116 results about "Raster image processing" patented technology

A method and apparatus which dynamically determines if the raster image processing (RIP) for a print job data file is more efficiently performed by the host computer or by the printer in a printing system. The entire printing process is monitored and, based on a model for estimating the time required for various component print processes, a determination is made where the raster processing of the print data for the next print job should be performed to balance the processing load across the printing system to best utilize the maximum printing speed of the printer print engine.

The invention provides a printing method and apparatus, comprising a software application that works with proprietary printing utilities, and that may include one or more additional software components for adding additional printing technology. The invention also comprises an automatic print load-balancing component in a centralized or distributed raster image processing (RIP) printing environment that enables faster system performance over single or multiple processors.

A system and method are provided for de-spooler job joining. The method comprises: despooling a plurality of print jobs at a client device; joining the print jobs into a single joined print job; and, rendering the joined print job as a single continuous print job. The de-spooler may be part of an imaging device or the client device supplying the print jobs. In one aspect, joining the print jobs includes: concatenating; creating a single spool file with multiple raster image processes (RIPs). Alternately, joining the print jobs includes: generating a RIP for each print job, with RIP end / start instructions; removing the RIP end / start instructions; concatenating the plurality of RIPs; and, creating a single spool file with a single RIP. In another aspect, joining the print jobs includes: converting each print job into an image format file; and, merging into a single RIP.

A job joining capability is used in a Multifunction Peripheral Device (MFP) to conduct continuous Raster Image Processing (RIP) across multiple job boundaries. Print jobs which do not have inter-RIP conflicts are printed back-to-back as a continuous single RIP. This is particularly advantageous for single copy, single page, and other small print jobs.

A computer based printing system, comprised of one or more print drivers, a spooler, print processor, two or more printing devices and optionally one or more print servers. The system results in reducing uneven distribution of load across printers for document splitting in a cluster printing environment, by weighting each page for the approximate proportional load required for the respective printer(s) to PDL interpretation / RIP. The system has the advantage of not requiring additional hardware, firmware, or server side software, by having the load calculated, splitting and distribution in the client side print subsystem. The method of the invention includes a method of distributing a print job having plural pages to plural printers, wherein each printer has a printer description language interface, selecting a cluster printing option and the printers to be used during distributed printing; analyzing the print job to estimate print times for each page of the print job; assigning a print job weight to each page as a function of the page's proportional page description language / raster image process time; and balancing a page distribution to each selected printer as a function of a printer's rated speed to have the distributed print job substantially simultaneously complete on each selected printer.

This invention is directed to a method and apparatus for raster image processing which allows access to the page buffer during raster image processing. The method and apparatus of the present invention allow for virtually every page presented to the raster image processor to be printed with available memory. In addition, the method and apparatus for raster image processing of the present invention significantly reduces the bandwidth required between the raster image processor and the raster image processor manager. In addition, the method and apparatus for raster image processing of the present invention has equal or better performance than those methods or apparatuses that use display lists. Further, the method and apparatus of the present invention support the use of tag data and multiple page description languages.

A cover-driven book production method and system are disclosed. The method of cover-driven book production includes providing a plurality of book covers. The book covers can be identified using, for example, a scanner. A book block can then be retrieved from a book repository based on the identified cover. After performing raster image processing (RIP) of the book block, copies of the book block can be printed. Finishing can be accomplished by binding the printed book blocks to the book covers using an in-line binder or off-line binder.

The invention discloses a storing method of a rasterization lattice of a variable data printed page. The method comprises the following steps of: generating the rasterization lattice of the variable data printed page by a raster image processor RIP; carrying out block processing on the generated rasterization lattice according to a set block strategy, and setting a unique block identification for each block according to the set regulation of block identification; determining whether the blocks in the current page are same with the corresponding blocks with same block identification in the front page; if so, using the corresponding blocks as reference blocks and storing page identification of the page where the block identification and the reference block are located; if not, storing the block identification and block lattice data contained in the blocks and recording the storing positions. The storing method and the system can reduce the data storage capacity of the rasterization lattice of the variable data printed page, save storage space and cost and can improve the speed of storage and access.

