Printer equipped with image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention, computer providing printer with print source, and print system including printer and computer

A computer including a printer driver having a function of expanding a command received from an application to image data and then sending it to a printer, characterized in that

• said computer has a function of outputting to said printer a control signal for instructing operation of an image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention when a type of said command received from said application is a command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and not outputting said control signal to said printer when the type of said command is not the command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and said command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention is a command indicating a color multi-value bit map image.

A print system using a printer equipped with an image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention, including a computer having a printer driver, and a printer having an image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention and a printing out device controlled according to a recognition result of said image recognition unit,

• said printer driver of said computer having a function of outputting a command received from an application without expanding it to image data, and
• a controller of said printer having a function of operating said image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention for said image data obtained by expanding said command received from said computer to an image, characterized in that
• said controller has a function of not operating said image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention when a type of said command received from said computer is not a command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and said command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention is a command indicating a color multi-value bit map image.

A printer having an image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention, a printing out device controlled according to a recognition result of said image recognition unit, and a controller, said controller having a function of operating said image recognition unit for image data obtained by expanding a command received from a computer to an image, characterized in that

• said controller has a function of not operating said image recognition unit for counterfeiting prevention when a type of said command received from said computer is not a command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and said command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention is a command indicting a color multi-value bit map image.

A recording medium on which a program is recorded for causing a computer to function as

• means for expanding a command received from an application to image data and then outputting it to a printer, and
• means for outputting to said printer a control signal for instructing execution of image recognition for counterfeiting prevention when a type of said command received from said application is a command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and not outputting said control signal to said printer when the type of said command is not the command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and said command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention is a command indicating a color multi-value bit map image.

A recording medium on which a program is recorded for causing a computer to function as a printer including

• means for operating a printing out device according to image data obtained by expanding an externally applied command to an image,
• means for executing image recognition for counterfeiting prevention for said image data obtained by expanding said externally applied command to an image, and
• means for controlling not to operate said means for executing image recognition when a type of said externally applied command does not correspond to a command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention, and said command type of an image as an object of counterfeiting prevention is a command indicating a color multi-value bit map image.

In a print system including a printer and a computer controlling said printer, for preventing counterfeiting of a bank note or securities, a computer readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon to have said computer function as examining means examining whether received input data includes a type of image data that corresponds to a type of image data being an object of counterfeiting prevention,

• wherein in said printer, upon detection by said examining means that said type of image data corresponds to said type of image data being the object of counterfeiting prevention, the image data is examined in detail to determine whether the image data is the image data of said object of counterfeiting prevention, and printing of said image data by said printer is permitted upon detection by said examining means that the type of image data does not correspond to the type of image data being the object of counterfeiting prevention, or upon detection in said detailed examining that the image data is not the image data of said object of counterfeiting prevention;
• and
• wherein in said examining means examining is based on a type of image data as indicated by a color image command of said input data.