Patent Application
20100231933
Embodiments are related to printing, print job processing and to page description languages. Embodiments also relate to automated identification of page content within data files and automated data transformations that alter page content or appearance.
Printing facilities are often called on to print multitudinous copies of similar documents that are slightly customized based on their intended recipient. For example, a printing facility can print credit card bills which are then subsequently stuffed into envelopes and mailed. Each credit card bill is slightly customized because different recipients have different names, different addresses, different charges and different balances. The differences can lead to variations in the number of bill pages, perhaps including advertising content, that are sent to each person. Regardless, each credit card bill is a printed document.
Printing facilities usually contain document management systems that electronically store the document descriptions, preprint facilities that prepare document descriptions for printing, and printing engines that print the documents. The printing engines are capable of printing the documents onto a variety of media, using a variety of inks or dyes, and producing a variety of document finishings. The vast number of documents to be printed often results in the use of a set of default printing parameters for every page regardless of its content. Lower quality printing is faster and less expensive than higher quality. As such, most printing facilities print at a default medium quality with the result that high value content such as graphics (images, logos, etc.) is mostly recognizable while lower value content, such as text, is no crisper or clearer than a lower quality printing would yield. Systems and methods for automatically matching the appearance or print quality of each printed page to its perceived value or content are needed.
Aspects of the embodiments address limitations and flaws in the prior art by automatically classifying the page descriptions in a document description into page subsets and subsequently invoking transformation directives to thereby cause predefined alterations to the page descriptions in the page subsets.
It is therefore an aspect of the embodiments that a document production system be configured with production parameters that serve as default production parameters for all documents printed by the document production system. The document production system accepts document descriptions typically containing numerous page descriptions. Document descriptions are typically electronic computer files containing data and instructions written in a page description language (PDL). Printing a page description produces a page. Printing a document description produces all of a document's pages.
It is also an aspect of the embodiments that identification rules and transformation directives are defined. Each identification rule can be associated with one or more transformation directive. An identification module can use the identification rules to classify page descriptions into page subsets. As such, each page set is in essence defined by or described by the identification rule matching the page descriptions in the page subset. Each page subset is thereby also associated with every transformation directive associated with the identification rule defining the page subset. A transformation module can interpret the transformation directives to thereby alter the page descriptions in the page subsets to produce an altered document description.
The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the present invention and, together with the background of the invention, brief summary of the invention, and detailed description of the invention, serve to explain the principles of the present invention
The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Document descriptions, typically written in a page description language, are automatically transformed down to the page level based on the perceived value of the content of each page. In normal production, documents, printers, and entire printing facilities typically have a set of predefined production parameters that govern the production and appearance of all documents. In enhanced operation, identification rules automatically generate perceived page values for each document page. The pages can be grouped into page subsets based on their perceived values. The Transformation directives can then be selectively invoked to alter the production parameters used for printing the pages within certain page subsets and thereby alter the final appearance, plex, media, or color space of the printed pages within those subsets.
A document management system 101 can store a great many document descriptions 102 one of which is a desired document description 103 that is to be printed. Historically, the desired document description 103 would be submitted to the document production system 123 to be printed using production parameters 125 entered by a third user 124 who set the production parameters 125 to default values such as a default color space 126, a default resolution 127 and default media 128. Note that the three exemplary users 108, 110, 124 can all be the same person.
A more appealing result can be obtained when the desired document description 103 is first inspected by an identification module 104 that classifies the page descriptions in the desired document description 103 into page subsets. As illustrated, the desired document description 103 is entered into the document management system 123 and inspected by the identification module 104 to identify page subsets within the desired document description 103. In the illustrated example of
The transformation module 112 transforms the pages descriptions in the page subsets to produce an altered document description 120. Each identification rule is associated with at least one transformation directive. Here, identification rule 1105 is associated with transformation directive 1113, identification rule 2106 is associated with transformation directive 2114, and identification rule 3107 is associated with transformation directive 3115. As such, the transformation module transforms the page descriptions in page subset 1117 according to the dictates of transformation directive 1113 and transforms the page descriptions in page subset 2118 according to the dictates of transformation directive 2114 to produce altered document description 120.
The altered document description 120 is passed to a printing engine 121 that prints it to produce a document 122 that can be delivered to a recipient.
The identification module 104 inspects the desired document description 103 to classify the page descriptions into page subset 1117, page subset 2118, and document remainder 119. The desired document description 103 is then passed to the transformation module 112 to produce the altered document description 120. Before alteration, all the page descriptions were to be printed with the same color space, on the same media, and at the same resolution. The transformation module 112 changed that. The page descriptions in page subset 1117 are to be printed in color 201 on media 1202 at a dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution of 300 dpi×300 dpi. The page descriptions in page subset 2118 are to be printed in monochrome 204 on media 2209 at the default resolution 127. The page descriptions in the document remainder 119 are to be printed in the document color space 205 on the document media 206 at the default resolution 127.
Another example of an identification rule is a rule seeking a graphic requiring an expanded color gamut. This identification rule would be paired with a transformation directive to instead use the appropriate color in an expanded color gamut. For example, a normal color gamut can use cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) to produce all of the colors normally produced. Many printers can handle additional colorants such as a special color. In such a case, the expanded color gamut is CMYKS where S is the special color. The special color can be a color that is hard to reproduce or a color that must be reproduced very precisely. An identification rule can attempt to identify graphics of a trademarked brand logo that uses the special color or can search for CMYK combinations that should be replaced with the trademark color. The transformation directive can then conditionally replace some CMYK colors with CMYKS colors where the C, M, Y, and K components are set to zero or near zero.
Embodiments can be implemented in the context of modules. In the computer programming arts, a module can be typically implemented as a collection of routines and data structures that performs particular tasks or implements a particular abstract data type. Modules generally can be composed of two parts. First, a software module may list the constants, data types, variable, routines and the like that can be accessed by other modules or routines. Second, a software module can be configured as an implementation, which can be private (i.e., accessible perhaps only to the module), and that contains the source code that actually implements the routines or subroutines upon which the module is based. Thus, for example, the term module, as utilized herein generally refers to software modules or implementations thereof. Such modules can be utilized separately or together to form a program product that can be implemented through signal-bearing media, including transmission media and recordable media.
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
