DE102011000001A1 - Method for controlling a printing device and corresponding printing device, computer system and computer program product - Google Patents

Abstract

To control a printing process in which incoming, page-by-page structured print data are processed in a data processing system to control values for a printing device, at least one electronic storage device with a predetermined storage capacity is provided in the data processing system, in which the printing data and / or the control values in assigned storage areas are temporarily stored and thus the storage capacity of the storage device is occupied to a corresponding degree, - the control values are output on demand to the printing device and then the respective storage area is released for rewriting or deleting, as a result of which the occupancy level of the storage device is reduced again, - in of the printing device in accordance with the control values, printed images are printed on a recording medium, and the printing speed with which the printing device generates the printed images, depending on the document ngs degrees of the storage device controlled.

Description

The invention relates to a method for controlling a printing device as well as a computer program system and a computer program product. The invention particularly relates to high performance digital printing devices. Such bone are z. B. used in printing production centers, in which printing material is produced at high speed. In particular, print jobs in such print centers are individualized page by page and typically consist of several hundred to hundreds of thousands of pages. The processing of the pages therefore requires both a high data processing speed in the processing of the print jobs and a high printing speed in the printing device. Typically, printing speeds of a few hundred to several thousand A4 pages per minute are achieved. For example, printing technology may be based on, but is not limited to, electrographic, magnetographic, or inkjet printing, and may be a combination of several technologies, such as printing press parts that use offset printing and press-sharing printing by means of inkjet technology.

From the US 7,545,523 B2 is a corresponding high-performance digital printing system known. In the US 2010/0060940 A1 For example, a system is described that can process print data in such a high-speed, high-performance printing system. In the publication Digital Printing, M. Hoffman-Falk (Editor), Océ Printing Systems GmbH, 9th edition (2005), ISBN 3-00-001081-5 is on pages 250-258 a corresponding raster image controller with the brand name Océ SRA controller described. Pages 347 to 361 describe a print server for high-performance printing systems under the brand name Océ PRISMAproduction Server.

From the US 5,913,018 A a printing system is known in which print data is fed to a raster processor in which page and pixel-wise rasterized data produced, which are fed to a print head. In order to optimize the overall process, it is calculated or estimated before the respective raster process to the respective data which time is needed for rasterizing the data and depending on the result, sub-processes or resources for the raster process are selected or omitted. Furthermore, a control device for a printing press is provided, with whose speed can be adjusted in dependence on the estimation results.

From the EP 0 053 619 B1 a printing system is known in which a paper web is unwound from a roll, the Druckgerat zugefuhrt and after printing is wound up again on an output side roll. Storage devices for the paper web are respectively provided between the rollers and the printing device, in which sensors for scanning the loops formed by the paper web are arranged. Based on the sensor signals, drives of the rollers are controlled to ensure that the paper web remains loose by means of the loop.

The aforementioned documents are hereby incorporated by reference into the specification.

In high-performance printing systems, an unplanned print stop is very disadvantageous because it not only loses production time, but also requires time for the restart and often manual operations of the operator. In addition, by a print stop waste, d. H. Unprinted paper broke out when the printing device can resume printing only after a certain start-up phase.

It is an object of the invention to allow in a printing system as continuous as possible printing operation without standstill, especially when data to be printed are available only at irregular intervals.

This object is achieved by the features specified in the independent claims of the invention. Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a printing process or printing system is provided in which incoming, page-wise structured print data are processed in a data processing system to drive values for a printing device. In the data processing system, at least one electronic storage device having a predetermined storage capacity is provided, in which the print data and / or the drive values are temporarily stored in allocated storage areas and thus the storage capacity of the storage device is allocated to a corresponding occupancy level. The drive values are output on demand to the printing device and then released the respective memory area for rewriting or erasing, whereby the degree of occupancy in the storage device is reduced again. The printing device then generates the drive values corresponding to print images on a record carrier. The printing speed at which the printing apparatus prints the print images is controlled depending on the movement amount of the storage device.

