JP5365782B2 - Image forming apparatus, information processing apparatus, and control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and a control program. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and a control program suitable for preview display when image formation is performed while reducing the amount of color material used compared to normal printing.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a multifunction machine of these, for example, an apparatus including a recording head composed of a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid droplets of color material is used. However, the material is not limited, and a color material as a liquid (hereinafter also referred to as recording liquid or ink) is conveyed while conveying a recording medium, recording paper, transfer material, recording paper, and the like. ) Is attached to a sheet to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously).

  Further, in recent years, level image technology (hereinafter referred to as “level color technology”) that can reduce the consumption of color materials such as ink according to the contents of a document to be printed and reduce the printing cost compared to normal printing during image formation. In addition, an image forming apparatus having an ink reduction mode and a color material usage reduction mode has been proposed. Specifically, for example, when printing a document containing a photo or figure, the text part is recognized separately from the picture or figure part, and the text part is printed with the same ink density as during normal printing. In the figure, the density is reduced and printed. In addition, an image forming apparatus that recommends printing using level color technology to a user has also been proposed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a special color material for the use amount of a process color color material for the purpose of providing a user with information for determining whether printing is possible by combining a plurality of color materials including a process color and a special color. A technique is disclosed in which the ratio of the amount of ink used is calculated, and the recommended degree of printing based on a combination of process color and spot color material is determined based on the ratio.

  However, the conventional method of recommending the ink reduction mode based on the index of cost and printing speed results in the quality between the preview image and the image actually printed in the ink reduction mode as a result of the ink reduction mode printing. There is a problem in that an image having a quality deteriorated more than expected by the user may be printed.

  Therefore, the present invention reduces the difference in quality (hereinafter also referred to as image quality level) between the preview image and the image printed in the actual ink reduction mode when printing in the ink reduction mode, and exceeds the user's assumption. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and a control program for preventing a deteriorated image from being printed.

In order to achieve such an object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image by transferring a color material to a recording medium, and reduces the amount of color material used compared to normal printing. A color material usage reduction mode for forming an image, and when forming an image in the color material usage reduction mode , the image quality level is superior and / or inferior to the image formation result in the color material usage reduction mode. the image data create multiple causes appears to selectably display to the user the plurality of image data as a preview image, according to the selected preview image from among the plurality of preview images, the preview image print mode recommended In addition, a control means for displaying on the display unit is provided.

The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 uses a color material that forms an image by transferring the color material to a recording medium and performs image formation by reducing the amount of the color material used compared to normal printing. In an information processing apparatus in an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus having an amount reduction mode and an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined control on the image forming apparatus are connected via a communication line, when executing the image formed by the color material using amount reducing mode, the image forming result of colorant usage amount reduction mode, superior, and / or poor image data of quality level create multiple said multiple with displaying the image data enables the display unit selected by the user as a preview image, in accordance with the preview image selected from among the plurality of preview images, the printing mode to be recommended pre In which a control means for displaying on the display unit in accordance with the-menu image.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect or the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the control means performs color image formation in the color material usage reduction mode, Monochrome image data is created based on image data of a color image, and the monochrome image data is displayed on the display unit as a preview image.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect or the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the recommended print mode is a print image that is not inferior to the selected preview image. This is a print mode .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control program that forms an image by transferring a color material to a recording medium, and reduces the amount of color material used compared to normal printing to form an image. In the image forming apparatus and / or information processing apparatus in the image forming system in which an image forming apparatus having a reduction mode and an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined control on the image forming apparatus are connected via a communication line, upon imaging with wood usage amount reduction mode, the image forming result of colorant usage amount reduction mode, superior, and / or, the image data of poor quality levels create multiple preview images the plurality of image data causes selectably displayed on the display unit to the user as, according to the selected preview image from among the plurality of preview images, the preview image and print mode recommended It is intended to execute the process of displaying on the display unit in conjunction with.

  According to the present invention, at the time of printing in the ink reduction mode, the difference in quality (image quality level) between the preview image and the image printed in the actual ink reduction mode is reduced, and an image deteriorated beyond the user's assumption. It can be prevented from being printed.

