Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Thomas Nathan Bilan

Marquis G Waller

Michael Glen Lotz

Linda Sue Liebelt

Gerald Donald Boldt

Jeffrey Alan Sikkink

Joseph Wayne Stradling

Scott Matthew Jones

Ioana C Nagy

A print server is disclosed. The print server includes a printing software product that generates an object including one or more attributes defining work expected to be received in a printing system, assigns the object to an input device associated with a folder designated to receive the work, monitors the received work and provides a notification if the received work does not match the attributes of the object.

Workflow notification mechanism

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 a document audit trail for print jobs in a workflow. One system includes a controller that directs a device of a print shop in accordance with a workflow. The controller detects a deletion event of a document of the print job while the document is in the workflow, advances the document to a store step defined in the workflow, identifies document properties to record for the document based on configurable parameters of the store step, and to record values of the document properties in a history file.

Document audit trail for print jobs in a workflow

Systems and methods are provided for dynamically splitting print jobs to reduce the time taken to start printing those jobs. One embodiment is a print server that includes an interface that receives a Portable Document Format (PDF) print job. The print server also includes a job controller that determines a size of the PDF print job, and estimates a delay to start marking a first page of the PDF print job. In response to determining that the delay exceeds a threshold, the job controller splits the PDF print job into segments by: generating a first PDF segment that has a delay to start marking the first page that is less than the threshold, and includes a PDF page tree; transmitting the first PDF segment to the printer; generating an additional PDF segment that includes an additional PDF page tree; and transmitting the additional PDF segment to the printer.

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Longmont, CO, United States of America

Thomas Nathan Bilan