Printer Controller Requesting PDL Data for High Quality Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printers face challenges in receiving print data in a format suitable for their current state, particularly when handling multiple data formats and varying print settings, which can affect printing quality and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A printer system that includes an input device, memory, and a controller capable of determining if received print data is in raster format, and if so, requests and receives Page Description Language (PDL) data from a terminal, allowing printing based on the PDL data, especially when specific conditions or print settings are met, such as storage or test print settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the printer receives raster data from the terminal, then the terminal can send print data in a simple format, but the printer cannot achieve optimal printing quality and efficiency for certain print settings
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the terminal always sending raster data, the printer inverts the control by sending request information to the terminal, asking it to send PDL data when specific conditions are met. This inversion allows the printer to obtain the data format that provides better printing quality while maintaining ease of operation through automatic format selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects the data format based on the printer's current state and print settings. When the print setting indicates high-quality printing is desired, the printer requests PDL data; otherwise, it accepts raster data. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the data format flexible rather than fixed.
2Manufacturing precision
If the printer requests and processes PDL data, then printing quality and efficiency are improved, but the device complexity and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The printer applies different data format handling strategies to different printing scenarios. For high-quality printing scenarios, it uses PDL data; for standard scenarios, it uses raster data. This localized approach ensures high printing quality is achieved only where necessary, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining quality where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The printer performs preliminary determination of whether to request PDL data based on print settings before actual printing occurs. By deciding the data format in advance based on predetermined conditions, the system avoids complex real-time format conversion and reduces communication overhead while ensuring appropriate quality levels.
3Productivity
If the printer always receives PDL data, then printing efficiency and quality are optimized, but the terminal must always send more complex data formats increasing communication load
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal sends PDL data only partially - specifically when the printer requests it based on certain conditions. For other cases, the terminal sends simpler raster data. This partial application of the more complex data format optimizes printing efficiency only when necessary while reducing communication load in standard scenarios.
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes an input device for receiving an input operation to the printer from a user, a memory, a printing device, and a controller. The controller is configured to: receive print data from a terminal; in a case where the controller determines that the print data received from the terminal is raster data, determine whether a particular condition is met; in a case where the controller determines that the particular condition is met, send, to the terminal, request information that requests the terminal to send page description language (PDL) data; and, in a case where the controller receives the PDL data from the terminal after sending the request information to the terminal, allow the printing device to execute printing on a basis of the PDL data. The PDL data specifies types of drawing objects and drawing positions with commands.