Abstract: The character display apparatus according to the present invention has a constitution including (1) character display means having at least a character segment in the shape of a character, and a background segment provided around the character segment and constituting a background of an outline character; and (2) display control means for performing on-off control of the character segment and the background segment, which constitute the character display means.

Abstract: There is disclosed a computerized prepress system having imposition means for receiving from a digital storage means at least one digital representation of at least one page and for arranging this digital representation in accordance with a desired plate layout, to define a digital plate image and, ghosting prediction means coupled to the imposition means. These ghosting prediction means are operable to make a ghosting prediction based on data from at least one of the digital plate image and a relatively low resolution version of the data.

Abstract: A color image is formed by a color printer by superposing images of a plurality of colors formed by a plurality of print units. A discrimination signal which represent character edge is received besides image data. The print positions of the print units are corrected according to image distortion detected by a sensor, and the image data are corrected according to corrected print position data. Further, the discrimination signal of character edge is corrected according to the detected image distortion. A color image is formed based on the corrected image data and the discrimination signal of character edge.

Abstract: In a computing system where there is more than one printer, a user first formats an image to fit a first printable area for a first medium on a first printer. This image when printed with the same format on a second printer on a medium with a smaller printable area will result in a clipped image. A printer system is modified to include a method to determine a scaling factor. The printer system uses this scaling factor to convert dimension-related information in a set of print data which defines the original image. The resultant print data after conversion is used to print an image on the second printable area. This image has a format which is proportional to the format of the original image.

Abstract: A scan request is analyzed to determine which application has issued the scan request. Depending on the analysis result, it is determined whether image data obtained by scanning a document using a scanner is stored in a semiconductor memory or on a hard disk. The image data is assigned an identifier indicating the recording medium in which the image data is stored, the type of the job, the document, the image file type, and the number of pages. The image data is processed in accordance with the identifier. This allows the data to be processed by the application in an optimum manner depending on the application.

Abstract: In a printing system queuing jobs, some jobs are made dependent on primary jobs. If a user delete a primary job, the depending jobs are retrieved and automatically deleted.

Abstract: A stand-alone printer is provided having a first drive for receiving a first computer readable medium, wherein the first computer readable medium is capable of storing at least one digital representation of an image captured by a digital device and wherein the first computer readable medium is adapted to interface with the digital device. The stand-alone printer also includes a printing member for producing on a substrate a pattern associated with the digital representation of the image captured by the digital device and a port for transmitting data to and from the printer, wherein the printer is adapted to interface with a second drive through the port.

Abstract: A print data output circuit for outputting bitmap data for printing based on character codes is provided with: a data memory for storing character codes to be printed; a bitmap data memory for storing bitmap data corresponding to the character codes stored in the data memory; a clock generator that generates a predetermined clock signal; a counter unit that generates first address data of the data memory, a character code stored at the first address of the data memory being read out of the data memory, second address data of the bitmap data memory being generated in accordance with the clock signal and the character codes corresponding to the first address data, bit map data stored at the second address of the bitmap memory being output therefrom; and a parallel-to-serial converter that converts bitmap data stored in the bitmap data memory and corresponding to the second address data to serial data for printing.

Abstract: A character information processing apparatus prints at least one line of an input character string on a printing medium having a size limited at least in width thereof. There is stored information of settings concerning at least one attribute of a first kind of predetermined attributes concerning a layout of characters of the input character string and a second kind of predetermined attributes which can be set to the characters of the input character string on character-by-character basis, in a manner correlating the information of the settings with the input character string. A first instruction signal is generated to start a modification process for modifying the information of the settings.

Abstract: The invention assures that page data in a printer/copier memory is retained until the corresponding page is successfully output to an attached page handling accessory. The system incorporating the invention includes a memory with storage regions allocated to store page data to be printed, a print engine that is responsive to the page data to output printed pages, and an output tray for receiving printed pages from the print engine and for providing a first signal indicative of such receipt. A page handling accessory is coupled to the output tray for further processing of the printed pages and is constructed to provide a second signal that is indicative of a page output therefrom after its handling actions are completed. A processor is controlled by a page management process to deallocate storage areas allocated to a page upon receipt of both the first signal and the second signal, indicating that the page has successfully exited from the page handling accessory.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a black edge of a document image is emphasized, and the black edge is detected by deciding an edge from the lightness data and by deciding a black color from the chroma data. The data of cyan, magenta and yellow of a pixel at a black edge are replaced with minima of data of cyan, magenta and yellow of pixels in a prescribed region around the pixel. In order to prevent erroneous decision of a black edge, if a number of isolated pixels is larger than a threshold level, a decision as a pixel at a black edge is invalidated. Automatic exposure can be performed on a color document for correcting a background of the document obtained in a prescan. The background level of the document is determined only on pixels decided to be black. When color balance is adjusted on one of the data of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the density is kept constant.

Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to desirably prepare a printing environment wherein a blank space can be externally attached to print data at a printer driver level. And when the printing of data generated by an application is requested, a despooler reduces the size of the print data based on blank space information set by a printer driver, and generates layout data whereby a blank space is externally attached to the resultant print data.

Abstract: A computer data print-out system is formed by a computer, a plurality of stencil printers and a computer interface unit connected between the computer and the stencil printers. The computer interface unit makes output data on the basis of raster image data and input resolution data representing the resolution of the raster image data which are input from the computer and outputs the output data into one of the stencil printers. The computer interface unit reads out from each of the stencil printers the output resolution data representing the output resolution at which the stencil printer can make print, selects out of the stencil printers connected to the computer interface unit a stencil printer which has an output resolution equal to the resolution of the raster image data, and outputs the output data into the selected stencil printer.

Abstract: Printing on a recording medium by lateral scans of a print head in accordance with print data. Content of print data is determined. Then, the print data is printed either with a first lateral scan process using a critical zone at edges in a lateral scan of the print head for printing, or with a second lateral scan process that does not use the critical zone for printing. The first or second lateral scan process is selected based on the print data. Preferably, the critical zone is sized in correspondence with ramp up non-uniformities of a print carriage on which the print head is mounted, so as to accommodate a distance between a point where print degradation due to speed non-uniformities are noticeable to a point where print degradation due to speed non-uniformities are no longer noticeable. The second lateral scan process preferably is a process in which a predetermined margin is inserted into the first lateral scan process.

Abstract: When an image memory (106) may be full during facsimile reception, and an image processing section (314) causes a printer section (6) to currently perform a copying operation, the copying operation is interrupted, and facsimile reception is continued while reading out reception image data in the chronological order and performing printing, thereby avoiding a memory full state of the image memory (106) and preventing line disconnection.

Abstract: A watermark property is specified for a print queue, subject to control only by network administrators. The value within the watermark may be a pointer to a graphic image, text, or a logical value, allowing flexible specification of a water-mark on a printer by printer basis. The queue watermark property overrides any print job watermark properties before the print job is submitted to the print driver, regardless of whether the print job watermark was set in the job properties locally or remotely, by a user or an application. The queue watermark property thus serves as a distinct, mandatory watermark associated with the print queue, whether local or network. The watermark property setting is retained by a persistent parameter in configuration information for the print server hosting the print queue, which is employed to initialize the queue.

Abstract: In a technique for processing a ROM image when supplying of electrical power to a laser printer has been interrupted during the downloading of the ROM image to a flash memory, if the ROM image is abnormally downloaded to the flash memory, the ROM image can be loaded into the flash memory again. Accordingly, although the ROM image is abnormally loaded into the flash memory in the laser printer, it is possible to normally use the laser printer.

Abstract: A printer-control-only hardware circuit (control circuit) is interposed between a printer driver of a host computer and a printer. The printer driver transmits to the control circuit a series of control circuit commands for use with the control circuit. The series of control circuit commands include several types of commands, such as a backend parameter setting command used for sending a backend parameter which is required for resetting the printer and an RGB data transmission command for the purpose of transmitting full-color RGB raster data. The control circuit identifies the types of control circuit command received. If the control circuit command is a backend parameter setting command, the backend parameter is stored in the command buffer within a memory device.

Abstract: A printing system utilizing object-oriented modules in a distributed object system is disclosed. Particularly, a method is described for controlling a printing system using a job-oriented approach to facilitate communication between system objects. In one aspect, a plurality of print job objects are provided including a top level job control object that maps communication between the print job objects via a virtual control network. A job is then created involving the print job objects for the purpose of transferring an electronic print image to a substrate.

Abstract: An output apparatus comprises: a producing circuit for receiving code data indicative of a pattern to be generated and for producing a pattern based on the code data; an interruption instructing circuit for instructing the interruption of the outputting process; and a retreating circuit for retreating the code data which had already been received before the interruption was instructed in the case where the interruption has been instructed by the interruption instructing circuit. The code data is expressed by a page describing language. The preceding code data is retreated by a different data format when the outputting process has been interrupted. The recording process which has been interrupted can be restarted from the interrupted state by returning the retreated data from the auxiliary memory.