Patent ID: 7102773

Claim:
A method for multicast document printing, the method comprising: receiving document data to be printed at a host, wherein said document data includes a number of copies of a document to be created from the document data; dividing the number of copies into a first batch associated with a first multicast group of at least two corresponding, separate printers and a second batch associated with a second multicast group of at least two corresponding, separate printers; allocating, from the first batch, first subsets to each of the at least two corresponding, separate printers of the first multicast group; allocating, from the second batch, second subsets to each of the at least two corresponding, separate printers of the second multicast group; formatting the document data into a first print job associated with the first multicast group and a second print job associated with the second multicast group; embedding instructions specific to each of the corresponding printers of the first multicast group into the first print job to form an entire first print job, the instructions indicating for each of the corresponding printers of the first multicast group the allocated first subset of copies to be printed by that printer; embedding instructions specific to each of the corresponding printers of the second multicast group into the second print job to form an entire second print job, the instructions indicating for each of the corresponding printers of the second multicast group the allocated second subset of copies to be printed by that printer; multicasting the entire first print job to the first multicast group and multicasting the entire second print job to the second multicast group; each of the at least two separate printers of the first multicast group receiving the entire first print job, the entire first print job including routing information comprising a list of printer identifiers and an assigned number of documents for each printer of the first multicast group; and each of the at least two separate printers of the second multicast group receiving the entire second print job, the entire second print job including routing information comprising a list of printer identifiers and an assigned number of documents for each printer of the second multicast group.