WO2012093060A2

WO2012093060A2 - Method for controlling a printing device and corresponding printing device, computer system and computer program product

Info

Publication number: WO2012093060A2
Application number: PCT/EP2011/074157
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ulrich BÄUMLER; Hubert Drexler
Original assignee: OCé PRINTING SYSTEMS GMBH
Priority date: 2011-01-03
Filing date: 2011-12-28
Publication date: 2012-07-12
Also published as: DE102011000001B4; WO2012093060A3; DE102011000001A1

Abstract

In order to control a printing process, in which incoming print data structured on a page-by-page basis are processed in a data processing system to form actuation values for a printing device: at least one electronic storage device having a predetermined storage capacity is provided in the data processing system, in which device the print data and/or the actuation values are buffered in associated storage regions; on request, the actuation values are output to the printing device; print images are printed on a recording medium in the printing device in accordance with the actuation values; and the print speed with which the printing device generates the print images is controlled in accordance with variables which are characteristic of the speed of processing the print data.

Description

Method for controlling a printing device and corresponding printing device, computer system and computer program product

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 relates in particular to high-performance digital printing devices. Such bones are e.g. used in printing production centers, where 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. The printing technology may for example be based on electrographic, magnetografi ^¬'s method or on the principle of inkjet printing, but is not limited to these technologies, and can also consist of a combination of technologies, such as Druckanlage- parts, which by means of offset Process printing and press parts that print using inkjet technology. US 7,545,523 B2 discloses a corresponding high-performance digital printing system. US 2010/0060940 A1 describes a system with which print data can be processed in such a high-speed, high-performance printing system. In the publication Digital Printing, M. Hoffman-Falk (Editor), Oce Printing Systems GmbH, 9th edition (2005), ISBN 3-00- 001081-5, on pages 250-258, there is described a corresponding raster image controller called Oce SRA Controller. Pages 347 to 361 describe a print server for high-performance printing systems with the brand name Oce PRISMAproduction Server.

US Pat. No. 5,913,018 A discloses a printing system in which print data is fed to a raster processor in which page-wise and pixel-by-pixel rasterized data are produced which are fed to a print head. In order to optimize the overall process, the time required to rasterize the data is calculated or estimated before the respective raster process, and depending on the result, subprocesses or resources for the raster process are selected or omitted. Furthermore, a control device for a printing press is provided with which the speed thereof can be set as a function of the estimated results. From EP 0053619 Bl, a printing system is known in which a paper web is unwound from a roll, supplied to the printing device and is rewound on ei ^¬ ne output side roller after printing. Between the rollers and the printing device storage devices for the paper web are provided, 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.

From US 6,762,855 Bl a printing system with a data processor (RIP) is known, the rasterizes print data and stores the rasterized pages in a page memory. Furthermore, a memory control is provided with which the speed of a transport device for the recording medium and for the transfer printing of the printed pages in Depending on the degree of filling of the page memory to be controlled. This is to avoid that a pressure stop occurs, so-called. Collinging, if due to high raster complexity of complex pages and a long time associated with the generation of raster data no printable rasterized page data are more available.

From DE 603 00 094 T2, which corresponds to EP 1334834 Bl, is a printing system using a line head ^¬ be known, in which a change in the speed of a printing medium can be variably controlled.

From EP 1 605 344 A2, a printing system is known in which a print stop due to the data of an accumulator ending (so-called buffer memory underrun) is avoided by controlled storage management during the storage and readout of the print data.

US Pat. No. 5,454,065 A discloses a printing system in which the printing speed can be controlled as a function of the speed of inputs by a user.

The documents mentioned above are hereby incorporated herein by reference ^¬ takeover.

High-performance printing systems are unplanned

Print stop very disadvantageous, because this not only lost production time, but also for the restart time and often manual activities of Bedienper ^¬ personnel are necessary. In addition, Maku ^¬ latur, ie unprinted Papierausschuss arise by a print stop when the printing device can resume the printing process only after a certain start-up phase.

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

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

According to a first aspect of the invention, a printing process or a printing system are provided, wherein detailed, side-structured print data are processed in a data processing system to ^¬ driving values for a printing device. In the data processing ^¬ system an electronic Speichervorrich ^¬ tung is provided with a predetermined storage capacity provided at least in which the print data and / or the driving values are temporarily stored in respective memory areas, and thus the storage capacity of the memory device is assigned to ei ^¬ nem respective degree of occupancy. The Ansteu ^¬ erwerte are on call to the printing device ausgege ^¬ ben and then released the respective memory area for rewriting or deletion, whereby the occupancy rate 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.

With this aspect of the invention, a printing system is provided in which the data processing processes upstream of the printing process are tunable with the printing speed in the printing device so that on the one hand the printing ^device comes as little as possible to a standstill, even if the processing of the data takes so long that only few control values are available. The vote can take place in that the printing speed is continu ously ^¬ or stepwise reduced or throttled and, in particular, restricted to a minimum printing speed, but above zero.

