US 2015/0085316 A1 · Print Job Tracking and Policy Enforcement

Abstract

Methods and apparatus enforce policy on print jobs and track them per users. A computing device has a layered service provider (LSP) and a spooler. The LSP determines whether data coining to it corresponds to print data or not. If so, it extracts user information and determines whether any imaging policies apply to the user. If policy applies, the LSP iteratively acknowledges to the spooler that data is being successfully transferred to an imaging device so the spooler will continue sending a remainder of the data corresponding to the print job. Upon receipt of an entire print job. the LSP enforces policy and notifies the user. It also notifies an accounting server to update its policies. Further embodiments note relationships between the LSP and spooler and their interaction with layers in a TCP/IP model.

Claims20

Dependent claims

In a computing device configured to send print jobs to an imaging device, a method of installing imaging policy on the computing device regardless of a type of the imaging deice, comprising:

configuring a layered service provider of the computing device to determine whether data coming to the layered service provider includes print header information:
if the data includes said print header information configuring the layered service provider to extract information of a user sending from the computing device to the imaging device:
if imaging policies exist for the user sending data from the computing device to the imaging device, configuring the layered service provider to cause a spooler of the computing device to spool an entirety of the data of a current print job coming to the spooler without sending any of the data of the current print job to the imaging device;
and
configuring the layered service provider to iteratively acknowledge to the spooler of the computing device that data of the current punt job coming to the layered service provider is being successfully sent to the imaging device for printing when in fact the data of the current print job is not being sent to the imaging device thereby spoofing the spooler of the computing device.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Print Job Tracking and Policy Enforcement

Life of this patent

Print Job Tracking and Policy Enforcement

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20