U.S. patent application number 11/609958 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-17 for system and method for implementing compound documents in a production printing workflow.
Invention is credited to David R. Hansen, Robert K. Holzwarth.
Application Number | 20070113164 11/609958 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24287371 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070113164 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hansen; David R. ; et
al. |
May 17, 2007 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING COMPOUND DOCUMENTS IN A
PRODUCTION PRINTING WORKFLOW
Abstract
A system and method for managing production printing workflow is
disclosed. The system includes workflow management software which
manages and facilitates the procedural stages of the workflow
including job origination, job preparation, job submission and job
fulfillment. The workflow management software provides an
integrated object oriented interface which visually reflects and
interacts with the workflow. The software further provides
functionality to create, manage and manipulate compound documents
as ordered collections of documents.
Inventors: |
Hansen; David R.; (Honeoye
Falls, NY) ; Holzwarth; Robert K.; (Palmyra,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
David A. Novais;Patent Legal Staff
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State Street
Rochester
NY
14650-2201
US
|
Family ID: |
24287371 |
Appl. No.: |
11/609958 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09572341 |
May 17, 2000 |
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11609958 |
Dec 13, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/209 ;
358/1.15; 715/222; 715/226; 715/274; 715/764 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/500 ;
358/001.15; 715/764 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00; G06F 3/12 20060101 G06F003/12; G06F 3/00 20060101
G06F003/00 |
Claims
1. An interface, implemented in a computer, for representing and
controlling a production printing workflow comprising: a display; a
first document object representing a document, said document
further comprising content and formatting, said formatting defining
at least one page in said document, said first document object
being associated with a first visual representation on said
display; a document ticket object representing global document
attributes, said document ticket object being associated with a
second visual representation on said display and capable of being
associated with said first document object; a page object
representing a page attribute of one of said at least one page,
said page object being associated with a third visual
representation on said display and capable of being associated with
said first document object; a book object capable of representing
an ordered association of at least one of said first document
object with a second document object, said second document object
being associated with a book document containing an ordered
assembly of all of the respective documents in each of said at
least one of said first document object, said book object being
further associated with a fourth visual representation on said
display; and a first user input device for selectively associating
at least two of said first, second, third and fourth visual
representations; wherein association of said first, second, third
and fourth visual representations results in association of said
respective objects.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/572,341, filed May 17, 2000, in the name of
David R. Hanson et al. entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING
COMPOUND DOCUMENTS IN A PRODUCTION PRINTING WORKFLOW," the entire
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] While just about every computer user owns their own printer
and is capable of producing high quality documents, the ability to
produce such documents in high volume and with special finishing
features, such as binding, is still within the purview of the
commercial print shops and corporate copy departments. High volume,
finished production of documents is typically referred to as
production printing. A production printer is a printing device
capable of rapid production of large volumes of documents.
Typically these printers have high paper handling capacity, the
ability to draw on multiple media types from multiple sources and
the ability to automatically finish a document such as by adding a
binding. Despite the automation provided by the production printer
and the proliferation of computer technology, especially in the
area of desktop publishing, production printing is still a
complicated and often manual process.
[0003] In a typical print shop, customers bring in original
documents which they want turned into a finished product such as a
bound booklet, a tri-fold brochure or a tabbed three ring bound
notebook. In addition, they typically need a large volume of the
finished product, for example, one thousand brochures. The
combination of the original documents plus the instructions for
producing the finished product is called a "job". The documents can
be brought in either in hard copy or electronic form, such as on
floppy disk, compact disc or tape or can be transmitted to the
print shop over a network such as the Internet.
[0004] After handing over the documents to the clerk, the customer
relays his instructions for preparing the finished product. The
clerk will note these instructions on a "ticket" or "job ticket".
The job ticket is typically a piece of paper with all of the
instructions written on it for producing the finished product. As
mentioned above, this is known as job. The job will then be handed
to an operator, who runs the production printer, to produce the
finished output. The operator's job is to prepare the document for
production, load the appropriate materials, such as paper stock and
binding materials, into the production printer and ensure that the
finished output is correct.
[0005] While the job of the operator seems simple, there are many
issues which quickly complicate it. Often, the documents provided
by a customer are not ready to be run on the production printer.
Some documents provided by a customer are merely raw manuscripts
requiring basic formatting, such as margins, typography, etc. Other
documents may be formatted but such formatting might not take into
account the requested binding. For example, the text of the
document is too close to the margin, therefore, when the finished
product is bound, some of the text will be obscured. Some
documents, such as books, require special care so that, for
example, the first page of every chapter appears on the front of a
page, also known as imposition. Other forms of imposition include
booklet/pamphlet imposition or n-up imposition. Or the customer may
bring in multiple documents and ask that these "chapters" be
assembled into a book, with a cover and binding.
[0006] Other issues which complicate the production printing job
are determining and loading the correct media into the production
printer. Often, jobs will require many different paper types, such
as different stock weights or different colors. In addition, some
jobs require the insertion of tab stock at specific points within
the document. Still other jobs may require the adding of a bates
number or other annotation to the document.
[0007] With such a complicated production process to produce
finished output, errors are bound to occur, such as loading the
wrong paper stock in the printer or setting a margin too close to a
binding. Production printers run at very high speeds, often
producing output greater than 1 page per second therefore, errors
in the finished output may not be caught before a significant
amount of time and resources have been wasted.
[0008] Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient system and
method for managing the production printing workflow.
SUMMARY
[0009] The present invention is defined by the following claims,
and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on
those claims. By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments
described below relate to an interface, implemented in a computer,
for representing and controlling a production printing workflow.
The interface comprises: a display; a first document object
representing a document, the document further comprising content
and formatting, the formatting defining at least one page in the
document, the first document object being associated with a first
visual representation on the display; a document ticket object
representing global document attributes, the document ticket object
being associated with a second visual representation on the display
and capable of being associated with the first document object; a
page object representing a page attribute of one of the at least
one page, the page object being associated with a third visual
representation on the display and capable of being associated with
the first document object; a book object capable of representing an
ordered association of at least one of the first document object
with a second document object, the second document object being
associated with a book document containing an ordered assembly of
all of the respective documents in each of the at least one of the
first document object, the book object being further associated
with a fourth visual representation on the display; and a first
user input device for selectively associating at least two of the
first, second and third visual representations; wherein association
of the first, second and third visual representations results in
association of the respective objects.
