WO2005122010A1 - Procede et systeme permettant le traitement et l'impression 'in-rip' de documents variables - Google Patents

Procede et systeme permettant le traitement et l'impression 'in-rip' de documents variables Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2005122010A1
WO2005122010A1 PCT/GB2004/002857 GB2004002857W WO2005122010A1 WO 2005122010 A1 WO2005122010 A1 WO 2005122010A1 GB 2004002857 W GB2004002857 W GB 2004002857W WO 2005122010 A1 WO2005122010 A1 WO 2005122010A1
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Prior art keywords
variable
pdl
elements
document
fixed
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PCT/GB2004/002857
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English (en)
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Abraham Adizes
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Icon Biometrics Plc
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Publication of WO2005122010A1 publication Critical patent/WO2005122010A1/fr

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
    • G06F16/93—Document management systems

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to digital printing methods and systems and, more specifically, to a method and a system for processing and printing of variable documents.
  • a page layout to be transferred to the print medium is generally prepared by composing a page consisting of one or more elements such as text, line-art and images; using a photographic process to transfer such page onto a sheet of graphic film; developing the film; cutting and pasting appropriate sheets of film to obtain a printing spread; using a photographic process to transfer the layout from film to a photosensitive plate; and developing the plate.
  • This process is generally referred to as prepress.
  • the plate is then used m a printing press to produce multiple copies of the page layout
  • One plate is typically used to transfer one appropriately colored ink onto the printed copy.
  • a process of halftoning achieves various degrees of color intensity by exposing the page layout onto the graphic film through a screen comprised of a series of uniformly ordered dots, so that areas of higher intensity are rendered with larger dots and lighter areas are rendered with dots of smaller diameters.
  • the fidelity of rendering depends on the fineness of the screen.
  • CMYK complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor
  • process colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black
  • This approach is mainly used when a page does not comprise full color objects, or if CMYK process can not efficiently emulate the required colors. Examples of such colors include metallic colors, e.g., gold or silver, white on a colored or transparent substrate, fluorescent colors, etc. Colors other than CMYK are generally referred to as spot colors or special colors.
  • Page layout applications are used for creating the layouts and are generally device-independent, which means that a layout can be composed regardless of the device that will be used for outputting it onto the film.
  • RIP applications are, on the other hand, designed or customized to work with a specific film output device, or imagesetter.
  • a number of software packages, such as graphic design applications, word processors, etc., are available for the purpose of designing or creating the graphic elements, also referred to as digital assets.
  • Page layout applications are, conversely, generally used to manipulate assets created by other applications, or digitized (e.g., by scanning), in order to create finished page layouts.
  • a finished layout composed within certain "space,” is device-independent (within obvious limitations, such as tie page size) and incorporates objects such as text of appropriate typeface and size, line-art and images.
  • the device-independent space is often referred to as the "user space.”
  • Manipulating complex graphic objects such as high-resolution images or multi-layered groups of line-art elements, may put an unnecessary strain on the limited computing resources.
  • RIP applications handle the layouts created in the device-independent user space, convert them to the "device space" of a specific output device, and feed the "image memory” of the device with a stream of data necessary for outputting the job.
  • RIP works to flatten down a multi-layered layout and rasterize type and line-art, replacing traditional operations of screening and color separation. If the layout was composed using page element previews, RIP may also replace them with original high-resolution assets to be processed. Because of the amount of processing required, large file sizes and amounts of computer memory necessary for rendering, ripping usually takes place on dedicated, powerful machines utilizing cutting edge computer technology.
  • PostScript (Adobe Systems Incorporated, San Jose, California) has become recognized as one of the most robust and versatile PDLs.
  • PostScript is not only device-independent but also platform- independent, which means that it can be created and interpreted by applications running on various operating systems. For those and other reasons, PostScript (now at its Level 3) serves as a de facto standard in the printing industry.
  • variable printing generally involves printing multiple copies of the same page layout.
  • Variable printing denotes a workflow in which one or more elements of the layout are varied from copy to copy.
  • the only way to achieve these results on a mass scale was to pre-print the fixed elements of the page layout and then, in a separate step, to add variable information using a different output device.
