A printing system includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry acquires print data of a plurality of pages and extracts comparison data from the print data for each page. The processing circuitry, from first image data read from a printed material on which the print data is printed, acquires second image data at a position corresponding to the comparison data, for each page of the printed material. The processing circuitry outputs a comparison result of the comparison data and the read image data for each page.

Systems and methods are provided for print review systems. One embodiment is a print review system that includes a memory that stores inspection parameters of print media marked by a printer, an interface that communicates with the printer, and a controller that, in response to the printer initiating processing of a print job, receives an indication via the interface of settings used by the printer in processing the print job, modifies the parameters based on the settings, inspects the print media based on the modified parameters, and reports compliance of the print job with the modified parameters.

Provided is an image forming system that can utilize result of offset printing in digital printing. The image forming system is capable for hybrid printing that performs offset printing and digital printing. A ticket creation unit creates a job ticket that includes print processing settings for each page. A digital setting unit acquires processing change information including change information at the time of processing in the offset printing to the job ticket created by the ticket creation unit, and it generates digital print setting for the digital printing. Further, the digital printing apparatus functions as a digital printing unit that outputs for digital printing based on the digital print settings generated by the digital setting unit.

A print management device includes: an estimation unit that estimates a completion prediction time of a print process that is planned in advance according to a processing capability of a printing device, the estimation unit estimating, in response to occurrence of an abnormality in the printing device, the completion prediction time based on actual performance information on the processing capability from a start of printing by the printing device to the occurrence of the abnormality and a recovery time determined in advance, the recovery time being a time needed for dealing with the abnormality; and a notification unit that notifies the completion prediction time estimated by the estimation unit.

A process is disclosed for creating a print profile to control the operation of a direct-to-shape printing system for applying images on the exterior of an axially symmetrical media object that has a contoured, varying exterior surface, such as occurs on curved wine bottles and sports equipment like bats. The process takes a media recipe holding media geometry information and an image intended to be printed and processes that information to control a motion control subsystem and a print engine subsystem. The geometry information is manipulated to generate a CAM table suitable for the motion control subsystem, and the image file is processed to create a raster image file suitable for ink head expression. Various setup values are included in the process to prepare the direct-to-shape printing system for use of the media recipe.

A printing system is provided with a dummy data insertion unit configured to insert dummy data into print data based on waiting time occurring when post-processing is performed by a post-processing device (for example, a collating machine). In a printing unit, a dummy page is printed on the basis of the dummy data. A dummy page removing unit configured to remove a dummy page from printed printing paper so that the dummy page is not supplied to the post-processing device is provided between the printing device and the post-processing device.

A method for processing a print job by a printing system and a finishing system resulting in an end product is disclosed. The printing system includes a print controller. The finishing system is an in-line or near-line finishing system and includes a finishing controller for controlling the finishing process by means of a collection of finishing templates stored in memory of the finishing controller. The printing system and the finishing system are connected via a digital connection. The method includes the steps of the print controller receiving the print job including a plurality of print job settings, the print controller establishing an identifier of a finishing template from the collection of finishing templates in accordance with at least one print job setting of the plurality of print job settings, the print controller sending the established identifier of the finishing template to the finishing system, the finishing controller receiving the established identifier of the finishing template, the printing system printing the print job, the finishing system retrieving the finishing template identified by the received identifier from memory of the finishing controller, and the finishing system finishing the print job according to the retrieved finishing template.

A verification system includes a printer which prints image on a recording sheet, a reader which reads an image printed on the recording sheet, and controllers to set a first print setting via a setting screen, cause the printer to print an image based on the set first print setting, cause the reader to read the printed image, and register the read image as a correct image. The controllers also set a second print setting via the setting screen, cause the printer to print an verification target image based on the set second print setting, cause the reader to read the printed verification target image, and verify the read image using the registered correct image, and control the setting screen for the second print setting so that a predetermined print setting included in the first print setting cannot be edited on the setting screen for the second print setting.

A method for operating a printing machine having a processor and a device for detecting features of printing substrates includes storing print jobs with the printing substrates appropriate thereto in a database. Features of at least one printing substrate are detected by using the device. The detected features of the at least one printing substrate are compared by the processor with the printing substrates of the print jobs from the database. The processor selects at least one print job in which the printing substrates of the print jobs from the database correspond to the at least one detected printing substrate or attain a predefined similarity. The at least one print job selected by the processor is subsequently executed on the printing machine.

In a method for simulating a printing process of print jobs in a digital high-capacity printing system with print server and printing apparatus having a plurality of modules: a simulation state of the printing apparatus is activated by (e.g. a user of) a monitoring module of the digital high-capacity printing system, a print job is started with print data at the print server by the monitoring module, the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus, printing is simulated by supplying unrastered print data to an image raster computer of the printing apparatus while data is withdrawn from the image raster computer, and feedback is provided to the monitoring module of the digital high-capacity printing system about the occurrence of an error message. The speed of the removal may correspond to the print speed.