摘要 |
<p>In order to provide a method for enabling the combination of a plurality of printer systems to perform parallel printing in an environment where a plurality of printers are connected to a network, when a request for printing a document is to be output to the printers, a document monitoring process is performed for each document. In the document monitoring process, the conditions of the currently available printer resources are examined, and for optimal performance of the printing request, a document to be printed is divided into a plurality of printing jobs. The division of the document into a plurality of printing jobs can cope with various requests for optimization, such as a reduction in turn-around time. The printing job is a program for managing the printing of each page, such as printing "from page x to page y" of a document, and monitors the performance of the document printing process. By using this program, a different procedure can be employed for each printing job. When a printing job agent is received by the printer monitor, a program defined in the printing job agent is changed to an executable form by the printer monitor. When no malfunction occurs at the printer, the program of the printing job agent initiates the printing of a designated document, and then notifies the source that the printing has completed normally.</p> |