Abstract:
A printing system and method is provided. The printing system includes one or more printing system modules, at least one media sheet path interfacing the printing system modules, and a job scheduler for executing one or more printing system print jobs. The job scheduler routes a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking and subsequently routes the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to one or more printing system modules for marking. The method of printing includes generating a print job to be printed using one or more printing system modules. Print jobs requiring two or more printing system modules for marking are executed by routing a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking, and subsequently routing the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to the one or more printing modules for marking.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS AND APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The following applications, the disclosures of each being totally incorporated herein by reference are mentioned:  
         [0002]     U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/631,651 (Attorney Docket No. 20031830-US-PSP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “TIGHTLY INTEGRATED PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE MAKING USE OF COMBINED COLOR AND MONOCHROME ENGINES,” by David G. Anderson, et al.;  
         [0003]     U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,918 (Attorney Docket No. 20031867-US-PSP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE,” by David G. Anderson et al.;  
         [0004]     U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,921 (Attorney Docket No. 20031867Q-US-PSP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE,” by David G. Anderson et al.;  
         [0005]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/761,522 (Attorney Docket A2423-US-NP), filed Jan. 21, 2004, entitled “HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;  
         [0006]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/785,211 (Attorney Docket A3249P1-US-NP), filed Feb. 24, 2004, entitled “UNIVERSAL FLEXIBLE PLURAL PRINTER TO PLURAL FINISHER SHEET INTEGRATION SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0007]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/881,619 (Attorney Docket A0723-US-NP), filed Jun. 30, 2004, entitled “FLEXIBLE PAPER PATH USING MULTIDIRECTIONAL PATH MODULES,” by Daniel G. Bobrow.;  
         [0008]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,676 (Attorney Docket A3404-US-NP), filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled “MULTIPLE OBJECT SOURCES CONTROLLED AND/OR SELECTED BASED ON A COMMON SENSOR,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0009]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,768 (Attorney Docket 20040184-US-NP), filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE CONSISTING OF CONTAINERIZED IMAGE MARKING ENGINES AND MEDIA FEEDER MODULES,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0010]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,106 (Attorney Docket A4050-US-NP), filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH HORIZONTAL HIGHWAY AND SINGLE PASS DUPLEX,” by Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0011]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,113 (Attorney Docket A3190-US-NP), filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH INVERTER DISPOSED FOR MEDIA VELOCITY BUFFERING AND REGISTRATION,” by Joannes N. M. dejong, et al.;  
         [0012]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,458 (Attorney Docket A3548-US-NP), filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINT SEQUENCE SCHEDULING FOR RELIABILITY,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0013]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,459 (Attorney Docket No. A3419-US-NP), filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE USING IMAGE MARKING ENGINE MODULES (as amended),” by Barry P. Mandel, et al;  
         [0014]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/933,556 (Attorney Docket No. A3405-US-NP), filed Sep. 3, 2004, entitled “SUBSTRATE INVERTER SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” by Stan A. Spencer, et al.;  
         [0015]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/953,953 (Attorney Docket No. A3546-US-NP), filed Sep. 29, 2004, entitled “CUSTOMIZED SET POINT CONTROL FOR OUTPUT STABILITY IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Charles A. Radulski et al.;  
         [0016]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,326 (Attorney Docket 20040314-US-NP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “SEMI-AUTOMATIC IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT FOR MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINE. SYSTEMS,” by Robert E. Grace, et al.;  
         [0017]     U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,450 (Attorney Docket No. 20040985-US-NP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “ADDRESSABLE FUSING FOR AN INTEGRATED PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0018]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,158 (Attorney Docket No. 20040503-US-NP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Bryan J. Roof;  
         [0019]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,168 (Attorney Docket No. 20021985-US-NP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “ADDRESSABLE FUSING AND HEATING METHODS AND APPARATUS,” by David K. Biegelsen, et al.;  
         [0020]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,258 (Attorney Docket No. 20040503Q-US-NP), filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Bryan J. Roof;  
