Page description language on demand printing
View Patent ↗A printer and associated programming for automatically requesting a PDL program from a storage site that is connected to the printer by a network for any document that requires a PDL program that is not already available to the printer. A computer for this purpose may be a user or host computer, or be built in to the printer. When the computer delivers a document to the printer, either the computer will request that the PDL program from storage to be sent to the printer, or the printer will determine which PDL program is needed by inspecting the received document, and request it when provided the location.
1. In a printing system, a method of page description (PDL) on demand printing, comprising:
receiving a document file to be printed, wherein the document file comprises image data written in a page description language;
identifying the page description language used to generate the document file;
if a PDL interpreter for the identified page description language is not stored locally in the printing system, locating a PDL interpreter for the identified page description language external to the printing system;
wherein locating a PDL interpreter for the identified page description language external to the printing system comprises locating the PDL interpreter at a vending means and further comprising:
sending a request for the PDL interpreter to the vending means;
responsive to a receipt of a bill for the PDL interpreter from the vending means, sending a payment to a vending means for the PDL interpreter; and
upon receipt of the payment, the vending means authorizes downloading of the PDL interpreter by the printing system;
downloading the identified PDL interpreter;
executing the PDL interpreter to transform the document file into a form of data operative by the printing system; and
printing the document file.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the page description language comprises reading a header in the document file.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the page description language comprises examining characteristics of the image data to determine the page description language used.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deleting the PDL interpreter from the system after printing the document file.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein locating a PDL interpreter comprises accessing a file server repository on a network.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein downloading the identified PDL interpreter comprises downloading the identified PDL interpreter to fixed storage in the printing system.