Print control apparatus and method for duplex printing on a continuous sheet

A print control method for a print control apparatus configured to cause a printing unit to print page images on a first surface and a second surface of a continuous sheet that is on an opposite side of the first surface, the print control method comprising:

• receiving a first print job and a second print job, wherein each print job includes a sheet type and a plurality of page images;
• determining whether a first sheet type of the first print job and a second sheet type of the second print job are the same;
• causing the printing unit to continuously print page images on the continuous sheet based on the determination result by the determining;
• and
• causing a cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after a page image has been printed on the first surface and before a page image is printed on the second surface,
• wherein, in response to determining that the first sheet type of the first print job and the second sheet type of the second print job are the same, (i) causing the printing unit to continuously print a page image of the second print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the first print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) causing the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the second print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and then (iii) causing the printing unit to print a page image of the second print job and then continuously print a page image of the first print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet so that a second surface page image and a first surface page image are aligned to one another, and
• wherein, in response to determining that the first sheet type of the first print job and the second sheet type of the second print job are not the same, (i) causing the printing unit not to continuously print a page image of the second print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the first print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) causing the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the first print job and before printing a page image of the second print job, and then (iii) causing the printing unit to print a page image of the first print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet.

A print control apparatus configured to cause a printing unit to print page images on a first surface and a second surface of a continuous sheet that is on an opposite side of the first surface, the print control apparatus comprising:

• a receiving unit configured to receive a preceding print job and a subsequent print job, wherein each print job includes a plurality of page images;
• a determination unit configured to determine whether a sheet type to be used for the preceding print job can be used for the subsequent print job based on the determination result by the determination unit;
• a print control unit configured to cause the printing unit to continuously print page images of the preceding print job on the continuous sheet;
• and
• a cut control unit configured to cause a cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after a page image has been printed on the first surface and before a page image is printed on the second surface,
• wherein, in response to the determination unit determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding print job can be used for the subsequent print job, (i) the print control unit causes the printing unit to continuously print page images of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the preceding print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) the cut control unit causes the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and then (iii) the print control unit causes the printing unit to print a page image of the preceding print job and a page image of the subsequent print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet so that a second surface page image and a first surface page image are aligned to one another, and
• wherein, in response to the determination unit determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding print job cannot be used for the subsequent print job, (i) the print control unit causes the printing unit not to continuously print page images of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the preceding print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) the cut control unit causes the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the first print job and before printing a page image of the subsequent print job, and then (iii) the print control unit causes the printing unit to print a page image of the preceding print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet;
• and
• at least one processing unit, wherein at least one of the receiving unit, the determination unit, and the print control unit is implemented by the at least one processing unit.

A print control method for a printing unit to print page images on a first surface and a second surface of a continuous sheet that is on an opposite side of the first surface, the print control method comprising:

• receiving a preceding print job and a subsequent print job, wherein each print job includes a plurality of page images;
• determining whether a sheet type to be used for the preceding print job can be used for the subsequent print job based on the determination result by the determining;
• causing the printing unit to continuously print page images of the preceding print job on the continuous sheet;
• and
• causing a cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after a page image has been printed on the first surface and before a page image is printed on the second surface,
• wherein, in response to determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding print job can be used for the subsequent print job, (i) causing the printing unit to continuously print page images of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the preceding print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) causing the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet, and then (iii) causing the printing unit to print a page image of the preceding print job and a page image of the subsequent print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet so that a second surface page image and a first surface page image are aligned to one another, and
• wherein, in response to determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding print job cannot be used for the subsequent print job, (i) causing the printing unit not to continuously print page images of the subsequent print job on the first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to a page image of the preceding print job already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet, (ii) causing the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after printing a page image of the first print job and before printing a page image of the subsequent print job, and then (iii) causing the printing unit to print a page image of the preceding print job on the second surface of the continuous sheet.

A print control apparatus configured to cause a printing unit to print page images on a continuous sheet, the print control apparatus comprising:

• a determination unit configured to determine, for a plurality of page images, whether a sheet type to be used for a preceding page image can be used for a subsequent page image;
• a print control unit configured to cause the printing unit to continuously print page images on the continuous sheet based on the determination result by the determination unit;
• a cutting control unit configured to cause a cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet,
• wherein, in response to the determination unit determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding page image can be used for the subsequent page image, the print control unit causes the printing unit to continuously print the subsequent page image on a first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to the preceding page image already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet without cutting, and
• wherein, in response to the determination unit determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding page image cannot be used for the subsequent page image, the cutting control unit causes the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after the preceding page image has been printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet before printing the subsequent page image;
• and
• at least one processing unit, wherein at least one of the determination unit and the print control unit is implemented by the at least one processing unit.

A print control method for a print control apparatus configured to cause a printing unit to print page images on a continuous sheet, the print control method comprising:

• determining, for a plurality of page images, whether a sheet type to be used for a preceding page image can be used for a subsequent page image;
• causing the printing unit to continuously print page images on the continuous sheet based on the determination result by the determining;
• causing a cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet,
• wherein, in response to determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding page image can be used for the subsequent page image, causing the printing unit to continuously print the subsequent page image on a first surface of the continuous sheet adjacent to the preceding page image already printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet without cutting, and
• wherein, in response to determining that the sheet type to be used for the preceding page image cannot be used for the subsequent page image, causing the cutting unit to cut the continuous sheet after the preceding page image has been printed on the first surface of the continuous sheet before printing the subsequent page image.