A method is provided that includes receiving, at a hot folder having an associated hot folder print ticket, a submitted print job having an associated submitted print ticket. The associated hot folder print ticket includes at least one hot folder print instruction and the submitted print ticket includes at least one submitted print instruction. The method additionally includes merging the at least one submitted print instruction with the at least one hot folder print instruction to create at least one merged print instruction, which is used to process the print job. Also described are a non-transitory computer-readable medium and a printing device.

A method is provided that includes receiving, at a hot folder that processes print job files according to default print instructions associated with the hot folder, a submitted file selected from (a) a submitted print job file or (b) a submitted print ticket, where the submitted print ticket includes at least one submitted print instruction. The method further includes starting a delay timer upon receiving the submitted file, waiting to process the submitted file until the delay timer has expired, and, upon expiration of the delay timer, processing the submitted file. Also described are a non-transitory computer-readable medium and a printing device.

Methods for identifying and generating a preview set of documents for use with variable data printing operations reduce the number of records that are previewed using filtering criteria. Records to be included in the preview set include text objects having text variables, image objects having image variables, and barcode objects having barcode variables. Records for the preview set also include those defined by rules and associated conditions based on data provided to generate the documents. A better representation of the variable data print job is provided.

A printing system includes: a first printer; a second printer; a server device; and a client device. The first printer is configured to perform: receiving first authentication information; accessing, in response to determining that first authentication performed according to a first authentication method is successful, the server device using first account information; receiving, from the server device, a print job stored in association with user identification information included in the first authentication information; printing an image based on the print job. The second printer is configured to perform: receiving second authentication information including the user identification information; accessing, in response to determining that second authentication performed according to a second authentication method is successful, the server device using second account information; receiving, from the server device, the print job stored in association with the user identification information; and printing the image based on the print job.

An image forming apparatus includes a hot folder storage region, an image forming device, and a hot folder controller that decides whether a second resource file, having the same content as a first resource file, is stored in the hot folder storage region, when a first image forming job is submitted to the hot folder, stores the first resource file in the sub folder, and causes the image forming device to form the image on a medium, using the first control file and the first resource file, when the second resource file is not stored, and stores, when the second resource file is stored, a link file indicating a path to the second resource file in the sub folder, acquires the second resource file using the path, and causes the image forming device to form the image on the medium, using the first control file and the second resource file.

In a server device, a memory is configured to store a folder corresponding to each of a plurality of users. User permissions are set for the folder to indicate whether access to the folder is allowed. A client device is configured to perform transmitting print data to the server device. The print data is associated with identification information for identifying a user. A set of program instructions causes the server device to perform: in response to receiving the print data from the client device, storing the print data in the folder corresponding to the user identified by the identification information associated with the print data. A printer is configured to perform: receiving an input of the identification information; identifying the folder corresponding to the user identified by the identification information; acquiring the print data stored in the folder; and printing an image based on the print data.

According to one embodiment, a document processing device includes a plurality of storage units, a specification unit, and a processing unit. The storage units are set with respectively different setting information. The storage unit stores a processing target document. The specification unit specifies a processing target area determined by the setting information set in the storage unit for each of the documents respectively stored in the plurality of storage units. The processing unit executes, for each document, a predetermined process on a content located in the processing target area specified by the specification unit.

A print job transmission device includes a print job generator to generate a print job on a basis of a PDF file that exists under a hot folder, and a print job transmitter to transmit the print job generated by the print job generator. The print job transmitter obtains an IP address and a port number of a destination of the print job based on the PDF file from a folder name of the hot folder in an upper hierarchy of this PDF file, on a basis of a specific rule.

When a file is selected, a user PC control section of a user PC determines whether or not a format of the file selected is a first file format, and when it is determined that the file format of the file is a first file format, the file is transmitted to a server device, and when it is determined that the file format of the file is a second file format different from the first file format, a printer driver is caused to convert the file in the second file format into the file in the first file format, and the file converted in the first file format is transmitted to the server device.

A printer includes: a printer storage unit storing a sub hot folder that is given a folder name including a keyword corresponding to a print condition and is thus associated with the print condition; and a printer control unit preparing the sub hot folder and causing the printer storage unit to store the prepared sub hot folder. The printer control unit accepts an input of the folder name, and prepares the sub hot folder given the accepted folder name and causes the printer storage unit to store the sub hot folder when the sub hot folder associated with the same print condition as the print condition corresponding to the keyword included in the accepted folder name is not stored in the printer storage unit.