Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasuhiro Kujirai

Tatsuro Uchida

Masanori Aritomi

Satoshi Nishikawa

Yasuo Mori

Koji Nakagiri

Yoshihiro Takagi

Hiroshi Oomura

Hiroaki Nakata

Shigeki Kuroda

Hiroshi Koga

Shinichi Yamamura

Kazunori Masaki

Hiroshi Omura

Hirokazu Kawamoto

An image processing apparatus performs a density adjustment process for generating an image containing a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image for warning against the use of copy products. To help users to easily adjust the density of a latent image portion and a background portion in the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image, the image processing apparatus determines a density relationship of the latent image portion and the background portion by performing a plurality of adjustment operations, in combination, different in the amount of adjustment relating to the range of variable density in at least one of the latent image portion and the background portion, and sets, based on the density relationship, the density data of each of the latent image portion and the background portion in the data of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method

An image forming apparatus of a job management system associates a paper brand identifier with a paper name to record a number of sheets of paper used in an executed job for each paper brand identifier as a job history, and notifies the management system about identifying information for identifying the latest job history and the updated paper brand and the paper brand identifier. The management system manages an association between the paper brand identifier and the paper name of the image forming apparatus to count the number of sheets of paper used for each paper name before the update by using the job history information and the identifying information.

Job management system, image forming apparatus, control method, and storage medium

An image processing apparatus includes a decision unit configured to determine whether or not print image data includes copy-forgery-inhibited-pattern image data. Based on a decision result of the decision unit regarding whether or not the print image data includes the copy-forgery-inhibited-pattern image data, a processing unit of the image processing apparatus is configured to determine whether first compression processing is to be performed or second compression processing is to be performed and apply the decided compression processing to the print image data.

Information processing apparatus, image processing apparatus, control method, and computer readable storage medium

The image forming apparatus includes: a log obtaining unit configured to obtain a print log which is an execution history of a print job; a color utilization ratio obtaining unit configured to obtain a color utilization ratio which is a ratio of chromatic color material utilization when past print jobs were executed from the print log obtained by the log obtaining unit; a determination unit configured to determine to perform mixed color correction and single color correction when the color utilization ratio obtained by the color utilization ratio obtaining unit is equal to or larger than a threshold value and to perform the single color correction without performing the mixed color correction when the color utilization ratio is smaller than the threshold value; and a correction unit configured to perform the correction determined by the determination unit.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and document management system capable of executing color correction

In a printing control apparatus and method for performing printing by a printing device based upon a print job, a password corresponding to a print job is entered and print data with the accompanying password is generated and sent from a host computer to a printer, where the print data is to be printed. The host computer is capable of setting any information for the document name and user name associated with the print job. When the printer receives and prints the print data to which the password has been appended, the printer displays the user name and document name associated with the print job and performs printing in response to entry of the corresponding password by the user.

Printing control method, apparatus and storage medium therefor, and printing system

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a printing device includes an input unit for inputting a search condition for searching for a desired printing device, a display unit for displaying at least one printing device that satisfies the search condition, a selection unit for selecting a printing device from the at least one printing device displayed by the display unit, and a setting unit for setting the search condition input by the input unit as a printing setting for the printing device selected by the selection unit in accordance with selection of the printing device by the selection unit.

Information processing apparatus and method and program of controlling the same

Defect-free printing is achieved by previewing on a display prior to printing, device functions and print specifications. Preview of double-sided faces is concurrently provided when double-sided printing is specified. Display is performed by generation of data which allows print preview that reflects consideration of device information and document data. Data is generated for perspective-reverse-face preview when page-specification information is set for double-sided faces.

Information processing apparatus and method for displaying a preview image

A host computer which generates a print job subjected to printing by a printer stores a drawing command output from an application in a spool file via a graphic engine. A spool system, the graphic engine, and a job chasing function processing unit execute a chasing data generation process by using the drawing command. The spool system, the graphic engine, and a graphics control unit execute a print data generation process by using the same drawing command. At this time, the drawing command is read out and output so as to successively execute the chasing data generation process and print data generation process. With this configuration, there are provided a method of protecting leakage of information by which the contents of information can be reliably chased without requiring either a special application or a device having a special function and posing any restriction on the read or output path, and an information processing apparatus and driver program which implement the method.

Method of protecting leakage of information, and information processing apparatus and driver program which implement the method

To generate print jobs to be executed by a printing device, an image processing apparatus edits drawing commands output by applications and stored in storage means, in accordance with editing instructions input through input means, executes a process of generating chasing data using the drawing commands, the process including the edition, and then executes a process of generating print data, the process including the edition. The editing instructions for the drawing commands include an instruction to combine a plurality of drawing commands, an instruction to separate a drawing command into a plurality of subcommands, and an instruction to delete a drawing command. The chasing data is generated so as to have a layered data structure indicating the combinative relationship among the plurality of drawing commands if the editing instruction instructs a plurality of drawing commands to be combined together.

Method of protecting leakage of information and information processing apparatus and driver program implementing the same

In this invention, a combined job obtained by combining a plurality of jobs is authenticated as a single job. According to the arrangement of this invention, when print jobs are to be spooled, these jobs are transferred from a dispatcher to a spooler where the jobs are combined. Upon reception of a print instruction, the print job is read out from a spool file, transferred from a despooler to a graphic engine again, and transferred from the dispatcher to a printer driver. At this time, the printer driver issues an authentication request in printing to a job accounting client. Thus, only one authentication request suffices for one combined job.

Print control apparatus and method, and print system

A printing control apparatus is provided which can produce an appropriate copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image by adding a monochrome copy-forgery-inhibited pattern even if monochrome mode printing is performed in the condition in which a color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is set. When the monochrome mode printing is performed in the condition in which the color copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is set, and if the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern color is output with its color unchanged, the color is not converted into 100% black. Considering this, when a forced monochrome mode is selected, even if the user's setting for the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is color, the color is changed to monochrome (black) before output. If the designated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern setting is for color, the designated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern setting is changed to the monochrome copy-forgery-inhibited pattern setting so that the printing processing is performed in the monochrome mode using the designated copy-forgery-inhibited pattern setting.

Printing control based on a selected printing mode by a user

The present invention realizes a network printing system capable of accumulating and chasing printed data. Further, by providing a job chasing function on the printer driver side, detailed setting can be done to extract history information of the job chasing function. The detailed setting to extract history information to chase a job can be done only by a specific administrator or user so that the job can be reliably chased, whereas the administrator or user can obtain desired history information. Accordingly, a precise jog chasing system can be established.

Information processing apparatus, printing system, and control method therefor

The invention enables people to easily identify a printout image even in the case where the printout image is printed with a tint block image added thereon. More specifically, a physical page that is a printable area of printing paper is divided into areas, an intended document/image is printed in each of these divided areas (logical pages), and a tint block image is printed only in an area that is in this physical page but does not belong to any of the logical pages. Using a fact that a margin is produced in the so-called N-up printing, the tint block image is printed in this margin. Thereby, the tint block image can be printed in a location that will not interfere with whatever printout image to be printed.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yasuhiro Kujirai