Patent ID: 8085424

Claim:
A multiple-port print device, comprising: multiple communication interfaces; buffer memory units; buffer control units which store print job data received from each communication interface into each of the buffer memory units; an image forming unit which forms an image onto a paper based on bitmap data; and an image processing unit which converts print data corresponding to a spool file into bitmap data and provides the data thereof to the image forming unit; and the multiple-port print device, further comprising: a job boundary detection unit which reads out print job data stored in each of the buffer memory units and identifies the print job data by each job boundary, which job boundary detection unit identifies print job data by each job boundary, by detecting a job start mark and a job end mark defined according to a page description language and added to the print job data, wherein, if the job boundary detection unit detects the next job start mark before detecting a job end mark due to an absence of a job end mark, the job boundary detection unit defines the data up to the job start mark, excluding the job start mark, as one print job data and accordingly identifies the job boundary of the data, and wherein if a communication interface starts waiting for receiving data before detecting a job end mark, and when wait time exceeds a set time, the job boundary detection unit judges that the job print data have reached its end, and accordingly identifies the job boundary of the print job data; a spool buffer; and a job management unit which stores the print job data identified by the job boundary as a spool file into the spool buffer to spool-process the identified print job data between the spool buffer and the image processing unit.