WO2021146058A1

WO2021146058A1 - Instruction files comprising documents to be printed

Info

Publication number: WO2021146058A1
Application number: PCT/US2020/070888
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rajakishore SAHU; Puranjaya PRADHAN; Mahendra SANNAGONAPPLA PAMPANNA; Gopesh BHARDWAJ; ASGHAR, Md
Original assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Priority date: 2020-01-14
Filing date: 2020-12-09
Publication date: 2021-07-22

Abstract

Techniques for generating and printing an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents are described. According to an example of the present subject matter, an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set to print the plurality of documents is received. The instruction set comprises a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents. The instruction file is printed based on the instruction set on receiving a print request from a user device.

Description

INSTRUCTION FILES COMPRISING DOCUMENTS TO BE PRINTED

BACKGROUND

[0001] Printers print content onto a variety of print media. A printer may receive a print request from a user and execute a corresponding print job to print content associated with the print job onto a print media. The print job, comprising the data to be printed and instruction for printing the same, may be received along with the print request. Alternatively, the print job may also be fetched from the printer’s memory or from another remotely located device, such as a server, a user device, or another printer’s memory if stored therein previously, for example, for printing at multiple future instances.

[0002] In some cases, a print job may be secured through a password to prevent an unauthorized user from obtaining a print of a document associated with the print job.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0003] The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein:

[0004] Figure 1 illustrates a networked environment comprising a printer and a plurality of user devices coupled to the imaging device, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0005] Figure 2 illustrates the printer, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0006] Figure 3 illustrates the printer, in accordance with another example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0007] Figure 4 illustrates the computing device, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter;

[0008] Figure 5 illustrates a method performed by the computing device to generate an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed, according to an example of the present subject matter; [0009] Figures 6 and 7 each illustrate a method performed by the printer to print an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents, according to examples of the present subject matter; and

[0010] Figure 8 illustrates a computing environment implementing a non- transitory computer-readable medium for printing an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents, according to an example of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] To print content on a medium, a user may provide a print request to a printer through a user device. A print driver on the user device serves as an interface between the user device and the printer. The print driver allows the user to select the various settings and options for printing the content and accordingly, creates a print job. The print job comprises various information, such as a user name of the user initiating the print request; various instructions, such as instructions for printing on one side or both sides of a page, instructions for printing in color or monochrome; along with data to be printed. A print job may also comprise a personal identification number (PIN) or password for preventing an unauthorized user from obtaining the print of associated data. [0012] A print job once created may be stored, for example, in the user device, in printer’s memory, at a remote server, or in a memory of another printer or computing device for printing at multiple instances. A user may store multiple print jobs for printing subsequently. Further, a user may provide multiple print requests to the printer for executing multiple print jobs, created by the user previously or at that time instance. Each of these multiple print requests gets enlisted in the print queue individually, often resulting in the print queue to be cluttered. In cases of printers having a limit on the number of print requests it can queue at a time, the multiple print requests may prevent the printer from accepting further print requests. Also, with queuing of multiple print requests as separate entries in the print queue, the likelihood of execution of the multiple jobs being interrupted by other print jobs issued by other users also exists. [0013] Further, each of the multiple stored print jobs may be secured by assigning a PIN/password to each of the multiple print job. Assigning a different PIN/password to each print job, even if the multiple print jobs are expected to be executed at a time in batch, creates the problems of issuing individual print requests and entering PIN/password for the execution of each of the multiple print jobs, when data associated with these print jobs is to be printed. Also, keeping in mind or record multiple PINs/passwords is problematic for users. [0014] According to an example of the present subject matter, techniques of creating a single print job comprising multiple print jobs issued by a user are described herein. Example techniques described herein enable the execution of the multiple print jobs in a batch on receiving a request from a user device.

[0015] In one example implementation of the present subject matter, an instruction file is obtained by a printer. The instruction file comprises a plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set. The instruction set comprises a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents. In an example, a single entry corresponding to the instruction file is created in the print queue of the printer. The instruction file may be printed based on the instruction set on receiving a print request from a user device.

[0016] Thus, in the present subject matter, the printer queue includes a single entry for the instruction file for the multiple documents to be printed by a user at a time instead of having an entry corresponding to each of the documents to be printed.

