Dynamic Standardized Printer Performance Monitoring

Abstract

To provide a system and a method for printer analysis.SOLUTION: One embodiment includes a printer analysis server. The server includes a memory, an interface configured to continuously collect performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and store the data in the memory, and a controller that can determine a production target for the target printer relative to the population of printers based on the performance data. The production target dynamically varies over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers. The controller can further generate a report indicating deviation of the target printer from the production target when the performance data of the target printer and the population of printers changes over time, and transmit the report to a print server of a print shop that operates the target printer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following disclosure relates to the field of printing, and more particularly to the monitoring of printers.

Background Art

[0002] Entities with significant printing requirements typically use production printers. A production printer is a high-speed printer used for volume printing, such as a continuous printer that prints on a web of print media accumulated on a large roll. A production printer typically includes a local print controller that manages the overall operation of the printer and a marking engine (sometimes referred to as an "imaging engine" or "print engine"). The marking engine includes an array of one or more print heads.

[0003] When receiving a print job, the print controller rasterizes the logical pages of the job (e.g., to create a bitmap representing each page of the job), and the marking engine operates the individual print heads to mark the web based on the rasterized logical pages. Thus, the printer marks physical pages based on the digital information of the print job.

[0004] Since production printers are expensive machines that form the center of a print shop, downtime in a production printer (e.g., due to inspections, maintenance, repairs, etc.) has an adverse effect on the overall productivity of the print shop. However, the actual productivity and the amount of downtime expected vary from printer to printer. Thus, in general, it is impossible for the operator of a print shop to determine whether each printer is operating at optimal efficiency in the print shop.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments described herein provide for aggregated monitoring and reporting of printer productivity across multiple printing plants, per model or series. By identifying and reporting global metrics of performance for each printer type, these embodiments enable an operator to determine whether individual printers of each model or series are operating efficiently compared to other printers of the same model in an actual environment. Further, this reporting may be performed continuously and in real-time, and may also be used to determine production goals for printers in a printing plant.

[0006] One embodiment is a system that includes a printer analysis server. The server includes a memory, an interface configured to continuously collect performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and store it in the memory, and a controller capable of determining a production goal for the target printer relative to the population of printers based on the performance data. The production goal changes dynamically over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers. Further, the controller can generate a report indicating a deviation of the target printer from the production goal when the performance data of the target printer and the population of printers changes over time, and transmit the report to a print server of a printing plant operating the target printer.

[0007] A further embodiment is a method that includes continuously collecting performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and storing it in a memory, and determining a production goal for the target printer relative to the population of printers based on the performance data. The production goal changes dynamically over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers. The method also includes generating a report indicating a deviation of the target printer from the production goal when the performance data of the target printer and the population of printers changes over time, and transmitting the report to a print server of a printing plant operating the target printer.

[0008] A further embodiment is a non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by a processor, embodies program instructions for performing a method. The method includes continuously collecting performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and storing it in memory, and determining a production target for the target printer relative to the population of printers based on the performance data. The production target changes dynamically over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers. The method also includes generating a report indicating a deviation of the target printer from the production target when the performance data of the target printer and the population of printers changes over time, and transmitting the report to a printing server of a printing plant operating the target printer.

[0009] Other exemplary embodiments (e.g., methods and computer-readable media related to the above embodiments) may be described below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] Here, some embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same elements or elements of the same kind.

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[0011] The drawings and the following description illustrate specific and exemplary embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognize that various configurations, although not explicitly described or illustrated herein, embody the principles of the invention and are within the scope of the invention. Further, any examples described herein are intended to assist in understanding the principles of the invention and are not to be construed as being limited to the specifically described examples and conditions. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments or examples described below, but is limited by the claims and their equivalents.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer monitoring environment 100 in an exemplary embodiment. The printer monitoring environment 100 includes any system, device, or component operable to actively track the production of one or more printers in one or more printing plants. In this embodiment, the printer monitoring environment 100 includes a plurality of printing plants 110, and the plurality of printing plants 110 are monitored by a printer analysis server 120. Each printing plant 110 includes a print server 114 and one or more printers 112. The printing plants 110 do not necessarily have to be operated by the same corporation. In some embodiments, the printing plants 110 are operated by different corporations.

