Patent Publication Number: US-2011063682-A1

Title: Print apparatus, print control apparatus and image processing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a print apparatus and a print control apparatus that receive and print a print job from an external device, and an image processing apparatus. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The market is expanding for Print On Demand (POD), in which a digital printing device is used instead of a conventional offset printing device widely used in commercial printing. In view of such circumstances, manufacturers of office equipment and the like are investigating new entry into the POD market, which is a new field. In particular, recently, for example, there has been ongoing investigation of print apparatuses and printing systems adapted to not only an office environment, but also to a POD environment where different use cases and needs than for an office environment are assumed. For example, a printing system is sought that utilizes a benefit that it is possible to produce only a necessary amount of high-grade printed matter having high image quality without creating an offset plate, and so printing is profitable even when printing in small lots, unlike an offset printing device often used in commercial printing. 
     Also, the benefit of being able to produce printed matter without creating an offset plate is not limited to the above; for example, a system as described below can be realized by on-demand printing using a digital printing device. 
     In a digital printing device, by compositing image data that has been separately created not when creating the data with an application, but when printing, it is possible to produce more complicated printed matter of high quality and high added value. Examples of this function include clear color composition, specific color composition, form composition, and so forth. The clear color composition indicates composition of image data to be printed using transparent toner with image data to be printed using CMYK toner. By thus performing printing by compositing image data that has been separately created at the time of printing, data or the like that cannot be expressed or is very difficult to express with a single prepress application (or system) can be more easily produced. Specifically, it is possible to produce clear composition output matter using an existing application, even if there is not a special application capable of editing a clear offset plate in addition to an ordinary offset plate. Specifically, utilizing the composition function of a digital printing device capable of compositing a plurality of items of image data, it is possible to avoid a problem that occurs when realizing offset plate composition due to transporting paper a plurality of times, which is frequently performed at the time of printing (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-247425). In other words, it is possible to reliably obtain high grade printed matter, without inviting complication of operator procedures, or a decrease in print quality due to fan-out or misregistration. Misregistration is a phenomenon wherein the quality of an image obtained by compositing and then printed decreases due to the position of the composited image being offset by a predetermined amount. 
     As described above, by using a POD-compatible digital printing device, it is possible to obtain high grade printed matter by a simpler method. However, in reality, there are problems with respect to the convenience of the above approach. In the above case, the image data to be composited and the image data to undergo composition are separately created, and image composition is performed using the image composition function of the digital printing device. That is, as described above, although the complication of work and composition processing instructions accompanying the creation of each offset plate is greatly reduced, because the image data to be composited and the image data to undergo composition are created in separate processes, positioning of image objects included in the respective image data is difficult. When image objects have not been accurately positioned, the phenomenon of misregistration appears, and so the grade of printed matter is markedly reduced. 
     Causes of such problems include the following, for example. First, there may be minute differences in the arrangement of image objects due to using different applications when creating the respective items of image data. Second, the above problems may be caused by differences in a driver/RIP used when performing 1-bit TIFF (or bitmap) conversion processing of original image data. Third, the above problems may be caused by differences in the origin coordinates or default scaling (or adjusted value for scaling) of the driver/RIP processing system. Fourth, the above problems may be caused by differences in default values (such as scaling, margins, origin position, origin coordinates, or surface contents box size) for each of other applications. 
     In order to avoid such problems, at the stage when the operator creates the image data to be composited and the image data to undergo composition, in consideration of processes prior thereto, it is necessary to perform work with great care so as to not allow the above causes of misregistration to occur. Because there is a wide variety of settings items and specifications that the operator must pay attention to at the time of creation, such as detailed specifications per pixel for each application and each driver, application default values, and so forth, operation is complicated and so there is a large burden on the operator. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An aspect of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems with the conventional technology. 
     In one aspect of the present invention, misregistration when printing a composite image is prevented while also suppressing the occurrence of a large burden on an operator. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print apparatus for receiving image data from an external device and executing printing based on the received image data, the apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives first image data; a storage unit that stores second image data to be combined with the first image data received by the receiving unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not an image area of the first image data and an image area of the second image data match if the second image data of the storage unit is overlaid with the first image data; a modification unit that modifies any one of the first image data and the second image data when the determination unit determines that the image area of the first image data and the image area of the second image data do not match; and a print unit that performs printing by overlaying the one of the first image data and the second image data that has been modified by the modification unit with the other image data that has not been modified by the modification unit. 
     Further features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  depicts a view illustrating a configuration of a printing (POD) system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram describing the configuration of a digital printing device. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram describing the configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an external view of a console unit of the printing device according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a view describing an example of various programs and data stored in a ROM of the printing device. 
         FIG. 6  depicts a view describing an example of the configuration of various information stored in an HDD of the digital printing device. 
         FIG. 7  depicts a view describing an example of a document management table. 
         FIG. 8  depicts a view illustrating an example of document data (an image) that has been created by the computer. 
         FIG. 9  depicts a view illustrating an example of a job ticket issued from the computer. 
         FIG. 10  depicts a view describing an example data configuration of a print job received by the digital printing device. 
         FIG. 11  depicts a view illustrating an example of a result of the digital printing device receiving a job ticket and performing conversion processing. 
         FIG. 12  depicts a view illustrating an example of second document data (an image) that has been created by the computer. 
         FIG. 13  depicts a view illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed in a display unit by a printer driver of the computer. 
         FIG. 14  depicts a view illustrating an example of a UI screen when a page option has been instructed. 
         FIG. 15  depicts a view illustrating a UI screen displayed when an “OK” button has been instructed in  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is a flowchart describing print processing executed by the computer according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a flowchart describing processing related to information obtaining processing of document data to be composited when performing processing for a setting of clear composition printing in step S 1  of  FIG. 16 . 
