Information Processor Imposition Logic for Printing Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing printing technologies, such as the color split function, often require expensive color-printing devices for printing monochrome images, especially when only one page of a four-page booklet has a color image, leading to increased costs due to unnecessary color printing.
Innovation Solution
An information processor is used to optimize the imposition process by determining whether sheets are monochrome or color and deciding on saddle-stitching or adhesive binding to minimize color-printed pages, ensuring that only necessary pages are printed in color, thereby reducing the number of color-printed papers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the color split function is used to print monochrome pages with a monochrome-printing device, then printing cost is reduced, but if even one page in a four-page booklet has a color image, then all four pages must be printed by a color-printing device, significantly increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The booklet printing process is segmented into multiple independent printing jobs. Instead of treating a four-page booklet as a single unit that must be printed together, the system divides it into separate page groups that can be processed independently by different printing devices based on their color requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically determines the printing device assignment for each page group based on the actual content requirements. The printing strategy adapts to the specific characteristics of each booklet, switching between monochrome and color printing modes as needed, rather than using a fixed printing approach for all booklets
2Manufacturing precision
If all pages in a booklet are printed together by a color-printing device to ensure consistency, then printing quality is maintained, but printing cost increases significantly due to unnecessary color printing of monochrome pages
Solution Approach 1:
Different printing qualities are applied to different parts of the booklet based on local requirements. Pages containing color images are printed by the color-printing device with full color quality, while monochrome pages are printed by the monochrome-printing device with appropriate monochrome quality, avoiding unnecessary color printing
3Device complexity
If the imposition process treats each booklet as a single unit, then the binding process is simplified, but the ability to optimize printing cost by separating monochrome and color pages is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The imposition process segments the booklet pages into multiple printable groups that can be independently assigned to different printing devices. This segmentation allows the system to optimize printing cost by routing monochrome and color pages to appropriate devices while maintaining the ability to bind the final pages together
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediate processing stage between imposition and binding, where page groups are assigned to different printing devices. This intermediary step enables cost optimization through selective printing while the binding process remains relatively simple, as it only needs to assemble the final printed pages
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3C
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AI summary
In a sheet collection (300) planned to be prepared, when there exists a monochrome sheet group (M2) comprised of one or more consecutive monochrome sheets all of whose front and back sides are monochrome pages, between two color sheet groups (C1)(C2) comprised of one or more consecutive color sheets having a color page on at least one of front and back sides, an information processor (1) determines that sheets in the monochrome sheet group and each one or each two sheets before and after the monochrome sheet group sandwiching the monochrome sheet group are saddle-stitched sheets formed by papers for saddle-stitching. The information processor determines that any sheet other than those determined to be the saddle-stitched sheets are sheets of an adhesive bound group.