1 is a top view illustrating a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a front side view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is a configuration example of an image forming system. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of a preview display control process. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display at the time of color printing. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result for the preview display of FIG. 7. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display at the time of color printing of ink reduction mode. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result for the preview display of FIG. 9. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display at the time of monochrome printing. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result with respect to the preview display of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display at the time of color printing of the ink reduction mode in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing result with respect to the preview display of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the preview display control process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example which outputs an audio | voice from an audio | voice output part and notifies a user. It is a figure explaining the example which displays a notification sentence on a display part and notifies a user. It is a flowchart which shows the preview display control process including the notification process by a notification means. It is a figure explaining the example which displays a monochrome preview image and a color ink reduction mode preview image alternately. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing preview display control processing shown in FIG. 19. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display at the time of color printing of the ink reduction mode in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the preview display control process shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the example which performs the recommendation display of print mode. It is a figure explaining printing mode selection by a user. It is a figure which shows an example of the confirmation screen displayed after the printing mode selection of FIG. 24 is performed. It is a flowchart which shows the preview display control process shown in FIGS.

  Hereinafter, the configuration according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in FIGS.

1. Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a top view and FIG. 2 is a side view of the front of the apparatus. It is.

  In this ink jet recording apparatus, a carriage 100 is held by a guide lot 104 that is horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The carriage 100 is moved and scanned in the main scanning direction by the main scanning motor 105 via the timing belt 102 passed between the driving pulley 106 and the driven pulley 107.

  The carriage 100 includes, for example, a recording head (simply referred to as a head) including four liquid ejection heads that eject ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). 120 is provided, the nozzle rows on the nozzle surface on which a plurality of ink discharge ports (nozzles) are formed are arranged in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction, and are mounted with the ink discharge port direction facing downward. Although an independent droplet discharge head is used here, a configuration in which one or a plurality of heads having a plurality of nozzle rows that discharge droplets of recording liquid of each color can be used. Further, the number of colors and the arrangement order are not limited to this.

  Examples of the ink jet head constituting the recording head 120 include a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that uses a phase change caused by liquid film boiling using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase caused by a temperature change. A shape memory alloy actuator using a change, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as pressure generating means for generating a pressure for discharging a droplet can be used.

  The carriage 100 is provided with an encoder scale 103 having slits along the main scanning direction. The carriage 100 is provided with an encoder sensor (not shown) for detecting the slit of the encoder scale 103, and these constitute a linear encoder 213 (see FIG. 3) for detecting the position of the carriage 100 in the main scanning direction. ing.

  On the other hand, a conveying belt 101 is provided as a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the recording paper 108 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 120. The conveyance belt 101 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyance roller 109 and the tension roller 110 so as to circulate in the belt conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). Is charged (charged).

  Next, an outline of a control unit as a control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of the control unit 200 of the image forming apparatus (inkjet recording apparatus) according to the present embodiment. The control unit 200 also serves as a means for controlling the conveyance operation of the recording paper 108 and the movement operation of the recording head 120, which controls the entire image forming apparatus, the program executed by the CPU 201, and other fixed data. ROM 202 for storing, RAM 203 for temporarily storing image data and the like, rewritable non-volatile memory (NVRAM) 204 for holding data even while the apparatus is powered off, various signal processing for image data, It includes an ASIC 205 for processing image processing for rearranging and the like and other input / output signals for controlling the entire apparatus.

  Further, the control unit 200 generates a host I / F 206 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the host side, and a drive waveform for driving the recording head 120, and selects a pressure generating unit for the recording head 120. A print control unit 207 that outputs image data to be driven and various data associated therewith to the head driver 208, a main scanning motor driving unit 209 for driving the main scanning motor 105, and sub scanning for driving the sub scanning motor 210. I / O for inputting detection pulses from a motor drive unit 211, an AC bias supply unit 212 for supplying an AC bias to the charging roller 113, a linear encoder 213 and a wheel encoder 214, and other various sensors. O215 etc. are provided.