This invention comprises a converged printer architecture for controlling both electro-photographic (EP) processing and raster image processing (RIP) of data for laser modulation over a video line. By converging EP process control with image processing control, significant advantages in cost, image quality, and output stability are achieved. A digital signal processor (DSP) serves as the central processing resource of the architecture. The DSP is well suited for the dual role of image processing and real-time feedback process control. The DSP can operate in open loop motor / motion control, print process control, and in closed loop feedback control including image processing adaptations for quality and stability enhancements.

A printing system comprised of a printer and a plurality of processing nodes wherein each processing node is disposed for processing a job file associated with a print job into a printer dependent format. The system further comprises a replicator component attached to the job file. The job file includes multiple instances of a raster image processing (RIP) wherein each RIP instance proposes to a collector component an RIP image for printing. The collector grants permission to image a page to a RIP proposal observed to the collector and then rejects the same proposals from other RIP components.

A method for performing black trapping and under print processing on image data from a raster image processing (RIP) frame buffer is provided. The image data includes pixel data according to a predetermined color space (e.g., RGB) and may include black rendering hints. If black rendering hints are not included, the method includes steps to determine if each pixel from the frame buffer is black or black with respect to predetermined thresholds. Three further embodiments of the method are provided in regard to CMY under print values for a black pixel when all pixels of a context window surrounding the black pixel are black. One embodiment provides no CMY under print. Another embodiment provides a predefined CMY under print. Still another embodiment provides an adaptive CMY under print based on the last saved CMY under print value.

This invention discloses a kind of distributed grating image processing data transfer system of the figure and image printing treatment. In this invention method after the grating image processing controller interprets the printing describing language to the document data use the user data paper agreement to distribute it to the grating processor for grated process. In this invention system the grating image processing controller connects with the multiple grating image processor through the first data transfer module and the first transfer module is distributed to the grating image processor for grated process through the user data paper agreement after the first transfer module interprets the printing describing language to the document data in the grating image processing controller. By using this invention the transfer velocity is quicker and the occupation for the network resource is less and it improves the getting velocity of the grating image processing system for the processing work resource at the same time improves the processing velocity of the distributed grating processing system and it is satisfied for the requirement of high speed printing output device.

The present invention provides a method of displaying an image on a display device having first and second sides, said image including an light restricting silhouette pattern having a plurality of first transparent or translucent areas, and at least one design layer having at least one color, said at least one design layer being visible from one side of said display device and substantially less visible from the other side, said image being substantially transparent or translucent as viewed from the other side, comprising the steps:1) providing at least a definition of said design layer to a computer;2) generating a computerized version of said design layer with the computer;3) outputting the computerized version of said design layer to said display device, the computerized version of said design layer being modified to subdivide said design layer into a plurality of second discrete transparent or translucent areas and other areas, and4) displaying said modified design layer and said silhouette pattern with said first and second transparent areas being in registry.Articles produced in accordance with the method are also described.Printers, raster image processing methods and systems computer graphics systems are described for producing the article.

An image processing apparatus includes a first determining unit for determining which medium an image is to be formed on; a second determining unit for determining an amount of a coloring material of a recording material according to the medium determined by the first determining unit; a color processing unit for executing color processing in a raster image processing unit according to the amount of the coloring material determined by the second determining unit; a comparing unit for comparing a predetermined medium with a medium that is to be used for output to determine whether these media match, after the color processing by the color processing unit; and a controlling unit for controlling whether to adjust the amount of the coloring material again according to a result of the comparison by the comparing unit.

The identical printing of a stack of sheets (e.g., paper) is performed by vertically stacked inkjet printing units, each of which prints sheets at a printing speed. All sheets are fed from a stack along an infeed path at a feeding speed which is faster than the printing speed. The sheets are sequentially introduced into the respective printing heads, e.g., by the actuation of a gate mechanism disposed in the infeed path. After the sheets have been printed in the printing units at the slower printing speed, and after the print medium has been fixed, the sheets are discharged from the printing units and fed along a common outfeed path at the higher feeding speed. For variable-data printing, raster image processing is performed by assigned separate RIP computer units to process respective batches of the pages of the printing job.

