Patent ID: 7385714

Claim:
A computer-readable medium for optimizing raster image process (RIP) pipeline data throughput, the RIP pipeline including multiple RIP engines, the computer-readable medium comprising computer-program instructions executable by a processor for: splitting a last partition of a print job into ever smaller portions; distributing the ever smaller portions to respective ones of the multiple RIP engines as RIP engines free-up from RIP'ing portions of the print job that precede the last partition, the distributing being performed until a pre-split portion representing a new last partition reaches a threshold size, the pre-split portion for communication to a RIP engine of the multiple RIP engines for processing, wherein the multiple partitions are more numerous than the multiple RIP engines, and wherein after the computer-program instructions for distributing the computer-program instructions further comprise instructions for: (a) determining that a RIP engine of the multiple RIP engines has finished processing a respective one of the multiple partitions; (b) identifying an unassigned partition of the multiple partitions: (c) if the unassigned partition is greater than a threshold partition size and if the unassigned partition is a last partition of the multiple partitions: continually splitting the last partition into first and second partitions; distributing the first partition to the RIP engine for processing, the second partition now being an unassigned and a last partition; and repeating (a), (b), and (c); (d) if the unassigned partition is the last partition and less than or equal to the threshold partition size, or if the unassigned partition is not the last partition, distributing the unassigned partition to the RIP engine for processing.