Printer Controller Rasterization Strategy for Carbon-Copy Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printers do not effectively consider the function applied to a print job when storing image data, leading to inefficiencies, particularly in the carbon-copy printing function where early obtainment of printed sheets is necessary, as PDL data is often stored without rasterization, resulting in delayed printing.
Innovation Solution
A printer system that includes a communicator, storage, image former, and controller, which rasterizes PDL data into bit map data when a print job is received for carbon-copy printing and stores it for immediate printing, or stores PDL data without rasterization for later conversion when a print instruction is given for storage printing, optimizing memory usage and print job execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If PDL data is stored without rasterization for storage printing, then memory storage capacity is improved, but printing speed deteriorates due to delayed rasterization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-rasterizing PDL data into bit map data before storage when the print job is received. This allows the data to be ready for immediate printing when a print instruction is given, eliminating the delay that would occur if rasterization were performed after storage. The controller determines whether to pre-rasterize based on the print function, and for carbon-copy printing specifically, the data is pre-converted to bit map format and stored, thus resolving the contradiction between storage efficiency and printing speed.
2Speed
If PDL data is pre-rasterized to bit map data for carbon-copy printing, then printing speed is improved, but memory storage capacity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the storage mode flexible and adaptive based on the print function. The controller dynamically determines whether to store PDL data or pre-rasterized bit map data depending on whether carbon-copy printing or storage printing is selected. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize for printing speed when carbon-copy printing is needed (using pre-rasterized data) while maintaining storage efficiency for other functions (using PDL data), thus resolving the contradiction between printing speed and storage capacity.
3Device complexity
If PDL data is stored without consideration of print function, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity deteriorates due to inefficient processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by applying different storage strategies to different print functions. Instead of using a uniform storage approach for all print jobs, the controller identifies the specific print function (carbon-copy printing vs. storage printing) and applies the appropriate storage mode locally. For carbon-copy printing, pre-rasterized bit map data is stored to enable fast printing, while for storage printing, PDL data is stored to save memory. This localized optimization resolves the contradiction between device simplicity and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
In a printer, when a storage print job is a print job for execution of carbon-copy printing, a controller performs: creating a plurality of bit map data by rasterizing page-description-language data contained in the storage print job a plurality of times; storing the created bit map data; and controlling an image former to print images based on the stored bit map data when a print instruction for the storage print job is received. When the storage print job is a print job not for execution of the carbon-copy printing, the controller performs: storing the page-description-language data contained in the storage print job; when the print instruction for the storage print job is received, rasterizing the stored page-description-language data to create bit map data; and controlling the image former to print an image based on the created bit map data.