Equally it can be provided, especially when the memory occupancy rate exceeds one or more predetermined Obergren ^¬ zen that the printing speed is increased kontinuier ^¬ Lich or stepwise, and in particular accelerated to a maximum printing speed

On the other hand, can also be ensured with the invention that the data processing need not be suspended, because space in the electronic memory is no longer sufficient to disposal, in which optionally the printing speed continuously or stu ^¬ fenweise up to a maximum printing speed with the printing Device is reached, is increased. The invention is particularly based on the recognition that in the processing of print jobs which have side individually different data and thus Verarbeitungsanfor ^¬ requirements, in terms of their processing time in the formation of driving values for the printing apparatus are very different. For example, while data containing only bit by bit black-and-white information, such as bill texts, can be processed very quickly in a short time by a raster processor to rasterized image data for controlling a printing device, the processing of high-resolution images in three or more colors significantly higher costs and thus longer time for the grid process. If further processing steps are necessary, such as trapping, which is described in the aforementioned US 2010/0060940 A1, the complexity of the raster process can be considerably increased. The invention provides a very simple but effective method is specified to provide from the data processing system data with which the printing device with respect to their speed varies according Fit to ^¬ bar, because the occupancy rate of the electronic storage device is a hand with very little expense determine and on the other hand, the information on the occupancy rate is very easy to represent 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 embodiment of the invention, the transport speed of the ^recording medium is controlled by the printing device to control the speed with the printing device. The recording medium 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 from this derived ^¬ te control values are transmitted to a device control of the printing device.

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

Another advantage of the invention is that the speed of the printing device can advantageously adapt dynamically to the amount of data available for the printing process. The adaptation is in particular to the respective

Performance of the raster processor for page-by-page deployment adaptable to control values. By the advantage can be achieved in particular that a largely un ^¬ terbrechungsfreier pressure is possible in which the printing device and in particular the fact transported up to be record carrier never or rarely stopped. The method also permits the operation of pressure equipment under ^¬ schiedlicher printing performance with the same data processing system because the pressure device automatically adapts to the processing power of the Datenverar- beitungssystems.

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 Sei ^¬ space A is in particular separate from the print memory of the memory device, in which the control values are stored for the printing device. The separation can be provided physically (hardware) and / or software or administrative. The driving values for the

Printing device are stored in the print memory in particular page by page as bitmap data. For optimized control of the printing speed of the

Printing device may further be provided in particular from the side memory from which the data are supplied to the raster image process, deriving at least one value 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, it can be provided for STEU ^¬ ng the printing speed of the printing apparatus characteristic data of printing jobs that affect the processing time for a print job or for parts thereof, from a print data to the Data processing system supplying system such as a print server to the data processing system to transmit and there to evaluate accordingly or to incorporate 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 ^¬ the.

All data and values that are used to control the printing equipmen ^¬ speed of the printing apparatus, the device control the printing device can in particular be ^¬ tenweise, for a predetermined number of pages, printing job basis or for portions of a print job provided become.

The respective control values for the print speed may include current values, trend values (mathematical ^¬ specific derivations over time) or other combinations of values and mathematical operations to such values.

In a further aspect of the invention, a method for controlling a printing process is provided, in which

- Processed page by page structured print data in a data processing system to drive values for a printing device, wherein

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,

the control values are output on demand to the printing device, - Printing images are printed on a recording medium in the printing device according to the drive values, and

- The printing speed at which the printing device generates the printed images, is controlled in dependence on process variables of the data processing system.

In particular, the process variables are scanned regularly for regular control of the printing speed.

At least one of the following quantities or a variable derived therefrom may be used as the process variable:

the transmission rate for print data from a data source, in particular as a print server, to the data processing system, in particular to a parser which processes print data coded in a print data language from pages to be rasterized,

the processing power or the processing rate of the parser

- the degree of occupancy or the occupation rate of a side ^¬ buffer memory device, are stored in the generated by the parser to be rasterized data of printed pages,

- the raster output of the data processing system, in particular a scanning controller for generating the at ^¬ control values,

the degree of filling and / or the filling rate of a print buffer memory device in which the drive values are stored, and

the presence of page-rasterized drive values in the print buffer memory device in a predetermined print order.

The control takes place in particular with a so-called buffer processor, which receives corresponding signals to the process ^variables and from these signals for controlling a Printhead and a device control of the printing device he testifies ^¬ .

If process parameters of the print data processing are used which occur in a sequential Datenverarbeitungspro- process of transmitting the print data from the print server to store the data in the print buffer memory device of early process steps, such as the transmission speed in transmitting the pressure ^¬ data from the print server to the grid Controller, then the printing speed by means of the buffer processor vo ^¬ outlook with a relatively large time constant ge ^¬ controls. It can be avoided for example, that has to be braked sharply in the short term due to a short sharp drop in the occupancy ^¬ degree of the print buffer that arises, for example, by an ornate raster process for several consecutive complex printed pages, the print speed. A loss resulting from ^such abrupt delays

Print quality can be cast by the anticipatory regulation ent ^¬ against. Unwanted oscillations in the printing speed control can also be avoided, in particular if a plurality of said process variables of the print data processing are used for speed control.

