APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF SCHEDULING AND PRINTING A JOB IN A PRINTING MACHINE

A method is provided for printing a job in a printing system including a printer communicating with a memory section, wherein images, in the form of image data, are transmitted to the memory section, from an input source, for use in printing the job and the printing of the job is facilitated by a print processor. The method includes the steps of building a scheduling list, indicating an order in which images of the job are to be printed, and storing the scheduling list in a location that is accessible to the print processor. The method further includes the steps of retrieving an image from the input source, with the print processor, by referring to information in the stored scheduling list and providing an indication, in the scheduling list, when the image is resident in the memory section. Upon determining that the indication has been provided, a print is produced with a copy of the image. In practice, the steps of retrieving the image and determining that the indication has been provided are executed with the print processor.