The invention provides a printing system in which the data processing processes connected upstream of the printing process are tunable with the printing speed in the printing apparatus such that the printing apparatus as little as possible comes to a standstill, even if the processing of the data takes so long that only a few control values are available stand. The tuning can take place in that the printing speed is reduced or throttled continuously or stepwise and in particular throttled to a minimum printing speed, but above zero.

On the other hand, with the invention it can also be ensured that the data processing does not have to be aborted because there is no longer sufficient storage space available in the electronic memory, in which optionally the printing speed continuously or stepwise up to a maximum printing speed, which with the printing device is achievable, is increased.

In particular, the invention is based on the recognition that in the processing of print jobs which have different data on each page and thus processing requirements, their processing time in the formation of drive values for the printing device is very different. For example, while data containing only bit-wise black-and-white information, such as bill texts, can be rapidly processed by a raster processor into rasterized image data for driving a printing device, processing high-resolution images in three or more colors is essential higher effort and thus longer time for the grid process. If this requires further processing steps, such as a trapping, in the aforementioned US 2010/0060940 A1 is described, so the cost of the raster process can increase significantly.

The invention provides a very simple but effective method of providing data from the data processing system with which the printing device can be correspondingly adapted in terms of its printing speed, because the degree of occupancy of the electronic storage device can be determined on the one hand with very little effort and, on the other hand the information on the degree of occupancy very easily representable and transferable from the data processing system to a corresponding device control that controls the printing device in terms of their speed.

According to a first, advantageous, exemplary embodiment of the invention, the transport speed of the recording medium is controlled by the printing device for controlling the speed with the printing device. The record carrier may be web-shaped or sheet-shaped and in particular consist of paper.

Further advantageously, a buffer processor is provided, with which the degree of occupancy of the storage device is determined and the occupancy rate or derived therefrom control values are transmitted to a device control of the Druckgerats.

The data processing system may further include a raster image processor in which at least a portion of the print data is processed into pixelized rasterized data, so-called bitmaps, as drive data.

A further advantage of the invention is that the speed of the printing device can advantageously be dynamically adapted to the amount of data available for the printing process. The adaptation can be adapted in particular to the respective power of the raster processor for the page-by-page provision of drive values. As a result, in particular, the advantage can be achieved that a largely uninterrupted pressure is possible, in which the printing device and in particular the recording medium conveyed therein never or only rarely has to be stopped. The method also allows printing devices of different printing performance to be operated with one and the same data processing system because the printing device automatically adapts to the processing power of the data processing system.

The data processing system can in particular contain a data processor, with which incoming, in particular in a page description language encoded print data are stored in a page memory and provided for a subsequent raster image process. The page memory is in particular separate from the pressure memory of the memory device in which the control values for the printer device are stored. The separation can be physically (hardware) provided and / or software or administrative. The drive values for the printing device are stored in the print memory, in particular as page-by-page bitmap data.

For optimized control of the printing speed of the printing device, it is furthermore possible, in particular, to derive at least one value from the page memory from which the data is fed to the raster image process and also to use this to control the printing speed of the printing device. For example, the occupancy rate of this page memory can also be used as a value. Furthermore, to control the Printing speed of the printing device to be provided, characteristic data of print jobs that affect the processing time for a print job or for parts thereof, from a pressure data to the data processing system supplying system such. B. to transmit a print server to the data processing system and there to evaluate accordingly or to flow into the control of the printing speed.

The occupancy levels of the memory (accumulator or page memory) can be detected in particular at regular time and / or page intervals and used to control the printing speed of the printing device.

All data or values which are used to control the printing speed of the printing device can be made available to the device controller of the printing device, in particular page by page, for a given number of pages, by print order or for subregions of a print job.

The respective print speed control values may include actual values, trend values (mathematical derivations over time), or other combinations of values and mathematical operations to such values.

Other aspects, advantages and effects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which is explained with reference to figures.

In the figures, similar components are provided with the same reference numerals.

