US007242492B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent N0.: US 7,242,492 B2 Currans et a]. (45) Date of Patent: Jul. 10, 2007 (54) PROXIED PRINTING SERVICES (56) References Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS (75) Inventors: Kevin G. Currans, Philomath, OR (US); Jon A. Brewster, Monmouth, OR 6,067,406 A * 5/2000 Van Hoof et a1. ......... .. 358/1.9 (Us) 6,378,983 B1 * 4/2002 Ito et a1. .................. .. 347/43 6,757,070 B1* 6/2004 Lin et a1. 358/1.1 (73) Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development 7,016,061 B1* 3/2006 Hewitt .................... .. 358/1.15 Company, L.P., Houston, TX (US) * cited by examiner Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this Primary Examinerilerome Grant patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 1297 days. (57) ABSTRACT Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, an (21) Appl. No.: 10/057,401 image processing device, a computer network and a simple network printer wherein a simple network printer without (22) Filed: Jan. 25, 2002 RIP capability is enabled to print a print job that includes raster image processor instructions. In one embodiment of Prior Publication Data (65) the method of the present invention, the steps include US 2003/0142334 A1 Jul. 31, 2003 receiving and storing, by the simple network printer, a broadcast from a raster image processor (RIP)-enabled unit (51) Int. Cl. announcing the RIP-enabled unit’s capabilities and, upon G06K 15/00 (2006.01) receiving a RIP print job request from a source, requesting (52) US. Cl. .................................... .. 358/1.15; 358/468 the RIP-enabled unit to proxy the print job and send the print (58) Field of Classi?cation Search ............... .. 358/ 1.9, job in simple format to the simple network printer for 358/1.15, 1.168, 1.18, 468, 1.3, 1.16, 404, printing. 358/444 See application ?le for complete search history. 17 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets TO/FROM RIP-ENABLED UNIT / 602 I / SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER K610 TRANSCEIVER PRINTING UNIT ‘ STORAGE UNIT 1 A A I I /"608 PRINTER CONTROL UNIT U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 1 0r 6 US 7,242,492 B2 K102 RECEIVING AND STORING, BY THE SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER, A BROADCAST FROM A RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR (RIP)-ENABLED UNIT, ANNOUNCING THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT'S CAPABILITIES 1 04 v / UPON RECEIVING A RIP PRINT JOB REQUEST FROM A SOURCE, REQUESTING THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT TO PROXY THE PRINT JOB AND SEND THE PRINT JOB IN SIMPLE FORMAT TO THE SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER FOR PRINTING FIG. 1 U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 2 0r 6 US 7,242,492 B2 / 202 RECEIVING A BROADCAST FROM A RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR (RIP)-ENABLED UNIT ANNOUNCING THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT'S CAPABILITIES vI f 204 STORING INFORMATION ON THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT'S CAPABILITIES IN THE SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER I UPON RECEIVING A RIP PRINT JOB REQUEST FROM A SOURCE, SENDING BY THE SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER, NOTIFICATION TO THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT THAT THE SOURCE HAS THE RIP PRINT JOB v f‘ 208 SPOOLING, BY THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT, THE RIP PRINT JOB FROM THESOURCE v [210 RASTERIZING, BY THE RIP-ENABLED UNIT, THE RIP PRINT JOB INTO A PRINTER CONTROL LANGUAGE (PCL) FORMAT SENDING THE RIP PRINT JOB IN PCL FORMAT TO THE SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER FOR PRINTING FIG. 2 U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 3 0f 6 US 7,242,492 B2 IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE ' 306“\\ COMPUTER] INPUT 2 UNITWITH SOURCE FORMATTING UNIT ‘ Q BROADCASTING WITH ARIP (304) } L ( O / \\ 3023 %4L’ O M O SIMPLE SOURCE NETWORK \ PRINTER ‘5m 1; 74*" O I ‘COMPUTER! ‘3 SOURCE U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 4 0r 6 US 7,242,492 B2 INPUT/BROADCAST K 400 306 IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE/LASER PRINTER 7 INPUT/ I 402>\ ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC BROADCAST ‘ IMAGE RECORDING AND UNIT ‘ REGISTRATION UNIT f 308 / LIGHT PULSES FORMATTING UNIT 404\ » < ______T \l LASER UNIT 304\ RIP UNIT I L I I L___2I I CONTROL ‘ I+—I CIRCuITRY If {CONTROL LASER UNIT I VARIABLE FREQUENCY 410 \I @EBALCBEL I‘ VARIABLESCANNER SPEED FIG. 4 U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 5 0f 6 US 7,242,492 B2 f 504 . _ __L RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR-ENABLED UNIT PRINTING uNIT A 306I I I INPUT I COMPUTER! I 3 UNIT WITH SOURCE FORMATTING UNIT ,4 *\ BROADCASTING I WITH A RIP (304) / \sos / A536/ / ‘ SIMPLE COMPUTER} NETWORK ' SOURCE PRINTER I“ 1 ‘AT’ 0 A COMPUTER] n0 0 ‘P’ SOURCE " FIG. 5 U.S. Patent Jul. 10, 2007 Sheet 6 0f 6 US 7,242,492 B2 TO/FROM RIP-ENABLED $ UNIT / 602 SIMPLE NETWORK PRINTER K’ 610 PRINTING UNIT STORAGE UNIT