JP7828566B2 - Support programs and printing systems - Google Patents

Description

The technical fields disclosed herein relate to support programs and printing systems that support the control of printers.

In recent years, a technology has been developed that allows printers to be controlled using the printing program built into the operating system (OS) without the need for a separate printer driver. This technology associates the printer with the OS's standard printing program, enabling subsequent print requests to be processed using the OS's standard program without the need for a separate printer driver.

Furthermore, there is a known technology that allows users to register predetermined print settings and then use those registered print settings during printing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which predetermined print settings can be registered, and if the print job settings differ from the registered print settings, the printer's control panel prompts the user whether or not to continue printing.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-055633

When an information processing device accepts print settings, some printer drivers, for example, allow users to choose an option such as "Print using the printer's settings," indicating that the printer should follow the settings registered in the printer itself. When a printer receives a print job with this setting, it prints according to the settings registered in the printer.

However, when an information processing device accepts print settings, the user may not know exactly what print settings are registered in the printer itself.
Therefore, even if you select a setting that indicates the printer should follow the print settings registered on the printer, there is a possibility that unintended printing may occur. Furthermore, the OS's standard general-purpose printing program does not allow settings that delegate print settings to the printer, such as following the print settings registered on the printer.

This specification discloses a technology for reducing the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the print settings registered on a printer in an information processing device incorporating an OS standard general-purpose printing program.

The support program, designed to solve the aforementioned problems, is executable by the computer of the information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing device. The support program is characterized by: causing the computer to perform an acquisition process to acquire registered print settings from the printer; the printer accepting the registration of predetermined print settings and being able to store the registered print settings; and, when the computer receives a display instruction from an editing application program installed in the information processing device, which instructs the general-purpose printing program to display a setting screen that accepts print settings to be used for printing on the printer, the computer performing a display process to display the setting screen using the user interface of the information processing device; the options accepted on the setting screen include a setting indicating adherence to the registered print settings; and, while the setting screen is displayed, causing the computer to perform a notification process to notify the registered print settings acquired in the acquisition process using the user interface of the information processing device.

The information processing device, incorporating the support program described above, retrieves the registered print settings from the printer and, while the settings screen is displayed, notifies the user of the retrieved registered print settings. This allows the user to understand the contents of the registered print settings when selecting a setting on the settings screen that indicates adherence to the registered print settings. Therefore, the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the printer's registered print settings can be reduced.

The printing system, control method, computer program, and computer-readable storage medium for storing the computer program, which are necessary for realizing the functions of the above-mentioned device, are also novel and useful.

The technology disclosed herein provides a method for reducing the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the print settings registered in a printer, in an information processing device incorporating an OS standard general-purpose printing program.

This is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of a PC. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the printing procedure performed by each program. This figure shows an example of the detailed settings screen. This flowchart shows the control procedure for screen operation reception processing. This is a flowchart showing the control procedure for notification processing. This figure shows an example of a notification screen. This figure shows an example of the detailed settings screen. This figure shows an example of notification processing. This figure shows an example of a notification screen. This sequence diagram shows another example of the printing procedure performed by each program.

The following describes in detail a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") that utilizes the support program of this form, with reference to the attached drawings. This specification discloses a printing system including a printer with printing capabilities and a support program that runs on a PC connected to the printer.

(First Embodiment)
First, the first embodiment will be described. The printing system 100 of this embodiment includes a PC 1 and a printer 2, as shown in Figure 1. The PC 1 is an example of an "information processing device". The printer 2 is a device that has a printing function. The PC 1 and the printer 2 are connected in a communicative manner. In this embodiment, the printer 2 receives print data from the PC 1, for example, and performs printing based on the received print data.

As shown in Figure 1, the PC1 in this configuration includes a CPU 11 and a controller 10 containing memory 12. The CPU 11 is an example of a "computer." The PC1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "User IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "Communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Figure 1 is a general term encompassing the hardware and software used to control the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the PC1.

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the program read from memory 12 and based on user operations. Memory 12 stores various programs and data, including various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps"). Memory 12 is also used as a workspace when various processes are executed. The buffer provided by the CPU 11 is also an example of memory. Note that the example of memory 12 is not limited to ROM, RAM, HDD, etc., built into the PC 1, but may also be a storage medium that the CPU 11 can read and write to, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM recording medium.