Show it:

1 A printing system

2 A data processing system for a printing system

3 A control table for controlling a printing speed

4 Data processing processes

5 One opposite the system of 2 extended system and

6 One against the system of 5 extended system

In 1 is a printing system 1 shown in the print job 7 from a print server 2 to one as a raster controller 3 trained data processing system. The print jobs are typically encoded in a page description language, such as IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream), PDF (Page Definition Format), PostScript, or PCL (Page Command Language). Depending on the features of the print server 2 and the raster controller 3 Print jobs can be processed in these or other page description languages. The as a print job 7 incoming print data will be in raster controller 3 in control values for a printer 4 implemented. To do this, they undergo a raster image process that typically produces page-by-page rasterized image data as bitmaps. The bitmap values are used as control values via a connection 10 to a printhead controller 5 of the printing device 4 sent, with the according to the drive values pointwise printed images on a recording medium as a print 8th be generated. For this purpose, the printing device has further controls, for example a device control 6 and a controller 9 for transporting the record carrier, which consists for example of paper. The raster controller transmits the process to control the process 3 via a connection 11 also control data to the device control 6 , in turn, back to the controls 5 respectively. 9 the printhead or paper transport acts.

In 2 are the components and processes in the raster controller 3 shown in more detail. The one with the print job 7 Incoming print data are processed with the appropriate reading and interpretation system (parser) for the respective page description language. 12 read and interpreted. In this case, the data are processed page by page according to a standard, for example, controller-internally specified standard and in an electronic page memory 13 (Random access memory, RAM). From there, they are read out with one or more Raster Image Processors (RIPs), where they generate page-by-page bitmaps in a raster process and then generate them in an electronic image memory 15 cached. The said sequences can be carried out serially as a pipeline process or in whole or in part in parallel for different data of the print job. The described processes and system elements can each be wholly or partly implemented in computer program products (software) or in electronic, in particular digital hardware elements.

The pressure in the accumulator or pressure buffer 15 Stored bitmaps are successively sent to the printer 4 for printhead control 5 transfer. The retrieval takes place, for example, image-wise, page-by-page or across several pages, depending on which further intermediate storage possibilities are available in the printing device 4 are provided. In 2 controls, for example, the device control 6 both the retrieval of the data and via a line 11a the triggering of the output of the print data over the Printhead control 5 , This is especially true with the in 1 represented control 9 for the paper transport accordingly synchronized by a correct print image on the print material 8th to achieve.

In the raster controller 3 is still a buffer processor 16 provided, via a connection 17 with the print buffer 15 is connected and connected in a connection 18 with the device control 6 of the printing device 4 , The buffer processor 16 determines or reads the occupancy rate in the print buffer at regular intervals 15 through bitmaps. For example, if within a short time many bitmaps from the raster processors 14 provided and in the print buffer 15 be stored, so its occupancy increases. Will many pages from the printer 4 from the print buffer 15 read out and released the corresponding buffer memory areas for deletion or overwriting, so the occupancy rate of the print buffer is reduced again.

On the basis of the buffer processor 16 to the device control 6 reported values on the degree of occupancy of the print buffer 15 decides the device control 6 regularly, whether the current printing speed maintained or changed, that is, reduced or increased.

3 shows a corresponding control table 19 with which the device control 6 for example, could be operated. The table shows schematically and greatly simplified a few basic control situations. It is clear that the control parameters are much more complex and comprehensible. In column 20 each number is a number that describes a situation, column 21 Contains the respective associated occupancy level of the print buffer 15 , where situation number 1 indicates the occupancy level 0, that is, empty storage. Situations 2 to 6 assume that the occupancy rate is 10%. In particular, it can be provided for the control to control different situations stepwise at predetermined percentage intervals of the memory occupancy rate, for example in 10% steps. But it can also be used in finer steps or practically continuously in steps of z. B. tenths of a fraction of percent. In column 22 is roughly schematized in only three categories "equal", "rising" and "falling" the tendency of the degree of filling indicated. It is formed by regular subtraction or mathematical derivation in the first and / or higher degree. Here, too, the tendencies can be considered graduated or quasi-continuously determined and used for speed control. column 23 indicates the current print speed. In column 24 is indicated which action the device control 6 derives from the respective situation (1 to 6) to control the printing speed. In situation number 1, where the occupancy rate is 0, the tendency is steady, and the print speed is also 0, no action is taken, that is, the pressure device is kept at a standstill.

