Abstract: In a copier/printer, production of signatures with high productivity is provided by storing in a job image buffer (JIB) image data in compressed form representing multiple pages of an original image to be reproduced as signatures. When a signature page is to be printed, the image data for one of two pages to be printed as a signature is output from the JIB by expanding the image data from compressed form to a rasterized form. The rasterized data is then output to a secondary buffer memory (SBM). There is subsequently output to the SBM from the JIB rasterized data of a second of the two pages to be combined into a signature. The two pages in the SBM are assembled to form an assembled data set of image data from the two pages. There is then output to a writer rasterized lines of image data representing data from the assembled data set wherein a rasterized line includes image data from the two pages of the original image.