The user interface 13 includes hardware that displays a screen for informing the user of information, and hardware that accepts user input. The user interface 13 may also be a combination of a display capable of displaying information and a mouse or keyboard with input acceptance functionality, or it may be a touch panel equipped with both display and input acceptance functionality.

The communication interface 14 includes hardware for communicating with external devices such as printer 2. The communication standards for the communication interface 14 include Ethernet®, Wi-Fi®, USB, etc. PC1 may have multiple communication interfaces 14 that support multiple communication standards.

As shown in Figure 1, the memory 12 of PC1 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and an editing application 43. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a "support program." The editing application 43 is an example of an "editing application program." The OS 21 is, for example, Windows®, macOS®, Linux®, iOS®, or Android®.

The general-purpose printing program 41 is an OS standard program that executes printing on various printers, such as printer 2, based on user instructions. This embodiment of the general-purpose printing program 41 includes a function to generate intermediate image data based on the image data to be printed.

The general-purpose printing program 41 supports functions that can be used in common by multiple printer models provided by various printer vendors. The general-purpose printing program 41 does not support all functions unique to each printer; the functions it supports are limited to general-purpose functions.

The auxiliary program 42 is a program or group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in conjunction with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is an application that supports the control of the target hardware. In this embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is launched, for example, when the general-purpose printing program 41 receives an instruction to print to the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a hardware support application (abbreviated as HSA).

The auxiliary program 42 can receive multiple types of commands from the general-purpose printing program 41 and executes various processes based on the received commands. The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs, each receiving execution commands, or it may be a single program capable of executing different processes depending on the command.

The auxiliary programs may be programs provided by the printer vendor for each type of printer. For example, separate auxiliary programs may be provided for inkjet printers and laser printers. When a new printer is connected to PC1, for example, the OS 21 of PC1 downloads the appropriate auxiliary program from a server or similar source and installs it into the device, depending on the type of printer connected. Then, the OS 21 associates the identification information of the installed auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in memory 12. Note that auxiliary programs may be provided not only for each type of printer, but also for each printer model or series of printer models.

The editing application 43 is, for example, an application for creating and editing image data and document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or an application provided by the printer 2 vendor. The editing application 43 accepts user operations, including instructions to cause the printer 2 to perform a predetermined action. Specifically, the editing application 43 accepts, for example, a print execution instruction to cause the printer 2 to perform printing, via the user interface 13.

Printer 2 accepts registration of predetermined print settings via its own control panel or a management device that manages Printer 2, and stores the registered print settings (hereinafter referred to as "registered print settings") 2a in its own non-volatile memory. Registration or modification of registered print settings may also be performed from an external device using the embedded web server (EWS: Embodiment Web Server) built into Printer 2. Registered print settings 2a are not pre-stored default print settings 2b from the factory or before delivery to the user, but rather print settings that can be registered or modified by user operation after factory shipment.

Printer 2, for example, displays the values of each item according to the registered print settings 2a when displaying the print screen on the control panel. Therefore, if frequently used print settings are registered as registered print settings 2a in Printer 2, those frequently used print settings will be displayed from the start, eliminating the need to manually change the print settings to those frequently used settings.

Furthermore, when PC1 specifies printer 2 for printing, it accepts its own print settings. Therefore, PC1 can generate a print job with print settings different from printer 2's registered print settings 2a, send it to printer 2, and have printer 2 perform the printing.

Next, the printing procedure, including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 in this embodiment, will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the operation when a print execution command is received by an application that accepts print commands, such as the editing application 43, to print to the printer 2 using the general-purpose printing program 41, and when the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is installed in the PC 1.

In this embodiment, each processing step in the process and flowchart basically represents the processing of the CPU 11 according to instructions written in a program such as the auxiliary program 42. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the OS 21 API. In this specification, a detailed description of the OS 21 is omitted, and the operation of each program is explained. Furthermore, "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

The editing application 43 accepts the creation and editing of documents, charts, etc., based on user instructions. When the editing application 43 receives an instruction regarding printing of selected documents, etc. (A01), it displays a print screen for accepting user instructions on the user interface 13 (A02). On the print screen, the editing application 43 accepts instructions such as a print execution instruction, a basic print settings instruction, and an instruction to start accepting detailed print settings.