  • such a procedure involved significant additional costs and was limited to adding - single-color textual information (such as e.g., address or title), to a pre-printed form.
  • One of the advantages of the direct output on a digital press is the ability to vary the page layout from copy to copy. Thus, for example, a complete book may be printed in a collated order as a single continuous job.
  • the size of the book is limited only by the capacity of the image memory, and the printing speed (apart from mechanical considerations) depends only on the rate at which data can be transferred from the image memory to the print heads.
  • the industry has encountered a series of problems stemming from a wide gap between the capacity, flexibility and speed of prepress operations and, on the other hand, output capabilities of a digital press.
  • outputting a copy of the page layout requires only a small fraction, of the time needed for prepress operations.
  • Page layout applications took a long time to output PDL files of enormous sizes.
  • Xeikon digital presses (Xeikon International, Lier, Belgium), in conjunction- with a very fast image memory, provide for the print-time "collating" of one or more pre-ripped master layouts with individual pages of a separate PDL file comprising only variable elements.
  • Xeikon collator was enabled to handle pre-ripped elements in an object-oriented way, which has greatly reduced redundant ripping and image memory requirements when printing jobs comprised of a large proportion of repeat elements.
  • the "front end" generation of the PDL output has, however, remained essentially unchanged.
  • variable documents To facilitate efficient processing and digital printing of variable documents, the authors have undertaken to develop a method for direct, in-RIP processing of variable, non-repeatable digital assets and data, as well as other in-RIP processing features which will become apparent to a person skilled in the art from the following description of the invention and preferred embodiments thereof.
  • the present invention provides a method and system for in-RIP processing and printing of " variable documents, wherein the document layout comprises at least one fixed element and at least one variable element.
  • the fixed and variable elements of the document layout may comprise text, line-art, and images.
  • the method of the present invention comprises generating at least one page description language (PDL) file defining said fixed and variable elements and at least one data file defining at least one instance of said variable elements; and processing said at least one PDL file in conjunction with said at least one data file in a raster image processor (RIP), to render said at least one instance of the variable document into the image memory of a digital output device.
  • PDL page description language
  • variable elements of the document layout are defined as variables within the PDL code, said PDL variables being assigned appropriate values by parsing said at least one data file during in-RIP processing of the variable document.
  • the value may be obtained by concatenating values of at least two other PDL variables, or by concatenating values of one or more PDL variables with a fixed string defined in the PDL file.
  • One PDL variable may define a single element, or multiple elements of the document layout.
  • values assigned to the PDL variables are rendered as text of a predefined typeface and size.
  • the PDL variables are rendered in a machine-readable form, e.g. as bar codes.
  • the value of a PDL variable is not directly rendered, but rather comprises a path and/or filename of an external digital asset which will be rendered during processing of the variable document.
  • the value of the PDL variable may be subjected to a transformation according to an algorithm comprised in the PDL file. Such transformations include, without limitation, case conversion, character suppression or replacement, date format conversion, truncating, padding, and generation of specific machine-readable elements. !
  • the method comprises processing multiple instances of the variable document.
  • the PDL file comprises at least one loop processed to render multiple instances of the variable document. The at least one loop is preferably processed until all the instances of the variable document are rendered.
  • each instance of the variable document is rendered into the image memory of the digital output device as a separate page
  • each page rendered into the image memory comprises multiple instances of the variable document.
  • the PDL file comprises a series of nested loops, which are processed to render multiple instances of the variable document.
  • the page comprising multiple instances of the variable document is rendered by processing the series of nested loops so as to position the instances of the variable document -in rows and columns. The number of rows and columns depends on the page size of the digital output device.
  • the PDL file in addition to defining fixed and variable document elements and the imposition of multiple documents on the page, defines additional page elements.
  • the page elements may be fixed and variable.
  • a single data file may define the multiple instances of both variable document elements and variable page elements, or one data file may be generated for variable document elements and another data file for variable page elements.
  • the PDL file in addition to pages comprising multiple instances of the variable document and optional page elements, defines at least one additional page.
  • the PDL files may be processed to render the fixed document and/or page elements separately from the variable elements.