  Further, an operation panel 216 (display unit) for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus is connected to the control unit 200.

  The control unit 200 receives print data generated by the printer driver 217 of a host device (information processing device, external device) such as an information 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. And received by the host I / F 206 via a cable or a network.

  Then, the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the host I / F 206, performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like in the ASIC 205, and sends it to the print control unit 207. The image data and the drive waveform are output from the print control unit 207 to the head driver 208 at a required timing.

  For example, even when font data is stored in the ROM 202, the dot pattern data for outputting the image is generated by the host-side printer driver 217 and converted to bitmap data and transferred to the image forming apparatus. You may make it do.

  A drive waveform generation unit (not shown) of the print control unit 207 includes a D / A converter and an amplifier that perform D / A conversion on drive pulse pattern data stored in the ROM 202 and read by the CPU 201. A drive waveform composed of a drive pulse or a plurality of drive pulses is output to the head driver 208.

  The head driver 208 forms a drive pulse that forms a drive waveform supplied from the drive waveform generation unit of the print control unit 207 based on image data (dot pattern data) corresponding to one line of the recording head 120 input serially. Is selectively applied to the pressure generating means of the recording head 120 to drive the recording head. The head driver 208, for example, shifts the level of the shift register that receives a clock signal and serial data that is image data, a latch circuit that latches the register value of the shift register using a latch signal, and the output value of the latch circuit. A level conversion circuit (level shifter) and an analog switch array (switch means) whose on / off is controlled by this level shifter, etc., and the required drive pulse included in the drive waveform by controlling the on / off of the analog switch array Is selectively applied to the pressure generating means of the recording head 120.

2. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system (also referred to as an image forming system) in which an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus according to the present invention are connected by connection means.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the printing system 300 is a personal computer as an example of an information processing apparatus that is a host device that sends print data and a print job including printing conditions for printing the print data. 301 and a printer apparatus 302 as an example of an image forming apparatus that prints print data are connected via a cable 303 as a connection unit.

  The personal computer (information processing apparatus) 301, for example, print data corresponding to a created document and print condition data set for printing this document (paper orientation, duplex, aggregation, bookbinding, stapling, punching, enlargement / reduction, etc.) ) As a print job to the printer apparatus (image forming apparatus) 302.

  On the other hand, the printer device 302 prints print data in accordance with a print job sent from the personal computer 301. Specifically, the printer device 302 prints the print data included in the print job according to the print condition data included in the print job (for example, paper orientation, double-sided, aggregation, bookbinding, staple, punch, enlargement / reduction, etc.). Print on media such as.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a personal computer 301 as an information processing apparatus.

  In FIG. 5, a personal computer 301 includes an input unit 310 for inputting data, a display unit 311 such as a display, a communication unit 312 for performing data communication, and a CPU 313 as a control unit that controls the entire apparatus. A RAM 314 used as a work area for the CPU 313, a recording medium drive device 315 for reading / writing data on the recording medium, a recording medium 316 storing various programs for operating the CPU 313, and sound output Voice output unit 317.

  The input unit 310 includes a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, a mouse and a slice pad for selecting keys on the display screen of the display unit 311, and the user operates the CPU 313. This is a user interface for giving instructions and inputting data.

  The display unit 311 includes a CRT, an LCD, or the like, and performs display according to display data input from the CPU 313. The communication unit 312 is for data communication with the outside. For example, the communication unit 312 is for data communication with the printer device 302 or the like via the cable 303.

  The CPU 313 is a central control unit that controls the entire apparatus in accordance with a program stored in the recording medium 316. The CPU 313 includes an input unit 310, a display unit 311, a communication unit 312, a RAM 314, a recording medium drive device 315, and the like. Are connected to control data communication, reading of an application program by accessing a memory, reading / writing of various data, data / command input, display, and the like.

  Further, the CPU 313 sends the print data input from the input unit 310 and the print condition data of the print data to the printer device 302 via the communication unit 312 as a print job.

  The RAM 314 includes a work memory that stores designated programs, input instructions, input data, processing results, and the like, and a display memory that temporarily stores display data to be displayed on the display screen of the display unit 311.