[0010] The preferred embodiments further relate to a method of
controlling a production printing workflow comprising: displaying a
first visual representation of a document on a display; displaying
a second visual representation of global document attributes
capable of being associated with the document on the display;
selectively associating the first visual representation with the
second visual representation; based on this association, linking
the global document attributes with the document such that the
global document attributes apply to the document; displaying a
third visual representation of a compound document capable of being
associated with an ordered one or more of the documents on the
display; selectively associating the third visual representation
with one or more of the first visual representation; and based on
this association, creating a book document having a fourth visual
representation associated with the third visual representation and
comprising an ordered assembly of the ordered one or more
documents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 depicts a flow diagram illustrating a preferred
production printing workflow.
[0012] FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram showing the user functionality
workflow of the preferred embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a preferred software
architecture for use with the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and
2.
[0014] FIG. 4 depicts a representation of a graphic user interface
display according to the preferred embodiment.
[0015] FIG. 5 depicts a high level representation of the
integration of the preferred embodiment in the workflow of the
print shop.
[0016] FIG. 6 depicts a high level representation of the
integration of the preferred embodiment in the workflow of the
print shop including a workflow automation component.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a flow diagram
illustrating the production work flow 100 in a typical production
print shop such as a commercial high volume copy or print shop. A
workflow is defined as the tasks, procedural steps, organizations
or people involved, required input and output information, and
tools needed for each step in a business process. As will be
discussed below, a workflow approach to analyzing and managing a
business or process such as production printing can be combined
with an object oriented approach, which tends to focus on the
discrete objects and processes involved such as documents, pages,
data and databases. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term
"object oriented", when applied to the disclosed embodiments, does
not imply that an object oriented programming approach is the only
method of implementation of the disclosed embodiments.
[0018] FIG. 1 further depicts a typical computer network 112 for
use in a print shop. In a typical digital print shop, there will be
a network 112 of computer work stations 114, 116, servers 118, 120
and high volume output devices 122 which make up the computer
network 112. The servers 118, 120 include network servers 118 and
print servers 120. The topology of the network 112 is typically
structured so as to align with the workflow 100 of the print shop.
The network 112 may be implemented as a wired or wireless Ethernet
network or other form or local area network. Further the network
112 may include wired or wireless connections to wide area networks
such as the Internet and connections to other local area networks
such as through a virtual private network.
[0019] The production workflow 100 includes the procedural stages
of job origination 102, job submission 104, job preparation 106,
print production 108 and final fulfillment 110. Alternatively, one
or more of these procedural stages may be combined as well as there
may be other additional procedural stages. Job origination 102 is
the procedural stage of receiving the documents and instructions,
which together are defined as a "job", from the customer. Job
origination 102 can occur when a customer physically brings his
job, whether in hard copy or electronic form, to the print shop or
otherwise transmits the job to the print shop, whether by phone,
fax, postal mail, electronic mail or over a local area or wide area
network such as over the Internet. Note that a job may contain more
than one document and more than one set of instructions. For
example, a job may contain many documents, each being one chapter
of a book, along with a document containing a cover for the book.
This exemplary job may include the instructions for producing the
body of the book from the individual chapter documents and another
set of instructions for producing the cover. In addition, as will
be discussed below, there may be a third set of instructions for
assembling the cover to the body of the book.
[0020] Job submission 104 is the receipt of the job by the print
shop and the entering of the job into the print shops production
system or workflow. Typically the instructions from the customer
will be written down on a special form, known as a "ticket" or "job
ticket". A ticket may also be electronically created and
maintained. Furthermore, pre-defined tickets may be available for
standardized instructions. For example, the shop may have a pad of
pre-printed tickets with the instructions to duplicate the
documents, three hole punch the final output and assemble the
punched final output in a three ring binder. If this is a common
request by customers, such pre-printed tickets can save time and
resources. All the order taking clerk need do is fill in any
customer specific details such as the number of copies to produce.
Pre-defined tickets may help to standardize operations and prevent
errors in the transcription of instructions from the customer. In
very simple print shops, job submission 104 may simply be the
receiving of the original documents and instructions along with the
creation of a ticket, placing the job in a paper folder and setting
it in a physical queue for later handling in subsequent procedural
stages.
[0021] In print shops which handle jobs electronically, job
submission 104 requires entering the job into the shops electronic
production system. For documents which are brought in by the
customer as hard copy, the documents must first be scanned
electronically into the shop's computer system. For documents
delivered in electronic form, the document data files must be
loaded on the shop's computer system.
[0022] For the job submission stage 104, the computer network 112
will include one or more "store front" workstations 114. The store
front workstations 114 are computer systems placed at the order
taking desk, at a manned clerk's station or set out for customer
self service use. These workstations 114 are used for the job
submission stage 104 and typically will be configured to handle
many different electronic media types such as floppy disk, compact
disc, tape, etc. These stations 114 may also be configured to
receive jobs over the Internet or other form of network connection
with customers. Further, these workstations 114 are typically
configured to read many different electronic file formats such as
those used by the Microsoft Office.TM. family of products
manufactured by Microsoft Corporation, located in Redmond, Wash. or
various other desktop publishing program file formats such as Aldus
Pagemaker.TM. or QuarkXpress.TM.. In addition, these stations 114
can also read "ready for printer" file formats, which will be
discussed later, such as Portable Document Format.TM. ("PDF"),
Postscript.TM. ("PS") or printer control language ("PCL"). Job
preparation stations 114 can also accept image formats such as
Tagged Image File Format ("TIFF"), bitmap ("BMP") and PCX. These
stations 114 may also include a scanner 116 for scanning hard
copies of documents into the computer system. Scanners typically
are complicated devices to operate and some print shops may prefer
to locate the scanners in the job preparation stage 106 for use
solely by trained personnel as will be discussed below. In
addition, the store front computers 114 also provide the ability to
generate a ticket, electronically or in hard copy form, for the job
containing all of the instructions for completing the production
printing task. This process of generating the ticket may be
automated, involving pre-defined tickets, manual or a combination
thereof, and is discussed in more detail below.
[0023] Job preparation 106 involves preparing the documents for
printing according to the instructions in the ticket. For documents
that are submitted in hard copy form, job preparation 106 may
include scanning the documents and creating a faithful and error
free electronic reproduction. The documents, once in electronic
form, must also be distilled down or converted into a common file
format that the print shop can use to both edit and print the
documents. This alleviates the need for operators to deal with
multiple different programs and eliminates the need to assemble
complex documents together for printing using different electronic
file formats.
