Print job aggregation method
AssigneeVistaPrint USA, Inc.
InventorsRobert Keane, Erik Robertson, Sebastien Coursol
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides methods for managing print jobs. One such method includes (a) accumulating discrete print jobs electronically from respective customers, (b) aggregating the discrete print jobs into aggregate print jobs, each of the aggregate print jobs being printable at one time on units of an integral print medium, and (c) electronically distributing the aggregate print jobs to respective printers for printing.
Claims10
A computer-implemented method for creating an aggregate print job intended to be printed and cut to create a plurality of individual printed products, the method comprising
- receiving individual print jobs, each individual print job having an associated printing parameter identifying the size of printed product to be created from that individual print job,
- defining a two-dimensional aggregate print job, the aggregate print job having a plurality of pre-defined individual print job locations arranged in each of its two dimensions, each print job location having a pre-determined size, and
- assigning at least some of the received individual print jobs to individual print job locations in the aggregate print job such that the size of the product to be printed from the individual print job corresponds to the size of the assigned location in the aggregate print job.
A computer-implemented method for creating an aggregate print job intended to be printed and cut to create a plurality of individual printed products, the method comprising:
- a) receiving individual print jobs, each individual print job having an associated printing parameter identifying the size of the product to be created from that individual print job, at least some of the product sizes being different,
- b) defining a two-dimensional aggregate print job having no pre-determined individual print job locations, the aggregate print job being of a sufficient size to accommodate a plurality of individual print jobs in each of its two dimensions,
- c) selecting a first individual print job for placement in the aggregate print job,
- d) placing the individual print job at a location in the aggregate print job,
- e) selecting another individual print job for placement in the aggregate print job,
- f) placing the another individual print job in the aggregate print job in an available location not occupied by any other individual print job, and
- g) repeating steps e) and f) until the aggregate print job filling process is completed.
The method of claim of 6 wherein the aggregate print job filling process is completed when all qualifying individual print jobs have been placed in the aggregate print job.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.