         FIG. 18  is a flowchart describing computer processing executed when the “OK” button in  FIG. 14  has been instructed in a state in which a radio button in  FIG. 14  has been selected. 
         FIG. 19  is a flowchart describing print processing executed when the digital printing device according to the present embodiment has received a print job from the computer. 
         FIG. 20  is a flowchart describing details of image processing executed in step S 34  of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 21  is a flowchart describing print processing executed in step S 39  of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 22  is a flowchart describing processing that accompanies modification of scaling of an image to be composited in step S 34  of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 23  depicts a view illustrating an example of a screen according to another embodiment that corresponds to  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 24  depicts a view illustrating an example of a screen displayed immediately after identifying that the scaling of an image to be composited and the scaling of an image to undergo composition are not the same, when clear image data to be composited has been selected. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the claims of the present invention, and that not all of the combinations of the aspects that are described according to the following embodiments are necessarily required with respect to the means to solve the problems according to the present invention. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  depicts a view illustrating the configuration of a printing (POD) system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this system, apparatuses having a plurality of different roles are connected to each other, and thus it is possible to perform complicated sheet processing (such as bookbinding, folding, or punching) on paper that has been printed. 
     A digital printing device  1000  prints images using a recording agent such as a toner on media (a sheet) based on image data. Below is a simple description of print processing when the digital printing device  1000  is a print apparatus employing an electrophotographic method. A semiconductor laser is driven by a signal modulated according to image data to emit laser light, and this laser light is reflected by a multi-sided mirror (such as a polygonal mirror) and irradiated onto a uniformly charged photosensitive drum. Thus, a latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photosensitive drum, and this latent image is developed using toner. A toner image thus developed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to a sheet that has been applied to a transfer drum. By sequentially executing this series of processes for toner of respective colors yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), a full-color image is formed on the sheet. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which in addition to those four colors, it is possible to transfer toner referred to as a specific color, transparent toner, or the like. The digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment is furthermore configured to be capable of transferring transparent toner. A sheet on which a full-color image has been formed in this way is transported to a fixing unit. The fixing unit has rollers and belts, and includes a heat source such as a halogen heater, and with heat and pressure, melts the toner of the sheet to which the toner image has been transferred, thus fixing the image on the sheet. 
     The digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment is provided with a scanner  224  and a console unit  204 . The console unit  204  provides various interfaces when an operator performs various settings, operations, or the like of the digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment. This digital printing device  1000  is configured such that various ancillary apparatuses can also be attached. 
     Large-volume paper feeding units  221 ,  222 , and  223  are paper feeding units that are detachable from the digital printing device  1000 , and supply sheets to a print unit of the digital printing device  1000 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , it is possible to attach a plurality of paper feeding units to the digital printing device  1000 . Thus, it is possible to execute print processing on a large volume of sheets. 
     Large-volume stackers  225  and  226  are apparatuses for internally stocking a large volume of printed sheets that have been output. In a system provided with a large-volume paper feeding unit, a large volume of printed matter (sheets) is produced, so such a large-volume stacker is necessary. In the system configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , two large-volume stackers are connected. 
     A saddle stitching apparatus  227  is provided with various units capable of selectively executing a stapling process, a cutting process, a punching process, a folding process, a shifted paper discharge process, and so forth on printed sheets. 
     This POD system can be understood as largely divided into three parts, centered around the digital printing device  1000 . Apparatuses located to the right side of the digital printing device  1000  in  FIG. 1  are referred to as paper feeding system units. The main role of the paper feeding system units is to continuously, and at an appropriate timing, supply internally loaded sheets to the digital printing device  1000 . The paper feeding system units also perform detection or the like of the remaining amount of internally loaded sheets. There also are paper feed cassettes  231  and  232  within the digital printing device  1000 , and the paper feed cassettes  231  and  232  are functionally the same as the paper feeding system units, supplying sheets to the print unit of the digital printing device  1000 . In the present description, the paper feed cassettes  231  and  232  provided in the digital printing device  1000  are also referred to as paper feeding system units. 
     On the other hand, apparatuses located to the left side of the digital printing device  1000  in  FIG. 1  are referred to as sheet processing units. The sheet processing units perform various processing on sheets for which print processing has completed, accumulation of such sheets, and so forth. The paper feeding system units and the sheet processing units are collectively referred to as sheet processing units (indicated by reference numeral  200  in  FIG. 2 ) in the description below. 
     A computer  101  is a general-purpose computer (PC) that has been connected to the digital printing device  1000  via a network  100 . With this computer  101 , various application programs can be executed, and print jobs can be transmitted to the digital printing device  1000 . 
     Next is a description of the configuration (mainly the software configuration) of the digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram that shows the configuration of the digital printing device  1000 , which serves as an example of a print apparatus. 
     A hard disk (below, HDD)  209  is a storage unit capable of storing document data, data of a job to be processed, and so forth. A job includes image data to be processed, and settings information for processing of the image data. Also, the digital printing device  1000  is provided with a copy function of inputting data from a scanner unit  201  of the digital printing device  1000 , storing the data in the HDD  209 , and printing the data with a print unit  203 . Also, the digital printing device  1000  is provided with a print function or the like of storing in the HDD  209  job data that has been input from an external apparatus (for example, PC  101 ) via an external I/F unit  202  serving as a communications unit, and printing that job data with the print unit  203 . The digital printing device  1000  is such a multi-function print apparatus (image forming apparatus) having a plurality of functions. This digital printing device  1000  may be for color printing or may be for monochrome printing. 
     The console unit  204  constitutes a user interface, and has a display unit for providing various displays to a user, and a touch panel and key input unit operated by the user to input various data. 