[0024] For example, a customer may bring in two different
documents, one being the body of a book and the other being the
photographs to be inserted at specific pages. The customer may then
instruct that the photographs be inserted at particular pages and
that the final assembly have continuous page numbers added. The
body of the book may be in Microsoft Word.TM. format while the
images of the photographs are in Adobe Photoshop.TM. format. While
the operator could figure out at which pages the images will be
inserted and appropriately number the pages of the book and
photographs using each individual software package, this is a very
complex and time consuming process. It also requires that the
operator be trained and familiar with a range of software packages
and runs the risk that he will not be familiar with the particular
package that the customer used. Therefore, it is more efficient to
distill each of the various file formats into a unified format
which allows the operator to prepare the job using a single
software interface. In the preferred embodiments, all documents,
whether provided in hard copy or electronically, are distilled or
converted into a "ready for printer" or "print ready" file format.
In the preferred embodiments, the Portable Document Format.TM. is
used as the ready for printer format, developed by Adobe Systems,
Inc., located in San Jose, Calif.
[0025] A ready for printer file format is defined as a file format
which contains both the data to be printed along with printer
control instructions that can be directly interpreted by the
internal processing engine of a printer or other form of hard copy
output device in order to rasterize the data image onto the output
media. Rasterization is the placement of image data at a specific
location on the output media. Such file formats include Portable
Document Format.TM. ("PDF") and Postscript.TM. ("PS") both
manufactured by Adobe Systems, Inc., located in San Jose, Calif.,
as well as printer control language ("PCL"), manufactured by
Hewlett Packard, located in Palo Alto, Calif. Examples of non-ready
for printer formats include the native application file formats for
personal computer application programs such as Microsoft Word.TM..
These file formats must be first converted to a ready for printer
file format before they can be printed. Furthermore, some image
file formats, such as the Tagged Image File Format ("TIFF") contain
bit image data only which is already in a format which specifies
its output location on the output media and does not contain
printer control instructions for interpretation by the internal
processing engine of the printer and therefore, for the purposes of
this disclosure, is not a ready for printer file format. By using a
ready for printer format, rasterization of the image data can be
delayed as close as possible to the final placement of the image
data on the output media. This allows the most efficient use of the
production print device 122 by allowing its internal control logic
to optimize the rasterization process resulting in output that is
more likely to match with the operator's expectations.
[0026] For the job preparation stage 106, the computer network 106
includes job preparation stations 116 and network servers 118
coupled with the store front workstations 114 over the network 112.
Herein, the phrase "coupled with" is defined to mean directly
connected to or indirectly connected with through one or more
intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include
both hardware and software based components. The job preparation
stations 116 preferably execute workflow management software,
described in more detail below, which allows the operator to
manage, edit and print jobs. The network server(s) 118 includes a
document library which allows manipulation, management, storage and
archiving of jobs, or just there respective documents and/or
tickets, as well as facilitates and manages the flow of jobs from
the store front computers 114 to the job preparation stations 116
and from the job preparation stations 116 to the print servers 120
or the production output devices 122. Exemplary document libraries
include Intra.DocTm document management system manufactured by
Intranet Solutions, Inc., located in Eden Prairie, Minn. and the
DOCFusion document management system manufactured by Hummingbird,
Inc., located in York, Ontario, Canada. In the preferred
embodiment, the job preparation stations 116 are Imagesmart.TM.
Workstations, manufactured by Heidelberg Digital, L.L.C., located
in Rochester, N.Y. Alternatively, an appropriate computer hardware
platform such as that comprising a Pentium.TM. class processor or
better, manufactured by Intel Corporation, located in Santa Clara,
Calif., 64 megabytes of RAM or more, a 20 gigabyte hard disk or
larger and appropriate display device may be used. Further, in the
preferred embodiment, the network servers 118 preferably comply
with the Open Document Management Architecture ("ODMA") standard
and provide document management capabilities and scaleable
storage.
[0027] The job preparation workstations 116 also provide the
capability of the print shop to add value to the print production
process by offering services to the customer. Such services include
the ability to modify documents provided by the customer to add
features that the customer could not or would not add himself. Such
features include adding page numbers across multiple documents,
bates numbering, adjusting page layout for tab stock and aligning
the output to account for binding. Further the job preparation
stations 114 provide the capability to fix errors in the documents
such as removing artifacts in scanned images and masking over
unwanted text or markings. The job preparation stations 114 can
also be used to prevent inaccuracies in the finished output caused
by the printing or binding process. Such inaccuracies include
binder's creep which happens after a document is imposed into a
booklet/pamphlet using a signature imposition. Binder's creep
occurs when the placement of the images on the paper fails to
account for the thickness of the binding as a function of the
number of pages in the book causing the image on the pages to shift
inward as you get closer to the cover. Binder's creep is prevented
by shifting image slightly when performing the signature imposition
on the document. In addition, the job preparation station 116
allows the operator to manage and layout the document pages for
final output, also known as "imposition" and "signature
imposition". In addition, the operator can shuffle pages, reverse
pages, insert blank pages, trim and shift pages, create bleeds and
place multiple pages on a sheet, also known as "n-up" to create
proof sets, brochures or pamphlets, etc. Further the job
preparation station 116 permits the operator to add annotations to
the document such as bates numbers, page numbers, logos and
watermarks. All of these service add value to the final output.
Formatting and other modifications to the document can be globally
applied to the entire document, such as a shifted margin or may be
applied only to select pages. Such alterations to the document are
known as document/page features or attributes. Further, these
alterations are also known as document or page exceptions since
they typically override specific instances of the original document
formatting as set by the customer.
[0028] The next stage in the print production workflow 100 is the
print production stage 108. In the print production stage 108, the
final form of the documents for printing is sent to a print server
120 which will distribute the job to the final output device 122.
In manual print shops, this stage 108 would be similar to an
operator manually taking the ready for production job over to the
desired output device 122 to start the job. The print production
stage 108 manages the output resources of the print shop. Such
management includes queuing jobs to the proper devices 122 in the
shop, routing jobs to available devices 122, balancing the load
placed on the various devices 122, and pre-processing jobs, such as
splitting or RIP'ing the job, prior to sending it to a particular
device 122. RIP stands for Raster Image Processor and is the
hardware and/or software which converts ready for printer data into
raster images. It is also a common term for rasterizing a page
image on to the output media.
[0029] The print server 120 used in the print production stage 108
is coupled with the job preparation stations 116 and the network
server 118 over the network 112. Further, the print server 120 is
coupled with the various output devices 122 in the print shop. Note
that some output devices 122 may not support electronic transfer of
the data to be output and may require a manual step for operation.
