Abstract: There is provided a character processing device. A character string formed of at least one character is input. There are stored in advance a plurality of processing instruction elements each specifying a process for processing the character string and at least one keyword associated with the process. From the plurality of processing instruction elements, a processing instruction element specifying the at least one keyword is retrieved as the predetermined keyword by using a predetermined keyword. The character string is processed according to the processing instruction element when the processing instruction element has been retrieved by the retrieval means.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for printing customer image orders, each containing a plurality of images, onto a photosensitive media. A digital record of a customer image order containing a plurality of images in a predefined sequence is obtained. A printing sequence based on a predetermined criteria which is different from the sequence of the images as originally obtained is determined. The images are then printed onto a media in accordance with the new printing sequence.

Abstract: A system and method of printing documents having merged text and graphics is presented which overcomes the Z-order problem of merging text and graphics on a raster printer and which enhances printing performance. The system and method analyze a location of the text and graphics elements to be printed to determine if and where any potential merging problems exist. In these regions, the system and method selectively redraws the text as part of the merged bitmap graphic. The remainder of the text on the document is printed with device resident fonts, either directly or through downloading the device font, if possible. This greatly enhances printing performance. If the text information is not supported or supportable by a device font, the text elements are drawn as bitmaps to be printed by the printer.

Abstract: An image forming device comprises an input for receiving a print job data stream, a memory coupled to the input for storing at least a portion of the print job data stream, and detection apparatus coupled to the memory for detecting at least two classes of indicia indicative of a banner page within the at least a portion of the print job data stream. The image forming device further includes management apparatus coupled to the detection apparatus for managing usage of the banner page independent of other pages defined in the print job data stream.

Abstract: A printer according to this invention simultaneously performs image data generation and output in units of bands constituting one page. It is inconvenient to finish image data generation before output of the image data. Each band having a necessary rendering time longer than an output time of one band is picked up in advance. It is determined whether the memory capacity used is smaller in pre-rendering the picked bands or in simply increasing the number of band memories, thereby determining an optimal rendering schedule.

Abstract: Aspects for achieving enhanced glyphs of a font are presented. In a method aspect, the method includes determining a glyph layer description for a selected glyph, and accessing at least one contour for the selected glyph. The method further includes accessing at least one layer style for the at least one contour of the selected glyph, and rendering the selected glyph in accordance with the at least one layer style to produced an enhanced glyph. In a system aspect, the system includes a mechanism for providing a hinted path. A glyph layer processor is coupled to the mechanism for providing and receives the hinted path. The glyph layer processor outputs enhanced glyph data. A drawing client for receiving the enhanced glyph data from the glyph layer processor for output from a computer system is further included.

Abstract: A system for providing useful summarized setting information is disclosed. The system comprises a memory of a computer and a printer driver. The computer has a display and is connected to a printer, while the printer driver provides a print setting multi-layered user interface (UI). The memory provides a means for the printer driver to store and retrieve a set of print setting data, which is representative of a previously selected permutation of printer features and setup options. When a user initiates a session to perform print setting operations, the printer driver retrieves the print setting data from the memory and presents the print setting multi-layered UI on the display. In addition to processing the print setting data to present the print setting data using the print setting multi-layered UI for the user to make changes, the printer driver also processes the print setting data to provide a summary bar.

Abstract: A color correcting apparatus corrects color data according to second ambient light so that an output device outputting a color based on the color data calibrated in first specified ambient light can output almost the same color in the second light. The apparatus comprises a storing section used to store several main component data each representing a different component of light, which are combined to reproduce the second light, an input section used to input several weighing coefficients to assign weight to each of the several pieces of component data when they are combined and a correcting section used to correct color data based on correction parameters obtained using the several pieces of component data stored in the storing section and using the several weighing coefficients input through the input section.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a data processing system for generating a metadata stream. Calls are received calls from an application, wherein the calls are received calls. The current application attributes in the received calls are tracked. The received calls are monitored for a new page call. When a new page call is identified in the received calls, the new page call is placed within the metadata stream to identify a new page in the metadata stream. Current application attributes are placed in the metadata stream within the new page identified by the new page call, wherein the new page within the metadata stream may be outputted/printed or reprocessed using the current application attributes located within new page.

Abstract: A spooling method for sequentially printing a plurality of documents in which a server spools print data supplied from another information processing system on the same network. To realize this method, an output control apparatus for receiving data of a job unit input from a data source and outputting from an output unit data of the job unit in accordance with a predetermined order, includes a setting unit for setting an order of outputting data and a control unit for outputting from the output unit data of the job unit received from the data source, in accordance with the output order set by the setting unit.

