IBM G544-5774-01 User Manual

Infoprint Server for iSeries

Introduction and Planning Guide

Ve r s i o n 5 , R e l e a s e 2 . 0



G544-5774-01

Infoprint Server for iSeries

Introduction and Planning Guide

Ve r s i o n 5 , R e l e a s e 2 . 0



G544-5774-01

Note

Before using this information and the product it supports, be sure to read the general information in “Notices” on page 27.

Second Edition (August 2002)

This edition applies to the IBM Program Number 5722–IP1, and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions or technical newsletters. Be sure to use the correct edition for the level of the product.

Order publications through your IBM representative or the IBM branch office serving your locality. Publications are not stocked at the address given below.

The IBM Printing Systems Division welcomes your comments. A form for reader’s comments is provided at the back of this publication. If the form has been removed, you may send your comments to the following address:

INFORMATION DEVELOPMENT THE IBM PRINTING SYSTEMS DIVISION DEPARTMENT H7FE BUILDING 004M PO BOX 1900 BOULDER CO 80301-9191 U.S.A.

If you prefer to send comments electronically, use one of the following methods:

v Internet: printpub@us.ibm.com

v Fax: 1-800-524-1519 or 1-303-924-6873

Infoprint®Server for iSeries™Version 5 Release 2 Modification 0 licensed program,

Internet

Visit our home pages at http://www.ibm.com/printers

and http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/.

When you send information to IBM, you grant IBM a nonexclusive right to use or distribute the information in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.

US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

|| || ||

Figures ............................v

About Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

(G544–5774) .........................vii

Who Should Read This Book ....................vii

Prerequisite and Related information .................vii

iSeries Navigator .......................viii

Summary of Changes ......................ix

Chapter 1. What Infoprint Server Can Do for You............1

How Output Requirements Are Changing ................1

How to Handle the Changing Output Requirements ............2

How Infoprint Server Fits in with OS/400 Printing .............2

What’s New in Infoprint Server Version 5.2? ..............5

Benefits of Using Infoprint Server ..................6

Create Electronic Output .....................6

Better Access to IPDS Printers ..................7

Handle Print Jobs Effectively ...................7

Detect and Transform Job Data Streams ...............7

Support Common Printer Languages ................7

Create AFP Output from Images on Windows .............7

External Formatting Flexibility ...................7

Easier Navigation of Large Files ..................7

Print to PDF Printers ......................8

Hardware Requirements ......................8

Software Requirements ......................8

Compatibility ..........................8

Chapter 2. Using Infoprint Server ..................9

Publishing iSeries Output Electronically ................10

Electronic Report Distribution....................11

Printing Enterprise Print Output on IPDS Printers ............12

Integrating Web and Network Images into iSeries Applications .......13

Indexing Data for Navigation ....................14

Distributing AFP Output Electronically ................15

Chapter 3. Understanding the Infoprint Server Components .......17

PDF Subsystem ........................17

E-Mail Support .........................18

PCL, PDF, and PostScript Transforms ................19

Create AFP Data Command ....................20

Image Transforms ........................21

Chapter 4. Related Products ...................23

Advanced Print Utility ......................23

AFP Font Collection .......................23

AFP Toolbox ..........................23

AFP Utilities ..........................24

AFP Viewer Plug-in .......................24

Infoprint Designer for iSeries ....................24

iSeries Access .........................24

iSeries Navigator .......................25

Notices ...........................27

Trademarks ..........................28

Glossary ...........................31

Bibliography .........................37

Infoprint Server .........................37

Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) ................37

iSeries Access .........................37

Infoprint Designer ........................37

OS/400............................38

Printers............................38

PrintSuite ...........................38

Redbooks ...........................38

TCP/IP ............................38

iv Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

Figures

1. iSeries Printing without Infoprint Server .......................3

2. iSeries Output Management with Infoprint Server ...................5

3. Publishing iSeries Output Electronically ......................10

4. Electronic Report Distribution ..........................11

5. Printing documents from a Workstation on IPDS printers ................12

6. Transforming images into OS/400 resources.....................13

7. Indexing line, mixed, or AFP data .........................14

8. Packaging AFP data with its resources for electronic distribution .............15

9. Infoprint Server Components ..........................17

vi Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

About Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide (G544–5774)

This publication provides an overview of Infoprint Server for iSeries Version 5 Release 2 (licensed program number 5722–IP1). The term ″iSeries″ refers to the system formerly called AS/400 of the iSeries.