Such devices may include a special binding machine which requires
that the partially finished documents be manually transferred to
the binding machine to complete the production. The print server
120 is preferably implemented as a separate computer coupled with
the network 112, however, software based print servers running on a
network server 118, job preparation station 116 or store front
workstation 114 may also be used. In the preferred embodiment, the
printer server 120 includes an independent computer workstation,
typically running a UNIX or Windows NT operating system, a software
print server engine and a software print server application. The
print server application offers the user interface ability to
configure and manage the print server operation. The print server
engine performs the automated processes of the print server. These
processes include spooling and queuing jobs and job content (i.e.
the document), directing the jobs to specific production output
devices based on the attributes of the print job and how these
attributes are satisfied by the print engine, load balancing jobs
among the various production output devices to keep all printers
fully utilized, e.g. to split color from black and white jobs, and
acting as a communication gateway where it can accept multiple
input communication and print protocols translating them to the
communication and print protocol the production output device 122
understands.
[0030] The final stage of the production printing workflow 100 is
the final fulfillment stage 110. The final fulfillment stage 110 is
the stage where the finished output is produced on the production
output device 122. A production output device is a computer output
device, such as a printer, designed for high volume production of
printed documents. Such devices preferably include the ability to
produce large quantities of documents with mixed media types and
various degrees of finishing, such as stapling or binding, at very
high speed. Exemplary output devices include the Digimaster.TM.
Digital High Volume Printer manufactured by Heidelberg Digital,
L.L.C., located in Rochester, N.Y. and the NexPress.TM. Color
printer manufactured by NexPress, Corporation, located in
Rochester, N.Y.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a flow diagram
showing the user functionality workflow 200 of the preferred
embodiment job submission and preparation stages 104, 106. The user
workflow 200 includes an input source stage 202, a preflight stage
204 and a production stage 206. In the input source stage 202, all
of the documents of the job are collected together from the
different input sources 208. As detailed above, all of the
collected documents are converted to a ready for printer format,
preferably a Portable Document Format.TM.. This conversion can be a
manual or automated process or a combination thereof. For example,
a special directory can be created on the network server 118 where
data files in various file formats can be placed, for example, by
the clerk who accepts the documents from the customer and inputs
them into the store front workstation 114. Automated logic which
watches this directory, will see the placement of files and
automatically convert them (or flag them for manual conversion)
into a ready for printer format. Any documents which the automated
logic cannot handle can be flagged for manual conversion. The
converted documents are then passed to preflight stage 204 where
they are prepared for production. This transfer of converted
documents can occur by moving the documents to a special directory
on the network server 118 where they can be accessed by the job
preparation stations 116 or by transmitting the documents to the
job preparation station 116. This process can be manual or
automated and may involve placing the documents in a queue of
documents waiting to be prepared for production. Further, this
process may include a manual or automated determination of the
capabilities, skill level or training level of the various
operators currently logged into the available job preparation
stations 116 as well as the current load/backlog of job in their
respective queues. Taking these factors into account, job can be
automatically or manually routed to the operator best able to
handle the job both technically and in an expedient manner. This
functionality can be implemented by creating an operator database
which tracks the capabilities, skill level and training level of
the various operators who work in the print shop. This database can
be coupled with queue management software which balances the
loads/backlogs of job at each station 116.
[0032] In the preflight stage 204, the documents can be assembled,
such as in a book, annotated, edited, and have imposition or other
page features applied. Once the documents are prepared for
production, they are passed to the production stage 206. In the
production stage 206, the prepared documents along with the
production instructions (from the tickets) are submitted to the
print server or directly to the production output device 122 using
a file downloader such as the Print File Downloader.TM. application
program manufactured by Heidelberg Digital, L.L.C., located in
Rochester, N.Y. This user functionality workflow 116 may be
implemented as a combination of hardware, software and manually
executed components and may involve one or more of the components
detailed in the production printing workflow above.
[0033] In the preferred embodiments, the user functionality
workflow is preferably implemented as a workflow management
software program and interface executing on the job preparation
workstation 116. The preferred workflow management software is
visually oriented using an object oriented graphic user interface
("GUI") approach which integrates control of the workflow
functionality in a single interface. While the visual and
operational appearance of the management software is object
oriented, the implementation of the software may be by an object
oriented programming language or a non-object oriented programming
language as are known in the art.
[0034] In the GUI interface, documents, tickets and other entities
and operations (collectively "objects") are visually represented on
the workstation 116 display, such as with icons, tree structures
and pull-down menus, and may be interacted with using known devices
and methods such as utilizing a mouse or track ball to control a
visually represented pointing device which is then used to click,
select, drag and drop the displayed representations. Such
manipulation of the visual representations results in manipulation
of the underlying objects (documents, tickets, and other entities
and operations). Furthermore, the GUI also permits creation and
manipulation of relationships and associations among the various
objects and visually displays such relationships and associations.
Relationships and associations may be displayed, for example, using
a hierarchical approach like a tree structure or file folder
structure or using some alternate form of visual indication. It
will be appreciated that graphic user interfaces are well known in
the art and that there are many software development packages
available which can be used to develop a GUI. One such package is
the Open Software Development Kit available from Microsoft
Corporation, located in Redmond, Wash.
[0035] Further, the preferred GUI utilizes a document centric
approach providing a centralized viewing window for viewing
documents being worked on. In the preferred embodiment, the
document viewing functionality is provided by the Adobe Acrobat
software program, manufactured by Adobe Systems, Inc., located in
San Jose, Calif.
[0036] As was noted above, the workflow management software
integrates applications which implement, control or manage the
stages of the production printing workflow 100. These applications
include inputting documents from various sources, document assembly
including the creation and manipulation of books, document editing,
document annotation, document library access on the network server
118, setting and manipulation of page features, creation and
manipulation of job tickets and printing.
[0037] The workflow management software is capable of receiving
input from various different sources. Such sources include hard
copy originals input via a scanner, native application formats such
as the Microsoft Office.TM. Product suite and desktop publishing
applications such as QuarkXpress.TM., manufactured by Quark. Inc.,
located in Denver, Colo. and FrameMaker.TM., manufactured by Adobe
Systems, Inc., located in San Jose, Calif. Further the software can
accept Tagged Image File Format ("TIFF") documents as well as
documents already in a ready for printer format such as PDF, PS or
PCL. For hard copy input via a scanner, the software supports
industry standard scanner interfaces, TWAIN, as defined by the
TWAIN group located in Boulder Creek, Calif. and the Image and
Scanner Interface Specification ("ISIS") developed by Pixel
Translations, Inc., located in San Jose, Calif. and also specified
via American National Standards Institute specification ANSI/AIIM
MS61-1996. Using these standard interfaces, the workflow management
software receives the scanned image data directly in the ready for
printer format. An exemplary scanner for use with the preferred
workflow software is the Imagedirect.TM. Scanner manufactured by
Heidelberg Digital, L.L.C., located in Rochester, N.Y.