To undesirable oscillations in the Druckgeschwindig ^¬ keitsregelung to avoid in the printing head driving and / or in the device control can be in the buffer processor, a frequency filter, in particular a low-pass filter may be provided whose frequency characteristic is adapted to the respective interfering oscillation frequency so as to suppress this , A corresponding low-pass filtering can also be designed as mean value formation. The signals of the above-mentioned process ^¬ sizes of print data processing can be averaged in particular. In another aspect of the invention for controlling a printing process, print data are produced to order, from a print data source, in particular from a print server, to a printing system comprising at least one Datenverarbeitungssys ^¬ system to process the print data and a printing apparatus transmitted. There, the print data is processed further. When changing from a first pressure on ^¬ support to a second print job in the course of print data transfer or the print data processing in the data processing system, the printing speed of the printing equipmen ^¬ Raets is reduced.

The reduction of the printing speed of the printing device may be triggered by signals from the transfer of the print data from the print data source and / or signals from the data processing system.

In a further aspect of the invention, print data are transmitted from a print data source to a printing system, which comprises at least one data processing system for processing the print data and a printing device, and are further processed there. The printing speed of the printing device is changed gradually according to at least one predetermined rule. The rule may include at least one of the rules or sub-rules described in connection with the other aspects of the invention.

By gradually changing unge ^¬ wish resonances in the printing process of the printing apparatus, thereby causing disturbances of the printed images can be avoided in particular.

In a further aspect of the invention, for controlling a printing process, printing data from a print data ^source , in particular from a print server, to a printing system are stored. Tem, which comprises at least one data processing system for processing the print data and a printing device, transmitted and further processed there. The printing speed in the printing apparatus is controlled according to a predetermined rule, wherein if the over ^¬ transmission speed of the print data and / or the proces processing speed in the data processing system changes, and the printing speed in the printing apparatus is changed ^¬ changed.

In this case, in particular according to a first rule, the printing speed can be increased if the Datenverarbei processing system in a print data page memory with a predetermined minimum rate print data are stored in accordance with a second rule to increase the print speed in the data processing system temporarily held the print data processing at least partially ^¬ are and after the resumption of Druckda ^¬ tenverarbeitung the refilling rate of the print data page memory and measured in accordance with a measured value for the rate of refilling a new Druckgeschwin be set in the printing machine speed.

The data processing may in particular comprise a parsing process and a raster process, wherein at least one of these two processes can be temporarily stopped for the purpose of controlling.

Inventive aspects described may each inde pendently ^¬ or be used together. Further aspects, advantages and effects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which is explained with figures.

In the figures, like components are each provided with the same reference numerals. Show it:

Figure 1 A printing system

FIG. 2 A data processing system or control system for a printing system

Figure 3 A control table for controlling a

print speed

FIG. 4 Data processing processes

FIG. 5 A widened compared to the system of FIG

System,

FIG. 6 A widened compared to the system of FIG

System, FIG. 7 A further modified control system of a

Printing system and

Figure 8 A structural flow chart for processing page data in a printing system.

FIG. 1 shows a printing system 1 in which print jobs 7 are sent from a print server 2 to a data processing system designed as a raster controller 3. The print jobs are typically in egg ner page description language such as IPDS coded (in ^¬ telligent 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 print data received as print job 7 are stored in the ter controller 3 converted into control values for a printing device 4. To do this, they undergo a raster image process in which typically image-by-page rasterized image data is generated as bitmaps. The bitmap values are sent as control values via a connection 10 to a print head controller 5 of the printing apparatus 4, are created using the entspre ^¬ accordingly the driving values pointwise print images on a recording medium as a printed matter. 8 To this end the printing device has other controls, examples play as a device controller 6, and a controller 9 for the transport of the recording medium, the In ^¬ game consists of paper. To control the process, the raster controller 3 also transmits control data via a connection 11 to the device control 6, which in turn acts again on the controls 5 and 9 of the print head or paper transport.

FIG. 2 shows the components and sequences in the raster controller 3 in more detail. The incoming with the print job 7 print data with the for the respective

Page description language suitable reading and Interpre ^¬ tion system (parser) 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 stored in an electronic page memory 13 (Random Access Memory, RAM). From there they are read out with one or more raster image processors (raster image processors, RIPs), where they generate page-wise bitmaps in a raster process and buffer them into an electronic image memory 15. The processes mentioned can be carried out serially as a pipeline process or all or part ^¬ in parallel for different data of the print job. The processes described syste ^¬ melemente can each whole or in part program products in computers (software) or be implemented in electronic, in particular ^¬ sondere digital hardware elements. The bitmaps stored in the pressure store or print buffer 15 are successively transferred to the printing device 4 for the print head controller 5. The fetch is carried out, for example, image line by line, page by page or away over several sides ^¬, depending on what other Zwischenspeicherungsmög ^¬ possibilities are provided in the printing apparatus. 4 In FIG. 2, for example, the device controller 6 controls the retrieval of the data as well as the triggering of the output of the print data via the print head controller 5 via a line IIa. This is synchronized in particular with the paper transport control 9 shown in FIG to achieve a correct print image on the printing material 8.

