203 Object image quality setting part 204 Image forming time Estimating unit 205 Image forming time setting unit 303 Image forming time (front side)
305 Paper feed drying time 306 Image formation time (rear side)
308 Estimated total image formation time

JP 2008-018664 A JP 2004-188656 A JP 2007-144963 A JP 2007-130924 A JP 2006-168096 A

Claims (10)

Information acquisition means for acquiring recording medium information and environmental information;
Image forming condition setting means for setting image forming conditions for each image forming element;
A total image forming time calculating unit that calculates a drying time and a total image forming time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquiring unit and the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit; And an image processing apparatus. An image forming condition input means for inputting the image forming conditions for each of the image forming elements by a user;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit is the image forming condition input by the image forming condition input unit. A drying time input means for inputting the drying time by a user;
First image formation condition calculation means for calculating the image formation conditions based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquisition means and the drying time input by the drying time input means; ,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit is the image forming condition calculated by the first image forming condition calculating unit. . A total image forming time input means for inputting the total image forming time by a user;
Second image formation condition calculation means for calculating the image formation conditions based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquisition means and the total image formation time input by the total image formation time input means; Have
4. The image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting unit is the image forming condition calculated by the second image forming condition calculating unit. 5. The image processing apparatus described.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming condition setting unit sets the image forming condition for each of a character, a line drawing, a painting, and a photograph.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming condition includes a recording density, a recording speed, and a recording gradation conversion process.   The image forming condition set according to the image forming condition, and the display unit that displays the drying time and the total image forming time calculated by the total image forming time calculating unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. An information acquisition step of acquiring recording medium information and environmental information;
An image forming condition setting step for setting image forming conditions for each image forming element;
A total image forming time calculating step for calculating a drying time and a total image forming time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquiring step and the image forming condition set by the image forming condition setting step; And an image processing method. The image processing device
Information acquisition means for acquiring recording medium information and environmental information;
Image forming condition setting means for setting image forming conditions for each image forming element;
As a total image formation time calculation means for calculating a drying time and a total image formation time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquisition means and the image formation conditions set by the image formation condition setting means. A program characterized by functioning. The image processing device
Information acquisition means for acquiring recording medium information and environmental information;
Image forming condition setting means for setting image forming conditions for each image forming element;
As a total image formation time calculation means for calculating a drying time and a total image formation time based on the recording medium information and the environment information acquired by the information acquisition means and the image formation conditions set by the image formation condition setting means. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program that is made to function.

Images