When the editing application 43 receives an instruction to start accepting detailed print settings (A03) while printer 2 is selected on the currently displayed print screen, it passes the information of the received detailed settings instruction to the OS 21. If the OS 21 receives an instruction for detailed settings related to printing using the general-purpose printing program 41, it executes the general-purpose printing program 41 and passes an instruction to start accepting detailed print settings (A04). The instruction to start accepting detailed print settings is an example of a "display instruction." Upon receiving the instruction to start accepting detailed print settings, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes an instruction to execute the acceptance of detailed print settings to the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2, which is the selected printer (A05).

The auxiliary program 42, in response to the execution command, displays a detailed settings screen on the user interface 13 (A11) for accepting print settings to be used for printing on printer 2. The detailed settings screen is an example of a "settings screen." The process in A11 is an example of a "display process." An example of the detailed settings screen is shown in Figure 3.

The detailed settings screen 230 displays the print settings items. These print settings items include printer 2-specific print settings that the general-purpose printing program 41 cannot support. Therefore, the detailed settings screen 230 allows you to configure print settings that the general-purpose printing program 41 cannot handle. Note that the print settings items displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 may also include print settings that the general-purpose printing program 41 can handle.

Print settings include options for processing images (hereinafter referred to as "image processing options") and options for not processing images (hereinafter referred to as "non-image processing options"). Image processing options include, for example, color correction, toner saving, collated printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermarks, and double-sided printing. Non-image processing options include, for example, paper feed tray, paper output tray, double-sided printing, color printing, eco mode, and cumulative printing.

Each item has radio buttons for selecting settings that printer 2 can handle. For example, the paper size print setting has radio buttons for selecting standard sizes such as "A4" or "A3". Even if a setting cannot be set using the general-purpose printing program 41, printer 2 can still set that value.

The detailed settings screen 230 is equipped with a setting button 232, a back button 233, a "follow printer" button 234, and a printer registration button 235. The setting button 232 is an operator that accepts the instruction to confirm the print settings. The back button 233 is an operator that accepts the instruction to return to the previous screen without confirming the print settings. The "follow printer" button 234 is an operator that accepts the instruction to follow the print settings of the printer 2, which is the main printer unit. The "follow printer" button 234 is an example of a "selection." The printer registration button 235 is an operator that accepts the instruction to register the print settings set on the detailed settings screen 230 to the printer 2, which is the main printer unit.

Returning to Figure 2, the auxiliary program 42, which displays the detailed settings screen 230, performs screen operation reception processing (A12). During screen operation reception processing, operations on the detailed settings screen 230 are received via the user interface 13. The screen operation reception processing will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4. Image operation reception processing is executed by the CPU 11 of PC1.

The CPU 11 determines whether the detailed settings screen 230 has been operated (S1). If the controls displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 are not operated, the CPU 11 waits (S1: NO).

When the CPU 11 receives an operation to change any item displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 shown in Figure 3 (S3: YES), it changes the setting for that item according to the input operation (S11) and returns to S1. For example, the CPU 11 changes the display of the paper size print setting from "A4" to "A3" in response to the operation of user IF 13.

The CPU 11 determines that when the button 234, displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 in Figure 3, is operated via the user interface 13, the printer should follow the printer's print settings (S1: YES, S3: NO, S5: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 outputs a notification instruction to execute the notification process (S13), and returns to the process in S1. The notification process involves displaying a notification screen showing the registered print settings acquired from the printer 2 on the user interface 13, separately from the detailed settings screen 230, and accepting operations on the notification screen. The notification process will be described later.

When the CPU 11 receives a registration instruction from the user via the user interface 13 to the printer itself (printer 2) when the user operates the main unit registration button 235 displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 (S1: YES, S3: NO, S5: NO, S6: YES), the CPU 11 instructs the user to register the settings displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 to the printer itself (printer 2), and confirms with the user whether registration is necessary (S21). For example, the CPU 11 displays a dialog box on the user interface 13 to confirm whether registration is necessary. The dialog box may include, for example, an OK button to allow registration and a Cancel button to deny registration.

When the CPU 11 receives an OK button click on a dialog box via the user interface 13 (S23: YES), it sends a registration command to the printer 2 via the communication interface 14 (S25) and returns to processing S1. The registration command instructs the printer 2 to register the print settings configured on the detailed settings screen 230, and includes print setting information related to the print settings displayed on the detailed settings screen 230. The CPU 11 may also request a password before sending the registration command to the printer 2 to authenticate whether the user has the authority to change the registered print settings, and only send the registration command to the printer 2 if authentication is successful.

