Printer driver device, printer, and printer system for more efficient compression and transfer of raster data

A printer system comprising:

• a client terminal;
• and
• a printer,
• wherein the client terminal comprises:
• a processor;
• a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:
• generating raster data on an image to be printed with first and second colors of ink;
• determining a first maximum tone level for the first color of ink and determining a second maximum tone level for the second color of ink for the generated raster data, based on contents of a print setting information of the image;
• generating a first tone dataset corresponding to the first color of ink and a second tone dataset corresponding to the second color of ink for each pixel of the image based on the determined first and second maximum tone levels and transferring both the generated first and second tone datasets as the raster data in a third frame including a predetermined number of data fields to receive the first and second tone datasets by connecting the generated first and second tone datasets using a line-interleaved format or a band-sequential format, the connecting of the generated first and second tone datasets comprising:
• determining a first number of data fields allocated in a first frame for the first tone dataset, and determining a second number of data fields allocated in a second frame for the second tone dataset, one of the first frame or the second frame including one or more empty data fields that does not include the first or second tone datasets;
• when a total number of the first number of data fields and the second number of data fields is less than or equal to the predetermined number of data fields included in the third frame, inserting all of the generated first and second tone datasets into the third frame, the third frame excluding the one or more empty data fields included in the one of the first frame or the second frame;
• and when the total number of the first number of data fields and the second number of data fields is more than the predetermined number of data fields included in the third frame, inserting all of the generated first tone dataset and a part of the generated second tone dataset into the third frame and inserting a remaining part of the generated second tone dataset that is not inserted into the third frame into a fourth frame;
• and
• outputting a print job to the printer containing the transferred raster data and the print setting information, and
• wherein the printer comprises:
• a printer processor;
• a printer memory including instructions that, when executed by the printer processor, cause the printer processor to perform operations including:
• receiving the print job from the client terminal;
• specifying the first and second maximum tone levels for the raster data on the image based on the print setting information received from the client terminal and specifying data volume of the raster data based on the specified first and second maximum tone levels;
• decomposing the raster data having the specified data volume into the first tone dataset of the first color of ink and the second tone dataset of the second color of ink for each pixel according to the line-interleaved format or the band-sequential format employed by the client terminal to connect the first tone dataset of the first color of ink and the second tone dataset of the second color of ink for each pixel of the raster data;
• and
• sending a command to print the image based on the decomposed first and second tone datasets.