JP5515580B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming system, and processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, and a processing program.

  Conventionally, when printing on only one side of an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine, instead of using new printing paper, I want to use the back side (so-called back paper) of a printed unnecessary document, etc., in order to save paper. There is a request.

  However, when the back side of the printed paper is used again as the backing paper, the image on the already printed side may be seen through, and the text is difficult to read.

  Various techniques for improving the ease of use of the backing paper have been proposed.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2000-321935, 06-218998, and 2005-169720 disclose techniques for reading paper used by a reading device and selecting printing paper that can be used on the back side. Yes.

  The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-321935 has a mechanism for irradiating light on a recorded print sheet and inputting the reflected light when the printed sheet is reused, and analyzing the reflected light with data. To obtain the image density.

  When the image density is below a certain density, it is used as recycled paper. Even when the image density is above a certain density, the density on the non-recording surface is read and the density is below a certain density. Print on the non-recording side (back side) and reuse it. Furthermore, a technique has been proposed in which printing is performed with a density gradation of a predetermined level or higher when reprinting (backing paper printing).

JP 2000-321935 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-218998 JP 2005-169720 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, and a processing program that can suppress show-through in a recording medium.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on image information that is a drawing command, and an image is formed by the image forming unit. A determination unit that determines whether or not the recording medium shows-through, a processing unit that processes the image information based on a determination result of the determination unit, and a processing unit that processes the image information. Control means for controlling the image forming means on the basis of the image information obtained, and the determination means determines whether the drawing command is a graphics command, a text command or a bitmap command, and the drawing command When the command is a graphics command, the recording medium when the contrast, the fill color density, or the line segment density is larger than the respective threshold values set according to the type of the recording medium. If the drawing command is a text command, show-through in the recording medium when the fill color density or text color density is greater than the respective threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium. When the drawing command is a bitmap command, it is determined that the recording medium shows-through when the peak density is larger than a bitmap density threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium, and the processing The means performs a color conversion process for reducing the density of a solid color when it is determined that the graphics command is to show-through on the recording medium, and the text color is set when the text command is determined to show-through on the recording medium. Color conversion processing to reduce the density of the image, and show-through on the recording medium in the bitmap command Performing a color conversion process to reduce the concentration of the bitmap when it is determined that that, characterized in that.

The image forming system according to the invention of claim 2 is composed of at least one of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, and at least one information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus through the communication means It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing program for performing image formation on a recording medium based on image information that is a drawing command, and in the recording medium when image formation is performed in the image forming process. A determination process for determining whether to show through, a processing process for processing the image information based on a determination result of the determination process, and an image formation based on the image information processed in the processing process A control process for controlling the image processing means, wherein in the determination process, it is determined whether the drawing command is a graphics command, a text command, or a bitmap command, and the drawing command is a graphics command Sometimes, when the contrast, the fill color density, or the line segment density is larger than the respective threshold values set according to the type of the recording medium, the show-through occurs on the recording medium. When the drawing command is a text command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the fill color density or the text color density is larger than each threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium. When the drawing command is a bitmap command, it is determined that the recording medium shows through when the peak density is larger than a bitmap density threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium. If it is determined in the graphics command that the print medium is to be show-through, color conversion processing is performed to reduce the density of the fill color. If the text command is determined to be show-through in the recording medium, the text color density is set. The color conversion process is performed, and it is determined that the bit map command shows back to the recording medium. Performing a color conversion process to reduce the concentration of the bitmap in the case, characterized in that.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that suppresses show-through by processing image information using a determination result as to whether or not show-through occurs in a recording medium.

According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide an image forming system that suppresses show-through by processing image information using a determination result as to whether or not show-through occurs in a recording medium.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a processing program that suppresses show-through by processing image information using a result of determination as to whether or not show-through in a recording medium.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus PR1 according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of image forming system S1. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a text process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a graphics process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a bitmap process. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus PR2 according to a second embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of image forming system S2. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a text process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a driver user interface. It is a table | surface which shows the example of a parameter setting. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the detailed correspondence table of an image quality parameter. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of image forming system S1 '. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a printing process. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus PR3 according to a third embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of image forming system S3. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a print setting screen. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of show-through determination processing. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a graphics determination process. It is a table | surface which shows the example of a setting of a threshold value. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a text determination process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a bitmap determination process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a color conversion process. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of image forming system S3 '. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of image forming apparatus PR3. It is a table | surface which shows the example of a setting of a threshold value.

  Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In addition, since description here is the best form by which this invention is implemented, this invention is not limited to the said form.

  (First embodiment)

  The image forming apparatus PR1 and the image forming system S1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus PR1 includes an image forming unit 100 (image) that includes a printer engine or the like that forms an image on a printing paper (an example of a recording medium) based on print data (an example of image information). An example of a forming unit), and a show-through determination unit 101 (an example of a determination unit) that determines whether print-through is performed on a print sheet when printing (image formation) is performed by the image forming unit 100; Based on the determination result of the image determination unit 101, the image information processing unit 102 (an example of a processing unit) that processes (predetermined processing) image information, and the image information that is processed by the image information processing unit 102. A control unit 103 (an example of a control unit) configured by a microcomputer or the like that controls the image forming unit 100, and an image information analysis unit 104 that analyzes character information, graphic information, and photo information included in the image information. An example of an analysis unit), an apparatus characteristic extraction unit 105 (an example of an extraction unit) that extracts characteristics of the image forming apparatus PR1 itself, and a liquid crystal touch panel that selects whether or not to process image information. A machining necessity selection unit 106 (an example of a selection unit) is provided.

