Abstract: An effective environment can be freely constructed in which multifunctional processing equivalent to high performance multifunction peripherals can be executed easily at low cost, by utilizing the print function of a printer driver as well as by selectively utilizing the functions of peripheral devices. In a print system environment where a print job can be issued to a printer 150 through a printer driver 203, the printer driver 203 communicates with predetermined peripheral devices thereby to search them for information of a peripheral device that can execute a substitute function processing, and updates the display of a print setting screen of the printer driver so as to allow utilization of a predetermined substitute function, in accordance with the retrieved substitute function information.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus specifies an area wherein a tint block image is applied, or an area wherein a tint block is not applied. A user selects either an application mode or a non-application mode in an area 2250 to specify a tint block application area or a tint block non-application area, and selects, in an area 2251, a shape for a tint block application area or a tint block non-application area. Then, the user employs, for example, a mouse to adjust the size and the location of the selected figure, and specifies the tint block application area or the tint block non-application area. The printer driver employs the selected area information to generate tint block application/non-application area information, and employs this information to create tint block image data while taking into account the area wherein, on a single sheet, the tint block is either used or not used.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: Viewability is improved creating more reliable visual recognition of an image including a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image to clearly distinguish a copy and an original being displayed for preview. An image processing apparatus produces data of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image that is added to an image to be output for printing and comprises a latent image and a background image. The apparatus includes: a display unit for displaying an image; and a display control unit for distinctively displaying images, on the display unit, in a first display state displaying the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image and in a second display state in which a display mode of at least one of the latent image and the background image of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image differs from a display mode of the image displayed in the first display state.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus generates printing image data of a printing image and copy-forgery-inhibited-pattern-image data of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image to be added to the printing image. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image includes a latent image and a background image. The apparatus includes a selecting unit and a printing-data generating unit. The selecting unit selects either the transparent-printing designation or overlay-printing designation, the transparent-printing designation is used for generating printing data so that the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is superimposed on the printing image, and the overlay-printing designation is used for generating printing data so that the printing image is superimposed on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image. The printing-data generating unit generates printing data based on the printing designation selected by the selecting unit.

Abstract: A printing system which allow an administrator to change the settings of client apparatuses concerning the apparatus configuration of a printer, on his/her own initiative. Apparatus configuration information on the printer is acquired from the printer by a server apparatus via the network. The acquired apparatus configuration information on the printer is coupled to driver data, and the driver data having the apparatus configuration information on the printer coupled thereto is installed in the client apparatuses in response to an installation instruction from a user without waiting for an installation request to be received from any of the client apparatuses via the network.

Abstract: Compression processing where block compression is prioritized has various problems, for instance, data compressed by a method other than block compression is compressed at low compression rate, determination of whether or not block compression is possible is time consuming, and when block compression cannot be performed consecutively for a number of blocks, the time required for determination is wasted. In view of this, a left-end block and right-end block having significant data are detected in a series of blocks. With respect to a block between the detected left-end block and right-end block, determination is made as to whether or not block compression is effective. Block compression is performed on the block if block compression is effective, but if block compression is not effective, processing other than block compression is performed on the block and at least a predetermined number of blocks subsequent to said block.

Abstract: A mechanism for performing tab paper printing and test printing by simple operation is provided. A printer performs a print process with an image formation position unshifted in the test printing and a print process with the image formation position shifted in the tab paper printing. In case of performing the tab paper printing after the test printing, the printing is performed by using print data already held in the printer or a host computer. It structured to enable to output to a plain paper a print result in which a decoration is added only to a tab position correspondence portion, enable to change its decoration method, and enable easy discrimination of the position. By the above structure, a user can easily correct the position of the content intended to be printed on a tab, and costs necessary for the tab paper used in the test can be reduced.

Abstract: A printer is interrogated with regard to a plurality of processing functions thereof and, in response to the interrogation, response information is sent from the printer. An image object delivered from an application program is analyzed and, on the basis of the analytical results and the response information from the printer, it is determined whether the number of color elements and number of palettes of the image object are capable of being supported by the printer. If they are capable of being supported, control information for output to the printer is created based upon the image object. If the number of color elements and number of palettes are incapable of being supported by the printer, then control information for output to the printer is created from the original image object upon taking into consideration the functions possessed by the printer.

Abstract: It is one objective of the present invention to provide a practical user interface that can considerably simplify the operations required for the display of a specific object desired by a user, and that can accurately display the specific device at an optimal order location for the user. To achieve this objective, a specific object is detected in directory information read from an external memory, and is displayed, using a tree structure, on a display device based on the steps along a directory path originating at a local object.

Abstract: If a presentation mode to print a presentation material and a distribution material is selected and the number of copies of printing of the distribution material is set, a printing job is issued from a computer to a printer in accordance with the setting. Thus, on the basis of printing data included in the issued printing job, the printer prints the data of each of plural pages on a one transparent recording sheet in color as the presentation material, and further prints the data of predetermined number of pages in monochrome for the number of copies of printing set so that the data of the predetermined number of pages are put on a one plane paper as the distribution material.

Abstract: An information apparatus allows shift to a setting object, such as a dialog or a window having a specific setting item, even if the number of set items is large. In an user interface in the information processing apparatus, the configuration of a menu is checked, and a block menu in which the configuration of the menu is represented by blocks is displayed. When the user performs action for a control item in the block menu, the corresponding menu item is segmented and displayed. The display of the control item at the current position and the display of a link line to the control item change, so that the position of the control item in the menu configuration can be grasped.

Abstract: The user describes in advance conflict process rules, which indicate descriptions for avoiding conflicts that occur between setup data, in a conflict process rule description file (301). An inference engine (302) refers to this conflict process rule description file (301) and generates complementary rules indicating complementary conflict avoidance descriptions. The complementary rules are implemented by generating inverse logic rules of given descriptions for a function, which are described to allow inference by analogy.

Abstract: An image processing system for executing a color process on color image data and generating output color image data composed of a plurality of color component data including black component data, the system using a mode for generating the output color image data such that, when input color image data is an achromatic color, color component data other than black component data in the output color image data are substantially zero-valued. The system includes setting, based on an instruction from a user, relationships between a plurality of types of object images and the mode, inputting object image data of an input image, discriminating the type of the object image data, and executing the color process on color image data of the object image data using the mode based on the setting step and the type discriminated in the discriminating step.

Abstract: A printer is interrogated with regard to a plurality of processing functions thereof and, in response to the interrogation, response information is sent from the printer. An image object delivered from an application program is analyzed and, on the basis of the analytical results and the response information from the printer, it is determined whether the number of color elements and number of palettes of the image object are capable of being supported by the printer. If they are capable of being supported, control information for output to the printer is created based upon the image object. If the number of color elements and number of palettes are incapable of being supported by the printer, then control information for output to the printer is created from the original image object upon taking into consideration the functions possessed by the printer.