Method and apparatus for routing pages to printers in a multi-print engine as a function of print job parameters

1. A method for routing a plurality of print jobs in a printing system, according to print job parameters of two or more multi-page documents that are to be merged into a single document, comprising:

storing bit-mapped images, each formed of page data representing a page in a document downloaded from a print file and rendered into bit-mapped images and having print job parameters associated therewith, in print buffers associated with the printing system;

creating a virtual job stack containing a number of sequential bit-mapped pages from a first multi-page document;

inserting a number of selected bit-mapped pages from a second multi-page document into the virtual job stack to create a single virtual print job; and

distributing the bit-mapped images of the single virtual print job to a print engine.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of utilizing a print station manager to determine when two or more multi-page documents are to be merged.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the print station manager creates the virtual job stack by storing a number of selected pages from the first multi-page document in a buffer and inserting selected pages from the second multi-page document into the virtual job stack in the buffer at designated intervals according to print job parameters.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the print engine selected is based upon matching the print job parameters associated with the bit-mapped images in the virtual print job with printing characteristics of the print engine to be selected.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the print job parameters are only discernible after rendering.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the print engine is selected according to its resolution.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the print engine is selected according to its printing speed.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of storing comprises:

inputting the page data;

rendering the page data to produce bit-mapped page data for each page; and

storing the rendered page data in the print buffers.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of inputting comprises:

spooling incoming page data; and

publishing printing cues representing printer characteristics.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of rendering includes compressing the rendered page data.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of distributing further comprises retrieving ones of the print job parameters associated with the bit-mapped image data from the print buffers.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of retrieving comprises:

reading from the print buffers one or more of the print job parameters including color, resolution, bit depth, single-or-double sided pages, number of copies, number of pages per document, begin page and end page; and

transferring the print job parameters to registers associated with an image task manager.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of selecting comprises:

parsing the print job data in the virtual printing stacks into print job instructions defined for a particular virtual printer; and

allocating one or more physical print engines to the selected virtual printer.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of parsing comprises:

routing the print job instructions to a job manager for distribution to the print engines.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein for a multiple-engine print system the step of distributing further comprises:

distributing print job instructions to each of the print engines allocated to the virtual print job;

executing the print job instructions; and

assembling the document.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of distributing comprises:

transferring the page data associated with each print job instruction to each of the print engines; and

signaling the print engines to initiate printing.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of executing comprises:

printing the document page; and

signaling a print manager when printing the document page is completed.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of assembling comprises distributing the printed pages into bins as collated in the print job instructions.