Patent ID: 7474426

Claim:
A method for storage and retrieval of print data, comprising the steps of: transferring print data of a print job in blocks from a data source to at least two of a plurality of print servers connected with one another which form a network and are stored in the print servers, and wherein respective control data for the blocks is transmitted to the print servers of the network and are registered and stored in the print servers; said network also having a central control module, and also registering the control data in said central control module of the network; allocating further processing of the print job by said central control module of the network to an allocated print server of the network such that the allocated print server receives the control data from said central control module; using the control data received from the central control module reading with the respectively allocated print server the print data in at least one block from at least one other print server in the network; with said allocated print server forwarding the print data to a processing device; and wherein for the above steps in a first on-the-fly operating mode, already forwarding at least one part of previously input and stored data of the same print job for further processing in the processing device during the input of data of a print job in the network, and in a second on-the-fly operating mode, reading by a second print server data of a print job that are stored in a first print server and forwarding the data directly, without buffering, to a processing device connected to the second print server.