The printing method of the image forming apparatus PR1 is not particularly limited, and may be a laser printer that uses toner as a colorant (consumable), a multifunction machine, or an inkjet printer that uses liquid ink as a colorant (consumable). Also good.

  The image information processing unit 102 may perform processing for changing the image quality for each character information, graphic information, and photo information based on the analysis result of the image information analysis unit 104.

  Here, the change in the image quality is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a change in density, a change in contrast, and color conversion.

  Also, the image quality changing method is not particularly limited, but it can be realized, for example, by changing density or contrast parameters.

  Further, the image information analysis unit 104 analyzes character information, graphic information, and photographic information based on commands included in the image information (for example, various commands of PJL (Printer Job Language)), and the show-through determination unit 101. Determines whether or not the print paper is show-through according to a determination criterion (for example, a table in which the determination criterion is set) set for each of the character information, graphic information, and photographic information analyzed by the image information analysis unit 104 You may make it do.

  Further, the image information processing unit 102 may adjust the change in the image quality according to the characteristic extracted by the apparatus characteristic extraction unit 105 (for example, a characteristic in which a specific color is darkened).

  FIG. 1 shows the case where the image forming apparatus PR1 has all the functions necessary for the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus PC1 may be configured to have the information processing apparatus PC1.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus PR1 constituting the image forming system S1 includes an interface unit 150 connected to the information processing apparatus PC1 via a network N such as a LAN, an image information analyzing unit 104, and an image forming unit. Part 100 and the like.

  On the other hand, the information processing apparatus PC1 includes an application software storage unit 160 composed of a hard disk device for storing application software such as a word processor, a driver unit 161, a driver interface 165 connected to the image forming apparatus PR1 via the network N, and the like. Is provided.

  The driver unit 161 includes a drawing command analysis unit 162 that analyzes drawing commands for document data (drawing data and image information) created by application software such as a word processor, an object determination unit 164 that determines an object in the document data, and document data And a page data memory 163 for storing determination results and the like, an image information processing unit 102 for processing image information based on the determination results of the object determination unit 164, and the like.

  Note that the driver unit 161 may be configured in software as a printer driver that operates on an OS installed in the information processing apparatus PC1.

  Further, when the image information processing unit 102 is provided on the image forming apparatus PR1 side, the information processing apparatus PC1 side adds the contents to be image converted as PJL to the print data and notifies the print data.

  In the case where the image information processing unit 102 is provided on the image forming apparatus PR1 side, it is easy to perform image conversion in consideration of characteristics unique to the apparatus (e.g., easy to output darkly, strong redness).

  When image information is processed on the information processing apparatus PC1 side, apparatus characteristic information is obtained using a bidirectional interface with the image forming apparatus PR1, and image adjustment suitable for the image forming apparatus PR1 is performed.

  The driver unit 161 uses the drawing command analysis unit 162 to analyze drawing data received from the application software.

  The analyzed drawing data is roughly divided into a text drawing command (character information), a graphic drawing command (graphic information), and a bitmap drawing command (photo information) by the object determination unit 164.

  In the case of text drawing, if the character color is close to yellow, for example, it is difficult to show through and is output as it is.

  In other cases, when the font size is large or bold is designated, printing is performed at a lower density in the case of designation that causes show-through (details of the processing procedure will be described later).

  Further, in the case of graphic drawing, when the brightness of the brush color used for drawing is lower than the threshold for show-through (blackish), the print density of the drawing object is lowered (details of the processing procedure will be described later). .

  Further, when the contrast is strong, a process of reducing the contrast is performed (details of the processing procedure will be described later).

  In the case of bitmap drawing, when the drawing data includes a value exceeding the threshold value, gamma correction is applied (details of the processing procedure will be described later).

  However, when the bitmap is divided into a plurality of parts and transferred, the image quality adjustment of the previously sent bitmap is applied.

  This is to prevent the color tone from changing halfway in the same photo data.

  These image information processing processes may always be executed when the user's print setting is single-sided printing or the print data is only one page, and the user is allowed to select a mode that does not show through during printing. May be.

  Furthermore, the timing to be selected by the user may be specified in advance from the driver setting user interface, or may be selected by a pop-up dialog that appears when the object determination unit 164 detects an object to be processed.

  In the image information processing unit 102, as a threshold value used for comparison, a value obtained by measuring an output from the image forming apparatus PR1 may be set for each model.

  Further, the standard threshold value may be held in the driver from the average tendency of the past models.

  By performing image conversion for each object, the influence on the entire document is reduced and show-through is suppressed.

  That is, for example, in the case of a document containing a graph in a document, when a specific graph color is transparent on the back and the back side is difficult to read, only the problematic graph color part is targeted, so the explanation part of the text, The portion expressed in light colors is not affected.

  Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3, a processing procedure of text processing executed in the image forming apparatus PR1 or the image forming system S1 will be described.

  In step S10, it is determined whether the RGB value of the text color is “R> 150 and G> 150 and B <R and B <G”. If “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S16. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S11.