In the raster controller 3, a buffer processor 16 is further provided which is connected via a connection 17 to the print buffer 15 and via in a connection 18 with the device controller 6 of the printing device 4. The Pufferprozes- sensor 16 detects or reads at regular time intervals the occupancy rate in the print buffer 15 by bitmaps. When asked, for example, within a short time many bits ^¬ maps of the screen processors 14 and available in the print buffer 15 stored, then its occupancy rate increased. If many pages are read out of the print buffer 15 by the printing device 4 and the corresponding buffer memory areas are released for deletion or overwriting, the degree of occupancy of the page is reduced

Print buffer again.

On the basis of regularly reported by the buffer processor 16 to the device controller 6 values over the occupancy rate of the print buffer 15, the device control 6 decides regelmä ^¬ SSIG whether the currently existing print speed reserve have joined or changed, that is, is reduced or increased. FIG. 3 shows a corresponding control table 19 with which the device control 6 could be operated, for example. 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, a number is in each case given which describes a situation, column 21 contains the respectively associated degree of appropriation of the print buffer 15, situation number 1 indicating the degree of occupation 0, that is, empty memory. Situations 2 to 6 assume that the occupancy rate is 10%. To control particular pre can be seen ^¬ to control various situations gradually forward given percentage intervals of the memory occupancy rate, for example, in 10% increments. But it can also be done in finer steps or practically continuously in steps of, for example, tenth fractions of percent. In column 22 is roughly schematic Siert in only three categories: "equal to", "rising" and "falling" the tendency of the filling level indicated. It is formed by regular difference or mathematical ^¬ shear dissipation in the first and / or higher degree. Also In this case, the tendencies can be taken into account in a gradual manner or quasi-continuously determined and used for speed control Column 23 indicates the current pressure speed Column 24 indicates which action the device control 6 takes on the respective situation (1 to 6) is derived to control the print speed. In situation # 1, where the occupancy rate is 0, the trend steady lead ^¬ bend and the printing speed is also 0, no action is taken, that is, the printing device 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, in which the occupancy rate is also 10%, but the tendency is decreasing, the printing speed is 1, braking effect on the printing speed. Advertising can also Steue ^¬ tion of the speed changes gradually changes or continuous changes intended to.

FIG. 4 shows an example of how in the raster controller 3 printing data, statistical data and speed data are handled using the example of IPDS-coded print jobs. Velocity data are here related to the effect that the printing speed in the web-feet per minute angege ^¬ ben on a recording medium web. Memory data to be printed Documents are also given in meters, that is, playing for examples three documents have A4 in size a Speicherbe ^¬ must of about 0.9 meters. A print job that is received at a speed of 119 meters per minute and analyzed in the page analysis process 27 is then stored in a page buffer process 28, storing document pages 29 that are total

Print length of 15 meters correspond. In parallel, the raster controller 3 receives from the print server 2 resources which are also analyzed in the analysis process 25 and stored in the memory process 26 in the raster controller 3. Statistical data about fonts, overlays, page segments and ob ect containers are determined and stored. The raster image process 14 is then able to produce bitmaps at a speed of 135 meters per minute, which are stored in the print buffer 15 as raster images 30. The printing device 4 can do this data with a maximum speed of 150 meters per minute.

5 shows a 2 extended range of the system to the system of the figure, wherein the buffer processor 16 is additionally connected to the page buffer 13 so that for controlling the printing speed in the printing device 4 zusätz ^¬ Lich data of the page buffer are taken into consideration 13 Kgs ^¬ NEN, For example, the occupancy rate of the page buffer 13 is queried and used regularly or its content

Tendency by subtraction or first and / or higher temporal derivatives. The corresponding data of the print buffer 13 and the print buffer 15 can be processed in the buffer processor 16 so then that the PUF ferprozessor 16 directly corresponding commands for Beibe hold ^¬ or varying the speed of the printing device 4 determined or the data in turn individually to the device controller 6 and only there is decided whether and, if so, how the printing speed is changed. The corresponding control algorithms or tables (see FIG. 3) can be stored in the device controller 6 or in the buffer processor 16 for this purpose.

