Printing preparation

Abstract

In an exemplary device implementation, the device includes: a scanner capable of scanning a scanning target to produce an electronic image of the scanning target; and a printer capable of printing an image of the scanning target on a media, the printer including a print engine; wherein the device is adapted to overlap the scanning of the scanning target with preparation of the print engine for printing.

1 . A method for copying comprising actions of:
 establishing a copy job;   noting at least one attribute for the copy job and a time remaining prediction for at least one page of the copy job;   monitoring the time remaining prediction;   determining whether it is time to notify a print engine of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring; and   if so, notifying the print engine to begin preparing to print the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the actions of:
 scheduling the at least one page of the copy job for printing; and   identifying the at least one page of the copy job as the next page for printing.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the actions of:
 determining whether it is time to notify a media handler of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring; and   if so, notifying the media handler to begin preparing to handle media for the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of establishing a copy job comprises the action of:
 adding a copy job entry to a job stream.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of noting at least one attribute for the copy job comprises the action of:
 noting at least one job-level attribute for the copy job and at least one page-level attribute for the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of noting a time remaining prediction for at least one page of the copy job comprises the actions of:
 receiving the time remaining prediction for the at least one page of the copy job from a scanning component; and   recording the time remaining prediction for the at least one page of the copy job in a memory.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of noting a time remaining prediction for at least one page of the copy job comprises the actions of:
 deriving the time remaining prediction for the at least one page of the copy job based on reception of at least one scan line from a scanning component; and   recording the time remaining prediction for the at least one page of the copy job in a memory.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the action of:
 recording printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the action of recording printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job comprises the action of:
 storing the printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job in a volatile and/or a non-volatile memory.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the action of recording printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job comprises the action of:
 storing the printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job in a memory, the at least one page of the copy job comprising a first page of the copy job.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the action of recording printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job comprises the action of:
 storing the printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job in a memory, the at least one page of the copy job comprising a non-first page of the copy job.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of monitoring the time remaining prediction comprises the actions of:
 setting a timer in accordance with the time remaining prediction; and   monitoring an elapsed time using the timer.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of monitoring the time remaining prediction comprises the actions of:
 recording a current time in association with the at least one page of the copy job; and   monitoring an elapsed time using the recorded current time and an updated current time.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of determining whether it is time to notify a print engine of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring comprises the action of:
 performing an analysis using two or more of the following: the time remaining prediction, a current state of the print engine, and a timing of the print engine.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the action of notifying the print engine to begin preparing to print the at least one page of the copy job comprises the action of:
 notifying the print engine of the at least one page of the copy job so that the print engine may begin preparing to print the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         16 . A multifunction device that is capable of accelerating copying, the multifunction device comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more memories in operative communication with the one or more processors, the one or more memories storing processor-executable instructions, that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform actions comprising:   noting a time remaining prediction for at least one page of a copy job;   monitoring the time remaining prediction;   determining whether it is time to notify a media handler of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring; and   if so, notifying the media handler to begin preparing to handle media for the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         17 . The multifunction device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that are stored by the one or more memories cause, when executed, the one or more processors to perform actions further comprising:
 determining whether it is time to notify a print engine of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring; and   if so, notifying the print engine to begin preparing to print the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         18 . The multifunction device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that are stored by the one or more memories cause, when executed, the one or more processors to perform a further action comprising:
 recording printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job.   
     
     
         19 . The multifunction device of  claim 18 , wherein the multifunction device further comprises:
 a scanner that is capable of scanning in the at least one page of the copy job;   a printer that is capable of printing the printable image strips for the at least one page of the copy job; and   a media handler that is capable of providing and/or manipulating media for the printer.   
     
     
         20 . The multifunction device of  claim 16 , wherein the multifunction device comprises at least one of (i) a multifunction peripheral for a computer and (ii) a copier. 
     
     
         21 . One or more electronically-accessible media comprising instructions that, when executed, direct an electronic device to perform actions comprising:
 establishing a copy job;   noting at least one attribute for the copy job and a time remaining prediction for at least one page of the copy job;   monitoring the time remaining prediction;   determining whether it is time to notify a print engine of the at least one page of the copy job responsive to the monitoring; and   if so, notifying the print engine of the at least one page of the copy job so that the print engine may begin preparing to print the at least one page of the copy job.