[0017] Thus, the present subject matter enables the execution of multiple print jobs in a batch on receiving an instruction from a user, without the user having to issue separate instructions for the execution of each of the multiple print jobs and without any interruption due to other print jobs issued by other users. Owing to consolidation of multiple documents to be printed in an instruction file, a printer’s queue can be prevented from overflowing, which may otherwise happen because of enlisting of multiple print jobs in the printer’s queue if separate instructions are be issued by the user for the execution of each of the multiple print jobs. Also, securing an instruction file with one password does away with individually assigning passwords for each of the multiple documents to be printed.

[0018] Figure 1 shows a networked environment 100 comprising a printer 102 and a plurality of user devices 104-1, 104-2, ..., 104-n in communication with the printer 102, according to an example of the present subject matter. The printer 102 may include a single function printer, a multifunction printer or other electronic devices that may print documents based on receiving a print request. In an example, a plurality of printers may be present in the networked environment 100, however, for the simplicity, the printer 102 alone is shown in the Figure 1.

[0019] In the networked environment 100, the printer 102 may be accessed by multiple users through their respective user devices 104-1, 104- 2,..., 104-n. Examples of the user devices 104-1, 104-2,..., 104-n may include, but are not limited to, an electronic device, such as a desktop computer, a laptop, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDAs), and a tablet that may allow a user to provide a print request to the printer 102. Users may be registered with the printer 102 to allow them to use the printer 102.

[0020] The user devices 104-1, 104-2, ...., 104-n may each include a print job creation engine 106-1, 106-2, ..., 106-n, respectively, to interface the user devices 104-1, 104-2, ..., 104-n with the printer 102. In an example, the user devices 104-1, 104-2, ..., 104-n may communicate with the printer 102 over a network 108 to provide the print request to the printer 102.

[0021] The network 108 may be a single network or a combination of multiple networks and may use a variety of different communication protocols. The network 108 may be a wireless or a wired network, or a combination thereof. Examples of such individual networks include, but are not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, Universal Mobile telecommunications System (UMTS) network, Personal Communications Service (PCS) network, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, Next Generation Network (NON), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Depending on the technology, the communication network 108 includes various network entities, such as gateways, routers; however, such details have been omitted for sake of brevity of the present description.

[0022] In an example, a user device, such as the user device 104-1 may provide a print request for printing an instruction file to the printer 102. The instruction file may be a type of file which can be read by the printer 102 and may be executed by the printer 102 to print a plurality of documents included in the instruction file. In addition to the plurality of documents to be printed, the instruction file comprises an instruction set which may include a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents.

[0023] An instruction file may be generated by a user using a print job creation engine installed in a user device, such as the print job creation engine 106-1 installed in the user device 104-1. For creating an instruction file, the user may provide, to the print job creation engine 106-1, the documents to be printed and instructions for printing the documents. The user may provide the documents to the print job creation engine 106-1 through a print command interface of the print job creation engine 106-1. The instructions may define, for example, a number of sheets to be printed and a layout for the document to be printed or the required print resolution. The instructions may also define if the document is to be printed in monochrome or color. The user may thereafter utilize an option provided by the print job creation engine 106-1 to create the instruction file. For example, the print job creation engine 106-1 may include the option of ‘print to file’. Examples of types of instruction files include, but not limited to, a prn file, a rtl file, a gra file, and a pit file.

[0024] A user may generate an instruction file for various purposes. For example, in cases where a user has to print a document at multiple instances following a set of instructions, such as applying a given page layout settings, a color setting (e.g., monochrome or color printing), a print resolution setting and simplex or duplex print setting, the user may create an instruction file comprising the documents to be printed and the set of instructions at the first instance. The user may store the instruction file for printing subsequently to avoid repeating the process of setting the instructions at each instance of obtaining a print of the document in another example, if a first user is to share a document created on his first user device 104-1 with a second user having a second user device 104- 2 that may not support the format of the document, the first user may create and share an instruction file which may allow the second user to print the documents contained within the instruction file.