  In step S11, it is determined whether or not the font size <20. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S14, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, it is determined whether or not bold (thickness) is designated. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S16, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, it is determined whether or not the font size> 12. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S16, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, it is determined whether or not brightness <threshold. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S16, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, the density is lowered and the process proceeds to step S16, where it is output to the memory and the process is terminated.

  Thereby, the show-through in the printing paper is suppressed, the readability is improved, and the resources are effectively used by utilizing the back paper.

  Next, a processing procedure of graphics processing executed by the image forming apparatus PR1 or the image forming system S1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S20, it is determined whether or not there is a rectangular fill. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S24, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S21.

  In step S21, the brush color is extracted and the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, it is determined whether or not brightness <threshold value. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S24, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S23, the density is lowered and the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S24, it is determined whether or not contrast> threshold. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S26, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the contrast is lowered and the process proceeds to step S26, where it is output to the memory and the process is terminated.

  Thereby, the show-through in the printing paper is suppressed, the readability is improved, and the resources are effectively used by utilizing the back paper.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, a processing procedure of bitmap processing executed in the image forming apparatus PR1 or the image forming system S1 will be described.

  In step S30, it is determined whether there is bitmap data connected in advance. If “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S31.

  In step S31, it is determined whether or not the correction flag is on. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S36, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S34.

  On the other hand, if “No” is determined in step S30, the process proceeds to step S32, the concentration peak value is extracted, and the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S33, it is determined whether or not density> threshold. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S36, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S34.

  In step S34, gamma correction is performed and the process proceeds to step S35.

  In step S35, a correction flag is set, the process proceeds to step S36, and the process is output after being output to the memory.

  Thereby, the show-through in the printing paper is suppressed, the readability is improved, and the resources are effectively used by utilizing the back paper.

  (Second Embodiment)

  An image forming apparatus PR2 and an image forming system S2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Note that the same components as those of the image forming apparatus PR1 and the image forming system S1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus PR1, the image forming apparatus PR2 includes a recording medium attribute setting unit 200 (an example of a setting unit) that sets attributes relating to printing paper (recording medium), and attributes relating to printing paper (recording medium). And a recording medium attribute detecting unit 201 (an example of a detecting unit) for detecting.

  Note that the attributes relating to the printing paper (recording medium) include paper quality and thickness.

  The detection method of the recording medium attribute detection unit 201 is not particularly limited. For example, an optical method using an optical sensor that detects a difference in light transmission amount according to the type of printing paper or the like is considered.

  6 shows a case where the image forming apparatus PR2 has all the functions necessary for the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 7, some functions are provided as a personal computer or the like as the image forming system S2. The print data generation device M2 configured as described above may be provided.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus PR2 constituting the image forming system S2 includes an interface 1211 connected to the print data generating apparatus M2 via a network N such as a LAN, an image forming unit 100, and the like.

  On the other hand, the print data generation device M2 includes a data creation unit 1110 that generates image data based on print data input from print data 1102 generated by application software such as a personal computer, and image quality parameter information that selects image quality parameter information. A selection unit 1113, a paper information supply / determination unit 1112 for supplying and determining printing paper information, and an interface 1111 connected to the image forming apparatus PR2 via the network N are provided.

  Note that the image information processing unit 102 may change the image quality and density of the image information or change the color of the image information based on the attributes relating to the printing paper set by the recording medium attribute setting unit 200.

  Further, the image information processing unit 102 may change the image quality and density of the image information or color conversion of the image information based on the attribute relating to the printing paper detected by the recording medium attribute detection unit 201.

  In the print data generation device M2, when the print data 1102 is input, the data creation unit 1110 first receives the data and activates print data creation.

  The recording medium information supply and determination means 1112 displays the respective options of the recording medium information and the print mode on the driver user interface (see FIG. 9), and prompts the user to select.

  The recording medium information can be selected from, for example, plain paper, fine paper, recycled paper, cardboard, coated paper, envelope, postcard, label paper, etc., and the printing mode can be selected, for example, the reverse side reuse mode. , So that one side is selected.

  Furthermore, a slider or an edit box may be provided for the print density so that the user can make fine adjustments as appropriate.

  When the recording medium information, the printing mode, and the density fine adjustment value are determined, the process proceeds to the image quality parameter information selection unit 1113.

  Here, the image quality parameter is uniquely determined according to the recording medium information and the printing mode determined by the recording medium information supply and determination unit 1112.

  In other words, it has a group of image quality parameters tabulated by recording medium type and printing mode (back side reuse mode, single-sided), and the image quality parameter can be specified using the recording medium information and printing mode specified by the user as keys. Let it work.

  For fine adjustment of print density, for each image quality parameter specified by table lookup, the image quality parameter is determined by calculation with the specified fine adjustment value.

  As an example of fine adjustment of density, gamma correction or the like is applied.

  A data creation unit 1110 performs processing for converting print data into PDL for interpretation by the image forming apparatus PR2.

  The determined image quality parameter is used in the color adjustment process in the process of converting to PDL.

  The created print data is transferred to the image forming apparatus PR2 via the interfaces 1111 and 1121 and the network N, and is printed by the image forming unit 100 in the image forming apparatus PR2.

  Next, the procedure of the printing process executed in the image forming system S2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When print data is input to the print data generation apparatus M2, first, the data creation unit 1110 starts processing for creating printable data.

  If the recording medium is changed when the user performs printing, the recording medium information is designated from the driver user interface according to the recording medium to be used. If the user does not change the recording medium, these inputs are not performed (steps S40 to S43).