     A controller (or CPU)  205  performs central control of processing, operation, and so forth of the various units provided in the digital printing device  1000 . In a ROM  207 , various control programs are stored, including programs for executing various processing and so forth in flowcharts described below. Also stored in the ROM  207  is a display control program for allowing display of a user interface screen (below, UI screen) in a display unit of the console unit  204 . By reading out and executing programs in the ROM  207 , the controller  205  causes execution of various operations according to this embodiment. Also stored in the ROM  207  is, for example, a program that executes an operation to interpret PDL (Page Description Language) code data received from an external apparatus via the external I/F unit  202 , and converts the data to raster image data (bitmap image data). A RAM  208  provides a work area when control processing is performed by the controller  205 , and temporarily saves various data. The RAM  208  also stores image data that has been sent from the scanner unit  201  or the external I/F unit  202  via the controller  205 , and various programs and settings information. 
     A compression/decompression unit (codec)  210  compresses/decompresses image data that is stored in the RAM  208  or the HDD  209  using various compression methods, such as JBIG or JPEG compression. An image composition unit  211 , when a job has been transmitted to the digital printing device  1000  and in the settings for that job there has been an instruction to perform composition processing with image data that has been created in a separate job, produces a composite image based on the instruction. In the above sort of configuration, the controller  205  also controls operation of the respective sheet processing units  200 . The sheet processing units  200  correspond to the paper feeding system units and the sheet processing units described with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram describing the configuration of the computer (print control apparatus)  101  according to this embodiment. 
     A CPU  301  executes programs such as an OS, a general application, or a bookbinding application that have been stored in a program ROM of a ROM  303  or loaded from a hard disk  311  into a RAM  302 . According to those programs, the CPU  301  executes control procedures indicated in flowcharts described below. The RAM  302  functions as a main memory, a work area, or the like of the CPU  301 . A keyboard controller (KBC)  305  controls input from a keyboard  309  or an unshown pointing device. A display controller (CRTC)  306  controls display of a display unit  310 . The display unit  310  also includes a display unit of liquid crystal or the like. A disk controller (DKC)  307  controls access to the hard disk (HDD)  311 , a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD), and so forth configured to store boot programs, various applications, font data, user files, files, and so forth. A NIC (network interface card)  312  is connected to the network  100 , and executes processing to control exchange of signals with the digital printing device  1000  connected to the network  100 , and processing to control communications with other devices. A system bus  304  is configured to connect the CPU  301  with the aforementioned controllers  305  to  307 , RAM  302 , ROM  303 , NIC  312 , and so forth. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a view illustrating an example of the console unit  204  of the printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment. 
     The console unit  204  has a touch panel unit  401 , which is a display unit capable of accepting user operation from software keys (display keys), and a key input unit  402  capable of accepting user operation from hardware keys. As for screens to be displayed on a display unit of the touch panel unit  401 , an example screen among various display screens that are displayed by the controller  205  via the display unit is shown. The items displayed on the display unit, or the items that can be operated, change according to operation by the user or apparatus state. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a view describing an example of various programs, and data used by these programs or the like, stored in the ROM  207  ( FIG. 2 ) of the digital printing device  1000  according to this embodiment. 
     A boot loader  501  is a program to be executed immediately after powering on the digital printing device  1000 . Included in this program is a program for executing various boot sequences necessary for booting the system. An operating system  502  is a program for supplying a run-time environment for various programs that realize functions of the digital printing device  1000 . This environment mainly supplies functions such as a memory of the digital printing device  1000 , the ROM  207  and the RAM  208 , management of resources such as the hard disk  209 , and basic input/output control of various apparatuses. A data transmission/reception program  503  performs transmission/reception processing performed when a data input/output request has occurred via the external I/F unit  202 . Basically, this program performs communications, involving a protocol stack of networking protocols such as TCP/IP, of various data exchanged with an external device or the like capable of connection via the network  100 . This communications processing is responsible for processing specialized for communications processing at the level of transmitting/receiving data packets that are input/output between the digital printing device  1000  and the external I/F unit  202 , or communications processing for an HTTP server or the like, and does not include analysis processing related to the content of data that has been received, which will be described below. This analysis processing is executed according to a separate program by the controller  205 , described below. An image composition program  504  forms a composite image by compositing image data that is held in the HDD  209  and image data included in a print job that has been received by the data transmission/reception program  503 , based on instructions from the controller  205 . A copy program  505  executes a copy function executed by the controller  205 , according to instructions that are input with the console unit  204 , when the user has used the console unit  204  to instruct execution of the copy function. With this copy function, resources of the digital printing device  1000  are controlled such that, based on the processing procedures and processing conditions described in that program, operation of the respective devices is sequentially instructed in an appropriate order, and ultimately copy processing is executed. Included among the aforementioned respective devices are the scanner unit  201 , the print unit  203 , the sheet processing units  200 , the HDD  209 , the compression/decompression unit  210 , the RAM  208 , and so forth. 
     A scan program  506 , when the user instructs execution of a scan function from the console unit  204 , causes execution of the scan function in the scanner unit  201  by the controller  205  due to that instruction. A PDL print program  507  causes execution of a PDL print function by the controller  205  when PDL job data is received via the external I/F unit  202 . When the user instructs execution of a box function from the console unit  204 , a box program  508  causes execution of the box function by the controller  205  due to the instruction. With this box function, image data that has been read by the scanner unit  201  or image data that has been input via the external I/F unit  202  is stored in a box area of the HDD  209 , image data stored in the box area is read out, and so forth. A UI control program  509  is a program for controlling the touch panel unit  401  and the key input unit  402  of the console unit  204 . The UI control program  509  discerns the content that has been input by the user using the console unit  204 , and performs appropriate screen transitions and instruction to the controller  205 . A device control program  510  controls the aforementioned respective devices. Other control programs  511  are programs for realizing functions that do not correspond to any of the above programs. Various programs are included among the control programs  511 , but are not important for giving a description of the present embodiment, so a description of those various programs is omitted. Fixed document data such as messages is stored in a document storage area  512 . Reference numeral  513  denotes an empty area. 
