Lexmark International, Inc.

Martin Geoffrey Rivers

Ning Ren

Raymond Edward Clark

Robert Laurence Cook

Michael Donald Bender

Christopher Mark Songer

Gail Marie Songer

James Francis Webb

Gary Scott Overall

Bryan Scott Willett

Jeffrey Keith Wedinger

David William Murphy

Jessica Lynne Heavrin

Hugh Deral Spears

Jay Scott Martin

Robert Lawrence Cook

James Ronald Booth

Shaun Timothy Love

Ronald Todd Sellers

David Brian Langer

John K Brown, Iii

Cuong Manh Hoang

Matthew Scott Keith

Martin Joseph Brown, Jr

Methods for processing print jobs in rendering devices include representing multiple to-be-printed objects with fewer such objects before processing of the objects occurs. In this manner, processing and memory requirements are optimized. Examples include utilizing a single raster operation function of one object for an entirety of objects; using fewer raster operation functions than originally required for the entirety of objects; creating a no processing (NOP) situation; and effectively creating a mask. Other aspects include modifying raster operation functions of one or more objects to have fewer variables than originally specified by the print job. Printers having stored or accessible computer executable instructions for performing the steps are also disclosed as are host devices that may direct or control the printer to perform the same.

Optimizing to-be printed objects during print job processing

A system, method and article are associated with receiving raster operation objects. If a first exclusive OR raster operation object, a copy raster operation object and a second exclusive OR raster operation object are received, shape data associated with either the first or second exclusive OR raster operation object is selected. Additionally, color data associated with either the first or second exclusive OR raster operation object is selected and mask data associated with the copy raster operation object is selected to render a transparent image.

Method and system for rendering a transparent object in an image

Methods for processing print jobs include flagging, or not, to-be-printed objects having PDL-specified math or logic functions requiring hard processing operations, such as two or more inputs. The math or logic functions preferably reside in ink attributes of display list objects corresponding to the to-be-printed objects. To-be-printed pages of the print job become divided into bands. Bands with to-be-printed objects therein have band display lists constructed in the event the to-be-printed objects become flagged. On a band-by-band basis, if bands have band display lists flagged with hard processing operations, contone bands become constructed. The contone bands result from color information blending between overlapping pixels of to-be-printed objects or an object and a contone page. A contone page includes color information of the to-be-printed page in a first color space. To-be-printed objects are rendered in a second color space in device specific page(s) of memory.

Processing print jobs

Methods for processing print jobs in rendering devices include modifying a raster operation function to have fewer variables than originally specified by the print job. Processing may also include executing the modified function and determining how many variables the function originally includes and whether such is one or more. Preferably, the modifying of the function includes determining whether a variable of the function has a black or white identity, such as a black or white ink or a black or white image, stencil or character. It may also include determining whether a destination variable remains unaltered in a to-be-painted area. Printers having stored computer executable instructions for performing the steps are also disclosed as are host devices that may direct or control the printer to perform the same.

Optimizing raster operation functions during print job processing

Methods for processing print jobs in rendering devices include constructing display list objects for to-be-printed objects and determining if two or more sequential objects are combinable. If so, a masked indexed image replaces the objects and has dimensions matching the overall bounding box size of the combinable objects. Indexed image values of the masked indexed image correspond to look up table entries, in turn, corresponding to color values of pixels of the combined object. In this manner, memory space is made available. Determining combinability of objects occurs by examining whether the objects are opaque, have regions as stencils, have similar color intensities, have the same halftone screens, share comparably sized or proximate bounding boxes or for other reasons. Head and tail pointers delineate sequential objects on the display list. The masked indexed image can be uni- or multi-dimensional. Computer readable media and graphics engines in printers are preferred implementation structures.

Optimization techniques during processing of print jobs

Optimizing to-be-printed objects during print job processing

A method includes receiving a plurality of objects included within a print job. A first object of the plurality of objects and a second object of the plurality of objects are processed to define a first overlapping region between the first and second objects. The first object is modified to remove the first overlapping region, thus generating a modified first object.

Rendering optimization method and system

A method for adaptively matching print quality and performance in a host based printing system including a host computer connected to a printer via an interface. The method includes the steps of: determining a print process time corresponding to an amount of time for a page to print based on current printer settings of the printer; determining a quantity of data to be transferred from the host computer to the printer; determining a data transfer time corresponding to an amount of time required to transfer the quantity of data from the host computer to the printer via the interface; comparing the print process time to the data transfer time to determine an amount of time that can be used by the printer to improve print quality; and determining optimum printer settings for the printer based at least in part on the amount of time determined in the comparing step.

Method for adaptively matching print quality and performance in a host based printing system

A method of positioning an ink jet printhead in a printer includes dividing a bitmap into a plurality of rows of tiles. A subset of the rows of tiles to be printed in a next pass of the printhead is identified. Printable ones of the tiles in the subset of rows are identified. The printable tiles contain printable data. Within each printable tile, a top most location of the printable data and at least one of a left most location of the printable data and a right most location of the printable data are identified. A print medium is advanced in a feed direction until a portion of the print medium corresponding with the top most location of the printable data of at least one printable tile is substantially aligned with a top nozzle of the printhead. The printhead is moved, in a scan direction, directly to a position on the print medium corresponding to one of the left most location of the printable data of at least one printable tile and the right most location of the printable data of at least one printable tile.

Ink jet swath prediction method

Data describing an image to be printed on a print medium is transferred to an ink jet print head. The print head has n number of nozzles in a vertical array for sequentially ejecting vertical columns of ink droplets onto the print medium as the print head scans horizontally across the print medium. The vertical columns of ink droplets ejected during a single pass of the print head collectively comprise a swath of the image. As the data is received from a data source, a required memory space is determined which would accommodate a portion of the data describing a swath of the image to be printed using all n of the nozzles. A current available capacity of a memory device is determined and the amount of image data received from the host is determined. A portion of the data that describes a swath of the image to be printed using a number m of the nozzles is transferred to the memory device. The number m depends on the minimum of the ratio of current available capacity of the memory device to the required memory space needed to accommodate data required to print a swath using all n of the nozzles and the ratio of the image data received from the host to the amount of image data required to print a swath using all n of the nozzles. The portion of the data that describes the swath of the image to be printed using the m number of the nozzles is transferred from the memory device to the print head. The swath of the image is then printed on the print medium using the m number of the nozzles.

Dynamic pass buffer sizing

The present invention allows the operation of an attached external input device by a printer. The external input device may be, for example, a scanner or digital camera giving the printer the capability to function as a copier. Software to control or 'drive' the input device is optionally contained within the printer ROM or can be downloaded dynamically from the host computer or from another source. Because the software to drive the input device can be downloaded to the printer dynamically, a wide variety of devices can be used.

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, KY, United States of America

Martin Geoffrey Rivers