  • one PDL file defines both fixed and variable elements, while in another embodiment at least one PDL file defines the fixed elements and at least one PDL file defines the variable elements of the document and/or page layouts.
  • the fixed elements are rendered into the image memory as a complete page layout.
  • the fixed elements are rendered into the image memory as one or more dynamic page elements.
  • the digital output device is capable of merging fixed and variable pages or page elements rendered into the image memory, and the method of the present invention further comprises generating a control file with instructions for merging said fixed and variable pages or page elements.
  • the present invention comprises a system for in-RIP processing and printing of variable documents.
  • the system of the present invention comprises a software application capable of generating the PDL files and the data files according to the present invention; a RIP provided with a direct access to said PDL files and data files, capable of processing said PDL files in conjunction with said data files; and a digital output device connected to said RIP and capable of printing documents according to the invention.
  • the software application is capable of generating at least one PDL file defining fixed and variable elements of the document layout and at least one data file defining instances of values of said variable elements.
  • the PDL file is passed to the RIP capable of processing said PDL file in conjunction with said data file, and rendering the document elements into the image memory of the digital output device capable of printing the documents according to the invention.
  • the software application is capable of generating at least one PDL file defining fixed and variable elements of the document layout, at least one data file defining instances of values of said variable elements, and a control file.
  • the at least one PDL file is passed to the RIP, which is capable of processing the fixed elements and • rendering them into the image memory of the digital output device.
  • the RIP is further capable of processing the variable elements in conjunction with said data file and rendering them into the image memory of the digital' output device separately from the fixed elements.
  • the fixed elements may be rendered into the image memory as a complete page layout, or as one or more dynamic page elements.
  • the digital output device is capable of merging the fixed and the variable elements, according to instructions comprised in said control file, and printing the documents according to the invention.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a typical document printed using the method and system of the present invention, featuring a number of elements defined as variables;
  • Figure 2 illustrates the same document, with an added element in which an external digital asset is referenced by another variable;
  • Figure 3 shows a section of the document of Fig. 2, wherein another element is added, this time composed by concatenating multiple variables;
  • Figure 4 depicts the same document as in Fig.
  • FIG. 2 wherein the same external digital asset, referenced by the same variable, is rendered twice using a different procedure
  • Figure 5 is a schematic representation of two pages of a variable job according to this invention, illustrating the dynamic, in-RIP imposition of individual documents and page- level elements
  • Figure 6 illustrates the same document as in Fig. 1, wherein a machine-readable element is added using in-RIP generation
  • Figures 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating various embodiments of the system of the present invention.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Page layouts are created using a number of different page layout applications and incorporating digital assets (such as line-work, images, etc.) created to conform to a wide variety of file formats and compressions.
  • alphanumeric data will be stored in, or exported from, a structured database.
  • a structured system enables the PDL output to be generated in such a manner that conversion and re-organization of digital assets and data is kept at a minimum, or even rendered completely unnecessary.
  • variable When used as an adjective in conjunction with "document element,” “page element,” “digital asset,” etc., it denotes a graphic element (text, image or another graphic feature) that changes from one instance of the document to the other. Thus, for example, the specification uses terms “variable document element” or “variable asset.”
  • variable When used as a noun, the word “variable” denotes a computer program variable, as in “PDL variable,” “assigning value to a variable,” etc.
  • structured digital assets and data are defined as variables within the PDL code.
  • the PDL definition • of a single document, comprising both fixed and variable layout elements is submitted to the RIP.
  • variables are populated with values from a corresponding data file and rendered directly into the image memory.
  • the PDL code is interpreted in a loop for as long as there are records in the data file, or until a certain predetermined number of pages have been reached.
  • the document layout comprises a number of alphanumeric elements, designated as f_01 to f_09.
  • a partial code listing is provided as an example of initializing variables when using PostScript as a PDL.
