International Business Machines Corporation

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Infoprintsolutions Company, LLC

Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC

Arthur Ray Roberts

Reinhard Heinrich Hohensee

David Earl Stone

Dwight Ross Palmer

Scott David Mastie

John Thomas Varga

Nenad Rijavec

Mahesh Viswanathan

David Ward

Jean Margaret Aschenbrenner

Mark Andrew Stephens

Craig Duray Brossman

Calvin Larry Doescher

Christopher Brian Hirsch

Robert William Goings

Lynn Mette Mastie

Robert W Peverly

L Corning Lahey

James Thomas Smith, Ii

Joseph Stanley Czyszczewski

Leonard Corning Lahey

Adam A Swartz

Ronald Dean Parrish

Alan Hlava

Randell Rivadeneira

Edward Francis Chatcavage

James R Carlock

Michael G Lotz

Keith Alan Marshall

Roger K deBry

Rivadeneira Randell

Guy L Johnston

Systems and methods are provided for error correction in a parallel RIP environment. The system is operable to receive a print job comprising logical pages, to separate the logical pages into segments, to distribute the segments to parallel RIPs for interpretation and rasterization, and to transmit the segments to a serial RIP for interpretation. The system is further operable to determine that a parallel RIP has encountered a dependency error that prevents the parallel RIP from rasterizing one of the segments, and to instruct the serial RIP to rasterize the one segment responsive to detecting the dependency error.

Serial raster image processors used for error correction in a parallel raster image processor environment

A method and system for printing simple data utilizing a raster image processor in a computer system is disclosed. The raster image processor is configured for use with a complex data stream corresponding to at least one complex page description language. The method and system include embedding at least one control structure in the complex data stream. The control structure(s) are for informing the raster image processor of the simple data. The method and system also include converting the simple data into a printable format based on the at least one control structure and without using the complex page description language to convert a portion of the complex data stream corresponding to the simple data into the printable format. The method and system also include converting a remaining portion of the complex data stream into the printable format using the complex page description language.

Method and system for efficiently printing simple data using a complex page data stream

Systems and methods are provided for error correction in a parallel RIP environment. The system comprises parallel RIPs and a serial RIP. The system receives a print job comprising logical pages, separates the print job into segments of logical pages, and distributes the segments to the parallel RIPs for interpretation and rasterization. The system further determines that a parallel RIP has encountered an error indicating that a segment includes multiple logical pages, and instructs the serial RIP to rasterize the segment responsive to detecting the error.

Processing multi-page segments in a parallel RIP environment with a serial RIP

A method and apparatus for managing complex presentation objects using globally-unique identifiers. Downloaded objects are identified by globally-unique identifiers to maintain object integrity and to facilitate capturing downloaded objects for reuse without additional download time overhead. An object may be referenced by selected indicia, such as a name, a globally-unique identifier or a globally-unique identifier and an object locator, The object is located by the selected indicia. Then, a decision is made whether to allow capture of the object based upon whether the selected indicia includes a globally-unique identifier and is secure.

Method and apparatus for managing complex presentation objects using globally-unique identifiers

A method, system, and computer program product are provided, wherein the bandwidth necessary to transmit an item of image data is reduced. When items of image data are identified in a datastream, they are extracted from the datastream. The image data item is then divided into a series of subregions of variable size. Where efficiency dictates that the operation is appropriate, the subregions are replaced in the image data item with a unique identifier to produce a reduced image. The reduced image is then packaged into a new data structure containing a header, the reduced image, and a decoding table that will allow the replacement of the identifiers with the extracted subregions. Where subregions are repeated, as they frequently are in images of large size, this arrangement will allow for the compression of the image by the elimination of redundant data that merely represents a repeated subregions. When the image reaches its destination, the it is decoded to reproduce the original image.

Automatic method of identifying image subregions for reuse during datastream transmission

A method and system for removing redundant or repeated information from a multiple-page document file is described. A master prolog is created for storing information which is repeated in two or more pages within the document file. Repeated information that is stored in both the master prolog and one or more pages within the document file are identified. The repeated information is then removed from one or more of the pages within the document file. The master prolog is implemented within one or more of the pages to provide a more efficient representation of the repeated information.

