Patent Application
20240427536
The present invention relates to a storage medium that stores a control program, a control method for an information processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus.
A host computer (an information processing apparatus) capable of processing information to and from a printing device is communicably connected to the printing device that performs printing. As control software for controlling the printing device, for example, a printer driver installed from the printing device into the host computer is used. This printer driver allows the host computer to issue a printing instruction to the printing device. An operating system (hereinafter, referred to as “an OS”), which is basic software, has been installed in advance into the host computer. The printer driver is configured in accordance with the specifications defined by the OS, and is able to operate by being called out from the OS. In addition, such printer drivers differ depending on vendors that supply printing devices, that is, they are model-specific printer drivers suitable for each printing device.
In recent years, Windows (registered trademark) provides a standard class driver (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “a standard driver”) that can be used in common even for printing devices supplied by a plurality of different vendors. Such a standard driver has been built into the OS in advance. Furthermore, it is possible to use the standard driver by connecting any printing device to the host computer having the OS, into which the standard driver has been built. As a result, it is possible to omit installing the model-specific printer driver. In addition, the standard driver is able to be used in designating a print function on the printing device according to print device capabilities (hereinafter, referred to as “PDC”) generated based on information obtained from the printing device. As a result, it is possible to designate the print function for each printing device by using one standard driver. A function extension application (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “an extended application”) that extends functions can be associated with the standard driver. The extended application is provided by each vendor.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2022-100565 discloses a technique in which an extended application compares first sheet information regarding a sheet used for printing performed by a printing device with second sheet information regarding a sheet on a print setting for setting printing conditions on the printing device to determine the suitability of the sheet. Depending on the size of the sheet, there is a risk that an image extends beyond the sheet, resulting in printing that is not intended by a user, that is, there is a risk that rendering errors occur, but with the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2022-100565, it is possible to reduce the rendering errors.
However, functions for suppressing the occurrence of the rendering errors such as missing of rendering objects and for suppressing deterioration of image quality are not sufficient.
The present invention provides a storage medium that stores a control program capable of suppressing the occurrence of printing errors in a printing device regardless of the size of print data even in the case of using a program that runs based on, for example, the IPP, a control method for an information processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program that controls an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to a printing device, which performs printing, and is capable of processing information to and from the printing device, and causes the information processing apparatus to execute the following steps, the control program comprising software code adapted to perform an obtaining step of obtaining a pixel number corresponding to a size of a sheet-shaped print medium on which print data used in the printing is printed, and a generating step of, in a case that the pixel number obtained in the obtaining step is greater than or equal to a pixel number threshold value set in advance, using the print data as primary data and lowering a resolution of the primary data to generate secondary data, a volume of which is smaller than a volume of the primary data.
According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the printing errors in the printing device regardless of the size of the print data even in the case of using the program that runs based on, for example, the IPP.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The present invention will now be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments thereof.
Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the configuration described in each embodiment below is merely an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the configuration described in each embodiment. For example, each unit (each component) constituting the present invention can be replaced with a unit (a component) with any configuration that can perform the same function. In addition, any components may be added. Furthermore, any two or more configurations (features) of each embodiment can be combined.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
The keyboard 118 and the pointing device 117 are connected to the input interface 110. The keyboard 118 and the pointing device 117 are input devices for inputting information and the like. The display unit 119 is connected to the output interface 115. The display unit 119 is, for example, a display device that displays images and the like. The NETIF 120 is a network interface, and performs control for performing data transfer with an external device (not shown) via a network (not shown). It should be noted that in the printing system 100, as an apparatus that includes all of the host computer 101, the pointing device 117, the keyboard 118, and the display unit 119, for example, a desktop or notebook personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like can be used.
The printing device 102 is connected to the input/output interface 116. The printing device 102 is able to print, onto a sheet-shaped print medium, print data that is generated by the host computer 101 and is used for printing. Although depending on the type of the printing device 102, examples of the print medium include an A-size print sheet, a B-size print sheet, a roll sheet, etc., all of which are rectangular in a plan view. In addition, in the present embodiment, the printing device 102 is an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a print medium, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, a printer that performs printing by using an electrophotographic method. It should be noted that although the host computer 101 and the printing device 102 are configured separately from each other in the configuration shown in
Next, the configuration of the printing system centered on software will be described.