When printer 2 receives a registration command from PC 1, it updates the registered print settings stored in its non-volatile memory with the print setting information included in the registration command. This allows printer 2 to store registered print settings from PC 1, eliminating the need for the user to physically go to printer 2 and register or change the settings via the control panel.

Furthermore, if the CPU 11 receives a cancellation button operation via the user interface 13, for example, it determines that it will not accept the registration instruction (S23: NO). In this case, the CPU 11 returns to processing S1 without sending a registration command to the printer 2 via the communication interface 14.

When the setting button 232 is operated via the user interface 13 (S1: YES, S3: NO, S5: NO, S6: NO, S7: YES), the CPU 11 confirms the print settings configured on the detailed settings screen 230 (S15). That is, the CPU 11 updates the existing print settings stored in the non-volatile area of memory 12, which is accessible to the auxiliary program 42, with the print settings configured on the detailed settings screen 230. Having confirmed the print settings, the CPU 11 terminates the screen operation acceptance process.

In response, if the back button 233 is pressed via the user interface 13 (S1: YES, S3: NO, S5: NO, S6: NO, S7: NO, S9: YES), the CPU 11 terminates the screen operation acceptance process without changing the existing print settings stored in the non-volatile area of memory 12 that can be used by the auxiliary program 42. Furthermore, if the CPU 11 receives an operation via the user interface 13 that differs from a print setting change operation or an operation of buttons 232-235 (S1: YES, S3: NO, S5: NO, S6: NO, S7: NO, S9: NO), it performs other processing (S17) and terminates the screen operation acceptance process.

Returning to Figure 2, when the auxiliary program 42 finishes processing screen operations, it closes the detailed settings screen and passes a completion notification to the general-purpose printing program 41. At this time, the auxiliary program 42 passes the print settings received via the detailed settings screen 230 to the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 then passes the completion notification and the print settings received from the auxiliary program 42 to the editing application 43.

The notification process described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 5. The notification process is performed by the auxiliary program 42 and is executed by the CPU 11 of PC1 when a notification instruction is output in S13 of Figure 4.

The CPU 11 requests the printer 2 to send the registered print settings using the communication interface 14 (S31). The printer 2 retrieves the registered print settings stored in its non-volatile memory in response to the request from the PC 1. The printer 2 then responds to the PC 1 that sent the request with the retrieved registered print settings. The CPU 11 waits until it receives the registered print settings sent from the printer 2 via the communication interface 14 (S33: NO).

Furthermore, communication between PC1 (auxiliary program 42) and printer 2 can be either directly communicated by auxiliary program 42 using MIB (Management Information Base), or it can be done via OS 21. If communication is done via OS 21, auxiliary program 42 and printer 2 will communicate according to the OS 21's communication protocol, such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol).

When the CPU 11 receives the registered print settings transmitted from the printer 2 via the communication interface 14 (S33: YES), it displays a notification screen 300 based on all items on the user interface 13 (S35). That is, as shown in Figure 6, the CPU 11 displays the notification screen 300 on the user interface 13, which displays all the registered print settings received from the printer 2 in S33. After that, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process shown in S37 in Figure 5. Note that the registered print settings may be displayed on the same screen as the detailed settings screen 230. Also, the notification screen 300 may be displayed as a pop-up in a separate process from the detailed settings screen 230.

Thus, when the button 234 following the device's instructions is operated on the detailed settings screen 230, that is, when the option to follow the device's instructions is selected, PC1 retrieves and reports the registered print settings from printer 2 while the detailed settings screen 230 is displayed. Therefore, when PC1 wants to know the contents of the registered print settings, the user can understand those settings, reducing the possibility of unintended printing.

As shown in Figure 6, the notification screen 300 is further provided with an end button 321 and an apply button 323. The end button 321 is an operator for receiving instructions to end the notification of registered print settings. The apply button 323 is an operator for receiving instructions to apply the print settings received via the notification screen 300 to the print settings displayed on the detailed settings screen 230.

