Booklet Creep Adjustment in Cluster Printing Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cluster printing processes often result in booklets with poor appearance due to inadequate adjustments of shift amounts among multiple printers during the booklet printing process.
Innovation Solution
A printing process system that calculates and adjusts 'creep amounts' for each sheet across multiple printers, ensuring consistent image positioning and distribution of monochrome and color printing tasks among color MFPs and monochrome MFPs to maintain image distance from the booklet's edges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cluster printing process is used to distribute print jobs among multiple printers, then productivity is improved, but booklet appearance quality deteriorates due to inadequate creep amount adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The print job is segmented into multiple sheets that are distributed to different printers in the cluster. Each printer is assigned specific sheets based on the segmentation, allowing parallel processing while maintaining individual creep amount control for each printed sheet. This enables productivity improvement through distribution while preserving appearance quality through individualized adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
Different creep amount adjustments are applied locally to each printed sheet based on its specific position and characteristics within the booklet. The system calculates and applies appropriate creep amounts individually for each sheet rather than using a uniform adjustment, ensuring that local appearance quality is maintained across all sheets printed by different printers in the cluster.
2Manufacturing precision
If creep amounts are adjusted for each sheet in cluster printing, then booklet appearance quality is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of creep amounts for all sheets before the actual printing process begins. By pre-calculating the appropriate creep amount for each sheet based on its position and characteristics, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time adjustments during printing, thereby improving appearance quality while managing processing complexity through advance preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary control mechanism that manages the creep amount adjustments between the cluster printing system and the individual printers. This intermediary layer handles the complex calculations and coordination, simplifying the interface between multiple printers and the central control while ensuring precise creep amount application for each sheet.
3Productivity
If multiple printers are used for booklet printing, then printing efficiency is improved, but image positioning consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the positioning parameter (creep amount) for each sheet printed by different printers in the cluster. By dynamically adjusting this parameter based on the specific sheet characteristics and printer being used, the system maintains image positioning consistency across multiple printers while preserving the printing efficiency gains from using a cluster configuration.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The printing process system for laying out and printing images for two pages on one side of each sheet for creating a booklet, comprises: a generating unit for generating, in order to cause a plurality of printing devices to print the images on the sheets to form a booklet, print sheet data and insertion sheet data intended for each of the printing devices; a calculating unit for calculating a shift amount of the image for each of the sheets referenced in the print sheet data based on the print sheet data and the insertion sheet data, the shift amount ensuring that the image gets closer to the center of the sheet as the sheet gets closer to the innermost of the booklet; and an instructing unit for instructing a relevant printing device to print the images on the sheets referenced in the print sheet data, based on the shiftamount.