Object optimized printing system and method

• US 6,327,043 B1
• Filed: 09/18/1996
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Corl, Mark T., Nickell, Eric S., Buckley, Robert R., Hains, Charles M., Rumph, David E., Plass, Michael F., Coleman, Robert M., Atkinson, Russell R., Green, L. Dale, Kenealy, James K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Garcia, Gabriel I.
• Application Number:
  US08/715,664
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: 395/101, 395/114, 395/115, 395/117, 395/109, 395/112, 358/518, 358/530, 358/448, 358/450, 358/453, 358/462, 382/176, 382/266, 382/276, 382/277, 382/294, 382/304, 345/501, 345/505, 345/506, 345/523, 707/500, 707/522, 707/523, 707/911
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1208 resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1244 Job translation or job parsing, e.g. page banding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1822 Analysing the received data before processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1848 Generation of the printable image
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0002 Handling the output data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/40 Picture signal circuits H04N1/387 takes precedence

Abstract

An object optimized printing system and method comprises a page description language decomposing system, a command instruction and data generating system and an image output terminal controller. The PDL decomposition system inputs a print file defining a plurality of pages in the page description language and locates the plurality of objects forming each page and their object types. Based on the determine object types and any explicit rendering commands in the PDL file, the PDL decomposition system automatically generates rendering tags for each of the objects. The rendering tags are used to control the command instruction and data generating system, the IOT controller and/or the image output terminal to optimize the printing by the IOT on an object-by-object basis. Based on the objects and the generated rendering tags, the command instruction and data generating system generates the differing types of data and the command instructions on a scanline-by-scanline basis. The generated command instructions and data are output to the IOT controller scanline-by-scanline. The data output to the IOT controller includes metabit data which is generated from the rendering tags. The metabit data output to the IOT controller is used to control various subsystems of the IOT controller and the IOT to optimize the printing characteristics of the IOT for each differing object on each scanline.

Claims

1. A method for generating object optimized print data of an output image, comprising:

inputting document data defining a document, the document comprising at least one page,

converting the document data into a plurality of independent image objects, each independent image object having an object type, each page of the document comprising at least one of the plurality of independent image objects; and

generating the object optimized print data for each page of the output image based on the at least one independent image object comprising each page and the object type corresponding to each independent image object;

wherein the object optimized print data comprises a plurality of separate data types, the separate data types including at least one of print data, render control command data and printer controller command data, the print data comprising a plurality of separate print data types;

selecting at least one object optimized processing procedure for the print data based on the render control command data, the printer controller data and print characteristic data; and

applying the selected at least one object optimized processing procedure to the print data;

wherein the at least one object optimized processing procedure is selected from at least an object optimized color space transformation procedure, an object optimized half-tone generating procedure, an object optimized spatial filtering procedure, an object optimized trapping procedure and an object optimized printer artifact suppression procedure.

2. A method for generating object optimized print data of an output image, comprising:

inputting document data defining a document, the document comprising at least one page,

converting the document data into a plurality of independent image objects, each independent image object having an object type, each page of the document comprising at least one of the plurality of independent image objects; and

generating the object optimized print data for each page of the output image based on the at least one independent image object comprising each page and the object type corresponding to each independent image object;

wherein the object optimized print data comprises a plurality of separate data types, the separate data types including at least one of print data, render control command data and printer controller command data, the print data comprising a plurality of separate print data types;

compressing the print data based on the data type;

compressing the render control command data and the printer controller command data based upon their data structures;

transmitting the compressed print data, the render control command data and the printer controller command data to a printer controller;

decompressing the print data based on the data type;

decompressing the render controller data an the printer controller data based upon their data structures; and

combining and processing the print data based on the render control command data, the printer controller data and the print data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing, after the print data compressing step, the compressed print data in a memory, wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the compressed data from the memory.

4. A method for generating object optimized print data of an output image, comprising:

inputting document data defining a document, the document comprising at least one page,

converting the document data into a plurality of independent image objects, each independent image object having an object type, each page of the document comprising at least one of the plurality of independent image objects;

generating the object optimized print data for each page of the output image based on the at least one independent image object comprising each page and the object type corresponding to each independent image object;

outputting the object optimized print data for the document to a printer;

controlling the printer based on the object optimized print data to print an object optimized version of the document;

analyzing an appearance of the printed object optimized document;

revising the object optimized print data based on the analysis;

repeating the analyzing and revising steps until the appearance of the printed object optimized document reaches a desired state; and

revising the document data based on the revised object optimized print data.

5. A method for generating object optimized print data of an output image, comprising:

inputting document data defining a document, the document comprising at least one page,

converting the document data into a plurality of independent image objects, each independent image object having an object type, each page of the document comprising at least one of the plurality of independent image objects;

generating the object optimized print data for each page of the output image based on the at least one independent image object comprising each page and the object type corresponding to each independent image object;

printing a calibration document having at least one object on a printer;

measuring an appearance of the at least one object in the printed calibration document;

adjusting the object optimized print data generation step based on the measured appearance; and

repeating the printing, appearance measuring and adjusting steps until the appearance of the at least one object in the printed calibration document reaches a desired state.