Abstract: A customized print job duplication method implemented in a print shop management system that includes a data processing apparatus having a non-transitory memory for storing a software program and a processor for executing the software program, wherein the software program includes program code configured to cause the data processing apparatus to execute a customized print job duplication process, which includes the steps of providing print job duplication options to allow selection of which sub-sections of a first print job will be duplicated, duplicating from the first print job the sub-sections selected for duplication, and creating a second print job with existing data and a set of settings to be applied to a second document processing job, the set including the settings duplicated from the first print job in the duplicated sub-sections.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for reducing data size of at least one bitmap image, wherein the bitmap image comprises a plurality of color blocks, wherein each color block is associated with a distinct color plane. In some embodiments, the bitmap image may be compressed. At least one compressed color block that is contained in a transfer frame may be determined, based on information pertaining to a physical offset between successive color planes when they are rendered on a print medium. Further, at least one compressed color block in the transfer frame may be tagged, if the size of the transfer frame exceeds a threshold, and the resolution of the at least one compressed color block that is tagged may be reduced.

Abstract: A method including: receiving a document encoded in a markup language and having a page with an image and text; creating a first high-level graphics (HLG) object corresponding to the image, where the first HLG object specifies a first z-index less than zero for the first HLG object; generating a first entry in an input file including a pointer to the first HLG object; generating a second entry in the input file corresponding to the text; generating an output file using a typesetting program and the input file; in response to the first z-index not being zero: parsing the output file to identify the page; creating an ItemHandles List (IL) for the page; adding a first ItemHandle corresponding to the first entry to the IL, where the first ItemHandle including the pointer; and generating a display list for the page using the output file and the IL.

Abstract: A method for controlling printer energy consumption. The method includes identifying, during a first time interval, a quantity of energy consumed by a printer since commencement of the first time interval; generating a comparison by comparing the quantity of energy with a first energy threshold for the first time interval; and invoking an energy saving mode of the printer based on the comparison.

Abstract: A method, including: receiving a request to print a first document from a first application; displaying print settings and an option to maintain print settings (MPS); collecting a time limit, a selection enabling the option to MPS, and a selection enabling a print setting; sending a first print job corresponding to the first document and the print setting to a printer; initiating, in response to the selection enabling the option to MPS, a time window having a duration set to the time limit; receiving a request to print a second document from a second application; identifying a remaining time of the time window; retrieving, in response to the remaining time exceeding zero, the indication of the print setting; and sending, bypassing the printer driver GUI, a second print job corresponding to the second document and the print setting to the printer.

Abstract: A method and a printer for post-submission and post-rendering custom spooled page printing of a raw print file sent directly to the printer without a printer driver or print application. Embodiments of the method and printer implement a process that includes the steps of sending a raw print file directly to a printer and the printer receiving the raw print file for direct printing, rendering the raw print file by the printer's interpreter, after all pages of the raw print file are spooled, pausing the printer's print engine, providing page printing options on the printer's control panel to allow a user to select pages to be printed, and after receiving the user's page selection, starting the print engine to print only the pages selected by the user.

Abstract: A method for enforcing a user specified minimum font size (USMFS) in a hardcopy document (HD). The method includes: receiving a request to print an electronic document (ED) according to a magnification ratio; identifying a first character in the ED having a first font size smaller than a quotient of the USMFS divided by the magnification ratio; and increasing the first font size by a scale factor to match the quotient; where the HD is generated by scaling the ED according to the magnification ratio, and wherein the HD comprises the first character in the USMFS.

Abstract: A method and computer program is described for managing a print shop system in which a plurality of color and black and white printers are connected to and managed by a computer. To print a source document having mixed color and black and white pages with a color-split printing process, the computer first execute a verification program to determine whether the source document indeed contains mixed color and black and black and white pages by utilizing a recursive pair-down or page-down scheme where the color values of the pages are compared and as soon as a mismatch in the color values of the processed pages occurs, the computer will return a result indicating that the source document indeed contains mixed color and black and white pages. Alternatively the computer will return a result indicating that the source document does not contain mixed color and black and white pages when a last page of the document is reached but a mismatch of the color value of the compared page never occurs.

Abstract: A method and a printing implementing the method for dynamic printer performance tuning. The method includes the steps of processing a page to be printed by a printer description language interpreter to generate a Display List, selecting tuning parameters from the Display List data, analyzing the tuning parameters by a Bayesian analyzer to obtain a score for each tuning parameter, and based on the score of each tuning parameter, adjusting rendering settings of the tuning parameters for printing the page. The steps of training the Bayesian analyzer includes creating a set of training pages, rendering each page to determine best performance settings for each tuning parameter, grouping the pages based on tuning parameter settings, generating Display List data of each page, rendering the training pages in each group to compile training data that are saved for future printing jobs.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for reducing data size of at least one bitmap image comprising at least one block, wherein the block comprises a plurality of image components, each image component being associated with a distinct color plane. The method may include compressing the plurality of image components of the at least one block. The method may further include ranking the plurality of image components using a dominance rank, wherein the dominance rank for an image component is based on a compression ratio for the image component. The method may also include reducing the resolution of at least one image component associated with the block, based on the dominance rank of the color plane associated with the image component.