       FIG. 6  depicts a view illustrating an example of the configuration of various information stored in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 . 
     A document management table  601  is a table for managing document data that is held in the HDD  209  in association with job tickets that were used when creating the document data. Details of the information managed in this table will be described below. Items  602  to  604  of document data correspond to items of image data being held in the HDD  209 . For example, such items  602  to  604  of document data may be document data obtained by the controller  205  converting a print job that has been delivered from the computer  101  to the printing device  1000  to bitmap data. They may also be bitmap data of an original that has been read by the scanner unit  201 . These items of document data can be printed by the printing device  1000  with an instruction from the console unit  204 . However, in the present embodiment, it is intended that such items of document data are used as an image to be composited in image composition processing described below, so in the present description they are referred to as data to be composited, unless specifically stated otherwise. Job ticket files  605  to  607  are obtained by converting job settings information used when creating the items  602  to  604  of document data into files. 
       FIG. 7  depicts a view illustrating an example of the document management table  601 . 
     Here, information recorded within a database is managed in record units. A document ID  701  corresponds to a database record ID. In the processing of the digital printing device  1000 , when document data stored in the HDD  209  is designated and used for various control, reference is made to this document ID  701 . A document name  702  corresponds to a file name of document data that is associated with the document ID  701 . Although this file name is used to identify a file in the HDD  209 , because the file name is used to allow the user to designate a specific document via the console unit  204 , for example, the file name can also be used as information to be referred to when making a selection. Likewise, the computer  101  can obtain a document data list stored in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 , and provide this document data list for various uses. When doing so, it is possible to use a document name of the document name  702  also as information to be displayed in the display unit  310  of the computer  101 . A job ticket file name  703  indicates the file name used when a job ticket that was used when creating the document data contained in the document name  702  was saved in the form of a file. The name of the file name  703 , like the document name  702 , can be used as information to be displayed by the console unit  204  or the computer  101 . 
       FIG. 8  depicts a view illustrating an example of document data (an image) that has been created by the computer  101  according to this embodiment. 
     This image has a length in the horizontal (X) direction of 210 mm, and has a length in the vertical (Y) direction of 297 mm. This image includes a rendered object displayed as a single rectangle, and the coordinates of the vertexes on a diagonal line of the rectangle are respectively (80, 200) and (180, 250). The density of pixels that constitute the image of this rectangular area, in order to simplify the description, is set to maximum density (for example, “255” in the case of 8-bit image data). The actual format of this image information is inherent to the application that was used to create the image. Accordingly, the format is discretionary. 
     Such image data is received from the computer  101  and saved in the HDD  209  without printing when “save” has been instructed rather than printing as the “output method” in a UI screen of the print driver of the computer  101 . 
       FIG. 9  depicts a view illustrating an example of a job ticket issued from the computer  101 . A job ticket is shown for a case in which the image data shown in  FIG. 8  is transmitted. 
       FIG. 9  shows an example in which JDF (Job Definition Format) has been used. JDF is commonly and widely used in the printing industry, for example. For this job ticket, a file is created in the format as shown based on content that has been set using a UI screen displayed by the printer driver of the computer  101 , and the job ticket is delivered to the digital printing device  1000 . In the description of the present embodiment, only a minimum of settings items in  FIG. 9  are described, and the remaining items are omitted. Reference numeral  901  denotes a scaling setting. Here, when scaling has been set to “94%” in the UI screen (not shown) of the print driver, that “94%” scaling is indicated not as a percentage, but as a value “0.94” obtained by converting to an enlargement/reduction ratio where “1” indicates same size magnification. 
       FIG. 10  depicts a view illustrating an example of the data configuration of a print job received by the digital printing device  1000  from the computer  101 . 
     This print job is mainly composed of four parts. Data  1004  is produced after the print driver has performed conversion to a second data format, based on a first data format created by an application program of the computer  101 . A job ticket  1003  corresponds to the job ticket in JDF format shown in  FIG. 9 . A communication command  1002  is obtained by converting various parameters used when distributing various statuses when executing the print job to a file format. The digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment has various workflow coordination functions for application in the POD marketplace. Thus, when a request to obtain status information from a device serving as an upstream workflow node or from a computer is received, a delivery command for that status information is described in the communication command  1002 . A MIME header  1001  is header information to be produced when combining the above plurality of items of information, and converting them to a MIME format, such that the information can be transmitted as a single item of data. When a print job is transmitted to the digital printing device  1000  from the computer  101 , job data that has been encoded in MIME format as shown in  FIG. 10  is transmitted. 
       FIG. 11  depicts a view illustrating an example of results of the digital printing device  1000  receiving the job ticket shown in  FIG. 9  and performing conversion processing. 
     Image data that has thus been converted is saved in the HDD  209 . Here as well, the length of the image in the X direction is 210 mm, and the length of the image in the Y direction is 297 mm, so this image is the same size as the source image in  FIG. 8 , and not enlarged or reduced. On the other hand, the coordinates of the vertexes on a diagonal line of a rectangular rendered object  1100  included in this image are respectively (75.2, 188) and (169.2, 235). This reflects the results of the scaling designation. That is, because the scaling has been designated as “94%” in the print settings as described above, the digital printing device  1000  performed reduction processing based on the scaling setting when converting the image data. 
