Printing methods and apparatus
First Claim
1. A printing system, comprising:
- a computer configured to present a document file for printing as a multi-page print job;
a plurality of print engines accessible by the computer; and
a controller configured to identify, for each page to be printed of the multi-page print job, a next-available print engine from the plurality of print engines for printing the page, and to cause the next available print engine to print the page.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
One representative embodiment provides for a printing system which includes a computer configured to present a document file for printing as a multi-page print job, and a plurality of print engines accessible by the computer. The printing system further includes a controller configured to identify, for each page to be printed of the print job, a next-available print engine from the print engines for printing the page, and to cause the identified print engine to print the page. Another representative embodiment provides for a collating apparatus having input trays for receiving pages of a multi-page print job, output trays for receiving the multi-page print job, and a controller to cause the collating apparatus to draw pages from the input trays, to sort or collate the pages, and to place the pages in the output trays in the form of the print job.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A printing system, comprising:
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a computer configured to present a document file for printing as a multi-page print job;
a plurality of print engines accessible by the computer; and
a controller configured to identify, for each page to be printed of the multi-page print job, a next-available print engine from the plurality of print engines for printing the page, and to cause the next available print engine to print the page. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A printing apparatus for printing a document file as a multi-page print job, comprising:
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a plurality of print engines, each print engine comprising an associated print engine output tray;
a controller configured to identify, for each page to be printed of the multi-page print job, a next-available print engine from the plurality of print engines for printing the page, and to cause the next available print engine to print the page and to discharge the page to the associated print engine output tray;
a collator configured to receive the pages of the multi-page print job from the output trays, the collator comprising at least one collator output tray; and
wherein the controller is further configured cause the collator to draw the pages from the print engine output trays, to perform one of a sort process or a collate process on the pages, and to place the pages in the at least one collator output tray. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A collating apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of input trays configured to receive pages of a multi-page print job;
a plurality of output trays configured to receive the multi-page print job; and
a controller configured to cause the collating apparatus to draw the pages from the plurality of input trays, to perform one of a sort process or a collate process on the pages, and to place the pages in the plurality of output trays in the form of the print job. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of printing a multi-page print job, comprising:
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providing a plurality of print engines;
identifying a first available print engine from the plurality of print engines;
printing a first page of the multi-page print job from the first available print engine;
identifying a next available print engine from the plurality of print engines;
printing a next page of the multi-page print job from the next available print engine. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method of assembling pages of a multi-page print job into the print job, comprising:
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providing the pages of the multi-page print job as a plurality of sets of pages;
determining, for each set, the pages of the multi-page print job in the set; and
assembling the pages from the sets into the print job according to the pages determined to be in each set. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification