Pull copying using document-file identifiers

摘要

A method for printing a coded document includes receiving a print job, generating a document-file identifier, storing a document-file table entry into a document-file table, and printing a coded document. The document-file table entry includes the document-file identifier and the original document-file path. The coded document includes the received document-file data and the generated document-file identifier. A method for scanning a coded document includes receiving scan-document data indicative of a coded document, extracting the document-file identifier from the scan-document data, and searching a plurality of document-file table entries for the scanned document-file identifier. Each of the plurality of document-file table entries includes an entry document-file identifier and an entry document-file path, and may also include a table entry lifetime and/or a plurality of document-file variations. A pull-copy system includes an image forming apparatus, a storage unit, and a processor. The processor may perform the methods for printing and scanning a coded document.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
receiving a print job, wherein the print job includes document-file data corresponding to a document file stored at a given document-file path; generating a document-file identifier based on the print job; storing a document-file table entry in a document-file table, wherein the document-file table entry includes the document-file identifier and the given document-file path; printing a coded document, wherein the coded document includes the document-file data and the document-file identifier, receiving scanned-document data produced from the coded document that has been printed with the document-file identifier included therein and scanned for printing a copy, wherein the scanned-document data includes the document-file identifier; extracting the document-file identifier from the received scanned-document data; searching the document-file table for the extracted document-file identifier, wherein the document-file table includes one or more document-file table entries, wherein each of the one or more document-file table entries includes an entry document-file identifier and one or more document-file paths at which one or more corresponding document files are stored, and wherein searching the document-file table includes searching the one or more document-file table entries for a matching document-file table entry that includes the extracted document-file identifier; and if the matching document-file table entry exists in the document-file table, printing, as the copy, a document file stored at one of the one or more document-file paths included in the matching document-file table entry.