       FIG. 12  depicts a view illustrating an example of second document data (an image) that has been created by an application program of the computer  101 . However, the application used to create the second document data does not necessarily need to be the same application used when creating the document data (image) in  FIG. 8  described above. 
     The size of this image is 210 mm in the X direction and 297 mm in the Y direction, and includes three rendered objects. Note that the rectangular area denoted by reference number  1201  is at the same coordinate position as the rectangular area in  FIG. 8 . 
     Next a case is considered in which, in a state in which the image data shown in  FIG. 8  described above has been received and stored in the HDD  209 , composition (overlay) of that image data with the image data in  FIG. 12  has been instructed. More specifically, in this description, it is assumed that when printing the image data in  FIG. 12  with the digital printing device  1000 , printing is performed by adding clear toner to the rectangular area indicated by the image in  FIG. 8 . For example, this corresponds to a case such as in which image information such as a photograph has been arranged in the rectangular area  1201 , and to that area, clear toner is applied in the rectangular area shown in  FIG. 8  that is at the same coordinate position, thus producing glossy printed matter having high image quality. 
     Here, for the image shown in  FIG. 12 , a scaling setting such as for the image in  FIG. 8  described above is not set, rather, printing at a default value of 100% has been instructed. Accordingly, the scaling attribute of the job ticket in this case is “1.00” at the scaling indicated by reference numeral  901  in  FIG. 9 , thus indicating equal magnification. 
     However, in the above example, scaling has been set to 94% as shown in  FIG. 9 , so as shown in  FIG. 11 , the coordinate position of the rectangular area differs from the coordinate position of the rectangular area  1201  in  FIG. 12 . Accordingly, if these images are overlaid in this state, the position of the rectangular area to be included in the printed matter will be offset when printed. 
     Thus, in the present embodiment, technology is described for obtaining printed matter in which image offset when compositing images due to using different scaling settings is eliminated. 
       FIG. 13  depicts a view illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed in the display unit  310  by the printer driver of the computer  101  according to this embodiment. Here, it is possible to display a screen showing details of image composition processing by instructing a page option  1301 . 
       FIG. 14  depicts a view illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed in the display unit  310  when a page option  1301  has been instructed. In the present embodiment, clear composition, overlay, page modification, and so forth can be set as a page option, but  FIG. 14  shows an example in which a clear composition function has been selected. Switching of page option functions is performed by selecting a tab in the upper part of a screen. 
     “Processing method”  1401  is an item for performing main settings related to a clear printing function, and can be used to select any one of “do not perform clear composition printing”, “perform clear composition printing”, and “register clear color offset plate”. In  FIG. 14 , “perform clear composition printing” has been selected. “Register clear color offset plate” is selected in order to execute processing to register image data to be composited in the digital printing device  1000 . Reference numeral  1403  denotes a screen for selecting a clear color offset plate to be composited when “perform clear composition printing” has been selected in the item “processing method”  1401 . A list of image data present in the selection screen can be displayed by the computer  101  obtaining information of the document management table  601  to be stored in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000  shown in  FIG. 7 . In  FIG. 14 , an item “document data  1 ” has been selected. The item “document data  1 ” is the aforementioned image data that has been reduced to 94%, shown in  FIG. 11 . A radio button  1402  is a button for selecting whether or not to set the same scaling for image data to undergo composition, to be overlaid with a clear color offset plate, as the scaling for image data of the clear color offset plate. That is, this button is for selecting whether or not to set the same scaling when printing print data for which the composition print processing is attempted to be executed in this screen as the scaling for the clear offset plate (the document data  1  that has been selected with item  1403 ) being held in the digital printing device  1000 . When the radio button  1402  is checked, scaling of the image data to be overlaid is set based on the scaling setting of the job ticket being managed by the document management table  601  of the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 . 
       FIG. 15  depicts a view illustrating an example of a UI screen displayed when an “OK” button has been instructed in  FIG. 14 . 
     Here, because the radio button  1402  in  FIG. 14  has been checked, “94%”, which is the same scaling as the image in  FIG. 8  described above, has been set in a scaling setting unit  1501  that designates scaling. Thus, composition of the rendered object  1100  shown in  FIG. 11  and the rectangular area  1201  shown in  FIG. 12  will be performed, without position offset. 
       FIG. 16  is a flowchart describing print processing executed by an application that operates in the computer  101  according to the present embodiment. Here, the term print processing also encompasses saving processing to store a document in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 , which does not actually involve printing. A program for executing this processing is stored in the ROM  303  at the time of execution, and is executed under control by the CPU  301 . 
     This processing is started due to selection of a print function by an application program. First, in step S 1 , print settings processing is executed. Specifically, this step S 1  is realized by the user performing processing for various print settings using a UI screen displayed by the print driver. The print settings items in step S 1  include processing to select all settings items. Settings related to the clear composition function according to the present embodiment, settings related to processing to save documents in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 , and so forth are also included in the processing in step S 1 . Once such print settings are completed, processing advances to step S 2 , where a job ticket is created according to the settings items that have been set in step S 1 . Specifically, a job ticket as shown in  FIG. 9  is created according to the settings items that were selected by the user in step S 1 . Next, processing advances to step S 3 , where conversion processing of image data to be printed is executed. Specifically, data that has been created by an application program is converted from a data format inherent to that application to a data format that can be interpreted by the digital printing device  1000 . This conversion processing in step S 3  is executed by the print driver. Thus, by the processing in steps S 1  to S 3 , information necessary for transmission of a print job has been prepared. Next, processing advances to step S 4 , where the job ticket and image data that have been created in steps S 2  and S 3  are converted to data in the MIME format shown in  FIG. 10 . Then processing advances to step S 5 , where the MIME format data obtained in step S 4  is transmitted to the digital printing device  1000 , and once transmission is completed this processing is ended. 