[0025] The instruction file generated by the print job creation engine 106- 1 may be sent to the printer 102 for printing. The instruction file may also be stored in the memory of printer 102 or in a memory of the user device 104-1 , for example, for printing at a later instance of time. The instruction file may also be sent to a server, such as a server 112, where it can be stored for printing, for example, at multiple future instances. The instruction file may also be sent to another user device, such the user device 104-2 to allow a user of the user device 104-2 to obtain a print of the documents included in the instruction file. When the documents in the instruction file are to be printed, a print request to print the instruction file may be sent to the printer 102, for example, through the print command interface of the print job creation engine 106-1.

[0026] According to an example of the present subject matter, a print engine 110 of the printer 102 receives a print request for printing an instruction file from a user device, for example, user device 104-1, over the network 108. In an example, the instruction file may be received by the print engine 110 along with the print request. In another example, a reference to a location of the instruction file may be provided in the print request. The location may be a memory of the printer 102, the user device 104-1, or the server 112. The print engine 110 may obtain the instruction file locally from the memory of the printer 102, if previously stored therein or from the respective location over the network 108. Reference is made to Figure 2 to explain the operation of the printer 102 to generate a print of the documents included in the instruction file.

[0027] Figure 2 shows the printer 102, according to an example of the present subject matter. As mentioned above, the print engine 110 of the printer 102 obtains the instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed. According to an example of the present subject matter, along with plurality of documents to be printed, the instruction file comprises an instruction set. The instruction set comprises a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents.

[0028] In an example, different documents, from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file, may be printed in accordance with different set of print parameters. The instructions that are applicable for printing a given document, from amongst the plurality of documents, may be included in the customized set of print parameters pertaining to the given document. For instance, customized set of print parameters for the document may comprise instructions for printing the document by applying a given page layout settings, a color setting (e.g., monochrome or color printing), and a print resolution setting and so on.

[0029] According to an example, the instructions applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents may be included in the common set of print parameters. In an example, the common set of print parameters may comprise an authorization data, such as a user name, password or domain name of a user of a user device who has generated the instruction file.

[0030] The print engine 110 may receive the instruction file from a user device, such as the user device 104-1 which has generated the instruction file or may obtain the same from a location where it is previously stored, as mentioned above. On receiving a print request from a user device 104-1, the print engine 110 prints the instruction file based on the instruction set. In an example, prior to initiating the printing, the authorization data included in the common set of print parameters may be used to authenticate the print request.

[0031] Thus, the plurality of documents included in the instruction file may be printed using a single instruction file on receiving a single print request from the user device 104-1, without the user having to issue separate print request for printing each of the plurality of documents. The instruction file is enlisted as a sole entry in a print queue of the print engine 110 so that cluttering and overflowing of the print queue is avoided. Also, one-time authentication of the print request using a password enables the plurality of documents included in the instruction file to be printed, thus separate passwords for each of the plurality of documents done away with. Upon initiation of execution of the print request, the plurality of documents included in the instruction file may be printed without interruption due to other print requests.

[0032] Figures 3 illustrates a printer 102, in accordance with another example of the present subject matter.

[0033] The printer 102, among other things, includes a memory 302, interface(s) 304, engine(s) 306 and data 308. The memory 302 may include any computer-readable medium including, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., EPROM, flash memory, etc.). The interface 304 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces that allow the printer 102 to interact with other communication and computing devices, such as network entities, web servers, and external repositories, and peripheral devices such as input/output (I/O) devices that may be used to provide inputs, such as credentials, passwords, print selection to the printer 102. In an example, the interface(s) may couple the printer 102 with the user devices 104-

1, 104-2, . and 104-n or with the server 112. The interface(s) 304 may also enable coupling of internal components of the printer 102 with each other.

[0034] The engine(s) 306 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement certain functionalities of the engine(s) 306, such as obtaining an instruction file and printing the instruction file on receiving a print request. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the engine(s) 306 may be processor executable instructions stored on a non- transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the engine(s) 306 may include a processing resource (for example, implemented as either a single processor or a combination of multiple processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement engine(s) 306. In such examples, the printer 102 may include the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the printer 102 and the processing resource. In other examples, engine(s) 306 may be implemented by electronic circuitry. In an example, in addition to the aforementioned print engine 110, the engine(s) 306 may also comprise an authorization engine 310 and other engine(s) 312 that supplement functions of the printer 102.