         [0021]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/001,890 (Attorney Docket A2423-US-DIV), filed Dec. 2, 2004, entitled “HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0022]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/002,528 (Attorney Docket A2423-US-DIV1), filed Dec. 2, 2004, entitled “HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0023]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/051,817 (Attorney Docket 20040447-US-NP), filed Feb. 4, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;  
         [0024]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/069,020 (Attorney Docket 20040744-US-NP), filed Feb. 28, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;  
         [0025]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/070,681 (Attorney Docket 20031659-US-NP), filed Mar. 2, 2005, entitled “GRAY BALANCE FOR A PRINTING SYSTEM OF MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINES,” by R. Enrique Viturro, et al.;  
         [0026]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/081,473 (Attorney Docket 20040448-US-NP), filed Mar. 16, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Steven R. Moore;  
         [0027]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/084,280 (Attorney Docket 20040974-US-NP), filed Mar. 18, 2005, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING UNIFORMITY IN IMAGES,” by Howard Mizes;  
         [0028]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/089,854 (Attorney Docket 20040241-US-NP), filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled “SHEET REGISTRATION WITHIN A MEDIA INVERTER,” by Robert A. Clark et al.;  
         [0029]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,498 (Attorney Docket 20040619-US-NP), filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled “INVERTER WITH RETURN/BYPASS PAPER PATH,” by Robert A. Clark;  
         [0030]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,502 (Attorney Docket 2003146-US-NP), filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled IMAGE QUALITY CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINE SYSTEMS,” by Michael C. Mongeon;  
         [0031]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/093,229 (Attorney Docket 20040677-US-NP), filed Mar. 29, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Paul C. Julien;  
         [0032]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,872 (Attorney Docket 20040676-US-NP), filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Paul C. Julien;  
         [0033]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,864 (Attorney Docket 20040971-US-NP), filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Jeremy C. dejong, et al.;  
         [0034]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,378 (Attorney Docket 20040446-US-NP), filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “IMAGE ON PAPER REGISTRATION ALIGNMENT,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;  
         [0035]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,998 (Attorney Docket 20031520-US-NP), filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE WITH PARALLEL HORIZONTAL PRINTING MODULES,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;  
         [0036]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,899 (Attorney Docket 20041209-US-NP), filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Lara S. Crawford, et al.;  
         [0037]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,910 (Attorney Docket 20041210-US-NP), filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “COORDINATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Lara S. Crawford, et al.;  
         [0038]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,355 (Attorney Docket 20041213-US-NP), filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “COMMUNICATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Markus P. J. Fromherz, et al.;  
         [0039]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,332 (Attorney Docket 20041214-US-NP), filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “ON-THE-FLY STATE SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Haitham A. Hindi;  
         [0040]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,558 (Attorney Docket 19971059-US-NP), filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING IMAGE REGISTRATION ERRORS,” by Michael R. Furst et al.;  
         [0041]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,566 (Attorney Docket 20032019-US-NP), filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled “MEDIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM,” by Mandel et al.;  
         [0042]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,996 (Attorney Docket 20040704-US-NP), filed Apr. 20, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Michael C. Mongeon et al.;  
         [0043]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/115,766 (Attorney Docket 20040656-US-NP, Filed Apr. 27, 2005, entitled “IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM,” by Robert E. Grace;  
         [0044]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/122,420 (Attorney Docket 20041149-US-NP), filed May 5, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM AND SCHEDULING METHOD,” by Austin L. Richards;  
         [0045]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/136,821 (Attorney Docket 20041238-US-NP), filed May 25, 2005, entitled “AUTOMATED PROMOTION OF MONOCHROME JOBS FOR HLC PRODUCTION PRINTERS,” by David C. Robinson;  
         [0046]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/136,959 (Attorney Docket 20040649-US-NP), filed May 25, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS”, by Kristine A. German et al.;  