As shown in Figure 5, the CPU 11 waits with the notification screen 300 displayed until it receives an operation via the user IF 13 (S37: NO). When the CPU 11 receives an operation of the apply button 323 on the notification screen 300 via the user IF 13 (S37: YES, S41: YES), it applies the registered print settings displayed on the notification screen 300 to the print settings on the detailed settings screen 230 (S47), and returns to the process in S37. For example, as shown in Figure 3, if the detailed settings screen 230 is set to "Do not perform aggregate printing" before the apply button 323 is operated, but the notification screen 300 is set to "2 in 1" before the apply button 323 is operated, the CPU 11 changes the aggregate printing setting on the detailed settings screen 230 from "Do not perform aggregate printing" to "2 in 1". As a result, the registered print settings are reflected in the print settings of the detailed settings screen 230 all at once. Therefore, when a user wants to use the registered print settings of printer 2, they do not need to individually configure each item to match those settings, thus reducing the effort required for the user to configure print settings.

Furthermore, if the CPU 11 receives an operation on the termination button 321 of the notification screen 300 via the user interface 13 (S37: YES, S41: NO, S43: YES), it closes the notification screen 300 (S45) and terminates the notification process.

As shown in Figure 2, when the editing application 43 receives a print command from the user on the print screen (A61), it passes the print command to the general-purpose printing program 41 (A62). The general-purpose printing program 41 obtains information indicating the image data to be printed and information indicating the print settings from the print command. The print settings include the print settings received via the detailed settings screen 230.

The general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate image data (A63) by converting the image data format included in the received print instruction into an intermediate image data format, and then generates a print job including the intermediate image data. The image data included in the editing application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the received image data into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. If the image data included in the print instruction is suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate image data can be omitted, and the intermediate image data can be used directly. The intermediate image data is, for example, XPS data.

The general-purpose printing program 41 then outputs an execution command (A64) to the auxiliary program 42, causing the auxiliary program 42 to operate. The execution command passes the generated intermediate image data and print setting information to the auxiliary program 42. The print settings include those received via the detailed settings screen 230.

The auxiliary program 42 generates print data (A71) based on execution instructions received from the general-purpose printing program 41. The print data is generated by rasterizing the intermediate image data. The print data is in a format usable for printing by printer 2; for example, it is PDL data specific to the printer 2 model. The print data is an example of a "raster image." When generating print data from intermediate image data, the auxiliary program 42 processes the print image according to the settings of the items to be processed. The process in A71 is an example of "image processing."

For example, if collation printing is set to "2-in-1," the auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate image data to combine the two images into one. Similarly, if double-sided printing is set to "on," the auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate image data to invert one image relative to the other. Furthermore, if composite printing is set to "on" and a "confidential" image is selected as the composite image, the auxiliary program 42 processes the intermediate image data to incorporate the "confidential" image. Finally, the auxiliary program 42 rasterizes the processed intermediate image data and generates the print data.

For example, the auxiliary program 42 includes a conversion table for converting RGB values to CMYK values. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 accepts settings for preferred hue (brightness, RGB values, etc.) for specific colors. The auxiliary program 42 can accept color correction settings via the detailed settings screen 230. Color correction is a setting that corrects the conversion table for a specific color (for example, red) based on its preferred hue. The specific color is not limited to red; it can be blue or green. If color correction is set to "on," the auxiliary program 42 corrects the conversion table according to the setting. Then, when rasterizing the intermediate image data to generate print data, the auxiliary program 42 converts the RGB values of the specified color in the print image to CMYK values based on the corrected conversion table.

For example, if the auxiliary program 42 is set to "enable" for color correction and accepts color settings such as brightness and RGB values, it corrects the RGB values of the specified colors in the printed image according to the set color settings when rasterizing the intermediate image data to generate print data.
For example, if toner saving is set to "on", the auxiliary program 42 reduces the density of the printed image when rasterizing the intermediate image data to generate print data.

Furthermore, for example, if the print settings include non-image processing items such as paper feed tray, paper output tray, duplex printing, color printing, eco mode, and storage printing, the auxiliary program 42 generates print data with commands added to cause the printer 2 to perform printing operations based on those settings. Eco mode is a mode that reduces the noise generated during printing by slowing down the paper transport speed. Storage printing is a printing method in which the printer 2 does not immediately print print data received from an external device such as a PC 1, but instead stores it in its own memory, and prints the stored print data when it receives a print execution command via the control panel. Storage printing may also be secure printing, where the user is required to input user information such as a user ID and password, and the printer accepts a print execution command and prints only after successful user authentication.

