US 8,947,696 B1 · Apparatuses, methods and systems for rich internet/cloud printing and print product traffic control management

Abstract

This disclosure details the implementation of apparatuses, methods and systems for a Rich Internet Printing and Print product traffic control Manager (hereinafter, “Manager”). The high volume and varied makeup of modern printing needs may render some confused as to the best printing mode for a given job. Often, individuals will settle into a routine of using the same printer, printing mode, printing service, and/or the like for all jobs regardless of whether a different printing method may be preferable or more nearly suited to the job at hand. The Manager may serve as an intermediary agency to direct print jobs to one or more particular printing methods, internal or external document production agencies, printers, and/or the like that are deemed most suitable for the printing job at hand. In an embodiment, the Manager may comprise a single print driver that may be installed on a local computer system. Once installed, a Manager print option may appear among the other printer options in a print menu. By selecting the Manager print option and issuing a print command, a user may direct his or her print job directly to the Manager for analysis and routing to an appropriate printing method, printer, agency, and/or the like.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A processor-implemented method for routing document reproduction requests, comprising:

a print product traffic controller executing on a computer system receiving a document reproduction request corresponding to an electronic document, wherein the reproduction request comprises printable content and reproduction metadata;
the print product traffic controller analyzing the reproduction metadata of the document reproduction request and data corresponding to a plurality of reproduction facilities to determine a destination reproduction facility, wherein the analyzed reproduction metadata includes at least:
a set of reproduction specifications, a reproduction product delivery destination, and a reproduction product delivery time, and wherein the analyzing includes:
assigning each of the plurality of reproduction facilities to at least one of a plurality of pre-defined categories;
providing a categorized listing of reproduction facilities for presentation to a user originating the reproduction request via a user interface, wherein the categorized listing includes a plurality of categories corresponding to the pre-defined categories, each category including at least one reproduction facility available for use according to the reproduction metadata and the data corresponding to the reproduction facility;
and
receiving a selection of the destination reproduction facility via the user interface;
and
the print product traffic controller directing the document for processing by the destination reproduction facility.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatuses, methods and systems for rich internet/cloud printing and print product traffic control management

Life of this patent

Apparatuses, methods and systems for rich internet/cloud printing and print product traffic control management

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27