A defocusing projection grating measurement method based on a Sierra Lite dithering algorithm mainly aims to generate a two-value dithering grating through the Sierra Lite dithering algorithm, improve the sine performance of the grating after defocusing and then improve the quality of a phase position. The defocusing projection grating measurement method includes the implement steps of generating a sine grating by a computer, calculating dithering output starting from the pixel at the top left corner of an image of the grating, calculating a quantization error of the pixel according to a gray value of the dithering output, selecting an S-shaped scanning direction and a corresponding kernel function coefficient to diffuse the error according to the fact that whether the pixel is in an odd-numbered line or an even-numbered line or not, overlapping the error to a corresponding next pixel until the image of the whole grating is processed completely, obtaining a needed measured grating by defocusing and projecting the finally obtained dithering grating through a projector, obtaining a principal value phase position through a classic four-step phase shift method, unfolding the principal value phase position to obtain an absolute phase position, and finally obtaining three-dimensional information of a measured object according to a conversion formula between the phase position and height.

A raster image processing system and method accepts a digital page description as a series of page elements (text, graphics, images, etc.) and creates output video-ready (“flattened”) raster without allocating large amounts of raster memory (arrays of pixels) and without creating a display list of all page elements. This technique improves performance (greater speed with fewer resources consumed) in the typical output process: rendering, image processing, compression, and transmission. The method records each page element in memory in a manner that largely retains the inherent compression of the element description, and fully retains the positional relationships with its neighboring elements. Where an incoming page element overlaps an existing one, the intersections are calculated on the fly, and elements underneath are immediately split, merged, shrunken, or deleted. Each incoming page element is immediately processed and recorded as described above, and then discarded. The result is a continuously precise, simple, non-overlapping (“flat”) representation of the final output raster. In other words, in one embodiment, the representation starts empty, then stays compressed and flat throughout while accumulating representations of page elements.

A method and apparatus for Variable Data Printing that adds performance requirements to a raster image processor (RIP) memory optimization that employs memory bands within the page composition process. Documents containing both recurring elements as well as non-recurring elements are sorted into element lists depending on their frequency of recurrence and their layering position. The recurring elements are retained in rasterized form, while the non-recurring elements are rasterized as they are used in output memory. One pass assembly in raster image processing of the elements occurs when the recurring elements are blitted into memory and the variable elements are RIPped on the fly.

The invention discloses a novel maskless photoetching system and a technological process thereof. The novel maskless photoetching system comprises a material number system, an exposure system, an RIP(Raster Image Processing) module, a data processing module, a position correcting module, a light source module, an illumination system optical module, a graph generator, a master control module, an energy correcting module, a projection lens module, an automatic focusing module, a motion platform module and an alignment module. Compared with a traditional maskless photoetching system, the material number system, the RIP module, the position correcting module, the energy correcting module, the automatic focusing module and the alignment module are added, so that the accuracy and the stabilityof the novel maskless photoetching system are increased, the efficiency and the yield of product processing are increased, the production cost of a product is reduced, high-automation large-scale production application can be realized, the novel maskless photoetching system is particularly suitable for being embedded to a production line in an industry 4.0 grade, and intelligent, unmanned, continuous and stable production operation can be realized.

Methods and apparatus are provided for automated promotion of monochrome jobs for highlight color (HLC) production printers in favor of color print jobs when it is determined that the color print jobs cannot be printed in an originally called-for marking material. First print jobs having a color content and second print jobs not having a color content are stored in a print queue. When an inability of the printing apparatus to print hard copy documents having a color content is detected, print jobs not having a color content are selected for printing from the print queue. Jobs are processed to determine color content including use of a raster image processing (RIP) at a low level resolution. A process in a print queue management system is provided for detecting an inability of the printing apparatus to print hard copy documents having a color content and for promoting print jobs without a color content for printing.

Systems and methods are presented in which a print job is segmented into multiple parts or chunks prior to facilitate raster image processing by including in each of the parts the print job preamble, one or more page portions, and only those resources required for the page portions, and the generated chunk files are provided to one or more raster image processing components for rendering or printing.

A job joining capability is used in a Multifunction Peripheral Device (MFP) to conduct continuous Raster Image Processing (RIP) across multiple job boundaries. Print jobs which do not have inter-RIP conflicts are printed back-to-back as a continuous single RIP. This is particularly advantageous for single copy, single page, and other small print jobs.

