Abstract: A method, printing apparatus and computer program for making documents are provided. In the method, a printing apparatus including a mechanism for placing an order for making a document in a queue, is used. The queue is capable of containing a number of jobs in a sequence in which they are to be executed. The method includes requesting at least one job for making a document on behalf of a user associated with the printing apparatus, receiving the at least one job by the printing apparatus, and automatically placing the at least one job in the queue, wherein when the user is identified at the printing apparatus, in response to which the at least one job ordered on behalf of the user is automatically placed at a predetermined location in the queue.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, article of manufacture and data structure for automating the processing of scan data files generated by a digital scanner are presented, in which an operator selects at the scanner console one of a set of preprogrammed scan job types and starts it. Then, a scan data file is automatically synthesized from the scan data generated in the scanning process and meta data that identify the selected scan job type. The synthesized scan data file is transmitted to a server that recognizes the meta data and processes the file further in accordance with the scan job type identified in the meta data. Scan job types can be created by users and downloaded to the scanner and the server.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and program for distributed printing of digital print files in a network system including a print service and a plurality of printers adapted for interactive printing are provided. An interactive printing involves printing a print file only upon selection thereof and entering a print command through the local user interface of the printer. In a first step of the method, the print service receives a print file, stores it and distributes information on the stored print file to a plurality of the printers. In a second step, a print process for the print file is started, locally or remotely, in one of the printers and, while this print process is active, a print process for the same print file is started locally in one or more of the other printers. During the printing, the print service controls the printers to print together the required number of copies.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and program for distributed printing of digital print files in a network system including a print service and a plurality of printers adapted for interactive printing are provided. An interactive printing involves printing a print file only upon selection thereof and entering a print command through the local user interface of the printer. In a first step of the method, the print service receives a print file, stores it and distributes information on the stored print file to a plurality of the printers. In a second step, a print process for the print file is started, locally or remotely, in one of the printers and, while this print process is active, a print process for the same print file is started locally in one or more of the other printers. During the printing, the print service controls the printers to print together the required number of copies.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for characterizing a document are described, particularly for the recognition, organization or relating of documents, for which purpose a series of statistical properties of the text in the document is determined. A list of words occurring in the document is determined and a frequency of occurrence is determined for each word in the list. The series is then built up of pairs respectively of one word from the list and the frequency of that word, where the series forms a semantic snapshot of the document. The semantic snapshot is used for comparing documents with one another or for comparing with a semantic snapshot of a specific area of attention or subject, so that the relevance of the document to that subject is determined.

Abstract: A network system for printing digital print files, including personal workstations of users and a plurality of printers. The system further includes a print service and a print file storage service, that may be implemented in several ways. A user may submit a print file without specifying a particular printer on which the file must be printed. Then, he can walk up to any of the printers and start the print process for his print file there. In operation, the print service receives the print file, extracts metadata specifying job information from the file, and stores the file in the print file storage service. The metadata of the file are transmitted to the printers, which include the metadata in local print selection mechanisms resident in said printers. The user may select his print file at the operating panel of any one of the printers and start the printing process. In response, that printer fetches the print image data of the selected file from the print file storage service and prints the file.