An approach is provided for managing the configurations of printing devices in a distributed environment where printing devices are initially configured at a first physical location and then reconfigured at a second physical location. A configuration manager provides configuration data to a configuration system at the first location to be used to initially configure printing devices. The configuration manager also provides the configuration data to a device management system at the second physical location. The configuration manager receives changes to the configuration data from the device management system at the second physical location and propagates the changes to the configuration system at the first physical location. The configuration manager also tracks the configuration state of printing devices at both the first physical location and the second physical location.

Embodiments described herein modify AFP translations of non-AFP print jobs in order to ensure that exceptions in the non-AFP print jobs are handled correctly. One embodiment comprises a controller that receives a job ticket for a non-AFP print job, where the job ticket defines at least one page exception for the non-AFP print job. The controller receives an AFP translation of the non-AFP print job, where the AFP translation does not implement the at least one page exception defined in the job ticket for the non-AFP print job. The controller modifies the AFP translation to include one or more structured fields based on the at least one page exception, and provides the modified AFP translation to a print server to generate a printed output that represents the non-AFP print job as specified by the job ticket.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an image forming control method, a consumable chip, an image forming apparatus, and a consumable. For the image forming control method, based on the environmental data, the encryption and decryption processing and transmission are performed on the preset compensation value of the image forming control parameter using the environmental data respectively detected by the consumable chip and the image forming apparatus. The preset compensation value is prevented from being intercepted and tampered during transmission, which makes data transmission more secure, thereby ensuring the printing and image forming quality.

An approach is provided for managing 3D printing processes using a 3D printing management service in a cloud-based environment. Configuration data is received corresponding to one or more available 3D printing devices which may be used to complete a 3D printing job. Build data is received corresponding to one or more 3D printing jobs requested for the one or more available 3D printing devices. The 3D printing management service utilizes the configuration data and the build data to select at least a particular 3D printing device to perform at least a particular 3D printing job based on a resourced load balancing determination. The build data is transformed to a format communicable to the particular selected 3D printer to allow it to perform the particular 3D printing job.

A printing device includes a print engine, and a controller. The print engine performs an index print to print a plurality of images on one or more sheets, the plurality of images corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of files stored in an external memory. The controller controls the print engine. The controller performs determining a type of each of the plurality of files stored in the external device. The controller converts each file, which is determined as a non-image file and includes a page description language, to an image file representing contents of the each file by interpreting the page description language included in the each file. The controller generates a print command for the index print by referring to each image file which is stored in the external memory and each image file generated in the converting.

An apparatus and method for a printing system is provided which determines whether image data input by execution of an input job is a blank and, in a case where the image data is determined to be a blank, the printing system records information indicating the determination of a blank as history information of the input job. Thus, in a case where image data input by execution of an input job is not output by execution of an output job, the user is able to easily confirm the cause of the output failure of the input image data.

A label modification unit may receive a label modification input associated with an image. The label modification unit may process, using an image filtering, the label modification input to convert the image to a bitmap for raster printing the image via a laser printhead. The label modification unit may determine, based on the bitmap, an array of power factors for a light beam that is configured to be emitted by a laser of the laser printhead and raster print the image. The label modification unit may control the laser of the laser printhead in association with raster printing the image on a rewriteable label according to the array of power factors.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of devices configured to perform different job processing, a control unit configured to control job processing performed by each device, a reception unit configured to receive an instruction for causing the control unit to shift to a state where the job processing is capable of being performed, and a power control unit configured to, when the control unit is shifted to a stand-by state in response to receiving the instruction, supply a power to a device specified based on a job processing function corresponding to an initial screen to be displayed.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an image forming control method, a consumable chip, an image forming apparatus, and a consumable. For the image forming control method, based on the environmental data, the encryption and decryption processing and transmission are performed on the preset compensation value of the image forming control parameter using the environmental data respectively detected by the consumable chip and the image forming apparatus. The preset compensation value is prevented from being intercepted and tampered during transmission, which makes data transmission more secure, thereby ensuring the printing and image forming quality.

A printer may accept a print instruction; start printing of a code image on a print medium; control an operation state of the printer, wherein in a case where the printing of the code image is completed after the printing of the code image has been started, the operation state of the printer is controlled to be a respondent state, and in a case where the printing of the code image is not completed due to an error occurring after the printing of the code image has been started, the operation state of the printer is controlled to be a non-respondent state; receive an authentication request from a first external device; send the authentication response to the first external device; receive connection information from the first external device; and establish, by using the connection information, a wireless connection between the printer and a second external device.