Abstract: A method and apparatus for policy based enforcement of print job attributes is provided. A printing device receives a print job that includes user identification information. The printing device determines a policy associated with the user identification information. The policy indicates how electronic documents associated with that user are to be printed. A command, based on the policy, is inserted into the print job. The command includes at least one of: a) a duplex command; b) a grayscale command; c) an N-up command; or d) a command reducing the use of consumable resources at the printing device.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for forwarding a print job. The method includes transmitting, by a client device, a request to print a locked print job, which includes a print job and is prohibited from being printed until authentication information is entered into the printing device. The printing device receives the request to print the locked print job. The locked print job and the authentication information are stored in a memory. A job ticket that provides the client device access to forward the print job included in the locked print job to at least one other printing device communicatively coupled to the printing device is generated. The job ticket is transmitted to, and received by, the client device. The print job is forwarded to the at least one other printing device.

Abstract: Methods and system for printing a print job with cloud storage are disclosed. A web print server is provided for accessing a cloud storage server. The web print server is operable to download a print job from the cloud storage server to the web print server. The web print server downloads the print job based on an identification (of the print job) that is received from a web client remotely over a network. Subsequently, the print web server sends the print job to a printer for the print job to be printed from the printer. In one embodiment, the printer may comprise the web client.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for outputting a locked print job by a printing device connected to a client terminal over a network. The method includes receiving a request to distribute the locked print job to one or more users. The locked print job is generated in response to the request, and the locked print job and information identifying the one or more users is transmitted to the printing device over the network. The printing device receives the locked print job and the information identifying the one or more users transmitted by the client terminal, and stores the locked print job, the information identifying the one or more users, and authentication information. The authentication information is transmitted to the one or more users. The printing device outputs the locked print job, when the authentication information is entered into the printing device.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for outputting a locked print job by a printing device connected to a client device over a network. The method includes transmitting, by the client device, a request to print the locked print job, which includes print data that is prohibited from being printed until authentication information is entered into the printing device. The printing device receives the request to print the locked print job. The locked print job and the authentication information are stored in a memory. A job ticket that provides the client device access to manage the locked print job stored in the memory is generated. The job ticket is transmitted to, and received by, the client device. The locked print job is output when the authentication information is entered into the printing device or the locked print job is remotely released by the client device using the job ticket.

Abstract: An approach is provided for implementing locked printing on a printing device with a display of cost data. The printing device includes a locked print process that is configured to determine whether locked printing is to be used for print data received at the printing device. Print data designated for locked printing is stored on the printing device. The printing device displays a cost of printing selected print data for one or more printing devices accessible to the printing device. A user has the option of forwarding the selected print data to a printing device accessible to the printing device for printing based on the displayed cost data. This display of cost data can be in response to a request by the user to (a) display cost data, (b) print the selected print data at the printing device, or (c) print selected print data that has an attribute that exceeds a specified threshold.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for outputting a locked print job by a printing device connected to a first terminal and a second terminal over a network. The method includes receiving a request including information identifying a second user delegated to the locked print job, to perform the locked print job from a first user, and generating the locked print job in response to the request. The locked print job and the information identifying the second user is transmitted to the printing device over the network. The printing device stores the locked print job, the information identifying the second user, and authentication information that unlocks the locked print job when entered into the printing device and is transmitted to the second terminal associated with the second user. Further, the locked print job is output by the printing device, when the authentication information is entered into the printing device.

Abstract: An approach is provided for securely printing policy-enabled electronic documents. According to the approach, a determination is made at a client device whether policy-enabled printing has been specified for a particular electronic document. If policy-enabled printing has been specified for the particular electronic document, then a determination is made whether a print driver, installed on the client device for supporting printing for a particular printing device, is configured to support policy-enabled printing. Also, a determination is made whether the particular printing device is currently configured to support policy-enabled printing. The particular electronic document is allowed to be processed at the client device for printing only if both the print driver is configured to support policy-enabled printing and the particular printing device is currently configured to support policy-enabled printing.

Abstract: A printing device includes a user interface, a print module and a locked print module. The locked print module is configured to examine a plurality of print data received by the printing device to determine whether locked printing is specified for any electronic documents contained in the plurality of print data. If locked printing is specified for any of the electronic documents contained in the plurality of print data, then the corresponding print data is stored on the printing device and not processed for printing. The locked print module is further configured to verify password data with respect to user identification data. If the password data is not successfully verified with respect to the user identification data, then the locked print module causes print data that is both stored on the printing device and associated with the user identification data to be deleted from the printing device.

Abstract: An approach is provided for printing policy-enabled electronic documents using locked printing. A client device includes a user interface, an application program and a print driver. The application program allows a user to generate an electronic document. The print driver corresponds to a particular printing device and is configured to cause a graphical user interface to be displayed on the user interface. The graphical user interface allows a user to specify one or more access policies to be applied to the electronic document. The print driver is configured to generate print data that includes a plurality of print commands which, when processed by the particular printing device, cause a printed version of the electronic document to be generated at the printing device. The print data includes data that indicates the one or more attributes of the one or more access policies that are to be applied to the electronic document.