       FIG. 17  is a flowchart describing processing related to information obtaining processing of document data to be composited when performing setting processing for clear composition printing in the print settings processing executed in step S 1  of  FIG. 16 . This processing instructs the page option  1301  in  FIG. 13 , thus displaying the settings screen in  FIG. 14 , and furthermore is started at the stage when the print instruction “perform clear composition printing” has been selected with the item “processing method”  1401 . 
     First, in step S 11 , processing for obtaining information of the documents that have been displayed in the document list  1403  in  FIG. 14  is executed. Specifically, in step S 11 , processing is performed to connect to the digital printing device  1000  in order to obtain information. Once the connection of the computer  101  to the digital printing device  1000  is established, processing proceeds to step S 12 , where the information in the document management table  601  shown in  FIG. 7  is obtained. This document management table  601  is being stored in the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 . 
     Next, processing proceeds to step S 13 , where based on the information of the document management table  601  that was obtained in step S 12 , document names that are registered in the document management table  601  are displayed in the document list  1403  in the screen in  FIG. 14 , for example. Thus, the user can select document data to be composited. 
       FIG. 18  is a flowchart describing processing of the computer  101  to be executed when the “OK” button in  FIG. 14  has been instructed in a state in which the radio button  1402  in  FIG. 14  has been checked. A program that executes this processing is stored in the RAM  302  at the time of execution and is executed under control by the CPU  301 . 
     First, in step S 21 , a determination is made of whether or not “perform clear composition printing” has been selected as the processing method in the settings screen shown in  FIG. 14 . If the result of this determination is false (NO), then it is not necessary to modify the setting of the scaling value, and so this processing is ended. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S 21  is true (YES), then processing proceeds to step S 22 . In step S 22 , a connection with the digital printing device  1000  is established. Note that the processing in step S 22  is not necessary if a connection has already been established with the digital printing device  1000 . Then processing proceeds to step S 23 , where a job ticket of the document that has been selected in the document list  1403  in the settings screen shown in  FIG. 14  is obtained. Specifically, based on the information in the document management table  601  that was obtained in the flowchart in  FIG. 17 , the job ticket file of the document selected in  FIG. 14  is obtained from the HDD  209  of the digital printing device  1000 . Next, processing advances to step S 24 , where processing is performed to analyze the job ticket obtained in step S 23 . There are various results of this analysis and information to be obtained, but the description here is limited to the scaling setting item related to the present embodiment. 
     Next, processing proceeds to step S 25 , where a determination is made of whether or not the radio button  1402  in  FIG. 14  is checked. When determined that the radio button  1402  is checked, processing proceeds to step S 26 , where among the job ticket information that was analyzed in step S 24 , the setting value of the scaling setting item is obtained. Next, processing proceeds to step S 27 , where the CPU  301  determines whether or not the scaling setting value that was obtained in step S 26  is the same as the scaling setting value that was analyzed in step S 24 . According to that determination, the CPU  301  determines whether or not an image to be printed to a sheet matches image data to undergo composition, based on the image data to be composited. When the scaling setting value that was obtained in step S 26  is the same as the scaling setting value that was analyzed in step S 24 , the CPU  301  proceeds without performing the processing in step S 27 . On the other hand, when determined that the scaling setting value that was obtained in step S 26  is not the same as the scaling setting value that was analyzed in step S 24 , the processing in step S 27  is performed. In step S 27 , the CPU  301  reflects the scaling value obtained in step S 26  in the print settings item. That is, at this stage the scaling of the image to undergo composition is the same as the scaling of the document data that is being held in the digital printing device  1000  and is to be composited (overlaid). On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S 25  is false (NO), processing to coordinate the scaling of the document data to be composited is not necessary, so this processing is ended. 
       FIG. 19  is a flowchart describing print processing executed when the digital printing device  1000  according to the present embodiment has received a print job from the computer  101 . A program that executes this processing is stored in the ROM  207  at the time of execution and is executed under control by the controller (CPU)  205 . 
     This processing is started due to the controller  205  detecting receipt of print job data by the external I/F unit  202 , and first in step S 31 , the controller  205  analyzes received MIME data. Here, the MIME data to be analyzed is in the format described above with reference to  FIG. 10 . The content of this analysis processing also includes processing to extract a plurality of items of data included in the MIME data, and temporarily save them in the HDD  209  or the RAM  208 , for example. Next processing proceeds to step S 32 , where processing to analyze job ticket parts included in the MIME data analyzed in step S 31  is executed. Next processing proceeds to step S 33 , where processing is executed to analyze the data parts analyzed in step S 31 , based on the result of job ticket analysis in step S 32 . The data of the data parts ordinarily is PDL data, and image data to be printed is most often created according to the analysis in step S 33 . Next processing proceeds to step S 34 , where remaining processing not completed in step S 33  is executed. In the present embodiment, image composition processing corresponds to this processing, but in the description of the flowcharts this is more broadly referred to as image processing. By completion of the processing up to step S 34 , data in a format that is printable by the print unit  203  is obtained. 