[0036] The data 308 serves, amongst other things, as a repository for storing data that may be fetched, processed, received, or generated by the engine(s) 306. The data 308 comprises other data 318 corresponding to the other engine(s) 312. In the illustrated example, the data 308 of the printer 102 also comprises instruction file data 314 and authorization data 316. The other data 318 may store the data pertaining to the other engine(s) 312.

[0036] In an example, the printer 102 is operable to print an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents. As described previously, the instruction file may be generated by a user using a print job creation engine installed in a user device, such as the print job creation engine 106-1 installed in the user device 104-1. The user may thereafter store the instruction file in a memory of the user device 104-1 for printing at a later instance of time or may send the instruction file to the printer 102 for printing instantaneously. In an example, the instruction file may be saved in the instruction file data 314, for instance, for printing subsequently. The instruction file may also be sent to a server, such as the server 112 or to another user device, such as the user device 104-2 to enable a user of the user device 104-2 to obtain the print of the documents included in the instruction file.

[0037] In operation, the print engine 110 obtains the instruction file from a user device, which has generated the instruction file or from another user device with which the instruction file has been shared. In an example, the instruction file may also be obtained from the instruction file data 314 or from the server 112, if previously stored therein. The instruction file comprises a plurality of documents to be printed along with a corresponding instruction set. The instruction set comprises a common set of print parameters that is to be applied to each of the plurality of documents for their printing. The instruction set also comprises a customized set of print parameters. The customized set of print parameters provide for customizing the printing of the various document included in the plurality of documents, such that different documents, from amongst the plurality of documents, may be printed using different set of print parameters. The customized set of print parameters may include a corresponding set of instructions that are applicable for printing the respective documents. The instructions for printing a document may include various settings, such as applying a given page layout settings, a color setting (e.g., monochrome or color printing), a print resolution setting and simplex or duplex print setting.

[0038] In an example, data corresponding to a given document, from amongst the plurality of documents, is printed according to the customized set of print parameters pertaining to the given document. Data corresponding to the given document may be distinguished from data pertaining to other documents in the instruction file based on an end-of-job indicator. For the purpose, an end- of-job indicator may be included at the end of data of the each of the documents included in the instruction file. Accordingly, data corresponding to each of the documents included in the instruction file may be distinguished from data pertaining to other documents within the instruction file.

[0039] In an example, a separate job name may also be assigned to each of the plurality of documents included in the instruction file. The customized set of print parameters pertaining to a given document, from amongst the plurality of documents, may be identified using the job name assigned to the given document. Accordingly, in an example, the job name assigned to the given document may be indicative of a start of the data pertaining to the given document and the end-of-job indicator may be indicative of an end of the data. Thus, in an example, the instruction file may contain the data and customized set of print parameters pertaining to each of plurality of documents arranged consequently and segregated based on the respective job names and end-of- job indicators. The end-of-job indicator pertaining to a last document from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file may serve as an indicator of end of data to be printed.

[0040] In an example implementation, the common set of print parameters may comprise the authorization data 316. The authorization data may include a password or PIN assigned to the instruction file for preventing an unauthorized user from obtaining print of any of the plurality of documents included in the instruction file. In an example, the common set of print parameters may also comprise a job name or domain name.

[0041] According to an example, the print engine 110 may print the instruction file based on the instruction set on receiving a print request from a user device. In an implementation, when a print request corresponding to an instruction file to be printed is received, the print engine 110 creates an entry in a print queue of the printer 102 corresponding to the instruction file. Also, upon receipt of the print request, the print engine 110 invokes the authorization engine 310.

[0042] In an example, the authorization engine 310 may determine whether the print request is received from an authorized user based on the authorization data 316. In an example, this determination may be made prior to printing the instruction file. Accordingly, the authorization engine 310 prompts a user who has provided the print request to enter a password for printing the instruction file. For example, the authorization engine 310 may cause a prompt for the password to be displayed on display of the printer 102.

[0043] The authorization engine 310 then retrieves the authorization data 316 from the common set of print parameters included in the instruction file and matches the password entered by the user with the retrieved. In case of a successful match, the authorization engine 310 determines that the print request has been received from an authorized user. The authorization engine 310 then allows printing of the at least one document of the plurality of documents based on the determination. If the user inputs a password which is different from the password included in the authorization data 316 of common set of print parameters, the authorization engine 310 may not print the instruction file. In an example, an administrator of the printer 102 may be notified in such a case.

