A replacing unit replaces lower bits of tone values expressed in binary numbers of the specific pixels of source image data with additional information needed in a print data creating process in a printing machine. That is, least significant bits of the tone values expressed in binary numbers of specific pixels of the source image data after RIP processing are replaced with information to be communicated to the printing machine. As the information to be communicated to the printing machine, there is multi-SPM selection information used in a halftone dot process in the printing machine.

An image forming apparatus includes a display section, an operation acceptance section, a printing section, an external terminal, a display control section, a readout control section, an interpreter section, and a control section. The readout control section reads metadata on a print job from a USB memory connected to the external terminal. The display control section uses a result of analysis of the metadata in the interpreter section to allow the display section to display a display prompting a user to specify a print target area in document data generated as the print job. The readout control section uses the result of analysis to read from the USB memory a portion of data corresponding to the specified print target area. The control section allows the printing section to perform print processing based on the read portion of data corresponding to the print target area.

A printing apparatus is provided with a plurality of analyzing units, and a control unit. Each of the plurality of analyzing units analyzes each of different pages of print data, and notifies an error in a case that an analysis error occurs. The control unit receives the error notification from the analyzing unit, at which the analysis error occurs, among the plurality of analyzing units. And, the control unit notifies a cancel to another analyzing unit at which the analysis error does not occur. The control unit is further configured to notify, on a condition that a printing of all pages before a page at which the analysis error occurs is completed, the cancel to the another analyzing unit.

An image forming apparatus includes a display section, an operation acceptance section, a printing section, an external terminal, a display control section, a readout control section, an interpreter section, and a control section. The readout control section reads metadata on a print job from a USB memory connected to the external terminal. The display control section uses a result of analysis of the metadata in the interpreter section to allow the display section to display a display prompting a user to specify a print target area in document data generated as the print job. The readout control section uses the result of analysis to read from the USB memory a portion of data corresponding to the specified print target area. The control section allows the printing section to perform print processing based on the read portion of data corresponding to the print target area.

An image processing system includes a server to control a plurality of processes performable in the image processing system, a first image forming apparatus communicable with the server, and a second image forming apparatus communicable with the server. The server includes a first memory to store first image processing data, and a first processor to generate first image drawing information based on the first image processing data. The second image forming apparatus includes a second memory to store second image processing data, a second processor to generate second image drawing information based on the second image processing data, and a print engine to perform the image forming operation of the second image forming apparatus based on the second image drawing information.

Output devices supporting wireless device discovery are herein disclosed and enabled. To setup an output device for wireless connection, wireless device discovery is performed by a client of the output device to discover the output device. Upon being discovered, the output device may provide identification or information related to the output device to the client for establishing a wireless connection. Subsequently, the output device may receive, via the established wireless connection, digital content from the client for output. Wireless device discovery operations may be based on one or more of a close proximity wireless communication, a Bluetooth wireless communication, or a wireless communication compatible with a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards. Security information, such as a password, biometrics, or a PIN, may be required for establishing the wireless connection. The output device may automatically obtain the security information from the client or may be based, in part, on user input.

Systems and methods for modifying imposition parameters using dynamically loaded media sizes. A print job is received into a computerized device comprising a marking device. The print job comprises an electronic document and print job attributes and imposition defining an arrangement of images in the electronic document for predefined dimensions of continuous feed print media. A change in print media being fed into the marking device is automatically detected, using the computerized device. The print job attributes are automatically modified, using the computerized device, based on the change in the print media, without further operator intervention.

The present invention enables successful printing whether printing data contains a character code of either code page or Unicode without an addition of an apparatus for code conversion and without expansion of printer memory for storing Unicode font set. Upon receipt of the input of printing data containing the character code of the code page, a first print control unit is selected to control printing of a string represented by the code page with a font available for the code page. Upon receipt of the input of printing data containing the character code of Unicode, a second print control unit is selected to convert the character code of Unicode to the character code of the code page and to control printing of a string represented by the Unicode with a font available for the code page on the basis of the code page after conversion.

A print control apparatus includes a print controller including one or more processors and at least one memory. The print controller functions as a receiving unit to receive, from an external device, a print job that includes a plurality of ordered document files, a print page range indicating sequential target pages, an initial page in the sequential target pages corresponding to a print start page in one of the plurality of ordered document files, and a last page in the sequential target pages corresponding to a print end page in another one of the plurality of ordered document files, and a rasterizing unit to selectively rasterize pages of the received print job based on the print page range, so that the sequential target pages, including at least (i) pages between the print start page and a last page of the one document file and (ii) pages between a first page and the print end page of the other one document file, are rasterized, and the pages other than the sequential target pages are not rasterized. The sequential target pages are printed and the pages of the print job other than the sequential target pages are not printed.

A controller of a printing apparatus causes, in accordance with programs, the printing apparatus to obtain data and temporarily storing the received data in a buffer, create an image to be printed on a printing medium in accordance with the received data, obtain a receiving time period required to receive particular amount of data, obtain an image creating time period to create the image in accordance with the particular amount of data, obtain a total print length of a printing medium on which printing is executed in accordance with the data, calculate an amount of image which can be printed at a designated constant printing speed based on the receiving time period, the image creating time period and the total print length, and, when the calculated amount of image can be created, start a process of printing at the designated constant printing speed in accordance with the created image.