Thus, rasterizing using the auxiliary program 42, which is compatible with printer 2, offers greater flexibility compared to rasterizing with the general-purpose printing program 41, and is more likely to generate print data suitable for printing on printer 2. Furthermore, the print data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be in a format that can be used for printing on printers other than the printer model of printer 2.

Instead of the auxiliary program 42 generating the print data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data. That is, if the auxiliary program 42 determines that printing should be performed, it may pass the print execution information to the general-purpose printing program 41. In that case, the general-purpose printing program 41 rasterizes the intermediate image data generated in A63 to generate the print data. Then, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42.

The print data generated by the general-purpose printing program 41 is in a format usable for printing on various printers, such as PWG Raster data or PDF data. Using the general-purpose printing program 41 for rasterization reduces the processing load on the auxiliary program 42, thus avoiding increased processing time and reducing the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in A71 to the printer 2 along with a print command instructing it to print (A72). Furthermore, if the auxiliary program 42 receives print data from the general-purpose print program 41, it sends the received print data to the printer 2 along with a print command instructing it to print. Upon receiving the print data and print command, the printer 2 executes the printing of the image based on the received print command (A73). This produces the printed document.
The auxiliary program 42 further notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 that it has finished sending the print data.

Furthermore, the general-purpose printing program 41 may also handle the transmission of print data to printer 2. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated print data to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that it is sent from PC 1 to printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 then transmits the print data received from the auxiliary program 42 to printer 2.

As explained in detail above, the auxiliary program 42 in this configuration retrieves the registered print settings from the printer 2 and notifies the PC 1 of the retrieved registered print settings while the detailed settings screen 230 is displayed. This allows the user to understand the contents of the registered print settings on the PC 1 when selecting a setting on the detailed settings screen 230 that indicates adherence to the registered print settings. Therefore, the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the print settings registered in the printer 2 can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The printing system of this embodiment differs from the printing system of the first embodiment in the display of the detailed settings screen and the notification method of registered print settings. Here, we will mainly explain the differences from the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment will be used in the drawings for components and processes common to the first embodiment, and explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

For example, as shown in Figure 7, each item on the detailed settings screen 1230 includes options for settings that the printer 2 can handle, as well as an option to select a setting that follows the registered print settings of the printer itself. For instance, the paper size print setting has radio buttons for selecting "A4" or "A3," and further, a "Follow Printer" radio button to instruct the printer to follow the registered print setting's paper size. Therefore, it is possible to set whether or not to follow the registered print settings of the printer 2 for each item.

Furthermore, the detailed settings screen 1230 is equipped with a main unit confirmation button 1234 instead of the main unit button 234 shown in Figure 3. The main unit confirmation button 1234 is an operator that receives instructions to display the registered print settings of printer 2 on the user interface 13. The main unit confirmation button 1234 is an example of a "predetermined operator."

In this embodiment, the process at S5 of the screen operation reception process (see Figure 4) in the first embodiment is replaced with a process that determines whether or not the main unit confirmation button 1234 has been operated. If the main unit confirmation button 1234 is operated, a notification instruction is output in S13. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the notification process executed when a notification instruction is received. The notification process in this embodiment will be explained based on the flowchart in Figure 8.

As shown in Figure 8, after the CPU 11 obtains the registered print settings from the printer 2 (S31, S33), it accepts the user's selection of a notification method (S111). For example, the CPU 11 prompts the user to choose between a first notification method, which displays all registered print settings obtained from the printer 2 on the user interface 13, or a second notification method, which displays only the print settings that are set to "Follow the main unit" on the detailed settings screen on the user interface 13.

The CPU 11 determines that if the first notification method is selected via the user interface 13, all information should be displayed (S113: YES). In this case, as shown in Figure 6, for example, the CPU 11 displays the notification screen 300 based on all items to the user interface 13 (S35), and proceeds to the process in S41.

In this way, by notifying the user of all registered print settings, the user can understand all registered print settings, including those that are set to follow the registered print settings. In other words, the user can understand the print settings registered in printer 2, not only for items set to "Follow the printer" on the detailed settings screen 1230 shown in Figure 7 (e.g., output tray, duplex printing, eco mode), but also for items not set to "Follow the printer" (e.g., paper size, number of copies, paper tray, collated printing, toner mode, storage printing), and items not displayed on the detailed settings screen 230 (e.g., paper type, print quality, color correction).