Abstract: According to approach for printing policy-enabled electronic documents, when a locked print module determines that an electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled electronic document, the locked print module causes the PDF print data to be stored on the printing device and not immediately processed for printing. A PDF-to-postscript conversion module generates and stores in a common data structure in the shared memory a request for security data for the PDF print data. A policy client module retrieves the request from the common data structure in the shared memory, obtains security data for the PDF print data from a policy server, and stores the security data in the common data structure in the shared memory. The PDF-to-postscript conversion module uses the security data to decrypt the PDF print data and then converts the decrypted PDF print data into postscript data for printing by the printing device.

Abstract: A printing device includes a locked print module that is configured to examine print data received by the printing device and determine whether the print data should be processed as locked print data. If so, then the print data is stored on the printing device and not immediately processed for printing. The locked print module also authenticates a user and allows the user to request printing of the print data. The user is queried for a password and if successfully verified, the locked print module determines a password type of the password associated with the print data and identifies password control data stored on the printing device that corresponds to the password type. The locked print module processes the print data based upon the password control data to generate processed print data and causes the processed print data to be printed at the printing device.

Abstract: An approach is provided for printing policy-enabled electronic documents using locked printing. A printing device includes a user interface, a print process for processing print data and printing documents and a locked print process. When print data is received by a printing device, a determination is made whether an electronic document contained in the print data is a policy-enabled electronic document. If so, then the print data is treated as locked print data by being stored on the printing device and not immediately processed for printing. In response to both successfully verifying a user and a request to print the electronic document via a user interface at the printing device, a determination is made whether the user is authorized by a policy to print the electronic document. If so, then the print data is processed and the electronic document is printed at the printing device.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for configuring a monitoring system to monitor selected network elements. According to the method, one or more network elements on a network are automatically discovered. Identification data that identify each of the one or more network elements are generated. A modified version of the identification data is generated in response to user input. Each network element that is identified in the modified version of the identification data is monitored.

Abstract: An approach is provided for implementing locked printing on a printing device with unlock via a keypad attached to the printing device via an interface. A user may specify for printing print jobs stored at a printing device using a keypad device to enter a job ID associated with a particular print job or a general ID associated with users to release all print jobs associated with a particular user, all print jobs not yet printed, or all print jobs. Print jobs may alternatively be identified by date. The approach may also include a user viewing a list of available locked print jobs on a user interface of the printing device, along with the associated job IDs. The approach may further include the use of a Web server on the printing device to generate and provide a Web page that lists stored print jobs and their associated job IDs.

Abstract: According to a technique described herein, whenever there are print jobs waiting in a currently idle printing device's queue, the printing device selects, from among those print jobs, the longest-waiting print job that does not require any resources that the printing device cannot currently supply without human intervention. The printing device removes that print job from the queue and prints that print job, even if other print jobs have been waiting longer in the queue. If the queue contains print jobs that the printing device cannot currently print because the printing device currently lacks sufficient resources to print those print jobs completely, then, for each such print job, the printing device displays reasons why that print job cannot currently be printed. The reasons may include information that identifies the qualities and/or quantities of the resources that the printing device currently lacks but needs.

Abstract: An approach is provided for implementing locked printing on a printing device with remote unlock. The printing device includes a locked print process that is configured to examine print data received by the printing device and determine whether locked printing is to be used for the print data. Print data designated for locked printing is stored on the printing device. The printing device also includes a Web application configured to generate Web pages that define a Web-based graphical user interface. When processed at a client device, the Web pages allow a user to enter authorization data that is transmitted to the Web application on the printing device. The locked print process verifies the authorization data and if the authorization data is successfully verified, allows the user access to locked print data on the printing device. The approach may also be implemented using a common repository to store print data.

Abstract: An approach is provided for implementing locked printing on a printing device. The printing device includes a user interface configured to display information and accept user input. The printing device includes a locked print process that is configured to examine print data received by the printing device and determine whether locked printing is to be used for the print data. The locked print process is further configured to verify password data entered via the user interface and if the password data is successfully verified, then allow the print data to be processed and a printed version of the electronic document reflected in the print data to be generated. The printing device also includes a Web server that provides a Web-based user interface to allow a user, such as an administrator, to specify configuration data that defines one or more functions performed by the locked print process.

Abstract: An approach is provided for implementing locked printing on a printing device. The printing device includes a user interface configured to display information and accept user input. The printing device includes a locked print process that is configured to examine print data received by the printing device and determine whether locked printing is to be used for the print data. The locked print process is further configured to verify password data entered via the user interface and if the password data is successfully verified, then allow the print data to be processed and a printed version of the electronic document reflected in the print data to be generated. The printing device also includes a Web server that provides a Web-based user interface to allow a user, such as an administrator, to specify configuration data that defines one or more functions performed by the locked print process.

Abstract: A method of configuring a computer connected to a printer via a network by transmitting commands, such as SNMP commands, to the printer in order to retrieve the available options of the printer. In response to the transmitted commands, the printer transmits its available options to the computer, and the printer driver resident on the computer is then updated without manually selecting individual printer options to include the retrieved options. The present invention also provides a computer program product and corresponding GUI to configure a computer to include the available printer options. The GUI according to the present invention includes a plurality of pop-up menus having various display controls to operate the computer program, and is updated by the printer driver to reflect the available printer options.