Patent ID: 7865125

Claim:
A printing system comprising: a first printing module comprising: an image transfer system configured to selectively mark a media web; and a media web transport system configured to selectively advance the media web without image marking by the image transfer system at a first speed and selectively route the media web for image marking by the image transfer system at a second speed, the first speed greater than the second speed; a media web input; and a media web output; and a first media web buffer comprising: a media web input; a media web queuing space; and a media web output; wherein the first printing module media web output is operatively connected to the first media web buffer media web input; a second printing module comprising: an image transfer system configured to selectively mark the media web; and the media web transport system configured to selectively advance a media web without image marking by the image transfer system at the first speed and selectively route the media web for image marking by the image transfer system at the second speed; a media web input; and a media web output; wherein the second printing module media web input is operatively connected to the first media web buffer output; and a controller, operatively connected to the first printing module, the second printing module and the first media web buffer, the controller configured to store instructions, that when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform a method comprising: decoupling the image transfer systems associated with the first and second printing modules from the media web routed through the first printing module, the first media web buffer and the second printing module; loading the first media web buffer with a first predetermined length of media web from a media web roll at the first speed, the predetermined length substantially equivalent to N sequential images associated with a print job; coupling the image transfer systems associated with the first and second printing modules to the media web; marking a first group of N consecutive images, in their entirety, on the first predetermined length of media web at the second speed using the second printing module, the first predetermined length of media web fed from the first media web buffer to the second printing module, and simultaneously marking a second group of N consecutive images in their entirety on a second predetermined length of media web at substantially the second speed using the first printing module, the second predetermined length of media web fed to the first printing module from the media web roll associated with the media web and substantially equivalent to N sequential images associated with the print job, the first and second predetermined lengths of media web substantially equal in length and the second speed less than the first speed.