Furthermore, the CPU 11 determines that if the second notification method is selected via the user interface 13, only items that follow the main unit's instructions should be displayed (S113: NO, S115: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 extracts items from the detailed settings screen 230 whose setting value is set to "Follow main unit's instructions" (S121). Then, the CPU 11 displays the notification screen based on the items extracted in S121 to the user interface 13 (S123), and proceeds to the process in S41.

For example, as shown in Figure 7, suppose that before the main unit confirmation button 324 is operated, the "Output Tray," "Duplex Printing," and "Eco Mode" settings on the detailed settings screen 230 are set to "Follow Main Unit." In this case, as shown in Figure 9, the CPU 11 displays a notification screen 600 on the user interface 13, showing the settings for "Output Tray," "Duplex Printing," and "Eco Mode" from the registered print settings received in S33.

Thus, the notification screen 600, which displays only the items set to "follow the main unit," has fewer displayed items than the notification screen 300 (see Figure 6), which displays all registered print settings. Furthermore, it can display only the items that the user wants to print according to the print settings registered in the printer 2. Therefore, the user can easily understand the items being notified, and the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the print settings registered in the printer 2 can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the user can choose to display all information or only the items specified by the main unit, the notification screen can be displayed on User IF13 in accordance with the user's intentions.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The printing system of this embodiment differs from the printing system of the first embodiment in the timing of acquiring registered print settings and displaying the notification screen. Therefore, this embodiment will focus on the differences from the first embodiment, and components and processes common to the first embodiment will use the same reference numerals in the drawings as in the first embodiment, and their explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in the sequence diagram of Figure 10, when the auxiliary program 42 receives the execution instruction output by the general-purpose printing program 41 after receiving the start instruction from the editing application 43 (A05), it requests the printer 2 to send the registered print settings via the communication interface 14 (A201). The printer 2, in response to the request, reads and obtains the registered print settings from the non-volatile memory (A202) and responds to the PC 1. After receiving the registered print settings sent from the printer 2 via the communication interface 14 (A203), the auxiliary program 42 displays the detailed settings screen 230 and the notification screen 300 (S204). Then, the auxiliary program 42 accepts the detailed settings via the detailed settings screen 230 (S211).

Thus, in this embodiment, the registered print settings are obtained from the printer 2 before displaying the detailed settings screen 230, and the registered print settings are notified from the beginning via the notification screen 300 when the detailed settings screen 230 is displayed. This allows the user, as in the first and second embodiments, to understand the contents of the registered print settings when setting up printing on the PC 1, and then choose whether or not to indicate that the settings should be followed. Therefore, the possibility of unintended printing occurring when printing according to the print settings registered on the printer 2 can be reduced.

The embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed herein can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from its essence. For example, the device connected to PC1 is not limited to a printer; it may be a multifunction device, copier, fax machine, or any other device with printing capabilities. Furthermore, the number of printers connected to PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example; it may be two or more.

For example, in the above configuration, the auxiliary program 42 acquired all registered print settings registered in the printer 2. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7, if the auxiliary program 42 configures settings according to the main unit's settings for each item, it may acquire registered print settings from the printer 2 only for the items that follow the main unit's settings and display the acquired registered print settings on the notification screen. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 may acquire the corresponding registered print settings individually from the printer 2 each time a radio button corresponding to the main unit's settings is selected. However, by acquiring the registered print settings all at once triggered by the operation of the main unit confirmation button 1234, as in the above configuration, the communication time with the printer 2 can be shortened.

For example, in the second embodiment described above, the notification method is allowed to be selected by the user, but the notification method may always be kept the same.

For example, you could prevent PC1 from registering the print settings configured on the detailed settings screen 230 to printer 2. In other words, you could prevent PC1 from changing the registered print settings of printer 2. However, by allowing PC1 to update the registered print settings of printer 2, you can eliminate the need for PC1 to manually register the print settings.

Image processing, which modifies images according to print settings, may be performed by the general-purpose printing program 41 or printer 2, rather than by the auxiliary program 42. However, by including at least the items in the print settings that the auxiliary program 42 modifies images in the registered print settings, the possibility of unintended printing can be reduced.

The detailed settings screens 230 and 1230 shown in Figures 3 and 7, and the notification screens 300 and 600 shown in Figures 6 and 9, are examples only and are not limited to these. For example, the items displayed on the detailed settings screens 230 and 1230 and the notification screens 300 and 600 are not limited to those shown.

