A method and system for generating drawing orders are provided. The method involves receiving print data including data representing a plurality of drawing objects including at least a first drawing object and a second drawing object. The first drawing object and the second drawing object are each of one of predetermined object types and meet a predetermined condition. The method further involves (i) rendering the first drawing object to a first plurality of scanlines, (ii) rendering the second drawing object to a second plurality of scanlines, and (iii) generating, at the same time, a drawing order list for the first and second drawing objects based on the first and second plurality of scanlines.

A drawing data generation apparatus includes a first intermediate data generation section that generates first intermediate data from formation image data in which a formation image is indicated as a cluster of drawing components, a second intermediate data generation section that generates, from the first intermediate data, second intermediate data indicating drawing content of each line-shaped region of the formation image, and a drawing data generation section that generates, from the second intermediate data, drawing data indicating drawing content of each line-shaped region in a row of pixel data. The second intermediate data generation section selects, based on the first intermediate data, either a first scheme of arranging an overlap of the drawing components and generating the second intermediate data from the cluster of drawing components or a second scheme of expressing and integrating the drawing components as a cluster of the pixels and generating the second intermediate data.

Additional information can be appropriately added to an area in a template. The web application execution unit of a printer displays a print layout on a control device in a format enabling adding additional information to areas formed in the printing area of a print medium based on a first template, and when additional information is added to one area, changes to a format reflecting the additional information applied to the one area, and displays the print layout.

In one embodiment, a method for the simulation of preprinted forms is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first image as a back drop of a form, the image including a plurality of printable features corresponding to positions of the image. A second image is received as data to be filled in to the form, the second image including a second plurality of printable features corresponding to positions of the image, wherein the second plurality of printable features each have an assigned ink transparency. A feature of the first image is blended with a corresponding feature of the second image based on the assigned ink transparencies to form a blended feature. The blended features are combined to form a blended image that blends the first and the second images and is suitable for printing.

Additional information can be appropriately added to an area in a template. The web application execution unit of a printer displays a print layout on a control device in a format enabling adding additional information to areas formed in the printing area of a print medium based on a first template, and when additional information is added to one area, changes to a format reflecting the additional information applied to the one area, and displays the print layout.

An information processing system of the present invention includes a data generation device that generates variable data, and a rendering device that performs rendering of the variable data. A first data storing unit of the data generation device stores, as a first correspondence relationship, the generated variable data and identification information for identifying the variable data in association with each other, and a first data management unit manages the first correspondence relationship based on a predetermined management scheme. A cache search unit searches for predetermined variable data from the first correspondence relationship, and a cache hit determination unit determines that rendering data obtained by performing rendering on the variable data is cached when there is predetermined variable data in the first correspondence relationship.

A printing apparatus capable of arranging and printing a plurality of duplicates of an input image on a same side of a single sheet, includes a printing unit configured to print an image on a sheet using a color material, and a controller configured to act as: a changing unit configured to change, to a white image, a portion of an image that is to be printed by the printing unit, based on a region provided at each edge of the sheet and to which the color material is not to be applied, and a control unit configured to control the changing unit to change, to a white pixel, a neighborhood of a border between the plurality of duplicates arranged on the same side of the single sheet, based on a size of the region to which the color material is not to be applied.

A non-transitory recording medium storing a program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to a method. The method includes acquiring a plurality of document data from a memory that stores the plurality of document data. The method includes classifying the plurality of document data based on a merge rule. The method includes merging two or more document data classified to generate merged document data.