Abstract: This invention relates to an image recording apparatus provided with a transporting unit transporting an image recording material whose shape has at a least one side in a predetermined transporting direction; an image recording position detecting unit detecting a position of the at least one side along the predetermined transporting direction, an image recording position correcting unit correcting the image recording position for the image recording material based on result of detection of the at least one side by said image recording position detecting unit; and an image forming unit forming a predesired image on the image recording material at the corrected image recording position.

Abstract: A server computer acquires printer information containing printer position information from a printer and stores the printer information in a printer information table. When the printer information is request by a print client, the printer information is provided after authentication as required. The print client generates print transmitting data by adding the printer position information to print data and transmits the print transmitting data to the printer. The printer which has received the print transmitting data acquires printer position information at this point in time, and when the printer position information at this point in time coincides with the printer position information contained in the print transmitting data, the print data is printed by the printer.

Abstract: A host that controls jobs of a printer obtains client identifying information within a job control request, which is received from a terminal, while obtaining the job information and client identifying information of the print request from the printer, and storing the same in a job information storage unit. For each job included in the job information that is obtained from the printer, a job control capability determiner compares the client identifying information (of print requester) and client identifying information of the terminal that made a control request. When both of the client identifying information is identical, it is determined that the control is allowed. When it is not identical, it is determined that the control is not allowed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for transmitting and storing print jobs sent via e-mail. A first embodiment entails sending a document to be printed as an e-mail attachment to an e-mail enabled printer. The printer extracts the document from the e-mail attachment and performs any necessary decompression, decoding, and translation. The document may be placed in a print queue for printing and/or the document may be stored in a job retention area of printer memory. Preferably, the e-mail, which delivers the print job to the document to the printer, may specify various print settings for printing the document, as well as storage options and access rights if the document data is stored in job retention. In a second embodiment, an e-mail enabled print server is configured to extract documents sent as attachments to an e-mail and to distribute the print jobs to a network printer.

Abstract: The present invention provides a storage device that enables identification data to be readily rewritten and ensures normal completion of a data writing operation in a short time period. In the storage device of the invention, an ID comparator determines whether or not identification data transmitted from a host computer coincides with identification data stored in a memory array. In the case of coincidence, the ID comparator sends an access enable signal EN to an operation code decoder. The operation code decoder analyzes a write/read command, switches over a direction of data transfer with regard to the memory array based on a result of the analysis, and requires an I/O controller to change a high impedance setting of a signal line connecting with a data terminal DT. This series of processing allows access to an address in the memory array specified by a count on an address counter.

Abstract: In a printing management system of the invention, multiple printing devices 50a and 50b are connected via a network 22 with an information management apparatus 30 that manages the whole system, and are divided into plural blocks according to language, currency, and geographical factors. A jurisdiction management server 40 is provided in each of the plural blocks and is connected to the network 22. The information management apparatus 30 receives expendable consumption data regarding an expendable consumed by each of the multiple printing devices 50a and 50b at regular time intervals and transfers the received expendable consumption data to the corresponding jurisdiction management server 40 in the group to which the printing device belongs.

Abstract: A charging management apparatus which allows constructing a charging system corresponding to various conditions when a plurality of apparatuses share a locally connected image reading apparatus and also allows use of the locally connected image reading apparatus as a chargeable peripheral device is disclosed. An image reading apparatus sharing server (302) serving as a charging management apparatus stores and manages a charging setting information structure based on charging setting related to sharing of an image reading apparatus (301) by a client PC (303), responds to a charging setting information structure acquisition inquiry from the client PC (303), collects, stores, and manages use information related to sharing of the image reading apparatus (301) from the client PC (303), and calculates, stores, and manages a charging result for actual use of the image reading apparatus (301) on the basis of the use information and charging setting information structure.

Abstract: A method for halftoning includes the steps of defining a first set of weight sets, and defining a second set of weight sets. A first error associated with a first pixel location of a plurality of pixel locations is diffused to a first neighboring at least one pixel location using a first weight set selected from the first set of weight sets, and a second error associated with a second pixel location of said plurality of pixel locations is diffused to a second neighboring at least one pixel location using a second weight set selected from the second set of weight sets. The first diffusing step and the second diffusing step are alternately performed along each scanline in the image to reduce visual artifacts.

Abstract: Disclosed is a printing control apparatus in which a printing instruction is once converted into an intermediate code format and then converted into a printer control command, and which can correctly print an embedded font. In this invention, a spooler for converting a printing instruction into an intermediate code format and storing this intermediate code format detects the presence/absence of an embedded font on the basis of font attributes contained in the printing instruction. If an embedded font is detected, the spooler acquires the embedded font (S3.3) and spools the font by the intermediate code format (S3.4). The despooler registers the spooled embedded font in a graphic engine (D3), and a printer driver generates a control command by using the registered embedded font (Drv3.1).