[0038] The preferred workflow management software also provides
ODMA support for interfacing with document libraries. In addition,
the provided ODMA support further extends the functionality of the
document library to handle management, storage and archiving of
compound documents (described below) and tickets. This allows
libraries of standardized tickets to be created or facilitates
updates and reprints of compound documents such as books.
[0039] Once documents are loaded into the workflow management
software, tools are provided to perform value added services and
prepare the documents for production. Assembly is the process of
arranging or rearranging pages or adding or removing pages within a
document. Assembly also includes imposition where page positions
are forced such as when the first page of a chapter is forced to
the front side of the paper. The workflow management software
provides cut, copy, paste and move functionality operable on 1 or
more pages. This functionality is preferably implemented via
pull-down menus, pop up dialog boxes or on screen option palates or
buttons as provide by the graphic user interface. In addition, the
results of the respective operations are shown in a visual
representation of the document in the centralized document viewing
window on the job preparation station 116 display.
[0040] The workflow management software further provides support
for editing and annotating the document. Tools are provided for
image object area editing of a scanned page including erase inside
and outside an area, cut, move, copy and paste area as well as
pencil erase. Page editing tools are also provided for editing on
one or more pages including area masking and cropping. Tools are
also provided for annotating documents including alpha-numeric and
graphic annotations. Exemplary annotations include page numbering
and bates stamping. The tools further provide for placing images
behind the document content, also known as watermarking. Annotation
can be performed on any portion of one or more pages. For
alpha-numeric annotations, the font size and style are
controllable. In all cases, the results of the respective
operations are shown in a visual representation of the document in
the centralized document viewing window on the job preparation
station 116 display. In the preferred embodiments, edits or
annotations can be created or manipulated by pointing to a visual
representation of the document and/or pages within the document and
selecting, dragging, dropping or clicking the representation and/or
selecting from a menu of options, where the selection of a
particular option causes the associated edit or annotation to be
applied to the specified portions of the document. Alternatively, a
palate of options may be displayed from which the user may choose
an option to apply to selected portions of the document. Further,
the interface may provide for a dialog box or other visual control
for inputting control values for the edit or annotation such as the
starting number of a bates range.
[0041] The workflow management software preferably provides further
support for compound documents which are documents comprised of one
or more other documents, such as books comprised of chapters or
course packs comprised of one or more excerpted sources. Compound
documents take advantage of the object oriented nature of the
workflow management software. A compound document ("CD") is a
collection of one or more documents which have a particular
ordering to them such as the chapters of a book. The CD further
contains an automatically generated assembled document which is a
single document containing the whole assembled CD. Tools are
provided which allow simple management of the documents of a CD,
assembly and updating of the documents into the assembled document
and selective document manipulation, such as selective printing, of
the documents within the CD. Tools are also provided which can
interpret the content of the documents within the CD and
automatically generate a table of contents in the assembled
document. A compound document otherwise acts just like a document
and can be edited, annotated, etc. and have tickets associated with
it. Further, a compound document can contain other compound
documents such as in the case of a multi-volume book. The
individual documents and compound documents within the compound
document further retain their independent existence and can be
edited or printed independently of the CD and shared with other
CD's with those edits being either automatically or manually
updated into the assembled document within a particular CD. The
workflow management software further displays a visual
representation, such as with a hierarchical or tree structure,
showing the compound document and any associated documents and
tickets. In the preferred embodiments, compound documents can be
created or manipulated by pointing to the visual representations of
one or more documents and/or a visual representation of a CD and
selecting, dragging, dropping or clicking and/or selecting from a
menu of options, where the selection of a particular option causes
the associated feature to be applied to the selected documents or
compound documents. Alternatively, a palate of options may be
displayed from which the user may choose an option to apply to
selected compound documents. Further, the interface may provide for
a dialog box or other visual control for inputting control values
for the compound documents such as margin values. For example, a
user may select one or more documents and then choose a create CD
option from a pull down menu. The workflow software then creates a
visual representation of the CD on the display showing the
association of the CD to the selected documents. Alternatively, the
user may first create a visual representation of a CD and then drag
and drop the visual representations of one or more documents onto
the CD visual representation. The workflow software then creates
the appropriate logical associations of the data for which the
visual representations represent.
[0042] The workflow management software is also preferably
programmed with data about the different production output devices
122 in the print shop or otherwise available and their capabilities
or other equipment, such as finishing equipment, which can be
utilized either automatically or manually. The software provides
tools which allow the operator to set page features/formatting
which are made possible by those specific capabilities. Such page
features include the plex of the document such as duplex or simplex
(double sided or single sided output), binding options, such as
stapling or hole punching and the availability and control settings
for handling tab stock or ordered media. The preferred embodiments
preferably support all of the features of the Digimasterm.TM. line
of high volume digital printers manufactured by Heidelberg Digital,
L.L.C. located in Rochester, N.Y. In the preferred embodiments,
these page features can be set by selecting or pointing to a visual
representation of one or more pages and selecting from a menu of
options, where the selection of a particular option causes the
associated feature to be applied to the selected pages.
Alternatively, a palate of options may be displayed from which the
user may choose an option to apply to selected pages. Further, the
interface may provide for a dialog box or other visual control for
inputting control values for the feature such as the type of tab
stock. Setting page features for specific pages encodes
instructions to the production output device 122 for implementing
those features within the ready for printer formatted file. When
the production output device 122 receives the file for printing, it
will interpret those instructions to implement the desired feature.
For page features which the current device 122 cannot handle, the
device 122 can signal the operator that manual intervention is
required and direct the operator through the appropriate steps to
implement the page feature and complete the job. This may include
instructing the operator to remove partially finished documents and
transfer them to a binding machine for finishing or instructing the
operator to load a specific media type or tab stock into the device
122.
[0043] Tools are further provided by the workflow management
software to support electronic versions of tickets for specifying
production output device instructions and parameters, as well as
other finishing steps which may or may not be automated, which are
global to the document, e.g. job level features or global document
attributes. These include such attributes as the general media type
or color to use and the method of binding such as stapling.