         [0047]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,634 (Attorney Docket 20050281-US-NP), filed May 25, 2005, “PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Robert M. Lofthus et al.;  
         [0048]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,251 (Attorney Docket 20050382-US-NP), filed May 25, 2005, entitled “SCHEDULING SYSTEM”, by Robert M. Lofthus et al.;  
         [0049]     U.S. C-I-P application Ser. No. 11/137,273 (Attorney Docket A3546-US-CIP), filed May 25, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM”, by David G. Anderson et al.;  
         [0050]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/______ (Attorney Docket 200400621-US-NP), filed Jun. 2, 2005, entitled “INTER-SEPARATION DECORRELATOR”, by Edul N. Dalal et al.;  
         [0051]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/______ (Attorney Docket 20041296-US-NP), filed Jun. 7, 2005, entitled “LOW COST ADJUSTMENT METHOD FOR PRINTING SYSTEMS”, by Michael C. Mongeon;  
         [0052]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/______ (Attorney Docket 20040506-US-NP), filed Jun. 14, 2005, entitled “WARM-UP OF MULTIPLE INTEGRATED MARKING ENGINES”, by Bryan J. Roof et al.;  
         [0053]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/______ (Attorney Docket 20040573-US-NP), filed Jun. 20, 2005, entitled “PRINTING PLATFORM”, by Joseph A. Swift;  
         [0054]     U.S. application Ser. No. 11/______ (Attorney Docket 20041435-US-NP), filed Jun. 21, 2005, entitled “METHOD OF ORDERING JOB QUEUE OF MARKING SYSTEMS”, by Neil A. Frankel; and 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0055]     The present disclosure relates to preshrinking and preenlarging of sheets for improved image registration as applied to printing systems. It finds particular application in conjunction with overlay printing and integrated printing modules consisting of several marking engines, each having the same or different printing capabilities, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present disclosure is also amenable to other like applications.  
         [0056]     Overlay printing is a printing method whereby a first marking engine prints content on one side of a sheet, and then a second marking engine with different capability prints complimentary content on the same side. In fact, it is possible that monochrome content, CMYK 4-color content, and custom color content could all be desired on the same side of a sheet, such that a given sheet passes through three different marking engines. When consecutively marking a sheet using multiple marking engines, the need to properly register the image content from the different marking engines becomes a factor which affects the overall quality of the printed sheet and ultimately customer satisfaction. The accuracy of registering a sheet for subsequent making can be a function of many systems, including but not limited to sheet control, sheet dimension stability and/or predictability, marking engine control, etc.  
         [0057]     This disclosure relates to sheet dimension stability; specifically, the shrinkage or enlargement of a media sheet as it passes through a marking engine. As a sheet is passed through a first marking engine for image marking, the sheet will shrink or enlarge and thereby cause a second marking of the sheet to be misaligned. The third marking of the sheet will also be misaligned as a function of the amount the sheet shrinks or enlarges during the first and second markings. As the sheet passes through subsequent marking engines, additional sheet registration error will occur as a result of the shrinkage or enlargement of the sheet through each marking engine. Depending on the cumulative amount of shrinkage or enlargement, the finished overlay printed sheet can have a noticeable registration misalignment of images and create a lower degree of customer satisfaction with the finished product. This disclosure provides a way to compensate for the cumulative media shrinkage or enlargement discussed heretofore by sending a sheet initially through one or more non-printing cycles before commencing one or marking operations.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION  
       [0058]     Aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof include a printing system and method. In one aspect of the disclosure, a printing system is provided including at least two printing system modules; at least one media sheet path interfacing the printing system modules; and a job scheduler for executing one or more printing system print jobs, the job scheduler routing a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking and subsequently routing the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to one or more printing system modules for marking.  
         [0059]     Another aspect includes a method of printing. The method includes generating a print job to be printed using at one printing system module, and analyzing the image content of the print job and determining if the print job requires a media sheet to be marked using two or more printing system modules or the print job requires a media sheet to be marked using only one printing system module. Print jobs requiring two or more printing system modules for marking are executed by routing a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking, and subsequently routing the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to the one or more printing modules for marking. Print jobs requiring only one printing system module for marking, are executed by routing a media sheet to a printing module for marking.  
