Web services printer driver

摘要

An approach is provided for printing electronic documents that provides support for all types of printer models and PDL. A printer driver is configured to interact with Web print services that provide model-specific device capabilities and render PDL on behalf of the printer driver. A printer driver receives application data from an application program. The printer driver causes the application data to be transmitted to one or more Web print services that render the application data and generate print data in a format supported by a specified printing device. The printer driver receives the print data from the one or more Web print services and causes the print data to be transmitted to the specified printing device, wherein processing of the print data at the specified printing device causes a printed version of the electronic document to be generated.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for printing an electronic document, the computer-implemented method comprising:
a printer driver on a client device receiving application data from an application program; the printer driver on the client device retrieving, from one or more Web print services that are separate from both the client device and a specified printing device, via the one or more networks, printing device capability data that indicates one or more features and options currently supported by the specified printing device; the printer driver on the client device generating, based upon printing device capability data and user selection data that indicates user selections of one or more features and options of the specified printing device, a job ticket that specifies how an electronic document represented in the application data is to be printed at the specified printing device; the printer driver on the client device transmitting the job ticket and the application data to the one or more Web print services that are separate from both the client device and the specified printing device, via the one or more networks, wherein the one or more Web print services that are separate from both the client device and the specified printing device use the job ticket to render the application data and generate print data in a format supported by the specified printing device; the printer driver on the client device receiving via the one or more networks the print data from the one or more Web print services that are separate from both the client device and a specified printing device; and the printer driver on the client device causing the print data to be transmitted to the specified printing device via the one or more networks, wherein processing of the print data at the specified printing device causes a printed version of the electronic document to be generated.