Abstract: A billing system for use in a printing system which processes a job with one or more events occurring, relative to the job, as a result of processing the job, is provided. The billing system includes a configurable billing information file including a plurality of current incrementable billing meters with each current incrementable billing meter corresponding with a set of one or more attribute values, and an information set including event related information with the event related information indicating that a new incrementable billing meter is to be added to the plurality of current incrementable billing meters or that one of the plurality of current incrementable billing meters is to be deleted.

Abstract: There is provided an accounting system for a document processing system which executes one or more jobs with multiple document processing facilities. One of the jobs is identified by a unique identifier and has its origin in a document in a hardcopy or electronic form. A first portion of the one job is processed with a first one of the multiple document processing facilities, in accordance with a first set of control instructions, to result in a first accountable event characterized by a first set of one or more attribute values, and a second portion of the one job is processed with a second one of the multiple document processing facilities, in accordance with a second set of control instructions to result in a second accountable event characterized by a second set of one or more attribute values.

Abstract: A printing system, including a user interface for programming an electronic job ticket with a plurality of instructions to process a first electronic document, is provided. The printing system further includes an emitter for converting the first electronic document, with the electronic job ticket, into a second electronic document written in a page description language, the second electronic document including respective page description language representations of a selected instruction and a selected electronic page. The second electronic document is transmitted from the emitter to a printing machine where the second electronic document is interpreted with a job decomposer to create an output-ready document. In practice, the decomposer performs an image processing operation, on the page description language representation of the selected electronic page, with the page description language representation of the selected instruction of the second electronic document.

Abstract: A decomposing apparatus is provided for use in a printing machine of the type adapted to receive a first set of information written in a printer page description language and a second set of information written in a printer page description language. The decomposing apparatus preferably includes: an arrangement for parsing the first set of information into a first set of image related components during a first time interval and the second set of information into a second set of image related components during a second time interval; and, an arrangement for performing image related operations on selected components of the first set of image related components, the image related operations being performed on the first set of image related components during the second interval so that the image related operations can be performed on the first set of image related components substantially concurrently with the second set of information being parsed.

Abstract: An automatic signature printing process for an electronic printing system having a source of signature sheets, a programmer to program the system to print jobs including signatures; an input scanner for scanning and converting the documents to electronic images; and a controller to re-order the electronic images to print two electronic images separated by a gutter on each side of the signature sheets, the controller determining from the number of originals and the number of electronic images on each signature the total number of signatures to be printed.

Abstract: An automatic signature printing process for an electronic printing system having a source of signature sheets, a programmer to program the system to print jobs including signatures; an input scanner for scanning and converting the documents to electronic images; and a controller to re-order the electronic images to print two electronic images separated by a gutter on each side of the signature sheets, the controller determining from the number of originals and the number of electronic images on each signature the total number of signatures to be printed.