I A I / 608 L___> PRINTER CONTROL UNIT FIG. 6 US 7,242,492 B2 1 2 PROXIED PRINTING SERVICES Control Language (PCL) ?le provided information on the location of the print image ?le within the network printing BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION system and the location of the source ?le from which the print image ?le was generated to permit the user to modify The present invention relates to network printing systems the contents of the print image. The Postscript language is and more particularly, to network printing systems that described in Adobe Systems Incorporated, Adobe PostScript provide for distributed transfer of data from a high level Language Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley (2d ed., language into dots or pixels in a printer or imagesetter. .COPYRIGHT. 1990). TIFF format is Tagged Image File Typically network printing systems include at least one format that is used for exchanging bitmapped images (gen printer, at least one client computer, and at least one server erally scans) between applications. RIP format is Raster distributed over the network. Networking systems may be of Image Processor format in which information is rasteriZed a LAN, WAN, token ring, ethemet, TCP/IP or other type. A into a series of dots by an imagesetter or the like for client computer prepares data for a document or an image or a combination thereof and transmits the data over the transferring an image onto ?lm or paper. PDF format is network to a server that is linked to a desired printer. Various Portable Document Format that is available from Adobe printers typically may have different printing capabilities. Systems Incorporated at San Jose, Calif. PCL is a Printer Where a print job requires speci?c capabilities, some net Control Language available from Hewlett-Packard Com work printing systems provide centraliZed and distributed pany of Palo Alto, Calif. A Printer Control Language ?le management of the printing system so that the print job is typically speci?es objects to be displayed and related infor routed to a printer that can handle the job. 20 mation. For example, a PostScript object can include a pixel A new print job typically has one or more electronically map de?ning a pattern of pixels to be displayed, the selected stored ?les along with print attributes for the ?les, The print font, and/or font siZe or it can reference an outline curve that attributes provide processing information for the ?les, typi de?nes a shape to be marked in mathematical terms. cally in a job ticket or in conjunction with a job ticket. However, the use of the complex languages increased the Early printers received pages of data that were decom 25 cost of the printers that utiliZed such languages. Postscript, posable into a set number of lines, each having a preset for example, divides the objects of a page into three cat number of character spaces. When printing, ?rst the data was egories: graphics, text and images, wherein graphics are encoded using a Page Description Language (PDL), which represented mathematically as lines, text is represented by determined the look of the printed page. Each command of characters described as a mathematical outline, and images the PDL corresponded to a feature of the printer. Such 30 printers generally were called simple printers since simple are represented as bitmaps. There is a need for methods, an PDLs were utilized. image processing device, a computer network and a simple Printers became more sophisticated, thus requiring more network printer wherein a simple printer is enabled to utiliZe complex PDLs for controlling the printing. The increased the capabilities of the high-end printer or imaging system complexity tended to cause development of printers that 35 that has greater printing capabilities than the simple printer. were more directly related to speci?c PDLs in accordance with the desired printing capabilities. Thus, applications SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION then needed to be complex enough to accommodate a variety of printers, each of which had speci?c PDLs that it Methods, an image processing device, a computer net accommodated. Concomitant with the increased complexity 40 work and a simple network printer are provided that may of the applications, the cost of printers increased. implement the present invention. A simple network printer Before the advent of laser printers, the design of a PDL without RIP capability is enabled to print a print job that was straightforward. The hardware of the target printer had includes raster image processor instructions. In one embodi a limited number of capabilities, each capability having a ment of the method, the steps include receiving and storing, command that controlled it. For example, Raster Image 45 by the simple network printer, a broadcast from a raster Processors (RIPs) were used to produce pixelmaps or bit maps for higher languages for data written in the Postscript image processor (RIP)-enabled unit announcing the RIP language. However, the hardware of a laser printer places enabled unit’s capabilities and, upon receiving a RIP print dots onto the paper.