Rasterizing Variable Data for Predictable Print Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital printing systems face unpredictability in print time and color management issues when handling multiple pages with variable and non-variable elements, leading to undesirable results in overlapping regions.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dividing pages into non-overlapping parts, rasterizing fixed and variable content separately, and combining them to form rasterized instances, allowing for efficient color management and predictable print times by processing only parts with variable content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If all page elements are rasterized separately using a raster image processor, then each page element can be processed individually, but the time to generate each page becomes unpredictable and print performance is inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The page is divided into multiple non-overlapping parts or tiles, where each tile can be independently rasterized. This segmentation allows the raster image processor to work on smaller, fixed-size units rather than entire pages with variable numbers of elements, making processing time predictable and consistent across different pages.
2Ease of operation
If a color management system is applied separately to different page elements, then each element can be processed independently, but color management issues occur in regions where elements overlap after merging
Solution Approach 1:
Color management is applied to each tile during the initial rasterization process, before the tiles are merged together. This preliminary application of color management ensures that color transformations are performed on consistent, non-overlapping regions, preventing color management conflicts that would arise from processing separate elements independently and then merging them.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method, an apparatus, and computer-readable medium with instructions to carry out a method. The method is to rasterize variable and non-variable content for multiple instances of a page and includes dividing a page is into a plurality of non-overlapping parts including variable content. The method includes rasterizing the page with no variable content present into a rasterized fixed page that includes for at least any part that has no variable content a rasterized fixed image. The method further includes identifying one or more parts of the plurality of parts of the page that have variable content, and rasterizing each instance of the page with the variable elements of the page instance into a rasterized instance that includes, for each part that has variable content, a rasterized variable image that includes the variable content and any non-variable content of the instance. The generated rasterized fixed images and rasterized variable images for each instance are combinable.