Abstract: When forming a test chart for investigating output characteristic relating to yellow color agent, a printer outputs yellow color agent in a plurality of densities that correspond to various density levels and also outputs cyan color agent in a fixed and maximum density. Patches in gradations from cyan to green are formed by overlapping the yellow color agent and the cyan color agent. The patches are formed with respect to a surrounding area that is formed by outputting the cyan color agent in the fixed and maximum density. Accordingly, the colors of the patches are easier to distinguish than when the patches are formed from yellow only. Visual calibration can be easily performed even with the yellow color agent that has a low visual sensitivity.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus can continue an execution of a job without canceling when an error occurs during an image forming operation.

Abstract: A method for converting image data coded with run lengths to the format of a page description language, such as PostScript or PDF, the run lengths identifying how many image points of one color follow one another in an image row, includes utilizing the run lengths of the same color that overlap in successive image rows to form an object, and describing the object with operators from the page description language. Objects of the same color can be combined to form one object. An object is described in the page description language by the image mask operator and an associated bitmap, or by a polygon train that connects reference points on the edge of the object.

Abstract: When a certificate is to be printed on a certificate form having a microchip built therein, an applicant for applying for the certificate sends microchip ID to a certificate issuer, and the certificate issuer stores certificate data in association with the microchip ID in an issue management database of the certificate issuer. When the certificate is to be verified, a certificate verifier sends the microchip ID built in the certificate to the certificate issuer, and in response to it, the certificate issuer sends the certificate data, which is registered in the certificate database in association with the microchip ID, to the certificate verifier. Certificate can be printed out by a print terminal at home or the like.

Abstract: A printing device comprises a feed mechanism configured to advance the printing medium intermittently. The feed mechanism is adjusted so that an average feed error ?ave is in the vicinity of zero with respect to a most slippery printing medium among plural types of printing media designed to be used in the printing device. Alternatively, a printing device comprises a controller to correct a feed amount such that an average feed error ?ave is in the vicinity of zero with respect to at least one specific printing medium among plural types of printing media designed to be used in the printing device.

Abstract: When continuous printing in which color print and monochromatic print are mixedly present is to be effected, the distance between recording sheets is greatly widened to avoid problems when changeover takes place from monochromatic print to color print and therefore, the printing capability (the number of prints per unit time) is reduced. When in an image processing apparatus for forming a color or monochromatic image on a recording sheet conveyed, by yellow, magenta, cyan and black image forming means, a plurality of recording mediums are continuously conveyed and a monochromatic image is to be formed on a preceding recording medium and a color image is to be formed on a succeeding recording medium, a timing signal A corresponding to the succeeding recording medium is outputted earlier than a timing signal B indicative of the start of image formation corresponding to the preceding recording medium.

Abstract: A plurality of images are read in, two line segments which need be inherently parallel with each other in each of the images are designated, and a planar projective transform matrix is obtained from coordinates of end points of the line segments for parallelizing the line segments, thereby executing height normalization. Subsequently, totally four sets of corresponding points are obtained among three sequential images at regions where adjacent two images are overlapped, and matrix elements of planar projective transform matrix is obtained from the obtained corresponding points to calculate an stitch coefficient. Image stitching is executed by using the stitch coefficient. In stitching a plurality of images for stitching, it is possible to accurately stitch the images after the height is normalized among the images.

Abstract: A spool file (303) holds intermediate data of a print job to be executed. When a test print process is executed while designating this intermediate data, the intermediate data is converted into a command to be sent to a printer (1500), thus executing the test print process. In this case, the number of sets of copies set in the print job is decremented by 1. When an actual print process is done after the test print process, the number of sets of copies is reset to the designated value, and the print process then starts.

Abstract: Input and output units using different signal processing systems cannot be connected to a single image input apparatus. On the basis of the signal format of image data acquired by the input unit and the signal format of image data that can be processed by the output unit, the signal format of image data to be supplied from the input unit to the output unit is controlled.

Abstract: When a group print job is to be processed, a print application issues a grouping start instruction to a print system client first. The respective print jobs are then transmitted to a spooler. The print system client extracts the print jobs and sends them to a printer in accordance with scheduling by a print system server. In this case, if a transmission retry, transmission error, error after transmission, or the like occurs in a member print job belonging to the group job, the corresponding status is set as the status of the group job. The subsequent processing is performed as if the error had occurred in the overall group job.

Abstract: An image sorting system storing a plurality of image data, comprising a management apparatus for managing the plurality of image data using a management folder, and an image selecting device for selecting from a print out one of the plurality of image data by detecting an identifier which corresponds to a printed image of the one of the plurality of image data on the print out, wherein the management apparatus manages the plurality of image data by sending to the management folder the one of the plurality of image data selected by the image selecting device.