FIG. 6 shows a system, which has been extended even further compared to FIG. 5, for acting on the printing speed. Here, the buffer processor 16 is additionally connected to a time computer 31 via a time computer connection 34 and via a connection 35 to the print server 2. On the basis of the print data interpreted in the parser 12, the time calculator 31 uses empirically determined tables or correlation calculations to determine how much time the raster controller 3 generally needs to process the incoming print pages and the rasterized bitmaps in the print buffer 15 ready to deliver. From this result and the data of the page buffer 13 and the print buffer 15, the buffer processor 16 can be informed regularly in advance. To what extent the print buffer 17 will be occupied and deduce from it at an early stage whether and if ^¬ as the printing speed in the printing device 4 is ver ^¬ change. With regular target / actual comparisons, the storage occupancy model can be adapted regularly and prognosis regularly update using all available, relevan ^¬ th parameter values. The printing speed of the printing device 4 can thereby change fine in greater control steps, calculated in the beispiels- as acceleration ramps and deceleration ramps as needed at predetermined times and with specified ^differently surrounded steps or ramps profiles, determined and / or applied. By the data received from the print server 2 via the connection 35 via current or future transmitted to the raster controller 3 print jobs 7, the buffer processor 16 can optimize such acceleration ramps even further into the future. In this case, for example, statistical data about the number and properties of contained images, color data, memory requirements or necessary special treatments such as trapping in buffer processor 16 can be taken into account in the print server in order to predict the future development of memory usage in print buffer 15 to determine. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the earlier the data is acquired in the print job processing process, the more effectively the influence of the data entering into the buffer processor 16 becomes effective in the long term, that is, the data from the print server only takes effect much later , such as the data from the print buffer 15. In order to take these influences into account, the buffer processor 16 contains corresponding model data, via which a temporal correlation can be performed over these process steps. In Figure 7, control components are illustrated for controlling a printing system as in the previous Figu ^¬ ren. It is by the parser 12 and / or the downstream thereof page buffer 13 as a component 12a whose aktu- rush page processing power (parser output or

Page filling performance or Seitenbefüllungsgrad) to the buffer processor 16 at predetermined and in particular adjustable intervals, for example, reported at regular intervals of 30 seconds, for example in the unit pages per second. In addition, the RIP module 14 reports corresponding performance data, such as the component 12a, at predetermined and, in particular, adjustable time intervals, in particular with the same time intervals, these representing, in particular, the current RIP power for generating the respective raster data for printed pages.

In particular, the RIP performance also depends on whether the raster processor 14 can place ready-ripped page data in the print buffer 15; because if the print buffer 15 is already full, the raster processor 14 can not store Ras ^¬ terdaten more and must stop its scanning process or can no new page data from the page buffer 13 take longer.

Before the raster processor 14 or one of its RIP modules stores rasterized data in the print buffer 15 with a memory size x [MB], it asks it in a method step S1 whether a correspondingly large memory location is available there. If the return reported by the print buffer 15 answer is "No", then the ent ^¬ speaking RIP module enters a wait state (hold) and asks if necessary regularly re until the corresponding space is free or "Yes", the answer is , After a "yes" answer, the raster processor will be 14 or corresponding module in a step S2, the screened print data to the print buffer for storing.

Furthermore, it is reviewed by the raster processor 14 regularly in egg nem step S3 whether druckferti ^¬ ge, gridded pages are stored in a prescribed order of printing in the print buffer 15th In particular, it can be determined how many consecutive print-ready pages are still stored. This test can also be in a control unit outside of the raster processor 14 SUC ^¬ gen and especially in a separately provided for this control unit. The test result is also reported to the buffer processor 16 which can also use it to control the print speed via the print head controller 5 and the machine controller 6. In this case, the buffer processor 16 takes into account, in particular, how many of the pages stored in the print buffer 15 consecutively succeed one another in the print order starting from the currently printed page.

In figure 8 an example is shown in which the Druckrei ^¬ henfolge is in ascending numerical order (1, 2, 3, 4, ...). In other applications, such as letterpress printing, when imposition patterns are specified, the print order may be different. In the parser, the page ^numbers "Seitel", "page 2", etc. arrive in the numerically ascending order, are processed in the same order in a processing direction A and then stored in the page data memory (step S3).

In contrast, the steps S4 to S7 show a Momentauf ^¬ acquisition of various running in parallel processing ^¬ steps in the RIP, print buffer, the print head and the printed recording medium. In step S4, the parsed page data is sequentially loaded into the raster processor and processed there. In step S5, the finished rasterized page data are stored in the print buffer, wherein in the illustrated embodiment for the time shown it can be seen that the pages 4, 6 and 7 are already rasterized, for example, each independently processed in three raster modules, but the intermediate page 5 has not yet completed the raster process, which runs in a fourth raster module. Gleichzei ^¬ tig the side 3 is already loaded into the printhead (step S6) and the sides 1 and 2 have already been completely printed and are already transported together with the recording medium (step S7).

In the example shown in Figure 8 embodiment is to recognize that for the printing process in the prescribed order of printing only one page, namely, Be ^¬ te 4, is available in the print buffer memory. In such a state, the buffer controller would reduce the printing speed via the machine controller and the printhead controller so as to ensure that the finished rasterized data is available for print page 5 before the rasterized data on the print page 4 is to be transferred to the printhead or spä ^¬ testens before printed page 4 is finished printed.

In the above-described exemplary embodiments of buffer processors for controlling the device control and the printhead control, as input signals for the buffer processor, signals were optionally received for the following, regularly sampled process variables of the print data processing or signals derived therefrom:

the degree of filling or the filling rate of the pressure buffer,

- the raster power of the raster processor - the occupancy rate and the occupancy rate of the sides ^¬ puffers,

the page processing power or processing rate of the parser,

- The page transfer rate from the print server to the parser or raster controller and

- the presence of screened pages in the print buffer in the specified print order. The signals or signals derived therefrom can each be used alone or in combination with one another or with one or more of the signals or signals derived therefrom by the buffer processor for the purpose of control or processing thereof.