As shown in
The print data generation software 202 determines the PC based on print function information 203. The print function information 203 is data indicating print functions in which all settable print functions, their setting values, exclusive relationships between the setting values, and the like have been described. The print function information 203 is also referred to as “print device capabilities (PDC)”. The print function information 203 is included in the configuration file of the print data generation software 202 and is placed in the external storage device 114 as an unchangeable file. Alternatively, the print function information 203 is dynamically generated by the print data generation software 202. Specifically, the print data generation software 202 obtains attribute data of the printing device 102 from the printing device 102. The print data generation software 202 generates the print function information 203 according to attribute information within this attribute data. It should be noted that in the case that the print function information 203 is dynamically generated in this way, editing of the print function information 203 is possible. In addition, the attribute data of the printing device 102 is a response obtained by issuing an IPP “Get-Printer-Attributes” operation to the printing device 102. The response includes attribute information indicating functions that can be designated in the printing device 102, that is, capabilities of the printing device 102, and setting values related to the attribute information. In addition, the response is stored in the RAM 113.
With such a configuration, the print data generation software 202 allows the user to designate print functions that can be used in the printing device 102, depending on the printing device 102 connected to the print data generation software 202. As a result, regardless of the printing device 102 connected to the print data generation software 202, that is, even in the case that a printing device with different functions or a printing device developed by a different printer vendor is connected, it becomes possible to designate print functions that can be used in the printing device with different functions or the printing device developed by the different printer vendor. It should be noted that in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the print data generation software 202 is configured to use “IPP Class Driver” installed in Windows (registered trademark) 10. “IPP Class Driver” is a printer driver that executes a print processing according to the specifications of a standard printing protocol called the IPP, and is bundled with the package of the OS. “IPP Class Driver” is not a unique printer driver depending on the model of the printing device 102, but a standard class driver that can be used in common in a plurality of printing devices 102. In addition, “IPP Class Driver” obtains capability information of the printing device 102, and generates the print function information 203 based on the capability information of the printing device 102. As a result, by using the host computer 101, it is possible to designate print functions that can be executed by the printing device 102.
The OS generates intermediate data (sometimes referred to as “input data”) based on the printing instruction outputted from the rendering application 201 and transmits it to the print data generation software 202. The data that the rendering application 201 outputs for printing is not particularly limited, and for example, is preferably data in an XML Paper Specification format (an XPS format). In addition, the data that the rendering application 201 outputs for printing may be data in a Graphic Device Interface format (a GDI format). In the case that the print data generation software 202 uses “IPP Class Driver”, if the data that the rendering application 201 outputs is data in the GDI format, the OS converts the data in the GDI format into data in the XPS format. Then, the OS transmits the converted data in the XPS format to the print data generation software 202 as the intermediate data. In addition, if the data that the rendering application 201 outputs is data in the XPS format, the OS transmits the data in the XPS format to the print data generation software 202 as the intermediate data. It should be noted that the intermediate data includes rendering data, which is information such as characters and figures that are formed on the print medium, and the print setting information set by the user.
The print data generation software 202 converts the intermediate data into the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102 and transmits it to the printing device 102. It should be noted that the print data is generated based on the content of the intermediate data. That is, similar to the intermediate data, the print data includes the rendering data, which is the information such as characters and figures that are formed on the print medium, and print setting attribute information, which is generated based on the print setting information set by the user and designates the print setting. The print setting attribute information includes the attribute information indicating the functions that can be designated in the printing device 102, that is, the capabilities of the printing device 102, and the setting values related to the attribute information.
The printing device 102 performs printing on the print medium based on the print data transmitted from the print data generation software 202. At this time, the printing device 102 is able to form the rendering data included in the print data on the print medium by performing an operation according to the print setting attribute information included in the print data. It should be noted that the print setting attribute information includes, for example, attribute information for designating print quality such as image quality priority or speed priority, double-sided printing or single-sided printing, etc., and setting values of the attribute information. For example, in the case that the print setting attribute information includes attribute information designating double-sided printing, the printing device 102 is able to execute double-sided printing.
