Abstract: A printing system capable of concurrently processing and scheduling a plurality of job streams and including at least one marking engine and multiple print media destination is controlled by a controller that includes a jobs scheduler for determining a schedule for processing queued print jobs using the plurality of concurrent job streams. The job scheduler determines the schedule using a method including: determining a utility function dependent at least upon user preference delay criteria, and the schedule of the queued print jobs; and optimizing the utility function respective to the schedule of queued print jobs.

Abstract: A printing system capable of concurrently processing and scheduling a plurality of job streams and including at least one marking engine and multiple print media destination is controlled by a controller that includes a jobs scheduler for determining a schedule for processing queued print jobs using the plurality of concurrent job streams. The job scheduler determines the schedule using a method including: determining a utility function dependent at least upon user preference delay criteria, and the schedule of the queued print jobs; and optimizing the utility function respective to the schedule of queued print jobs.

Abstract: Characteristics of text or text components or features are considered when selecting halftoning screens. For example, an italic slant angle of text is recognized and used to select or generate a compatible halftone screen oriented at the same angle. A screen frequency may be selected based on a thickness of a text component. Descriptive tags associated with text or text components facilitate screen selection. Tags are assigned based on font descriptions included in a document during authoring. Alternatively, tags are assigned based on the results of document segmentation and character recognition techniques. An image processing system operative to consider characteristics of text or text components when selecting halftone screens includes a text component characteristic recognizer, a halftone screen selector and a halftoner. Optionally a print engine is also included. In a xerographic environment the print engine includes a xerographic printer.

Abstract: Characteristics of text or text components or features are considered when selecting halftoning screens. For example, an italic slant angle of text is recognized and used to select or generate a compatible halftone screen oriented at the same angle. A screen frequency may be selected based on a thickness of a text component. Descriptive tags associated with text or text components facilitate screen selection. Tags are assigned based on font descriptions included in a document during authoring. Alternatively, tags are assigned based on the results of document segmentation and character recognition techniques. An image processing system operative to consider characteristics of text or text components when selecting halftone screens includes a text component characteristic recognizer, a halftone screen selector and a halftoner. Optionally a print engine is also included. In a xerographic environment the print engine includes a xerographic printer.

Abstract: A method of producing a raster font from a contour font entailing the steps of deriving font metrics and character metrics of font characters in terms of arbitrary font units; scaling the font characters to a selected size and output resolution (pixels per unit length); altering the thickness of vertical and horizontal strokes of each character to a desired thickness, from the measured font metrics and character metrics, and including a difference applied to the thickness of the strokes by the printer process, to cause the strokes to be close to an integer number of pixels and thickness and to compensate for thinning and thickening which the printing engine might produce; bringing the leading and trailing edges of the characters to integer pixel locations, where such locations are based on and scaling the character between the leading and trailing edges proportionally therebetween, and producing a rasterized font from the altered contour font character.