     In step S 35 , the processing content of the job received from the computer  101  is discriminated, and a determination is made of whether or not any of processing to perform printing, saving, or other processing has been designated. More specifically, processing is executed to discriminate the item that has been designated with “output method” in the UI screen of the print driver of the computer  101 . This determination processing is determined based on the settings items described in the job ticket that was analyzed in step S 32  to obtain a result. When printing is determined in step S 35 , processing proceeds to step S 39 , where print processing is executed. On the other hand, when determined in step S 35  that print processing has not been designated, processing proceeds to step S 36 , where a determination is made of whether or not “save” has been designated. In step S 36 , when “save” has been designated, processing proceeds to step S 37 , where image data and the job ticket obtained in the processing in steps S 31  to S 34  are saved in the HDD  209 . Then processing proceeds to step S 38 , where the management table is updated according to the information regarding the document data and job ticket that were newly saved in the HDD  209  in step S 37 . On the other hand, when determined in step S 36  that “save” has not been designated, this corresponds to a state in which neither “save” or “print” has been selected as the processing content selected from the selection menu in the UI screen. The processing content in this case is not essential to the description of the present embodiment, so in this description, next processing advances to step S 40 , where it is merely stated that other processing is executed. 
       FIG. 20  is a flowchart describing details of image processing executed by the digital printing device  1000  in step S 34  of  FIG. 19 . 
     First, in step S 41 , a determination is made of whether or not there exists a selection of processing to perform image enlargement or reduction in the received job ticket. When the result of this determination is true (YES), processing proceeds to step S 42 , where size conversion processing is executed according to the enlargement/reduction of the image, and then the process proceeds to step S 43 . On the other hand, when the result of this determination in step S 41  is false (NO), processing skips step S 42  and proceeds to step S 43 . In step S 43 , color conversion processing is performed. Then processing proceeds to step S 44 , where other image processing is executed. The specific content of the processing performed in these steps S 43  and S 44  is not important for describing the effects of this embodiment of the present invention and therefore is omitted from the description. Thus, at the stage of completion of processing up to step S 44 , image processing to be performed for the print job received by the digital printing device  1000  is basically concluded. Then processing advances to step S 45 , where based on image information to be produced as a result of image processing, conversion to a bitmap image is performed. This step is performed because conversion to a format that can be printed by the print unit  203  is necessary. 
     Next processing proceeds to step S 46 , where a determination is made of whether or not a setting related to composition processing is included in the job ticket of the received print job. When a determination is made in step S 46  that a setting related to composition processing is included, processing proceeds to step S 47 , where a determination is made of whether or not that composition processing is clear composition processing. When a determination is made in step S 47  that clear composition processing has been set, processing proceeds to step S 48 , where when printing, composition of a clear color offset plate is performed and the settings for performing print processing are made active. On the other hand, when the determination result in step S 47  is false (NO), processing proceeds to step S 49 , where ordinary image composition processing is performed. That is, bitmap composition processing of the image to be composited and the image to undergo composition is performed. When determined in step S 46  that composition processing is not set, this image processing routine is ended without performing processing related to composition. 
     Here, regarding composition processing, the reasons that it is necessary to determine whether the image composition processing is clear composition processing or some other form of image composition processing in step S 47  will be further supplemented. With image composition that is not clear composition, the pixels of the image to be composited and the image to undergo composition are merged, and by overlaying CMYK plates and printing in the print unit  203  it is possible to obtain desired printed matter. On the other hand, in the case of clear composition, transparent toner based on a fifth plate that is not any of CMYK is printed to paper on which CMYK printing has been performed. That is, because clear composition corresponds not to bitmap composition, but to overlay composition processing when printing, so the composition print processing performed in the print unit  203  is fundamentally different. 
       FIG. 21  is a flowchart describing print processing executed by the digital printing device  1000  in step S 39  of  FIG. 19 . 
     First, in step S 51 , a determination is made of whether or not clear composition has become active in the print job. This determination processing is the processing in step S 47  in  FIG. 20 . Here, when clear composition has not been set, processing proceeds to step S 52 , where print processing is executed not using clear composition, but using ordinary CMYK plates. On the other hand, when clear composition has been instructed in step S 51 , processing proceeds to step S 53 , where print processing is executed using a clear color offset plate in addition to ordinary CMYK plates. 
     As described above, according to the first embodiment, when performing image composition processing using a composition function of a digital printing device, it is possible to prevent misregistration of the result of composition of an image to be composited and an image to undergo composition. As described above, misregistration is a phenomenon whereby the positions or areas of the images that are overlaid are offset from each other by a predetermined amount, and thus there is a decrease in quality of the image obtained by compositing and then printed. Also, the operator can easily set settings for preventing such misregistration using the button  1402  shown in  FIG. 14 , for example. 
     Second Embodiment 
     In the above first embodiment, an example is described in which the digital printing device  1000  performs processing to adjust the scaling of the image to undergo composition relative to the image to be composited. However, a configuration may also be adopted in which scaling modification processing for matching the scalings to prevent misregistration when printing is performed by the computer  101 . 
     Specifically, a configuration is acceptable in which when performing the data conversion processing in step S 3  in  FIG. 16 , that is, when producing PDL data, data conversion processing is executed in consideration of the scaling setting that was modified in step S 27  in  FIG. 18 . 
     Also, the above first embodiment describes modifying the scaling of the image to undergo composition, which will be composited with the clear color offset plate. A configuration may also be adopted in which, for example, scaling is modified for the image data of the image to be composited, that is, the clear color offset plate that has been stored in the HDD  209 . 
       FIG. 22  is a flowchart describing processing that accompanies a modification in scaling of the image to be composited in step S 34  of  FIG. 19 , executed by the digital printing device  1000 . A program that executes this processing is stored in the ROM  207  at the time of execution and is executed under control by the controller (CPU)  205 . 
