Two-sided print data splitting
View Patent ↗Methods of, and apparatus for, splitting data for two-sided printing are provided. In one embodiment, a method of splitting data for printing by a first and a second print head of a two-sided printer is provided, the method comprising: identifying a portion of the data transverse to a print direction comprising no information for printing, designating a portion of the data prior to the identified portion for printing by the first print head, and designating a portion of the data following the identified portion for printing by the second print head.
1. A method of splitting data comprising information for printing on a first and a second side of print media by respective first and second print heads of a two-sided printer, the method comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed;
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying as a first data portion a portion of the data before the portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed is identified;
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying as a second data portion a portion of the data after the portion of the data corresponding to a region of print data where none of the information is to be printed has been identified;
electronically by a computer or processor, designating the first data portion for printing by the first print head; and
electronically by a computer or processor, designating the second data portion for printing by the second print head.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed comprises electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media transverse to a print direction where none of the information is to be printed.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a desired location for splitting the data,
wherein electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a desired location comprises electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a location in the data meeting one or more predetermined criteria.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria comprises a quantity of information represented by the first data portion being roughly equivalent to a quantity of information represented by the second data portion.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed comprises electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed proximate to the desired location.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the region of print media where none of the information is to be printed is within a predetermined distance of a region of print media corresponding to the desired location.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the predetermined distance corresponds to a predetermined length of media along a media feed path.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the data represents a bitmap comprising one or more dot rows, and the predetermined distance corresponds to a predetermined number of dot rows of the bitmap.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, determining if the portion of the data corresponding to a region of print media where none of the information is to be printed meets one or more predetermined criteria; and
electronically by a computer or processor, designating the first data portion for printing by the first print head and the second data portion for printing by the second print head when the one or more predetermined criteria are met.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria require the region of print media where none of the information is to be printed to comprise a predetermined physical size.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the predetermined physical size corresponds to a predetermined length of print media along a media feed path.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined length ranges from approximately 0.5 to 2.0 mm.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined length ranges from approximately 1.0 to 1.25 mm.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the data represents a bitmap comprising one or more dot rows, and the predetermined physical size corresponds to a predetermined number of dot rows of the bitmap.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the predetermined number of dot rows range from approximately 4 to 16.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the predetermined number of dot rows range from approximately 8 to 10.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, determining if a portion of print media required to print the first data portion and a portion of print media required to print the second data portion meet one or more predetermined criteria; and
electronically by a computer or processor, designating the first data portion for printing by the first print head and the second data portion for printing by the second print head when the one or more predetermined criteria are met.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria require the portion of print media required to print the first data portion and the portion of print media required to print the second data portion to differ in size by a predetermined amount.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the predetermined amount corresponds to a predetermined length of print media along a media feed path.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the data represents a bitmap comprising one or more dot rows, and the predetermined amount corresponds to a predetermined number of dot rows of the bitmap.
21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the predetermined amount corresponds to a portion of print media required to print predefined print data.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the predefined print data comprises one or more of a coupon, a logo, a serialized cartoon, a condition of sale, a graphic, an advertisement, a security feature, rebate information, contest information, ticket information, and legal information.
23. A method of splitting data for printing by a first and a second print head of a two-sided printer, the method comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a portion of the data transverse to a print direction comprising no information for printing;
electronically by a computer or processor, designating a first portion of the data for printing by the first print head before the portion of the data transverse to the print direction comprising no information for printing is identified; and
electronically by a computer or processor, designating a portion of the data for printing by the second print head after the portion of the data transverse to the print direction comprising no information for printing has been identified.
24. A method of splitting data representative of one or more discrete graphic print elements for printing by a first and a second print head of a two-sided printer, the method comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying data representative of one or more regions in or between the discrete graphic print elements transverse to a print direction; and
electronically by a computer or processor, splitting the data into (a) a first data portion for printing by the first print head before data representative of one or more regions in or between the discrete graphic print elements transverse to a print direction is identified, and (ii) a second data portion for printing by the second print head after data representative of one or more regions in or between the discrete graphic print elements transverse to a print direction has been identified.
25. A method of splitting data representative of a bitmap for printing on a first and a second side of two-sided media by a first and a second print head of a two-sided printer, wherein the bitmap comprises a plurality of dot rows and each dot row comprises a plurality of dots designated for printing and/or no-printing, the method comprising:
electronically by a computer or processor, identifying one or more contiguous dot rows meeting one or more predetermined criteria; and
electronically by a computer or processor, splitting the data into (i) a first data portion for printing by the first print head before one or more contiguous dot rows meeting one or more predetermined criteria is identified, and (ii) a second data portion for printing by the second print head after one or more dot rows meeting one or more predetermined criteria has been identified.
26. The method of claim 25 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria requires each of the contiguous dot rows to have less than or equal to a predetermined number of dots designated for printing.
27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the predetermined number of dots equals zero or one.
28. The method of claim 25 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria requires each of the contiguous dot rows to have less than or equal to a predetermined percentage of dots designated for printing.
29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the predetermined percentage of dots equals zero, one, or two percent.
30. The method of claim 25 , wherein at least one of the one or more predetermined criteria requires the one or more contiguous dot rows to represent a predetermined length of media along a media feed path.
31. The method of claim 30 , wherein the predetermined length ranges from approximately 0.5 to 2.0 mm.
32. The method of claim 30 , wherein the predetermined length ranges from approximately 1.0 to 1.25 mm.
33. The method of claim 25 , wherein electronically by a computer or processor, identifying one or more contiguous dot rows meeting one or more predetermined criteria comprises electronically by a computer or processor, identifying a predetermined number of contiguous dot rows meeting one or more predetermined criteria.
34. The method of claim 30 , wherein the predetermined number of contiguous dot rows range from approximately 4 to 16.
35. The method of claim 30 , wherein the predetermined number of contiguous dot rows range from approximately 8 to 10.
36. A two-sided direct thermal printer comprising:
a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path;
a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side;
a communication controller adapted to receive data for printing by the two-sided direct thermal printer; and
a processor adapted to (i) identify a portion of the data transverse to a print direction comprising no information for printing, (ii) designate a first portion of the data for printing by the first thermal print head before the portion of the data transverse to a print direction comprising no information for printing is identified, and (iii) designate a second portion of the data for printing by the second thermal print head after the portion of the data transverse to a print direction comprising no information for printing has been identified.
37. The two-sided direct thermal printer of claim 36 , further comprising a print buffer adapted to store the received data.
38. The two-sided direct thermal printer of claim 37 , further comprising:
a first memory; and
a second memory, wherein the first memory is adapted to store the first portion of the data and the second memory is adapted to store the second portion of the data.