  • variable elements are defined by string variables, although other data types may be employed. Fixed elements (such as title lines and captions) are defined in a traditional way. In a manner which will be explained in a greater detail later, the values of the PDL variables are obtained by parsing an appropriate data file. As the PDL code is always generated for a specific purpose, the string length may be limited to a pre-defined maximum number of characters, which reduces the amount of memory required and speeds-up the processing. The incorporated values are rendered directly into the image memory. In another embodiment, Fig. 2 illustrates the manner in which digital assets existing as external files may be referenced. Instead of being rendered as text, the variable defines a full path and filename of the file passed to an image decoder (or, in PostScript terminology, a filter) as a data source.
  • image decoder or, in PostScript terminology, a filter
  • the complete value of the f_10 variable may be, for example, 's : /utopia/assets/images/dj 123456. jpg.' This syntax will be used when ripping on Windows or Unix platform; if the ripping is done on Macintosh platform, the syntax would be l s : utopia : assets : images : dj l23456. jpg.' It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that external assets may come in different ' formats, which does not pose a problem as long as the RIP is equipped with an appropriate filter. Thus, for example, RGB or CMYK color images may come in JPEG format, while single-color images may come in TIFF format, compressed using CCITT G4 compression.
  • the external assets may reside in any network folder accessible to the RIP host and may be read directly, without having to be copied to the host machine.
  • a number of PDL variables may be combined to form a new variable, which is then rendered in the document.
  • the micro text (f_l l) around the photograph in Fig. 3 is an example of one such variable, obtained by concatenating strings f_02, f_01 and f_07, with space characters (ASCII value 32) in between. Rendering text along a path shall, in itself, be apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • variables may be concatenated with fixed strings. For example, if the image folder path is always the same and if the name of the image file always corresponds to the personal number (f_08), there is no need to burden the data file with duplicate fields.
  • Value of f_10 may be obtained by concatenating the fixed path string (in our example 's : /utopia/assets/images/') with the f_08 value and then with the fixed file extension string (in our example ' . jpg').
  • the same external file may be used more than once, in order to render different features within the document.
  • one and the same image may be rendered once as a real-size color photograph and then again, in the background, as a light "ghost image.”
  • the procedure may be made even faster by reading image data into a "reusable stream.”
  • the data file used according to the invention may be any flat ASCII text file, such as a delimited of a fixed space file.
  • the data may have the lowing structure: f_01 f_02 f_03 f_04 f_05 f_06 Doe John 123 Main Street Mainville 98765 Utopia 12345678 Doe Jane 234 First Ave. Smallville 87654 Utopia 12345432
  • an appropriate delimiter will be assigned, for example the "
  • the carriage return character ( ⁇ CR>, ASCII value 013) will serve as a delimiter between records.
  • the delimited text would be as follows: Doe]John
  • the data file would have the following format: Doe John 123 Main Street Mainville 98765 Utopia 12345678 02-JUL-02 DJ123456 M s : /utopia/assets/images/dj 123456. jpg ⁇ EOR> Doe ' Jane 234 Firs t Ave . Smallvil le 87654 Utopia 12345432 02-JUL-02 DJ123454 F s : /utopia/assets/images/dj 123454 .
  • jpg ⁇ EOR> ⁇ EOF> It should be noted that the readline operator does not read the ⁇ CR> character into the string, which enables direct reading of the string into a corresponding variable.
  • the ⁇ EOR> line serves as a record delimiter, while ⁇ EOF> indicates the end of data file. -Let the path/filename of the data file be, for example, 's : /utopia/j obOOl ..cit.' The procedure may now look as follows: /datafile ( s : /utopia/j obOOl .
  • def /fnameO datafile (r) file def % Open data file /countf nn 0 def % initiali ze line count /ls_eof 5 string def /countf__nn 0 def % reset line count ⁇ /sr 255 string def /countf_nn countf_nn 1 add def /sr fnameO sr readline pop def sr ( ⁇ eof>) eq ⁇ /ls_eof ( ⁇ eof>) def exit ⁇ if countf nn 1 eq ⁇ - / • f-__0-1- sr def" if countf_nn 2 eq ⁇ /f_02 sr def if countf_nn 3 eq ⁇ /f_03 sr def if co.untf_nn 4 eq ⁇ /f_04 sr def if countf_nn 5
  • the is_eof variable is introduced to enable the. RIP to exit at the end of data file, as will be discussed below.