[0044] In an example, a user may want to print a selected set of documents from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file, instead of printing each of the plurality of documents. To this end, the print engine 110 may display a graphical user interface to allow the user to select at least one document from amongst the plurality of documents for printing. In an example, the graphical user interface may display a list of the plurality of documents included in the instruction file and the user may select the document to be printed. Referring to the previous example, the plurality of documents included in the instruction file may be identified in the displayed list using the job name assigned to the respective documents. In response to receiving a user input indicative of the selection, the print engine 110 may print the at least one selected document based on the common set of print parameters and the customized set of print parameters corresponding to the selected document.

[0045] Reference is made to Figure 4 to explain the operation of a computing device 104 to generate an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed.

[0046] Figure 4 shows a computing device 104, according to an example of the present subject matter. The computing device may be any of the user devices 104-1, 104-2, ..., 104-n, coupled to the printer 102 in the networked environment 100 as described previously.

[0047] In an example, the computing device 104, among other things, includes a memory, interface(s), engine(s) and data (not shown in Figure). The memory, interface(s), engine(s) and data may be similar to the memory 302, interface(s) 304, engine(s) 306 and data 308, respectively, of the printer 102 described in reference with Figure 3. For example, the engine(s) of the computing device may be similar to the engine(s) 306 and may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement certain functionalities of the engine(s), such as generating an instruction file and providing a print request to a printer such as the printer 102. In an example, the engine(s) of the computing device 104 may comprise a print job creation engine 402 and other engine(s) that supplement functions of the computing device 104.

[0048] According to an example, the print job creation engine 402 may implement the functionalities of a print driver installed in the user device, such as the user device 104-1 to enable the user device 104-1 to communicate with the printer 102. In operation, the print job creation engine 402 receives a plurality of documents to be printed from a user. In an example, the user may select the plurality of documents to be printed using a print command interface of the print job creation engine 402. The user may select the documents, for example, by browsing through a memory of the user device 104-1 or an external memory, and provide the documents to the print job creation engine 402. The user may also provide instructions applicable for printing the plurality of documents to the print job creation engine 402. The instructions for printing a document may include various print settings, such as applying a given page layout settings, a color setting (e.g., monochrome or color printing), a print resolution setting and simplex or duplex print setting. In an example, the user may provide different instructions for printing different documents, from amongst the plurality of documents. The user may also provide some credentials such as a job name, a user name, a password and a domain name to the print job creation engine 402. These credentials may be common to each of the plurality of documents.

[0049] According to an example, the print job creation engine 402 may generate an instruction file incorporating the plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set. In an example, the user may use a ‘print to file’ feature provided by the print job creation engine 402 through its print command interface. The instruction set comprises the common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents. The instructions that are applicable for printing a given document, from amongst the plurality of documents, may be included in the customized set of print parameters pertaining to the given document.

[0050] In an example, the common set of print parameters comprises an authorization data 316 for enabling the printer 102 to determine whether the print request is received from an authorized user. The common set of print parameters may comprise a print job name, user name, password and domain name provided by the user. In an example, on receiving a request to generate an instruction file from the user, the print job creation engine 402 may prompt the user to assign a print job name to the instruction file. Similarly, the print job creation engine 402 may seek the user name and domain name as a user input or may determine the same, for example, from a user data which may be prestored in the memory of the computing device 104. Further, the print job creation engine 402 may prompt the user to assign a password to the instruction file. In some examples, the print job creation engine 402 may assign a preconfigured default password to the instruction file. The password so assigned to the instruction file may thereafter be used by the printer to authenticate the print request.