In situation number 2, where the occupancy rate is currently 10%, the tendency is rising, but the printing speed is still 0, the printing speed is increased (accelerated). Conversely, for example, in situation 5, where the occupancy rate is also 10%, but the tendency is decreasing, the printing speed 1 is, braking effect on the printing speed. Also, for controlling the speed changes, step changes or continuous changes may be provided.

In 4 an example is shown as in the raster controller 3 Print data, statistical data and speed data using the example of IPDS-coded print jobs. Velocity data is here relative to a record carrier web in that the print speed is reported in orbit meters per minute. Memory data for documents to be printed are also given in meters, that is, for example, three documents in A4 size have a storage requirement of approximately 0.9 meters. A print job that comes in at a speed of 119 meters per minute and in the page analysis process 27 is then analyzed in a page buffer process 28 stored, with document pages 29 stored, which correspond to a total pressure length of 15 meters. Parallel receives the raster controller 3 from the print server 2 Resources involved in the analysis process 25 also be analyzed and in the storage process 26 in the raster controller 3 be stored. Statistical data about character sets, overlays, page segments and object containers are determined and stored. The raster image process 14 is then able to produce bitmaps at a speed of 135 meters per minute in the print buffer 15 as raster images 30 be filed. The pressure device 4 can retrieve this data at a maximum speed of 150 meters per minute.

5 shows an opposite to the system of 2 extended system where the buffer processor 16 additionally with the page buffer 13 connected so that for the control of the printing speed in the Druckgerat 4 additional data of the page buffer 13 can be taken into account, for example, regularly the occupancy rate of the page buffer 13 is queried and used or its tendency by means of subtraction or first and / or higher temporal derivatives. The corresponding data of the print buffer 13 and the print buffer 15 can then be in the buffer processor 16 be processed so that the buffer processor 16 directly related commands for maintaining or changing the speed of the Druckgerats 4 determined or the data in turn to the device control 6 is sent and only there is decided whether and if so how the printing speed is changed. The corresponding control algorithms or tables (see 3 ) can do so in the device control 6 or in the buffer processor 16 be deposited.

6 shows one opposite 5 even extended system for acting on the printing speed. Here is the buffer processor 16 additionally with a time calculator 31 via a time computer connection 34 as well as via a connection 35 with the print server 2 connected. The time calculator 31 determined based on the in the parser 12 interpreted print data based on empirically derived tables or correlation calculations, how much time the raster controller 3 total needed to process the incoming print pages and the rasterized bitmaps in the print buffer 15 to provide. From this result and the page buffer data 13 and the print buffer 15 can the buffer processor 16 periodically determine to what extent the print buffer 17 will be occupied and deduce from early on, whether and, where appropriate, as the printing speed in the pressure device 4 to change. With regular target / actual comparisons, the memory allocation model can be regularly adjusted and the forecast updated regularly on the basis of all available, relevant parameter values. The printing speed of the printing device 4 can thereby be finer in more precise control steps in which, for example, acceleration ramps or deceleration ramps are calculated, determined and / or applied as required at predetermined times and with predetermined steps or ramp profiles.

By the print server 2 about the connection 35 data received about current or future to the raster controller 3 transferred print jobs 7 can the buffer processor 16 optimize such acceleration ramps even further into the future. In this case, for example, in the print server in a so-called preflight process determined statistical data on the number and characteristics of images contained, color data, memory requirements or necessary special treatments, such as trapping in the buffer processor 16 be taken into account to the future development of memory usage in the print buffer 15 to determine. How out 6 can be seen, is the influence of the in the buffer processor 16 The earlier the data is acquired in the print job processing process, the longer the data is received from the print server, ie, the data from the print server takes effect much later than the data from the print buffer 15 , To take these influences into account are in the buffer processor 16 contain corresponding model data, via which a temporal correlation can be made across these process steps.

The hardware and software components described may each be completely or partially integrated into an analog or digital device controller. They may be provided as separate units with corresponding interfaces to other control components or computer components. The invention is thereby to be realized on a computer.