This introduction includes an overview of Infoprint Server for iSeries, explains its benefits, describes how you can use Infoprint Server for iSeries, describes how Infoprint Server for iSeries works, and introduces some products you can use with Infoprint Server for iSeries. This publication is organized into chapters to help you obtain the information you need about Infoprint Server for iSeries. Instead of reading the entire publication, you can read only those chapters that apply to you:

v Chapter 1, “What Infoprint Server Can Do for You” is intended for managers

and system administrators. The chapter describes the overall benefits that

Infoprint Server for iSeries provides and lists the hardware and software needed

to use this product.

v Chapter 2, “Using Infoprint Server” is intended for managers, operators, and

system administrators. It provides a number of scenarios that show how you can

use Infoprint Server for iSeries in various printing situations.

v Chapter 3, “Understanding the Infoprint Server Components” is intended for

system administrators who want to understand how Infoprint Server for iSeries

works. The chapter describes the component parts of Infoprint Server for iSeries.

| |

v Chapter 4, “Related Products” describes some IBM products that you can use

with Infoprint Server for iSeries.

. The term ″OS/400®″ refers to the operating system

Who Should Read This Book

This publication is intended for people who need to understand the benefits and capabilities of Infoprint Server for iSeries.

Prerequisite and Related information

Use the iSeries Information Center as your starting point for looking up iSeries technical information.

You can access the Information Center two ways:

v From the following Web site:

http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/infocenter

v From CD-ROMs that ship with your order:

iSeries Information Center, SK3T-4091-02. This package also includes the PDF

versions of iSeries manuals, iSeries Information Center: Supplemental Manuals,

SK3T-4092-01, which replaces the Softcopy Library CD-ROM.

The iSeries Information Center contains advisors and important topics such as

™

, TCP/IP, Web serving, secured networks, logical partitions, clustering, CL

Java commands, and system application programming interfaces (APIs). It also includes links to related IBM Redbooks the IBM home page.

™

and Internet links to other IBM Web sites such as

With every new hardware order, you receive the iSeries Setup and Operations CD-ROM, SK3T-4098-01. This CD-ROM contains IBM Eserver iSeries Access for Windows and the EZ-Setup wizard. iSeries Access offers a powerful set of client and server capabilities for connecting PCs to iSeries servers. The EZ-Setup wizard automates many of the iSeries setup tasks.

The Printing Systems iSeries Products Web page contains information about this product. See this Web page:

http://www.ibm.com/printers/R5PSC.NSF/Web/as400overview

For other related information, see the “Bibliography” on page 37.

iSeries Navigator

IBM iSeries Navigator is a powerful graphical interface for managing your iSeries servers. iSeries Navigator functionality includes system navigation, configuration, planning capabilities, and online help to guide you through your tasks. iSeries Navigator makes operation and administration of the server easier and more productive and is the only user interface to the new, advanced features of the OS/400 operating system. It also includes Management Central for managing multiple servers from a central system.

You can find more information on iSeries Navigator in the iSeries Information Center and at the following Web site:

http://www.ibm.com/eserver/iseries/navigator/

viii Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

Summary of Changes

Summary of Changes for Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide, G544–5774–01

This publication contains additions and changes to information previously presented in Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide, G544–5774–00, which supports Infoprint Server for iSeries Version 5 Release 1.0. The technical additions and changes are marked with a revision bar(|)intheleft margin.

These changes have been made throughout the book:

v For OS/400 5.2, the product name Operations Navigator has been changed to

iSeries Navigator. In this document, the term iSeries Navigator refers to both

Operations Navigator and iSeries Navigator unless otherwise noted.

v For OS/400 5.2, the product name Client Access Express has been changed to

iSeries Access. In this document, the term iSeries Access refers to both Client

Access Express and iSeries Access unless otherwise noted.

v The PDF transform is now referred to as the PDF subsystem.

The following information is new or updated:

v A section that describes the enhancements included in version 5.2 has been

added. See “What’s New in Infoprint Server Version 5.2?” on page 5.

v A section that describes the hardware required to run Infoprint Server 5.2 for

iSeries has been added. See “Hardware Requirements” on page 8.

v A section that describes the software required to run Infoprint Server 5.2 for

iSeries has been added. See “Software Requirements” on page 8.

v A section that describes what Infoprint Server 5.2 for iSeries is compatible with

has been added. See “Compatibility” on page 8.

v A new chapter has been added that describes other IBM products you can use

with Infoprint Server. See Chapter 4, “Related Products” on page 23.

x Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

Chapter 1. What Infoprint Server Can Do for You

| | | | | |

Infoprint Server for iSeries (hereafter referred to as Infoprint Server) is a separately orderable program for OS/400 5.1 and higher. Infoprint Server focuses on the network, extending the considerable capabilities of the iSeries beyond printing to the management and dissemination of output. As business applications are re-engineered into e-business applications, the output of those applications might need to change and flow electronically to the consumer of that output.

