Patent ID: 6956664

Claim:
A method of processing network-based print jobs, each job being comprised of at least one document including a first page 1 through a last page n, wherein a control unit receives each print job from one of a plurality of computer workstations in a computer network and wherein each document was created at an associated computer workstation using an application program, the method comprising: selectively calling, via a document processing application, a printer driver disposed on each of a plurality of computer workstations; receiving into the control unit from each of the plurality of workstations, via a data network, data instructing the control unit to initiate print of a selected cover sheet with an associated print job; communicating with each of the plurality of workstations, from the control unit, cover sheet option data representative of print options available for the print job, which print options include paper stock and print format associated with the selected cover sheet; generating, via each called printer driver at an associated one of the plurality of workstations, a user interface adapted to prompt an associated user with cover sheet options set by the cover sheet option data; receiving, via each called printer driver, input from each associated user, cover specification data representative of user-selected cover sheet properties selected from the cover sheet options; receiving, from the printer driver of each of the plurality of workstations, the cover specification data representative of a selected set of the print options for each associated print job; communicating the cover specification data from each printer driver to the control unit vial the network; the control unit, in accordance with received cover specification data, causing a printer to obtain a first sheet of paper from a first paper source specified thereby, the first sheet comprising a top cover; the control unit determining whether the top cover is one-sided, two-sided, or blank and; (i) if the top cover is one-sided, the control unit causing the printer to print a first page of the document on one face of the first sheet of paper; (ii) if the top cover is two-sided, the control unit causing the printer to print a first page of the document on a front face of the first sheet of paper and print a second page of the document on a back face of the first sheet of paper; (iii) if the top cover is blank, the control unit causing the printer to output the first sheet of paper with a blank front face and a blank back face; the control unit causing the printer to obtain one or more subsequent sheets of paper form a second paper source; the control unit causing the printer to print one or more pages from a remainder of the document using the one or more subsequent sheets of paper, wherein each page of the remainder of the document is printed on only one face of each of the one or more subsequent sheets of paper.