  The recording medium 316 includes an OS program that can be executed by the CPU 313 (for example, Microsoft operating system Windows (registered trademark) XP), a document creation application program, and a printer driver corresponding to the printer device 302 (that is, according to the present invention). Various programs and data such as control programs for image forming apparatuses and / or information processing apparatuses) are stored. As the recording medium 316, for example, an optical / magnetic / electric recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, an MO, or a PC card can be used.

  Various programs are stored in the recording medium 316 in a data format readable by the CPU 313. Various programs may be recorded in advance on the recording medium 316, downloaded via a communication line such as the Internet, and stored in the recording medium 316.

3. Preview display control process 3-1. Preview display control process overview The process described below
(1) Configuration displayed on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus according to the above configuration (2) Execution can be performed in any configuration displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus in the printing system according to the above configuration. That is, even if the control unit (CPU 201) of the image forming apparatus displays the preview image on the operation panel 216, the control unit (CPU 313) of the information processing apparatus 301 in the image forming system displays the preview image on the display unit 311. Display may be performed. Note that “preview” means, for example, a function for checking a finished image of image data on a display unit such as an information processing apparatus or an image forming apparatus before printing, and a function thereof.

  Note that, in the following example, the description is focused on the case where a preview image is displayed on the display unit 311 of the information processing apparatus 301. However, the preview display may be performed on the operation panel (display unit) 216 of the image forming apparatus. Needless to say, in this case, the information processing apparatus 301 is not an essential component, and the following processing can be executed by the image forming apparatus alone.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart when preview display is performed on the display unit 311 of the personal computer (information processing apparatus according to the present invention) 301 in the printing system 300.

  The personal computer 301 first acquires image data from the OS program (Z001), develops an image in RGB on the RAM 314 (Z002), and displays an image preview on the display unit 311 (Z003).

3-2. Preview display control processing (conventional configuration)
Hereinafter, in order to clarify the difference from the preview display control process by the personal computer 301 according to the present embodiment, first, problems of the conventional preview display control will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows a preview screen during color printing. FIG. 8 shows a color print image printed based on the preview display shown in FIG.

  The preview image shown in FIG. 7 can be confirmed on the display unit 311, and the user confirms the preview image, and performs printing if there is no problem with the layout or color tone. However, the print image formed on the recording paper 108 as shown in FIG. 8 often has a different color tone or the like even though the preview image and the layout are the same.

  This is because it is difficult to completely reproduce the preview image displayed on the display unit 311 due to limitations of image processing performance in addition to ink characteristics and characteristics of a recording medium such as paper. .

  FIG. 9 shows a color preview screen when the ink reduction mode is selected during color printing. FIG. 10 shows a color print image printed based on the preview display shown in FIG.

  In an image forming apparatus having a conventional ink reduction mode, even when the ink reduction mode is selected at the time of color printing, the quality such as the color tone between the preview image (FIG. 9) and the actual print image (FIG. 10). May occur, and the quality (image quality) of the printed image may not be at an acceptable level for the user's request. Further, in the preview in the ink reduction mode, the difference is even greater in the apparatus that displays the preview of the color image in the normal mode as shown in FIG. 7 instead of the preview display in the ink reduction mode as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows a preview screen during black and white printing, and FIG. 12 shows a print image printed based on the preview display shown in FIG.

  Even during monochrome printing, there may be a difference in image quality between the preview image (FIG. 11) and the actual print image (FIG. 12), and the image quality of the print image is not at a level that the user can satisfy. is there. In addition, since it is monochrome printing, it is inferior in terms of color reproducibility and the like as compared with color printing as shown in FIGS.

In the above, the problem between the conventional preview image and the print image has been described. When the image quality viewed from the user is arranged in the order of the best image quality (1) to the worst image quality (6), It becomes a relationship like this.
<Relationship between image quality (A)>
(1): Color preview image,
(2): Color print image,
(3): Ink reduction mode color preview image,
(4): Ink reduction mode color print image,
(5): Black and white preview image,
(6): Monochrome print image

  For a user who expects a print image having an image quality equivalent to that of the preview image, the print image that is actually printed is not necessarily at a desired level and may not satisfy the request. In particular, in the ink reduction mode, there is a problem in that there is a difference between the image quality levels of the preview image (above (3)) and the print image (above (4)) because the ink density is low and the color reproducibility is low.