[0051] In an example, to generate an instruction file, the print job creation engine 402 may consolidate data pertaining to each of the plurality of documents to be printed. An end-of-job indicator may be included at the end of data pertaining to each of the plurality of documents. The end-of-job indicator may distinguish data pertaining to a given document from that of other documents. The end-of-job indicator included at the end of the last of the plurality of documents may serve as an indicator of end of data to be printed. Also, in an example, a separate job name may be assigned to each of the plurality of documents. In an example, the print job creation engine 402 may assign a unique job name to each of the plurality of documents using a default criteria. Alternatively, the print job creation engine 402 may prompt the user to assign the job name to the respective documents. The customized set of print parameters and data for a given document may be identified using the job name assigned to the given document. [0052] In an example, the instruction file may be stored in the memory of the computing device 104 for printing later, say, at multiple instances. This avoids providing the instructions for printing the plurality of documents included in the instruction file at times the print is to be obtained. As mentioned previously, the instruction file may also be sent to a server, such as the server 112 or to another computing device, such as the user device 104-2 to enable a user of the user device 104-2 to obtain print of the plurality of documents included in the instruction file.

[0053] Accordingly, in an example, the instruction file may be provided to the printer 102 along with the print request for printing at that instance of time. Alternatively, the instruction file may also be provided to the printer 102 for storage to allow printing at a later instance of time. At an instance when a print of the documents in the instruction file is to be obtained, the print job creation engine 402 may provide a print request to the printer 102 for printing the instruction file. In an example, the print request may be provided to the printer 102 through a print command interface of the print job creation engine 402. This allows printing of the documents in the instruction file to be performed based on the instruction set.

[0054] Figure 5 illustrates a method 500 performed by the computing device 104 to generate an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed, according to an example of the present subject matter. Although the method 500 and may be implemented in a variety of computing devices, for the ease of explanation, the present description of the example method 500 is provided in reference to the above-described computing device 104.

[0055] The order in which the method 500 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method 500, or an alternative method.

[0056] It may be understood that blocks of the method 500 may be executed based on instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, as will be readily understood. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include, for example, digital memories, magnetic storage media, such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media.

[0057] Referring to Figure 5, at block 502, the computing device 104 receives a plurality of documents to be printed from a user. In an example, a print job creation engine, such as print job creation engine 402 of the computing device 104 receives the plurality of documents. As explained earlier, the user may select the plurality of documents to be printed through a print command interface of the print job creation engine 402.

[0058] At block 504, print instructions corresponding to each of the plurality of documents are received by the computing device 104. In an example, instructions for printing each of the plurality of documents may also be provided by the user through the print command interface of the print job creation engine 402. These print instructions may define various print settings to be applied for printing a document, such as print resolution settings, color or monochrome print setting, page layout settings and simplex or duplex print settings.

[0059] At block 506, the computing device 104 receives a password from the user. In an example, the plurality of documents to be printed may be protected by the password from being printed by an unauthorized user. Protecting the plurality of documents using a single password obviates assignment of multiple passwords, one for each of the plurality of documents to be printed. If the plurality of documents are to be shared by a user of the computing device with a user of another computing device for printing, a single password is to be shared between the users.

[0060] At block 508, the computing device 104 generates an instruction file incorporating the plurality of documents, the print instructions and the password. At block 510, the computing device 104 receives a print job name to be assigned to the instruction file from the user. In an example, a default or system-generated print job name may also be assigned. The print job name act as an identifier for the instruction file. According to an example, the instruction file may be sent by the computing device 104 to a printer, such as the printer 102 for printing. The instruction file so generate is viewed as a print job by the printer 102 despite inclusion of multiple documents therein. Accordingly, at the printer 102, an entry corresponding to the instruction file is created in the print queue with the instruction file being identified therein using the print job name assigned to the instruction file, in an example.

[0061] Figure 6 and 7 illustrates methods 600 and 700, respectively, performed by the printer 104 to print an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents, according to an example of the present subject matter. Although the methods 600 and 700 and may be implemented in a variety of printers, for the ease of explanation, the present description of the example methods 600 and 700 is provided in reference to the above-described printer 102 implemented in the networked environment 100.

[0062] The orders in which the respective methods 600 and 700 are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the respective method, or an alternative method.

[0063] It may be understood that blocks of the methods 600 and 700 may be executed based on instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, as will be readily understood. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include, for example, digital memories, magnetic storage media, such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media.

[0064] Referring to Figure 6, at block 602, an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed is obtained by the printer. In an example, a print engine such as the print engine 110 of the printer 102 obtains the instruction file. As explained earlier, in addition with the plurality of documents to be printed, the instruction file may also comprise an instruction set. In an example, the instruction set comprises a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents.