Tickets, also referred to as print tickets or job tickets, can
exist independently of documents or compound documents as was
mentioned above. They are independently visually represented on the
display by the workflow management software. Tools are provided for
manipulating tickets, such as saving, storing and associating them
with documents or compound documents in addition to editing their
options. In the preferred embodiments, tickets can be manipulated
just like documents, using pointing, clicking, selecting, dragging
and dropping. For example, a ticket can be associated with a
document by selecting the ticket and dragging and dropping it on a
particular document. The workflow management software then
preferably visually displays the association by showing the ticket
under the hierarchy of the document. Once associated, the options
set by the ticket will apply to the associated document or compound
document. The options represented by the ticket may be set by
selecting the ticket to bring up a dialog box or pull down option
menu which displays the available options and allows modification
of the option values. Tickets associated with documents can be
manipulated with the document. For example, saving a document save
all of its associated tickets. Furthermore, the workflow management
software provides the capabilities to create libraries of
standardized tickets which can be used, for example, to standardize
procedures across multiple franchised print shops.
[0044] Finally, the workflow management software provides tools to
send the prepared documents and any associated tickets to the
production output device for final production. In the preferred
embodiments, documents or compound documents can be sent to a
production output device by selecting, clicking or dragging the
visual representation of the document or compound document to a
visual representation of the print server or output device.
Alternatively, the user may select an appropriate option from a
pull-down menu, pop up dialog box or button palate. The workflow
management software supports standard interfaces and protocols to
production output devices and print servers. Further, tools are
provided for managing, selecting and monitoring multiple production
output devices. These tools provide visual feed back of each of the
devices status to the user such as the current job queues.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is depicted a block diagram
of a preferred software architecture 300 of a production printing
workflow management application. The architecture 300 includes a
desktop component 302, a workflow component 304 and a viewer
component 306. All of the components execute via application
program interfaces 308 on a the job preparation station 116 which
is, as discussed above, preferably a 32 bit Microsoft Windows.TM.
(95, 98, 2000, etc.) or Windows NT.TM. based platform 310.
[0046] Central to the architecture 300 is the desktop component 302
("desktop"). The desktop 302 integrates the viewer 306 and workflow
304 components together. The desktop 302 implements the integrated
GUI interface and provides all of the workflow functionality and
visual representations described above to be displayed on the job
preparation station 116 display. The desktop 302 is preferably
structured as a plug in architecture. A plug in architecture allows
enhancements and updates to be incorporated into the desktop in a
simple and efficient manner and without requiring recompilation of
the main program code which implements the desktop. The main
program code is designed to look for small enhancement programs
("plug ins") each time the code is executed. If one or more plug
ins are found, their functionality is incorporated into the main
program code through a plug in interface. A plug in may contain a
new feature or function or may modify an existing feature or
function. By not requiring recompilations, enhancements can be
distributed to users who can easily update their own software
simply by placing the plug in the correct location on their
computer system. From the user's perspective, upon loading of the
desktop 302, a complete desktop 302 containing both old and new
functionality is seamlessly presented. In the preferred
embodiments, the desktop 302 is preferably implemented using an
object oriented programming language which implements the object
oriented nature of the GUI. Such languages include C++ or Java and
may utilize Microsoft Corporations Open Software Development Kit.
Alternatively, a non-object oriented programming language may also
be used.
[0047] The viewer component 306 ("viewer") provides the
functionality for viewing documents and pages within documents and
preferably operates on documents formatted in a ready for printer
format. Further the viewer 306 provides the ability to assemble,
edit and annotate at the page level of the document as well as set
page features for individual or groups of pages. In the preferred
embodiment, the viewer component is implemented using the Adobe
Acrobat.TM. version 4.05 manufactured by Adobe Systems, Inc.
located in San Jose, Calif., which utilizes the Portable Document
Format.TM. ready for printer format. The viewer is coupled with
desktop via standard Microsoft Windows interfaces and the Acrobat
application program interface, as defined in the Adobe Acrobat
Software Development Kit available from Adobe Systems in San Jose
Calif. The viewer 306 is also preferably implemented as a plug in
architecture which allows additional enhancements to be added. Such
additional enhancement plug ins may be used to add one or more of
the page level assembly, editing and annotation functions described
above. Such plug-ins include Quite Imposing Plus.TM. manufactured
by Quite, Inc., located in London, United Kingdom for performing
the various imposition functions disclosed above and StampPDF.TM.
manufactured by Digital Applications, Inc., located in Lansdowne,
Pa. for performing various annotation functions disclosed above.
Alternatively, viewers 306 which utilize non-ready for printer
formats, such as TIFF formats can also be used. However, such
viewers 306 typically have reduced feature sets and limited ability
to perform assembly such as imposition, editing or annotation
functions due to the fixed nature of the TIFF data format.
[0048] The viewer 306 is coupled with the desktop 308 so as to
provide interoperability of functions and facilitate the workflow.
In particular, the desktop 302 visually represents objects which
the viewer 306 may be displaying. Further, the user selection and
manipulation of documents, tickets or other objects in the desktop
302 are appropriately transmitted to the viewer 306 for display.
For example, when a user selects a document on the desktop 302 for
viewing, information about the selection is passed to the viewer
306 so that the selected document can be loaded and displayed. The
desktop 302 also provides for data transfer between documents
displayed in the viewer 306. For example, where a user selects a
page from a document in the viewer 306, copies that page and then
selects another document from the desktop 302 to paste the copied
page into. The desktop 302 facilitates this "clip board"
functionality between the documents. Further, edits, annotations or
the addition of other page features using the functionality of the
viewer 306 may cause data to be passed to the desktop 302 so that
these edits, annotations or additional page features can be
visually represented and noted with the documents they apply to.
For example, addition of a page feature to a document, such as
setting the plex, may cause a page object, i.e., a visual
representation of the existence of a page feature, to be created
and associated with the document object, i.e., the visual
representation of the document on the desktop 302. The association
may appear as a hierarchical structure on the desktop 302 such as a
tree structure.
[0049] The workflow component 304 is also coupled with the desktop
302. The workflow component 304 provides tools and functionality
for managing the production printing workflow of particular
documents or compound documents. The workflow component 304
provides for creation and/or definition of a workflow object which
can be visually represented on the desktop 302 and manipulated
using the desktop 302 functionality, as described above, just like
other objects such as documents, compound documents or tickets. The
workflow object can be defined to contain the procedural stages
that a document must go through to be finally produced. When the
workflow object is associated with a document or compound document,
such as by drag and drop using the GUI of the desktop 302, each of
the defined procedural stages is then performed. For example, one
of the procedural stages could be the creation of a ticket. If a
document that has no ticket is dropped on this workflow object, the
operator is then guided through the creation and association of a
ticket for the document. Workflow objects can be defined to guide
an operator through or automatically perform a series of procedural
steps. They can be used to standardize and automate routine
procedures in the print shop and eliminate inconsistencies and
inefficiencies in the production printing workflow. Workflow
objects can exist independently of documents, compound documents or
tickets or can be associated with them. Such associations can be
visually represented in the hierarchical format as described
above.
