Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Jeffrey Alan Sikkink

Marquis G Waller

Michael Glen Lotz

Linda Sue Liebelt

Walter R Albers

Gerald Donald Boldt

Joseph Wayne Stradling

Robert F Jessen

Joseph P Gaertner

Ned Otey

David Laurence Wagner

Thomas Nathan Bilan

Dean O Miller

Thomas Margolis

Ryszard Ligas

Matthew Kellerman

Philip K Cihiwsky

Scott Matthew Jones

System, method, and software for software deployment. In an embodiment, a software deployment supervisor receives deployment parameters from an entity regarding deployment of software, identifies resource information for resources on a plurality of computing platforms to host the software, select a host computing platform based on the deployment parameters and the resource information, and deploy the software on the host computing platform. The software deployment supervisor implements a redeployment process by iteratively performing: monitoring the resource information to identify updated resource information for one or more of the resources, identifying downtime of the software, reselecting the host computing platform from the plurality of computing platforms based on the deployment parameters and the updated resource information, and redeploying the software on the host computing platform during the downtime of the software.

Software deployment among different computing platforms

A system includes at least one physical memory device and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device, the one or more processors to receive data from a plurality of printing entities, wherein the data received from each of the plurality of printing entities comprises a different data format, process the data associated with each of the pluralities of entities to convert the data to meta-data and combine the meta-data into a functional data format.

Print data conversion mechanism

Embodiments described herein modify AFP translations of non-AFP print jobs in order to ensure that exceptions in the non-AFP print jobs are handled correctly. One embodiment comprises a controller that receives a job ticket for a non-AFP print job, where the job ticket defines at least one page exception for the non-AFP print job. The controller receives an AFP translation of the non-AFP print job, where the AFP translation does not implement the at least one page exception defined in the job ticket for the non-AFP print job. The controller modifies the AFP translation to include one or more structured fields based on the at least one page exception, and provides the modified AFP translation to a print server to generate a printed output that represents the non-AFP print job as specified by the job ticket.

Modification of advanced function presentation (AFP) print jobs for exception handling

Systems and methods are provided for handling print jobs. One embodiment is a system that includes a print server that serves a print shop having printers which exhibit different capabilities. The print server includes an interface that receives print jobs that each include content in the form of a Job Definition Format (JDF) job ticket and Portable Document Format (PDF) print data, a memory that stores the print jobs, and a controller. The controller schedules the print jobs for printing at the printers, and converts content of at least one of the print jobs to a different implementation, such that print jobs scheduled for printing at different printers include different implementations of content, based on the capabilities of the printer that they are scheduled for printing at.

Print job modification in a print shop environment

A system to is described. The system includes at least one physical memory device to store print workflow manager and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory devices to execute the print workflow manager receive a plurality of print jobs, each including a plurality of documents to be printed, receive job tickets including a description as to how pages in the plurality of documents are to be printed, store the plurality of documents in a document pool, store a document property record associated with each of the plurality of documents in the document pool, wherein a document property record provides and process the job tickets and the document property records to generate a combined print job including two or more of the plurality of the documents.

Document pooling mechanism

Systems and methods are provided for dynamically splitting print jobs to reduce the time taken to start printing those jobs, allowing those jobs to be printed on a wider range of printers more efficiently. One embodiment includes a print server with an interface that is able to receive a Portable Document Format (PDF) print job. The print server also includes a job controller that divides the PDF print job into segments. Dividing the PDF print job includes determining a segment size comprising a number of the logical pages to include in each segment, based on the memory footprint for the logical pages. Dividing the PDF print job also includes generating multiple segments, populating each of the segments with logical pages from the PDF print job based on the segment size, and populating each of the segments with a page tree. The job controller transmits the segments to a printer.

Dynamic splitting of portable document format print jobs

Systems and methods are provided for replacing preprinted forms with blank print media. One embodiment is a system that includes a memory that stores entries which include Page Description Language (PDL) instructions for marking blank print media to match different types of preprinted forms, and an interface that receives a print job comprising PDL print data. The system also includes a controller that determines that the print job includes a media callout referring to one of the types of preprinted forms, consults an entry that corresponds with the type of preprinted form, integrates PDL instructions from the entry into PDL print data for an existing page of the print job to match an appearance of the type of preprinted form at the existing page, selects a printer, and transmits the print job to the printer for printing after the PDL instructions have been integrated.

Dynamic revision of page description language print jobs that use preprinted forms

A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes a storage device and a print job manager that stores received print jobs in the storage device and facilitates the printing of multiple selected print jobs as a batch of print jobs. The print job manager includes a page generator to generate an index separator page including information for each of the selected print jobs with the batch of print jobs.

Mechanism for generating index separator pages

A system to generate perform document optimizations is described. The system includes at least one physical memory device and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device, the one or more processors to receive data from a customer owner indicating a request to perform one or more optimizations on a document file, analyze the structure of the document file to identify one or more problems included in the document file, select one or more optimizations to be performed on the document file based on one or more problems identified in the document file and simultaneously perform the one or more optimizations to generate an optimization list corresponding to each of the one or more optimizations.

Document manipulation mechanism

A system to generate perform document optimizations is described. The system includes at least one physical memory device and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device, the one or more processors to receive a print file including one or more print jobs to be processed, determine a number of processing steps to be implemented to process the print file, generate a microservice corresponding to each of the step components and process each of the step components via a corresponding microservice.

Microservice architecture workflow management mechanism

Systems and methods for synchronizing metadata with alterations to a PDF print job. One embodiment includes a system that includes a print server with an interface and memory. The interface receives a Portable Document Format (PDF) print job associated with a metadata file that defines contextual information for the PDF print job, and the memory stores an action list that defines a sequence of steps for modifying the PDF print job. The print server also includes a job controller that, for the sequence, iteratively detects a step that performs a change to printable content in the PDF print job, identifies a parameter field in the metadata file that relates to the printable content, and modifies the parameter field in the metadata file based on the change to the printable content in the PDF print job.

Synchronizing metadata with alterations to a portable document format print job

Systems and methods are provided for merging print data and metadata for a print job processed in a print workflow. One system is a print server that monitors an input device that receives print files and metadata files, groups at least one print file and at least one metadata file into a batch based on a predetermined pattern defined for the input device, and initiates processing of the batch as a print job in a print workflow in response to a determination that the batch meets a threshold condition. A step of the print workflow is configured to merge document properties from the at least one print file and the at least one metadata file into a single document properties file. Subsequent steps in the print workflow process the print job according to the single document properties file.

Merging print data and metadata for a print job processed in a print workflow

Systems and methods are provided for addressing conflicts when merging Job Definition Format (JDF) instructions. The system includes a memory that stores rules for prioritizing Job Definition Format (JDF) instructions. The system also includes a controller able to receive a print job and to identify multiple sets of JDF instructions for the print job. The controller is further able to generate a merged set of JDF instructions from the JDF instructions in each of the identified sets, and to identify conflicts within the merged set between JDF instructions that share page ranges with each other. The controller is also able to resolve the conflicts by altering JDF instructions based on the rules stored in memory.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

Jeffrey Alan Sikkink