Distributed Printing System Capability Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial printing systems, the lack of uniform processing capabilities among print servers, printing apparatuses, and post-processing apparatuses hinders efficient distributed processing, as they may not always have the necessary capabilities for rasterizing, printing, and post-processing, leading to inefficiencies and the inability to perform distributed processing within a single printing line.
Innovation Solution
An industrial printing system with multiple print servers that store capability information for rasterizing, printing, and post-processing, a processing determination unit to identify capable apparatuses, and a processing management unit to transmit jobs to the appropriate apparatuses for processing, allowing flexible and efficient distributed processing without the need for a centralized management server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If print data is transferred to each MFP and processed in predetermined order, then waiting time is reduced, but processing efficiency deteriorates when apparatuses lack required capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs capability confirmation in advance by storing capability information indicating processable capabilities in rasterizing process, printing process, and post-processing process for each apparatus. When a job is received, the processing determination unit confirms processing requirements based on stored capability information before job distribution, ensuring that jobs are routed to apparatuses that can actually process them, thereby avoiding wasted transfers and improving overall processing efficiency.
2Device complexity
If distributed processing is implemented without centralized management, then system complexity is reduced, but processing coordination becomes difficult due to non-uniform capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service distributed processing where each print server independently determines job processing by comparing job requirements with stored capability information of available apparatuses. The processing determination unit automatically identifies suitable apparatuses and the processing management unit transmits jobs accordingly, eliminating the need for centralized management while maintaining effective coordination through automated capability-based routing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If apparatuses with different capabilities are combined, then system versatility is improved, but processing reliability deteriorates due to capability mismatches
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local quality by maintaining specific capability information for each individual apparatus, detailing what processes each can perform (rasterizing, printing, post-processing). The processing determination unit matches job requirements with the specific capabilities of individual apparatuses, ensuring that each job is routed to an apparatus with the appropriate local capabilities, thereby maintaining high reliability even in a diverse, versatile system.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an industrial printing system that efficiently manages distributed processing of production printing on a peer-to-peer basis. Industrial printing systems perform production printing and include multiple print servers. A plurality of print servers performs distributed processing of jobs. The storage unit stores capability information indicating capabilities that can be processed in rasterizing process, printing processing, and post-processing. The processing determination unit checks job processing requirement based on the capability information stored in the storage unit, and it determines a combination of any of a plurality of print servers, printing apparatuses, and post-processing apparatuses capable of processing the job. The processing management unit transmits a job to each apparatus and requests processing according to the combination determined to be processable by the processing determination unit.