As shown in
As shown in
In addition, the extended application 204 includes information regarding a sheet size threshold value Ts. The sheet size threshold value Ts is a length used to determine whether or not a pixel number limit function, which will be described below, is added as a print function of the printing device 102. The extended application 204 includes a rendering application pixel number threshold value table 901 (see
As described above, the rendering application 201 issues a printing instruction to the OS upon receiving a printing request from the user. In addition, the rendering application 201 is able to cause to display a print setting screen. In the configuration shown in
In addition, in the case that the rendering application 201 receives the printing request from the user and the printing instruction has been issued to the OS, the OS activates the skip control unit 206. The skip control unit 206 controls whether or not to skip (omit) a conversion processing performed by the print data generation software 202. It should be noted that the skip control unit 206 cannot obtain the intermediate data and the print setting information. In the case that the skip control processing is not executed, the intermediate data from the rendering application 201 is conversion-processed by the print data generation software 202 into the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102, that is, the print data that can be printed by the printing device 102. Then, this print data is transmitted to the print data editing unit 208. In the case that the skip control processing has been executed, the intermediate data from the rendering application 201 is not conversion-processed by the print data generation software 202 and is transmitted to the print data editing unit 208. In this case, the intermediate data is conversion-processed by the print data editing unit 208 into data that can be printed by the printing device 102. The case where it is preferable to skip the conversion processing performed by the print data generation software 202 is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, a case where it is desired to perform an enlargement/reduction processing by the print data editing unit 208. The intermediate data can be held in a vector format, and image deterioration during enlarging/reducing can be prevented or suppressed. Therefore, in the configuration in which the print data generation software 202 outputs images in a raster format, it is preferable that the conversion processing performed by the print data generation software 202 is skipped and the intermediate data is conversion-processed by the print data editing unit 208.
The print data editing unit 208 performs editing of the intermediate data transmitted from the print data generation software 202 or the print data conversion-processed by the print data generation software 202. After being edited by the print data editing unit 208, the print data is transmitted to the printing device 102 via the OS. The printing device 102 performs printing on the print medium based on this print data. It should be noted that in the case that the conversion processing performed by the print data generation software 202 has been skipped, the print data editing unit 208 converts the intermediate data into the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102 and transmits it to the printing device 102.
The print function extending unit 207 is able to edit the print function information 203 (the PDC) generated by the print data generation software 202 or the OS. As a result, although the addition of functions provided by the extended application 204 can be executed by the printing device 102, it is possible to perform the addition of functions that cannot be executed by the print data generation software 202, the addition of the exclusive relationships between the setting values of the print functions, and the like. The OS activates the print function extending unit 207 when the extended application 204 has been first associated with the printing device 102 and the print data generation software 202. Furthermore, the OS may activate the print function extending unit 207 at other timings (for example, when the OS is activated). With such activation, even in the case that a printing-related function is extended later, the print function extending unit 207 is able to detect the extended printing-related function and add it to the print function information 203. An example of the case that the printing-related function is extended later is a case of adding an optional device (for example, a two-stage roll unit, a finisher, or the like) to the printing device 102 later.
The notifying unit 209 is able to, when an error occurs in the printing device 102, notify that the error occurs in the printing device 102. For example, in the case that a sheet out error occurs in the printing device 102, the print data generation software 202 detects the occurrence of this sheet out error. By using a notifying function called a toast notification, which is one of the functions of the OS, the OS causes the display unit 119 to display the occurrence of the sheet out error, which is a detection result obtained by the print data generation software 202, as a message. It should be noted that when the user operates the toast notification, the notifying unit 209 is called out by the OS, and a user interface screen of the notifying unit 209 is displayed. On the user interface screen, for example, a detailed message regarding the sheet out error, a sheet filling method, etc. can be displayed.
As described above, in the present embodiment, it can be said that the extended application 204 includes the following five functions. The first function is a function to display a setting screen. The first function is executed by the print setting screen extending unit 205. The second function is a function to control whether or not to skip the conversion processing performed by the print. data generation software 202. The second function is executed by the skip control unit 206. The third function is a function to edit the print data inputted into the printing device 102. The third function is executed by the print data editing unit 208. The fourth function is a function to extend the functions that can be designated by the print data generation software 202. The fourth function is executed by the print function extending unit 207. The fifth function is a function to display the error that has occurred in the printing device 102. The fifth function is executed by the notifying unit 209.
