Patent ID: 8231287

Claim:
An image reproduction device for document processing, said image processing device comprising: an input unit that provides sheets; a document conveying system that conveys the sheets from the input unit to an output unit to receive processed documents; a sheet processing system that applies an image pattern to a sheet while the sheet is being conveyed from the input unit, past the sheet processing system, to the output unit at a processing speed, wherein the sheet processing system and all processing elements of the document conveying system are arranged to operate at a same continuously variable processing speed within a range of processing speeds in which the documents are processed at a fixed nominal sheet distance and a fixed nominal document quality, the fixed nominal sheet distance and the fixed nominal document quality being independent of the processing speed, said range of processing speeds including a nominal processing speed, the image reproduction device being arranged for operating continuously at the nominal processing speed; and a control unit that is arranged to select a second processing speed in the range of processing, said second processing speed being higher than the nominal processing speed, maintain the second processing speed for a predetermined time period, adjust the processing speed, during print processing, from a current processing speed to the nominal processing speed upon expiry of the predetermined time period, and determine values for any of the second processing speed and the predetermined time period in advance of a processing job, in dependence on a job setting, timing or page count, and independent of a status of the sheet processing system, thereby performing jobs at a predetermined productivity independent of an actual job size.