Printing apparatus and control method therefor

A printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• determination means for determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• first setting means for setting the color print mode for a page determined by said determination means to be a color page;
• and
• second setting means for, when pages determined by said determination means to be monochrome pages are detected to continue, setting the monochrome print mode for at least one of the pages.

A printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• determination means for determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• first setting means for setting the color print mode for a page determined by said determination means to be a color page;
• and
• second setting means for setting a print mode of a page determined by said determination means to be a monochrome page, by referring to print modes set for a plurality of pages before the page and/or a color/monochrome page determination result.

A printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• determination means for determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• first setting means for setting the color print mode for a page determined by said determination means to be a color page;
• and
• second setting means for setting a print mode of a page determined by said determination means to be a monochrome page, on the basis of color/monochrome pages among a predetermined number of pages containing pages before and after the page and/or a layout pattern of color/monochrome print modes.

A method of controlling a printer having a full-color print process and a monochrome print process, comprising:

• the color/monochrome discrimination step of discriminating whether a page to be printed is color or monochrome;
• the first determination step of determining presence of an immediately preceding page which is successively printed before the page determined to be monochrome in the color/monochrome discrimination step, and an attribute of the immediately preceding page;
• the second determination step of determining presence of a succeeding page which is successively printed after the page determined to be monochrome in the color/monochrome discrimination step, and an attribute of the succeeding page;
• and
• the print process decision step of setting the number of pages corresponding to a determination result in the first determination step, and deciding a print process for the page on the basis of presence and attributes of subsequent pages corresponding to the number of pages that are determined in the second determination step.

A method of controlling a printing system including a printer having a full-color print process and a monochrome print process, and a printer driver for the printer,

• the printer being able to operate in any one of a plurality of print modes including a first print mode in which printing is done by automatically switching between the full-color print process and the monochrome print process in accordance with an object to be printed, and a second print mode in which all pages are printed in the full-color print process, comprising:
• the designation step of allowing a user to designate every print job which of the plurality of print modes is used to operate the printer;
• and
• the control step of operating the printer in the print mode designated in the designation step.

A method of controlling a printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• the determination step of determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• the first setting step of setting the color print mode for a page determined in the determination step to be a color page;
• and
• the second setting step of, when pages determined in the determination step to be monochrome pages are detected to continue, setting the monochrome print mode for at least one of the pages.

A method of controlling a printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• the determination step of determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• the first setting step of setting the color print mode for a page determined in the determination step to be a color page;
• and
• the second setting step of setting a print mode of a page determined in the determination step to be a monochrome page, by referring to print modes set for a plurality of pages before the page and/or a color/monochrome page determination result.

A method of controlling a printer which can operate by switching between a monochrome print mode and a color print mode, comprising:

• the determination step of determining based on image information whether each page is a color page or a monochrome page;
• the first setting step of setting the color print mode for a page determined in the determination step to be a color page;
• and
• the second setting step of setting a print mode of a page determined in the determination step to be a monochrome page, on the basis of color/monochrome pages among a predetermined number of pages containing pages before and after the page and/or a layout pattern of color/monochrome print modes.