What is provided are a system and method for print / copy job environments utilizing a page description language (PDL). In one embodiment, an input PDL stream describing embedded objects in a job is received and parsed. Reusable document components (RDCs) are identified. A determination is made as to how many placements are in the PDL for each identified RDC. If no RDCs are placed more than once, caching is disabled. If it is not efficient to split the PDL stream into smaller tasks, page parallel rip (PPR) is disabled. The embedded objects are analyzed to determine a number of PPRs for the job based on system resources. A raster image processing (RIP) time is projected for each path in the job based on the determined number of placements and the determined number of PPRs. A job processing path is prescribed for the job based on the most efficient projected RIP time.

The automatic raster image making method is used in raster mainly and provides computerized raster image processing technology for making 3D variable cartoon. There is image output device comprising input unit, optical image taking module, display unit, raster image processing unit and color printer; and one monochromic background screen, in front of which required object and character images aretaken. After the background is eliminated automatically in the said raster image processing unit, the formed image are set synthesized in the retained position in the raster image background figure formed in different or multiple visual angles and are synthesized into one raster image figure. Through printing the synthetic picture and applying raster image, variable cartoon or picture with 3D visual effect may be formed.

A print controller, method and program product in which print stream data is received, parsed into local and global portions, packaged for further raster image processing, and then processed in parallel by a plurality of raster image processors.

A cover-driven book production method and system are disclosed. The method of cover-driven book production includes providing a plurality of book covers. The book covers can be identified using, for example, a scanner. A book block can then be retrieved from a book repository based on the identified cover. After performing raster image processing (RIP) of the book block, copies of the book block can be printed. Finishing can be accomplished by binding the printed book blocks to the book covers using an in-line binder or off-line binder.

A spot color pattern system provides a naming convention that allows the user to name a custom spot color pattern. A Raster Image Processing (RIP) has a database of spot color patterns that are user definable and are patterns which are images of a textile, fabric, metal, etc., that are repeatedly printed across the job. The RIP interprets a spot color pattern name in print job, looks up the spot color in its database, pulls up the image associated with the spot color pattern name, adds Postscript® pattern code to the print job to paint the spot color across the background of the print job, realistically simulating the final print media, and adds other code to perform other tasks, such as mirroring or four-way mirroring to prevent stitches from appearing. A RIP user interface gives the user the ability to create, modify, or delete spot color patterns. The invention also provides a mechanism that allows an application program to access a custom spot color pattern from the RIP.

The invention discloses a printing system and a printing method, which relate to the field of printing and can solve the problem that one printing system can not be compatible with a plurality of devices to work. The printing system comprises a device framework unit, a typesetting unit, a raster image processing unit and a printing device, wherein the device framework unit is used for generating device framework files and device control information data; the typesetting unit is used for generating page description data and device control parameters and invoking the device framework unit to generate the device framework files; the raster image processing unit is used for generating page raster data according to the page description data, invoking the device framework unit to generate the device control information data and sending the page raster data and the device control information data to the printing device; and the printing device is used for carrying out raster imaging on the page raster data. The printing method comprises the following steps: generating the device control parameters and the page description data according to a printing task; generating the device framework files according to the device control parameters; generating the page raster data according to the page description data; and carrying out raster imaging. The invention is suitable for bulk print.

A method and apparatus for direct printing of multiple views of 3-D objects in a PDF file is described. When a PDF file containing 3-D object data is sent to a printer, without using an application or print driver, the controller of a printer generates and prints a plurality of views of the 3-D object based on pre-defined viewing angle settings. The printer controller opens the PDF file, converts the 3-D PDF data to PS data based on the viewing angle, performs raster image processing, prints the bitmap images corresponding to the viewing angle, and repeats the process for all viewing angles. The plurality of views may be printed on separate pages, or on one page in an N-in-1 format. More generally, the method applies to direct printing of files containing objects that are capable of providing multiple appearances, where multiple or desired appearances of the objects are automatically printed.

The invention provides a raster image processing method and device. Because drawing and rendering data corresponding to a raster image are no longer just image element attribute information with fixed content, but image element attribute information with various kinds of flexible and changeable content, image elements on the rendered raster image no longer just have a single drawing feature, but have various drawing features, and the problem that the drawing features of the rendered raster image are fixed due to the fact that rendering of the raster image can only be carried out according to preset drawing vector data of the image elements in the prior art can be avoided; consequently, the rendering flexibility of the raster image is improved.