Parallel Printing System with Virtual Disk Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing systems face inefficiencies due to limitations in job and page parallelism, leading to slow processing times and increased disk access, especially when handling jobs with varying processing requirements.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of 'chunk' parallelism, where a print job is divided into chunks of multiple pages but not exceeding a single job, allowing for parallel processing with reduced startup overhead and optimized workload distribution across processing nodes, eliminating the need for multiple disk accesses and accommodating multiple Page Description Languages (PDLs) without conversion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If job parallel processing is used to increase system flexibility and throughput, then multiple jobs can be processed simultaneously, but single job performance deteriorates and unpredictable job time occurs when there is only one long job in the queue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a print job into multiple pages and processes them in parallel using multiple RIP nodes. Each page is treated as an independent unit that can be processed simultaneously, eliminating the need to wait for sequential page processing while maintaining complete job processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-dimensional sequential processing to multi-dimensional parallel processing by utilizing multiple RIP nodes to process different pages of the same job simultaneously. This dimensional expansion allows the system to maintain high throughput while improving single job processing time.
2Speed
If page parallel processing is used to increase processing speed, then pages can be processed simultaneously on multiple nodes, but per job overhead occurs on a per page basis reducing throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the job into pages for parallel processing while maintaining job-level overhead efficiency. By processing pages in parallel on multiple RIP nodes, the system achieves high processing speed while the job-level segmentation reduces per-page overhead compared to traditional approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the processing parameter from sequential page processing to parallel page processing across multiple nodes. This parameter change enables simultaneous processing of multiple pages, increasing speed while the system manages overhead efficiently through job-level coordination.
3Adaptability or versatility
If PDF-based page parallel systems are used to convert jobs to PDF and split into pages for parallel processing, then page independence is achieved, but the system becomes slow due to conversion from different input languages into PDF and writing PDF files into input spool disk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by maintaining pages in a structured format that allows direct parallel processing without requiring conversion to PDF. The system prepares the job structure in advance to enable immediate parallel processing on multiple RIP nodes, eliminating conversion time and reducing disk access requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the PDF conversion step and intermediate disk writing step from the processing pipeline. By directly processing pages in parallel from the input format, the system removes the time-consuming conversion and spooling operations while maintaining page independence for parallel processing.
4Speed
If faster processors are used to optimize software performance, then processing speed increases, but the system is limited by currently available technology and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing workload across multiple RIP nodes instead of relying on a single faster processor. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high processing speeds using multiple standard processors, avoiding the need for expensive, cutting-edge hardware while maintaining performance through parallel execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal processing architecture where multiple standard RIP nodes can process different pages of the same job or different jobs simultaneously. This multi-functional approach allows the system to achieve high performance using commodity hardware rather than specialized fast processors, reducing cost and complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing system comprised of a printer, a plurality of processing nodes, each processing node being disposed for processing a portion of a print job into a printer dependent format, and a processing manager for spooling the print job into selectively sized chunks and assigning the chunks to selected ones of the nodes for parallel processing of the chunks by the processing nodes into the printer dependent format. The chunks are selectively sized from at least one page to an entire size of the print job in accordance with predetermined splitting factors for enhancing printer printing efficiency. The operating of the printing system includes a method for parallel processing of a print job with a plurality of processing nodes into a printer-ready format for printing the print job, wherein the processing nodes communicate with a virtual disk transfer system and control usage thereof by monitoring available space in the virtual disk transfer system.