Ricoh Company, Ltd.

International Business Machines Corporation

Infoprintsolutions Company, LLC

Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC

Other

John Thomas Varga

David Earl Stone

Reinhard Heinrich Hohensee

Rose Ellen Visoski

David Ward

Virgil-Alexandru Panek

Mikel J Stanich

Jean Margaret Aschenbrenner

Larry Mason Ernst

Vincent William Ferreri

Timothy LeRoy Towns

Nenad Rijavec

Walter F Kailey

Stephen Dale Hanna

Arthur Ray Roberts

Alexandru-Virgil Panek

Dwight Ross Palmer

Kenneth Stuart Shouldice

Justin James Coulter

Raymond Glenn Wardell

Craig Duray Brossman

Ronald Dean Parrish

Calvin Larry Doescher

Christopher Starbuck Kush

Lynn Mette Mastie

Robert William Goings

Robert Keeble

Nikita Gurudath

Charles D Johnson

Dennis Carney

Jennifer Quirin Trelewicz

Hong Li

Samuel Neely Hopper

David E Finlay

John B Condon

Louis Stephen Sickenius

Lisa A Morgan

John Forrest Meixel

Miki Judy Ushijima

Jon Andrew Meilstrup

Jeffery A Engelman

Israel Kee Maloney

Natalie Dawn Ross

Glenn Wardell

David C Stevenson

Michael Stewart McDermott

Terry S Luebbe

Joshua Ruben Engel

Karen Harrison Ferrel

Alexandru Virgil Panek

Mikel John Stanich

A system is disclosed. The system at least one physical memory device to store ink estimation logic and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device, to execute the ink estimation logic to receive a histogram for each of a plurality of color planes, receive one or more printer system settings and generate estimated ink usage data for each of the plurality of color planes based on the histograms and the one or more printer system settings.

Ink estimation mechanism

Systems and methods are provided for image scaling with efficient pixel resolution conversion. One embodiment is an image scaling system that includes a processor that receives an instruction to scale an input image having a first resolution by a scaling ratio to create an output image having a second resolution, and determines a rational fraction approximation of the scaling ratio to obtain a numerator integer representing a first block of consecutive pixels in the output image and a denominator integer representing a second block of consecutive pixels in the input image. The processor also calculates pixel values of the first block of pixels by: bit shifting pixel values of the second block of pixels, obtaining a sum of bit shifting operations of neighboring pixel values of the second block of pixels, and correcting the sum with a correction value to compensate for rounding errors in the bit shifting.

Image scaling with efficient pixel resolution conversion

Systems and methods are provided for image scaling with quality control. One embodiment is an image scaling system that includes a processor configured to receive an instruction to scale an input image by a scale factor to create an output image. The processor is configured to determine an integer quality level to use in scaling the input image to create the output image, to divide the input image into regions of consecutive pixel pairs based on the scale factor and the integer quality level, and to determine region factors corresponding to each of the regions. The processor is further configured to scale the input image by applying the region factors to pairs of pixels in the corresponding regions of the input image to create output pixels in the output image.

Image scaling with quality control

A method is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request for paper properties needed to perform page raster image processing (RIP) of a page and prompting an operator to load a virtual paper without inserting a physical medium.

Medium prompting mechanism

Systems and methods are provided for scheduling high priority print jobs with minimal paper waste. One embodiment is a printing system that includes a print controller having a print data path with intermediate queues and a last queue to store print ready bitmap data. The print controller monitors the last queue to determine an estimate time for printing the print ready bitmap data stored in the last queue, determines whether the estimate time exceeds a time threshold, and determines whether a high priority print job is detected in the job storage system. In response to determining that the estimate time exceeds the time threshold and detecting the high priority print job, the print controller halts processing of at least one of the plurality of print jobs that is not the high priority print job, and advances processing of the high priority print job on the print data path.

Scheduling high priority print jobs with minimal print waste

A mechanism is described to facilitate virtual page generation according to one embodiment. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes performing a virtual rasterization of print job data to generate a virtual sheet, fitting the virtual sheet to a job sheet, and printing the job sheet to a physical medium.

Virtual page generation mechanism

One embodiment comprises a system that stores a pre-defined color conversion table and a hash table. The system receives user-defined color conversions for a print job, stores them in first locations in the hash table, and marks the first locations as persistent. The system processes the print job utilizing the color conversion table to convert colors in the print job to the output color space, and responsive to encountering colors in the print job that do not have color conversions in the color conversion table, interpolates between color conversions in the color conversion table to generate new color conversions, stores the new color conversions in second locations in the hash table, and marks the second locations as non-persistent. The system determines that the hash table is to be re-initialized, allows reuse of the second locations in the hash table, and prevents reuse of the first locations in the hash table.

