Job schedule generation using historical decision database

A method for determining a print job schedule for a printing production facility having a set of availably printing resources, comprising:

• defining one or more scheduling classifications;
• receiving one or more print jobs, each print job having a print job description specified by a set of print job attributes;
• determining one or more scheduling classification corresponding to the received print jobs;
• using a processor to automatically determine the print job schedule for the received print jobs using an answer set programming language solver responsive to:
• the print job descriptions;
• a set of resource descriptions for the available printing resources;
• a set of scheduling rules, wherein the scheduling rules are answer set programming statements;
• and
• a historical decision database stored in a processor accessible memory, wherein the historical decision database stores an indication of previously successful decision frequencies as a function of scheduling classification;
• wherein the print job schedule assigns a time schedule and one or more printing resources for each of the received print jobs.