[0013] Printer 112 transmits performance data to printer analysis server 120 via network 130 in real time (e.g., once per page, once per minute, once per hour, once per day, etc.). Network 130 may include the Internet or a private network. Interface 126, such as an Ethernet or other network interface, receives the performance data. The performance data itself may be used by controller 122 to determine, in real time, the number of pages or feet of printed media printed by each printer 112, or to determine other performance metrics. This information is then used to determine the production goals of the subject printer 140. As used herein, a "subject printer" is a printer that is the subject of tracking deviations from production goals. Any number of printers across any number of printing plants may be used as subject printers at one time. Thus, in any implementation described herein, it is not necessary to have a single subject printer. Controller 122 stores the production goals in memory 124. Controller 122 may be implemented as a custom circuit, a hardware processor that executes program instructions, etc.

[0014] Controller 122 continuously monitors, in real time, the performance data of the population 150 and updates, in real time, the production goals of the subject printer 140 to ensure that the performance of the subject printer 140 is always actively analyzed and compared to other printers.

[0015] The specific arrangements, numbers, and configurations of the components described herein are exemplary and not limiting. Exemplary details of the operation of the printer monitoring environment will be described with respect to FIG. 1. In this embodiment, assume that printers 112 in one or more printing plants 110 are actively printing print jobs according to instructions from the corresponding printing plants 110 and are sending performance data to the printer analysis server 120 for processing. In one embodiment, the performance data is sent directly to the printer analysis server 120, but in a further embodiment, the performance data is sent to the print server 114, and the print server 114 collects and presents the performance data for analysis by the printer analysis server 120.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method 200 for operating a printer monitoring environment 100 in an exemplary embodiment. The steps of method 200 are described with reference to the printer analysis server 120 of FIG. 1, but those skilled in the art will recognize that method 200 may be executed in other systems. The steps of the flowcharts described herein are not necessarily inclusive and may include other steps not shown. The steps described herein may also be executed in a different order.

[0017]

[0018] In step 202, the interface 126 continuously collects performance data from the population 150 of printers 112 and the target printer 140 and stores it in the memory 124. The population 150 may include all printers of the same model or series as the target printer 140. Thus, in many embodiments, the target printer 140 itself is a member of the population 150. In a further embodiment, the interface 126 collects performance data for a number of populations 150 each corresponding to a different series or model of printers 112. This enables dynamic production goals to be generated and updated simultaneously by the controller 122 for a number of series or models of printers 112.Performance data from the printer 112 may include Simple Networking Management Protocol (SMNP) messaging that is sent to the corresponding print server 114 by the print engine in each printer 112. In many embodiments, the messaging includes raw data that is not human-readable. This raw data is processed by the controller 122 of the print server 114 or the printer analysis server 120 to determine the overall production volume of the printer 112 over a period of time or across multiple print jobs. In embodiments where a period is considered, the period may be a predefined period (e.g., the period between two defined times), or a consecutive period (e.g., the previous hour, day, month, etc.).

[0019] In one embodiment, the controller 122 processes the raw data to determine throughput (e.g., the number of pages or linear feet printed by each printer 112 within the population 150 over a period of time). The production volume may also be the printing speed calculated based on the throughput and the operating time of each printer 112 within the population 150 (e.g., multiplying the throughput of each printer 112 during a period by the percentage of operating time), or may be determined as the printing speed. The production volume may be considered as the amount of downtime experienced by the printer 112. In yet another embodiment, the controller 122 determines an adjusted throughput / production volume that includes such a combination of metrics. For example, the controller 122 may determine the adjusted throughput / production volume of the printer 112 as the amount of throughput multiplied by the difference between the operating time and the downtime and then divided by the amount of operating time. The controller 122 may further scale or normalize the adjusted throughput / production volume according to a uniform scale such that all throughput / production volumes fall between values of 0 to 100, or between values of 0 to 1. Such scaling may be performed by dividing the printer's throughput by the highest measured throughput during that period and multiplying by the desired value (e.g., 100, 1, etc.).

[0020] In a further embodiment, the production volume is determined as the number of feet of printed media printed per unit time, the number of pages printed per unit time, the fraction of operating time per unit time, the fraction spent on printing per unit time, or the number of print jobs printed per unit time by the printer 112.

[0021] In one embodiment, at least one printer 112 within the population 150 of printers is operated by a different legal entity than the target printer 140. In such an embodiment, the performance data may be anonymized, de-identified, or aggregated by the controller 122 before transmitting the production target data to the print server 114 that manages the target printer 140. This ensures that another business entity can confidently share the performance data without compromising privacy concerns. Alternatively, the population 150 considered for each legal entity may be selected only from the printers 112 of that legal entity.