  A display example on the driver user interface is shown in FIG.

  The paper type is selected according to the type of paper to be printed, such as plain paper, fine paper, recycled paper, cardboard, coated paper, envelope, postcard, label paper, and the like.

  Next, as for the print mode, for example, a mode of reusing the back side or not reusing it is input.

  Further, the user can make fine adjustments such as making the print density lighter or darker by judging the printed result.

  For the recording medium type and printing mode, a table is prepared in advance so that the image quality parameter can be specified by a combination of options. When the recording medium type and printing mode are selected by the user's operation, the image quality parameter is automatically set. The association is performed so that is identified.

  When the image quality parameter is automatically selected, the image quality parameter is used when creating the print data, and the created print data is sent to the image forming apparatus PR2 via the interface and printing is executed. (Steps S44 to 47).

  10 and 11 show examples of the parameter number correspondence table and the parameter detail correspondence table.

  FIG. 10 shows a table in which the parameter set number is uniquely determined by the recording medium type and the print mode.

  From the parameter set number determined in FIG. 10, the actual image quality parameter is determined by the detailed table in FIG.

  By linking these values with the respective values obtained by the recording medium type selection and print mode selection processing of the driver user interface, the parameter set numbers and further the parameter values are automatically obtained.

  This image quality parameter table is prepared in advance so as to adjust the image quality parameters so as not to show through for each recording medium.

  Depending on the type of document data, for example, if you can select an image quality type according to the characteristics of the document data, such as an image quality mode for photographs, an image quality mode for presentations, etc. The final image quality parameter may be determined by calculation with the parameter shown.

  Further, the fine adjustment parameter value may be further calculated for each parameter for the determined image quality parameter by the density fine adjustment function, and the image quality parameter after fine adjustment may be determined.

  Next, an image forming system S2 'according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In addition, about the same structure as image forming system S2 mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The image forming apparatus PR2 'includes an image quality parameter information selection unit 1113 and a recording medium attribute detection unit 201 that are the same as those in the print data generation apparatus M2, as compared with the image forming apparatus PR2 shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, the print data generation apparatus M2 'includes only a data creation unit 1110 and an interface 1111.

  The print data 1102 input to the print data generation apparatus M2 ′ is converted into a PDL that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus PR2 ′ by the data creation unit 1110, and the image forming apparatus is connected via the interfaces 1111 and 1211 and the network N. It is transmitted to PR2 ′. The recording medium attribute detection unit 201 of the image forming apparatus PR2 'determines the print sheet and selects an image quality parameter corresponding to the print sheet.

  In other words, an appropriate image quality parameter is selected via the image quality parameter information selection unit 1113, and printing is performed using the image quality parameter when the image forming unit 100 performs printing.

  With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13, the processing procedure of the printing process executed in the image forming system S2 'will be described.

  First, the data creation unit 1110 of the print data generation apparatus M2 'creates printable data.

  The print data created at this time is a process for converting the print data output from the application software into a PDL that can be printed by the image forming apparatus PR2 ′ and a color adjustment process that matches the image forming apparatus PR2 ′. It has been applied.

  When the data is transferred via the interface 1211, printing on the image forming apparatus PR2 'side is started (step S50).

  The recording medium attribute detection unit 201 determines the attribute information of the printing paper (step S51).

  Specifically, the printing paper is irradiated with light, the reflected light is input to a sensor, and the transparency of the printing paper is measured by the intensity of the reflected light.

  The relationship between the type of printing paper and its transparency is measured in advance, and a table for determining actual measurement values is prepared.

  The actually measured value is compared with the measured table value to identify the printing paper.

  From the viewpoint of transparency, different printing papers are treated as equivalent if they have the same transparency.

  For example, even if the paper quality, thinness, and the like are different, it is only necessary to determine whether or not it is easy to set up in terms of reuse of the back surface, and therefore, only the transparency is determined.

  Further, when the consumables are used in the image forming apparatus PR2 ', for example, when the remaining amount of toner is reduced, the printed matter may become thin depending on the drum consumption.

  The remaining capacity and usage status of these consumables may also be used as input information when determining the image quality parameter to prevent the print density from changing depending on the state of the consumables.

  For example, there is a correlation between the number of printed sheets and the usage status of consumables. By counting the number of printed sheets, the usage status of consumables is grasped, and when the number of printed sheets exceeds a certain threshold, the image quality parameter A mechanism for correcting the density adjustment of the image can be considered.

  Then, parameters are set according to the print paper attribute information, and print data is generated (steps S54 and S55).

  Next, the print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus PR2 ', and printing is performed by the image forming unit 100 (steps S56 and S57).

  The series of processing may be performed on the image forming apparatus PR2 'side.

  (Third embodiment)

  With reference to FIGS. 14 to 25, an image forming apparatus PR3 and an image forming system S3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the image forming apparatus PR1 and the image forming system S1 according to the first embodiment or the image forming apparatus PR2 and the image forming system S2 according to the second embodiment. A duplicate description is omitted.

  In addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus PR2, the image forming apparatus PR3 includes a consumable status monitoring unit 300 (an example of a monitoring unit) that monitors the status of consumables (toner and the like) used in the image forming unit 100, and a plurality of types. Paper trays T1 to T3 (accommodating three stages in this embodiment) for storing printing paper (recording medium) having the attributes (paper quality, thickness, size, etc.) separately for each attribute. And a paper feed tray switching unit 301 (an example of a switching unit) that switches the paper feed trays T1 to T3 according to the determination result of the show-through determination unit 101.

