Printing control method and apparatus

• US 7,218,413 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2002
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nishikawa, Satoshi, Mori, Yasuo, Kujirai, Yasuhiro, Nakagiri, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II; Jerome
• Application Number:
  US10/383,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20050052662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,630 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.1, 358/1.2, 358/1.18, 358/540, 358/450, 358/528, 358/451, 382/284, 382/297, 382/298
• US Class Current: 358/1.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/393 Enlarging or reducing

Abstract

When an original image is to be printed as a poster composed of an array of 4×4 output images, an image is generated by enlarging the original image fourfold in the vertical and horizontal directions and dividing the enlarged image into 16 parts. These 16 partial images are output successively starting from the upper left or lower right of the 4×4 array, depending upon the designation. If there is a blank page, the blank page is output as is even if the printer possesses a blank-paper economizing function. Thus, when a poster printing function is used, the user designates the manner in which the enlarged image is divided up and the order in which the divided images are printed. Even if the printer is equipped with the blank-paper economizing function, normal printed results can be obtained merely by joining the output sheets together in the order that conforms to the manner in which the enlarged image was divided.

Claims

1. A printing control apparatus, operating as a host computer, for generating print data including printer control commands to be printed by a printer, comprising:

a designation unit for designating a number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions for enlarging an image of one page;

an enlargement ratio determination unit for determining an enlargement ratio for enlarging the image represented by original data to be printed on a page output by an application in accordance with the number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions designated by said designation unit;

a page-dividing unit for dividing the original data to be printed on a page into data to be printed in multiple pages; and

a print data generation unit for generating print data so that the print data is transmitted to the printer and printed by the printer in a predetermined order in accordance with the data processed by said page division unit,

wherein, in a case where a value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is designated by said designation unit, said page-dividing unit enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio specified by the value and divides the enlarged data, and in a case where the value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is not designated by said designation unit, said page-dividing unit enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio determined by said enlargement ratio determination unit and divides the enlarged data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined order is an order in which the enlarged image can be reconstructed by arranging divided images that have been divided and printed in said order.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display control unit for displaying progress of output of the print data for the plural pages resulting from division.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a spool unit for converting the data output from the application into intermediate code and storing the intermediate code in a spool file,

wherein said page division unit processes the data stored in the spool file so as to enlarge an image represented by the intermediate code to the designated size and divide the enlarged image into plural pages.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said spool unit receives the original data output from the application through a graphic engine and said page division unit outputs the print data divided into the plural pages to the graphic engine.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a warning display control unit for detecting a state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally and displaying warning for giving notification of this fact.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally is one in which a size that cannot be handled by the operating system because of a limitation of the graphic engine has been designated as the designated size.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer has a function which ignores printing of a blank page, and when said print data generation unit generates print data in accordance with the data processed by said page division unit, said print data generation unit issues an instruction not to use the function which ignores printing of a blank page to the printer.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it can be instructed through a displayed instruction screen whether a poster print processing, in which the original data for a page output from an application is processed so as to enlarge an image represented by the original data and divide the enlarged image into plural pages, is performed or not.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit for determining whether an order of output is a normal order or a reverse order,

wherein the print data is output to the printer in upper-left to right order when it is determined that the order of output is the normal order, whereas the print data is output to the printer in lower-right to left order when it is determined that the order of output is the reverse order.

11. A printing control method performed in a host computer, for generating print data including printer control commands to be printed by a printer, comprising:

a designating step for designating a number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions for enlarging an image of one page;

an enlargement ratio determining step for determining,

an enlargement ratio for enlarging the image represented by an original data to be printed on a page output by an application in accordance with the number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions designated in said designating step;

a page-dividing step for dividing the original data to be printed on a page into data to be printed in multiple pages; and

a print data generating step of generating print data so that the print data is transmitted to the printer and printed by the printer in a predetermined order in accordance with the data processed in said page-dividing step,