[0022] In step 204, the controller 122 determines the production target for the target printer 140 relative to the population 150 of printers 112. The determination is based on the performance data, and the production target changes dynamically over time as a function of the performance data of the population 150 of printers 112. In one embodiment, the production target may be determined as a percentage or ratio of the performance of the printers 112 in the population 150 having the highest production volume. The production target may be defined as the number of feet of printed media printed per unit time, the number of pages printed per unit time, the fraction of operating time per unit time, the fraction spent on printing per unit time, or the number of print jobs printed per unit time by the printer 112.

[0023] In step 206, when the performance data of the population 150 of the target printer 140 and the printer 112 changes over time, the controller 122 generates a report indicating the deviation of the target printer 140 from the production target. This operation may be achieved, for example, by the controller 122 determining the production volume of the target printer 140 based on the received performance data of the target printer 140 and comparing the production volume of the target printer 140 with the production target. If the production volume of the target printer 140 is equal to or greater than the production target, the target printer 140 is compliant. Otherwise, the target printer is non-compliant. The report may indicate the amount of deviation from the target, recommended steps to address deviations greater than the threshold, and the like. These operations of comparing a single target printer 140 against the production target may be performed for any combination of desired printers, such as all printers 112 within the population or a subset thereof.

[0024] In step 208, the controller 122 transmits the report to the print server 114 of the printing house 110 operating the target printer 140 via the interface 126. The report is presented to the operator of the printing house via the display of the print server 114, and the operator may choose to change the operation of the target printer 140 to correct any deviation of the target printer 140.

[0025] The method 200 provides a technical advantage over the prior art because it enables the performance of the printer to be tracked in real time against a target representing the capabilities of the printer in an actual operating environment. That is, by comparing the production volume of the target printer 140 with the production volumes of other printers that actually physically exist and are operating in other printing houses, a realistic assumption can be applied to the production target of the target printer 140. Advantageously, this also improves the function of determining that the target printer having a near-optimal operation.

[0026] Figures 3 to 4 are diagrams showing dynamic printer production tracking in an exemplary embodiment. These diagrams may be generated and included in a report provided from the printer analysis server 120 to the print server 114. FIG. 3 shows a diagram 300 comparing the production volume of the target printer 140 over time (e.g., daily, hourly, minute by minute, etc.) with the most productive printer and the least productive printer of the same model. For this reason, line 310 represents the highest production volume achieved by a printer of the same model as the target printer, line 320 represents the production volume of the target printer 140, and line 330 represents the lowest production volume reported by a printer of the same model as the target printer 140.

[0027] The data from FIG. 300 may be used to determine the performance of the target printer 140 as a percentage relative to the highest production volume 420 reported by any printer of the same model. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows the highest production volume 420 and further shows a diagram 400 including production targets 410 that are percentages of the highest production volume reported daily (e.g., 60%, 80%, 90%, etc.). Next, the production volume 430 of the target printer 140 is represented relative to the highest production volume 420 and the production target 410. If the production volume 430 of the target printer 140 falls below the production target 410, the target printer 140 is considered non - compliant.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method 500 for setting a production target for the target printer 140 based on performance data of the population 150 of printers 112 in an exemplary embodiment. Thus, method 500 may include a detailed implementation of step 204 in some embodiments.

[0029] Step 502 includes filtering out the printer 112 from the population 150 of printers 112 based on at least one of each model or series of the printers 112 within the population 150 of printer 112. This may be performed, for example, by removing from consideration printers that are not of the same model or the same series as the target printer 140. The model and / or serial number of each printer may be determined based on input from the print server 114 and / or the printer 112.

[0030] Step 504 may include filtering out the printer 112 from the population 150 of printer 112 based on the properties of the print jobs printed by the printer 112. For example, filtering may be performed on at least one of the number of print jobs printed by the printer 112, the size of the printed print jobs, and the color of the printed print jobs. That is, printers 112 within the population 150 that print fewer than a threshold number of print jobs during a period or print below the size of the print jobs may be filtered out from the population 150. This ensures that only fully active printers are considered for setting production goals. Similarly, printers 112 that operate in color operations rather than monochrome printing (or vice versa) may be filtered out because monochrome printing is often significantly faster than color printing, and thus may distort the results of printers 112 that use color.

[0031] Step 506 includes determining the distribution of performance data across the population 150 of printer 112. This may be performed by determining the production volume of each of the printers 112 within the population and calculating the mean, median, standard deviation, and / or other statistical metrics from the production data of the population of printer 112.