         [0060]     Another aspect of the disclosure includes a xerographic system. The xerographic system including a media sheet feeder module and a plurality of horizontally and vertically integrated marking devices for applying images to print media. The plurality of marking engines includes a black and white marking engine, a color marking engine, and a marking engine and/or a fuser without a marking engine. A media sheet path includes a lower highway and/or an upper highway, and a return highway. The highways are integrated with the plurality of integrated marking devices, a feeder module, and a finisher module. A job scheduler executes one or more printing system print jobs, the job scheduler capable of routing a media sheet to one or more printing system modules for preshrinking or preenlarging without marking and subsequently routing the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet to one or more printing system modules for marking. Print jobs having sheets requiring black and white printing, and color printing include a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process. The media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process routes a media sheet from the sheet feeder module to a printing system module for processing the media sheet without marking. Subsequently, the preshrunk or preenlarged media sheet is routed to a printing system module for black and white marking. The media sheet is subsequently routed to another printing system module for color marking. After printing is completed the media sheet is routed to the finisher module. As an alternative, the media sheet can be routed to a color painting system module for color marking, and subsequently to a black and white printing module for black and white marking. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0061]      FIG. 1  is an illumination of a printing device used to acquire media shrinkage data;  
         [0062]      FIG. 2  is a graphical representation of media shrinkage data;  
         [0063]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are graphical representations of media shrinkage data;  
         [0064]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are graphical representations of media shrinkage data;  
         [0065]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are graphical representations of media shrinkage data;  
         [0066]      FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of an exemplary printing system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process;  
         [0067]      FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process;  
         [0068]      FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process;  
         [0069]      FIG. 9  is a schematic illustration of an exemplary printing system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process; and  
         [0070]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary printing system incorporating a media sheet preshrinking or preenlarging process. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0071]     Printing systems including multiple xerographic marking engines have the ability to print images on one or two sides of a sheet using multiple image marking engines. The process of overlay printing is sensitive to the accurate registration of the media sheet as it is marked by multiple image marking engines. A significant factor affecting the media sheet registration, relative to multiple marking engines, is the dimensional stability of the media sheet as it is processed through the multiple image marking engines.  
         [0072]     The detailed description which follows describes a printing system which preshrinks media sheets prior to subsequent image marking for improved image registration. The exemplary embodiments described relate to the media sheets that shrink as they pass through an image marking engine or fuser. However, the exemplary embodiments described are equally applicable to media sheets that enlarge as they pass through an image marking engine or fuser.  
         [0073]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , illustrated is a printing fixture  2  used to determine the amount of media sheet shrinkage associated with each pass of a sheet through a marking engine. As illustrated, the printing fixture  2  includes a cyclical sheet path  4 , this sheet path including an initial sheet feed  6 , a pressure roll  8 , a transfuse nip  10 , a heated fuser roll  12  and a sheet path  14 .  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3A ,  FIG. 3B ,  FIG. 4A ,  FIG. 4B ,  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  graphically represent shrinkage data obtained from the print fixture illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0074]     To obtain media sheet shrinkage data, a paper sheet was fed into the sheet feed  6  and routed through the transfuse nip  10 . The transfuse nip  10  includes a pressure roll  8  and a heated fuser roll  12 . After passing through the transfuse nip  10 , the paper sheet traveled along the sheet path  4  indicated in  FIG. 1  and was cycled through the transfuse nip  10  a second time. This cycle was repeated several times to obtain media sheet length and width dimensional changes as a function of passes through the transfuse nip  10  at a given temperature, pressure as applied by the pressure roll  8  and process speed.  
         [0075]     The graphical illustrations of media sheet shrinkage as a function of transfuse nip passes establish that a majority of the cumulative media shrinkage can be compensated by routing a media sheet initially through one or more non-printing marking engines and subsequently marking the media sheet with a plurality of marking engines.  
         [0076]      FIG. 2  illustrates very little change of the length  20  and width  22  dimensions of a paper sheet with a transfuse nip temperature of 25° C. and transfuse pressure of 55 ps. However, as the transfuse temperature is increased while maintaining a constant transfuse nip pressure and process speed, the length and width dimensions of the paper sheet decrease with each successive pass through the transfuse nip.  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B  illustrate the length and width dimensional changes, respectively, of paper sheets  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46  and  48  with a transfuse nip temperature of 80° C.  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  illustrate the dimensional length and width changes, respectively, of paper sheets  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  6 - 6  and  68  with a transfuse nip temperature of 100° C.  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  illustrate the length and width dimensional changes, respectively, of paper sheets  70 ,  72 ,  74 ,  76 ,  78 ,  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  and  88  with a transfuse nip temperature of 125° C.  
