Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for using the display rendering engine of a web browser to render content in a form suitable for output by a printer. The content is described by a content description, which may describe the content using any appropriate language, such as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). An output device description describes the printer according to input parameters of the web browser display rendering engine. The content description and the output device description are provided as inputs to the web browser display rendering engine, which generates the rendered content. The rendered content, once generated, may be captured, stored, and transmitted to the printer, which may print the rendered content. Some or all of the steps just described may be performed without displaying the rendered content on a display monitor. The web browser display rendering engine may be the display rendering engine of a conventional web browser.

Abstract: A method of obtaining from a content provider server, at an output server, content and identifying data in a data structure that facilitates providing output to a remote output device is disclosed.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for coupling a printer to a communications network (such as the a Plain Old Telephone Service network), downloading printing information (such as a digital image) to the printer over the communications network, and using the printer to print output based on the printing information. A user may use the printer to connect to a printing server that serves the printing information. Prior to transmission of the printing information to the printer, the printing server may process the printing information to tailor the printing information based on the capabilities of the printer. The printing server may communicate with the printer using one or more printing protocols. The printer may be equipped with a controller for communicating according to the printing protocol. Downloads of printing information to the printer may be interrupted and subsequently resumed from the point of interruption.

Abstract: A system and method for calibrating a printer includes the steps or functions of: printing a predetermined color test pattern with the printer by transforming data, representing said predetermined color test pattern, from a device-independent color space to a device-dependent color space associated with the printer by use of a color transform, said predetermined color test pattern including a set of color patches with one of said color patches representing a preferred mid-gray hue; providing a predetermined reference gray surface; comparing said reference gray surface to said set of colored patches of the printed test pattern to find a closest matching one of said patches, if the closest matching one of said patches is the patch representing the preferred mid-gray hue, then ending the method; otherwise determining, for each color channel of the printer, a solution set of correction values as a function of believed gray versus actual gray, said solution set derived from and including a white point, a black poi