[0032] Step 508 includes setting a production target for the target printer 140 based on the distribution of performance data across the population 150 of printers 112. For example, the production target may include the upper quartile, the number of standard deviations from the average production volume of the printers 112 within the population 150, or the median or average value of the performance data. These production targets are dynamically updated over time for each of the printers 112 within the population 150 based on the new performance data received for the printer 112, resulting in a dynamic change to the prediction of the production volume of the printer 112 over time.

[0033] In one embodiment, to establish the production target, the time series data of all printers 112 within the population 150 is evaluated over a specified period (e.g., 1 day, 5 days, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, etc.). The highest production volume is measured by capturing the maximum production volume achieved by a printer ("target printer") during the selected period within the specified period portion. For example, within a specified period of 3 months, the highest performance rate of throughput / production volume per hour may be 10,000 pages per hour, the highest performance per day may be 180,000 pages per day, the highest performance per week may be 450,000 pages per week, etc. The value of the average production volume may be determined according to the technique of cumulative moving average.

[0034] Method 500 provides a technical advantage by ensuring that the printers 112 considered for comparison with the target printer 140 are similar in nature and operation. This improves the relevance of the determined production target. Further, method 500 enables real-time performance tracking, which is very beneficial in ensuring that the printer continues to operate at or near its actual peak performance. As an example, if a printer model has not been sold for several years but printers of that model are still actively used and are aging, the actual performance data can accurately indicate the actual capabilities of these printers, which degrade over time.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows the distribution 610 of printer performance in an exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the production target 620 is selected as the number of standard deviations (e.g., z-score) above the median 630 of the distribution 610. Although the distribution 610 is shown as a normal distribution, in further embodiments, different distributions are possible depending on the received performance data.

[0036] FIG. 7 shows a graphical user interface (GUI) 700 that includes a dynamic production target based on the performance of the printer population in an exemplary embodiment. The GUI 700 may be presented at the printing server 114 of the printing house 110, for example, based on input from the printer analysis server 120. In this embodiment, the GUI 700 includes a plurality of cards 710, each reporting the status of a different printer 112 in the printing house 110. Each card 710 for a printer 112 includes an identification area that includes the identifier (ID) of the printer and the model or series of the printer 112. Each card 710 also includes an area 714 that reports the current printing status of the printer 112. In this embodiment, the current printing status is reported using the name of the current printing job being printed by the printer 112 and the number of pages remaining to be printed in that printing job. The card 710 also reports the throughput per day of the printer 112, although in further embodiments the period may be different. The throughput per day is reported in comparison to a production target (e.g., "80k", "600k", etc., depending on the model), and the production target is determined dynamically based on the actual performance data reported for other printers 112 of the same model.

[0037] FIG. 8 shows a GUI 800 for assigning production goals to printers in an exemplary embodiment. The GUI 800 may be presented, for example, when a card 710 is selected from the GUI 700. The GUI 800 includes options 820 for setting the dynamic production goals of the printers represented by the card 710. The options 820 enable setting of a period, whether the goal is set to throughput, the number of print jobs, and the like. The GUI 800 also includes options 830 that enable selection of a goal method for the printers represented by the card, such as the production volume of the highest performing printer of the same model, the production volume of the highest performing printer of the same series, the production volume of the average printer of the same model, or the production volume of the average printer of the same series. This per-printer goal setting enables the performance data of the entire population 150 of printers to be used to set per-printing-plant specific goals.

[0038] Example In the following examples, further processes, systems, and methods are described. The following sections and / or examples relate to further embodiments or examples. The details in these examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. The various features of different embodiments or examples may be variously combined with the features included and the features excluded to suit various different applications. An example may include a method, a means for performing the operations of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the operations of the method, or a subject matter such as an apparatus or a system according to the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0039] Embodiments disclosed herein can take the form of software, hardware, firmware, or various combinations thereof. In one particular embodiment, the software is used to direct the processing system of the printer monitoring environment 100 to perform the various operations disclosed herein. FIG. 9 shows a processing system 900 operable to execute a computer-readable medium embodying program instructions to perform the desired functions in an exemplary embodiment. The processing system 900 is operable to perform the above operations by executing program instructions tangibly embodied on a computer-readable storage medium 912. In this regard, embodiments of the present invention can take the form of a computer program accessible via a computer-readable medium 912 that provides program code used by a computer or any other instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, the computer-readable storage medium 912 can be any medium that can contain or store a program for use by a computer.