[0065] In an example, as mentioned previously, the instruction file may be obtained by the printer from a location where the instruction file is previously stored. The location may be a memory of the printer, a computing device which has generated the instruction file, another computing device with which the instruction file has been shared or a server.

[0066] At block 604, on receiving a print request from a user device, such as the user device 104-1, the printer 102 may print the instruction file based on the instruction set.

[0067] Referring to Figure 7, at block 702, a printer such as the printer 102 obtains an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed from a user device such as the user device 104-1, which has generated the instruction file or from another user device such as the user device 104-2 with which the instruction file has been shared. Alternatively, the instruction file may also be obtained from a data section of the printer 102, such as the instruction file data 314 or from the server 112, if previously stored therein. In an example, a print engine such as the print engine 110 of the printer 102 may obtain the instruction file. In addition to the plurality of documents, the instruction file comprises print instructions corresponding to each of the plurality of documents and a password. In an example, the print instructions may comprise various settings that may be applied for printing the plurality of documents such as page layout setting, print resolution setting, color or monochrome print setting and simplex or duplex print setting. The print instructions may comprise instructions common for printing each of the plurality of documents and instructions that are customized for printing at least one of the documents included in the instruction file.

[0068] At block 704, on receiving a request from a user for printing the plurality of documents included in the instruction file, the printer 102 enlists a print job to print the instruction file in a print queue of the printer 102, rather than enlisting multiple print jobs, one for each of the plurality of documents. [0069] At block 706, on receiving the print request, the printer 102 prompts the user, who has provided the print request to enter a password for printing the instruction file. In an example, the print engine 110 may invoke an authorization engine of the printer, such as the authorization engine 310 of the printer 102. The authorization engine 310 may prompt the user to enter the password.

[0070] At block 708, having the user entered the password, the authorization engine 310 retrieves the password from the instruction file and matches the password entered by the user with the retrieved password to authenticate the user. If password entered by the user matches with the password retrieved from the instruction file, the authorization engine 310 determines that the user is authenticated. In case of an unsuccessful match, the authorization engine 310 may not allow the user to print the instruction file and an administrator of the printer 102 may be notified of the same.

[0071] At block 710, if the user is determined as an authenticated user, the user is allowed to select at least one document form amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file for printing. In an example, the print engine 110 may display a graphical user interface on a display of the printer 102 to allow the user to select the at least one document for printing. At block 712, the print engine 110 prints the at least one selected document based on the print instructions incorporated in the instruction file.

[0072] Figure 8 illustrates a computing environment 800 implementing a non-transitory computer-readable medium 802 for printing an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents, according to an example of the present subject matter.

[0073] In an example, the computing environment 800 may comprise the above-explained printer 102. The computing environment 800 includes a processing resource 804 communicatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 802 through a communication link 806. In an example, the processing resource 804 may be a processor of the printer 102 that fetches and executes computer-readable instructions from the non- transitory computer-readable medium 802.

[0074] The non-transitory computer-readable medium 802 may be, for example, an internal memory device or an external memory device. In an example, the communication link 806 may be a direct communication link, such as any memory read/write interface. In another example, the communication link 806 may be an indirect communication link, such as a network interface. In such a case, the processing resource 804 may access the non-transitory computer- readable medium 802 through a network 808. The network 808 may be a single network or a combination of multiple networks and may use a variety of different communication protocols.

[0075] The processing resource 804 and the non-transitory computer- readable medium 802 may also be communicatively coupled to data sources 810. The data source(s) 810 may be used to store details, such as instruction files, in an example. In an example, the non-transitory computer-readable medium 802 comprises executable instructions 812 for printing an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents. For example, the non-transitory computer- readable medium 802 may comprise instructions executable to implement the previously described print engine 110 and authorization engine 310.

[0076] In an example, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to obtain an instruction file. As explained previously, the instruction file comprises a plurality of documents to be printed. The instruction file also includes an instruction set having a common set of print parameters for the plurality of documents included in the instruction file and a customized set of print parameters for printing the various documents among the plurality of documents, each in accordance with a customized set of print parameters. The common set of print parameters comprises an authorization data, such as a password assigned to the instruction file at the time of its creation.