In an off can guide shape be provided for example that only velocity data of the data transfer by the print server and / or in processing the print data in the parser and / or memory occupancy level of the subsequent page memory are used to control the printing speed in the Puf ^¬ ferprozessor, but no velocity size of the raster processor and / or no memory occupancy level of the print buffer. Meanwhile Spei ^¬ cherbelegungsgrad can to control the printing speed, for example, as a kind of "last resort", only to

Perform a controlled pressure stop, be used. In this case, only a lower limit or threshold for the memory occupancy level can be provided and the controlled pressure stop can be automatically initiated and executed immediately if the memory occupancy level falls below this lower limit. The controlled pressure ^¬ stop can be done in particular by rapid ramp down (braking) of the printing speed to the Druckge ^¬ speed zero or to a minimum printing speed. The threshold can be determined depending on conditions in the pressure equipment and in particular For example, the maximum achievable print speed acceleration or deceleration, ie, how fast the print device can delay from the maximum print speed to the zero speed or to the minimum print speed, respectively. The

Threshold can only be one page or less than ten pages, but it can also be e.g. a few tens or hundreds of pages. It may also be provided that already rasterized page data are also printed within the acceleration phases, i. of the

Printing is continued within these phases. The printing speed, which is set via the device control and the print head control, may be predetermined in particular during the acceleration phases, i. in these phases not be dependent on the other mentioned process variables of the print data processing such as buffer occupancy level, etc. As a result, the printing operation or the print quality in the acceleration phases can be kept even better under control.

Even in the initial phase of the printing operation and a new print job, the control signals given above for the buffer processor and particularly the Pufferbele ^¬ supply degree of the print buffer may be important. For example, it may be provided that printing is only started at a predetermined minimum memory occupancy level.

In the following, aspects of the invention or concepts will be examined in more detail again.

Basic concept

Two process speeds of page flow are measured within the raster controller: 1. The speed at which the parser's finished (parsed) pages are written to the page buffer. 2. The speed with which the Rasterprozes ^¬ sor modules (RIPs) are entered finished rasterized page data in the print buffer.

Thus, the following effect can be achieved:

The smaller of the two measured process

Speeds dictates the maximum possible printing equipmen ^¬ speed. Adhering to this print speed ensures that neither the page buffer nor the print buffer runs empty and thus stops the printing system.

Measurement of process speeds

Once a page (or a logical sheet) is fully registered with the page buffer and the print buffer, the length of the side and the time at which the site has become incorporated ^¬ bear, listed or stored. The measured values of the process ^¬ speeds are recorded over a period of time and from a constant (the gleiten-) mean of the respective process speed, it averages ^¬. For example, in one embodiment, when the page buffer is entered, the moving average is determined over 30 seconds. When entering a page in the print buffer, due to the parallel data processing in the RIPs, the page order must be observed, ie a page only becomes effective for calculating the average process speed if it is in the correct print order in the print buffer , Special cases

A) Job finish

At the end of a print job (job) runs the average production process speed at which the pages are registered in the Seitenpuf ^¬ fer, typically zero. Without further countermeasures the printing device would be controlled to the cu ^¬-lowest possible printing speed, and thus the completion of the print job unnecessarily deferrers ^¬ siege, although possibly still many pages in the page buffer and / or stored in the print buffer.

To such an unnecessarily reduced productivity vermei ^¬ is detected, the end of the job. When the end of the job has been detected, only the process speed for the entry of the pages in the print buffer for the control of the printing speed is considered.

The end of a job can be detected directly if, for example, a corresponding command is contained in the data of the print job, for example in an order in the page description language IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream) of one of the commands "Print Buffered Data" or "Stack Received Pages ". However, such a command at the end of a print job is not mandatory, and therefore may have a different method to a set ^¬ come to animals to be detected, the end of the print job. Such a method provides, for example, that if for a certain time no data transfer has taken place in the parser, it is concluded that the job is over. In another method can be tektiert eg de ^¬ if no more pages flow into the page buffer. If for a predetermined period of time, eg than 3 seconds, no pages flow into the page buffer, it signals that the job is over.

B) Job change

New jobs (fonts, overlays, images, etc.) for the new print job are often loaded into the raster controller between two print jobs (Job Switch), ie there is a significant pause in the transfer of pages to the page buffer. Similar to the end of the job, the average process speed with which pages are entered into the page buffer will then run to zero. In this case it is advantageous that the printing equipmen ^¬ speed of the printing apparatus is reduced in order that a stop at job change occurs to ver ^¬ avoid. To achieve this it is detected whether a predetermined type egg ^¬ nes data transfer, in this example, the loading of the data type "re- sources", takes place in the parser. If necessary, the printing speed is then while reduced to a predetermined (minima ^¬ le) Speed until pages of the new job are again entered in the page buffer, which can reduce the likelihood that the print system will go into a stop state between two print jobs, ie no longer print.