  Note that the image information processing unit 102 may change the image quality, density, or color conversion of the image information based on the monitoring result of the consumable item status monitoring unit 300.

  FIG. 14 shows the case where the image forming apparatus PR3 has all the functions necessary for the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 15, some functions are provided as a personal computer or the like as the image forming system S3. The information processing device PC3 may be provided with the information processing device PC3.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the information processing device PC3 includes a CPU, a clock generation unit, a storage device (not shown), an interface 414, and the like.

  A software program on the storage device is executed. The application software 402 is a word processor program having document creation / editing and printing functions. The OS 403 is a software program that performs basic operations of the information processing apparatus PC3. The printer driver 404 includes a drawing command analysis unit 405, a show-through determination unit 101, a color conversion processing unit (an example of a processing unit) 407, a PDL generation unit 408, a user interface unit 409, a paper feed tray determination unit 412, and a paper information acquisition unit 413. Consists of

  The display 410 is a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor, and the mouse / keyboard 411 is an input device including buttons and sensors.

  The interface unit 414 includes a connector, a cable, and the like, and is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus PR3.

  The image forming apparatus PR3 is an apparatus that performs printing on a medium such as paper using an inkjet technique, an electrophotographic technique, a thermal transfer technique, or the like.

  The interface unit 416 includes a connector and is connected to the interface unit 414 of the information processing apparatus PC3.

  The image information analysis unit 104 and the drawing unit 418 are configured by software programs that process print data.

  The image forming unit 100 is a device that performs printing on a recording medium such as paper using an inkjet technique, an electrophotographic technique, a thermal transfer technique, or the like.

  The present embodiment can be implemented regardless of the technique employed by the image forming unit 100.

  The paper type information storage unit 420 is a software program that manages information on each of the paper feed trays T1 to T3, and the setting panel unit 421 is an input / output device that includes an LCD panel, buttons, and the like.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system S3 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  When a user issues a print instruction from the application software 402, first, the user interface 409 program of the printer driver 404 is activated via the OS 403.

  The user interface unit 409 displays various setting items of the image forming apparatus PR3 on the display 410, and the user changes settings using the mouse / keyboard 411.

  FIG. 16 is an example of a screen displayed on the display 410 by the user interface unit 409.

  FIG. 16 shows a state in which the user clicks and selects the tray tab 426 with the mouse in the dialog 425.

  The paper tray combo box 427 automatically selects or displays and selects a paper feed tray supported by the apparatus such as the tray T1 and the tray T2.

  The back paper use mode check box 428 can be checked only when “auto” is selected in the paper tray combo box 427, and is checked when the back paper use mode of the present invention is executed.

  These settings are confirmed by pressing the OK button, canceled by pressing the cancel button, and returned to the previous settings.

  When the OK button is pressed to confirm, the paper feed tray selection information is stored in the paper feed tray determination unit 412.

  Next, the user gives an instruction to print a document created by the application software 402.

  In this case, the application software 402 issues a print instruction command to the OS 403.

  The OS 403 sends a drawing command for each print element of each page together with information such as the size of each page of the document to the drawing command analysis unit 405 of the printer driver 404 and issues a print instruction.

  The drawing command analysis unit 405 receives information on each page sent from the OS 403, outputs page size information to the paper feed tray determination unit 412, and receives each drawing command.

  The types of drawing commands are classified into graphics commands such as lines and figures, text commands consisting of characters, and bitmap commands.

  The paper feed tray determination unit 412 receives information on the paper size of the page sent from the drawing command analysis unit 405, and print paper set in each of the paper feed trays T1 to T3 of the image forming apparatus PR3 from the paper information acquisition unit 413. Is obtained, a paper feed tray in which a paper of the same size as the paper size of the page is set is determined, and that tray is set as a current tray.

  If there are a plurality of paper feed trays on which sheets of the same size are set, the uppermost tray among the plurality of trays is set as the current tray.

  When the show-through determination unit 101 receives the drawing command and its type information from the drawing command analysis unit 405, the show-through determination unit 101 receives information from the paper feed tray determination unit 412 as to whether or not the back paper use mode is selected. If not, normal print processing is performed.

  When the back paper use mode is selected, information on the paper type set in the paper feed tray selected as the current tray is acquired from the paper feed tray determination unit 412.

  The show-through determination unit 101 determines whether or not the drawing command shows out next.

  Next, the procedure of the show-through determination process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not the drawing command is a graphics command (step S601). If the drawing command is a graphics command, a graphics determination process is performed (step S602). If it is not a graphics command, it is determined whether the drawing command is a text command (step S603), and if it is a text command, a text determination process is performed (step S604).

  If it is not a text command, a bitmap determination process is performed (step S605), and if it is determined that any one of the determination processes results in show-through (step S606), the current tray and the next sheet feed are sent to the sheet feed tray determination unit 412. An instruction to change to a tray is given (step S607). The paper feed tray determination unit 412 searches for the next paper feed tray in which paper of the same size as the page paper size is set. If there is a next paper feed tray (step S608), the paper feed tray is set to the current paper tray. The determination is made again from step S601 as a tray. If there is no next paper feed tray (step S608), color conversion processing is performed (step S609), and the processing ends.