Method and apparatus for improving page description language (PDL) efficiency by recognition and removal of redundant constructs

A data structure, document data stream, method and apparatus for identifying resources prior to printing. A print data stream structure is provided that can be specified at the beginning of a document or job, or on any page boundary in a document or job, and that identifies complex resources that are required by the pages that follow. This structure is processed by a print server, which uses the resource references to download any missing resources before printing of the following pages is started. Accordingly, print underruns are avoided by ensuring that complex resources are downloaded to the printer before the first page is initiated.

Method, data structure and apparatus for identifying resources prior to printing

Disclosed is a method, system, and program for checking an electronic representation of a print job. Information on a set of attributes of a print job indicated in a first computer readable file is compared with a set of same attributes of the print job indicated in a second computer readable file. A determination is made as to whether the information on the same set of attributes of the print job in the first and second computer readable files are inconsistent and each inconsistency is indicated.

Method, system, and program for determining consistency of information on a print job

A method and system for downloading encrypted double-byte font scripts to a print server. A communication element is interposed between a data processing system and a print server, where the print server does not support a bi-directional communication protocol utilized by the data processing system to download encrypted double-byte font scripts. The communication element supports data transmissions in both the bi-directional communication protocol and with the print server. To download a double-byte font script, the data processing system transmits a request to the print server through the communication element for an identifier from the print server. The print server transmits the identifier to the data processing system through the communication element. A decryption key for the double-byte font script is produced by the data processing system utilizing the identifier and downloaded with the encrypted double-byte font script to the print server through the communication element.

Method and system for downloading encrypted font scripts to a print server

A method for transmitting image data to a presentation device, such as a printer. The image data is first divided into layers. Each layer is then further divided into tiles. During the rasterization process, tiles, that are repeated within the image are provided a reference identification (ID). During the transmission of the image to the presentation device, a data transmission utility is utilized to determine the most efficient manner to transmit the image tiles and present the image to the presentation device. Resource tiles only have to be downloaded once and every subsequent time the tile appears within an image, only the subsequent tile position and reference ID of the resource are sent, in lieu of the entire tile data being transmitted to the device. The data transmission utility determines which of a number of transmission processes to utilize to transmit the image data, including the speed of the presentation device, available transmission bandwidth, transmission speed of each tile (or relative size of each tile), and size of the image.

Method and system for efficient transmittal and presentation of complex images

A conversion program selectively decomposes viewable files, such as PDF files, and generates a print-structured, bi-directional stream composed of print data objects, resource objects and command objects. The conversion program uses a mapping table to determine which resources have already been sent to the printer so that redundant resources are not re-sent to the printer. The resources and page data for each page are assembled in order and sent to the printer so that the resources necessary to render a page precede the page data. In this manner the printer always has the resources necessary to print each page. The print data, resource and command objects are sent from a print server which controls the print system to a printer by means of a containerized data stream which is bi-directional. A reply object is used to provide information concerning processing of the data from the print server to the printer.

Method and apparatus for generating a production print stream from files optimized for viewing

Provided is a system for processing print jobs in which uniformity in print attributes across different servers and physical printers is maintained. One of a plurality of transform process is selected from at least two controllers to process input data files associated with print jobs. The controller including the selected transform process processes at least one configuration file to determine a set of print attribute values and submits the determined set of print attribute values to the selected transform process. The selected transform process processes the input data file in accordance with the submitted set of print attribute values to produce an output data stream. Additional transform processes executed in the controllers are selected. The controllers including the additional transform processing process the configuration file to determine print attribute values and submit the determined set of print attribute values to the additional selected transform processes. The additional transform process processes the input data files in accordance with the submitted set of print attribute values to produce additional output data streams. The output data streams generated from different controllers and transform processes have compatible print attribute values across the selected transform processes and controllers.

Selecting print attribute values in a network printing system

Disclosed is a method (and apparatus) for optimizing disk access operations which span multiple logical disk partitions and multiple disk drives. The disclosed method makes optimum use of concurrency in the software without causing poor performance due to contention for seeks in a disk drive.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Arthur Ray Roberts