An information processing apparatus includes a hardware processor that stores intermediate data of a plurality of print jobs in a storage. The hardware processor is configured to perform, read first intermediate data of a first prim job; rasterize the read first intermediate data to generate print data; output the print data to an image forming apparatus; determine whether reading the first intermediate data allows extra, time in relation to a throughput of a print engine; determine whether reading second intermediate data of a second print job is a bottleneck of a printing time; and execute in parallel reading the first intermediate data and reading the second intermediate data, in response to a determination that the operation of reading the first intermediate data allows extra time in relation to the throughput of the print engine and a determination that reading the second intermediate data is a bottleneck of the printing time.

A method of encoding print data performed by a host device is described in which a print request for a compound document is received; objects included in the compound document is classified into predetermined groups based on object attribute information; each of the predetermined groups is compressed according to a preset compression method; and the compressed groups is merged and the merged groups is transmitted to an image forming apparatus.

An image processing apparatus includes at least one of one or more processors configured to implement instructions stored in a memory device and an integrated circuit that execute a first acquiring task of acquiring data of a first object from a first memory by designating an address in the first memory, a second acquiring task of acquiring data of a second object from a second memory by a first-in first-out (FIFO) scheme, and a bitmap image generation task of generating a bitmap image including at least the first object and the second object based on the data acquired in the first acquiring task and the data acquired in the second acquiring task.

In a printing apparatus, a controller is configured to: receive compressed image data created by compressing image data for pages; store the compressed image data into a memory; individually identify partial compressed data corresponding to the pages in the stored compressed image data; store one of the partial compressed data into the memory or stores information identifying each partial compressed data in the compressed image data, into the memory; execute a first creating processing for decompressing the one partial compressed data and creating print data for one page based on decompressed page data; and execute a first output processing for outputting the created print data. The controller repeats the first creating processing and the first output processing a number of times corresponding to the number of pages contained in the compressed image data. The printing apparatus performs printing based on the output print data.

In a printing apparatus, a controller is configured to: receive compressed image data; store the compressed image data into a memory; individually identify partial compressed data in the stored compressed image data, the partial compressed data corresponding to separate images; store the partial compressed data into the memory or store information identifying each of the partial compressed data, into the memory; a first creating processing for decompressing one of the partial compressed data and creating print data based on partial decompressed data obtained by decompressing the one partial compressed data; and a first output processing for outputting the created print data. The controller repeats the first creating processing and the first output processing a number of times corresponding to the number of the partial compressed data. The printing apparatus performs printing based on the print data output in the first output processing.

A printing system which prevents a printer productivity decline due to a bottleneck in time required to read raster image data from an HDD. In the system, a printer controller includes: a data format selector which stores at least either intermediate data or raster image data generated by a data processor in the HDD in a data format selected according to PDL data and selects the data format to be read from the HDD; and an image synthesizer which sends the printing image data obtained by synthesizing the raster image data obtained by rasterization of the intermediate data read from the HDD in the format selected by the data format selector or the raster image data read from the HDD for each page, to the printer. The printer includes a print engine which prints an image on a recording material according to the printing image data from the printer controller.

A method of encoding print data performed by a host device is described in which a print request for a compound document is received; objects included in the compound document is classified into predetermined groups based on object attribute information; each of the predetermined groups is compressed according to a preset compression method; and the compressed groups is merged and the merged groups is transmitted to an image forming apparatus.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a support program readable by a computer of an information processing device, the support program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device and supporting a general-purpose print program pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to perform: based on a print instruction being output from an application program installed in the information processing device and transferred to the general-purpose print program to cause the printer to perform printing, receiving intermediate image data according to the print instruction from the operating system; generating rasterized raster data based on the received intermediate image data; compressing the generated raster data; and transmitting print data based on the compressed raster data to the printer.

In a host computer, a print processor generates, in a drawing region of a memory device context, additional raster data for drawing an additional drawing in addition to drawing information regarding a logical page included in an Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) spool file, and a graphics driver (GD) module of a printer driver combines document raster data generated in a drawing region of a printer device context with the additional raster data, and generates print data based on post-combination raster data.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a support program readable by a computer of an information processing device, the support program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device and supporting a general-purpose print program pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to perform: based on a print instruction being output from an application program installed in the information processing device and transferred to the general-purpose print program to cause the printer to perform printing, receiving intermediate image data according to the print instruction from the operating system; generating rasterized raster data based on the received intermediate image data; compressing the generated raster data; and transmitting print data based on the compressed raster data to the printer.