Color hash table reuse for print job processing

A method is disclosed. The method includes intersecting a clip polygon with a source image, determining destination coordinates of the clip polygon, rasterizing the clip polygon, determining a bounding box, dividing the bounding box into a plurality of logical destination tiles, processing the destination tiles to determine coordinates of source tiles corresponding to each of the destination tiles and performing rotation processing of the source tiles, wherein each tile is processed independently.

Rotation and clipping mechanism

A printer is described. The printer includes a processor. A memory is coupled to the processor. The memory contains instructions that when processed by the processor cause a method to be performed. The method includes presenting a list of printing substitutions on a display. The printing substitutions are each associated with a respective printer profile. The list of printing substitutions identify which ones of the printing substitutions are enabled and which ones of the printing substitutions are disabled. The list also identifies the printer profiles that the substitutions are associated with, wherein at least one printer profile that is not enabled for a current print job is included in the list.

Printer having global substitution list

Embodiments described herein provide for the reuse of some locations in a hash table of color conversions during processing of a print job, while preventing the reuse of other locations. If a determination is made that the hash table is to be re-initialized, then the locations in the hash table that are marked as non-persistent are marked as saved to allow them to be reused, while the locations in the hash table that are marked as persistent are prevented from being reused. During processing of the print job subsequent to re-initialization of the hash table, if a color in the print job does not have a color conversion, then a location in the hash table is identified that is marked as saved. If the location stores the color conversion for the color, then the non-persistent mark is restored for the location to bypass performing a color conversion for the color.

An application of clear protectant to a printable medium is described that allows for different amounts of protectant to be applied to the medium based on the amounts of colorant that is applied to the medium. Colorant bitmaps are analyzed to calculate an amount of colorant coverage for a medium. Printable features in the colorant bitmaps are replicated into different intermediate protectant bitmaps based on the colorant coverage for the printable features, where the intermediate protectant bitmaps specify different amounts of protectant to apply. Features in the intermediate bitmaps are expanded and replicated into a final protectant bitmap. A determination is made for the amount of protectant to apply to the medium that is based on the different amounts specified by the intermediate bitmaps.

Multi-level protector coat bitmap generation for printing systems

One embodiment comprises a system that includes a first print head that applies a colorant to a medium based on a first bitmap that indicates printable features for the medium, and a second print head that applies a clear protectant to the medium based on a second bitmap. The system receives the first bitmap, and replicates the printable features in the first bitmap to generate the second bitmap. The system identifies boundaries of the printable features in the second bitmap, and expands the boundaries of the printable features in the second bitmap where the clear protectant is applied to the medium. The system directs the first print head to apply the colorant to the medium to form the printable features based on the first bitmap, and directs the second print head to apply the clear protectant to the printable features formed on the medium based on the second bitmap.

Protector coat bitmap generation for printing systems

In one embodiment, a method for the simulation of preprinted forms is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first image as a back drop of a form, the image including a plurality of printable features corresponding to positions of the image. A second image is received as data to be filled in to the form, the second image including a second plurality of printable features corresponding to positions of the image, wherein the second plurality of printable features each have an assigned ink transparency. A feature of the first image is blended with a corresponding feature of the second image based on the assigned ink transparencies to form a blended feature. The blended features are combined to form a blended image that blends the first and the second images and is suitable for printing.

Simulation of preprinted forms

Methods and systems herein provide for efficiently resolving how a rasterizer responds to out of memory conditions when attempting to write raster data to a solid state memory. In one embodiment, a print controller determines that the solid state memory is no longer available for storing raster data. The print controller determines that a process is utilizing the shared memory to complete an operation, where completing the operation frees up a portion of the solid state memory. The print controller suspends the rasterizer from writing raster data to a hard disk, and waits for the process to complete the operation. The print controller then instructs the rasterizer to resume writing raster data to the solid state memory.

Resolution of out of memory conditions for shared memory in a print controller

A method is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request to perform color conversion during rasterization of a print job object at a printer, determining if a substitution mapping file is available for an output color space to be generated by the color conversion, determining if the substitution mapping file includes a substitution entry for the input color space color value to the output color space in use, generating the output color by using the substitution mapping file to map an input color from an input color space to an output color space if the substitution entry is available and generating the output color by using a color management system to map the input color from the input color space to the output color space if the substitution entry is not available.

Color substitution mechanism

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

John Thomas Varga