When a job change on the part of the print server or output management system, carried out relatively slow process steps such as access to a hard drive to ei ^¬ NEN new job to organize the resources to download, etc. The access to hard disk sufficiently to accelerate is relatively expensive. In these cases, it is also advantageous if the printing system or the printing device changes its speed during a job change. reduced to a relatively long job changeover time between two jobs.

In order to regulate the printing speed, provision is made in particular for a maximum (Vmax) and a minimum (Vmin) speed to be provided.

Vmax may be the nominal maximum possible speed of the printing system (Vnom), but they can also be a ge ^¬ ringere speed. In particular, from the following points of view, it may be advantageous to set Vmax less than Vnom:

- MICR printing (MICR stands for Magnetic Ink

Character Recognition) can result in a lower print speed to improve the readability of ge ^¬ printed MICR image.

Sometimes an adjustment of the print speed to other system parameters of the printing system in ^¬ play, on those of the connected pressure pretreatment or -Nachverarbeitungsgeräten beneficial.

Also, the change of Vmin may be advantageous, for example, to make an adjustment to printing pre- or post-processing equipment, for example, to a Ab ^¬ rolling device or a cutting device for the paper web or an inserter.

If the speed Vmin not maintain who can ^¬, a stop can be initiated, for example, if the print buffer has fallen below a defined minimum value. By a gradual change in the speed can be avoided that occur at certain speeds resonances in the pressure device, which burden the Drucksys ^¬ tem over charge. Even unnecessary speed adjustments or oscillations, for example, if the moving average fluctuates in small areas, can be avoided.

Geschwind! Gkeits-Erhöung

If the print speed has been controlled down, the process speeds in the raster controller will reach exactly the set print speed in the medium term, because it is not possible to fill the page buffers or the print buffer faster than to remove the pages from these buffers. This can lead to the problem that the printing speed then does not change any more, because a stable, unchangeable control state is created and thus a once down-regulated printing speed is no longer accelerated by the controller. The printing system then works dau ^¬ nently slower than it would be possible.

A first solution to this problem is to try to increase the speed of the printer by a certain amount, for example by 5 meters per minute in a high-performance printing system. If the subsequently measured process speeds correspond to the set printing speed, this new speed can be maintained. Furthermore, the speed can be further increased on a trial basis. Otherwise, the speed is again ^¬ provides to the old value ge. A second solution is that for a short time the ^parameter and / or the RIP modules no longer have print page data process and thus the page buffer and / or the print buffer runs slightly empty. Then again pages are processed. The then measured process speed when refilling the buffers sets the new speed.

It can be stated in summary:

For controlling a printing process in which incoming, be ^¬ tenweise structured print data are processed in a data processing system to drive values for a printing device are

in the data processing system, at least one electronic storage device with a predetermined storage capacity is provided, in which the print data and / or the drive values are temporarily stored in allocated storage areas,

the control values are output on demand to the printing device,

printed in the printing device according to the drive values printed images on a recording medium,

and the printing speed at which the printing device generates the printed images in response to quantities which are characteristic of the speed of processing the printing data.

The described hardware and software components may each be fully or partially integrated in an analog or digital device control. They can 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 can be stored as a file on a data medium such as a floppy disk or CD-ROM / DVD-ROM or as a file via a

Data or communication network are disseminated. Derarti- and comparable computer program products or computer program elements are embodiments of the invention.

The process according to the invention can be found in a computer, in a pressure 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 (Tas ^¬ tature, Mouse, touch screen), microprocessors, a data or control bus, a display device (monitor, dis play) and a memory, a Festplattenspei ^¬ cher and interfaces such as a network card can hold ent ^¬ example.

Reference sign

1 printing system

2 print servers

3 raster controller

4 pressure device

5 printhead control

6 device control

7 print job

8 printed material

9 paper transport control

10 Connection for control values

11 Connection for control data

IIa printhead triggering

12 parsers

13 page buffers

14 raster image processor

15 print buffers

16 buffer processor

17 print buffer connection

18 printer connection

19 tax table

20 column "No."

21 column "degree of filling"

22 Column "Tendency"

23 column "printing speed"

24 Column "Action Print Speed

25 Resource Analysis

26 resource storage

27 page analysis

28 page buffers

29 pages

30 raster images

31 time calculator

33 page buffer connection Time computer connection

Print server connection

A processing direction

51 Step "Request storage space"

52 Step "Output of the screened pages"

53 Step "Process page data in the parser and save it in the page buffer"

S4 Step "Processing page data in RIP"

55 Step "Save page data in the print buffer"

56 Step "Transfer page data to the print head"

57 step "Transport of the printed AufZeichnungsträ ^¬ gers"

Claims

claims

Method for controlling a printing process, in which

- Incoming, page by page structured print data (7) are processed in a data processing system (3) to drive values for a printing device (4), wherein

- 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 drive values are cached in ^{¬ associated} memory areas and thus the storage capacity of the Speicherervorrich ^¬ device (13, 15) is assigned to a corresponding occupancy rate,

- the control values are output on demand to the printing device (4) and then the respective memory area (13, 15) is released for rewriting or erasing and thereby the degree of occupancy of the memory device (13, 15) is reduced again,

printing images are printed on a recording medium (8) in the printing apparatus (4) in accordance with the control values,

- And wherein 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.