For enterprise printing requirements, Infoprint Server delivers improved efficiency, improved reliability, and lower overall printing costs. It does this by applying iSeries printing management and iSeries-attached printers to the task of handling all of the essential printing generated across the network.

This chapter describes how output and printing requirements are changing. It explains how Infoprint Server fits into this changing environment and how implementing Infoprint Server can benefit you.

How Output Requirements Are Changing

With the advent of a fully electronic computing environment, which includes local area networks and the Internet, standard server-centric business applications are being re-engineered into e-business applications. In many cases, this has ramifications for the output that those applications produce. For example:

Companies require more electronic output

Businesses need to implement business-to-business and business-to-customer applications that have electronic output distribution instead of paper creation. The traditional output model of ″print and distribute″ is changing to one of ″distribute (electronically), then (maybe) print″. Electronic output reduces costs, decreases cycle time, improves competitiveness, and increases customer satisfaction.

Network-centered printing is inadequately managed and costly

Many key applications within an iSeries extended environment now reside outside the iSeries server. Printing to personal or LAN-attached printers is usually far costlier and far less reliable than printing from the iSeries. Companies would like to apply iSeries print management and iSeries printers to this task. In addition, many new applications that are client-server in implementation, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) solutions, create ASCII output because it is a common denominator across clients and servers. Transforming these data streams to AFP management.

Output applications need to be portable across different systems

Many line-of-business applications, such as statements, invoices, and policies, need to have the flexibility to print on servers other than the server where the data resides. In order to do this, the print file needs to be packaged with all of the resources, such as fonts, overlays, and images that are needed for printing.

New output formatting on iSeries needs additional printing and viewing capabilities

While the majority of iSeries output applications are formatted with Data Description Specifications (DDS), the iSeries also offers an application-independent formatting approach: iSeries page definitions and

™

enables robust iSeries print

form definitions. This separates page formatting from the line-of-business application. In addition, with Infoprint Designer for iSeries, you have a graphical design interface for these applications. Infoprint Server addresses the requirement to take print applications with page definition and form definition formatting and transform them into final-form AFP. This lets them be easily printed and viewed by ″downstream″ processes.

Workstation users want to integrate Web and client images into iSeries applications

Workstation users want to be able to use images from the Web or their workstation in GIF, TIFF, and JPEG format in their OS/400 documents. This saves time by allowing the user to create the image in only one format.

How to Handle the Changing Output Requirements

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Print server consolidation is the best way to handle the changing printing requirements. Why? One central print server in a network is more cost effective than a distributed solution with printers attached to many different LAN servers or local desktop computers. Consolidating onto a central print server lets you use the right printer for specific print jobs. OS/400 5.1 and higher with Infoprint Server lets you consolidate your print workload from many servers to a central OS/400 print server. OS/400 handles high volume printing, logs accounting histories, and provides data security and recovery. With OS/400, you can control host and LAN printing. You do not need to continually upgrade your server so it can handle more print requests.

How Infoprint Server Fits in with OS/400 Printing

Infoprint Server significantly expands the possibilities of print and electronic output in an iSeries environment, integrating new capabilities within the existing print framework. Let’s take a closer look and see how. The existing output subsystem is generally print-centric. Figure 1 on page 3 depicts the flow within this subsystem. Any OS/400 application that creates print uses a printer file to provide job-level control information as the data is written to the output queue. DDS keywords can be used to define how application and static information is placed on each page. With these instructions, the application places print data (a spooled file) on an OS/400 output queue. The print data on the queue is usually either SCS (SNA Character Set) for simple line-mode output or AFP with graphics. With AFP print data, there are frequently embedded references to external print resources, such as fonts, overlays, and page segments.

Once the print data resides on the OS/400 output queue, there are three drivers that can route the print data to a printer. The driver is automatically selected based on the type of target printer. Base OS/400 print management includes the driver for printing to SCS printers. Host Print Transform is the driver for ASCII printers, principally PCL printers. When a PCL printer is selected by the print writer, the print file (either SCS or AFP) is passed to Host Print Transform. Host Print Transform then transforms the print data into ASCII and sends it to the printer. When an Intelligent Printer Data Stream (PSF) for OS/400 is automatically invoked and interactively manages the entire printing process with the printer. When PSF for OS/400 manages AFP print data, it ensures that any external resources required, such as fonts, overlays, and images, are in printer memory when needed.

With OS/400 3.2 and 3.7, two additional types of external resources appeared on the scene: page definitions and form definitions. These resources are a standard

2 Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

™

(IPDS™) printer is started, Print Services Facility

™

part of the AFP architecture and enable the pages to be formatted independently of the application program. Infoprint Designer for iSeries is a fully graphical output composition system that uses these resources to design new applications or re-engineer existing ones.