Next, the format of the data handled in the printing system will be described. The print data generation software 202 obtains the capability information from the printing device 102. Based on the obtained capability information, the print data generation software 202 determines the format of the print data that can be supported by the printing device 102, that is, determines the format of the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102. As a result, the print data generation software 202 is able to generate the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102. It should be noted that hereinafter, the term “the format of the print data” actually refers to the format of the rendering data included in the print data.
Next, a print function information editing processing performed by the print function extending unit will be described. Here, a processing that adds the pixel number limit function to the print function information will be described. “The pixel number limit function” refers to a function that suppresses the occurrence of the printing errors (the rendering errors) such as missing of rendering objects by setting an upper limit on the pixel number of the intermediate data generated by the rendering application 201. Furthermore, “missing of the rendering objects” refers to an error in which, for example, depending on the sheet size, the rendering objects (rendering target objects such as characters, lines, figures, and images) that should exist in the intermediate data are missing.
In the step S402, the print function extending unit 207 obtains PDC 501 (see
In the step S403, the print function extending unit 207 obtains the length (the size) along a long side direction of the largest sheet supported by the printing device 102 (an obtaining step), and the processing proceeds to a step S404. In the present embodiment, the print function extending unit 207 refers to the information 502 of the PDC 501 obtained in the step S402, and obtains the largest value among values of MediaSizeHeight as the maximum sheet size height H supported by the printing device 102 (the height H of the size of the largest sheet supported by the printing device 102). It should be noted that although the height (a total length) of the sheet is used as an index indicating the size of the sheet (the sheet size) in the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the width of the sheet or the like may also be used as the index indicating the size of the sheet (the sheet size).
In the step S404, the print function extending unit 207 compares the sheet size threshold value Ts obtained in the step S401 with the maximum sheet size height H obtained in the step S403, and determines whether or not H≥Ts holds (a determining step). As a result of the determination performed in the step S404, in the case of being determined that H≥Ts holds, the processing proceeds to a step S405. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S404, in the case of being determined that H≥Ts does not hold, that is, H<Ts holds, the processing ends.
In the step S405, the print function extending unit 207 adds the information indicating the pixel number limit function to the PDC 501. As shown in
Next, the print setting screen provided by the print setting screen extending unit will be described.
The control items 702 include a pixel number limit function control item 703. With the pixel number limit function control item 703, it is possible to set the pixel number limit function that has been added to the PDC 601 in the step S405 of the flowchart shown in
Next, a print setting screen display processing performed by the print setting screen extending unit will be described.
In the step S802, the print setting screen extending unit 205 obtains the setting value of the pixel number limit function set on the pixel number limit function control item 703, and the processing proceeds to a step S803.
In the step S803, the print setting screen extending unit 205 determines the setting value of the pixel number limit function obtained in the step S802. As a result of the determination performed in the step S803, in the case of being determined that the setting value of the pixel number limit function is Auto, the processing proceeds to a step S804. In addition, as the result of the determination performed in the step S803, in the case of being determined that the setting value of the pixel number limit function is ON, the processing proceeds to a step S807. In addition, as the result of the determination performed in the step S803, in the case of being determined that the setting value of the pixel number limit function is OFF, the processing proceeds to a step S809.
In the step S804, the print setting screen extending unit 205 obtains the name of the rendering application 201, and the processing proceeds to a step S805.
In the step S805, the print setting screen extending unit 205 obtains (selects) the pixel number threshold value Tp corresponding to the name of the rendering application 201, which is obtained in the step S804, from the rendering application pixel number threshold value table 901 (see
In the step S806, the print setting screen extending unit 205 determines whether or not the pixel number threshold value Tp is None. As a result of the determination performed in the step S806, in the case of being determined that the pixel number threshold value Tp is None, it is assumed that printing has been executed by the rendering application 201 for which the pixel number threshold value Tp is not set, the processing proceeds to the step S809. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S806, in the case of being determined that the pixel number threshold value Tp is not None, the processing proceeds to a step S808.
In the step S807 after executing the step S803, the print setting screen extending unit 205 sets the pixel number threshold value Tp to a specified value, and the processing proceeds to the step S808. This specified value is a value that is held in advance in the print setting screen extending unit 205 or the extended application 204 and can be arbitrarily set by a designer, and is set to, for example, “24000” in the present embodiment. In addition, it is preferable that the specified value is maintained (held) at a value equal to or less than the minimum value among the pixel number threshold values Tp defined in the rendering application pixel number threshold value table 901. In the case that the rendering errors occur when printing has been executed while the setting value of the pixel number limit function is “Auto”, such a setting value contributes to suppressing the occurrence of the rendering errors as much as possible by changing the setting value of the pixel number limit function to “ON” and then executing printing. Furthermore, the setting value is not limited to a constant, and for example, may be a variable determined with reference to conditions that may affect the rendering result of the rendering application 201, such as the capacity of the RAM 113 of the host computer 101, the version of the OS, or the like.
