Print control system and method

A print control system comprising:

• a PDL processing module which has an internal state and which processes print data and an instruction input from a user on the internal state of the PDL processing module that is described in a predetermined PDL (page description language) to change said internal state;
• input means for receiving from the user the instruction on the internal state of said PDL processing module;
• and
• a conversion module which converts the instruction on said internal state, received from said input means, from a format that the PDL processing module cannot interpret to a format expressed in said predetermined PDL and which sends the conversion result to said PDL processing module,
• wherein said PDL processing module interprets and processes the conversion result of the instruction received from said conversion module to reflect the conversion result on said internal state of said PDL processing module.

For use in a print control system having a PDL processing module which has an internal state and which processes print data that includes state specification data and that is described in a predetermined PDL (page description language), a method of specifying the internal state of said PDL processing module, comprising the steps of:

• extracting the state specification data from the print data entered from a client unit, this state specification data specifying said internal state of said PDL processing module and being described in a predetermined data format other than said specific PDL format;
• converting the state specification data, extracted from said job data, from a format that the PDL processing module cannot interpret to a format expressed in said predetermined PDL;
• and
• reflecting the conversion results on the internal state of said PDL processing module by causing said PDL processing module to interpret and process the conversion result obtained from said converting step.

A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a computer system which has a PDL (page description language) processing module which processes print data that includes state specification data and that is described in a predetermined PDL, cause the computer system to perform the steps of:

• extracting the state specification data from the print data entered from a client unit, the state specification data being described in a specific data format other than a predetermined PDL format;
• converting said extracted state specification data from a format that the PDL processing module cannot interpret to a format expressed in said predetermined PDL;
• and
• sending the conversion result, obtained by converting said state specification data to said PDL processing module which interprets and processes the conversion result to reflect the conversion result on said internal state of said PDL processing module.