         [0077]     In addition to the discussion heretofore, the graphs of  FIG. 3A ,  FIG. 3B ,  FIG. 4A ,  FIG. 4B ,  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  illustrate after the first 5-6 passes through the fuser nip, little or no subsequent media sheet shrinkage occurs. This is most likely because the sheet moisture content has reached its minimum steady state value given the ambient relative humidity.  
         [0078]     Referencing  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , approximately 80% of total media sheet shrinkage occurs during the initial 1-2 passes through a fusing system. Therefore, if the total shrinkage is approximately 1 mm, as illustrated in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , with multiple passes through a fuser, 0.8 mm of shrinkage will occur during the media sheets initial 1-2 passes or preshrinking process, and 0.2 mm will be seen as a residual alignment error between various content planes associated with the overlay marking after the preshrinking process is completed. This 0.2 mm error has been determined to be acceptable print quality.  
         [0079]     Those of skill in the art will appreciate other combinations of preshrinking process passes through the fusing nip of a non-printing marking engine before routing the preshrunk media sheet to a series of marking engines for overlay printing. The greater the number of preshrinking passes through the fusing nip, the smaller the amount of registration error during the subsequent image marking processes because the dimensional stability of the media sheet increase. However, the lesser the amount of preshrinking passes through the fusing nip, the greater the process efficiency of the overall printing system.  
         [0080]     With reference to  FIGS. 6-10 , exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. With reference to  FIG. 6 , illustrated is a printing system including a media sheet feeder module  90 , a plurality of horizontally and vertically integrated marking devices  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , 100 , and  102 , a finisher module  104  and a media sheet path including an upper highway  106 , a lower highway  108  and a return path  110 . In addition, an input transport module  112  and an outputtransport module  114  integrate the feeder module  90  and finisher module  104 , respectively, to the media sheet path structure. The printing system is connected to a data source (not shown) which provides print job data and controls the execution of print jobs. In addition, a job scheduler module (not shown) provides the necessary control to select which printing system modules will be utilized for a particular print job.  
         [0081]     To provide printing flexibility and overlay printing ability, the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 6  includes color image marking engines  94  and  100 , black and white image marking engines  92  and  98 , a MICR image marking engine  102  and a custom color image marking engine  96 .  
         [0082]     Referencing  FIG. 7 , a detailed method of operating the embodiment of  FIG. 6  is explained.  FIG. 7  illustrates the flow chart of an overlay printing job which includes black text and a custom color logo. The initial print job data is transmitted to the printing system by a network, pc, cd, or other computer readable medium or device. The job scheduler analyzes the image content of the incoming print job  120  to determine if multiple image marking engines are required to complete the print job. In this example, a black text document with custom color is detected  122  Subsequently, the job scheduler schedules  124  and allocates  126  a black and white text marking engine  92  and a custom color marking engine  96  to perform the simplex overprint job  124 . The job scheduler next selects unused black text printing module K 2   98  for preprinting or preshrinking passes  128 . It is to be understood that the job scheduler could have selected any unused printing module, (i.e., image marking engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting pass. After the job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules to complete the job, the media sheet feeder feeds the required sheets into the printing system  130 . Sheets are routed through the input transport module to the lower highway  132  and routed to printing module K 2   98  media sheet input for preshrinking  134  within printing module K 2 , which includes a fuser. After passing through the fuser, the media object will be shrunk approximately 60%  134  of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the media sheet is routed from the media sheet output of printing module K 2  along the lower highway and re-circulated back along the return highway  136 . Subsequently, the media sheet is routed along the upper highway to printing module K 1  for black text printing  138 . After the sheet passes through the black text image marking engine K 1 , the sheet will be shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the sheet is routed through the custom color printing module CC for logo printing  140 . Total shrinkage of the media sheet is approximately 90% of total shrinkage potential after printing has been completed. In addition, the media sheet only shrinks approximately 20% after the black text is marked on the sheet and a subsequent custom color is marked on the sheet. The net effect of this process is a reduction of mis-registration error relative to the images printed on the media sheet. Subsequent to image marking by printing module CC, the media sheet is routed to the output transport module by the upper highway and from the output transport module to the finisher module  142 .  