In the step S808, the print setting screen extending unit 205 performs a pixel number change processing, and the processing proceeds to the step S809. Details of the pixel number change processing will be described below with reference to
In the step S809, the print setting screen extending unit 205 reflects the changed print setting in the PT (the print setting information), and the processing ends.
In the step S1002, the print setting screen extending unit 205 calculates a pixel number in the height of the sheet (a pixel number for the sheet height) and a pixel number in the width of the sheet (a pixel number for the sheet width) based on the sheet size and the setting values of the vertical resolution and the horizontal resolution that are obtained in the step S1001, and the processing proceeds to a step S1003. The pixel number in the height of the sheet is calculated by using the following Equation (1). The pixel number in the width of the sheet is calculated by using the following Equation (2). It should be noted that in the present embodiment, it is assumed that a calculation result of the following Equation (1) and a calculation result of the following Equation (2) are both rounded down to the decimal point.
In the step S1003, the print setting screen extending unit 205 assigns 1 to a variable N, and the processing proceeds to a step S1004. The variable N is a variable used in the processing of the flowchart shown in
In the step S1004, the print setting screen extending unit 205 determines whether or not “(the pixel number in the height of the sheet=N)>Tp” holds. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1004, in the case of being determined that “(the pixel number in the height of the sheet=N)>Tp” holds, the processing proceeds to a step S1005. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1004, in the case of being determined that “(the pixel number in the height of the sheet-N)>Tp” does not hold, the processing proceeds to a step S1006. In the present embodiment, the pixel number in the height of the sheet is used for the determination in the step S1004, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the pixel number in the width of the sheet, or a product of the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet may be used for the determination in the step S1004. In addition, it is also possible to use the height of a printable area excluding margins at the edges of the sheet, the width of the printable area, or a product of the height of the printable area and the width of the printable area for the determination in the step S1004. It should be noted that in these cases, it is necessary to define a pixel number threshold value Tp corresponding to each of these cases.
In the step S1005, the print setting screen extending unit 205 adds 1 to the variable N, the processing returns to the step S1004, and the subsequent steps are sequentially executed.
In the step S1006, the print setting screen extending unit 205 determines whether or not the variable N is 1. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1006, in the case of being determined that the variable N is 1, the processing ends. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1006, in the case of being determined that the variable N is not 1, the processing proceeds to a step S1007.
In the step S1007, the print setting screen extending unit 205 calculates values obtained by dividing the vertical resolution and the horizontal resolution, which are obtained from the PT in the step S1001, by the variable N, respectively. Then, the print setting screen extending unit 205 changes the vertical resolution of the PT to the value obtained by dividing the vertical resolution obtained from the PT by the variable N and changes the horizontal resolution of the PT to the value obtained by dividing the horizontal resolution obtained from the PT by the variable N, and the processing proceeds to a step S1008. It should be noted that the values of the vertical resolution of the PT, the horizontal resolution of the PT, and the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet that are calculated based on the vertical resolution of the PT and the horizontal resolution of the PT are notified to the rendering application 201 as rendering ability information via the print data generation software 202 (or the OS). In response to receiving the printing instruction, the rendering application 201 executes rendering with respect to a rendering area whose size corresponds to the rendering ability information when generating the intermediate data.
In the step S1008, the print setting screen extending unit 205 stores the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet, which are calculated in the step S1002, in the shared information 210, and the processing proceeds to a step S1009.
In the step S1009, the print setting screen extending unit 205 stores a PDL conversion skip setting in the shared information 210, and the processing ends. This PDL conversion skip setting is used in a determination whether or not to issue a PDL conversion skip instruction, which is performed by the skip control unit 206 and will be described below.
In the step S1102, the skip control unit 206 determines whether or not the PDL conversion skip setting has been obtained in the step S1101. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1102, in the case of being determined that the PDL conversion skip setting has been obtained in the step S1101, the processing proceeds to a step S1103. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1102, in the case of being determined that the PDL conversion skip setting has not been obtained in the step S1101, the processing ends.