  • the proc_0l generally denotes a procedure for rendering one instance of the complete document. It is important to note that the data file remains open. When rendering the next instance of the document, the counter countf_nn is reset and the line following the last ⁇ EOR> becomes the new line 1.
  • a reader skilled in the art of variable printing may remark that format of the data file according to the preferred embodiment of this invention is not standard and can not be obtained automatically from conventional database or spreadsheet applications (which usually allow for exporting comma- or tab-delimited files). It should be noted, however, that the data file according to this invention is primarily meant to be generated, directly from data sources, by a specialized variable printing application developed by authors of the present invention.
  • this invention provides a method for a dynamic, in-RIP imposition of variable documents on a column, row, page and job level.
  • the complete imposed layout is sent to the RIP, or the imposition rules have to be
  • the present invention provides a significant degree of flexibility and streamlines the workflow by rendering another pre-processing operation unnecessary.
  • the PDL code is processed in a series of loops, following dynamically assigned imposition and pagination rules, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Execution ends when all the records in the data file have been exhausted, or when a predetermined number of pages has been reached.
  • page loop begins ls_eof ( ⁇ eof>) eq ⁇ exit ⁇ if ' exit at end of data file page_count PAGE_NUM gt ⁇ exit ⁇ if i exit at max. no.
  • the ripping process is completely data-driven - it commences without a pre-set number of pages and proceeds for as long as there are records to be printed.
  • the PAGE_NUM constant set in this example to 100, should be understood as a safety feature which will limit the job size and'prevent overloading of the image memory in the case of erroneous generation of an excessively long data file.
  • Constants XPAGE and YPAGE define the position of the first document on the page, while variables xdoc and ydoc, initially set to XPAGE and YPAGE, increment their values as successive documents are rendered (by YINCREMENT for the successive row and by XINCREMENT for the successive column), and are reset to XPAGE and YPAGE values at the beginning of each new page.
  • variables xdoc and ydoc initially set to XPAGE and YPAGE, increment their values as successive documents are rendered (by YINCREMENT for the successive row and by XINCREMENT for the successive column), and are reset to XPAGE and YPAGE values at the beginning of each new page.
  • the top left document is printed first, while the bottom right document is printed last. It will be obvious that this order may be readily changed by changing the values of appropriate constants, or by nesting the column loop within the row loop rather than the other way around.
  • Constants RO _NUM and CO _NUM define the number of rows and columns and, when multiplied, define the number of documents to be printed on each page.
  • the imposition pattern in a dynamic manner, it is possible to utilize the same PDL code, in conjunction with the same data file, in a completely device-independent way.
  • documents to be printed are card-sized, 4 rows by 2 columns setting will be used to output 8 cards on a sheet using a regular desktop printer, 7 rows by 3 columns will produce 21 cards on tabloid format, printing on a web-fed Xeikon press will allow 5 columns by almost any number of rows, etc.
  • any bounding boxes and/or clipping paths will generally be defined on the individual document level only, i.e., within the main_proc procedure in the above listing (main _proc will typically include reading one set of values from the data file plus the proc_0l procedure mentioned above).
  • main _proc will typically include reading one set of values from the data file plus the proc_0l procedure mentioned above).
  • RIP will preferably be allowed to utilize default device settings. However, as will be discussed below, this will not always be the case and therefore should not be considered a limitation of the present invention.
  • Fig. 5 illustrates a page with a "job header” and a "page header.”
  • the job header and page header may be defined as, respectively, fixed ' and variable elements within a procedure generally designated as page_proc in the PDL listing above.
  • elements defined in the page_proc may be rendered anywhere on the page and may include anything from titles and page numbering to registration or crop marks, pitches for foil stamping or die cutting, etc.
  • the page-level elements may require the use of bounding boxes or clipping paths, thus departing from the above preferred solution.
  • the procedure generally designated as job_proc may be added if, for example, one or more special pages have to be printed at the beginning or at the end of the job.
  • job_proc may be added if, for example, one or more special pages have to be printed at the beginning or at the end of the job.
  • the method of the present invention provides for multiple levels of variability, at least on document, row, column, page and job levels.