OS/400

Applications

AFP Resources

Overlays Fonts Page Segments Page Definitions

(PSF only)

Form Definitions

(PSF only)

Figure 1. iSeries Printing without Infoprint Server

Infoprint Server opens up this print architecture. Figure 2 on page 5 shows the functional elements that Infoprint Server adds to the picture. The Infoprint Server components are shaded. The general focus is in two major areas: (1) projecting OS/400 output to the network, and (2) incorporating the network into the OS/400 print functions.

Output Queue

Printer

File

OS/400 Print Management

Host Print

Transform

PSF for OS/400

DDS

SCS

Printer

PCL

Printer

IPDS

Printer

| | | | | | | |

| | |

Infoprint Server has five functional components:

v PDF services

v E-mail iSeries output

v PDF, PostScript, and PCL to AFP datastream transforms

v Create AFP Data command for AFP indexing and creation of portable AFP

v Image transforms for GIF, TIFF, and JPEG to iSeries format

Let’s go through the Infoprint Server functional elements one by one. First, transforms have been built into OS/400 that convert several types of input data to image-based AFP and place it on an OS/400 output queue. The input data can be Printer Control Language (PCL), PostScript, or Portable Document Format (PDF) print data. This enables most ASCII output created in the OS/400 or on the network to be put in native OS/400 format (AFP), which lets users take advantage of the OS/400 print management capabilities. These transforms are managed by Transform Manager.

A central component of Infoprint Server is the PDF subsystem. This subsystem enables the conversion of any standard OS/400 output (SCS, AFP, mixed data, IPDS, or OfficeVision/400

™

) to Adobe PDF. The conversion process is highly

Chapter 1. What Infoprint Server Can Do for You 3

| | | | | | | | |

integrated and creates a native, text-based ASCII PDF data file when the input to the transform is non-image. This PDF file can then be routed to one of three places: an integrated file system directory, an output queue, or outbound by e-mail. In addition, you can use AFP Toolbox for AS/400, the Create AFP Data command, or DDS keywords to logically segment a print file. This logical segmentation carries forward to the PDF transform process. This provides the ability to create a single PDF file with indexing information or multiple PDF files from a single input file. PDF files stored in the integrated file system are available to any client, network, or Web application.

Automatic e-mail distribution is a key additional function integrated into the PDF subsystem. For any standard print file in an OS/400 output queue, you can specify that the data be converted to PDF and sent as e-mail. A user exit has been added to further customize the e-mail process. For example, you can select an input file with logical segments that are built in. Each logical segment is transformed into a PDF file and the user exit lets you link to an address database for the e-mail addresses for each PDF file.

PDF is one industry-standard approach to electronic distribution of output. AFP is another. There is an AFP Viewer application built into iSeries Access and an AFP Viewer plug-in is available for Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Because AFP files can have external resources, it is important that any portable AFP data is sent with those external resources. For Web use, Infoprint Server provides the ability to convert an AFP input file to fully portable format. The resources are embedded within the data. In addition, Infoprint Server with its Create AFP Data command, can add indexing within this portable file. This facilitates easy navigation by the person viewing the data.

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Another element of Infoprint Server is its image transforms. These transforms, which execute on the client, convert industry standard image formats (GIF, TIFF, or JPEG) into AFP page segments or overlays on your PC. You can use the AFP Manager component of iSeries Navigator or OS/400 commands to create the page segment or overlay on your OS/400. This lets you use an image in a client or network application and then embed it in an OS/400 application.

4 Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide

Infoprint Designer

AFP Resources

Overlays

Fonts

Page Segments

Page Definitions

(PSF only)

Form Definitions

(PSF only)

OS/400

Applications

Output Queue

AFP

Printer

File

Transforms

OS/400 Print Management

Host Print

Transform

PSF

for

OS/400

PCL

PDF

DDS

Client Networking

and iSeries

ASCII

Applications

SCS

Printer

PDF

Printer

PCL

Printer

IPDS

Printer

Create

Page Segment

or Overlay

WIN

GIF, JPEG,

or TIFF

Image

Transform

AFP

Data

Fully

Resolved

AFP

Subsystem

Integrated

File

System

IBM G544-5774-01 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Figures

About Infoprint Server for iSeries: Introduction and Planning Guide (G544–5774)

Who Should Read This Book

Prerequisite and Related information

iSeries Navigator

Summary of Changes

Chapter 1. What Infoprint Server Can Do for You

How Output Requirements Are Changing

How to Handle the Changing Output Requirements

How Infoprint Server Fits in with OS/400 Printing