wherein, in a case where a value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is designated in said designation step, said page-dividing step enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio specified by the value and divides the enlarged data, and in a case where the value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is not designated in said designating step, said page-dividing step enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio determined in said enlargement ratio determining step and divides the enlarged data.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined order is an order in which the enlarged image can be reconstructed by arranging divide images that have been divided and printed in said order.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising a display step of displaying progress of output of the print data for the plural pages resulting from division.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising a spool step of converting the data output from the application into intermediate code and storing the intermediate code in a spool file,

wherein the data stored in the spool file is processed in said page division step so as to enlarge an image represented by the intermediate code to the designated size and divide the enlarged image into plural pages.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the original data output from the application is received in said spool step through a graphic engine and the print data divided into the plural pages is output to the graphic engine in said page division step.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising a warning display control step of detecting a state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally and displaying warning for giving notification of this fact.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally is one in which a size that cannot be handled by the operating system because of a limitation of the graphic engine has been designated as the designated size.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the printer has a function which ignores printing of a blank page, and when said print data generation unit generates print data in accordance with the data processed in said page division step, an instruction not to use the function which ignores printing of a blank page is issued in said print data generation step to the printer.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein it can be instructed through a displayed instruction screen whether a poster print processing, in which the original data for a page output from an application is processed so as to enlarge an image represented by the original data and divide the enlarged image into plural pages, is performed or not.

20. The method apparattrs according to claim 11, further comprising a determination step of determining whether an order of output is a normal order or a reverse order,

wherein the print data is output to the printer in upper-left to right order when it is determined that the order of output is the normal order, whereas the print data is output to the printer in lower-right to left order when it is determined that the order of output is the reverse order.

21. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium by which a computer is made to implement the following means to generate print data including printer control command to be printed by a printer, comprising:

designating means for designating a number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions for enlarging an image of one page;

enlargement ratio determining means for determining

an enlargement ratio for enlarging the image represented by an original data to be printed on a page output by an application in accordance with the number of sheets of paper in the vertical and horizontal directions designated by said designating means;

page-dividing means for dividing the original data to be printed on a page into data to be printed in multiple pages; and

print data generating means for generating print data so that the print data is transmitted to the printer and printed by the printer in a predetermined order in accordance with the data processed by said page-dividing means,

wherein, in a case where a value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is designated by said designating means, said page-dividing means enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio specified by the value and divides the enlarged data, and in a case where the value for specifying the enlargement ratio of the image is not designated by said designating means, said page-dividing means enlarges the original data on the basis of the enlargement ratio determined by said enlargement ratio determining means and divides the enlarged data.

22. The program according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined order is an order in which the enlarged image can be reconstructed by arranging divide images that have been divided and printed in said order.

23. The program according to claim 21, further comprising display control means for displaying progress of output of the print data for the plural pages resulting from division.

24. The program according to claim 21, further comprising spool means for converting the data output from the application into intermediate code and storing the intermediate code in a spool file,

wherein said page division means processes the data stored in the spool file so as to enlarge an image represented by the intermediate code to the designated size and divide the enlarged image into plural pages.

25. The program according to claim 24, wherein said spool means receives the original data output from the application through a graphic engine and said page division means outputs the print data divided into the plural pages to the graphic engine.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising warning display control means for detecting a state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally and displaying warning for giving notification of this fact.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the state in which said print data divided into the plural page cannot be printed normally is one in which a size that cannot be handled by the operating system because of a limitation of the graphic engine has been designated as the designated size.

28. The program according to claim 21, wherein the printer has a function which ignores printing of a blank page, and when said print data generation means generates print data in accordance with the data processed by said page division means, said print data generation means issues an instruction not to use the function which ignores printing of a blank page to the printer.

29. The program according to claim 21, wherein it can be instructed through a displayed instruction screen whether a poster print processing, in which the original data for a page output from an application is processed so as to enlarge an image represented by the original data and divide the enlarged image into plural pages, is performed or not.

30. The program according to claim 21, further comprising determination means for determining whether an order of output is a normal order or a reverse order,

wherein the print data is output to the printer in upper-left to right order when it is determined that the order of output is the normal order, whereas the print data is output to the printer in lower-right to left order when it is determined that the order of output is the reverse order.