[0077] Further, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to receive a print request received from a user device, such as the user device 104-1. As will be understood based on the foregoing description, in some cases, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to obtain the instruction file upon receipt of the print request. For example, upon receipt of the print request, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to retrieve the instruction file from a location that may be indicated in the print request. Once the instruction file is obtained, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to create an entry in a print queue of the printer 102 corresponding to the instruction file.

[0078] In an example implementation, to execute the print request received from the user device 104-1, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to authenticate the print request based on the authorization data. Accordingly, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to generate a prompt for a password corresponding to the instruction file and compare the password received in response to the prompt to the authorization data to authenticate the print request. The instructions 812 may thereupon cause the processing resource 804 to print the instruction file according to the instruction set upon authentication of the print request.

[0079] In some examples, a selection of the documents from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file may alone be printed. To enable a user to indicate the selection of the documents to be so printed, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to prompt the user to enter the selection as an input. Accordingly, the instructions 812 may cause the processing resource 804 to receive the selection and print the selected document based on the common set of print parameters and the customized set of print parameters corresponding to the selected document. For a given document from amongst the plurality of documents incorporated in the instruction file, an end-of-job indicator may be included at the end of data to distinguish data corresponding to the given document from data pertaining to other documents in the instruction file. In printing the selected document, the end-of-job indicator of a last document from amongst the selected document is identified to determine end of data to be printed. [0080] A sole entry in a print queue of the printer 102 corresponding to the instruction file and one-time authentication of the print request corresponding to the instruction file cause the plurality of documents included in the instruction file or a selected portion thereof to be printed in one go.

[0081] Thus, the methods and devices of the present subject matter provide techniques for printing an instruction file comprising a plurality of documents. Although implementations have been described in a language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example for printing a plurality of documents without interruption.

Claims

Claims:

1. A printer comprising: a print engine to: obtain an instruction file, the instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set, the instruction set comprising a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents; and print the instruction file based on the instruction set on receiving a print request from a user device.

2. The printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the print engine is to: create an entry in a print queue of the printer corresponding to the instruction file.

3. The printer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common set of print parameters comprises authorization data.

4. The printer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the printer comprises: an authorization engine to: determine whether the print request is received from an authorized user based on the authorization data; and allow printing of the at least one document of the plurality of documents based on the determination.

5. The printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the print engine is to: receive a selection of at least one document from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file; and print the at least one selected document based on the common set of print parameters and the customized set of print parameters corresponding to the at least one selected document.

6. A computing device comprising: a print job creation engine to: receive a plurality of documents to be printed from a user; and generate an instruction file incorporating the plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set, the instruction set comprising a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents.

7. The computing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the print job creation engine is to provide a print request to the printer for printing the instruction file based on the instruction set.

8. The computing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the common set of print parameters comprises an authorization data to allow the printer to determine whether the print request is received from an authorized user.

9. The computing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the customized set of print parameters are indicative of at least one of print resolution applicable for printing the at least one document; monochrome or color printing applicable for printing the at least one document; and simplex or duplex printing applicable for printing the at least one document.

10. The computing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein an end-of-job indicator of a last of the plurality of documents incorporated in the instruction file, is to serve as an end-of-job indicator for the instruction file, the end-of-job indicator being indicative of end of data to be printed.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processing resource to: obtain an instruction file, the instruction file comprising a plurality of documents to be printed and an instruction set, the instruction set comprising a common set of print parameters that is applicable for printing each of the plurality of documents and a customized set of print parameters that is applicable for printing at least one of the plurality of documents, wherein the common set of print parameters comprises an authorization data; authenticate a print request received from a user device based on the authorization data; and print the instruction file according to the instruction set based on the authentication of the print request.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 11, further comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to: receive the print request from the user device; retrieve the instruction file in response to receiving the print request; and create an entry in a print queue of a printer corresponding to the instruction file.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 11, further comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to: receive a selection of at least one document from amongst the plurality of documents included in the instruction file; and print the at least one selected document based on the common set of print parameters and the customized set of print parameters corresponding to the at least one selected document.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 13, further comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to identify an end-of-job indicator of a last document from amongst the at least one selected document to determine end of data to be printed.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 11, further comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to: generate, upon receipt of the print request, a prompt for a password corresponding to the instruction file; and receive a password in response to the prompt, wherein the password is compared to the authorization data to authenticate the print request.