[0050] The workflow component 304 is preferably also implemented as
a plug-in architecture to facilitate enhancements. One exemplary
workflow component 304 which can be used with the disclosed
embodiments is the Adobe Capture.TM. program version 3.0
manufactured by Adobe Systems, Inc. located in San Jose, Calif. In
an alternative embodiment, the workflow component 304 is a
standalone workflow management interface, providing its own graphic
user interface for managing and manipulating workflow objects and
their relationships with documents, compound documents and
tickets.
[0051] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a representation of
a graphic user interface display 400 according to the preferred
embodiment. The display 400 includes viewer 306 and desktop 302
components. The desktop component 302 includes menus 402 and button
palates 404 which allow the user to visually manage and manipulate
the various objects described above. The menus 402 include a
document menu 406, a ticket menu 408, a book menu 410, a job menu
412 and help menu 414. The button palate 404 includes a new object
button 416, an open button 418 and a library access button 420. The
button palate 404 further includes a cut button 422, a copy button
424, a paste button 426 and a print button 428. It will be
appreciated that graphic user interfaces are well known in the art
and there are many ways to implement a GUI and therefore, all forms
of graphic input devices, including tear off menus, floating button
palates, dialog boxes, alternate keyboard command and mouse short
shortcuts and alternative physical input devices are all
contemplated.
[0052] The document menu 406 provides options for creating and
manipulating document objects within the workflow software
environment. Such options may include creating a document, opening
a document, closing a document, opening an ODMA interface to a
document library, viewing a document in the viewer component,
moving a document, printing a document and deleting a document. The
ticket menu 408 provides options for creating and manipulating
job/print tickets. Such options may include creating a ticket,
accessing a database of tickets, viewing and setting the
features/attributes controlled by a ticket, moving a ticket,
deleting a ticket and associating a ticket with a document or book.
The book menu 410 provides options for creating and manipulating
compound document objects. Such options may include creating a
book, associating or disassociating documents with a book,
associating or disassociating a ticket with a book or document
within a book, generating the assembled document from all of the
associated component documents, generating a table of contents for
the book, updating the assembled document with updates made to
individual component documents, printing a book or selectively
printing subsections of a book. The job menu 412 provides options
for creating and manipulating jobs which, as noted above, are
documents or compound documents and associated job/print tickets.
Such options may include creating a job, editing a job, moving
ajob, printing ajob and deleting ajob. The help menu 414 provides
options for assisting the user with operation of the software.
[0053] The new object button 416 implements functionality to create
a new document, ticket, compound document or job object and
preferably, selection of this button causes a dialog box presenting
various related options to be presented to the user. The open
button 418 implements functionality to open an existing document,
compound document, ticket, job or document library and preferably,
selection of this button causes a dialog box to be presented which
allows the user to locate files and manage the file system of the
job preparation station 116 or network server 118. The cut button
422, copy button 424, and paste button 426 implement functionality
for moving and duplicating selected objects visually displayed by
the desktop 302 as is known in the art. These buttons are coupled
with a temporary storage area, also known as "clipboard" through
which the cut, copy and paste functionality is implemented. The
print button 428 implements the functionality of sending selected
document or compound documents to the production printer device.
This button preferably causes a dialog box to be displayed to the
user which acts as the interface between the desktop 302 and the
print server 120 and production output devices 122. This interface
may allow last minute overrides to the output options prior to
final production. Preferably, this button invokes the Print File
Downloader.TM. application manufactured by Heidelberg Digital,
L.L.C., located in Rochester, N.Y. It will be appreciated that
options and functions can be implemented either as a button or menu
option and that the preferred workflow software can work with any
arrangement. It is preferred, however, that any arrangement of
buttons, menus, etc. be arranged in an ergonomic and intuitive
arrangement which minimizes the operator's training time and
reduces the opportunities for operator error.
[0054] The desktop component 302 further includes a hierarchical
display window 430. FIG. 4 further shows an exemplary hierarchical
display window 430 showing a representative collection of objects
and associations. This window 430 includes standard windowing
control as are known in the art such as scroll bars 432. The window
430 further includes a representation of a hierarchy under which
all of the represented objects are arranged. The exemplary window
430 includes a desktop object 442 representing the underlying
database of objects, document objects 434, book objects 436 and
ticket objects 438 all associated in tree structure 440. The tree
structure represents the logical underlying associations between
the data which the objects 434, 436 and 438 represent. For example,
the book object 436 labeled "Book 1" contains document objects 434
labeled "document 2" and "document 3". The book object 436 labeled
"Book 2" contains a ticket object 438 labeled "print settings B2"
and a document object 434 labeled "Document 6" which itself
contains a ticket object 438 labeled "print settings D6". Further,
the document 434 labeled "Document 1" is not associated with any
other objects. In addition, objects can "expanded" or "collapsed"
to show or hide their attributes or other objects lower in their
hierarchy. For example, page objects representing page features
specified for selected pages within a document can appear
underneath the hierarchy of the specific document to visually
indicate their existence to the operator. Selecting the page object
permits the operator to edit, view or otherwise manipulate that
page feature. A page object can exist for each page feature
specified for a given document.
[0055] The display window 430 provide an intuitive and visual
representation of the work that has to be managed and completed on
the particular job preparation station 116. The operator can manage
and prepare multiple different documents or jobs and keep
everything organized in a simple and efficient manner. FIG. 5 shows
a high level representation of the integration of the workflow
management software described above in the workflow of the print
shop. FIG. 6 shows an alternative high level representation of the
integration of the workflow management software in the workflow of
the print shop including the workflow component 304 for automating
and standardizing the procedural steps within the workflow.
[0056] In alternative embodiments, or in addition to and as an
extension of the above disclosed functionality, other features can
also be provided such as page tickets, mobile page features, visual
page features, and efficient use of production output resources.
