Printing web page images via a marked proof sheet

• US 7,142,318 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2001
• Issued: 11/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Hatcher, John Mark, Sismilich, Robert C, Lopez, Matthew G
• Primary Examiner(s): Pokrzywa, Joseph R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Milia, Mark R.
• Application Number:
  US09/916,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20030020945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,950 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 715/501.1
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/00 Digital computers in general details G06F1/00 – G06F13/00; Data processing equipment in general
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/025 Simulating output on another printing arrangement, e.g. proof output matching two or more picture signal generators or two or more picture reproducers H04N1/6052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00366 Marks in boxes or the like, e.g. crosses or blacking out H04N1/0036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32771 in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32778 using a mark-sheet or machine-readable code request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3216 of a job size, e.g. a number of images, pages or copies, size of file, length of message
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3247 Data linking a set of images to one another, e.g. sequence, burst or continuous capture mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 Printing or stamping

Abstract

A printing system and method for printing selected images on a web page. The web page is automatically analyzed to identify image files associated with the web page, and the image files are automatically filtering according to predetermined criteria so as to identify qualified image files. At least one of the qualified image files is selected for printing, and then printed. A proof sheet having an image identifier and a corresponding selection area or image specifier for each image file may be printed. Selection areas of the proof sheet can be marked to indicate the image files to be printed and then optically scanned to detect the images selected for printing, or the image specifiers can be entered into the printing system to specify the images selected for printing.

Claims

1. A method of printing with a multifunction printing system, comprising:

automatically analyzing a web page to identify image files associated with the web page;

automatically filtering the image files based on an image size characteristic so as to identify ones of the image files larger than a threshold size as qualified image files and to exclude other ones of the image files smaller than the threshold size from the qualified image files;

printing a proof sheet for at least some of the qualified image files, the proof sheet having an image identifier, at least one identity marker indicative of a web location for each of the at least some of the qualified image files, and at least one corresponding selection area for each of the at least some of the qualified image files;

marking at least one of the selection areas corresponding to at least one of the qualified image files to be printed;

optically scanning the marked proof sheet so as to determine marked selection areas;

determining from the at least one identity marker the web location for those ones of the qualified image files associated with the marked selection areas; and

printing the qualified image files associated with the marked selection areas.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

electronically acquiring the web page with the printing system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the acquiring further comprises:

providing a web page identifier; and

downloading to the printing system a web page source file that corresponds to the web page identifier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the downloading further comprises:

performing a dialog according to http protocol to obtain the web page source file.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the web page source file contains markup text, and wherein the analyzing further comprises:

parsing the markup text to identify the image files associated with the web page.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the parsing further comprises:

parsing the markup text to identify image file pathnames embedded therein;

determining which ones of the image files are located at the corresponding image file pathnames; and

determining which other ones of the image files are located at other pathnames associated with the corresponding image file pathnames.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein each selection area includes a plurality of size fields, each size field for specifying a different one of a print size for the corresponding image file,

wherein the marking includes marking at least one of the size fields,

wherein the scanning includes determining the marked size fields, and

wherein the printing the image files further includes printing each selected image file in the print size indicated by the corresponding marked size field.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the qualified image files are identified at least in part from markup text of the web page.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the qualified image files are identified at least in part from an examination of the image files.

10. A multifunction printing system, comprising:

means for automatically analyzing a web page with the printing system to identify image files associated with the web page;

means for printing a proof sheet for qualified ones of the image files, the proof sheet having an image identifier, at least one identity marker indicative of a web location for the qualified image files, and at least one corresponding selection area for each of the qualified image files, each qualified one of the image files identified by matching a filter criterion with textual information associated with the qualified one of the image files but separate from a URL of the qualified one of the image files;

means for scanning the marked proof sheet after user-marking of at least one of the selection areas corresponding to at least one of the qualified image files to be printed so as to determine marked selection areas; and

means for determining from the at least one identity marker the web location for those ones of the qualified image files associated with the marked selection areas; and

means for printing the qualified image files associated with the marked selection areas.

11. A method of printing with a printing system, comprising:

analyzing a web page with the printing system to identify image files associated with the web page;

filtering the image files with the printing system according to predetermined criteria indicative of at least one file characteristic so as to identify certain ones of the image files as qualified image files, the predefined criteria including a filter criterion for comparison with textual information associated with a particular image file but separate from a URL of the particular image file;

selecting at least one of the qualified image files; and

printing the selected ones of the qualified image files, wherein the textual information associated with the particular image file is located in a shadow file different from but associated with the particular image file.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the filter criterion is indicative of the nature of the image.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the selecting further comprises:

printing a proof sheet for the qualified image files, the proof sheet having for each of the qualified image files an image indicia and a corresponding selection area;

marking at least one of the selection areas corresponding to at least one of the qualified image files to be printed;

optically scanning the marked proof sheet to form a scanned image; and

processing the scanned image so as to determine the selected ones of the qualified image files.