  • rendering of variable elements may be driven from a single data file, or that a separate data file may be provided for each level.
  • rendering of variable page elements includes an in-.RIP, algorithmic generation of various machine-readable elements, such as OCR (optical character recognition) zones, bar codes, etc.
  • OCR optical character recognition
  • certain projects will require manipulation of source data before rendering, for example conversion between lowercase and uppercase, replacing or suppressing certain characters, changing the format of dates, truncating or padding character strings to achieve a pre-determined length, etc.
  • Such manipulation may also be accomplished at RIP time, using algorithms built into the PDL code.
  • the card number variable (f_06 in Fig. 1) is rendered as a Code 128 bar code. Any other variable element, combination of variable elements, or combination of fixed and variable elements, may be used instead.
  • the first, least efficient but most device-independent embodiment comprises defining one or more fixed elements, or repeated variable elements, within one or more PostScript forms. Most contemporary RIPs are able to save the result of form processing in a memory cache.
  • the following example defines a form comprised of a two-color background and a simple single-color image:
  • the second embodiment takes advantage of the post-RIP "collating," available with Xeikon- based output devices.
  • two PDL files will be generated. Both will be interpreted in a series of nested loops as described above, but the "master page” file will include within its main procedure only the background layer of fixed elements and will have the PAGE_NUM constant set to 1. If the background layer includes repeated variable elements, and if the number of possible combinations thereof is reasonably small, more than one -"master page" may be generated. In variable printing terminology, such master pages will be called “picked masters.”
  • the "master page” PDL files will generally be interpreted without a corresponding data file.
  • variable PDL file will include within its main procedure rendering of non-repeated variable elements as described above, as well as any fixed and/or repeated elements which are to be rendered in the foreground layer (i.e., "on top” of variable elements).
  • any fixed and/or repeated elements which are to be rendered in the foreground layer (i.e., "on top” of variable elements).
  • a separate control file comprising instructions for the collator - the "book ticket" file - will be generated as well.
  • fixed and repeated elements may be cashed as ripped objects in the image memory of the output device. As mentioned before, this feature is available in proprietary solutions provided e.g., by Creo-Scitex or Indigo, as well as with more recent versions of Xeikon collator.
  • control file analogous to the above- mentioned "book ticket” file, provides instructions for the print-time merging of elements.
  • the procedures vary from vendor to vendor, and the present invention is not limited to any specific solution. It should be noted, however, that standardization of these procedures is well under way. •• The new standard, likely to be adopted by digital printing industry, is the XML-based PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language), currently in Version 2.0. Due to its flexibility, the method of the present invention if equipped to take full advantage of this new standard.
  • the present invention comprises a system for in-RIP processing and printing of variable documents.
  • the system comprises a software application capable of generating the PDL files and the data files according to the present invention; a raster image processor (RIP), provided with a direct access to said PDL files and data files, capable of processing said PDL files in conjunction with said data files; and a digital output device connected to said RIP and capable of printing documents generated according to the present invention.
  • the software application is provided with a direct access to a data source, such as database. If the variable documents comprise external digital assets (e.g., photographs), the RIP is additionally provided with a direct access to the storage of such digital assets. In one embodiment, shown in Fig.
  • the software application generates one PDL file and at least one data file.
  • the PDL file is passed to the RIP to be interpreted, rendered into the image memory and printed on the output device, typically a desktop printer.
  • the data file(s) and digital assets storage must be directly accessible to the RIP.
  • the desktop printer is a PostScript printer
  • the RIP host and image memory storage will generally form a part of the device.
  • the desktop printer is a Windows printer
  • the PDL output will be passed to a Windows PostScript interpreter such as Adobe's Acrobat Distiller or Aladdin Enterprises' ghostScript.
  • the interpreter serving as the RIP
  • the data file(s) and digital assets storage must be directly accessible to the interpreter.
  • a Windows printer may be advantageous in small, self-contained systems, it should be noted that processing would be much slower and limited in capacity.
  • the system featuring a fully enabled PostScript printer therefore, represents a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • the software application generates at least one PDL file, at least one data file, and a control file. If more than one PDL files are generated, they will generally represent one or more "master" PDL files and one "variable" PDL file.