Abstract: An image data transfer mechanism is disclosed having a source device, processing circuitry, and a target device. The source device is operative to transmit digital data. The processing circuitry is coupled to the source device for receiving the image data from the source device. The target device has memory, and is coupled with the processing circuitry. The target device is operative to receive the image data, while the memory is allocatable as a frame buffer for receiving the image data. A method is also disclosed.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to read out and analyzes form data (macro data) upon printing, generate a drawing object, and reduce a processing time of a forming process for composing the drawing object to data to be overlaid. Particularly, it is an object to realize a developing process of form data in a color image processing apparatus. The invention provides an image processing apparatus for previously forming a form image from the form data and overlay-outputting the form image together with the data to be overlaid upon printing. Particularly, the object of the invention is accomplished by switching means for independently drawing into each plane buffer and means for drawing with respect to each plane for the image data of one page.

Abstract: A drive system for a carriage, which is fitted with a scanning or recording device, in a reproduction appliance, in which the scanning or recording device scans or exposes a recording material periodically along scanning or recording lines. The carriage is moved forward with the aid of a drive apparatus along a straight line at right angles to the scanning or recording lines. The drive apparatus contains an electric motor whose rotation speed is determined by a frequency of drive pulses that are produced by dividing a master clock by an integer factor. The drive apparatus contains an apparatus for converting a rotary movement of the electric motor into a linear movement of the carriage. Furthermore, the drive system contains a device by which an identical number of drive pulses can be lengthened or shortened by one or more periods of the master clock in each scanning or recording period.

Abstract: Interleaved data are converted to a planar format by an algorithm that follows map cycles throughout a frame buffer. Such map cycles result from iterating a function that maps planar addresses to CMYK addresses. There are three phases to the algorithm: In phase I, a 1-Cycle is processed and all of its member indices that are <=MAX_HIT in the array firstHit[] are saved. In phase II, all indices between 1 and MAX_HIT are visited, skipping any indices that have already been in a cycle. As each cycle is converted, any hits to indices between 1 and MAX_HIT are directly recorded in the array hit[], so that indices that have been used are quickly skipped. Phase III is skipped unless there are still some copies left to process. In phase III, there is no more space for recording every hit individually. When looking for new cycles, only indices that are not multiples of anything in the 1-Cycle are considered.

Abstract: To perform page-layout printing, intermediate data having a data form different from print data is generated. The generated intermediate data is controlled in logical page unit, and the logical pages are edited in accordance with the page layout. On a physical page, a plurality of logical pages are reduced and laid out. A character print command, an image rendering command, and a graphic rendering command are replaced with predetermined data by the intermediate-data replacement editing process so as to reduce the amount of data to be outputted. As a result, the amount of data conversion at the time of printing an outline of contents of the page is reduced, and printing time can be reduced.

Abstract: When a printing service for processed images is carried out in a digital photographic service, a load on data transfer can be reduced and usage of image data or templates can be limited. High resolution image data and templates are not provided to users but stored in a system of a service provider. A user carries out processing ordering by using low resolution image data and template for display. Upon placing an order, an order file describing ID information or the like to specify the image data and the template is provided to a laboratory.

Abstract: A method of generating an M-bit grayscale image from an N-bit grayscale image, where 1<M<N, includes the steps of: for each pixel in the N-bit image, determining a threshold, based on the values of neighboring pixels, for generating the most significant bit (MSB) of the M-bit image, and determining thresholds, based on the threshold determined in step i) and the values of surrounding pixels, for each successive less significant bit(s) (LSB) of the M-bit image. The thresholds are used to quantize the pixels in the N-bit image to produce the M-bit image. The resulting M-bit image can be displayed on a multilevel display device for good readability, and the most significant bit of the M-bit image can be archived and printed on a binary printer thereby minimizing long term storage requirements.

Abstract: A run length codeword system which has a set of codewords, each codeword being one byte. The first codeword of a run is divided into a 4-bit code part and 4 bits of printing hints. The code part specifies the source of the data, and the format of the remaining bytes in the run. The remaining one or two codewords specify the number of remaining data bytes in the run, or color values.

Abstract: Remote printing using incremental font subsetting. A document to be printed on a remote printer is analyzed page-by-page to determine the fonts used on each page and which characters, or glyphs, from each font are needed to print the page. For the first page on which a particular font is used in the document, a “subsetted font” comprising only the glyphs used on the page by that font is generated and copied to a spool file. For each subsequent page on which a font is used, a “font delta” is created in the spool file comprising only the glyphs used on the page which have not been previously copied to a record in the spool file. Once all of the subsetted fonts and font deltas for a given page have been written to the spool file, the text information for the page is written to the spool file and the page may be printed by the print spooler. This process continues for each page in a document to be printed on a remote printer.

Abstract: A print job containing designation of personalization for setup data for image formation is received from, e.g., a computer. Personalizing information is acquired from a server via a network. On the basis of the acquired personalizing information, an image forming unit forms the image based on the print job.