Image forming apparatus having toner saving function and method for printing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9442680-B2
Application number	US-201514638285-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2015
Priority date	Mar 17, 2014
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

An image forming apparatus having a toner saving function is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a printer configured to perform a printing job, a communicator configured to communicate with a host device, a storage configured to store information of a toner saving option which is differently set to respective data characteristics, and a controller configured to, in response to a print data being received from the host device through the communicator, control the printer to detect characteristics of the print data, and print the print data according to the toner saving option which is set to correspond to the detected characteristics.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a printer configured to perform a printing job;
a communicator configured to communicate with a host device;
a storage configured to store information of toner saving options which are differently set based on respective data characteristics including data format characteristics including one of portable document format (PDF), tag image file (TIF) format, and a joint photographic experts group (JPEG) format; and
a controller, in response to data being received from the host device through the communicator, configured to control the printer to detect characteristics of the data, and print the data according to one of the toner saving options which is set to correspond to the detected characteristics.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a display configured to display a user interface (UI) screen to set the toner saving options which are differently set based on respective data characteristics.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the printer to print the data with toner saving options which are different based on respective data format characteristics of the data.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the controller, in response to the data having a data format undefined in the storage being received, controls the printer to print the data with a default option.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the default option is to print the data as original data or print the data with a predesignated toner density.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the controller, in response to the data being print data associated with a transcript including a preset logo, controls the printer to print the data with a first toner saving option which corresponds to the preset logo, and
the controller, in response to the transcript not including the preset logo, controls the printer to print the print data with a second toner saving option which is different from the first toner saving option.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the controller, in response to the data being print data associated with a transcript including an identification code, prints the data with one of the toner saving options which are different based on types of identification codes, and
the identification codes are set differently based on at least one of data importance, user authority, a user division, and a user position.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controller, in response to the data being print data associated with a transcript written in a preset format, prints the data with one of the toner saving options which is set to correspond to the preset format.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the toner saving options comprise at least one of a color print option, a mono print option, a toner density adjustment option, and a font setting option.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controller, in response to the printing job being performed by using one of the toner saving options, controls the printer to add identification information indicating that printing is performed according to the one toner saving option to a printout and prints the printout.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the controller, in response to copying of a transcript including the identification information being performed, controls the printer to print the transcript by upwardly adjusting toner density applied to the transcript.

12. A method for printing an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:
receiving data from a host device to perform a print job;
detecting characteristics of the data, the data characteristics including data format characteristics including one of portable document format (PDF), tag image file (TIF) format, and a joint photographic experts group (JPEG) format; and
printing the data according to a toner saving option which corresponds to the detected characteristics of the data, from among toner saving options which are differently set based on respective data characteristics.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein:
the detecting characteristics of the data comprises detecting a data format of the data, and
the printing comprises printing the data with one of the toner saving options based on the detected data format.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the printing of the data comprises, in response to the data having an undefined data format being received, printing the data with a default option.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the printing of the data, in response to the data being print data associated with a transcript including a preset logo, comprises printing the data with a first toner saving option which corresponds to the preset logo, and the printing of the data, in response to the transcript not including the preset logo, with a second toner saving option which is different from the first toner saving option.

16. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein:
the printing of the data, in response to the data on a transcript including an identification code, comprises printing the data with one of the toner saving options which is different based on types of identification codes, and
the identification codes are set differently based on at least one of data importance, user authority, a user division, and a user position.

17. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the printing of the data, in response to the data being print data associated with a transcript written in a preset format, comprises printing the data with one of the toner saving options which is set to correspond to the preset format.

18. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the toner saving options comprise at least one of a color print option, a mono print option, a toner density adjustment option, and a font setting option.

19. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the printing, in response to the print job being performed by using one of the toner saving options, comprises adding printing identification information indicating that printing is performed based on one of the toner saving options to a printout and printing the printout.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 , further comprising:
printing a transcript by upwardly adjusting toner density applied to the transcript, in response to copying of the transcript including the identification information being performed.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park In-Ho
• Kim Kyeong-Man
• Ohk Hyung-Soo

Classifications

• G06F3/1219 Primary

  with regard to consumables, e.g. ink, toner, paper · CPC title

• H04N2201/0081

  Image reader (H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence) · CPC title

• H04N2201/0082

  Image hardcopy reproducer (H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/1241

  Dividing a job according to job requirements, e.g. black/white and colour pages, covers and body of books, tabs · CPC title

• H04N2201/0094

  Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception · CPC title