Methods and systems for performing queue-based assignment of print jobs in a multi-site print production environment

摘要

A system for performing queue-based routing of print jobs in a multi-site print production environment may include an electronic dispatch system having a scheduling queue, at least one processor and a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to receive print jobs from client computing devices, identify one or more print shops, select a set of print jobs from the scheduling queue that are to be assigned to the print shops for completion, generate a feasibility matrix for the selected print jobs, determine a preliminary assignment of the selected print jobs to the identified print shops using a set cover heuristic, use a linear programming heuristic to determine a final assignment of the selected print jobs to the identified print shops, and route each of the selected print jobs to an assigned print shop as specified by the final assignment.

主权项

1. A system for performing queue-based routing of print jobs in a multi-site print production environment, the system comprising:
an electronic dispatch system comprising a scheduling queue, at least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive a plurality of print jobs from one or more client computing devices, wherein each print job is associated with a completion deadline,store the received print jobs in the scheduling queue,identify one or more print shops in communication with the electronic dispatch system,select a set of print jobs from the scheduling queue that are to be assigned to the print shops for completion,generate a feasibility matrix for the selected print jobs, wherein the feasibility matrix indicates, for each selected print job, one or more of the print shops that are able to process the print job and satisfy the corresponding completion deadline,determine a preliminary assignment of the selected print jobs to the identified print shops using a set cover heuristic that accepts as input the feasibility matrix and one or more cost functions associated with one or more of the print shops, wherein each cost function is representative of a cost of processing and shipping the selected print jobs to the corresponding print shop,use a linear programming heuristic to determine a final assignment of the selected print jobs to the identified print shops, wherein the final assignment minimizes a processing cost associated with the selected print shops, wherein the linear programming heuristic accepts as input the preliminary assignment, the feasibility matrix and one or more cost functions associated with one or more of the print shops, androute each of the selected print jobs to an assigned print shop as specified by the final assignment.