3-3. Preview display control processing (first embodiment)
In order to solve the above-described problems, the image processing apparatus and / or the information processing apparatus according to the present invention displays a preview image having an unfavorable condition in advance to the user, so that the image quality of the printed image is inferior to the preview image. There is no such thing.

  In this embodiment, a black and white preview image is displayed as a preview image when the color reduction ink reduction mode is selected. As shown in <image quality relationship (A)>, the image quality viewed from the user is higher in the ink reduction mode print image (above (4)) than the black and white preview image (above (5)).

  By doing so, the printed image can be obtained with higher quality than the previewed image, and reprinting due to failure to obtain the desired image quality and discarding of the printed paper can be prevented. Satisfaction with the image forming apparatus can be improved.

  An embodiment of preview display control will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 shows a preview display of an image to be color-printed in the ink reduction mode, and FIG. 14 shows a print image as a result of printing the image previewed in FIG. 13 using the image forming apparatus. In this way, when color printing is performed in the ink reduction mode, a black and white preview image is displayed. Actually, color printing is performed in the ink reduction mode, so that the print image is more than the preview image viewed from the user side. A good image quality will be obtained.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a flowchart of preview display control processing executed by the information processing apparatus. First, it is determined whether or not the print mode is the color mode (Z101). If the print mode is not the color mode (Z101: N), monochrome image data is created (Z102). On the other hand, in the case of the color mode (Z101: Y), it is determined whether or not the ink reduction mode is set (Z103).

  In the ink reduction mode (Z103: Y), monochrome image data is created (Z102). On the other hand, when not in the ink reduction mode (Z103: N), color image data is created (Z104). After any image data is created, the display unit 311 is instructed to display the created data as a preview image (Z015).

  As described above, in this embodiment, in the case of color printing in the ink reduction mode, the same black-and-white preview display as in the case of normal black-and-white printing is performed. There is also.

  Therefore, it is preferable to further include notification means for notifying the user that color printing in the ink reduction mode is executed. The notification means includes, for example, a voice notification means that performs a voice notification, a character display means that performs a character display notification, and the like. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a state in which audio is output from the audio output unit 317 and notified to the user during preview display, and FIG. 17 displays a notification sentence along with the display unit 311 during preview display. It is a figure explaining a mode that it notifies to a user.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of the flowchart of the preview display control process in the case where the user notification is performed by the notification unit in this way. First, a preview image is displayed (Z201), and when the display image is in color (Z202: Y), the end of the preview is awaited (Z203). On the other hand, when the display image is not in color (black and white) (Z202: N), it is determined whether or not the ink reduction mode is set (Z204).

  If there is no ink reduction mode (Z204: N), the process waits for the preview to end (Z203). On the other hand, when the ink reduction mode is set (Z204: Y), the notifying unit notifies the user that the ink reduction mode is set (Z205). Note that the end of the preview (Z203: Y) is performed by, for example, an end instruction when the user presses a preview end button or the like.

  In addition, in the case of color printing in the ink reduction mode, in order to prevent misperception that monochrome printing is executed, a preview display different from normal is displayed on the display unit 311 to visually alert the user. It is also preferable to do so.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, a color ink reduction mode preview image (FIG. 19A) and a black and white preview image (FIG. 19B) are alternately displayed on the display unit 311. The control is performed so that it is displayed on the screen.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of a flowchart of the preview display control process shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the display image is in color (Z301), and if it is in color (Z301: Y), a color preview image is displayed (Z302) and the end of preview is awaited (Z303). On the other hand, when the display image is not in color (Z301: N), a black and white preview image is displayed (Z304), and it is determined whether or not the ink reduction mode is set (Z305).