[0040] The computer-readable storage medium 912 can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor device. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium 912 include solid state memory, magnetic tape, removable computer diskettes, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), rigid magnetic disks, and optical disks. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk read / write (CD-R / W), and DVD.

[0041] The processing system 900 includes at least one processor 902 that is suitable for storing and / or executing program code and is connected to the program and data memory 904 through a system bus 950. The program and data memory 904 can include local memory, bulk storage, and cache memory that are used during the actual execution of the program code, and these memories provide temporary storage for at least some program code and / or data to reduce the number of times code and / or data are retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

[0042] Input / output or I / O devices 906 (including, but not limited to, keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be connected directly or through an intervening I / O controller. A network adapter interface 908 may also be integrated with the system to enable the processing system 900 to be connected to other data processing systems or storage devices through a private or public network in which the system is intervening. Modems, cable modems, IBM channel attachments, SCSI, fiber channel, and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network or host interface adapters. A display device interface 910 may also be integrated with the system to interface with one or more display devices, such as a printing system and a screen, for the presentation of data generated by the processor 902.

[0043] Although specific embodiments have been described herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims and any equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A system including a printer analysis server, wherein the printer analysis server includes a memory, an interface configured to continuously collect performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and store the performance data in the memory, and a controller configured to filter printers from the population of printers based on at least one of each model or series of the printers in the population of printers, and then determine a production target for the target printer based on the performance data, and the production target dynamically changes over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers, filtering printers from the population of printers includes excluding printers that are not of the same model or series as the target printer from consideration, and the controller is further configured to send a report indicating the deviation of the target printer from the production target to an operator of a printing shop operating the target printer when the production volume of the target printer deviates from the production target.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the production target is selected from the group consisting of the number of feet of printed media printed per unit time, the number of pages printed per unit time, the fraction of operating time per unit time, the fraction spent on printing per unit time, and the number of print jobs printed per unit time.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the performance data of the population of printers over at least one of a plurality of print jobs, a predefined period, or a continuous period.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to filter printers from the population of printers based on at least one of the number of printed print jobs, the size of the printed print jobs, and the color of the printed print jobs.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to set the production target for the target printer based on the distribution of the performance data across the population of printers.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the production target includes at least one of the upper quartile, the number of standard deviations from the mean value, or the median of the performance data.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one printer within the population of printers is operated by a legal entity different from the target printer.

8. A method executed by a printer analysis server, comprising: continuously collecting performance data from a population of printers and a target printer and storing it in a memory; removing printers from the population of printers based on at least one of the respective models or series of the printers within the population of printers, wherein removing printers from the population of printers includes excluding printers that are not of the same model or series as the target printer; subsequently, determining a production target for the target printer based on the performance data, wherein the production target changes dynamically over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers; when the production volume of the target printer deviates from the production target, sending a report indicating the deviation of the target printer from the production target to an operator of a printing office operating the target printer and a method including the above.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the production target is selected from the group consisting of the number of feet of printed media per unit time, the number of pages printed per unit time, the fraction of operating time per unit time, the fraction spent on printing per unit time, and the number of print jobs printed per unit time.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the performance data of the population of printers is determined over at least one of a plurality of print jobs, a predefined period, or a continuous period.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising removing printers from the population of printers based on at least one of the number of printed print jobs, the size of the printed print jobs, and the color of the printed print jobs.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising setting the production target of the target printer based on the distribution of the performance data across the population of printers.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the production target includes at least one of the upper quartile, the number of standard deviations from the mean value, or the median of the performance data.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least one printer within the population of printers is operated by a legal entity different from the target printer.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying program instructions, wherein when the program instructions are executed by a processor, continuously collecting performance data from a population of printers and the target printer and storing it in a memory; removing printers from the population of printers based on at least one of the respective models or series of the printers within the population of printers, wherein removing printers from the population of printers includes removing printers that are not of the same model or the same series as the target printer from consideration; subsequently, determining a production target for the target printer based on the performance data, wherein the production target dynamically changes over time as a function of the performance data of the population of printers; when the production volume of the target printer deviates from the production target, sending a report indicating the deviation of the target printer from the production target to an operator of a printing house operating the target printer is operable to perform. A non-transitory computer-readable medium.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the production target is selected from the group consisting of the number of feet of printed media printed per unit time, the number of pages printed per unit time, the fraction of operating time per unit time, the fraction spent on printing per unit time, and the number of print jobs printed per unit time.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the performance data of the population of printers is determined over at least one of a plurality of print jobs, a predefined period, or a continuous period.

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