In the step S1103, the skip control unit 206 issues the skip instruction to the print data generation software 202 (or the OS), and the processing proceeds to a step S1104. “The skip instruction” is an instruction to omit the step of converting the intermediate data into the print data that can be processed by the printing device 102 by using the print data generation software 202.
In the step S1104, the skip control unit 206 deletes the PDL conversion skip setting stored in the shared information 210, and the processing ends.
In the step S1202, the print data editing unit 208 determines whether or not the format of the data, which is obtained in the step S1201, is XPS data. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1202, in the case of being determined that the format of the data, which is obtained in the step S1201, is XPS data, the processing proceeds to a step S1203. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1202, in the case of being determined that the format of the data, which is obtained in the step S1201, is not XPS data, the processing proceeds to a step S1207.
In the step S1203, the print data editing unit 208 obtains the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet from the shared information 210, and the processing proceeds to a step S1204.
In the step S1204, the print data editing unit 208 determines whether or not the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet have been obtained in the step S1203. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1204, in the case of being determined that the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet have been obtained in the step S1203, the processing proceeds to a step S1205. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1204, in the case of being determined that the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet have not been obtained in the step S1203, the processing proceeds to a step S1206.
In the step S1205, the print data editing unit 208 enlarges the intermediate data and converts it into the print data (PWG Raster) so as to become a size equal to the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet that have been obtained in the step S1203. It should be noted that the pixel number in the height of the sheet and the pixel number in the width of the sheet that have been obtained in the step S1203 are the pixel numbers calculated before dividing the resolution by the variable N. Therefore, through the process performed in the step S1205, the intermediate data is enlarged to a size that matches the original sheet size. After executing the step S1205, the processing proceeds to the step S1207.
In the step S1206 after executing the step S1204, the print data editing unit 208 converts the intermediate data into the print data (PWG Raster) at the same size, and the processing proceeds to the step S1207.
In the step S1207, the print data editing unit 208 transmits the print data converted in the step S1205 or the step S1206 to the printing device 102, and the processing ends.
With the printing system 100 configured as described above, in the case that the printing device 102 is capable of printing on a specific sheet size, when rendering is performed by the rendering application 201, it is possible to add the pixel number limit function that sets an upper limit on the pixel number in the height direction of the sheet. According to this pixel number limit function, when the rendering application 201 performs rendering with respect to the rendering area with a relatively large number of pixels, it is possible to suppress the rendering errors such as missing of the rendering objects (see
Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described with reference to
Next, a print function information editing processing performed by a print function extending unit of a printing system according to the second embodiment will be described.
Next, a print setting screen provided by a print setting screen extending unit of the printing system according to the second embodiment will be described.
Next, a print setting screen display processing performed by the print setting screen extending unit of the printing system according to the second embodiment will be described.
In the step S1602, the print setting screen extending unit 205 determines whether or not “((the resolution obtained in the step S1001)÷(N+1))≥the minimum resolution” holds. It should be noted that the vertical resolution can be used as the resolution obtained in the step S1001, but is not limited to this, and for example, the horizontal resolution can be used as the resolution obtained in the step S1001. As a result of the determination performed in the step S1602, in the case of being determined that “(the resolution÷(N+1))≥the minimum resolution” holds, the processing proceeds to the step S1005, and the subsequent processes are sequentially executed. On the other hand, as the result of the determination performed in the step S1602, in the case of being determined that “(the resolution÷(N+1))≥the minimum resolution” does not hold, the processing proceeds to the step S1006, and the subsequent processes are sequentially executed. It should be noted that in the case that “None” has been selected from the minimum resolution designating function drop-down list 1502, the calculation is performed assuming that the right side of “(the resolution÷(N+1))≥the minimum resolution” is 0.
In the printing system 100 configured as described above, by using the minimum resolution designating function control item 1501, it is possible to set the minimum resolution to a desired setting value. As a result, it is possible for the rendering application 201 to generate the intermediate data with a resolution equal to or higher than the minimum resolution, thus providing an excellent balance between the suppression of the rendering errors and the print quality.
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-101811, filed on Jun. 21, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-101811 | Jun 2023 | JP | national |
