Print sequence scheduling system for duplex printing apparatus

摘要

A system dynamically schedules the creation of images in an on-demand printing apparatus outputting simplex and duplex prints. For each simplex print, a simplex print block is appended to a schedule of images to be created, and for each duplex print, a duplex print block is appended to the schedule. The duplex block includes two portions, one portion for each image in the duplex print, separated by a number of pitches which can be occupied by other images. The duplex and simplex blocks are then organized in a manner which preserves the desired final sequence of prints and minimizes the number of unused image pitches in the printing apparatus. The scheduling technique can also be applied to multi-pass color printing.