  • the PDL files are passed to the RIP, which generally resides on a dedicated host.
  • the data file(s) and digital assets storage must be directly accessible to the RIP host.
  • the job is rendered into a fast image memory, for example a PrintStreamer (manufactured by Barco Graphics and available in certain configurations of Xeikon press).
  • a PrintStreamer manufactured by Barco Graphics and available in certain configurations of Xeikon press.
  • the control file is passed to the collator (a part of the output device firmware), which accesses the image memory, composes the final pages and sends them to the digital press.
  • the software application generates one PDL file, at least one data file, and a control file.
  • the fixed and repeated variable elements in the PDL file are appropriately labeled (e.g., in Indigo terminology, assigned to a "channel").
  • the RIP which generally resides on a dedicated host, interprets the PDL file and renders the job into the fast image memory.
  • the data file(s) and digital assets storage must be directly accessible to the RIP host.
  • the image memory may again be the PrintStreamer, or any other fast storage (e.g., a RAID 0 system) which generally forms a part of the output device host.
  • the control file is passed to a merge application (typically a part of the output device firmware), which accesses the image memory, composes the final pages and sends them to the digital press.

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  • Record Information Processing For Printing (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé et un système qui permettent le traitement et l'impression 'in-RIP' de documents variables. Le procédé de l'invention consiste à produire un fichier de langage de description de page ('page description language' ou PDL) définissant les éléments fixes et variables précités et un fichier de données définissant des instances desdits éléments variables, et à traiter le fichier PDL conjointement au fichier de données dans un processeur d'images tramées ('raster image processor' ou RIP) afin d'effectuer le rendu du document variable dans la mémoire d'images d'un dispositif de sortie numérique. Ensuite, les éléments variables sont soumis à une transformation selon des algorithmes compris dans le fichier PDL. Dans un autre aspect, le procédé de l'invention comprend l'imposition dans le processeur RIP de multiples instances du document variable. Selon cet aspect, le fichier PDL comprend une boucle ou une série de boucles imbriquées qui sont traitées de manière qu'elles permettent le rendu d'une ou plusieurs instances du document. Le système de l'invention comprend une application logicielle capable de produire les fichiers PDL et les fichiers de données selon l'invention, un processeur RIP capable de traiter les fichiers PDL précités conjointement aux fichiers de données, et un dispositif de sortie numérique relié au processeur RIP, qui est capable d'imprimer les documents selon l'invention.
PCT/GB2004/002857 2004-06-10 2004-07-01 Procede et systeme permettant le traitement et l'impression 'in-rip' de documents variables WO2005122010A1 (fr)

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US60/578,309 2004-06-10

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WO2010021672A2 (fr) 2008-08-19 2010-02-25 Eastman Kodak Company Fusion de données variables pour une mise en place d'ensemble
JP2014175000A (ja) * 2013-03-08 2014-09-22 Konicaminolta Laboratory Usa Inc ファイル変換方法及びシステム
DE102021104128A1 (de) 2020-03-19 2021-09-23 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Druckoptimierte Sicherheitselemente

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US5995724A (en) * 1996-11-01 1999-11-30 Mikkelsen; Carl Image process system and process using personalization techniques
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Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2010021672A2 (fr) 2008-08-19 2010-02-25 Eastman Kodak Company Fusion de données variables pour une mise en place d'ensemble
WO2010021672A3 (fr) * 2008-08-19 2010-04-22 Eastman Kodak Company Fusion de données variables pour une mise en place d'ensemble
CN102084400A (zh) * 2008-08-19 2011-06-01 伊斯曼柯达公司 用于包装整版的可变数据合并
US8219227B2 (en) 2008-08-19 2012-07-10 Eastman Kodak Company Merging variable data for packaging imposition
JP2014175000A (ja) * 2013-03-08 2014-09-22 Konicaminolta Laboratory Usa Inc ファイル変換方法及びシステム
DE102021104128A1 (de) 2020-03-19 2021-09-23 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Druckoptimierte Sicherheitselemente
US11500595B2 (en) 2020-03-19 2022-11-15 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag Printing-optimized security elements

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