Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kumar Venkata Kadiyala

Joan Stagaman Goddard

Joseph P Gaertner

Marquis G Waller

Janeen Elizabeth Jahn

Gerald Donald Boldt

Michael David Raines

Ronald J LeMaster

Patrick Smyth

Paul M Hamilton

Ikuo Inouchi

Lance Jones

Marcel Stoica

Steven Mark Gebert

Tisha Leggett

Cosmin Andrei Grosan

Erik Jason Fritz

Cosmin Grosan

Joseph Gaertner

Janeen Jahn

Systems and methods are provided for generating workflows for printing systems. The system includes a memory that stores requirements for sequencing each of multiple activities available at a print shop into workflows. The system also includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) able to graphically present a workflow. The workflow includes an ordered subset of the activities to perform for processing a print job. The GUI is further able to graphically present the available activities, and to enable a user to drag the available activities onto the workflow to alter the workflow. The system also includes a processing system able to detect an activity being dragged by a user, to determine locations in the workflow where requirements for the activity are met, and to operate the GUI to highlight the determined locations.

Smart drag and drop user interfaces for print workflow system

Methods and systems resume workflow processing of a print job at intermediate steps of a print workflow. In one embodiment, a control system initiates processing of a print job based on steps in a print workflow, where the steps identify print shop activities to perform for the print job. The control system identifies an error in executing a step of the workflow, and identifies an intermediate step in the workflow that has executed in processing the print job. The control system identifies an updated file for the print job to correct the error, and resumes the processing of the print job at the intermediate step using the update file.

Error handling for print workflows

Systems and methods for identifying conflicts between the requirements of an incoming print job and the configuration of a printer that has been requested to print the job. The system receives a request to move a print job to a queue for a printer and identifies a requirement of the print job. The system analyzes a current and a scheduled configuration of the printer to determine whether the current configuration or the scheduled configuration of the printer can handle the print setting. Responsive to determining that the current and scheduled configuration of the printer cannot handle the print setting, the system analyzes configurations of at least one other printer to identify another printer having a current configuration or a scheduled configuration that can handle the print setting. Further, the system provides information identifying the other printer.

Resolution of conflicts between print jobs and printers in a print shop environment

A method disclosed. The method includes receiving a plurality of jobs at a printing environment, collecting a first set of the plurality jobs at a first filter based on one or more job properties, generating a first batch of one or more jobs to be processed from the first set of jobs in the first filter that and displaying the first filter and the first batch at a graphical user interface (GUI).

Print scheduling mechanism

Systems and methods are provided for notifying operators of tasks to perform on printers by inserting operator instructions onto separator pages that are placed between print jobs. One embodiment is a print server that includes a control system and a page generator. The control system is operable to identify a print job, and to identify an operator instruction for the print job indicating a physical task for an operator to perform on a printer before the print job is printed. Also, the control system holds the print job responsive to identifying the operator instruction. The page generator generates a separator page comprising the operator instruction that indicates the physical task to perform on the printer, and transmits the separator page for printing to inform the operator of the task before the print job is printed.

Insertion of printer operator instructions onto separator pages in a print shop environment

A print server includes a graphical user interface (GUI) having a dialog screen to enable the user to specify a page range of a current copy and a number of additional copies of a print job to be re-printed upon occurrence of an unrecoverable error during printing of the print job.

Page level recovery graphical user interface

Systems and methods for print queue management are provided. The system performs a queue management process to identify a print job loaded in a first queue for a first printer, and to estimate a first time to print the print job on the first printer from the first queue. The system selects a second queue for a second printer, estimates a second time to print the print job on the second printer from the second queue if the print job were moved to the second queue, and calculates a difference in printing time between the first time to print and the second time to print. The system also moves the print job from the first queue to the second queue based on the calculated difference in printing time.

Print queue management in a print shop environment

Methods and systems are provided for scheduling multiple types of print jobs in a print queue using a pseudo job. A pseudo job is a special type of non-printing job object that is added to a print queue. In one embodiment, a system includes a print queue that stores print jobs scheduled for a printer. The print queue also stores a pseudo job that defines a boundary in the queue between print jobs having a first set of print settings and print jobs having a second set of print settings. In another embodiment, a system includes a print queue, a control system, and a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface displays options for generating a pseudo job, and receives input indicating a scheduled change to a configuration of a printer. The control system generates the pseudo job based on the input, and inserts the pseudo job in the print queue.

Pseudo jobs in print queues for print job scheduling

Methods and systems are provided for scheduling multiple types of print jobs for a printer more efficiently by scheduling jobs together that share print settings. In one embodiment, a system includes a print queue that stores print jobs scheduled for a printer. The system also includes a scheduler that receives requests to schedule a print job for the printer. The scheduler compares the print settings of the requested print job to print settings of the print jobs already in the print queue. The scheduler then schedules the requested print job among the print jobs in the print queue that have print settings corresponding with the print settings of the requested print job.

Print job scheduling in a print shop environment

Methods and associated structure for displaying the status of a plurality of print jobs using a graphical user interface to present a broad overview of the status of the print jobs. Status information regarding the plurality of print jobs is received from one or more print servers. The status of each job is analyzed to associate a top-level category with each job and a status sub-category with each job. A graphical object is presented to the user to represent each of the top-level categories and each of the sub-categories within each top-level category. A count of the number of jobs associated with each graphical object may be presented to the user as a number associated with the graphical object. The graphical objects may be color-coded to indicate the level of operator intervention (if any) required for the print jobs associated with the corresponding top-level category or sub-category.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Kumar Venkata Kadiyala