  When the ink reduction mode is not set (Z305: N), the process proceeds to the preview end waiting (Z303). On the other hand, in the ink reduction mode (Z305: Y), it is determined whether or not it is a timing to switch the preview image from black and white to color or from color to black and white (Z306). When it is not the switching timing (Z306: N), It is determined whether the preview is finished (Z307).

  When the preview is not finished (Z307: N), the process returns to the determination of the switching timing (Z306). If it is the preview switching timing (Z306: Y), it is determined whether or not it is currently a black and white preview (Z308), and if it is a black and white preview (Z308: Y), the preview is switched to the color preview (Z309). The process proceeds to end determination (Z307). In the monochrome preview determination (Z308), when the preview is not a monochrome preview (Z308: N), the mode is switched to the monochrome preview (Z310), and the process proceeds to the preview end determination (Z307).

  The preview switching timing may be, for example, the time elapsed after switching the previous image, and the timing when the predetermined time has elapsed. Further, the end of the preview (Z303, Z307: Y) is implemented by an end instruction when the user presses a preview end button or the like, for example.

3-3. Preview display control processing (second embodiment)
It is preferable that the information processing apparatus 301 according to the present invention simultaneously displays preview images in a plurality of print modes on the display unit 311. As shown in FIG. 21, the information processing apparatus 301 according to the present embodiment displays a color preview image, an ink reduction mode preview image (color), a black and white preview image, an ink as a preview display of an image to be color printed in the ink reduction mode. The reduced mode preview image (black and white) is displayed simultaneously.

  An example of a flowchart of the preview display control process shown in FIG. 21 is shown in FIG. First, color image data (hereinafter also referred to as preview image 1) is created (Z401), and ink reduced color data (hereinafter also referred to as preview image 2) is created from the color image data (Z402). Then, monochrome image data (hereinafter also referred to as preview image 3) is created from the color image data (Z403), and monochrome data (hereinafter also referred to as preview image 4) is created from the ink-reduced color data (Z404). Then, the display unit 311 is instructed to display all the created image data (Z405).

Here, the image quality level seen from the user when the ink reduction mode monochrome printing is further added to the above <image quality relationship (A)> can be expressed as <image quality relationship (B)>. .
<Relationship between image quality (B)>
(1): Color preview image (Preview image 1)
(2): Color print image (3): Ink reduction mode color preview image (preview image 2)
(4): Ink reduction mode color print image (5): Black and white preview image (preview image 3)
(6): Black and white print image (7): Ink reduction mode black and white preview image (preview image 4)
(8): Ink reduction mode monochrome print image

  In the preview image of FIG. 21, the user can select a preview image at a desired image quality level from among the preview images. For example, the user can select a color preview image ((1) above) and an ink reduction mode color preview image (above described above). If any of (3)) is selected, it is recommended to print a color print image (above (2)), and a black and white preview image (above (5)) and an ink reduction mode monochrome preview image (above (7) )) Is selected, it is recommended to print an ink reduction mode color print image ((4) above).

  Thus, when the ink reduction mode color preview image (above (3)) is selected, the color print image (above (2)) is recommended, and the ink reduction mode black and white preview image (above (7)) is selected. In this case, by recommending the ink reduction mode color print image ((4) above), the user can obtain a print image that is not inferior to the previewed image. Note that “◯” in FIG. 23 indicates that color printing is recommended, and “Δ” indicates an example in which ink-reduced color printing is recommended.

  Here, the selection by the user is, for example, as shown in FIG. 24, by displaying a preview image of an image quality level satisfying the user's requirement so as to be selectable in the preview display. For example, in the case of an input means such as a mouse or a keyboard or the operation panel 216, it is preferable that the user can select a touch panel as a touch panel by directly touching a preview display corresponding to the selected content.

  In the selection screen shown in FIG. 24, the user selects a desired preview image. However, when the selected preview display is monochrome, there is a possibility that a monochrome image is printed. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 25, it is also preferable to display a confirmation display on the display unit 311. If YES is selected for the confirmation display, printing is performed in the selected mode.

