Portable multi-function printing extension computing device

An extension computing device for processing documents at a printing device attached to a network, the extension computing device comprising:

• a print job manager to schedule a print job received over the network;
• an extension engine to determine whether the print job includes an extension command or a page description language (PDL) print job;
• a raster image processing (RIP) firmware to process the PDL print job from the print job manager to generate a document image;
• a communication layer to interface with the external device and the printing device;
• a fast data transfer connector to connect to the printing device and to exchange data with the printing device;
• and
• a storage to store the document image,
• wherein the extension engine performs a function within the extension computing device in response to the extension command.

A method for processing a print job at an extension computing device coupled to a printing device, the method comprising:

• receiving a print job from the printing device through a fast data transfer connector connected to the printing device, wherein the print job includes an extension command;
• processing the print job at the extension computing device using a print job manager and a raster image processing (RIP) firmware to generate a rasterized document image;
• and
• storing the rasterized document image within a storage accessible by an extension engine of the extension computing device.

A method for using an extension computing device with a printing device, the method comprising:

• analyzing a header of a print job;
• determining whether the print job includes an extension command for document storage according to the header;
• transferring the print job to the extension computing device using a fast data transfer connector connected to the printing device;
• processing the print job at the extension computing device to generate a rasterized document image;
• storing the rasterized document image within a storage associated with the extension computing device;
• retrieving the rasterized document image from the storage when instructed;
• and
• sending the rasterized document image to the printing device using the fast data transfer connector.