     First, in step S 61 , a determination is made of whether or not there exists a selection of processing to perform image enlargement or reduction in the received job ticket. When the result of this determination is true, processing proceeds to step S 62 , where the scaling setting value described in the job ticket of the document data to be composited is obtained. Next processing proceeds to step S 63 , where a determination is made of whether or not the scaling value obtained in step S 62  differs from the scaling value included in the job ticket of the received job. Thus, the controller  205  determines whether or not an image area of the image to be printed to a sheet based on the image data to be composited matches an image area of the image data to undergo composition. When the scalings match, the controller  205  determines that the area of the image to be printed to a sheet based on the image data to be composited matches the image area of the image data to undergo composition. When the scalings do not match, the controller  205  determines that the area of the image to be printed to a sheet based on the image data to be composited does not match the image area of the image data to undergo composition. When the scalings match in step S 63 , processing proceeds to step S 65 , and when the scalings differ, processing proceeds to step S 64 , where the scaling of the image to undergo composition, that is, the image of the document data to be held in the HDD  209 , is set to the same scaling as the job ticket. When assuming that ordinary scaling modification will be performed, a scalable representational data format is used as the format of the image data on which the scaling modification processing executed in step S 64  is to be performed. Such a data format is used in order to suppress the occurrence of worsened image quality, such as jagged lines, in the image produced after performing the scaling modification. However, processing to modify the scaling is possible even in the case of image data that has been converted to bitmap image data, although this will result in some amount of image deterioration. Therefore, a scalable bitmap format or other scalable data format may be used as the format of the image data on which the scaling modification processing executed in step S 64  is to be performed. When there is not an enlargement or reduction designation in step S 61 , or when determined that the scalings are the same in step S 63 , processing proceeds to step S 65 . 
     In step S 65 , color conversion processing is performed. Then processing proceeds to step S 66 , where other image processing is executed. The specific content of the processing performed in steps S 65  and S 66  is not important for describing the effects of this embodiment of the present invention and therefore is omitted from the description. At the stage of completion of processing up to step S 64 , image processing to be performed for the print job received by the digital printing device  1000  is basically concluded. Then processing advances to step S 67 , where based on image information to be produced as a result of the image processing in steps S 65  and S 66 , conversion to a bitmap image is performed. This step is performed because conversion to a format that can be printed by the print unit  203  is necessary. Next processing proceeds to step S 68 , where a determination is made of whether or not a setting related to composition processing is included in the job ticket of the received print job. When composition print processing has been designated, processing proceeds to step S 69 , where a determination is made of whether or not clear composition printing has been instructed. When clear composition printing has been instructed, processing proceeds to step S 70 , where composition of a clear color offset plate is performed and the internal settings for performing processing are made active. On the other hand, when clear composition printing has not been instructed in step S 69 , processing proceeds to step S 71 , where bitmap composition processing of the image to be composited and the image to undergo composition is performed. When determined in step S 68  that image composition processing has not been designated, this processing routine is ended without performing processing related to composition. The reasons that it is necessary to determine whether or not the image composition processing is clear composition processing or some other form of image composition processing in step S 69  are as described with reference to  FIG. 20 . 
     Note that in step S 64 , the scaling of the image to undergo composition is matched to the image data of the received print job, but the present invention is not limited to this, a configuration may also be adopted in which the image data of the received print job is matched to the scaling of the image to undergo composition. 
     Third Embodiment 
     In the above embodiments, when the scaling of the image to be composited is not the same as the scaling of the image to undergo composition, this fact is detected, and correction is performed such that those scalings become the same. In the third embodiment, although detection of whether or not those scalings are the same is performed, correction processing is not performed. 
       FIG. 23  depicts a view illustrating an example of a screen that corresponds to  FIG. 14  according to the above first embodiment. This screen differs from the screen in  FIG. 14  in that here, there is no radio button  1402  for automatic setting of scaling when scaling is not the same. 
       FIG. 24  depicts a view illustrating an example of a screen displayed immediately after identifying that the scaling of the image to be composited and the scaling of the image to undergo composition are not the same, when clear image data to be composited has been selected in the screen shown in  FIG. 23 . 
     Here, because the scalings are not the same, the user is warned of the possibility that misregistration will occur. As in the previous embodiments, although there are users for which it is recognized to be more convenient to have automatic correction of scaling as a function, there are also users for which when the user&#39;s intended scaling is not known, production of scaling-matched printed matter is a concern. That is, the system detects whether or not the scalings match, and thereafter, it is possible to select whether to again produce an image to be composited, or possible to perform confirmation and then readjust the scaling of the image to undergo composition and continue the job. Thus, there is a wider range in which it is possible to perform control so as to produce printed matter as the user intends. In this third embodiment, processing to automatically correct scaling is not performed, in consideration of the convenience of an operator possessing greater skill. 
     Note that in the first to third embodiments, an example is described in which there is a mismatch of images based on different scaling, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a case is also conceivable in which a mismatch of images is caused by minute differences in image object arrangement (image position (shift setting)) due to using different applications when creating the respective items of image data, for example. Alternatively, a case is also conceivable in which a mismatch of images is caused by differences in the origin point coordinates of the driver/RIP processing system, or default scaling (or scaling adjustment value). Alternatively, a case is also conceivable in which a mismatch of images is caused by differences in the default values (scaling, margin amount, origin point position, origin point coordinates) for each application. Accordingly, in any of these cases as well, it is possible to eliminate a mismatch of images by modifying the corresponding processing parameters. 
     As described above, according to the first to third embodiments, it is possible to easily realize image composition processing employing a composition function of a digital printing device. Also, it is possible to reduce the workload on an operator when performing clear printing or the like. Furthermore, it is possible to easily deal with a case in which a different application is used to create an image to be composited, and so the positions or sizes of respective images differ. Also, along with greatly improving the convenience of the image composition function sought for digital printing devices aimed at the POD marketplace, it is possible to obtain a composite image having no image position offset. 
     Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out and executes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps of which are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For this purpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via a network or from a recording medium of various types serving as the memory device (e.g., computer-readable medium). 
     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. 2009-216167, filed Sep. 17, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.