  Next, a processing procedure for graphics determination processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The graphics command is a command representing a line or a polygonal figure. In particular, the polygonal figure is composed of frame line and fill data.

  When this process is started, first, it is determined whether or not there is a filled pattern (step S701). If there is a filled pattern, it is determined whether or not a pattern is specified for filling (step S702).

  Here, the pattern is a repeated pattern such as a diagonal line or a checkered pattern, and has a foreground color and a background color.

  If there is no pattern, it is a solid foreground color.

  Also, if there is a pattern with strong contrast, a fine pattern appears on the back surface, and the back surface tends to be difficult to see. First, the contrast between the foreground color of the pattern and the lightness of the background color is greater than the contrast threshold. Is also larger (step S703).

  Here, the contrast is determined as follows, for example. For each of the foreground and background colors made up of RGB components, the luminance component Y is determined by the NTSC grayscale conversion equation (Equation 1 below). Here, each value of RGB takes a value from 0 to 255.

  Y = 0.299 × R + 0.587 × G + 0.114 × B Formula 1

  Alternatively, RGB may be converted to Lab and brightness L may be used.

  If the foreground luminance is YF and the background luminance is YB, the contrast C can be obtained by the following equation (2).

  C = | YF−YB |

  Further, since the appearance of the show-through varies depending on the transparency of the paper and the adhesion of the color material, the contrast threshold value varies depending on the paper type.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of each threshold list for each paper type used in the present embodiment.

  Assuming that the paper type set in the current tray is high-quality paper, reference is made to 160 in the high-quality paper column of the contrast threshold value 31 in FIG.

  Therefore, when the contrast value in Expression 2 is larger than 160, it is determined that the show-through occurs (step S706).

  If the fill is not a pattern (step S702) and the contrast does not exceed the contrast threshold (step S703), it is determined whether the foreground color density does not exceed the fill density threshold (step S704).

  This is because even if the color is solid, it is difficult to see through the back surface if the density is high.

  In order to obtain the density, the luminance Y is calculated from the RGB values of the foreground color according to the above formula 1, and the density G is calculated according to the following formula 3.

  G = 255-Y Formula 3

  If the fill density threshold is exceeded, it is determined that the show-through occurs, and if the fill density threshold is not exceeded (step S704), or if there is no fill (step S701), the line density exceeds the fill density threshold. If it exceeds the fill density threshold, it is determined to show through (step S706), and if not exceeded, it is determined not to show through (step S707).

  Here, even with a normal plain paper, even if it is a light color, it is not completely invisible from the back side, and is transparent.

  Although it is possible to determine that the state that is not completely visible by reducing the threshold value is not shown through, it is more realistic to determine that the state that is not conspicuous to the extent that the printing on the back surface is not visible is not shown through.

  Next, the processing procedure of the subroutine of the text determination process (step S604) in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  It should be noted that the text is interpreted as being composed of a fine pattern, and the influence on the back surface is greater than other drawing commands.

  When this process is started, it is first determined whether or not the background filling of the character is designated (step S801), and if there is a filling, it is determined whether or not the filling color density is larger than the filling density threshold ( In step S802), if it is large, it is determined to show through (step S804), and if it is not large (step S802) or if the background is not filled (step S801), whether or not the text color density is larger than the text density threshold value. If it is larger, it is determined to show through (step S804). If it is not larger, it is determined not to show through (step S805).

  Referring to FIG. 19 above, the text density threshold 32 is 150 for fine paper, and it is determined that show-through occurs when the density exceeds 150.

  This means that the back side is difficult to see even with a lighter color 150 in text compared to a threshold value of 200 in graphic filling.

  Next, a processing procedure of a subroutine of the bitmap determination process (step S605) in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  First, for each pixel data of the bitmap, the density G is calculated using the above-described Expressions 1 and 3, and the density value (peak density) of the pixel with the highest density is extracted (Step S901).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the peak density is larger than the bitmap density threshold (step S902). If it is larger, it is determined to show through (step S903). If it is not higher (step S902), it is determined not to show through (step S902). S904).

  Next, a processing procedure of a subroutine of the color conversion process (step S609) in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  As for the rendering command, as a result of each determination process, if the fill is show-through (S1001), the density of the fill color is lowered (step S1002). If the text is show-through (step S1003), the density of the text color is reduced. If the bitmap shows through (step S1005), the bitmap density is lowered (step S1006).

  When the density of the fill color or text color is lowered, the RGB is converted to Lab, and (255-density threshold) is substituted for the lightness L value, and the RGB is converted from Lab, so that the density is maintained while maintaining the saturation. Be lowered.

  In order to reduce the density of the bitmap, it is preferable to adjust the L value by performing the Lab conversion. However, since the Lab conversion takes a long time, the peak density becomes equal to or less than the bitmap threshold using the gamma function. As described above, the color value of each pixel may be converted.

  As described above, when the show-through determination unit 101 determines that the show-through occurs, the paper feed tray determination unit 412 determines whether the show-through is performed according to the paper type of the next paper feed tray. Even if the paper type is determined to show through, the color conversion processing unit 407 performs color conversion so as not to show through.

