Job Queue Management
What is it?
This technology enables you to manage (or manipulate) your queued print jobs through either the Designjet front panel or via your desktop using the HP Printer Utility or Embedded Web Server.
What does it do?
Job prioritisation - Job queue management can be manipulated by going to your printer's front panel and prioritising the jobs according to your convenience. This is especially useful when different papers are needed for different jobs in the print queue - or when intervention is needed on the printer. For example, you need to print a job urgently - so you send 'job 6' to the printer. You then walk to the printers front panel and select: Set up - Job management options - Job queue - Select job - (Select Job 6) - Move to Front. Job 6 will then move to the front of the queue and be the next job to print. You can also do this via your desktop using your printers built in Embedded Web Server or the HP Printer Utility.
Job flexibility (reprints/delete/on-hold/cancel) - Following the general method above, this allows you to place jobs on hold, reprint, cancel or delete jobs. For security, the Embedded Web Server (EWS) can be password protected to prevent unauthorised users from accessing the job queues.
Media/Ink changes mid print runs - You can also use the Front Panel to change ink or media (or perform other activities with the printer for unattended printing) by temporarily pausing the print queue (select Set up - Job Management Options - Pause Printing). This does not affect the job currently being printed but will allow you to replace either the ink cartridges or media (perhaps for overnight printing). When you're ready to continue printing just select the 'Release' option that appears in the front panel.
Job shuffling - Using a similar method, you can also amend the order of prints if you are aware that certain jobs in the print queue will need to use different media. This prevents expensive media being used by mistake or cropping of images. For this you would select Set up - Job Management Options - Paper mismatch action - put job on hold - print anyway.
User alerts - You can also configure the HP Printer Utility to send a job alert directly to the users computer so that they know their job is on hold awaiting a certain media type/width. Jobs on hold won't be printed until the proper corrective action has been taken. At this stage the user can continue the jobs through either the Front Panel, HP Printer Utility or the EWS.
Job run switching - Notably if you have a number of jobs on hold pending gloss media, you can pause the queue and change the media to gloss - then release the queue so that all jobs awaiting the gloss will print, while all jobs for other media will be placed 'on hold'.
Do all HP Designjets come with this option?
No - this option is not available for all HP Designjet printers. The job queue management option originally became available with the Designjet 800, Designjet 1050 series, Designjet 4000 series and Designjet 5000 series printers i.e. those printers with hard drives. Earlier models such as the Designjet 500 allowed you only the basic ability to cancel jobs rather than a more sophisticated approach of swapping them around. Today, this facility is available with the Designjet T790ps, T1300ps, T7100, T2300eMFP and the Z series printers.