The invention may be spread as a file on a data carrier such as a floppy disk or CD-ROM / DVD-ROM or as a file over a data or communication network. Such and comparable computer program products or computer program elements are embodiments of the invention.

The process according to the invention can be used in a computer, in a printing device or in a printing system with upstream or downstream data processing devices. It is clear that corresponding computers to which the invention is applied, other known technical devices such as input means (keyboard, mouse, touch screen), microprocessors, a data or control bus, a display device (monitor, display) and a Memory, a hard disk space and interfaces such. B. can contain a network card.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

printing system

2

print server

3

Grid Controller

4

printing device

5

Printhead control

6

random control

7

print job

8th

printed matter

9

Paper transport control

10

Connection for control values

11

Connection for control data

11a

Printhead triggering

12

parser

13

page buffer

14

Raster image processor

15

print buffer

16

buffer processor

17

Print buffer connection

18

Printer compound

19

Tax table

20

Column "No."

21

Column "Fullgrad"

22

Column "tendency"

23

Column "printing speed"

24

Column "Action Pressure-Speed"

25

resource analysis

26

resource memory

27

page analysis

28

page buffer

29

pages

30

raster images

31

Time Calculator

33

Page buffer connection

34

Time computer connection

35

Print server connection

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• US 7545523 B2 [0002]
• US 2010/0060940 A1 [0002, 0012]
• US 5913018 A [0003]
• EP 0053619 B1 [0004]

Cited non-patent literature

• M. Hoffman-Falk (Editor), Océ Printing Systems GmbH, 9th edition (2005), ISBN 3-00-001081-5 is on pages 250 to 258 [0002]

Claims (11)

Method for controlling a printing process, in which - incoming, page-structured print data ( 7 ) in a data processing system ( 3 ) to drive values for a printing device ( 4 ), in which - in the data processing system ( 3 ) at least one electronic storage device ( 13 . 15 ) is provided with a predetermined storage capacity in which the print data ( 7 ) and / or the control values are buffered in allocated memory areas and thus the memory capacity of the memory device ( 13 . 15 ) is assigned to a corresponding degree of occupancy, - the control values on demand to the printing device ( 4 ) and then the respective memory area ( 13 . 15 ) is released for rewriting or deleting and thereby the degree of occupancy of the storage device ( 13 . 15 ) is reduced again, - in the pressure device ( 4 ) according to the drive values print images on a record carrier ( 8th ) and the printing speed at which the printing device ( 4 ) generates the printed images, depending on the degree of occupancy of the storage device ( 13 . 15 ) is controlled. Method according to claim 1, wherein for controlling the speed with the pressure device ( 4 ) the transport speed of the record carrier ( 8th ) by the pressure device ( 4 ) is controlled. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein with a buffer processor ( 16 ) the degree of occupancy of the storage device ( 13 . 15 ) and the occupancy rate or derived therefrom control values and to a device control ( 6 ) of the pressure device ( 4 ) is transmitted. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data processing system ( 3 ) a raster image processor ( 14 ) in which at least part of the print data is processed into pixel-by-pixel rasterized data as drive data. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data processing system ( 3 ) a data processor ( 12 ) with which incoming print data ( 7 ) in a page memory ( 13 ) and provided for a subsequent raster image process. Method according to claim 5, wherein the occupancy rate of the page memory is detected and also for controlling the printing speed of the printing device ( 4 ) is used. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein for controlling the printing speed of the printing device ( 4 ) in the course of processing the print data ( 7 ) or how long it will take until the drive values for the printing device are provided and the time thus determined is also used to control the speed of the printing device ( 4 ) to use. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein characteristic data of print jobs, which influence the processing time for a print job or for parts thereof, from one of the print data to the data processing system ( 3 ) supplying print servers ( 2 ) to the data processing system ( 3 ) and this data is also used to control the speed of the printing device. Computer with means for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 8. A computer program product which, when loaded and executed on a computer, effects a method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A printing device comprising a computer according to claim 9 and / or a computer program product according to claim 10.

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