The method of claim 1, wherein for controlling the speed with the printing device (4) Trans ^¬ port speed of the recording medium (8) by the pressure device (4) is controlled. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein with a buffer processor (16) the degree of occupancy of the memory direction (13, 15) is determined and the occupancy rate or derived therefrom control values and to a device control (6) of the printing device (4) is transmitted.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data processing system (3) contains a raster image processor (14) in which at least a part of the print data is processed into pixel-by-rasterized data as control data.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data processing system (3) comprises a data processor (12), are stored with the incoming print data (7) in a page memory (13) and provided for a subsequent raster image process.

The method of claim 5, wherein the degree of occupancy of the page memory is detected and also for Steue ^¬ tion of 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) it is provided to calculate in the course of the processing of the printing data (7) or to estimate how long it will take until the driving values for the printing device be provided and the time thus determined also to control the Ge ^¬ 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 the data processing system (3) supplying Druckser ^¬ ver (2) to the data processing system (3) is transmitted übermit ^¬ and these data are also used to control the speed of the printing device are the.

Method for controlling a printing process, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, in which

- Edited page by page structured print data (7) in a data processing system (3) to drive values for a printing device (4), wherein

in the data processing system (3) at least one electronic storage device (13, 15) having a predetermined storage capacity is provided in which the print data (7) and / or the drive values are ^{buffered in} allocated storage areas,

the control values are output on demand to the pressure device (4),

- Printing images are printed on a recording medium (8) in the printing device (4) according to the drive values, and

- Wherein the printing speed at which the printing device (4) generates the printed images, in dependence on at least one process variable of the data processing ^¬ processing system (3) is controlled.

The method of claim 9, wherein as a process variable to ^¬ least one of the following sizes or a quantity derived thereof is used:

- the transmission rate for print data from an in particular ^¬ sondere formed as a print server data source (2) to the data processing system (3), in particular egg ^¬ nem parser (12) processed in a print data language encoded print data from to be rasterized print pages,

- the processing power or the processing rate the parser (12),

- the degree of occupancy or the occupancy rate of a Be ^¬ tenpuffer memory device (13) in which the parser (12) produced from data to be rasterized print pages are stored off,

the raster power of the data processing system (3) for generating the drive values,

the degree of filling and / or the filling rate of a print buffer memory device (15) in which the control values are stored, and

the presence of page-by-step rasterized drive values in the print buffer memory device (15) in a predetermined print order. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the process variables periodically scanning signals are formed and a low ^¬ pass filter is provided to filter the sampling signals or from that formed drive signals. 12. A method for controlling a printing process, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the print data order by a print data source, in particular from a print server (2), to a printing system (1), the at least one data processing system (3) for processing the print data and includes, transmitted, and a printing device (4) there are proces ^¬ tet further, the printing speed of the printing device (4) is reduced when changing from a first print job to a second job in the course of print data transfer or the print data processing in the data processing system (3).

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the reduction of the printing speed of the printing device (4) by signals from the transmission of the print data from the print data source (2) and / or signals from the data processing tion system (3) is triggered.

A method for controlling a printing process, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the print data particular order, from a pressure ^¬ data source, in particular from a print server (2), to a printing system (1) comprising at least one data processing system (3) for processing the print data and a printing device (4) comprises, transferred and further processed there, wherein the printing speed of the printing device (4) is changed stepwise according to predetermined rules.

Method for controlling a printing process, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, in which print data from a print data source, in particular from a print server (2), to a printing system (1), at least one data processing system (3) for processing the print data and a printing device ( 4), transferred and processed there further and the printing speed in the printing device (4) is controlled according to at least one predetermined rule, wherein, if the transmission speed of the print data and / or the processing speed in the data processing system (3) changes, the the printing speed in the printing device (4) is changed.

The method of claim 15, wherein when the print speed is set to a first, relatively low value, a trial increase in print speed occurs.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the trial

Speed increase by a given amount speed level.

Method according to one of claims 15 to 17, wherein according to a first rule, the printing speed is he ^¬ increases, when in the data processing system (3) in a print data page memory (13, 15) with a predetermined minimum rate print data are stored and wherein according to a second rule for increasing the printing speed in the data processing system (3) temporarily the print data processing is stopped at least partially and after the resumption of the print data processing, the refilling rate of the print data page memory (13, 15) measured and according to the measured refill a new print speed in the printing device (4) ^¬ is.

The method of claim 18, wherein the data processing comprises a parsing process and a rasterization process, and the parsing process is temporarily halted.

The method of claim 18, wherein the data processing comprises a parsing process and a rasterization process, and temporarily suspending the rasterization process.

Computer with means for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 20.

A computer program product which, when loaded and executed on a computer, effects a method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A printing device comprising a computer according to claim 21 and / or a computer program product according to claim 22.