Page tickets are similar to job tickets except that they contain
one or more page objects, each of which holds a particular page
feature or attribute and the settings for that feature or
attribute. The page ticket acts like a portable container for
various page formatting features and attributes, which are
described in more detail above. The page ticket provides a
convenient and efficient method of applying one or more page
features to a page or range of pages in a document. The printing
workflow management software provides functionality for visually
representing page tickets on the desktop 302 just like other
objects and provides for creating, manipulating and associating
page tickets documents or compound documents. In a preferred
embodiment, an operator can apply the page features contained
within a page ticket by simply dragging and dropping the page
ticket from the desktop 302 to a selected page or range of pages in
the viewer 306. This action causes all of the page features within
the page ticket and their respective settings to be applied to the
selected pages. For example, a page ticket can be defined which
sets adjusts a left margin for binding purposes, sets the color of
the paper to be used to blue, and defines that the page is to be
three hole punched. Instead of having to define each of these
features individually for the desired pages, they can be defined
once in a page ticket and then dropped on the selected pages. This
allows creation of page ticket libraries which contain a
standardized page tickets, each containing combinations of page
features that are commonly used. In the preferred embodiments,
dropping the page ticket on a document or CD will cause creation of
page objects representing the respective page features to be
created in that document's or CD's hierarchy in addition to the
actual application of those features to the pages of the document
or CD as described above. It will be appreciated that the
functionality of page tickets can exist and be implemented
independently of an object oriented user interface.
[0057] In another alternative embodiment, mobile page features are
implemented. Typically, a page feature is associated with a
particular page number in a document and not associated with the
page itself. If the page is copied to another location in the same
or a different document, the defined page features may not follow.
By implementing mobile page features, the page features stick to
the page and follow it where ever it goes. Mobile page features are
implemented by embedding them within an unused portion of the ready
for printer format code. Preferably this is done using an
extensible markup language ("XML") as defined in the XML 1.0
Specification produced by the W3C XML Working Group, REC-XML-0210.
In the preferred embodiment, while the page features are actually
separate from the document itself, they are still independently
visually represented on the desktop 302 as page objects within the
particular document's hierarchy so as to provide an intuitive
indication of that feature's existence as well as intuitive access
to the feature or editing and manipulation. It will be appreciated,
however, that the functionality of mobile page features can be
implemented independently of an object oriented user interface.
[0058] In yet another alternative embodiment, the application of
particular page features or document features are visually
represented in the viewer 306. For example, application of a page
feature for three hole punching would cause visual representations
of the holes in the pages to appear on the visual representation of
the selected pages. This would allow the operator to see the
results of the page feature and determine, for example, if the body
text of the page is too close to the holes. While the page or
document features are visible in the viewer, they are inserted in
the ready for printer format code so as not to actually print out
when the document is sent to the production output device.
Preferably, the logic which implements the visual representation of
the page and document features knows of the capabilities and
operations of the selected production output device. For example,
the logic knows that the automatic stapler in one production output
device staples along the left edge of the paper while another
production output device staples along the top edge. The logic then
knows, for a particular selected production output device, where to
display the staple when the user applies a stapling page
feature.
[0059] In still another embodiment, functionality is included in
the workflow management software to make efficient use of different
production output devices with differing capabilities needed for a
given job and different operating costs. Such differing
capabilities include the ability to print in color or black and
white, the ability to print at very high resolution or on oversize
paper stock. For example, there is a growing use of combining color
pages with black and white ("B&W") pages in the same document
as a final printed product. This combination of B&W and color
pages in a single document brings constraints on the production
output device for producing the printed output. If this single
document is sent to a color printing device, it will be printed,
but at a very high cost since color printing is typically more
expensive than B&W printing. If sent to a B&W printing
device, the job will be printed at reasonable cost but the color
pages will not be produced in color. Another alternative is to
manually split the job into two separate jobs, sending the color
pages to the color printer and the B&W pages to the B&W
printer and then collate the output of each printer into the final
product. This becomes a complicated process when the customer
desires a high volume of finished product. Further, the insertion
of manual collation steps makes it difficult to take advantage of
automated finishing systems.
[0060] In a preferred embodiment, the operator is given the
opportunity to flag pages in the document for production on
specific output devices or resources at the job preparation stage
by setting a specially defined page attribute associated with the
particular page. The attribute indicates the desired or necessary
capabilities of the production output device in order to produce
that page with the intended results. For example, the attribute can
indicate that a production output device with color capability is
desired or needed. This allows the operator to determine and
optimize specific pages to take advantage of the capabilities of
the different production output devices available. Typically, the
majority of the document will be produced on one device with a
small subset of pages needing to be diverted to a different device,
e.g. a small number of color pages within a large black and white
document. The operator further defines which pages are part of the
main body of the document and which are the exceptions to be
produced separately.
[0061] When the job is submitted to the print server, the print
server detects the flags/attributes and appropriately and
automatically diverts the pages to their appropriate production
output device. The print server includes a receiver which receives
the document and passes the document to a resource allocator logic
which reads the pages and interprets the special page attribute.
The resource allocator can be implemented in software, hardware or
a combination thereof. The resource allocator is programmed to know
about the different output resources/devices available to the shop
(inside or outside via network for example) and their corresponding
capabilities. The resource allocator interprets the special
attribute and then attempts to match an appropriate output resource
that has the desired or necessary capability to produce that
particular page. The resource allocation can be completely
automated or manual or a combination thereof.
[0062] If a particular capability is desired or necessary but that
capability is not available on any of the print resources in the
shop or there is too big a queue for the particular resource, the
resource allocator can make a determination, either automatically
or with manual operator intervention, of how best to print that
particular page. Further, the resource allocator can include
"policies" or pre-defined rules for handling particular capability
"requests". A policy can be implemented to force the whole document
to print on a particular resource, ignoring the special attribute
of those pages with the attribute set. In addition, a policy can be
set to always "satisfy the capability request" and route pages to
resources with the desired capability. Further, a policy can be set
to request manual operator intervention when a page with a
specially requested capability passes through the resource
allocator to have the operator determine the best course of action.
Once the print resource for the page is determined, the page is
passed to a distribution engine which transmits the page to the
print resource for final output.
[0063] When printing the pages, the print server will stall the
main body of the document while the exception pages are produced on
the alternate output device. The print server then indicates to the
operator to retrieve the exception output and place it in the
collating apparatus or document assembler of the printing device
which will be used to print the main body. Once this is complete,
the print server sends the main body to the production device and,
in addition, where a exception page was located, the print server
instructs the production device to collate or assemble from the
exception output the requisite finished page. This results in a
complete finished product with minimal operator intervention. It
will be appreciated that numerous alternatives can be used such as
a mechanical link between the production output devices which
transfers the finished output of one device to the
auto-collator/assembler of another device for collating/assembling
back into the main document. Further now that the finished document
is contained within one production output device, in-line finishing
equipment, such as staplers or other binding equipment, can be used
to produce the final output.
[0064] It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed
description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and
that it be understood that it is the following claims, including
all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope
of this invention.
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