Multiproduct printing workflow system with dynamic scheduling

• US 8,310,696 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2008
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reischling Press, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Reischling Press, Inc.
• Inventors: Gustafson, Mark, Comstock, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Poon, King
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Allen H
• Application Number:
  US12/011,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20090185212A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,756 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/1.1
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method for end-to-end printing, including entering into service level agreements with each of a plurality of partner systems that enable customers to order personalized print products, wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for finishing customer print orders, receiving customer print orders forwarded from the plurality of partner systems, each print order specifying at least one personalized print product, serializing the print orders into a plurality of work items, each work item corresponding to a part of a personalized print product that is to be printed on printable material, dynamically assigning priorities to the work items, dynamically advancing the work items through a plurality of print processing states, wherein each processing state processes work items in order of their priorities.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for end-to-end printing, comprising:

(i) entering into service level agreements with a plurality of partner systems that enable customers to order personalized print products, wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for finishing customer print orders;

(ii) receiving a customer print orders forwarded from one of the plurality of partner systems, the print order specifying at least one personalized print product;

(iii) serializing the print order into a plurality of work items, each work item corresponding to a part of a personalized print product that is independently printed on printable material, and wherein at least one of the at least one personalized print products specified in the print order comprises a plurality of parts;

(iv) dynamically assigning priorities to the work items based on the states of the work items and based on the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order; and

(v) dynamically advancing the work items through a plurality of print processing states, wherein each processing state processes work items in order of their priorities;

(vi) preparing (a) a print-ready file and (b) print instructions for each work item;

(vii) rasterizing the print-ready files for work items into images that can be directly printed by a printer, based on print instructions for the work item;

(viii) printing the images generated by said rasterizing on printable material; and

(ix) dynamically assigning the printable materials with the printed images to physical containers for transport across a printing system shop based on at least one criterion selected from;

an estimate of the time to complete processing the corresponding work items, the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order, and a destination.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising electronically notifying the partner system that forwarded the print order when work items enter designated states.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said dynamically assigning priorities to the work items is further based on an estimate of the time to complete processing of a work item when the work item is at a specific print processing state.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the priority assigned to a work item by said dynamically assigning priorities is increased or decreased based on a modifier.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said dynamically assigning printed parts to physical containers for transport refers to transport between the printer that printed the images on printable materials and a bindery for binding together printed materials and non-printable materials that are parts of the same personalized print product.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said dynamically assigning printed parts to physical containers for transport refers to transport between a bindery for binding together printed images on printable material and non-printable materials that are parts of the same personalized print product and a packaging area for packaging together personalized print products that are to be shipped to the same destination.

7. A printing system, comprising:

a memory for storing (i) service level agreements for each of a plurality of partner systems that enable customers to order personalized print products, wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for finishing customer print orders, and for storing (ii) a customer print orders forwarded from one of the plurality of partner systems, the print order specifying at least one personalized print product;

an order serializer for serializing the print order into a plurality of work items, each work item corresponding to a part of a personalized print product that is independently printed on printable material, and wherein a customized print product may include a plurality of parts; and

a work scheduler for;

dynamically advancing the work items through a plurality of processing queues; and

dynamically assigning a priority to each work item entering one of the plurality of processing queues based on an estimate of the time to complete processing the work item and based on the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner systems that forwarded the print order;

a print server for;

processing the work items entering at least one of the processing queues in order of the dynamically assigned work item priorities;

preparing (a) a print-ready file and (b) print instructions for each work item; and

rasterizing the print-ready files for work items into images that can be directly printed by a printer, based on print instructions for the work item;

a printer for printing the images generated by said rasterizing on printable material; and

a finishing server for dynamically assigning the printable materials with the printed images to physical containers for transport across a printing system shop based on at least one criterion selected from;

an estimate of the time to complete processing the corresponding work items, the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order, and a destination.

8. The printing system of claim 7 further comprising a status updater for electronically notifying the partner system that forwarded the print order when work items enter designated states.

9. a computer-implemented method for a printing system capable of printing at a physically remote location comprising:

(i) entering into service level agreements with each of a plurality of partner systems that enable customers to order personalized print products, wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for finishing customer print orders;

(ii) receiving a customer print order forwarded from one of the plurality of partner systems, the print order specifying at least one personalized print product;

(iii) serializing the print order into a plurality of work items, each work item corresponding to a part of a personalized print product that is independently printed on printable material, and wherein at least one of the at least one personalized print products specified in the print order comprises a plurality of parts;

(iv) dynamically assigning priorities to the work items based on the states of the work items and based on the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order;

(v) dynamically advancing the work items through a plurality of print processing states, wherein each processing state processes work items in order of their priorities;

(vi) preparing (a) a print-ready file and (b) print instructions for each work item;

(vii) rasterizing the print-ready files for work items into image files that can be directly printed by a printer, based on print instructions for the work item;

(viii) designating a remotely located printer to print the images generated by said rasterizing;

(ix) transferring the images to a remotely located printer;

(x) printing the images on printable material by a remotely located printer to created printed material; and

(xi) transferring said printed material printed by a remotely located printer back to the printing system for further processing.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising electronically notifying the partner system that forwarded the print order when work items enter designated states.

11. A method for a multi-site printing system comprising:

(i) entering into service level agreements with each of a plurality of partner systems that enable customers to order personalized print products, wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for finishing customer print orders;

(ii) receiving, by a first printing system, a customer print order forwarded from one of the plurality of partner systems, the print order specifying at least one personalized print product;

(iii) assigning, by the first printing system, the processing of the print order to one of a plurality of remote printing systems, each operating at a different physical location;

(iv) transferring print order data for the print order, by the first printing system, to the assigned remote printing system;

(v) serializing the print order into a plurality of work items, by the assigned remote printing system, each work item corresponding to a part of a personalized print product that is independently printed on printable material, and wherein at least one of the at least one personalized print products specified in the print order comprises a plurality of parts;

(vi) dynamically assigning priorities to the work items, by the assigned remote printing system, based on the states of the work items and based on the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order; and

(vii) dynamically advancing the work items through a plurality of print processing states, by the assigned remote printing system, wherein each processing state processes work items in order of their priorities;

(viii) preparing (a) a print-ready file and (b) print instructions for each work item;

(ix) rasterizing the print-ready files for work items into images that can be directly printed by a printer, based on print instructions for the work item;

(x) printing the images generated by said rasterizing on printable material; and

(xi) dynamically assigning the printable materials with the printed images to physical containers for transport across a printing system shop based on at least one criterion selected from;

an estimate of the time to complete processing the corresponding work items, the designated delays within the service level agreements with the partner system that forwarded the print order, and a destination.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising electronically notifying the partner system that forwarded the print order, by the assigned remote printing system, when work items enter designated states.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said customer print order is stored in a transactional database and said transferring of print order data is accomplished by replicating transactions between the transactional databases maintained by the first printing system and by each of the remote printing systems.