  Next, the drawing command is sent to the PDL generation unit 408, and the PDL generation unit 408, together with the current tray information acquired from the paper feed tray determination unit 412, is converted into a PDL (page description language) that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus PR3. The image is converted and sent to the image forming apparatus PR3 via the interface unit 414.

  The image forming apparatus PR3 receives the PDL language from the information processing apparatus PC3 through the interface unit 416, and the image information analysis unit 104 instructs the drawing unit 418 to draw in the page memory for each drawing command. Is printed on a recording medium.

  The paper type information storage unit 420 holds the paper type information set in each of the paper feed trays T1 to T3, and the paper type information is set from the setting panel unit 421.

  As a result, the show-through determination for the paper type of the current tray is performed for each drawing command, and in the case of show-through, the current tray is changed and further show-through determination is performed. Since printing is performed so as not to show through after color conversion, show-through is effectively prevented and waste of printing paper is suppressed.

  Next, an image forming system S3 'as another configuration example will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 23, the information processing apparatus PC3 'includes a CPU, a clock, a storage device (not shown), an interface unit, and the like.

  The application software 541 is word processor software having document creation / editing and printing functions.

  The OS 542 is a software program that performs basic operations of the information processing apparatus PC3 '.

  The printer driver 543 includes a drawing command analysis unit 547, a PDL generation unit 548, and a user interface unit 544, and is a software program that performs print control.

  The display 545 is a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor, and the mouse / keyboard 546 is an input device including buttons, sensors, and the like.

  The interface unit 549 includes a connector and a cable, and is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus PR3 '.

  The image forming apparatus PR3 'performs printing on a recording medium such as printing paper using an inkjet technique, an electrophotographic technique, a thermal transfer technique, or the like.

  The interface unit 551 includes a connector and is connected to the interface unit 549 of the information processing apparatus PC3 '.

  The image information analysis unit 104, the show-through determination unit 101, the color conversion processing unit (an example of a processing unit) 554, and the drawing unit 555 are software programs.

  The recording medium attribute detection unit 201 is configured by software and a light emitter such as an LED that irradiates the recording medium from the front surface, an optical sensor disposed on the back surface, and the like, and measures the light transmittance of the recording medium.

  The image forming unit 100 is a device that performs printing on a recording medium such as printing paper using an inkjet technique, an electrophotographic technique, a thermal transfer technique, or the like.

  Note that this embodiment can be implemented regardless of the technique employed by the image forming unit 100.

  FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image forming apparatus PR3 '.

  When the printing paper P is set in the paper feed tray 661, the pick roller 662 picks up the printing paper P one by one and is transported to the transport belt 666 by the paper feed roller 663.

  A high-brightness LED 664 and a photosensor 665 such as a photodiode are arranged to face each other with the printing paper P in between, detect the intensity of transmitted light when the printing paper P passes through, and record medium attribute detection unit in FIG. Information of transmitted light is output to 201.

  The thermal transfer printing mechanism 667 forms an image on the printing paper by melting the ink of the ink ribbon with a thermal transfer head and pressing the ink ribbon onto the printing paper.

  The paper discharge roller 668 discharges the printed paper P that has been printed onto the paper discharge tray 669.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system S3 'will be described.

  The operations of the application software 541, the OS 542, and the user interface unit 544 are the same as those in the image forming system S3, but the selection information of the paper feed trays T1 to T3 is stored in the user interface unit 544.

  The user issues a print instruction for the document created by the application software 541, and the application software 541 issues a print instruction command to the OS 542.

  The OS 542 sends a drawing command for each printing element of each page together with information such as the size of each page of the document to the drawing command analysis unit 547 of the printer driver 543, and issues a printing instruction. The drawing command analysis unit 547 receives the information on each page and the drawing command for each page sent from the OS 542 and sends them to the PDL generation unit 548.

  The PDL generation unit 548 converts a flag indicating whether the user interface unit 544 is in the backing paper use mode, information on each page, and a drawing command for each page into PDL, and outputs an image via the interface unit 549. It is sent to the forming apparatus PR3 ′.

  The interface unit 551 of the image forming apparatus PR3 'sends the PDL sent from the information processing apparatus PC3' to the image information analysis unit 104.

  The image information analysis unit 104 reconstructs information indicating whether or not the backsheet use mode is set from the PDL, information on each page, and drawing command information on each page, and determines the type of each drawing command.

  The show-through determination unit 101 receives from the image information analysis unit 104 information on whether or not it is in the back paper usage mode, a drawing command, and information on the type thereof, and performs normal printing processing if it is not in the back paper usage mode.

  In the back paper use mode, the recording medium attribute detection unit 201 sends the paper to the optical sensor 665 by the pick roller 662 and the paper feed roller 663 in FIG. 24, causes the high brightness LED 664 to emit light, and transmits the light by the optical sensor 665. Is measured and sent to the show-through determination unit 101.

  The show-through determination unit 101 determines whether each drawing command shows through.

  The determination method is the same as in the image forming system S3, but each threshold value is calculated using the amount of transmitted light.

  FIG. 25 is a table showing coefficients for obtaining threshold values.

  When the coefficient is k and the transmittance is t, the threshold value m is obtained by the following equation 4.

  Threshold value m = 255 (1-k × t) Equation 4

  Here, the coefficient may be a gamma coefficient, or a coefficient table determined in advance by sensory evaluation may be used.

  The operation of the color conversion processing unit 554 is the same as that of the image forming system S3 except that the value of Expression 4 is used as the threshold value.

