Abstract: An ink key simulator for image forming devices may simulate the effect of ink key adjustments in offset presses. The image adjustment may be made in response to activation of a simulated ink key, for example, by adjusting the pixel values of the stored data and/or by adjusting imaging light source intensity within a given region of the image. Using the ink key simulator, adjustments to image quality from printers may be made on-the-fly using an interface which is familiar to the operators of offset presses.

Abstract: A system enables a rendering intent to be specified for an object in a page description language that does not support the specifying of rendering intents. Such a system includes a user interface for receiving a rendering intent and an identification of an object associated with the received rendering intent, a page description language (PDL) file generator for generating a tag to associate the identified object with a PDL output parameter, and an encoder for encoding the received rendering intent in the PDL output parameter associated with the identified object. Such a system may be used, for example, with a PostScript or a PDF print job file.

Abstract: Spatially dependent colorant interaction effects are identified and isolated from other aspects of spatially dependent colorant appearance nonuniformities. A decorrelating function for compensating for the identified spatially dependent colorant interaction effects is determined. Spatially dependent single colorant compensating functions for compensating for the other aspects of the spatially dependent colorant appearance nonuniformities may also be determined. Image data is processed through the decorrelating function, thereby generating colorant values that are compensated for spatially dependent colorant interaction effects. Optionally, image data is also processed through the spatially dependent single colorant compensating functions, thereby generating colorant values that are compensated for both aspects of colorant appearance nonuniformities. The two kinds of compensating functions may be determined, calibrated and/or stored at different spatial and temporal frequencies or resolutions.

Abstract: An image rendering system includes a digital front end to electronically analyze image data to generate geometry dependent image content information. A print engine, operatively connected to the digital front end, renders the image data. A print engine controller, operatively connected to the digital front end and the print engine, controls various parameters of the print engine. The digital front end transmits the image content information to the print engine controller. The print engine controller adjusts a parameter of the print engine based on the transmitted image content information. The transmitted image content information may be coverage information, reload information, and/or toner pile height information. The parameter of the print engine adjusted based upon the transmitted image content information may be fuser temperature and/or process speed of a developer housing and/or flow rate of toner into a developer housing.

Abstract: A method for scheduling print jobs for a plurality of printers (40,42,44,46, 48, 50) includes, for each of a plurality of print jobs, determining a number of pages of a first print modality (such as black only printing) and of a second print modality (such as color printing) for the print job. A file header is determined, based on the number of pages of the first and second print modalities in the print job. The file header is associated with the print job and the print job transmitted, along with the file header, to a print job scheduler (10). The scheduler schedules a sequence for printing the plurality of print jobs by the plurality of printers, based on minimizing, for at least one of the plurality of printers, a number of periods of time during the sequence of printing where the at least one printer is in a non-operational mode; and/or maximizing continuous run time for at least one of the printers.