  An example of a flowchart of the preview display control process of this embodiment is shown in FIG. First, the four types of preview images shown in FIG. 22 are displayed (Z411). It is determined which of the preview images has been selected with the mouse pointer (Z412). If it has not been selected (Z412: N), a preview end determination is performed (Z413).

  If it is selected (Z412: Y), it is determined which image is the selected image (Z414). If it is one of the preview images 1 and 2 (Z414: N), color printing is performed. The recommendation is notified to the user (Z415). On the other hand, when the image is not one of the preview images 1 and 2 (that is, when any one of the preview images 3 and 4 is selected, Z414: N), the user is notified of recommended ink-reduced color printing ( Z416). The recommended method for each print mode is a method as shown in FIG.

  Further, the end of the preview (Z413: Y) is performed by, for example, an end instruction when the user presses a preview end button or the like.

  The preview display control described above can also be executed by a program (control program according to the present invention) stored in a main body memory such as the ROM 202 or the recording medium 316. The program is preferably configured to be executed by a printer driver of the information processing apparatus. For example, it is also preferable that the program is provided by downloading from the Internet and installed from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus. Further, the present invention is also applied to an aspect of a recording medium on which the control program according to the present invention is recorded so as to be executable by the image forming apparatus.

  The above embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Carriage 101 Conveyance belt 102 Timing belt 103 Encoder scale 104 Guide lot 105 Main scanning motor 106 Drive pulley 107 Driven pulley 108 Recording paper 109 Conveyance roller 110 Tension roller 113 Charging roller 120 Recording head (head)
200 control unit 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 NVRAM
205 ASIC
206 Host I / F
207 Print control unit 208 Head driver 209 Main scanning motor driving unit 210 Sub scanning motor 211 Sub scanning motor driving unit 212 AC bias supply unit 213 Linear encoder 214 Wheel encoder 215 I / O
216 Operation panel (display unit)
217 Printer Driver 300 Printing System 301 Information Processing Device (Personal Computer)
302 Image forming apparatus (printer apparatus)
310 Input unit 311 Display unit 312 Communication unit 313 CPU
314 RAM
315 Storage medium drive device 316 Recording medium 317 Audio output unit

JP 2007-33888 A

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus that forms an image by transferring a color material to a recording medium,
A color material use amount reduction mode for performing image formation by reducing the use amount of the color material from that during normal printing,
Upon image formation by the color material using amount reducing mode, the image forming result of colorant usage amount reduction mode, superior, and / or, the image data of poor quality levels create multiple the plurality of image data A preview image is displayed on the display unit so that the user can select it .
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to display a recommended print mode on a display unit together with a preview image according to a preview image selected from a plurality of preview images . An image forming apparatus provided with a color material usage reduction mode for forming an image by transferring a color material to a recording medium and performing image formation by reducing the usage amount of the color material from that during normal printing; and In an information processing apparatus in an image forming system in which an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined control on the image forming apparatus is connected via a communication line,
When the image forming apparatus executes image formation in the color material usage reduction mode, image data with an image quality level that is superior and / or inferior to the image formation result in the color material usage reduction mode. the create multiple causes display allows the display unit a user to select the plurality of image data as a preview image,
An information processing apparatus comprising: control means for displaying a recommended print mode on a display unit together with a preview image according to a preview image selected from a plurality of preview images .   The control means, when performing color image formation in the color material usage reduction mode, creates monochrome image data based on the image data of the color image, and causes the display unit to display the monochrome image data as a preview image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, or the information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or the information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recommended print mode is a print mode in which a print image is not inferior to a selected preview image . An image forming apparatus provided with a color material usage reduction mode for forming an image by transferring a color material to a recording medium and performing image formation by reducing the usage amount of the color material from that during normal printing; and An image forming apparatus and / or an information processing apparatus in an image forming system in which an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined control on the image forming apparatus is connected via a communication line.
Upon image formation by the color material using amount reducing mode, the image forming result of colorant usage amount reduction mode, superior, and / or, the image data of poor quality levels create multiple the plurality of image data A preview image is displayed on the display unit so that the user can select it .
A control program that causes a display unit to display a recommended print mode in accordance with a preview image selected from a plurality of preview images .