A data processing method processes data using a processor including N (N is an integer equal to or more than 2) cores and a memory. The data processing method includes: searching a new character as a character whose raster data is not stored in the memory among a plurality of characters specified by character data included in print data to count a count of the searched new characters; generating M (M is an integer equal to or less than the N) threads, wherein the M is a count determined based on the count of the counted new characters among the N; dividing and allocating the plurality of characters to the M threads to generate raster data for the new characters using any one of the N cores for each of the M threads; and rendering the plurality of characters using raster data corresponding to the character data.

An image forming apparatus includes: a communication interface that receives printable data including a character code from a host device; a memory that stores a character code attribute table recording the character code, the character code attribute table being configured to record a rendering attribute in association with the character code; and a processor that executes an information processing program to operate as a rendering module, in which the rendering module is configured to render a character identified by the character code in the printable data on a basis of the rendering attribute recorded in association with the character code in the character code attribute table to generate rendering data.

A data processing method processes data using a processor including N (N is an integer equal to or more than 2) cores and a memory. The data processing method includes: searching a new character as a character whose raster data is not stored in the memory among a plurality of characters specified by character data included in print data to count a count of the searched new characters; generating M (M is an integer equal to or less than the N) threads, wherein the M is a count determined based on the count of the counted new characters among the N; dividing and allocating the plurality of characters to the M threads to generate raster data for the new characters using any one of the N cores for each of the M threads; and rendering the plurality of characters using raster data corresponding to the character data.

A method and system include digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off coating protected gaming documents of at least one game, the gaming documents including variable indicia, the gaming documents and the at least one game being associated with at least one overall print run, each print run including (i) a plurality of non-winning gaming documents and (ii) a plurality of winning gaming documents determined by revealing secure variable indicia according to predetermined game programming, and wherein at least the secure portion of digital imaging is hidden under the scratch-off coating. The secure portion can be encrypted into ciphertext with the non-secure portion remaining plaintext or cleartext. This enables digital imaging on demand across a local or distributed network of both secure and non-secure areas of instant lottery tickets or other documents having scratch-off coatings.

A method and system include digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off coating protected gaming documents of at least one game, the gaming documents including variable indicia, the gaming documents and the at least one game being associated with at least one overall print run, each print run including (i) a plurality of non-winning gaming documents and (ii) a plurality of winning gaming documents determined by revealing secure variable indicia according to predetermined game programming, and wherein at least the secure portion of digital imaging is hidden under the scratch-off coating. The secure portion can be encrypted into ciphertext with the non-secure portion remaining plaintext or cleartext. This enables digital imaging on demand across a local or distributed network of both secure and non-secure areas of instant lottery tickets or other documents having scratch-off coatings.

A method of encrypting at least a portion of PostScript vector language, where the PostScript vector language includes a cleartext portion and a ciphertext portion, the method including: (a) encrypting at least a part of the PostScript cleartext portion via an encryption algorithm with a generated encryption key resulting in at least a part of the ciphertext portion and overwriting the PostScript cleartext portion with the resulting at least part of the ciphertext portion; (b) saving the encryption key in a file separate from a file containing the PostScript vector language; (c) linking both the encryption key file and the PostScript file in an image processor interpreting the PostScript vector language to display or print PostScript graphics; (d) decrypting the at least part of the ciphertext portion resulting in decrypted PostScript cleartext; and (e) executing the resulting decrypted Postscript cleartext to produce an image on a document or screen.

A method is provided of digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off-coating protected documents of at least one game using middleware. The method includes: (a) generating the secure variable indicia in non- vector raster format; (b) generating vector graphics to be imaged on physical document locations; (c) assigning the secure variable indicia in a non-vector raster format to documents in and shuffling the documents throughout a print run; and (d) linking via middleware the secure variable indicia in the non-vector raster format to associated vector graphics variable indicia to be digitally imaged on the documents and to generate vector graphics-formatted data for each document in the print run. The secure variable indicia assignment and shuffling are executed by non-vector raster game generation software output that is reinterpreted by the middleware to produce related vector graphic output for the secure variable indicia.