Abstract: A method for printing including receiving, by a printer, a first page image, a second page image, and a selection for enabling media type substitution. The printer identifies a preferred media type and an alternate media type, where the preferred media type and the alternate media type include a common printable area (CPA), and the first page image and the second page image are modified to match a dimension of the CPA. The printer then selects the preferred media type for printing the first page image. The printer receives a message, after receiving the selection enabling media type substitution, associated with the preferred media type after selecting the first media type. The printer then selects the alternate media type in response to the message and the selection enabling media type substitution, and prints the second page image using the alternate media type.

Abstract: A color barcode can record much more amount of information than black white barcode. However, the problem of the color barcode is that it is easy to lose integrity or authenticity in printing and copy generation. This invention provides an apparatus and a method to keep the integrity or authenticity of the color barcode. Such is accomplished by the color reference portion of the color barcode including reference color tiles filled with colors which are used in a data portion of the color barcode and an apparatus and a method for producing, reproducing and reading such color barcode.

Abstract: A method and a printer for recovering a printing job by a user from a printer's control panel after the printer is stopped either automatically by the printer due to a printer error, or manually by a user either because the user notices a printer error or simply wants to modify the settings of an on-going printing job. Embodiments of the method and printer provide on the printer's control panel user interfaces to allow the user, while the printing job is paused, to select an option that changes the printer into a repair mode, modify job settings of the printing job, and select job restart specifications, so that the stopped printing job can be recovered based on the modified job settings and the selected job restart specifications. Particularly a non-fixable printer problem may be avoided when the printing job is resumed by disabling or not using a non-fixable printer part.

Abstract: A method executed by an image forming apparatus for producing a print job, which includes the steps of: (a) receiving data representing a document to be printed in the print job; (b) receiving job information about the print job, the job information including an instruction to print multiple copies of the document; (c) printing the multiple copies of the document; and (d) ejecting one sheet of each of the multiple copies of the document at an ejection speed, that is either greater than or less than an ejection speed of the other sheets of the multiple copies of the document.

Abstract: A method for restricting duplication of a hardcopy document, including: displaying, in response to a request to print a document from a user application, a graphical user interface (GUI); receiving, in response to displaying the GUI, a plurality of print settings and a plurality of copy restrictions selected from the GUI by a user; generating a copy code by encoding the plurality of copy restrictions; generating a print job for the document based on the copy code and the plurality of print settings; and sending the print job to a print queue to generate the hardcopy document, where the hardcopy document includes a machine-readable version of the copy code, and where the copy code restricts duplication of the hardcopy document by a copier after the copier identifies the machine-readable version of the copy code on the hardcopy document.

Abstract: A method for submitting a Job Description Format (JDF) print job to a printer using a USB flash drive or other portable storage device is described. An operator stores JDF files on the USB drive, and inserts it in the printer. The printer detects the USB drive, identifies the JDF files, and displays a list of the JDF files on a control panel of the printer for the operator to select a JDF file. The printer reads and interprets the selected JDF file to obtain job parameters, and displays the job parameters on the control panel. If desired, the operator modifies the job parameters using the control panel. The printer prints the print job according to the modified job parameters, and saves the modified job parameters back to the USB drive. Additional functions, such as updating audit information in the JDF file and displaying operator instructions, may be provided.

Abstract: A method implemented in a multi-user data processing system including an image forming apparatus for processing a print job, which includes the steps of: (a) storing a printer language access policy in an image forming apparatus, the printer language access policy including a plurality of printer language policy settings for each of the plurality of users having access to the image forming apparatus; (b) when a user requests to execute a printer language command for the image forming apparatus, determining whether the user is authorized to execute such a printer language command based on the printer language policy settings for the user; (c) when it is determined that the user is authorized to execute the printer language command of the image forming apparatus, executing the printer language command of the image forming apparatus; and (d) when it is determined that the user is not authorized to execute the printer language command of the image forming apparatus, denying the request to execute the printer lang

Abstract: A method and program for a universal Job Description Format (JDF) printer driver. The universal JDF printer driver computer software program product has a computer readable program code embedded in a computer usable storage medium for controlling a data processing apparatus, where the program code is configured to cause the data processing apparatus to execute a process for generating a JDF job ticket for printing documents by a JDF compatible printing device. The process implemented by the universal JDF printer driver has the steps of obtaining device capabilities information from the JDF compatible printing device and creating a baseline JDF job ticket based on the device capabilities information, providing a graphical user interface to allow a user to modify the baseline JDF job ticket interactively, and generating a syntactically and semantically correct final JDF job ticket compatible with the device capabilities of the JDF compatible printing device.

Abstract: A method for securing data in hardcopy documents. The method includes obtaining a page image having a private data item; generating an encrypted version of the private data item; obtaining a decoder identification (ID) value of a decoder; generating, using an encoder, a symbol having the encrypted version of the private data item and the decoder ID value; and generating a hardcopy document by recording the symbol on a physical medium, where the hardcopy document is transported to a subsystem having the decoder, and where the subsystem decrypts the encrypted version of the private data item after extracting the encrypted version of the private data item from the symbol.

Abstract: A method implemented in a data processing system including an image forming apparatus for producing a print job, which includes the steps of: (a) receiving data representing a document to be printed in the print job; (b) receiving job information about the print job; (c) determining if the job information includes an instruction to print multiple copies of the document in a collated order; (d) forwarding the data representing the document to be printed in the print job to an external storage unit when multiple copies of the document in collated order have been requested; (e) retrieving the data from the external storage unit; and (f) printing the multiple copies of the document in collated order.