In the above embodiment, only the printing operation of the auxiliary program 42 is described in detail; however, the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles. Furthermore, the program executing the processing in this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42; any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when printing using the general-purpose printing program 41 is acceptable. For example, a print workflow application (Print workflow) whose specifications have been published by Microsoft could also be used.

Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the example of this embodiment. For example, it may be executed directly by an execution instruction from the OS 21, or it may be a resident auxiliary program 42. In the case of a resident auxiliary program, the auxiliary program 42 should perform the aforementioned operations upon receiving an execution instruction.

Furthermore, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of multiple processes in any multiple steps can be arbitrarily changed or executed in parallel, provided that no inconsistencies arise in the processing content.

Furthermore, the processing disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Also, the processing disclosed in the embodiments can be implemented in various forms, such as a recording medium or method that stores a program for executing the processing.

1 PC
2 Printer 11 CPU
13. User Interface
100 Printing Systems

Claims (6)

A support program that is executable by the computer of the information processing device and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing device,
To the aforementioned computer,
When the editing application program incorporated in the information processing device receives an operation, and the general-purpose printing program issues an execution instruction,
An acquisition process for acquiring registered print settings, including setting values for multiple setting items, from a printing device connected to the information processing device, wherein the printing device accepts registration of setting values for the multiple setting items and can store the print settings including the registered setting values as the registered print settings.
A reflection process is performed to reflect each setting value of the registered print settings obtained in the acquisition process to the multiple setting items of the setting screen that accepts print settings used for printing on the printing device.
After the reflection process is executed, a reception process is performed to accept changes to the setting values of some of the setting items among the multiple setting items on the setting screen.
Make it run,
In the case of a print instruction output from the editing application program, where the general-purpose printing program is instructed to print an image to the printing device,
Image processing that receives image data to be printed in the print instruction from the general-purpose printing program, and processes the received image data according to a print setting in which some of the multiple setting items of the registered print setting are changed to the setting received in the acceptance process, wherein the multiple setting items include items to which the image is processed in the image processing process, and
The system executes a print data transmission process that controls the transmission of print data to the printing device, which is used to print according to a print setting in which some of the multiple setting items of the registered print setting have been changed to the setting values received in the reception process.
Support program. A support program that is executable by the computer of the information processing device and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-installed in the operating system of the information processing device,
To the aforementioned computer,
When the editing application program incorporated in the information processing device receives an operation, and the general-purpose printing program issues an execution instruction,
An acquisition process for acquiring registered print settings, including setting values for multiple setting items, from a printing device connected to the information processing device, wherein the printing device accepts registration of setting values for the multiple setting items and can store the print settings including the registered setting values as the registered print settings.
A reflection process is performed to reflect each setting value of the registered print settings obtained in the acquisition process to the multiple setting items of the setting screen that accepts print settings used for printing on the printing device.
After the reflection process is executed, a reception process is performed to accept changes to the setting values of some of the setting items among the multiple setting items on the setting screen.
Make it run,
In the case of a print instruction output from the editing application program, where the general-purpose printing program is instructed to print an image to the printing device,
The system executes a print data transmission process that controls the sending of print data to the printing device, which includes a command to cause the printing device to perform printing according to a print setting in which some of the multiple setting items of the registered print setting have been changed to the setting values received in the reception process.
Support program. A support program according to claim 1 or claim 2 ,
The aforementioned settings screen includes an operator that indicates compliance with the registered print settings,
To the aforementioned computer,
When the aforementioned settings screen is displayed and the aforementioned operator is operated, the acquisition process and the reflection process are executed.
Support program. A support program according to claim 1 or claim 2 ,
To the aforementioned computer,
If the execution instruction is a display instruction output from the editing application program that displays the settings screen to the general-purpose printing program, then the acquisition process and the reflection process are executed.
Support program. A support program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
In the aforementioned reflection process,
All of the setting values of the registered print settings obtained in the acquisition process are reflected in the multiple setting items of the setting screen.
Support program. A support program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
To the aforementioned computer,
While the settings screen is displayed, the system receives a registration instruction for the currently set print settings via the user interface. Upon receiving the registration instruction, the system executes a registration process that outputs a registration command to the printing device instructing it to register the print settings set on the settings screen. The registration command includes information indicating the print settings set on the settings screen. When the printing device receives the registration command, it updates the stored registered print settings with the print settings indicated by the information included in the registration command.
Support program.