  The drawing unit 555 draws a drawing command in a page memory (not shown), and the image forming unit 100 prints the print image in the page memory on the printing paper.

  Thus, since the transmittance of the printing paper is measured and it is determined whether or not the show-through is performed, printing is performed so that the user does not show-through without setting the type of the printing paper.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not limited to the disclosed technology. Should not be considered. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All modifications that fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalent technology are included.

  When using a program, it can be provided via a network or stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  That is, the predetermined program including the image processing program is not limited to being recorded in a storage device such as a hard disk as a recording medium, and the predetermined program can be provided as follows.

  For example, a predetermined program may be stored in the ROM, and the CPU may load the predetermined program from the ROM to the main storage device and execute it.

  The predetermined program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, a CD-ROM, an MO (magneto-optical disk), a flexible disk, and distributed.

  Further, the image forming apparatus or the like is connected to a server apparatus or a host computer via a communication line (for example, the Internet), and after the predetermined program is downloaded from the server apparatus or the host computer, the predetermined program is executed. You may do it. In this case, examples of the download destination of the predetermined program include a memory such as a RAM and a storage device (recording medium) such as a hard disk.

  The image forming apparatus, the image forming system, and the processing program according to the present invention can be applied to a printer, a multifunction machine, and the like.

S1 to S3 Image forming systems PR1 to PR3 Image forming apparatuses PC1 and PC3 Information processing apparatus M2 Print data generating apparatus N Network P Printing paper 100 Image forming section 101 Determination section 102 Image information processing section 103 Control section 104 Image information analysis section 105 Apparatus Characteristic extraction unit 106 Processing necessity selection unit 150 Interface unit 160 Application software storage unit 161 Driver unit 162 Drawing command analysis unit 163 Page data memory 164 Object determination unit 165 Driver interface 200 Recording medium attribute setting unit 201 Recording medium attribute detection unit 300 Consumption Product status monitoring unit 301 Paper feed tray switching unit 402 Application software 404 Printer driver 405 Drawing command analysis unit 405 Drawing command analysis unit 407 Color conversion processing unit 408 409 User interface unit 410 Display 411 Mouse / keyboard 412 Paper feed tray determination unit 413 Paper information acquisition unit 414 Interface unit 416 Interface unit 418 Drawing unit 420 Paper type information storage unit 421 Setting panel unit 425 Dialog 426 Tray tab 427 Paper tray combo box 428 Backsheet use mode check box 541 Application software 543 Printer driver 544 User interface unit 545 Display 546 Mouse / keyboard 547 Drawing command analysis unit 548 Generation unit 549 Interface unit 551 Color conversion processing unit 555 Drawing unit 661 Paper feed tray 662 Pick Roller 663 Feed roller 664 High brightness LED
665 Optical sensor 666 Conveyor belt 667 Thermal transfer printing mechanism 668 Paper discharge roller 669 Paper discharge tray 1102 Print data 1110 Data creation unit 1111 Interface 1112 Determination unit 1113 Image quality parameter information selection unit 1113 Image quality parameter information selection unit 1211 interface

Claims (3)

Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on image information as a drawing command ;
A determination unit that determines whether or not a show-through occurs in the recording medium when an image is formed by the image forming unit;
Processing means for processing the image information based on the determination result of the determination means;
Control means for controlling the image forming means based on image information processed by the processing means;
With
The determination means includes
Determining whether the drawing command is a graphics command, a text command or a bitmap command;
When the drawing command is a graphics command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the contrast, the fill color density, or the line segment density is larger than each threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium,
When the drawing command is a text command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the fill color density or the text color density is larger than each threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium,
When the drawing command is a bitmap command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the peak density is larger than a threshold value of the bitmap density set according to the type of the recording medium,
The processing means includes
If it is determined in the graphics instruction that the recording medium is to be show-through, a color conversion process is performed to reduce the density of the fill color,
If it is determined in the text command that the recording medium is show-through, a color conversion process for reducing the density of the text color is performed,
When it is determined that the recording medium is show-through in the bitmap command, a color conversion process for reducing the density of the bitmap is performed.
An image forming apparatus. At least one image forming apparatus according to claim 1;
At least one information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication unit;
An image forming system comprising: An image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium based on image information as a drawing command;
A determination process for determining whether or not the recording medium shows-through when an image is formed in the image formation process;
A processing process for processing the image information based on the determination result of the determination process;
A control process for controlling image formation based on image information processed in the processing process;
Is executed by the calculation means,
In the determination process,
Determining whether the drawing command is a graphics command, a text command or a bitmap command;
When the drawing command is a graphics command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the contrast, the fill color density, or the line segment density is larger than each threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium,
When the drawing command is a text command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the fill color density or the text color density is larger than each threshold value set according to the type of the recording medium,
When the drawing command is a bitmap command, it is determined that the recording medium is show-through when the peak density is larger than a threshold value of the bitmap density set according to the type of the recording medium,
In the processing process,
If it is determined in the graphics instruction that the recording medium is to be show-through, a color conversion process is performed to reduce the density of the fill color,
If it is determined in the text command that the recording medium is show-through, a color conversion process for reducing the density of the text color is performed,
When it is determined that the recording medium is show-through in the bitmap command, a color conversion process for reducing the density of the bitmap is performed.
A processing program characterized by that.

Images