         [0083]     Referencing  FIG. 8 , another detailed method of operating the embodiment of  FIG. 6  will be explained.  FIG. 8  illustrates the flow chart of an overlay printing job which includes black text and a custom color logo. The initial print job data is transmitted to the printing system by a network, pc, cd, or other computer readable medium or device. The job scheduler analyzes the image content of the incoming print job  150  to determine if multiple image marking engines are required to complete the print job. In this example, a black text document with custom color is detected  152 . Subsequently, the job scheduler schedules  154  and allocates a black text marking engine K 1  and a custom color marking engine CC  156  to perform the simplex overlay print job. The job scheduler next selects unused printing modules K 2  and C 2  for preprinting or preshrinking passes  158 . It is to be understood that the job scheduler can select any unused printing module (i.e., image marking engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting passes. After the job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules to complete the job, the media sheet feeder feeds the required sheets into the printing system  160 . Sheets are routed through the input transport module to the lower highway  162  which routes the media sheets to printing modules K 2  and C 2 , respectively, for preprinting passes  164 . After the media sheet has passed through the fuser of printing module K 2  and C 2 , the media sheet will be shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the media sheet is routed from the media sheet output of printing module C 2  along the lower highway and re-circulated back along the return highway  166 . Subsequently, the media sheet is routed along the upper highway to printing module K 1  for black test printing  168 . After the sheet passes through the black text image marking engine K 1 , the sheet will be shrunk approximately 90% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the sheet is routed through the custom color printing module CC for logo printing  172 . Total shrinkage of the media sheet is approximately 100% of total shrinkage potential after printing has been completed. In addition, the media sheet only shrinks approximately 10% during the custom color logo marking process. The net effect of this process is a reduction of mis-registration error relative to the images printed on the media sheet. Subsequent to image marking by printing module CC, the media sheet is routed to the output transport module by the upper highway and from the output transport module to the finisher module  172 .  
         [0084]      FIG. 9  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. The embodiment includes fuser modules F 1   180  and F 2   182  in addition to the integrated printing modules described with reference to  FIG. 6 .  
         [0085]     Referencing  FIG. 10 , a detailed method of operating the embodiment of  FIG. 9  is described.  FIG. 10  illustrates the flow chart of an overlay printing job which includes black and a custom color logo. The initial print job data is transmitted to the printing system by a network, pc, cd or other computer readable media or device. The job scheduler analyzes the image content of the incoming print job to determine if multiple image marking engines are required  190  to complete the print job. In this example, a black text document with custom color is detected  192 . Subsequently, the job scheduler schedules  194  and allocates  196  a black text marking engine K 1  and a custom color marking engine CC to perform the simplex overlay print job. The job scheduler next selects  198  unused fuser F 2  for preprinting or preshrinking passes. It is to be understood that the job scheduler can select any unused printing module (i.e., marking engine, fuser, etc.) to perform the preprinting passes. After the job scheduler has allocated the proper printing modules to complete the job, the media sheet feeder feeds  200  the required sheets into the printing system. Sheets are routed through the input transport module to the lower highway  202  which routes the media sheets to fuser F 2  for preprinting passes  204 . After the media sheet has passed through fuser F 2 , the media sheet will be shrunk approximately 60% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the media sheet is routed from the media sheet output of the fuser module F 2  along with return highway to the upper highway  206 . Subsequently, the media sheet is routed along the upper highway to printing module K 1  for black text printing  208 . After the sheet passes through the black text image marking engine K 1 , the sheet will be shrunk approximately 80% of the total shrinkage potential. Next, the sheet is routed through the custom color printing module CC for logo printing  210 . Total shrinkage of the media sheet is approximately 90% of total shrinkage potential after printing has been completed. In addition, the media sheet only shrinks approximately 10% during the custom color logo marking process. The net effect of the process described with reference to  FIG. 10  is a reduction of mis-registration error relative to the images printed on the media sheet. Subsequent to image marking by printing module CC the media sheet is routed to the output transport module by the upper highway and from the output transport module to the finisher module  212 .  
         [0086]     It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.