Abstract: A method of determining the configuration of a plurality of resources in an image processing apparatus by running turn around tests to determine the interconnection of the resources and comparing the interconnection to a reference interconnection indicator stored in memory. The difference of interconnections between the reference indicator and the determined interconnections is then displayed to an operator for confirmation. An indication of the new configuration, if confirmed, is then loaded into memory and the machine is set up based upon the new configuration.

Abstract: A method for a sheet handling system where a controller communicates with a mailbox bin subsystem having a plurality of print receiving bins is provided. The plurality of bins are grouped into a first print receiving bin set, a second print receiving bin set and a third print receiving bin set with the first print receiving bin set including one or more print receiving bins, the second print receiving bin set including one or more print receiving bins and the third print receiving bin set including one or more print receiving bins.

Abstract: A print media sheet tray control system for use with a printing system having a controller is provided. The control system includes a print media sheet tray which is configurable, through use of the controller, in a selected one of a first operational mode and a second operational mode. The configurable print media sheet tray is characterized by a print media attribute set having a selected state which can be either a first state or a second state. If the configurable print media sheet tray is configured in the first operational mode, then the controller prohibits printing system operation if the selected state has been altered from the first state to the second state. On the other hand, if the configurable print media sheet tray is configured in the second operational mode, then operation of the printing system is permitted provided the alteration was achieved pursuant to a preselected alteration process.

Abstract: In a system for scheduling a sequence of operations in an apparatus for outputting, for example, simplex and duplex digitally-printed documents, a schedule is derived for obtaining a desired output order of documents, and this schedule is proposed to the apparatus in real time. As individual operations are accepted for execution by the apparatus, the accepted operation is recorded in an execution table. If a proposed operation is rejected by the apparatus, the execution table can be used to revise the schedule quickly to take into account the rejected operation while still obtaining the desired output order.

Abstract: In a scheduling system which optimizes a sequence of operations for carrying out, for example, digital printing of simplex and duplex documents, a "schedule tree" is created and updated in real time. The schedule tree is a running list of all possible schedules or sequences of operations within a future time frame, given a desired output of documents. Various techniques are used to manage the size of the tree and select schedules from the schedule tree to be proposed to the printing apparatus over time.