Components of AFP printing
Two strategic AFP data streams are key components
of the architected AFP printing solution:
PSF is the glue between the application and the printer. PSF accepts
MO:DCA-P, line data, and Extensible Markup Language (XML) data streams
and converts them into IPDS for each AFP printer
it manages. Because MO:DCA-P and IPDS are
part of the same architecture, this process is efficient for applications
that produce MO:DCA-P.
PSF products are supported under z/OS®, VM,
VSE, IBM i, AIX®, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
PSF has similar capabilities in all environments, plus differences
unique to the operating system on which it is running. Table 1 shows the AFP operating
systems and the PSF products they support.
Table 1. AFP operating systems and corresponding PSF productsOperating System | PSF Product |
---|
z/OS | PSF for z/OS | VM | PSF/VM | VSE | PSF/VSE | IBM i | PSF for IBM i | AIX |
InfoPrint Manager for AIX Ricoh ProcessDirector for AIX
| Windows |
InfoPrint Manager for Windows Ricoh ProcessDirector for Windows
| Linux |
InfoPrint Manager for Linux
Ricoh ProcessDirector for Linux
| Figure 2 shows the basic components that are required
to print data on AFP printers in a z/OS environment.
The PSF printer-driver program processes data streams from the Job
Entry Subsystem (JES) spool, combines the data streams with resources
needed to print the data, converts the data into IPDS,
and sends the result to the printer.
Figure 2. Components that are required to print data on AFP printers
Data streams
These data streams are placed on the JES spool:
- Line data
- Application data that is prepared for printing, without any
data placement or presentation information. Line data can be traditional,
which is prepared for printing on a line printer, such as a 6262 or
3211, or record format, where each record is preceded by a 10-byte
identifier. For printing on page printers, a page definition is required
to provide the data placement and presentation information.
- MO:DCA-P
- Data that is already composed into pages, including data placement
and presentation information (such as which font to use). PSF
accepts MO:DCA Presentation Interchange Set (IS) data
streams, including the newest interchange set, MO:DCA IS/3.
While providing interoperability among AFP products that are MO:DCA IS/3 compliant, MO:DCA IS/3
also provides enhanced functions, including support for color and
the latest fonts, images, and graphics. For more information, see Mixed Object Document Content Architecture Reference, AFPC-0004.
- XML
- Data that is identified by using XML standards from the World
Wide Web Consortium. XML does not describe data placement or presentation
information. For printing on page printers, a page definition is required
to provide the data placement and presentation information. The XML
data that is processed by PSF can be encoded in EBCDIC, ASCII, UTF-8,
or UTF-16.
PSF produces this data stream:
- IPDS
- Data sent to the printer that contains the controls that define
how the data is to be presented.
Resources
These resources are needed to print the data:
- Fonts
- Graphics characters of a specific style that are used to present
text.
- Overlays
- Predefined data objects (such as boxes, lines, shading, text,
logos, bar codes, and graphics) that can be merged with application
data for presentation. Overlays are often used as electronic forms.
- Page segments
- Image, graphics, and bar code data objects that can be presented
at any location on a page. Examples of items that can be page segments
include logos, signatures, bar charts, and engineering drawings.
- Form definitions
- Information that defines the presentation of the page on the
medium, such as where the page is placed on the medium and whether
the data is printed on one or both sides of the paper.
- Page definitions
- Information that formats line data or XML data into AFP pages.
- Object containers
- A MO:DCA structure that carries object
data. An example is an encapsulated PostScript (EPS)
object container.
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