Patent ID: 7375842
Filing Date: 2008-05-20
Classification: G06K,H04N

Abstract:
1. A print job preparation method comprising the steps of: providing a variable data print job having layout data, content data, and product intent data of a plurality of instance documents, said layout data and content data defining appearance of variable page content in the respective said instance documents, said product intent data being additional to said layout and content data, said product intent data defining a plurality of variants of device independent physical characteristics of said instance documents; forming a plurality of families of said instance documents based on user selection of a group of one or more of said variants; obtaining a description of manufacturing capabilities from a selected printing device; allowing the user to select individual said families and then specify manufacturing instructions to the selected printing device for printing the respective said instance documents of the selected said families; encoding at least one job ticket to include said manufacturing instructions to the selected printing device for printing the respective said instance documents; allowing the user to select a subset of said instance documents from a group of selections on a user interface, said selections including said plurality of instance documents and said plurality of families, to provide a variable data print sub-job; and printing said variable data print sub-job separately from said variable data print job using said subset of said instance documents.