Methods and apparatus to provide user-customizable flush patterns in an ink-based printing system

A method for flushing ink in an ink-based printing system, the method comprising:

• determining a flush pattern to be applied to a plurality of sheetside images in a sequence of printed pages;
• presenting an option to a user to change a location of the flush pattern from a default location to a user-defined location on the plurality of sheetside images;
• receiving user input specifying the user-defined location at which the flush pattern will be applied to the plurality of sheetside images;
• analyzing the plurality of sheetside images for the sequence of printed pages to determine if placing the flush pattern at the user-defined location conceals printable content on the sheetside images;
• prompting the user to select another user-defined location for placement of the flush pattern on the sheetside images such that the other user-defined location does not conceal printable content on the sheetside images;
• applying the flush pattern to the plurality of sheetside images;
• and
• imprinting the sequence of printed pages onto printable media with applied flush patterns to flush ink through one or more ink nozzles of the ink-based printing system.

Apparatus for flush pattern processing in an ink-based printing system, the system comprising:

• a marking engine for imprinting sheetside images as ink on a printable medium;
• a printer controller coupled to the marking engine and adapted to generate sheetside images to represent a print job received from an attached source of print jobs and further adapted to apply each sheetside image to the marking engine for imprinting;
• a flush pattern generator coupled to the printer controller and adapted to modify a sheetside image generated by the printer controller to add a flush pattern at a user-defined location thereto prior to applying the sheetside image to the marking engine wherein the flush pattern provides informational content when imprinted on printable media;
• and
• a user interface module coupled to the flush pattern generator and adapted to define the flush pattern to be added to the sheetside image in response to user interaction, further adapted to present an option to a user to change a location of the flush pattern from a default location to the user-defined location on the sheetside image in response to user interaction, further adapted to analyze the sheetside image to determine if placing the flush pattern at the user-defined location conceals printable content on the sheetside image, further adapted to prompt the user to select another user-defined location for placement of the flush pattern on the sheetside images such that the other user-defined location does not conceal printable content on the sheetside image, and further adapted to select the other user-defined location for placement of the flush pattern on the sheetside image in response to user interaction.

A computer readable medium tangibly embodying programmed instruction which, when executed by a computer, perform a method for flushing ink in an ink-based printing system, the method comprising:

• determining a flush pattern to be applied to a plurality of sheetside images in a sequence of printed pages;
• presenting an option to a user to change a location of the flush pattern from a default location to a user-defined location on the plurality of sheetside images;
• receiving user input specifying the user-defined location at which the flush pattern will be applied to the plurality of sheetside images;
• analyzing the plurality of sheetside images for the sequence of printed pages to determine if placing the flush pattern at the user-defined location conceals printable content on the sheetside images;
• prompting the user to select another user-defined location for placement of the flush pattern on the sheetside images such that the other user-defined location does not conceal printable content on the sheetside images;
• applying the flush pattern to the plurality of sheetside images;
• and
• imprinting the sequence of printed pages onto printable media with applied flush patterns to flush ink through one or more ink nozzles of the ink-based printing system.