Memory management system for printing a print job with limited capacity

In a printing system with an electronic precollation memory communicating with a data input device where the input device transmits a print job having a plurality of electronic pages to the electronic precollation memory for storage therein, the print job being divided into a first print job segment having a first number of electronic pages and a second print job segment having a second number of electronic pages, a method for producing prints from the print job, comprising:

• a) storing the first print job segment in the electronic precollation memory;
• b) printing N copies of each electronic page of the first print job segment stored in the electronic precollation memory when a preselected condition is met;
• c) storing the second print job segment in the electronic precollation memory when the preselected condition is met;
• and
• d) when the second print job segment is stored in the electronic precollation memory, printing N copies of each electronic page of the second print job segment stored in the electronic precollation memory, wherein the N copies of the first print job segment are combined with the N copies of the second print job segment to obtain N print job sets, each of which N print job sets is representative of the plurality of electronic pages.

A printing system, comprising:

• an electronic precollation memory having an electronic page capacity
• a data input device, communicating with said electronic precollation memory, said data input device transmitting a print job having a plurality of electronic pages to the electronic precollation memory for storage therein;
• wherein the print job is divided into a first print job segment having a first number of electronic pages and a second print job segment having a second number of electronic pages;
• means for storing the first print job segment in the electronic precollation memory, wherein the first number of electronic pages is about equal to the electronic page capacity of the electronic precollation memory;
• a printing device for printing N copies of each electronic page of the first print job segment stored in the electronic precollation memory;
• the second print job segment being stored in the electronic precollation memory;
• and
• wherein N copies of each electronic page of the second print job segment stored in the electronic precollation memory are produced with said printer, wherein the N copies of the first print job segment are combined with the N copies of the second print job segment to obtain N print job sets, each of which N print job sets is representative of the plurality of electronic pages.